Review – Roaring Midnight (Marcey Gardella, Book 1) by Colleen Gleason (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: 258 pages
Publisher: Avid Press
Release Date: June 18, 2013
ASIN: B00CHSRITE
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Marcey Gardella trilogy
Source: Bought for Kindle
Rating: 3/5 stars

“Macey Gardella is a typical young woman of the Roaring Twenties: she works a job, has her own flat, and loves to dance the Charleston. But when a mysterious man named Sebastian Vioget informs her she belongs to a family of vampire hunters, Macey is stunned and disbelieving.

Yet, strange and frightening things begin to happen, and when Macey comes face-to-face with one of the fanged creatures, she has no choice but to believe Sebastian. And when she learns his own soul depends on her willingness to carry forth the family legacy and hunt the undead, Macey capitulates and joins the fight.

As she begins to learn about her new calling, Macey encounters a handsome newspaper reporter known as Grady–who seems to know more about vampires than he should. And when he begins to ask too many questions, she has to juggle her strong attraction to him with the need for secrecy.

Slipping into speakeasies and sampling bootlegged whiskeys, dodging gangster gunfire and trying to keep her nosy landlady from finding the stakes in her flat, Macey Gardella must navigate through a world of stunning violence, passionate romance, and dark betrayal…”

This is the first book in the Marcey Gardella trilogy. I enjoyed the Gardella Vampire series and was eager to read more about this vampire slaying line of women. However, I thought this was a very weak book and found it just okay at best. I didn’t really like the 1920’s setting and thought Marcey was fairly bland.

Marcey has been having strange dreams and feeling cold spots around. Then things get strange when a fanged creature breaks into her apartment. She initially thinks it’s a case of mistaken identity but her own observations and Sebastian Vioget’s insistence finally convince her to start believing that vampires are real.

There were a number of things I just didn’t like about this book. I didn’t really enjoy the 1920’s setting and I felt like all of the characters were just a bit flat. I never really liked Marcey much or Grady or Chas. Additionally I felt like there was very little plot or story here. This book was much more romance heavy than I remember the Gardella Vampire series being and the romantic scenes also felt very blah to me.

Overall this just wasn’t for me. It’s been awhile since I read the Gardella Vampire series so maybe I just have overly fond memories of it. However, I feel that this series isn’t nearly as good and can’t recommend it.