Review: The Vampire Voss by Colleen Gleason (Regency Draculia #1)

The Vampire Voss (Regency Draculia #1)
Colleen Gleason
Published: March 22, 2011 (Mira)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

I should come out the gate on this one saying I don’t read historical romance novels. But I sure do read period piece vampire books. And, oh, how I loved getting swept away with the dance cards, the nobility and the brooding vampires in The Vampire Voss. The novel is the first in Colleen Gleason’s new Regency Draculia series and as the series name suggests it’s set in Regency-era London.

Angelica Woodmore is a society girl. While her parents have passed, her older brother acts as guardian for the Woodmore sisters. She gets to attend balls and is being courted by men who would make great potential marriages. As much as she likes to pretend her life is light, she has been given a dark gift — she has visions of people at their moment of death. Actually, she’ll help other ladies determine if they want to marry a particular man based on said visions. So, really, she should have been more aware of the vampires now in her life.

The Viscount Dewhurst — known as Voss — is one of the Dracule. He, like all of his kind, was turned vampire by Lucifer himself. Most of the Dracule in London are of the live-and-let-live stance on humans. They’re still food, but one doesn’t kill them. Others are decidedly more vicious and careless. Voss, however, doesn’t really get involved with either faction. Instead, he keeps secrets. Somehow Voss has come to know the dirty deeds of just about every Dracule — including what object weakens them. So no one messes with him, but they also don’t want him around.

Voss had no interest in humans until he met Angelica. She didn’t crumble at his charms. She didn’t swoon at his advances. He finds himself not wanting to harm her, and desperately wanting to protect her. No one else wants Voss near her, and that means battles on all fronts for life and for love.

The Vampire Voss has a nice mystery subplot, but at its heart is about two people with undeniable chemistry getting past their own issues to be happy together. Angelica and Voss don’t communicate well, infuriate one another, deal with the barrier of 19th century propriety and get a little bloody. And it’s such a romantic whirlwind to get wrapped up in. Simply put: Colleen Gleason has given us another fantastic escape.

Sexual content: Lots of sexual references, a bit of sex, too.

If you want to know more about this series, check out our Q&A with author Colleen Gleason.