Synopsis
How far would you go to avenge the one you love? Would you
go beyond death? Born into the stifling confines of French upper society,
Babette Varanus never thought that she would have to answer that question.
Surrounded by wealth yet ostracized by her peers, Babette had little interest
in love until she met Korbinian, a scandalous German baron with the audacity to
regard her as his equal. But when the intrigues of her grandfather's enemies
conspire to tear them apart, Varanus will embark upon a journey of vengeance,
love, and redemption that will take her beyond the limitations of mortality and
reveal to her the dark forces that command humanity from the shadows. Faced
with madness, murder, hidden cults, and erudite vampires, does she have the
strength to withstand the storm that rises against her?
Review
The story revolves around Babette, a young lady born into a
privileged family in France she finds life in the upper class society stifling
and her peers ostracize her, leading to her live a solitary life, which she
doesn’t mind at all. At one of her grandfather’s balls she meets Korbinian a
German Baron whom she falls madly in love with, whilst unbeknown to her, her
grandfather is battling with enemies who conspire to make Babette marry an
overbearing son of a Count. As Babette and Korbinian’s love flourishes the
enemies conspire against Korbinian who manages to stay alive until Christmas
Eve.
Babette initially comes across as a young lady only
interested in learning, reading etc. and would be quite happy becoming a
spinster with her books to keep her company, unfortunately her father and others
have no intention of letting this happen. As the story continues Babette’s
character develops and she is surprisingly strong willed and determined young
lady. She is so not a woman of her times, but more an emancipated woman of the
20th century, she hates gossiping about the latest fashion,
preferring a more intellectual conversation. Her love for Korbinian runs deep
and it was so sad when he died, but the way the author turned him into a
lovelorn ghost who forever stays with Babette is inspired and really adds humour
to the tale.
The historical background to the book is well written, I was
a bit concerned about its historical nature at the beginning as I’m not really
into historical tails, but in this case it really adds depth, interest and
intrigue to the book. The way women were treated as chattels or objects to be
owned and how they were repressed when it came to education further than a
tutor, all adds to the depth of the books background. The book has a mix of
humour, adventure and sadness which gives a multidimensional feel.
The twist regarding the vampire element in the book was
great, it made such a change from the bloodlust in a lot of books. One thing I
have found really different NO VAMPIRE SEX nor loads and loads of erotic scenes
which make for a very good change from the usual vampire books. Vampirism along
with the other supernatural element are more in the background of the book and
not a main element, allowing for a lot of character building and setting the
scene of life in the 18th century. The author also lays lots of
little nuggets of information for the reader which I hope will be developed in
the next books.
Finally I can’t leave the review without mentioning the art
work at the beginning of each chapter and the front cover done
by Fyodor Pavlov & Lawrence Gullo. What can I say other than I loved it,
and the way it depicts part of the story within the chapter is inspired, it
also has a feel of Steam Punk which I adore. Overall a well written book, which
would be an ideal book to give a gentle introduction into the genre of fantasy and
super natural. I would definitely recommend adding it to your list of books to
read. If you prefer books full of horror, blood thirsty vampires and hot
vampire sex, then this may not be the book for you, although this book was a
first for me away from the typical books I read, this wasstill a great book to
read
I rate this book
.jpg){kind=small}
No comments:
Post a Comment