The main reason why the “Man leaves woman behind for her own good” trope annoys me so much is because I’ve read/seen one too many depictions in which the woman simply accepts it with no questions asked, end of discussion. I liked the fact that Victoria decided she wouldn’t humor Max’s nonsense. I’m tired of male characters deciding to leave behind their love interests for “their own good.” While these books subvert the usual depiction: Victoria is equal to, if not stronger than, Max in power and the reason why Max leaves her isn’t to keep her safe (for her own good), it’s because he can’t stand by to watch her put herself in danger (for his own good).īecause of this aspect, As Shadows Fade started off on shaky ground. Unfortunately, at the end of the previous book, Max decided despite his and Victoria’s mutual feelings, they couldn’t be together. So congratulations, Team Presaro, your hero won. This, of course, led us to the main romantic conflict of the series: Max Presaro or Sebastian Vioget? Which one will Victoria ultimately choose? The previous novel, When Twilight Burns, answered that question. And because of that, he ends up paying the price for that ignorance. When we first meet Victoria, she tries to balance her life as a Regency miss with her duties as a vampire slayer and to that effect, she marries a man she loves but knows nothing of her heritage and fight against the supernatural. What do I mean by that? What I love about this series, what I’ve always loved about it, was how it focuses on Victoria’s growth as a character and how her evolution and maturation as a woman and vampire slayer is reflected by the men in her life.

While I’ve liked each installment to greater and lesser degrees, it’s the overall experience that has kept me coming back for me. That’s usually enough to give an idea as to whether they’ll like it. There aren’t necessarily direct analogues but when I pitch this series to my friends, I always frame it as Buffy in Regency England. As a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I do think the comparisons are accurate and apt. I’ve been a big fan of this series since the first book, The Rest Falls Away, which introduced Victoria Gardella, a Regency society miss who learns that she is the latest in a long line of vampire slayers. But I can only do that so many times before my eyes start crossing and fall out of my head. I’ve been struggling with it for days now, writing and rewriting and revising over and over again. This is such a difficult review for me to write. Readers who’ve been waiting for the entire series to come out before starting, tread carefully.

Jia’s note: Because this is the fifth and final installment of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, there’s really no way to avoid spoilers for the previous books in the series. Jia Book Reviews / C Reviews Category / C+ Reviews Colleen Gleason / demons / Regency England / vampires 6 Comments

MaREVIEW: As Shadows Fade by Colleen Gleason

The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason