Roaring Midnight was a definite treat to read and a great addition to her urban fantasy series the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, though this is the first book in which we meet Macey Denton a.k.a. Macey Gardella on which this book in centered. This was my first opportunity to read Gleason’s writing and I’m delighted to say that I will definitely be checking out her other novels as well as the upcoming additions to this series.The time period is set in Capone’s era. Flappers, spiffy spats, gangsters, and vampires. Gleason did an excellent job pulling you into the world she’s created including setting descriptions, clothing, and slang-filled dialogue. It was as if I could taste the boot-legged whisky and smell the cigar smoke as I followed Macey’s story.
Macey Denton began this tale as a small town girl who’d realized her dream and moved to the big city of Chicago. Working her dream job at the University Library and spending her evenings dancing the night away with her friends. She was in love with the city she called home, and pretty happy in general where her life was concerned. Then an extremely old book managed to end up in her hands, inside of which she read of vampires and those who hunted them. A far cry from the classic Dracula story which held her interest, then in turn gave her night terrors about all those creatures who go bump in the night. A few short days later a stranger approached her at the library asking for Macey Gardella, Gardella being the family name the untitled old book had centered around, and from that point on her life was irrevocably changed.
Macey was faced with many trials in this story and you were given the opportunity to see her grow in strength and character in both her failures and successes. She’s stubborn, loyal, and strong-willed yet remains aware of her weakness and has no problem admitting to them. She’s human, and her compassion and hopes and dreams for her future work to keep her grounded in her new world full of monsters. I really liked this heroine and am truly looking forward to seeing how she’ll grow into in the next installment and what affects it will have to her life and calling.
There were several male characters in this story that caught Macey’s eye. Sebastian and Chas were both drool-worthy in my opinion but Grady was the one who ended up stealing her heart. Their romance had the perfect recipe of banter, chemistry, and steam for a successful set-up to an on-going series. Immediately after finishing this book I had to go look to see when the next book would be released as I am definitely looking forward to reading more about these two.
To sum up I found Roaring Midnight to be a refreshing take on the ‘Vampire Hunter’ theme. I’ve always had a bit of interest in the twenties and Gleason did an excellent job bringing the city ran by Capone to life in my mind. If you enjoy relatable characters, vampires, those who hunt them, a sweet yet complicated romance, and of course gangsters toting tommy-guns I highly recommend you pick this title up.
**ARC provided by Author**
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