Mark of the Rose - Book Review by Voodoo Bride

Mark of the Rose (Tudor Vampire Chronicles #3)
by Kate Pearce

What is it about:
After hearing that Vampires have returned to the court of Henry VIII, Rhys Williams must form an unwanted alliance with Verity Llewellyn, a lady-in-waiting to the new queen. His childhood companion has grown into a clever and beautiful woman, but she is completely untried as a Vampire hunter.

The revelation that the queen is pregnant only makes the situation all the more dangerous. Who is systematically draining her blood and how, without being noticed? As Rhys and Verity work together to untangle the mystery, the battle to save the queen and the heir to the throne heats up—as does the uncontrollable passion between them.

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
This book starts with a new story line and has another hero and heroine than the first two books.

I will confess this is my favorite book in this series so far.

It's intriguing, suspenseful and best of all: the romance between Rhys and Verity is very enjoyable and isn't as angsty as the romance was in the previous books. I only now realised how the angst in the first two books influenced my overall enjoyment of the books. In Mark of the Rose I didn't have to worry so much about the romance and this made me lose myself in the rest of the story more easily.

The setting and world building are wonderful and I really loved the action storyline, which is full of intrigue and action. Some plot turns were a bit obvious in my opinion, but not so much as to annoy me.

I'm looking forward to the next book which has the conclusion of this storyline and I think I'll even reread the first two books now that I know how the romance plays out and I can concentrate on the rest of the story more easily.

Why should you read it:
Tudor vampires and vampire hunters!

Blood of the Rose - A Book Review by Voodoo Bride

Blood of the Rose (Tudor Vampire Chronicles #2) by Kate Pearce

What is it about:
When vampire slayer Rosalind Llewellyn had to join forces with her enemy Christopher Ellis to defeat a rogue vampire threatening Henry VIII, their alliance led to a surprising passion. Reunited after a year's separation, they now face a new threat that could destroy their last chance at happiness.

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
My main concern about the first book in this series was that the romance was very angsty and that the heroine and hero both acted very stubborn. Nothing much has changed when it comes to that in book two I'm afraid. Rosalind and Christopher kept me frustrated about their romance throughout Blood of the Rose as well. There were some less angsty romantic scenes, but far too few in my opinion.

The story and setting on the other hand are really cool and had me totally engrossed until the storyline I was anticipating to be continued in future books was suddenly killed off! I can understand why Pearce made this choice, but I was not happy!

Chances of me continuing this series:
The setting, writing and the characters are all very good and apart from the things I mentioned here I did enjoy the book, so I might give the next book (which starts a new story with different lead characters) a chance to see if this time I will enjoy both the action and the romance.

Why should you read it:
Tudors and Vampires!

Teaser Tuesdays on a Monday - Blood of the Rose

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Just because I felt like teasing today!

Christopher turned and stalked away, straight into the center of the laughing crowd of courtiers. The hint of the scent of fox drifted back to Rosalind, and she wondered which of the male courtiers was a vampire, and whether Christopher had noticed it.
(page 17, Blood of the Rose (The Tudor Vampire Chronicles #2) by Kate Pearce.)

Kiss of the Rose - A Book Review by Voodoo Bride

*This review might be a bit spoilery about the romance storyline*

Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce (The Tudor Vampire Chronicles #1)

What is it about:
Desperate to defeat King Richard III and gain the crown, Henry Tudor made a pact with the Druids binding him and his heirs to the Druids' struggle against vampires. Ever since, the Llewellyns, a vampire- slaying family, have been in the king's employ. Now Henry VIII reigns, and his father's bargain has been almost forgotten-until bloodless corpses turn up in the king's bedchamber. To save the king, Vampire hunter Rosalind Llewellyn must form an uneasy alliance with Druid slayer Sir Christopher Ellis. But soon, Rosalind must face an unthinkable truth: that her sworn enemy may be her soulmate...

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
I love it when two of my favourite genres are combined, so this historical paranormal story sounded like something I had to read. The writing is pleasant and I loved the world building. There was enough historical detail to make the setting believable and I liked the two warring factions: the druids and the vampires.

The action storyline was a bit overshadowed by the developing relationship between Rosalind and Christopher and if the romance is good I don't mind this, but the romance storyline was a bit too angsty and problematic for my taste. I don't mind some obstacles along the way, but in this case both Rosalind and Christopher were acting way too difficult in my opinion and I felt like whacking their heads together, something I normally leave to Sullivan.

The next book in this series will conclude the story about Rosalind and Christopher and I will most probably buy it to see how the action storyline will work out and in the hope that both hero and heroine will shape up and they actually stand up and fight for their happily ever after.

Why should you read it:
If you like both historicals and paranormals this is a book for you