Blood On Silk-Marie Treanor

A Vampire I Could Sink My Teeth Into
Marie Treanor's novel, Blood On Silk, is part romance, part paranormal, part Gothic, and all wonderful.  The story is about a woman named Elizabeth Silk, a Scottish academic who is researching in Romania for her PhD.  Her work continues to reveal one name:  Saloman, the name of an ancient vampire killed centuries ago.  The locals in the village she is staying in speak of him constantly, and when she is given the chance to explore where he's buried by a man named Dmitriu, she takes it and finds herself at the beginning of an adventure that will bring her to Saloman's bed and mortal danger.

Blood On Silk is a wonderfully delicious Gothic romance.  Treanor has written a page turner, and her characters, particularly Saloman, are crafted well.  Saloman is a terrific vampire-what all vampires should be in romantic fiction. When he speaks, he seems to almost purr.  Treanor's writing of his part is especially good. When Saloman is on the page, his actions almost glide across the page in front of the reader.  Elizabeth, the romantic heroine, is well written also, a rarity in romantic fiction. Treanor doesn't have her behave in ways that don't fit the story, which is not always the case in romances. All too often the heroine is either getting in the way of a good story or making life unnecessarily difficult for the romantic hero, ostensibly because this furthers the story, but usually because it just makes the story longer and the plot more tortuous.

I've read many vampire romances, from Christine Feehan's  to J.R. Ward's to Delilah Devlin's and the list goes on, and never have I read a story with a vampire as fantastic as Saloman.  Treanor's story is sensual and smart, just how this Broad likes them.  Read and enjoy!



-Alexandria

Mad, Bad, and Dangerous To Know....That's How I Like My Vampires.
Elizabeth Silk is writing her doctoral thesis on the myths and legends of the vampire, and while researching the lives of men accused of vampirism in ages past, she is taken across Romania, Hungary, and the surrounding areas.  Interestingly, the name Saloman appears in a number of legends spanning centuries and countries.  Intrigued, Elizabeth searches for more information on the origin of Saloman, and is informed by a peasant that a nearby tomb contains his remains.  When Elizabeth enters the crypt, she awakens the last pure vampire from a 300 year imprisonment brought on him through betrayal.  Swearing to avenge his betrayal, Saloman seeks to consolidate his power and destroy his enemies in the vampire realm before beginning his ascent to power in the human world.  To regain his strength, he must drink the blood of his vampire betrayers, the blood of the descendants of the humans who helped them, and the blood of his awakener.

Saloman is the best vampire in the romance genre this broad has read.  Marie Treanor created a vampire character that was powerful, confident, murderous, and sensual.  This vampire will suck the last drop of blood from your body without remorse or shame.  Blood On Silk contained some great sexual tension.  Saloman's enthrallment of Elizabeth in the club was an absolutely fantastic scene!  The dialogue between Elizabeth and Saloman was at times dreadful (I hate cheeky remarks from someone who ought to , by rights, be terrified), but at other times wonderful (I adore well worded professions of love in the midst of passion).

One disappointing aspect of the story was the eventual promise from Saloman to spare Elizabeth's life.  The high risk stakes of gambling with life gave the story an edge and kept the tension high.  I'm not sure Saloman is quite as attractive after this, and both Alexandria and I wonder if the next book in the series will measure up after this confession.  Putting these concerns aside, this was a superb story.

 


Recommendation:  Good story, good vampire, good reading.

~Moira