"Definitely not like Bela Lugosi's Vampire"

Penelope Coddington was born to a life of luxury. But her mother died with her birth and her father never really paid any attention to her. As a child, she was forever at the heels of one of the stable boys, Aidan O'Shea. Her father finally hired a governess for her. Miss Horatia didn't approve of Penny associating with the stable boy and broke off the relationship. Now Penny's father is dead after a fall from a staircase. Of course, now that he's dead, the full extent of his debts is coming to light. Everything Penny has ever had is now being sold to fulfill her father's debts. Miss Horatia is sending her to America to live with two great aunts. They are the only family Penny still has. Penny finally gets to America and to the address she has for her aunts. They no longer live there. Her luggage is stolen, including all the money Penny had. She is now forced to live on the streets.

Meanwhile, Aidan left England to come to America. He wants to go to Kentucky and breed horses. He loves Penelope, but knows he will never be good enough for her. He goes to the first place hiring Irishmen. Gabriel is the owner of the establishment. Gabriel recognizes something in Aidan and triggers his "mark". It turns out Aidan is a Vampir and he is embraced by Monia. The whole establishment is full of Vampirs and Demis. Aidan is a very powerful Vampir.

One thing leads to another, and a Vampir ends up saving Penny's life. When Aidan sees her, he immediately takes control of her. She ends up becoming a Vampir as well. There is a threat facing all of humanity. The Dominion are coming through and will destroy humanity. It is up to the Vampirs to save humanity from the Dominion. Will the Vampirs be able to overcome the threat? What of the love between Penny and Aidan? Will they be together throughout eternity or will Aidan always believe he isn't good enough for Penny?

Anya Bast has written a highly erotic story of Vampires and their place in society. BLOOD OF THE ROSE is a unique look at vampires. The vampires in BLOOD OF THE ROSE are nothing at all like Bela Lugosi's DRACULA. I really enjoyed the look into the unique Vampir society, as well as the life in New York in 1890. We get a unique perspective on life back then, especially when Penny loses everything and ends up living on the streets. Aidan must learn to deal with his feelings of inferiority of the servant class before he can have a life with Penny. I highly recommend BLOOD OF THE ROSE to all lovers of Vampire stories.

Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Courtesy Sensual Romance Reviews
Posted March 4, 2004

Summary

Behind an illusion of folklore, the Embraced create a barrier between the Dominion and humankind. Penelope Coddington, wealthy daughter of upper class England, was marked at birth to take her rightful place within the ranks of the fully Embraced Vampir.

Aidan O'Shea, a working class Irishman on the Coddington Estate, is also marked. Class difference has kept Aidan and Penelope apart, but soon that will change. The Vampir will realize their birthrights and they will both belong to the same noble, blood-drenched line.

And that's good, because unless these two can come together, it's going to be hell on Earth...