Author: Amanda Ashley
Mass Market Paperback, 390 pages
Published by Love Spell, 1998
Genre: Vampire Romance
Marisa Richards, the novel's protagonist, decides to attend the Roskovich Carnival, a small circus visiting Los Angeles, California, which is her hometown. There she encounters a strange exhibit: "Count Alexi Kristov, Oldest Vampire in Existence". She also meets the mysterious and very attractive Grigori Chiavari, who claims to be a magician.
Shortly thereafter, on the evening news (this is a modern-day vampire tale), Marisa is shocked to learn that the bodies of four women, drained of blood, have been discovered at the Los Angeles Zoo. The report also mentions the death of Silvano Roskovich, owner of the circus Marisa had visited. He was also the caretaker of the Alexi Kristov exhibit. It becomes immediately obvious to the reader that Kristov is responsible for these deaths. Marisa, of course, is not aware of this yet. She doesn't really believe that vampires exist.
At this point in the novel,Ashley also hints at a long-standing enmity between Kristov and Chiavari. The novel's subsequent events bear this out, since Kristov was responsible for the deaths of Chiavari's wife and children, centuries before. After this, Chiavari intentionally became a vampire in order to avenge himself on Kristov.
Marisa feels an increasing pull toward Grigori, and they begin dating. Then, another character enters the picture -- Edward Ramsey, vampire hunter. He tries to warn Marisa about Kristov and Chiavari. When he finds out that she's dating the latter, his warnings become even more emphatic. Marisa is puzzled by Ramsey's apparent tendency to overprotection, until she finds out that Grigori is also a vampire. She finds this hard to believe at first. Then she begins to doubt her safety when she's with him, which prompts her to attempt to fight her growing feelings for him.
So far, this is a very interesting plot. I love it when Ashley contrasts a vampire who strives to do good, despite his nature, and one who is totally evil. The title is a reference to this. One would say that all vampires are evil. We who love The Twilight Saga know that this is just not so. Therein lies the fascination, as I have already pointed out in one of my literary musings, on the subject of the vampire as metaphor.
In spite of what I stated above, I don't think this is one of Ashley's best books. There are at least two important reasons for this. The first is the fact that Grigori actually wanted to become a vampire, in order to exact his revenge on Kristov. I can't wholeheartedly love or empathize with a character who possesses such a glaring moral defect. It would be understandable for Grigori to feel hatred toward Kristov; however, his decision to purposely become a vampire in order to kill Kristov makes him almost as evil as Kristov himself. Second, I was repulsed by the way one of the characters was "disposed of" so that the two leads could be together without any impediments. I wasn't expecting this from the author. I have read several of her novels in the past, and she clearly possesses a strong, Christian-based sense of ethics. In fact, I would say she stands alone among vampire romance authors writing for adults, in this respect.
A third reason, less important in the moral sense, but not in the literary one, is the attraction between Grigori and Marisa. Ashley's couples usually share some very powerful chemistry. The attraction between these two, however, seems lacking in some way. It just didn't strike me as very believable, especially when compared to that of other couples Ashley has presented in her novels. (I'm thinking of my two favorite ones, A Darker Dream and Midnight Embrace.) Furthermore, Marisa doesn't blink an eye when the character mentioned above is taken out of the picture. She should have been appalled as well as repelled by Grigori's approval of this.
The addition of Ramsey as a rival for Marisa's affections didn't ring true, either. These three characters fell flat as the novel moved along, too.
Although I did finish the book (I don't think I've ever left one of Ashley's novels unfinished), I did not enjoy it as much as I would have expected to, considering the author. Amanda Ashley is still one of my favorite vampire romance authors, however. It's unfortunate that I can't give this book a higher rating, but I am committed to giving honest reviews. I can only wholeheartedly praise a book when I truly believe such praise is merited.
MY RATING:
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