Young (Semi) Professional

To be honest, there was nothing terribly wrong with this book. Like many reviewers I've seen, I, too, had a few misgivings about picking it up, but I was neither disappointed by the plot nor the characters.

Since this is the first book in a series, it does suffer from the usual syndrome that often plague other series' starters. Gleason is burdened with creating a believable reality and introducing the main players of her story without losing the interest of the reader. The pacing at the start of the book dragged from time to time, but once the action began and we passed the first impression stage, the story was quite engaging.

I was happy to see the balance in Victoria as a heroine and found her challenges, worries, and responses to be well-founded. She was relatable and I was praising the gods that I never felt she was one of those "too stupid to live" types. Although classified as a romance, the book contains mostly ass-kicking sprinkled with sexual tension and three potential love interests. However, with this being the first in a series, I appreciate the fact that Gleason opted to forgo the route of the current exploits of LKH's oversexed Anita Blake, though I certainly wouldn't have complained if Victoria received just a pinch more "action."

Overall, I think this is a great start to the Gardella Vampire Chronicles. I breezed through it and the conclusion certainly left with me with quite a few questions about what will happen next to Victoria and her sexy cohorts.