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The Impaler Legacy #1
The Impaler's Revenge
In a world crawling with vampires, Romania is the safest place left on earth. Thanks to the Little Council, there hasn't been a vampire on Romanian ground in over five centuries. But one day, Liana Cantacuzino, also a member of the Little Council and a descendant of one of the old noble families, is ordered to bring one in, covertly. Enter Maximilien Hess, a thousand years old vampire determined to ruin the existing order of things.
Suddenly, Liana finds herself forced to protect Hess, instead of having the pandurs kill him. With the help from her trustful friends, Rodica Ghica and Ştefan Sturdza, and that of an innocent bystander, Dr. Jesse Carver, Liana has to find out what is going on and what the President is hiding from her. When all is revealed, Hess's secret changes everything.
The first novella in The Impaler Legacy series, a vampire saga like no other.
Suddenly, Liana finds herself forced to protect Hess, instead of having the pandurs kill him. With the help from her trustful friends, Rodica Ghica and Ştefan Sturdza, and that of an innocent bystander, Dr. Jesse Carver, Liana has to find out what is going on and what the President is hiding from her. When all is revealed, Hess's secret changes everything.
The first novella in The Impaler Legacy series, a vampire saga like no other.
93 pages, ebook
First published April 1, 2013
328 people want to read
About the author
Ioana Visan
43 books325 followersAward-winning writer Ioana Visan has always dreamed about reaching the stars, but since she can’t, she writes about it.
After fighting the apocalypse aftermath in “Human Instincts”, she played with shapeshifters in “Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks”, she dealt with vampires in “The Impaler Legacy” series, and then she designed prosthetics in “Broken People” before tackling longer works like a fantasy trilogy and a science fiction series.
Aside from publishing short stories in various Romanian magazines and anthologies, she published a Romanian short story collection “Efectul de nautil” and the Romanian edition of “Human Instincts”.
She received the Encouragement Award from The European Science Fiction Society at Eurocon 2013.
Keep up with Ioana's writing news on
her website:
http://www.ioanavisan.tk
her blog:
http://weirdvision2001.blogspot.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorIoanaV...
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/weirdvision
After fighting the apocalypse aftermath in “Human Instincts”, she played with shapeshifters in “Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks”, she dealt with vampires in “The Impaler Legacy” series, and then she designed prosthetics in “Broken People” before tackling longer works like a fantasy trilogy and a science fiction series.
Aside from publishing short stories in various Romanian magazines and anthologies, she published a Romanian short story collection “Efectul de nautil” and the Romanian edition of “Human Instincts”.
She received the Encouragement Award from The European Science Fiction Society at Eurocon 2013.
Keep up with Ioana's writing news on
her website:
http://www.ioanavisan.tk
her blog:
http://weirdvision2001.blogspot.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorIoanaV...
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/weirdvision
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 50 reviews
March 27, 2017
This review can also be found on my blog at: https://diminishingthoughts.wordpress...
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve read a few other works by Ioana Visan and I always come out feeling so satisfied. She never disappoints and I get this feeling of complete happiness while I’m reading her work. The Impaler’s Revenge revolves around Liana Cantacuzino, The Little Council and a vampire named Maximilien Hess who’s not even supposed to be in Romania.
We start out with Liana hating vampires and we don’t question this because they’re dangerous. Thing is, Liana has to play babysitter to Max, a thousand year old vampire, by order from the President except she has no idea why.
As short as thing book was, so many things happened. I was confused throughout the entire book on whether I liked and trusted Max or hated him. He was an extremely charming character that I’m sure could’ve charmed the pants off a cactus. I liked Liana for the most part but it was easy to tell that she was hiding a very terrible past. She was closed off and distant and refused to show more lest people find out that she’s actually capable of caring.
I had high hopes for this story going in and I was not let down. Ioana’s writing style, as always, was superb and the plot was fantastic. She wrote some amazing characters in this novella and I don’t remember disliking a single one. All questions that needed to be answered were answered and we’re still left with room to continue. I’m eager to carry on with this series as I can already tell that even more action awaits us in the second book.
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I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve read a few other works by Ioana Visan and I always come out feeling so satisfied. She never disappoints and I get this feeling of complete happiness while I’m reading her work. The Impaler’s Revenge revolves around Liana Cantacuzino, The Little Council and a vampire named Maximilien Hess who’s not even supposed to be in Romania.
We start out with Liana hating vampires and we don’t question this because they’re dangerous. Thing is, Liana has to play babysitter to Max, a thousand year old vampire, by order from the President except she has no idea why.
As short as thing book was, so many things happened. I was confused throughout the entire book on whether I liked and trusted Max or hated him. He was an extremely charming character that I’m sure could’ve charmed the pants off a cactus. I liked Liana for the most part but it was easy to tell that she was hiding a very terrible past. She was closed off and distant and refused to show more lest people find out that she’s actually capable of caring.
I had high hopes for this story going in and I was not let down. Ioana’s writing style, as always, was superb and the plot was fantastic. She wrote some amazing characters in this novella and I don’t remember disliking a single one. All questions that needed to be answered were answered and we’re still left with room to continue. I’m eager to carry on with this series as I can already tell that even more action awaits us in the second book.
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Wattpad
May 29, 2017
Interesting premises, but for now I think the characters are rather bland, the dialogues sometimes seem forced and there's a whole lot of eye rolling..
L.E. I thought it would be interesting to mention, in case anyone not from Romania reads this, that the mentioned Little Council families (Basarab , Cantacuzino, Ghica, Sturdza) are real names from Romania's history, renouned noble families of rulers, princes, politicians, ministers, diplomats, etc.
L.E. I thought it would be interesting to mention, in case anyone not from Romania reads this, that the mentioned Little Council families (Basarab , Cantacuzino, Ghica, Sturdza) are real names from Romania's history, renouned noble families of rulers, princes, politicians, ministers, diplomats, etc.
November 26, 2013
The Impaler's Revenge (The Impaler Legacy, #1)
by Ioana Visan
Published 2013
I really loved this book! The author is a master at setting the stage for an alternate reality in which vampires and humans largely coexist. It had the perfect amount of intrigue! I was invested in the characters, and anticipated what was going to happen throughout the story, and around every corner!
The Impaler's Revenge offered up a new twist to the vampire genre, and provided just enough information about the apparently civilized main vampire, Maximilien (not Max!) Hess. My interest was definitely piqued, and it left me wanting more. I know there is much more to Maximilien, hiding under his civilized demeanor, and I am sure we will discover many surprises in future installments! I also loved the female lead, Liana Cantacuzino. She is no simpering female. She is at the top of her Romanian social class: smart, strong, and anything but helpless. She has little time for relationships, which is a nice change of pace from other leads, where the female is often in distress or immediately head over heals for the male.
Liana is part of the Little Council in Romania responsible for vampire control in her country--a small, elite group of descendants, whose primary goal is to keep vampires out of Romania. Yes, that's right, vampires may roam the world freely, but not in Romania! Instead, the country is protected by tight borders, and a kill-on-sight law. Liana's newest assignment, that has been handed down to her directly from the council president, involves the secret guarding and transporting of a thousand-year-old vampire called Maximilien… a job Liana finds both shocking and distasteful. But when strange events begin to occur around Romania, with vampire attacks, missing doctors, and stolen blood, the plot thickens, leaving Liana with growing suspicions and fears over a sinister plot from within. She is determined to solve the mystery, and to protect her country.
Definitely worth the read! Although not steamy at this point, I feel it simmering, and we get hints of attraction building between characters. I appreciated the refreshing balance of power between Liana and Maximilien. This looks like a series with potential to build, and I imagine it will only get better! I look forward to reading the next book!
Reviewed by Kelli
4 1/4 STARS
by Ioana Visan
Published 2013
I really loved this book! The author is a master at setting the stage for an alternate reality in which vampires and humans largely coexist. It had the perfect amount of intrigue! I was invested in the characters, and anticipated what was going to happen throughout the story, and around every corner!
The Impaler's Revenge offered up a new twist to the vampire genre, and provided just enough information about the apparently civilized main vampire, Maximilien (not Max!) Hess. My interest was definitely piqued, and it left me wanting more. I know there is much more to Maximilien, hiding under his civilized demeanor, and I am sure we will discover many surprises in future installments! I also loved the female lead, Liana Cantacuzino. She is no simpering female. She is at the top of her Romanian social class: smart, strong, and anything but helpless. She has little time for relationships, which is a nice change of pace from other leads, where the female is often in distress or immediately head over heals for the male.
Liana is part of the Little Council in Romania responsible for vampire control in her country--a small, elite group of descendants, whose primary goal is to keep vampires out of Romania. Yes, that's right, vampires may roam the world freely, but not in Romania! Instead, the country is protected by tight borders, and a kill-on-sight law. Liana's newest assignment, that has been handed down to her directly from the council president, involves the secret guarding and transporting of a thousand-year-old vampire called Maximilien… a job Liana finds both shocking and distasteful. But when strange events begin to occur around Romania, with vampire attacks, missing doctors, and stolen blood, the plot thickens, leaving Liana with growing suspicions and fears over a sinister plot from within. She is determined to solve the mystery, and to protect her country.
Definitely worth the read! Although not steamy at this point, I feel it simmering, and we get hints of attraction building between characters. I appreciated the refreshing balance of power between Liana and Maximilien. This looks like a series with potential to build, and I imagine it will only get better! I look forward to reading the next book!
Reviewed by Kelli
4 1/4 STARS
April 23, 2013
I was given a free copy of this book by the author, who requested I post an honest review.
“The Impaler’s Revenge” by Ioana Visan is the first episode in the series, “The Impaler Legacy”. This novella is packed with action, intrigue, subterfuge, treason, and even vampires; lots of vampires, if things don’t work out as planned. This story opens in the Vienna Airport, where our protagonist, Ms. Liana Cantacuzino, has gone to pick up a special visitor to her country, because he could not legally fly directly into Bucharest. Vampires had been ejected from Romania under penalty of death, for 5 centuries.
However, this particular vampire, Maximilien Hess, was an invited guest of the President for some top secret business venture, the details of which had not been explained to Ms. Cantacuzino. Not being privy to that information somewhat hampered her ability to perform her assignment: “baby-sit” Mr. Hess, to make sure nobody kills him, and he doesn’t feed on anybody while in Romania. In spite of his near-total cooperation, her task was not destined to be an easy one.
This story is yet another example of the talented Ioana Visan’s mastery of multiple fiction genres, much to the benefit of her readers. The tale is absolutely not a typical vampire blood-fest, nor is it a thinly veiled exercise in erotica, like so many contemporary vampire publications tend to be. To the contrary, this story has a unique plot, a very entertaining storyline, and is simply an excellent example of good story-telling.
I am still amazed to realize English is not the author’s first language, yet her diction is virtually flawless. This is her third book that I have reviewed, and I feel confident in saying Ioana Visan has talent coming out her ears. I can’t emphasize enough how entertaining all her writing has been thus far. If “The Impaler’s Revenge” is any indication, “The Impaler Legacy” will be a superb series. If you are ready for an entirely original take on vampires, you will not find a better opportunity than within the pages of “The Impaler’s Revenge” by Ioana Visan.
“The Impaler’s Revenge” by Ioana Visan is the first episode in the series, “The Impaler Legacy”. This novella is packed with action, intrigue, subterfuge, treason, and even vampires; lots of vampires, if things don’t work out as planned. This story opens in the Vienna Airport, where our protagonist, Ms. Liana Cantacuzino, has gone to pick up a special visitor to her country, because he could not legally fly directly into Bucharest. Vampires had been ejected from Romania under penalty of death, for 5 centuries.
However, this particular vampire, Maximilien Hess, was an invited guest of the President for some top secret business venture, the details of which had not been explained to Ms. Cantacuzino. Not being privy to that information somewhat hampered her ability to perform her assignment: “baby-sit” Mr. Hess, to make sure nobody kills him, and he doesn’t feed on anybody while in Romania. In spite of his near-total cooperation, her task was not destined to be an easy one.
This story is yet another example of the talented Ioana Visan’s mastery of multiple fiction genres, much to the benefit of her readers. The tale is absolutely not a typical vampire blood-fest, nor is it a thinly veiled exercise in erotica, like so many contemporary vampire publications tend to be. To the contrary, this story has a unique plot, a very entertaining storyline, and is simply an excellent example of good story-telling.
I am still amazed to realize English is not the author’s first language, yet her diction is virtually flawless. This is her third book that I have reviewed, and I feel confident in saying Ioana Visan has talent coming out her ears. I can’t emphasize enough how entertaining all her writing has been thus far. If “The Impaler’s Revenge” is any indication, “The Impaler Legacy” will be a superb series. If you are ready for an entirely original take on vampires, you will not find a better opportunity than within the pages of “The Impaler’s Revenge” by Ioana Visan.
December 6, 2013
Well, first let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of books about vampires. However, honestly, so many of them are about the same thing--werewolf/vampire love triangles and romance. This book was, yes, about vampires and some light romance, no werewolves, and very different.
There is a lot of action going on in it. In fact, some of it seemed to happen so fast that I had to go back and re-read things. There are sadly a lot of details missing, in my opinion...I mean that I believe that there should be more of a back story for the main characters, so that the reader can understand the book a bit more. This doesn't change the fact that I liked the book. I did.
There are a few foreign names and phrases which were a bit hard for me to not only pronounce, but also understand. This didn't bother me too much, but it might bother some people.
Other than that, the book was still pretty good. I would love to read the next one. Hopefully, the book will have more details and be a longer read.
I received a FREE copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
For a more detailed review on this book, feel free to visit my blog page:
http://bookwritingmomanddad.blogspot....
There is a lot of action going on in it. In fact, some of it seemed to happen so fast that I had to go back and re-read things. There are sadly a lot of details missing, in my opinion...I mean that I believe that there should be more of a back story for the main characters, so that the reader can understand the book a bit more. This doesn't change the fact that I liked the book. I did.
There are a few foreign names and phrases which were a bit hard for me to not only pronounce, but also understand. This didn't bother me too much, but it might bother some people.
Other than that, the book was still pretty good. I would love to read the next one. Hopefully, the book will have more details and be a longer read.
I received a FREE copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
For a more detailed review on this book, feel free to visit my blog page:
http://bookwritingmomanddad.blogspot....
November 30, 2014
I was given this book in exchange for and honest review.
Overall, I liked this book. I have been avoiding vampire novels lately, since its just being overdone. But this story intrigued me, with the idea that there are so many vampires now that it is just common knowledge that they exist, and seem to live among humans. I like that the female lead, Liana, can take care of and defend herself to some extent. She isn't weak and needy, like some female leads too often are. I like Max a lot, and wish there had been more of him.
But I feel like I didn't have enough information about anything! A little more back story for Liana would have been helpful. Its hard to care about a character that you don't know much about, and there are references to things that I assumed would be explained later that weren't. I just kept feeling the need to know more before continuing, like I was missing something. This may have been my only real issue. But it wasn't so bad that I wouldn't continue reading the series. I definitely plan to read the next one! Thanks for the opportunity to read and review!
Overall, I liked this book. I have been avoiding vampire novels lately, since its just being overdone. But this story intrigued me, with the idea that there are so many vampires now that it is just common knowledge that they exist, and seem to live among humans. I like that the female lead, Liana, can take care of and defend herself to some extent. She isn't weak and needy, like some female leads too often are. I like Max a lot, and wish there had been more of him.
But I feel like I didn't have enough information about anything! A little more back story for Liana would have been helpful. Its hard to care about a character that you don't know much about, and there are references to things that I assumed would be explained later that weren't. I just kept feeling the need to know more before continuing, like I was missing something. This may have been my only real issue. But it wasn't so bad that I wouldn't continue reading the series. I definitely plan to read the next one! Thanks for the opportunity to read and review!
December 18, 2013
Ioana Visan's novel The Impaler's Revenge is quite a twist on the vampire versus human saga. This is not your ordinary Vampire novel as the human's are killing vampires and have sectioned themselves and are ruled by a President and Little Council. Member's of this council and the citizens they protect rule under one law; kill all vampires that dare cross into their town. So why does the President invite an one thousand year old vampire to town?
Visan gives you a strong woman character, Liana, who surrounds herself with friends and coworkers that are looking out for the greater good of the town. Even when corrupt politician and bad vampires threaten their peaceful existence; Lilian and her crew remain vigilant.
The Impaler's Revenge gives the reader background on the struggle between right and wrong. This book sets the series up right and I cannot wait to read book #2.
Visan gives you a strong woman character, Liana, who surrounds herself with friends and coworkers that are looking out for the greater good of the town. Even when corrupt politician and bad vampires threaten their peaceful existence; Lilian and her crew remain vigilant.
The Impaler's Revenge gives the reader background on the struggle between right and wrong. This book sets the series up right and I cannot wait to read book #2.
January 12, 2014
This is one of the reasons I love Goodreads. I get to read books by authors that I might not have noticed before. I have read some fantastic books by postings by friends or just browsing the site. Ioana Visan is one of them. I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more of the series.
February 18, 2014
This was my first reading experience with this author. I’m glad the book was presented to me. Mostly because I am afraid I may never have gotten the chance to read it, if it had not. Ioana Visan’s take on vampires is a bit different from most and that’s a good thing.
Liana is a member of the White Council and couldn’t hate vampires more. When the president orders that she pick one, Maxamillian Hess aka “vampire”, up at the airport she is none too happy. Following orders is what she seems to do best, but she is going to make sure Max doesn’t hurt anyone. She wants to know what could be so important to allow a vampire to be brought into Romania. As the story unfolds you also get acquainted with Jesse, a doctor, who is interested in Liana.
Although I don’t feel the sizzle of romance between the characters, I can tell there is something brewing. This is the first book in “The Impaler Legacy Series” and has promise to what is in store for the next book. I can’t wait to see how the story unfolds for the characters.
Are you looking for a great read with Vampires without the crazy love triangles? Then this book is for you. It has a bit of action, a unique story, and characters you can get vested in. I’m really looking forward to the next installment.
Liana is a member of the White Council and couldn’t hate vampires more. When the president orders that she pick one, Maxamillian Hess aka “vampire”, up at the airport she is none too happy. Following orders is what she seems to do best, but she is going to make sure Max doesn’t hurt anyone. She wants to know what could be so important to allow a vampire to be brought into Romania. As the story unfolds you also get acquainted with Jesse, a doctor, who is interested in Liana.
Although I don’t feel the sizzle of romance between the characters, I can tell there is something brewing. This is the first book in “The Impaler Legacy Series” and has promise to what is in store for the next book. I can’t wait to see how the story unfolds for the characters.
Are you looking for a great read with Vampires without the crazy love triangles? Then this book is for you. It has a bit of action, a unique story, and characters you can get vested in. I’m really looking forward to the next installment.
December 8, 2013
I was graciously given this book, Impaler's Revenge by Ioana Visan, in exchange for an honest review via RI & R on Goodreads.
I'm a huge reader, I devour most any material I can. There are a few book series that left me saying "WTH?!?" This is one.
I was totally engrossed in this book, from the time I picked it up and finished (maybe 2 hours). The story line that started from the first page continued at a great pace, with a mastered skill of under current story lines, Ms. Visan threw some curveballs that I didn't see coming, which shocked the crap out of me. The biggest one was just before this novel ended, and it left me saying "WTH?!? You can't leave me hanging like that!!" I CANNOT wait until I can read Impaler's Revenge 1.5 & 2...argh!!
Well played Ms. Visan, well played indeed!!
September 5, 2013
I like me a little politics in my vampire stories, it seems :) I love Ioana's twist on vampire novels, making Romania the only vamp free country in the world. It's interesting to watch the political game, the hate between races, the reactions of the main character when everything she's ever considered to be her reality is challenged by facts she was unaware of. I saw some reviewers mentioning she was a little cold and hard to relate to, but I had a soft spot for her nonetheless. Someone in her position would automatically maintain a safe distance between herself and the rest of the world. Readers should at time feel that distance. Plus, her past perfectly explains her reaction.
Can't wait to see what happens in part II :)
Can't wait to see what happens in part II :)
December 27, 2013
**I received this book in exchange for an honest opinion. LoP, Lovers of Paranormal**
This novella is a good story that covers quite a bit of ground. I enjoyed to story line. The characters are good. I liked the lead, due to her wit. Well written. A good add to your tbr list.
This novella is a good story that covers quite a bit of ground. I enjoyed to story line. The characters are good. I liked the lead, due to her wit. Well written. A good add to your tbr list.
October 8, 2013
Dupa parcurgerea volumului de povestiri Blue Moon Cafe Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks asteptam cu interes urmatorul proiect al autoarei Ioana Visan, careia ii multumesc pentru sansa de a citi aceasta poveste. De data aceasta, este vorba de o serie de nuvele cu vampiri, insa departe de cliseele utilizate in literatura contemporana.
Mi-a placut enorm de mult modul in care autoarea si-a construit povestea! Incepand de la originea si modul de organizare al Consiliului, secretul surprinzator al persoanelor care il formeaza – membrii ai familiilor nobile stravechi, existenta Pandurilor – luptatori antrenati sa protejeze tara de vampiri si pana la stilul de viata al protagonistei, stil ce imbina luxul, puterea si exclusivismul cu activitati banale, precum sedintele referitoare la aspectul orasului, totul se combina intr-un mod interesant si foarte original. In unele momente, nuvela mi-a adus in minte atat cateva legende din perioada de dinainte de anii ’90, cat si unele profetii care se vehiculeaza in ultimii ani cu privire la Romania viitorului. Amestecul de fantastic si normal se realizeaza armonios, povestea avand indeajuns de multe aspecte de zi cu zi incat sa nu te gandesti in nici un moment ca vreun fir pare fortat sau lipsit de veridicitate, in ciuda existentei vampirilor si a unor secrete total neobisnuite. Iar nuantele inspirate din istorie aduc un plus de farmec intregii povestii.
Ceea ce nu m-a incantat foarte mult a fost faptul ca personajele raman cumva la distanta, nu ajungi sa le cunosti indeajuns, sa le patrunzi in minte, sa te simti atasat de ele. In ciuda faptului ca de multe ori gandurile protagonistei sunt destul de directe, lipseste totusi apropierea dintre cititor si personaj. Am fost surprinsa de aspectul acesta, intrucat in celalalt volum al autoarei, Blue Moon Cafe Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks, au existat cateva personaje pe care le-am simpatizat din primul moment si care au devenit tot mai interesante pe masura ce am inaintat in poveste. Totusi, am apreciat relatia protagonistei cu prietenii ei, Rodica si Stefan. In ciuda faptului ca nu sunt foarte multe scene in care sa fie evident cat de stransa este relatia acestora, autoarea reuseste sa iti transmita aproape fara sa iti dai seama cat de mult inseamna prietenia lor.
Un alt aspect care m-a surprins in mod placut este modul in care eroina il percepe pe vampirul Maximilien Hess. Liana a fost invatata de cand s-a nascut ca vampirii sunt creaturi destul de rele, ce nu trebuie sa paseasca pe teritoriul tarii. A reusit sa treaca de acele idei preconcepute – la un moment dat se povesteste chiar o intamplare din Londra ce implica o relatie de amicitie cu unii vampiri – si il trateaza indeajuns de politicos, iar mai apoi chiar familiar pe Max. Se simte o anumita chimie intre ei, fara a fi insa exagerata. Totusi, am fost uimita sa descopar ca in ciuda acestei familiarizari si a unor indicii care sugereaza vag la un moment dat posibilitatea a ceva mai mult, Liana isi pastreaza intacte impresiile despre vampiri. Da, unii dintre ei sunt in regula, insa protagonista este foarte constienta de diferentele dintre ei si oameni si de barierele care despart cele doua categorii. Oricat de mult s-ar acomoda cu prezenta unui vampir, Liana nu ar avea nici cea mai mica ezitare sa il ucida daca acesta ar face vreun pas gresit.
Sunt putin nelamurita cu privire la cadrul temporal in care are loc actiunea si la modul in care functioneaza societatea din lumea prezentata in aceasta poveste. Nu am inteles daca evenimentele se petrec intr-un viitor ipotetic in care existenta vampirilor este cunoscuta de toata lumea sau daca intamplarile au loc in prezent, iar vampirii, Micul Consiliu si Pandurii sunt un secret pentru majoritatea oamenilor, actionand din umbra si fiind asadar o taina impartasita numai de cateva persoane. Desi inclin sa cred prima varianta, mi s-a parut ca exista indicii pentru ambele, asa ca mi-as fi dorit sa descopar cateva detalii care sa imi clarifice acest aspect.
Bile albe:
- O abordare originala a povestilor cu vampiri si combinatii interesante formate din legende din trecut, ipoteze si preziceri din viitor si probleme din prezentul cotidian.
Bile negre:
- Portretele parca prea vagi ale protagonistilor. Tinand cont de faptul ca numarul de pagini al acestui prim volum nu este foarte ridicat si mai ales ca e vorba despre o serie, este posibil ca personajele sa fie „finisate” in cartile urmatoare, insa mi-ar fi placut sa am o imagine mai complexa a acestora inca de la inceput.
Mi-a placut enorm de mult modul in care autoarea si-a construit povestea! Incepand de la originea si modul de organizare al Consiliului, secretul surprinzator al persoanelor care il formeaza – membrii ai familiilor nobile stravechi, existenta Pandurilor – luptatori antrenati sa protejeze tara de vampiri si pana la stilul de viata al protagonistei, stil ce imbina luxul, puterea si exclusivismul cu activitati banale, precum sedintele referitoare la aspectul orasului, totul se combina intr-un mod interesant si foarte original. In unele momente, nuvela mi-a adus in minte atat cateva legende din perioada de dinainte de anii ’90, cat si unele profetii care se vehiculeaza in ultimii ani cu privire la Romania viitorului. Amestecul de fantastic si normal se realizeaza armonios, povestea avand indeajuns de multe aspecte de zi cu zi incat sa nu te gandesti in nici un moment ca vreun fir pare fortat sau lipsit de veridicitate, in ciuda existentei vampirilor si a unor secrete total neobisnuite. Iar nuantele inspirate din istorie aduc un plus de farmec intregii povestii.
Ceea ce nu m-a incantat foarte mult a fost faptul ca personajele raman cumva la distanta, nu ajungi sa le cunosti indeajuns, sa le patrunzi in minte, sa te simti atasat de ele. In ciuda faptului ca de multe ori gandurile protagonistei sunt destul de directe, lipseste totusi apropierea dintre cititor si personaj. Am fost surprinsa de aspectul acesta, intrucat in celalalt volum al autoarei, Blue Moon Cafe Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks, au existat cateva personaje pe care le-am simpatizat din primul moment si care au devenit tot mai interesante pe masura ce am inaintat in poveste. Totusi, am apreciat relatia protagonistei cu prietenii ei, Rodica si Stefan. In ciuda faptului ca nu sunt foarte multe scene in care sa fie evident cat de stransa este relatia acestora, autoarea reuseste sa iti transmita aproape fara sa iti dai seama cat de mult inseamna prietenia lor.
Un alt aspect care m-a surprins in mod placut este modul in care eroina il percepe pe vampirul Maximilien Hess. Liana a fost invatata de cand s-a nascut ca vampirii sunt creaturi destul de rele, ce nu trebuie sa paseasca pe teritoriul tarii. A reusit sa treaca de acele idei preconcepute – la un moment dat se povesteste chiar o intamplare din Londra ce implica o relatie de amicitie cu unii vampiri – si il trateaza indeajuns de politicos, iar mai apoi chiar familiar pe Max. Se simte o anumita chimie intre ei, fara a fi insa exagerata. Totusi, am fost uimita sa descopar ca in ciuda acestei familiarizari si a unor indicii care sugereaza vag la un moment dat posibilitatea a ceva mai mult, Liana isi pastreaza intacte impresiile despre vampiri. Da, unii dintre ei sunt in regula, insa protagonista este foarte constienta de diferentele dintre ei si oameni si de barierele care despart cele doua categorii. Oricat de mult s-ar acomoda cu prezenta unui vampir, Liana nu ar avea nici cea mai mica ezitare sa il ucida daca acesta ar face vreun pas gresit.
Sunt putin nelamurita cu privire la cadrul temporal in care are loc actiunea si la modul in care functioneaza societatea din lumea prezentata in aceasta poveste. Nu am inteles daca evenimentele se petrec intr-un viitor ipotetic in care existenta vampirilor este cunoscuta de toata lumea sau daca intamplarile au loc in prezent, iar vampirii, Micul Consiliu si Pandurii sunt un secret pentru majoritatea oamenilor, actionand din umbra si fiind asadar o taina impartasita numai de cateva persoane. Desi inclin sa cred prima varianta, mi s-a parut ca exista indicii pentru ambele, asa ca mi-as fi dorit sa descopar cateva detalii care sa imi clarifice acest aspect.
Bile albe:
- O abordare originala a povestilor cu vampiri si combinatii interesante formate din legende din trecut, ipoteze si preziceri din viitor si probleme din prezentul cotidian.
Bile negre:
- Portretele parca prea vagi ale protagonistilor. Tinand cont de faptul ca numarul de pagini al acestui prim volum nu este foarte ridicat si mai ales ca e vorba despre o serie, este posibil ca personajele sa fie „finisate” in cartile urmatoare, insa mi-ar fi placut sa am o imagine mai complexa a acestora inca de la inceput.
December 15, 2013
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
The Impaler’s Revenge is a little bit different from much of what I have been reading lately. When I say “different”, I mean that in a good way. It has no romance, well, maybe a teensy bit, which I am totally cool with. This is more of a political thriller with vampires I think.
There are secrets and tons of questions that the reader gets to try to figure out. The reader is given a glimpse into the political life and relationships within the walls of a vampire free country, where the policy on vampires is, shoot first, ask questions later. Romania, ironically enough, is the only vampire free country in the world. It’s been that way for five hundred years thanks to strict border laws and the large numbers of trained soldiers that would have no problem killing a vampire on sight.
Liana Cantacuzino is a member of the “Little Council” who inherited her position, as has been done since the council was founded by select noble families in order to keep the vampire population under control. Liana takes her position very seriously and keeps most people she interacts with at arm’s length. She obviously has intimacy issues. She is something of a complicated woman who has a trauma in her past that still affects her and her personality.
Liana is given the task of insuring the safety of Maximilien Hess,, a thousand year old Vampire whose presence has been requested by the President of Romania. It is a no questions asked type of situation and Maximilien won’t reveal his secrets as to why he is in Romania. Max (which is NOT his preferred nickname!) is kept under constant surveillance and tight security to make sure he not only behaves, but also that no one kills him on sight. What is the President hiding from the council? The truth can endanger the entire country.
I enjoyed this book. It had an interesting storyline, and realistic characters. I think my favorite character in this story was actually Maximilien. He had a sense of humor despite the fact that the people he was dealing with had an obvious dislike and distrust for him. I think there is a lot more to this character that Visan’s readers would like to learn about. I think he probably has a cool history that would make a great story.
The storyline itself was a good idea. I enjoyed the aspect of trying to figure out what Max and the President were hiding. I didn’t figure it out until the end, which is cool. I did feel like I would have liked to have more of the story a little bit sooner than it was presented. It seemed like the first ¾ of the book was just the characters hanging out and we weren’t given an idea that there was something nefarious was afoot until later. For all we knew, Max was there to help the President pick out some new suits or something (everyone knows Vampires have impeccable taste). All of the best action really didn’t start until that last bit of the book.
I would have liked more back story on Liana as well as Max. They were both very interesting characters to me, and I was just itching to find out more about them and why they were who they were.
The Impaler’s Revenge is the first novella in The Impaler Legacy Series. I look forward to reading the rest of this series. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a more “grown up” type of Vampire book. Anyone who enjoys a good book with political twist and the added benefit of having Vampires involved would enjoy this book. It’s a solid 4 stars in my opinion.
The Impaler’s Revenge is a little bit different from much of what I have been reading lately. When I say “different”, I mean that in a good way. It has no romance, well, maybe a teensy bit, which I am totally cool with. This is more of a political thriller with vampires I think.
There are secrets and tons of questions that the reader gets to try to figure out. The reader is given a glimpse into the political life and relationships within the walls of a vampire free country, where the policy on vampires is, shoot first, ask questions later. Romania, ironically enough, is the only vampire free country in the world. It’s been that way for five hundred years thanks to strict border laws and the large numbers of trained soldiers that would have no problem killing a vampire on sight.
Liana Cantacuzino is a member of the “Little Council” who inherited her position, as has been done since the council was founded by select noble families in order to keep the vampire population under control. Liana takes her position very seriously and keeps most people she interacts with at arm’s length. She obviously has intimacy issues. She is something of a complicated woman who has a trauma in her past that still affects her and her personality.
Liana is given the task of insuring the safety of Maximilien Hess,, a thousand year old Vampire whose presence has been requested by the President of Romania. It is a no questions asked type of situation and Maximilien won’t reveal his secrets as to why he is in Romania. Max (which is NOT his preferred nickname!) is kept under constant surveillance and tight security to make sure he not only behaves, but also that no one kills him on sight. What is the President hiding from the council? The truth can endanger the entire country.
I enjoyed this book. It had an interesting storyline, and realistic characters. I think my favorite character in this story was actually Maximilien. He had a sense of humor despite the fact that the people he was dealing with had an obvious dislike and distrust for him. I think there is a lot more to this character that Visan’s readers would like to learn about. I think he probably has a cool history that would make a great story.
The storyline itself was a good idea. I enjoyed the aspect of trying to figure out what Max and the President were hiding. I didn’t figure it out until the end, which is cool. I did feel like I would have liked to have more of the story a little bit sooner than it was presented. It seemed like the first ¾ of the book was just the characters hanging out and we weren’t given an idea that there was something nefarious was afoot until later. For all we knew, Max was there to help the President pick out some new suits or something (everyone knows Vampires have impeccable taste). All of the best action really didn’t start until that last bit of the book.
I would have liked more back story on Liana as well as Max. They were both very interesting characters to me, and I was just itching to find out more about them and why they were who they were.
The Impaler’s Revenge is the first novella in The Impaler Legacy Series. I look forward to reading the rest of this series. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a more “grown up” type of Vampire book. Anyone who enjoys a good book with political twist and the added benefit of having Vampires involved would enjoy this book. It’s a solid 4 stars in my opinion.
April 26, 2013
What do you do if you are a person that fights against vampires, but then are ordered by the President to let one into the country and protect him? This is what Liana has to face in this paranormal adventure. She is part of the Little Council, a group made through their lineage to make sure vampires don't invade their country. Maximilien Hess is an ancient vampire, who Liana is now expected to work with and protect because the President said so. What is his plan that he needs a vampire? How can anyone trust a vampire when they are known just to be blood thirsty killers? Liana is determined to find out what is going on, no matter what it takes to do so. To do that though, she will need to face danger from her past as well as present.
I really enjoyed this book, cover to cover. I read it in two afternoons and can't wait to read on in this series. It is a great mix of action, a bit of mystery, and some underlying romance too all wrapped up in a paranormal package. The plot was very interesting and kept moving right along all throughout the book, making me more than willing to keep reading on to see what happened. Sometimes I find that first books in a series can be a bit bland and then end with huge cliff hangers to make you want to read on, but Visan did a great job making this first book entertaining from the get go. Yes it has an ending too, but one that you can see continuing on too, in the following books. Visan gives and ending that is conclusive to this book, to a point, but is also wide open enough to make you eager to read on in the series. The characters in this book are unforgettable! They each have their own personalities, lives, and pasts that make this book what it is. I like how you are given information about them all to make them more developed, but at the same time there is an air of mystery to them all too, something that tells you as a reader that there is more to them that you will learn as you read on in the book and in the series. There are some parts that made me wonder what they heck the characters were talking about, but as I read on it all started to be played out for me. I think that was the only "gripe" I had about the book. Some parts made me feel like there was another book before this I missed, even though I knew this was the first one. I kind of just hoped it would all play out at some point, which it did, but at first it left me a tad bit confused or wondering. Otherwise, this was a great read for me and the start of a great new series that I look forward to reading more of some day.
4/5 Stars!
Received free via author for honest review.
I really enjoyed this book, cover to cover. I read it in two afternoons and can't wait to read on in this series. It is a great mix of action, a bit of mystery, and some underlying romance too all wrapped up in a paranormal package. The plot was very interesting and kept moving right along all throughout the book, making me more than willing to keep reading on to see what happened. Sometimes I find that first books in a series can be a bit bland and then end with huge cliff hangers to make you want to read on, but Visan did a great job making this first book entertaining from the get go. Yes it has an ending too, but one that you can see continuing on too, in the following books. Visan gives and ending that is conclusive to this book, to a point, but is also wide open enough to make you eager to read on in the series. The characters in this book are unforgettable! They each have their own personalities, lives, and pasts that make this book what it is. I like how you are given information about them all to make them more developed, but at the same time there is an air of mystery to them all too, something that tells you as a reader that there is more to them that you will learn as you read on in the book and in the series. There are some parts that made me wonder what they heck the characters were talking about, but as I read on it all started to be played out for me. I think that was the only "gripe" I had about the book. Some parts made me feel like there was another book before this I missed, even though I knew this was the first one. I kind of just hoped it would all play out at some point, which it did, but at first it left me a tad bit confused or wondering. Otherwise, this was a great read for me and the start of a great new series that I look forward to reading more of some day.
4/5 Stars!
Received free via author for honest review.
October 26, 2013
A vampire saga like no other seems to be a real good description for this first installment of the Impaler Legacy. This is not just your average vampire story as so many have sprouted up the past time.
Through main character Liana, Ioana takes you by the hand and introduces you to the world her story is taking place, as well as the characters who are involved. This format luckily does not allow a lot of exposition, because you learn through the course of the current happenings how things came about and what the motives for the main players are.
From the president of Romania, Liana, an important member of the "little council" gets the assignment to pick up vampire Maximilien Hess and escort him into her country. This is a rarity, as vampires are not allowed to enter Romania, thus making it the only "vampire-free" country of the world (which is quite ironic, considering the origins of the Dracula stories) and guard him while there.
Liana does not know what the reason was for this strange assignment, but nevertheless carries out her orders, even tho begrudgedly. Which puts her in the position of having to arrange blood for him with the help of Dr. Jesse Carter - who provides a look into the outside world which does includedealing with vampires - and having to entertain him because he gets bored.
You can tell she doesn't like it at all, and through her interactions with her friends and how they react you learn slowly more and why. In her dealings with Maximilien, you learn the history of the countries history and how the politics work.
It takes almost the entire novel for her to figure out why he was brought into the country, and since that is the main point of this first installment I will not divulge on this, but to say that it makes you really want to know how the story continues.
So be prepared when you start on this one, to have the second one ready, or accessible at least, I actually got out of bed in the middle of the night to download it.
Just as a sidenote, you do not have to like vampires to read this novel - but you don't have to hate them either. So just disregard the current hype and read this because it is a well written story, not because it contains vampires!
Through main character Liana, Ioana takes you by the hand and introduces you to the world her story is taking place, as well as the characters who are involved. This format luckily does not allow a lot of exposition, because you learn through the course of the current happenings how things came about and what the motives for the main players are.
From the president of Romania, Liana, an important member of the "little council" gets the assignment to pick up vampire Maximilien Hess and escort him into her country. This is a rarity, as vampires are not allowed to enter Romania, thus making it the only "vampire-free" country of the world (which is quite ironic, considering the origins of the Dracula stories) and guard him while there.
Liana does not know what the reason was for this strange assignment, but nevertheless carries out her orders, even tho begrudgedly. Which puts her in the position of having to arrange blood for him with the help of Dr. Jesse Carter - who provides a look into the outside world which does includedealing with vampires - and having to entertain him because he gets bored.
You can tell she doesn't like it at all, and through her interactions with her friends and how they react you learn slowly more and why. In her dealings with Maximilien, you learn the history of the countries history and how the politics work.
It takes almost the entire novel for her to figure out why he was brought into the country, and since that is the main point of this first installment I will not divulge on this, but to say that it makes you really want to know how the story continues.
So be prepared when you start on this one, to have the second one ready, or accessible at least, I actually got out of bed in the middle of the night to download it.
Just as a sidenote, you do not have to like vampires to read this novel - but you don't have to hate them either. So just disregard the current hype and read this because it is a well written story, not because it contains vampires!
May 10, 2013
After reading “Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks” I knew that I won’t be disappointed by Ioana Visan’s new novella, “The Impaler’s Revenge”. The story is interesting and very different from what I was expecting when I first heard about it. The heroine, Liana Cantacuzino, is a tough, capable and intelligent woman, who can handle herself even in the presence of a powerful creature such as a vampire. She is open-minded and despite her own beliefs she can make necessary decisions so that her country can be saved from the coming danger. I would have liked to know more about her feelings and fears, but I’m sure I will find more about that in the next parts.
Our dear vampire, Maximilien Hess, was charming and quite funny sometimes, so except for his craving for blood he might have been a great guest and friend. The relationship between him and Liana was exciting to follow. I knew that Liana hated vampires because of her roots, but she can compromise that in behalf of everyone’s safety. This makes her a great character and someone we can understand and be friends with.
We also have Dr. Jesse Carter, who seems to be accustomed with vampires and helps Liana to find blood for Max. They share the antipathy for the bloodsuckers, so they easily connect. He is exactly what Liana needs when everything changes, someone to take care and support her. I can't wait to read more about them.
I’m very proud of the author, because she wrote this story about vampires in such a personal manner. It was the time for a Romanian to tell our side of the story, because after all the myth about vampires is part of our culture and history and not many know about that. So I’m really glad she did it.
What I also enjoyed were the similarities between Romania nowadays and the country I read about in “The Impaler’s Revenge”, which is awesome. The resembling is great and it gives an air of veracity, including the fantasy side. I would gladly live into a universe where we are the tough guys. Finally! :D
In the end, I want to say that I can’t wait for sequel and anything written by Ioana. If you haven't read this book yet, you should. You won't be disappointed.
Our dear vampire, Maximilien Hess, was charming and quite funny sometimes, so except for his craving for blood he might have been a great guest and friend. The relationship between him and Liana was exciting to follow. I knew that Liana hated vampires because of her roots, but she can compromise that in behalf of everyone’s safety. This makes her a great character and someone we can understand and be friends with.
We also have Dr. Jesse Carter, who seems to be accustomed with vampires and helps Liana to find blood for Max. They share the antipathy for the bloodsuckers, so they easily connect. He is exactly what Liana needs when everything changes, someone to take care and support her. I can't wait to read more about them.
I’m very proud of the author, because she wrote this story about vampires in such a personal manner. It was the time for a Romanian to tell our side of the story, because after all the myth about vampires is part of our culture and history and not many know about that. So I’m really glad she did it.
What I also enjoyed were the similarities between Romania nowadays and the country I read about in “The Impaler’s Revenge”, which is awesome. The resembling is great and it gives an air of veracity, including the fantasy side. I would gladly live into a universe where we are the tough guys. Finally! :D
In the end, I want to say that I can’t wait for sequel and anything written by Ioana. If you haven't read this book yet, you should. You won't be disappointed.
June 9, 2013
Well,this book was really good.Short,but good.
Romania.Vampires.This is not something new,but i have to admit that i'm glad that even if the book is not that long i liked the subject.
Honestly,the idea of vampires not being allowed in Romania is what made everything interesting.Because when something isn't allowed ,that's what really happens.And in this case that's what happened.
Liana Cantacuzino was the one whom the president Stanescu choose to meet the vampire Hess.She had to protect him all the time.To do exactly what she hated the most-to be his guide and do whatever she could to keep him safe and hidden.
She wasn't the kind of woman who was easy or weak.She was the kind of woman who knew how the handle everything,how to deal with a vampire.But not everything was easy as she thought.Maybe Hess wasn't the problem,but the rest?Maybe just a little.
Between trying to handle everything with Hess and dealing with Little Council,Liana never expected things to get too complicated,but they did.And that was exactly after she met the doctor Jesse Carver.
Between Jesse and Hess,Jesse was my favorite.And not because he was human,because he was the one who made me think twice about everything.I'm not sure why.
The story-how everything started,how Liana met Hess and what happened from there was a little crazy.But in my opinion it was good and that's what i liked.The fact that there weren't too many characters involved or that the situation didn't got out of control-at least that was until almost the end of the book.And Yikes!What happened there?How?WHy?Now i really don't know what to think,but i sure want to read the next book.
I liked Liana's friends-Stefan and Rodica.They were fun and i liked them,but i have to admit that they were a little strange.
The end of the book-the last chapter was my favorite.Jesse and Liana did exactly what i didn't expect but i admit that i thought that it was the best thing.Jesse and Liana?Perfect together.I liked Jesse from the beginning,so i'm glad that nothing bad happened to him.
This was the first book written by Ioana that i read and i'm glad.I liked the way she wrote everything and i liked the subject.
Romania.Vampires.This is not something new,but i have to admit that i'm glad that even if the book is not that long i liked the subject.
Honestly,the idea of vampires not being allowed in Romania is what made everything interesting.Because when something isn't allowed ,that's what really happens.And in this case that's what happened.
Liana Cantacuzino was the one whom the president Stanescu choose to meet the vampire Hess.She had to protect him all the time.To do exactly what she hated the most-to be his guide and do whatever she could to keep him safe and hidden.
She wasn't the kind of woman who was easy or weak.She was the kind of woman who knew how the handle everything,how to deal with a vampire.But not everything was easy as she thought.Maybe Hess wasn't the problem,but the rest?Maybe just a little.
Between trying to handle everything with Hess and dealing with Little Council,Liana never expected things to get too complicated,but they did.And that was exactly after she met the doctor Jesse Carver.
Between Jesse and Hess,Jesse was my favorite.And not because he was human,because he was the one who made me think twice about everything.I'm not sure why.
The story-how everything started,how Liana met Hess and what happened from there was a little crazy.But in my opinion it was good and that's what i liked.The fact that there weren't too many characters involved or that the situation didn't got out of control-at least that was until almost the end of the book.And Yikes!What happened there?How?WHy?Now i really don't know what to think,but i sure want to read the next book.
I liked Liana's friends-Stefan and Rodica.They were fun and i liked them,but i have to admit that they were a little strange.
The end of the book-the last chapter was my favorite.Jesse and Liana did exactly what i didn't expect but i admit that i thought that it was the best thing.Jesse and Liana?Perfect together.I liked Jesse from the beginning,so i'm glad that nothing bad happened to him.
This was the first book written by Ioana that i read and i'm glad.I liked the way she wrote everything and i liked the subject.
May 7, 2013
This isn't like any vampire book I have read in a long time. Its kinda nice to see someone write a book that doesn't have everyone swooning over a vampire. But I do have to say I didn't exactly like the book to much either. There just seemed to be a lot of things going on that seemed a little on the pointless side, where I would have liked to learn more about Liana and the Little Council you got more about little tasks she was doing while keeping taps on Max. It just felt a little impersonal to me and by the time I did learn a little more about her I just didn't care, mainly because the book was almost over and I felt that I went through the entire book looking from the outside in.
I didn't feel any real connection to anyone in the book. The friendships Liana has didn't feel real to me, this could be because she didn't really interact with them other then when she was doing work or calling in favors and Jesse just seemed to be added into the mix to have a little romance going on the side lines. The only "person" I found I liked in the book was Max, and that is because I liked the way he just didn't seem to care about everything that was going on and had his own things that he was doing, and I liked the way he pushed Liana's buttons and made lighthearted banter most of the time.
The ending of the book seemed really rushed to me, I honestly didn't really understand how she was managing to pull things off the way she was. We found out a lot of information about what was really going on but at the same time where loaded down with her own personal feelings. I just wish I could have learned all of that stuff before everything started to go down, and I really would have liked to know what was so special about her blood.
Would I recommend this book? Not really, it was a quick read and I like the different view on vampires but I'm not interested in learning anything more about anyone and whats exactly was going on.
**Disclaimer; I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a honest review.**
I didn't feel any real connection to anyone in the book. The friendships Liana has didn't feel real to me, this could be because she didn't really interact with them other then when she was doing work or calling in favors and Jesse just seemed to be added into the mix to have a little romance going on the side lines. The only "person" I found I liked in the book was Max, and that is because I liked the way he just didn't seem to care about everything that was going on and had his own things that he was doing, and I liked the way he pushed Liana's buttons and made lighthearted banter most of the time.
The ending of the book seemed really rushed to me, I honestly didn't really understand how she was managing to pull things off the way she was. We found out a lot of information about what was really going on but at the same time where loaded down with her own personal feelings. I just wish I could have learned all of that stuff before everything started to go down, and I really would have liked to know what was so special about her blood.
Would I recommend this book? Not really, it was a quick read and I like the different view on vampires but I'm not interested in learning anything more about anyone and whats exactly was going on.
**Disclaimer; I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a honest review.**
November 29, 2013
I was lucky enough to win this from the author Ioana Visan on LibraryThing.com. This novel was a different take on the vampire popularity in today's books. I was left with a lot of questions and think it needs some work but, I really enjoyed it. I was a bit heartbroken when I found out there are more books and had to stop reading, for it was really starting to get interesting.
Instead of vampires being widely accepted, they are banned from Romania and is the safest place left for humans to live. That is until Maximilien Hess must enter Romania on a secret mission being protected by Liana Cantacuzino. We all know this is not going to go as smoothly as planned.
Max is a thousand year old vampire. We don't know too much about him other than his strength and speed. I feel there was a lack of information about the vampires. In most books there is reading thoughts or hypnotizing things like this that vampires can do. What others abilities or benefits are there to being a vampire? Also for Max being a thousand years old, he did not come across as one so old. Why would he not know any history about what vampires went through when caught by the Little Council?
Liana tries to be a tough girl. Yes she throws up her guard and we don't learn anything about her "PTSD" until the end of the book. That information should have been brought out a bit earlier I think. She needs some type of personality. Jessie had it right when he said she has nothing perminent, no true friends or a real relationship. I think she needs some work.
Jessie is the hot doctor to Liana's rescue and she is too blind to see it. His character is the only one that does not need a touch up. He's Hot, an MD, and his attitude towards Max and the situation changes during the duration of the mission. You see the sensitive side in him and how tender he is with Liana. He is also very straight forward.
I really did like the concept of the book. Does it need some work, yes. Am I going to continue the series, of course! I really glad I won this novel.
Instead of vampires being widely accepted, they are banned from Romania and is the safest place left for humans to live. That is until Maximilien Hess must enter Romania on a secret mission being protected by Liana Cantacuzino. We all know this is not going to go as smoothly as planned.
Max is a thousand year old vampire. We don't know too much about him other than his strength and speed. I feel there was a lack of information about the vampires. In most books there is reading thoughts or hypnotizing things like this that vampires can do. What others abilities or benefits are there to being a vampire? Also for Max being a thousand years old, he did not come across as one so old. Why would he not know any history about what vampires went through when caught by the Little Council?
Liana tries to be a tough girl. Yes she throws up her guard and we don't learn anything about her "PTSD" until the end of the book. That information should have been brought out a bit earlier I think. She needs some type of personality. Jessie had it right when he said she has nothing perminent, no true friends or a real relationship. I think she needs some work.
Jessie is the hot doctor to Liana's rescue and she is too blind to see it. His character is the only one that does not need a touch up. He's Hot, an MD, and his attitude towards Max and the situation changes during the duration of the mission. You see the sensitive side in him and how tender he is with Liana. He is also very straight forward.
I really did like the concept of the book. Does it need some work, yes. Am I going to continue the series, of course! I really glad I won this novel.
December 7, 2013
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Liana Cantacuzino is a member of the Little Council in Romania, a descendent of one of the old noble families. This book takes place in a time when vampires and humans live together throughout the world. However, Romania has managed to exile all vampires. Until Liana is given the task of escorting Maximilien Hess, a thousand year old vampire, into Romania on secret business with the President. Liana has no idea why the President allowed Max into the country, and she is greatly disturbed by this change. She is required to protect and provide for Max. While obtaining blood for Max from the local hospital she meets Dr. Jesse Carver, a cardiologist whose sister was murdered by vampires. Jesse observes odd happenings at the hospital he practices at and brings these happening to Liana’s attention. Suddenly, Romania doesn’t seem as closed off from vampires as it should be.
I loved this book. I loved the new world created in this book. I found the storyline to be unique. I’ve never read a vampire novel like this. I enjoyed all the characters. Max made me laugh when he would call Liana with his “I’m bored.”, he was like a little boy. I was frustrated with her friends and fellow Little Council members, Rodica Ghica and Stefan Sturdza, because they didn’t seem to be very helpful to Liana. They pretty much left her to deal with Max on her own. Jesse seemed more helpful then they did. This book was very well written, the storyline flowed and it was easy to read. Anyone that enjoys vampire stories will love The Impaler’s Revenge. I can’t wait to read more.
5-stars
Reviewed by Tracy
Liana Cantacuzino is a member of the Little Council in Romania, a descendent of one of the old noble families. This book takes place in a time when vampires and humans live together throughout the world. However, Romania has managed to exile all vampires. Until Liana is given the task of escorting Maximilien Hess, a thousand year old vampire, into Romania on secret business with the President. Liana has no idea why the President allowed Max into the country, and she is greatly disturbed by this change. She is required to protect and provide for Max. While obtaining blood for Max from the local hospital she meets Dr. Jesse Carver, a cardiologist whose sister was murdered by vampires. Jesse observes odd happenings at the hospital he practices at and brings these happening to Liana’s attention. Suddenly, Romania doesn’t seem as closed off from vampires as it should be.
I loved this book. I loved the new world created in this book. I found the storyline to be unique. I’ve never read a vampire novel like this. I enjoyed all the characters. Max made me laugh when he would call Liana with his “I’m bored.”, he was like a little boy. I was frustrated with her friends and fellow Little Council members, Rodica Ghica and Stefan Sturdza, because they didn’t seem to be very helpful to Liana. They pretty much left her to deal with Max on her own. Jesse seemed more helpful then they did. This book was very well written, the storyline flowed and it was easy to read. Anyone that enjoys vampire stories will love The Impaler’s Revenge. I can’t wait to read more.
5-stars
Reviewed by Tracy
August 13, 2016
In this story, vampires are a known part of society, “living” amongst humans and going about their own business everywhere except … Romania (Points for the setting!) which closed their borders to the undead over five centuries previously. However, the country’s elected President has ordered a secret (and highly treasonous) operation allowing one 1,000 year old vampire, Maximilien Hess, into Bucharest. The operation is secret even to the vampire’s minder, Liana Cantacuzino, and her cadre of pandurs (trained vampire killers.) Liana is a descendant of one of the oldest noble families and is a member of the Little Council – the power behind the president. Liana and her pandurs have been trained from birth to despise and eradicate vampires from their country. She obeys the order but is not happy about it. The Impaler’s Revenge is the debut of her story told in the series, The Impaler Legacy, and it is a good one.
Back stories slowly and naturally unfold to fill in the details of the characters’ lives. I thought the plot was a fresh take on the “vampires among us” theme, interesting and entertaining. The author brings out a different telling of the history of Vlad Tepes. I found myself liking the main characters and at the conclusion of this story I wanted to know more about them and what was going to happen to them. This sent me looking for the next installment in the series: Sweet Seduction (The Impaler Legacy #1.5). Then, too, is the great setting – Romania – and from an author that is familiar with the location.
My only hope is that the stories are some day combined into one longer novel. I would so read it all again.
Back stories slowly and naturally unfold to fill in the details of the characters’ lives. I thought the plot was a fresh take on the “vampires among us” theme, interesting and entertaining. The author brings out a different telling of the history of Vlad Tepes. I found myself liking the main characters and at the conclusion of this story I wanted to know more about them and what was going to happen to them. This sent me looking for the next installment in the series: Sweet Seduction (The Impaler Legacy #1.5). Then, too, is the great setting – Romania – and from an author that is familiar with the location.
My only hope is that the stories are some day combined into one longer novel. I would so read it all again.
June 1, 2013
It is illegal for vampires to be in Romania so when President Stanescu asks Liana Cantacuzino to meet one and bring him to Romania she is less than hospitable to him. She does not know why he is coming to Romania. She does what she must to protect him but does not like it. When it is discovered there is a new, stronger vampire being developed she finally finds out why Maximilien Hess was brought to Romania in Ioana Visan’s The Impaler’s Revenge, book 1 of The Impaler’s Legacy.
Ioana Visan builds a world of vampires living amongst humans, except in Romania. She gives us the information about her world on a need to know basis. As Liana gives the history of the Little Council and vampires in Romania to Maximilien we learn along with him. I also learned why Liana has the feelings she does. This is good world building. I know enough to understand this world but I have not gone through big, long explanations.
I like Liana. She is not haughty nor is she a kick-ass broad. She is somewhere in between and that makes her likable. She is also aware of the power and prestige of her position on the Little Council. She can do much. I also liked Maximilien (do not call him Max.) He knows what is at stake but will not tell Liana until he realizes that they do not have much time if they are to avert a world-wide crisis. When they team up, it gets interesting. That is also where book 1 ended. I am anxious to see what happens next. I know what I want to see happen but I do not know if it will.
Ioana Visan builds a world of vampires living amongst humans, except in Romania. She gives us the information about her world on a need to know basis. As Liana gives the history of the Little Council and vampires in Romania to Maximilien we learn along with him. I also learned why Liana has the feelings she does. This is good world building. I know enough to understand this world but I have not gone through big, long explanations.
I like Liana. She is not haughty nor is she a kick-ass broad. She is somewhere in between and that makes her likable. She is also aware of the power and prestige of her position on the Little Council. She can do much. I also liked Maximilien (do not call him Max.) He knows what is at stake but will not tell Liana until he realizes that they do not have much time if they are to avert a world-wide crisis. When they team up, it gets interesting. That is also where book 1 ended. I am anxious to see what happens next. I know what I want to see happen but I do not know if it will.
September 26, 2013
I got this book from the author, free of cost, in exchange of an honest review from my side.
Firstly I would like to thank Ioana Visan, author of The Impaler's Revenge, for giving me this opportunity of reading and reviewing this book.
This book takes you into a world which is populated by vampires as well as humans alike but Romania is safe because it is restricted area for the vamps. We have the White council of which our heroine Liana is a member and she as like any other humans cannot tolerate the vamps though she has been given a task to watch Hess, a vampire who has been brought into Romania.
I liked the book a lot though I didn't feel it to be complete in many sense like the story line is unique and it has potential but somewhere it felt like the author didn't utilize it totally. The characters felt halfheartedly portrayed and could been more flourished, the development in them through out the story is quite negligible. Among the other characters I felt Hess's character to be overwhelmingly great and the author did a great job to introduce him to the readers.
The story has a good quality suspense and mystery as well which made the story interesting and the end of the story is my favourite where Liana and Hess team up at last.
Looking forward to book 2 and guess what I already have it in my hand, all thanks to the author. This is definitely deserves a shot and guys if you want to take in some fresh vamp story then go for it, you would like it as I did.
Firstly I would like to thank Ioana Visan, author of The Impaler's Revenge, for giving me this opportunity of reading and reviewing this book.
This book takes you into a world which is populated by vampires as well as humans alike but Romania is safe because it is restricted area for the vamps. We have the White council of which our heroine Liana is a member and she as like any other humans cannot tolerate the vamps though she has been given a task to watch Hess, a vampire who has been brought into Romania.
I liked the book a lot though I didn't feel it to be complete in many sense like the story line is unique and it has potential but somewhere it felt like the author didn't utilize it totally. The characters felt halfheartedly portrayed and could been more flourished, the development in them through out the story is quite negligible. Among the other characters I felt Hess's character to be overwhelmingly great and the author did a great job to introduce him to the readers.
The story has a good quality suspense and mystery as well which made the story interesting and the end of the story is my favourite where Liana and Hess team up at last.
Looking forward to book 2 and guess what I already have it in my hand, all thanks to the author. This is definitely deserves a shot and guys if you want to take in some fresh vamp story then go for it, you would like it as I did.
November 30, 2013
This book was an interesting spin on a Vampire Novel. Not your typical sexy story, this one is more about political aspects with twists. I rather enjoyed the plot. But, of course, it seemed so much was revolving around the politics.It was a different take on a vampire book so that was a pleasant change.
In a world crawling with vampires, Romania is the safest place left on earth. Thanks to the Little Council, there hasn't been a vampire on Romanian ground in over five centuries. But one day, Liana Cantacuzino, also a member of the Little Council and a descendant of one of the old noble families, is ordered to bring one in, covertly. Enter Maximilien Hess, a thousand years old vampire determined to ruin the existing order of things.
Suddenly, Liana finds herself forced to protect Hess, instead of having the pandurs kill him. With the help from her trustful friends, Rodica Ghica and Ştefan Sturdza, and that of an innocent bystander, Dr. Jesse Carver, Liana has to find out what is going on and what the President is hiding from her. When all is revealed, Hess's secret changes everything.
Although not steamy at this point, I feel it simmering, and we get hints of attraction building between characters. I appreciated the refreshing balance of power between Liana and Maximilien. This looks like a series with potential to build, and I imagine it will only get better! I look forward to reading the next book!
In a world crawling with vampires, Romania is the safest place left on earth. Thanks to the Little Council, there hasn't been a vampire on Romanian ground in over five centuries. But one day, Liana Cantacuzino, also a member of the Little Council and a descendant of one of the old noble families, is ordered to bring one in, covertly. Enter Maximilien Hess, a thousand years old vampire determined to ruin the existing order of things.
Suddenly, Liana finds herself forced to protect Hess, instead of having the pandurs kill him. With the help from her trustful friends, Rodica Ghica and Ştefan Sturdza, and that of an innocent bystander, Dr. Jesse Carver, Liana has to find out what is going on and what the President is hiding from her. When all is revealed, Hess's secret changes everything.
Although not steamy at this point, I feel it simmering, and we get hints of attraction building between characters. I appreciated the refreshing balance of power between Liana and Maximilien. This looks like a series with potential to build, and I imagine it will only get better! I look forward to reading the next book!
April 2, 2017
I’m not fan of vampires, never was(thin, white and sucks up blood….uhm, tampon?) the twilight movie just made it worse, I watched the first one(in my defense I had no idea what it was about) and I watched about a half an hour from the second which was enough for me to turn my tv off, get up, go to my laptop and start asking google questions about ways to move to another planet.
However this book is nothing like that, the idea of vampires being a common knowledge and living among humans is fresh, at least for my very limited contact with this whole vampire concept. They don’t hiss and they are not bothered by vitamin D, though I’m still waiting to see a fat vampire.
It needs a slightly better editing but nothing major.
The story feels like you are sitting in a small garden you have never seen before covered in thin fog, it wakes up your brain cells trying to map it and keeps you engaged from one end to another.
While you find out things about Liana and Jesse you are not overwhelmed with their complete personal history, making them harder to figure out and keeping them interesting and challenging. You get the slightly mysterious Max and a more mysterious Radu, why did he…..neeeh, that would be a spoiler.
Overall a really fun read and a few hours well spent.
However this book is nothing like that, the idea of vampires being a common knowledge and living among humans is fresh, at least for my very limited contact with this whole vampire concept. They don’t hiss and they are not bothered by vitamin D, though I’m still waiting to see a fat vampire.
It needs a slightly better editing but nothing major.
The story feels like you are sitting in a small garden you have never seen before covered in thin fog, it wakes up your brain cells trying to map it and keeps you engaged from one end to another.
While you find out things about Liana and Jesse you are not overwhelmed with their complete personal history, making them harder to figure out and keeping them interesting and challenging. You get the slightly mysterious Max and a more mysterious Radu, why did he…..neeeh, that would be a spoiler.
Overall a really fun read and a few hours well spent.
June 1, 2013
I've read Ioana's works before and enjoyed them. She usually has a different take on the paranormal, so I was interested to see where she would go with vampires.
Liana is a member of the White Council and hates vampires. But when the President orders one to be brought in, one Maxamillian Hess, Liana is ordered to watch him. An abhorrent chore, but she is determined to do her duty, and make sure that Max doesn't hurt anyone, even if the President won't say why Max is even there.
Liana is a bit boring, to be honest. I wish she had a bit more rebellion in her to liven things up. Now Max is another story - he definitely is the star of this first installment of a new series - which lays the groundwork for future books in an excellent fashion. I really started to enjoy the dynamics about half way through and look forward to another book in this series. Ioana has built a complex and riveting world and I'm looking forward to reading about all of the vampires and other characters populating it. If you enjoy reading unique vampire books, pick this one up!
Liana is a member of the White Council and hates vampires. But when the President orders one to be brought in, one Maxamillian Hess, Liana is ordered to watch him. An abhorrent chore, but she is determined to do her duty, and make sure that Max doesn't hurt anyone, even if the President won't say why Max is even there.
Liana is a bit boring, to be honest. I wish she had a bit more rebellion in her to liven things up. Now Max is another story - he definitely is the star of this first installment of a new series - which lays the groundwork for future books in an excellent fashion. I really started to enjoy the dynamics about half way through and look forward to another book in this series. Ioana has built a complex and riveting world and I'm looking forward to reading about all of the vampires and other characters populating it. If you enjoy reading unique vampire books, pick this one up!
January 18, 2015
This book was an interesting spin on a Vampire Novel. Not your typical sexy story, this one is more about political aspects with twists. I rather enjoyed the plot. But, of course, it seemed so much was revolving around the politics. At points it does seem mundane. Seriously, how is it everyone is able to recognize Max is a vampire, yet not know what their own government is up to. I would have liked to know more about the characters. There's quite a bit mentioning the history of this generations council, but no full backstory, rather glimpses into it. It's rather hard to fully connect with the characters. Even still, I couldn't stop reading it. If you like vampires, without the sex, you would certainly enjoy this authors take on them. Almost well written and thought out, the story will carry on, and I'm sure I'll be reading the rest of the series when I have time, just to see where it goes.
December 4, 2013
I wasn't sure I'd enjoy this book, but I absolutely loved it! I think it was a nice break from the romance stories I'd been reading. The entire book was very secretive, leaving you to wanting to know more about why Max was visiting. The last couple chapters, the whole book came together and now I'm committed. I have to read the rest of the series to find out what happens!
As soon as I finished this book, I went on to read book 1.5 in the saga, Sweet Surrender which is available for free. This was more of the love story and it also left me wanting to know more, more, more!
Both books were quick, short reads that left me on the edge of my seat, ready to find out what happens in the next book in the series. Definitely recommend this to everyone, not just vampire enthusiasts.
As soon as I finished this book, I went on to read book 1.5 in the saga, Sweet Surrender which is available for free. This was more of the love story and it also left me wanting to know more, more, more!
Both books were quick, short reads that left me on the edge of my seat, ready to find out what happens in the next book in the series. Definitely recommend this to everyone, not just vampire enthusiasts.
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