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Danilov Vampire #1
This Dark Paradise
Alexander Danilov, a seductive and spellbinding vampire, returns to his ancestral home in Savannah, Georgia, to find a home haunted by ghosts of the past and a family torn apart by dark secrets and sinister passions. Original.
311 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 24, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 1, 2018
SOME SPOILERS
I bought this book from the thrift store for one reason: It resembled a V.C. Andrews novel, right down to the creepy and intense family portrait on the stepback.
And it even read a bit like an Andrews novel, if the main female character were replaced by an adult male vampire, and the story was less complex and fun (and less incesty). Alexander Danilov returns after a long absence to his family's home, only to encounter some fucked up family dynamics and secrets. A random old enemy whose existence Alex isn't even aware of is stalking him, intent on messing everything up.
The reason this enemy hates Alex is because one day Alex wandered into this guy's village, which he ruled in a Vlad Tepes-esque manner. Alex decided that was unacceptable so he and some of the villagers overpowered the guy and wrapped him in a giant sheet of lead. Where it came from I don't know. But somehow the guy swallows a drop of Alex's blood and so he survives inside the lead for many years, and when he heals and gets out he's physically scarred, so he has his vampire magic make him look handsome. He goes to get revenge on Alex, but not without killing a few prostitutes first.
About 60 pages from the end, I realized there was a blurb on the cover from Linda Lael Miller.
Miller is the author who wrote the dubious vampire book Forever and the Night (here's my review of that crapfest). Luckily THIS DARK PARADISE was slightly better than FOREVER AND THE NIGHT, for a few reasons.
1) Although there was a prominent theme of Heaven/Hell (capitalized) and good/evil, it wasn't quite as sneakily religious, and it didn't have a bizarre vendetta against liberals and porn consumers. And Haley isn't afraid to curse, even if it's only twice.
2) Alex definitely *is* one of those pity party vamps who are convinced they're damned. So basically they loved once in the past and she died. Then they find another woman to love and get into this whole thing with her, only to pull away at the last minute because of being damned. They just toy with people's lives because they're desperate to be loved and also desperate to be alone forever (only not willing to commit to the latter, apparently). Idiots. Anyway, the difference with Alex was that at least he was quiet about it, i.e. not overly dramatic.
3) It wasn't that long.
4) There were no unexplained Nazi uniforms.
5) The vague V.C. Andrews resemblance.
There was quite a bit of ridiculousness in this novel, such as the romance. Alex meets his love interest, Elizabeth, when he spots some people in Civil War-era costumes and follows them to her house (there's a party, I think??? And Alex is curious because he lived through that time but DON'T WORRY HE NEVER OWNED SLAVES). Then he lies his way inside and has a conversation with her, only to confess that he lied. But don't worry! They are now in love. And instead of turning her into a vampire, he's just going to marry her and let her die in forty or so years. Because that's better than being with the one you love forever, I guess? I don't know, it's vampire logic.
I bought this book from the thrift store for one reason: It resembled a V.C. Andrews novel, right down to the creepy and intense family portrait on the stepback.
And it even read a bit like an Andrews novel, if the main female character were replaced by an adult male vampire, and the story was less complex and fun (and less incesty). Alexander Danilov returns after a long absence to his family's home, only to encounter some fucked up family dynamics and secrets. A random old enemy whose existence Alex isn't even aware of is stalking him, intent on messing everything up.
The reason this enemy hates Alex is because one day Alex wandered into this guy's village, which he ruled in a Vlad Tepes-esque manner. Alex decided that was unacceptable so he and some of the villagers overpowered the guy and wrapped him in a giant sheet of lead. Where it came from I don't know. But somehow the guy swallows a drop of Alex's blood and so he survives inside the lead for many years, and when he heals and gets out he's physically scarred, so he has his vampire magic make him look handsome. He goes to get revenge on Alex, but not without killing a few prostitutes first.
About 60 pages from the end, I realized there was a blurb on the cover from Linda Lael Miller.
Miller is the author who wrote the dubious vampire book Forever and the Night (here's my review of that crapfest). Luckily THIS DARK PARADISE was slightly better than FOREVER AND THE NIGHT, for a few reasons.
1) Although there was a prominent theme of Heaven/Hell (capitalized) and good/evil, it wasn't quite as sneakily religious, and it didn't have a bizarre vendetta against liberals and porn consumers. And Haley isn't afraid to curse, even if it's only twice.
2) Alex definitely *is* one of those pity party vamps who are convinced they're damned. So basically they loved once in the past and she died. Then they find another woman to love and get into this whole thing with her, only to pull away at the last minute because of being damned. They just toy with people's lives because they're desperate to be loved and also desperate to be alone forever (only not willing to commit to the latter, apparently). Idiots. Anyway, the difference with Alex was that at least he was quiet about it, i.e. not overly dramatic.
3) It wasn't that long.
4) There were no unexplained Nazi uniforms.
5) The vague V.C. Andrews resemblance.
There was quite a bit of ridiculousness in this novel, such as the romance. Alex meets his love interest, Elizabeth, when he spots some people in Civil War-era costumes and follows them to her house (there's a party, I think??? And Alex is curious because he lived through that time but DON'T WORRY HE NEVER OWNED SLAVES). Then he lies his way inside and has a conversation with her, only to confess that he lied. But don't worry! They are now in love. And instead of turning her into a vampire, he's just going to marry her and let her die in forty or so years. Because that's better than being with the one you love forever, I guess? I don't know, it's vampire logic.
April 30, 2023
Alexander Danilov returns after a long absence to his family's home, only to encounter things have changed maybe a bit more than he had anticipated.
You see, Alexander is a very old vampire and from time to time he comes back to check on his family lineage and make sure his state is well taken care of.
However this time he will be forced to stay and try to fix things and get acquainted with the new family members.
This was a quite entertaining and slightly different vampire story based also around a lot of family drama and an inheritance.
This might be a book perfect for VC Andrews fans that are looking for a vampire tale but make it Dallas.
Even though this was an average read for me I really enjoyed it and would love to find the next book in the series to give it a shot.
You see, Alexander is a very old vampire and from time to time he comes back to check on his family lineage and make sure his state is well taken care of.
However this time he will be forced to stay and try to fix things and get acquainted with the new family members.
This was a quite entertaining and slightly different vampire story based also around a lot of family drama and an inheritance.
This might be a book perfect for VC Andrews fans that are looking for a vampire tale but make it Dallas.
Even though this was an average read for me I really enjoyed it and would love to find the next book in the series to give it a shot.
May 24, 2022
3.5 stars
March 8, 2011
Hot and steamy vampires
February 24, 2022
I picked this one up because of the V.C. Andrews-esqe stepback inside the cover. It’s interesting that the title of this one and the sequel also have the same words from two VCA books.
This was written during the 90s and it definitely has that feel to it. Aside from the family saga, vivid descriptions, hint of incest, and gothic aspect, that’s where the similarities to V.C. Andrews ends. This book very much felt like a VCA novel mixed with vampires, magic, and the discussion of Good vs Evil.
The setting (Savannah, Georgia) was well described. I’ve been a couple of times and though it wasn’t in the 90s, the overall atmosphere was realistic. The gothic elements just made the atmosphere even better.
I liked the main character, Alex, and found most of the side characters, even the unlikable ones, to be interesting. I particularly enjoyed the character of Margaret.
The story itself was intriguing, though I felt the book was a bit repetitive at times (especially when Alex was once again agonizing over his soul, Catherine’s, and possibly risking the soul of others).
I would have liked this even more if not for the repetitiveness. It would have also been nice to see more of Alex and Catherine’s past fleshed out instead of hearing him say how much they loved one another. There’s also a revelation at the end regarding Catherine that I certainly hope gets more explanation in the sequel!
The family dynamics were fun, especially between Barron and Alex. My favorite relationship was the one between Alex and Margaret, though it is brief. I would have liked the romantic relationship better had it not been so insta-lovey. It lacked depth, which was needed for the seriousness in which the relationship becomes.
There’s blood and gore as well as sex, though it’s not too graphic for the most part. One scene reminded me a bit of the one from Hell House but thankfully wasn’t as disturbing. The author also doesn’t shy away from profanity, though it’s not excessive—just enough to be realistic. There are definitely horror elements and it gave me the feel of older horror movies, especially ones regarding religious settings.
The climax was exciting and I thought the ending wrapped things up well, while also adding a little twist. I enjoyed this more than I was expecting to. I’m intrigued on what the sequel will bring.
This was written during the 90s and it definitely has that feel to it. Aside from the family saga, vivid descriptions, hint of incest, and gothic aspect, that’s where the similarities to V.C. Andrews ends. This book very much felt like a VCA novel mixed with vampires, magic, and the discussion of Good vs Evil.
The setting (Savannah, Georgia) was well described. I’ve been a couple of times and though it wasn’t in the 90s, the overall atmosphere was realistic. The gothic elements just made the atmosphere even better.
I liked the main character, Alex, and found most of the side characters, even the unlikable ones, to be interesting. I particularly enjoyed the character of Margaret.
The story itself was intriguing, though I felt the book was a bit repetitive at times (especially when Alex was once again agonizing over his soul, Catherine’s, and possibly risking the soul of others).
I would have liked this even more if not for the repetitiveness. It would have also been nice to see more of Alex and Catherine’s past fleshed out instead of hearing him say how much they loved one another. There’s also a revelation at the end regarding Catherine that I certainly hope gets more explanation in the sequel!
The family dynamics were fun, especially between Barron and Alex. My favorite relationship was the one between Alex and Margaret, though it is brief. I would have liked the romantic relationship better had it not been so insta-lovey. It lacked depth, which was needed for the seriousness in which the relationship becomes.
There’s blood and gore as well as sex, though it’s not too graphic for the most part. One scene reminded me a bit of the one from Hell House but thankfully wasn’t as disturbing. The author also doesn’t shy away from profanity, though it’s not excessive—just enough to be realistic. There are definitely horror elements and it gave me the feel of older horror movies, especially ones regarding religious settings.
The climax was exciting and I thought the ending wrapped things up well, while also adding a little twist. I enjoyed this more than I was expecting to. I’m intrigued on what the sequel will bring.
October 9, 2015
Read this book based on the blurb. It was an okay read, the only reason I finished it was purely because I had started it and there was some curiosity to see how it ended. This one was an average read for me.
July 27, 2011
FANTASTIC!!!!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews