Review: Blood on Silk by M. Treanor

Title: Blood on Silk {ARC}
{Awakened By Blood, #1}
Author: Marie Treanor
Publish Date: Sept 7, 2010
by Penguin USA
Pages: 336, paperback
Reason for reading: Reviewed for The Season

Treanor crafts a mature, oftentimes witty and suspenseful story with provocative and compelling characters.

Elizabeth Silk is a Scottish Academic who visits Romania to acquire research material for her thesis. During her visit, she is led to the supposed grave site of an ancient vampire who was revered and feared for many centuries but has now become the stuff of legends and stories. While inspecting the crypt, she unwittingly awakens the great Saloman from his 300-year slumber. A once bloodthirsty and ruthless leader of vampires, Saloman now craves two things: Elizabeth and power.

Elizabeth quickly learns that vampires aren’t just myths but an all-too-real threat. She is approached by a secret organization of vampire hunters who are amassing to stop Saloman from his quest of power and human domination. Elizabeth is torn between her unnatural attraction to the seductive Ancient and her need to save herself – for she knows that Saloman’s ultimate return to power will come in the form of her death.

In this novel, Treanor crafts a mature, oftentimes witty and suspenseful story with provocative and compelling characters. I was delighted to read that Saloman was a traditional, villainous vampire. I have read many paranormal novels and I find that vampires are becoming overly romanticized. Treanor goes back to what vampires used to be, charming monsters. Elizabeth was a great heroine in that she was smart, funny and strong-willed. She did not simply swoon brainlessly at the feet of her vampire paramour. The sexual tension between Saloman and Elizabeth was deliciously and skillfully maintained throughout the novel. It was this very tension that led to some gratifying love scenes for both the characters and the reader.

One of my favorite qualities of this book is the dialogue. The banter between Elizabeth and Saloman was amusing because Saloman almost couldn’t believe how Elizabeth could seem so fearless. She verbally cut him down as if he was no more than a regular, annoying guy. Equally funny were some of the conversations between Saloman and his closest vampire “friend” who tried to educate him in the ways of a modern world that includes escalators, nightclubs and paper money.

Truth be told, the one thing I could have done without were the brief introductions of other various supernatural creatures such as goblins and zombies. Although they served a purpose in the story, I feel that the story would have done just as well without them. Understanding that supernatural creatures are increasingly popular these days, it is all too easy for a story to become inundated with them. However, at the end of it all this did not hurt the story or its ending.

Overall, the novel was well-written and well-paced with no lags in the storyline or overly sappy moments. As the first book in a new series, there remain some unanswered questions and unfinished business. It is these loose ends that have me looking forward to the next installment.

RATING: 4 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ of 5
HEAT LEVEL: 4 - Hot