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TCM Reviews 'TCM Reviews for Book, Ebook, and Audio Book Reviews in Every Genre' |
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For one hundred and fifty years, Canon Helaire has been a creature of the night, unable to release his grief and guilt over the death of his lover, Chloe, a slave woman murdered by his own father. His need for revenge led to a pact with the devil that turned him into a vampire, and now in present day New Orleans, he wanders the streets alone with his curse. Sybil LaCour has one goal, to put to rest the spirit of her ancestor Chloe whose memories she posses, and the only way to do that is to destroy the vampiric powers of Canon Helaire. With the power of voodoo on her side, she succeeds, but Chloe’s memories remain, reminding her of the great love and passion she once held for Canon. Canon finds the release from being a vampire more a blessing rather than a punishment, and begins to recognize in Sybil the woman he once loved. With her, he can see a life of peaceful mortality, until his psychotic vampire brother, Pete, begins terrorizing the city, forcing Canon to choose between his new mortal life, or turning vampire once more to stop him.
The brooding bloodsucker mourning the loss of his mortal life and despising his vampire self is a common theme in vampire fiction, but just because it’s been done before isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and author Sparks does a fine job of freshening up this theme with her excellent characterization of Canon. His charm and charisma really carries the story, whereas Sybil doesn’t come off quite as strong, perhaps because she’s two characters in one, and it’s hard to get a firm hold on the personality of either her or Chloe as individuals. The loves scenes between Canon and Sybil are sensual and emotion filled, making Gold Dust Woman a highly romantic work. The city of New Orleans with all its magic and mystery is a wonderful setting, and though it’s hard to put New Orleans and vampires together and not think of Anne Rice, author Sparks manages to create a work that is uniquely her own, and an appearance by the most renowned voodoo priestess in history is also a nice bonus. With its gentlemanly vampire hero and smooth storytelling, Gold Dust Woman is an entertaining tale with classic vampire themes.
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