*Updated post from yesterday: The Review! (No spoilers)*
It is finished! My first completed book of 2007, and a rolicking good time it was. It has been a long time since I have stayed up past the witching hour to finish a book, but what better time to be reading about vampires?
Reading The Rest Falls Away was a unique experience. It was not like picking up just any novel. Reading the work of someone you ‘know’, albiet briefly and through the means of the internet superhighway, can be a nerve-wracking experience. There is a fear that you won’t like it as much as you want to going in. I am here to tell you that any such fear is unwarranted.
It has been a long time since I have read any book that would be shelved in the romance section, 15 years or more. Initially, as the first chapter sets the scene and introduces the characters, I struggled a bit with the romance underpinnings of the story. By the time the chapter ended…with a very nice twist…I was immersed in the world and in Colleen’s language. Chapter Three was the point of no return. By that time I was lost in the story and understood well why my wife tore through this book so quickly. By the end I could practically feel my own blood coursing through my veins, my heart beating with the anxiety of the final pages. And let me add that guys should not shy away from this book because it is classified as a ‘romance’. There is a reason that this book is being and will continue to be compared to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you enjoyed that series, or at the very least the idea behind it, you will enjoy The Rest Falls Away.
If Jane Austen were alive today and rewrote Pride and Prejudice with visits from the undead, the result, in part, would be The Rest Falls Away. I enjoyed the conventions of historical romance juxtaposed against Buffy-esque vampire hunting. While mostly serious throughout, Colleen inserts some very entertaining societal humour reminiscent of Austen’s work. Victoria Grantworth is a worthy heroine whose struggles against the demands of society and her vampire hunting legacy are skillfully wrought by Gleason’s hand. Whether dancing at a ball or staking vampires, there is never a dull moment in this entertaining tale.
The Rest Falls Away is truly the amalgam of genres that Colleen Gleason has described both here and on her website: historical romance, horror, mystery, adventure, suspense, comedy…all are present and yet they flow together so well that it feels natural, not forced. And while there are homages to tales both classic and modern it never feels as if Colleen Gleason is copying anyone. Her style and voice are uniquely her own. There is something in this book for everyone and reading it one realizes that shelving it in only one section of the bookstore would be a huge mistake.
Eventhough I have already done so, I encourage everyone to go out and pick up this book. I can say this now after having the pleasure of staying up late, anxiously turning page after page, caught up in the suspense as The Rest Falls Away reaches its climactic end. Once finished you, like me, will be anxiously awaiting the release of Rises the Night this June.
Well done Colleen! I am so thrilled to have been an infinitesimal part of your PR machine for this fun and exciting debut novel. I look forward to your continued success and cannot wait to see what you have in store for us next!
Update: It is always funny when you think you’re having an original thought and then realize that not only is it not original but that you actually unconsciously plagiarized it. It has been months since I have read the description of Colleen’s book and I did not read the back blur or any other quotes about it before cracking it open and diving in. Imagine my surprise when I went to Colleen’s site today and saw the quotes about Buffy and Pride and Prejudice. I guess they are both very obvious comparisons but it was funny to me how close those quotes were to my own.
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The following is yesterday’s post.
This is it! The official release day for Colleen Gleason’s fun vampire novel, The Rest Falls Away. As some of you may know, if you’ve been checking Colleen’s blog, the book has actually been on some store shelves for a few days. I saw it on the new paperback column, faced out in 3 rows, at a Barnes and Noble in Springfield, MO on Friday while I was there visiting the in-laws. It was exciting to see it on the shelves. I had planned to do my review today to coincide with the release of the book but various and sundry things conspired against me yesterday and I did not quite get it finished. I can say that I am enjoying it thus far and will be finished tonight, so look for my review either later this evening or in the morning. But don’t wait for that! Rush out and buy your copy today. Buffy, Jane Austen, bits of Carole Nelson Douglas’ female sleuth, Irene Adler…these are all positive impressions that I have gotten reading this book. I can see why they had to coin the term ‘paranormal romance’ to classify this type of book. Even then it is a monicker that falls short of all the varied influences in the book. Congratulations Colleen, we are all so very happy for you!
Thank you so much, Carl!
And three-wide faced out at Barnes & Noble? Wow!!!
That’s great news.
Congratulations to Colleen! I’m eagerly awaiting my copy!
Congratulations Colleen! Another one to add to my pile 🙂
Stopped by my local Barnes and Noble today and your book was back in the romance section, in the New Paperback section in the middle of the store, and in the Just Arrived section close to the cafe/magazine racks.
Congrats, Colleen! I’ll keep an eye out for it next time I hit the bookstore!
I got notice from Amazon that they finally shipped my copy today. I’m feeling a bit slighted that it won’t be arriving today, but I suppose there’s nothing to be done about that now.
You can always go out and buy a copy in the store and give your Amazon copy as a gift! It is Buy a Friend a Book week. 😉
It’s Buy a Friend a Book Week?
Hot damn! Thanks for letting me know, Carl…and thanks for doing the “bookstore report”!
I’m getting news that people have also see it in Walmart…which is a big deal too!
Thanks so much for ordering my book, mosker! I hope you enjoy it!
Rampantbicycle and Quixotic (what great names!), thanks for keeping an eye out for it!
Enjoy the week, everyone!
Sounds very interesting…
Happy New Year, Carl, here’s to a great year of reading books!
Awesome! I’m going to Barnes & Noble tomorrow to check it out…and take a picture
for Colleen!
After reading all of the above responses I ‘m anxious to get a copy too. What an intriguing category -“paranormal romance”
Wow Carl!!
I, too, am nervous, knowing that people I know are reading the book…and I am so relieved an delighted you not only read the book, but also enjoyed it as well.
What a fantastic review. You’ve brought tears to my eyes, seriously. Thank you so much for your support and for “getting” what I was trying to do with the book.
I know it won’t be for everyone, and that’s fine–but when it does its job, I’m ecstatic!
I’m so glad you liked it. And thank you again.
Well, I ended up ordering it with some other stuff online. So, should have my copy very soon. Looking forward to it – am in the mood for vampires. 🙂
I have 20 pages left to read, and then it will be my first completed book in 2007 as well. I read most of it last night, but at 3:30 this morning, I just had to get some sleep. It was exactly what I needed after my week, though. A nice engrossing read, but more in my review after I finish it!
Carl, I am glad you liked it!
Colleen, I did not realize that you had a “teaser” (can’t think of the official term here) for the next book at the end of The Rest Falls Away. I just read it this weekend. Can’t wait for it to come out in June!
How cool that we were both burning the midnight oil with The Rest Falls Away, Kailana.
Thanks Colleen. I felt like my hands were really tied with this review because I know that so many of us are going to be reading it that I didn’t want to spoil anything for anyone.
I need to read that teaser as well Mary.
Now, I’m really itching to read this!
Scratch that itch, Angela!!!
It was an appropriate book to stay up burning the midnight oil for, what with the vampires. 🙂
Congrats on finishing your first book of the year! Last year I read a short book on the 1st and started out really well. I think I am going to be a bit slower this year! I will have to check this book out next time I am at the bookstore–you’ve piqued my curiosity!
Colleen I picked up your book today for my wife and I. I travel all over the state of Kansas so I picked it up today in the middle of Kansas, in a town called Hutchinson at a Hastings books, music and video store. It was faced out on the shelf and easy to find in the romance section. Great cover. My wife and I are Buffy and P&P fans so I’m sure we’ll your book. Plus my wife is a huge romance reader and historical romances are her favorites. I wish you the best success this new year!
I enjoyed your review, and I really can’t wait to read Colleens book.
I see you also posted a review on Amazon. Well done.
Thanks, I hadn’t done an Amazon review for awhile and wanted to make sure Colleen got some good stats there.
Thanks for posting on Amazon, Carl!
And Jeff, thanks for the book-sighting/purchase report!
Much appreciated and I hope your wife enjoys the read!
What a marvelous review. It brought tears to my eyes, too. You do express yourself so fluidly.
Wait a minute. I posted that comment too soon. I want to add my praise for The Rest Falls Away and encourage others to buy and read it.
I was a huge Buffy fan and after just finishing Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and would love to dive into another vampire tale. Thanks for the recommendation!
I just finished reading this. I love it. So wonderful and I’m dying for the 2nd one already.
Carl thanks for the great review.
I finished reading this book this past weekend and enjoyed it. My wife is the big romance reader in our marriage and with some gentle proding from both her and Carl I read and enjoyed Colleen’s novel. From a non-typical romance reader guy point of view I found quite a bit to like in Victoria’s world and I will be picking up a copy of your next book for both Keri and I.
Glad you enjoyed it Jeff. I would venture to say that, like me, you will enjoy Rises the Night even more.