REVIEW/ GIVEAWAY: Vampire Dreams Revamped (A Sons of Navarus Prequel) by Gabrielle Bisset

Vampire Dreams Revamped

(A Sons of Navarus Prequel)

by Gabrielle Bisset

4.5 HEARTS

From Goodreads

Expanded from the original, Vampire Dreams Revamped is bigger, longer, and hotter. Revisit the world of Brandon, Arden, and Vasilije and meet new characters too!

A vampire for hundreds of years, Brandon Ridley is surrounded by others of his kind who enjoy their world to the fullest. Orgies, debauchery, and sensual delights leave him empty, though. What he wants is that one woman who will share his life.

Homeless and without any family, Arden Stephens must live on the streets of mid 19th century London, never a safe place for a young woman. One night, as she is running for her life from an attacker, she is rescued by Brandon and offered a place in his home as his maid. Brandon is enchanted by Arden from the moment they meet and yearns to make her one of his kind.

Nightly, he visits her in her sleep, preparing her for the night he will finally make her his own. For Arden, the wanton dreams she has about her handsome employer seduce her and each day when she wakes up, she finds herself more drawn to him. But love and desire aren't enough for Brandon to sire her. He must first obtain the approval of his own sire, an ancient vampire named Vasilije who has thwarted his chance for happiness before.

But if Brandon can convince him, he may finally find the love he's been without for centuries.

Vampire Dreams Revamped (pun intended) is the rewrite of the first novella in Gabrielle Bisset's, Victorian Erotic romance trilogy. While I liked the original Vampire Dreams (review HERE) I found that I enjoyed the revamped version more.

This novella is about Brandon Ridley and Arden Stephens. Brandon, a 200 year old vampire, is lonely and longs for nothing more than someone to share his life with. When Brandon met Arden he immediately desired her. Her beauty and obvious intelligence thrilled him and he thought that perhaps he had finally found THE ONE. Unfortunately though, he wasn't allowed to "make" another vampire to join him without his Sire Vasilije's permission. But for some reason Vasilije wouldn't give it to him. Would he be forced to be alone forever?

When I found out that Gabrielle Bisset was rewriting Vampire Dreams I was a little confused. I had liked the novella and had given it a four so to me everything was fine and dandy. But then I got to thinking. The original Vampire Dreams was Bisset's first vampire story and since then she's written 2 more. Plus she's polishing off the third ATM. Though all the stories take place in the same vampire world, Blood Avenged (review HERE) and Blood Betrayed (review HERE) have a different "feel" to them. They also defined the rules to Bisset's world better. This is when I realized that Bisset might be thinking the same thing.

OK, so I said that I liked this version better right? Here's why...

In the original version, Brandon's Sire, Vasilije, grabbed the readers attention. His hold over Brandon was unlike any other Sire/vampire that I've read and it felt a little odd to me. In this version, Gabrielle Bisset spends more time discussing this relationship, making it easier to understand. We also see a lot more of Vasilije in this version. This is a man who takes hedonism to new heights. Can you say orgy?

Another reason why I liked this version better is that it clearly paints Brandon's longing to share something meaningful with someone else. His loneliness was much more palpable for me in Vampire Dreams Revamped.

There was just one thing that I disliked about this novella and it was the ending. This story took place in 1850 but at the very end we are fast forwarded to modern times. This was awesome. I loved seeing the HEA was still in place over a century later. The problem? The passage was a little bit too long IMO and held too much foreshadowing for me. Of course, that just might be because I know what lies in the future for this couple.

To old readers: This revamped (love the pun) is a lot more smooth. Read it and you'll fall for Brandon, Arden and Vasilije all over again.

To new readers: This story will open your eyes to the wonderful world of vampires that Gabrielle Bisset has created. Be prepared for a treat!

Hotness Rating

3 out of 5

To celebrate the release of this novella Gabrielle Bisset has generously donated 1 digital copy to giveaway! To enter this INTERNATIONAL giveaway just fill out the form below.

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