A Taste of Blood Wine (Blood Wine Sequence)

1918. A First World War battlefield becomes the cosmic battleground for two vampires, as Karl von Wultendorf struggles to free himself from his domineering maker, Kristian.1923. Charlotte Neville watches as her father, a Cambridge professor, fills Parkland Hall with guests for her sister Madeleine's 18th birthday party. Among them is his handsome new research assistant Karl - the man Madeleine has instantly decided will be her husband. Charlotte, shy and retiring, is happy to devote her life to her father and her dull fiance Henry - until she sees Karl ...For Charlotte, it is the beginning of a deadly obsession that sunders her from her sisters, her father and even her dearest friend.  As their feverish passion grows, Karl faces the dilemma he fears the most.  Only by deserting Charlotte can his passion for her blood be conquered. Only by betraying her can he protect her from the terrifying attentions of Kristian - for Kristian has decided to teach Karl a lesson in power, by devouring Charlotte.

From Booklist

Channeling the tone of a Gothic romance, Warrington presents a 1920s version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula that focuses on the vampires rather than their stalkers. Powerful vampire Kristian is having trouble keeping his minions in line, especially Karl, who rebels against Kristian’s heavy hand. Trying to gain scientific knowledge of vampirism to help him destroy Kristian, Karl ingratiates himself into the family of Cambridge professor Dr. Neville and wangles his way into the doctor’s laboratory as one of his assistants. There he meets Charlotte, the doctor’s quiet daughter, and they fall in love. Trouble besets them not only in the form of Kristian’s malicious attempts to rein in Karl but also in the jealousy and spite of Charlotte’s family, especially her sister and aunt, both of whom have fallen under Karl’s spell. As they fight the forces against them, will Karl and Charlotte find happiness, or are they doomed to be apart in loneliness or even death? The first of Warrington’s Blood Wine series will sate those hungry for classically melodramatic vampire sagas. --Pat Henshaw

About the Author

Freda Warrington is a British author best known for her epic fantasy, vampire and supernatural novels. Four of her novels have been nominated for the British Fantasy Society's Best Novel Award. Dracula the Undead won the Dracula Society's 1997 Children of the Night Award. Her novel Elfland won the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award in the Fantasy Novel Category 2009.

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