Iolanthe Tennyson has had a very bad year—due in part to the very bad men in her life. So, she’s accepted her cousin’s invitation to spend the summer in Austria indulging in her photography hobby. There, rumors of a haunted forest draw Iolanthe into the dark woods—and into the eighteenth century…
Nikola Czerny is a cursed man, forced by his half-brothers to live forever as a Dark One. But his miserable existence takes an intriguing turn when a strange, babbling woman is thrown in his path. Iolanthe claims to know Nikola’s daughter—three hundred years in the future. She also knows what fate—in the form of his murderous half-brothers—has in store for him. If only she knew the consequences of changing the past to save one good, impossibly sexy vampire…
4 out of 5 stars
A Tale of Two Vampires is the 10th Dark Ones book.
Iolanthe, or Io, is an aspiring photographer who is visiting her cousin in Austria. She meets Imogen at the Goth Faire that has been part of a few other Dark Ones books and wants to take pictures of her against the backdrop of the haunted woods in the area. Imogen refuses on the grounds that her father died there, so Io goes alone. While there, she sees a swirly mist and falls into it.
When she wakes up, she's 300 years in the past. She meets Nikola, Imogen's father, right before he is killed by his half-brothers. As Io spends time with him, she realizes that she has to save him- regardless of what might happen to the future.
What I like about the Dark Ones books is that they aren't as intricately wrapped together as the dragon books. For the most part, they can stand alone or in two or three books. A Tale of Two Vampires makes sense as a stand alone book but, to get all the references from other people, I'd suggest reading Confessions of a Vampire's Girlfriend and In the Company of Vampires which is the story of Nikola's son and takes place first in the world's timeline.
What I liked about this book in particular is that, because it took place 300 years in the past and had a Dark One that was not versed in all things Dark Ones, we were not subjected to constant talk of Beloveds. Of course, as someone who has read all the other ones, I knew what was going on. Still, I liked that Nikola wasn't all angsty about getting his soul back because of Io. They don't find any of this stuff out until much later.
Io isn't much different from any other Katie MacAlister character. The voice is the same and the penchant for odd exclamatory phrases is the same. Sometimes, I find it trying when there was constant banter for pages, but otherwise I like the lightness of the characters.
Basically, if you like Katie MacAlister's Dark Ones books, then you'll like this one.
*Picture and description from Goodreads
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