The Last Vampire Standing

Vlad Chemare failed the first time at over throwing the leader of the nosferatu, and was punished severely for his failure. Several centuries later he is once again ready to face Baslo Rigla. Revenge is seared into Vlad; Baslo will die even if it means his own life will end. The only thing in the way is that he has fallen for the mortal woman Meredith Swanson; will Vlad be able to ascend as leader and keep the woman he loves?

This is the first full length novel I have read by Tony-Paul de Vissage, and I must say I found it to be a satisfying read. I liked the character of Vlad. There are two sides to him. The first side is the ruthless and sometimes slightly self-centered side. He has the thirst for revenge, and is about seeking his own pleasures. Then there is the love he has for Meredith which surprises even him. He has an old world charm, and yet knows the modern day lingo (this really conflicted with the way I pictured him in my mind!) Meredith is sort of wholesome, but yet has a lot of spunk. I found her quite likeable as well, especially when compared to her sister.

The novel is written in a way you get a point of view from all the major characters, and I loved the fact that at one point or another I got to live in their minds. There was a nice blend of heart-stopping action and romance. In fact, of the books I have read by de Vissage this one had more romance and sex than previous books.

Although the novel didn’t contain a true cliff-hanger ending. I felt I needed more, there were what I felt was loose ends. I believe that the story could easily continue, and I would be thrilled to see this happen!

Tony-Paul Vissage’s style is more like the classic vampire novel. We most always see the monster within, and I for one like the refreshing change.

The Last Vampire Standing - Tony-Paul de Vissage

Margaret Marr

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Vlad Chemare went up against his creator, Baslo Rigla—who also happens to be the vampire Domnitor—and lost. Baslo bound him to a grave for his insubordination, and he remained there until his sclav, Dr. Marius Racleta, found him and released him. For centuries Chemare has plotted his revenge, and this time he plans on winning—but he has to leave the Carpathian Mountains and head to Savannah, Georgia, to do it.

Meredith Swanson is your average college student—except she’s surrounded by supernatural friends and her sister is a vampire. The last things she plans on doing is becoming one of them, and she will not date one, either—that is, until she meets the mysterious and charming Vlad Chemare. They begin a whirlwind romance, but she’s not quite sure why he’s always away on secret meetings.

Vlad Chemare finds America a strange place with strange customs, but he quickly rallies the underworld to his cause while falling in love with a mortal college student. Once he destroys Rigla, he plans to marry her if she’s not horrified by what he does—but, first, he’ll have to keep her safe until the battle is over.

The Last Vampire Standing is a pretty straightforward vampire tale, mixed with romance, intrigue, and suspense. The vampires are vicious and predatory, and the battles are bloody.

Vlad Chemare expects to get what he wants—which can be a little disconcerting at times. His arrogance might even make you scowl a time or two, but you’ll find him charming and likable all the same. Meredith Swanson gets points for resisting Vlad for a week or two before hopping into bed with him. She’s a strong female lead, and you’ll be certain that she can handle a vampire boyfriend—even if she is clueless about his nocturnal meetings.

From start to finish, The Last Vampire Standing will grab your attention and keep you firmly in its grasp. A fast-paced plot with a few unexpected turns and chilling battle scenes brings this vampire tale to life. Once you reach the end, you’ll want more, since the last page hints at a future storyline.

If you’re tired of sappy vampire romances, give The Last Vampire Standing a try. The romance is far from sappy, but it’s satisfying nonetheless.

One for the Sookie Fans

Meredith Swanson – a young student in Savannah, Georgia – might be a pleasant, fairly innocent young woman, but she knows one thing that most people do not. Savannah has become Bloodsucker Central, the world capital for vampire clans, and has attracted its fair share of other ‘supernaturals’ into the bargain. How’s she know this? Well, her decidedly less than innocent identical twin sister – Val – got turned into a vamp a couple of years back. She’s told Meredith about it, they’ve stayed in touch, and because of this Meredith is considered an ‘affiliated mortal’ and cannot be touched. She keeps some pretty odd company these days, in other words.
Except it’s not even as simple as that, because she’s found herself caught in the middle of a six-hundred year old vampire civil war that started way back when in Transylvania. The proud and hot-blooded Vlad Chemare once tried to overthrow the king of all the vampires, cruel, pitiless Baslo Rigla. Now he’s come to the United States to try again. But when he meets with Meredith and falls in love with her, his life becomes considerably more complicated than he would prefer.
Part vampire romance and part action adventure, de Vissage handles both sides of the tale with style, inventiveness, and no small humour. There’s an action-drenched finale with a real surprising twist. There are also a good amount of lusty vampire sex scenes – no sparkliness or chasteness here, thank Heavens – as well as a knowing nod in the direction of Bon Temps.
A well-deserved four stars for this prolific author.

In the fifteenth century Vlad Chemare launched a rebellion against the evil Domnitor. It failed, and he was buried alive. It took him six hundred years to get rescued and recover. Now he’s ready for vengeance and he needs to focus on achieving it. Meeting Meredith Swanson throws a wrench into his plans, and suddenly nothing seems so clear cut anymore.

Meredith has no desire to get involved with an Undead, or any paranormal creature for that matter. Especially one who is dating her twin sister - but Vlad is proving difficult to resist.

A vampire story laced with humor, "The Las Vampire Standing" has a colorful and intriguing cast of characters, especially Meredith’s vampire and were friends. Unfortunately, Vlad and Meredith's love is not very believable – big parts of their relationship are never shown. There were also problems with the plot. First, there’s the hero who went from dating and sleeping with one sister to sleeping with the other one in one night. Second, Vlad deceived Meredith in a way that won’t sit lightly with anyone. If it weren’t for those two flaws, the book would have provided a far more pleasing read. As it is, it provides the reader with a few laughs and is a genuinely compelling read.

Lovers of action-packed paranormal fiction that involves the perennial favourites – vampires – with a side order of werewolf, will find plenty of what they love in Tony-Paul de Vissage’s The Last Vampire Standing.

Vampire Vlad has an axe to grind. A few centuries ago, he rebelled against his maker – to great disaster. In retaliation, Rigla had him buried undead, and there the matter would have rested if it weren’t for Vlad’s loyal thrall Marius.

Fast forward to 2012. Vlad is hell bent on revenge now that he is fully recovered from his ordeal, and he discovers that his immortal enemy now resides in Savannah, Georgia. Vlad wastes no time travelling to the New World so that he can face his enemy.

Of course no woman is safe from Vlad’s predatory nature, and he wastes no time with the ladies the moment he arrives at his destination. Of course it is love at first sight when he meets Meredith. Fortunately for Vlad, she’s already clued in on the existence of supernaturals thanks to the fact that her sister has been turned into a vampire a while ago. In addition, she’s besties with the unlikely pair of friends – Sebastian, the vampire, and Dusty, the werewolf .

This prepares the ground for what follows: essentially two story arcs – Vlad planning his coup and Vlad and Meredith’s romance.

Vlad as a character made me cringe at times, mainly because he is unaware of his own social awkwardness. He is so accustomed to being obeyed and getting exactly what he wants and when he wants it, that he doesn’t always think through the possible consequences of his actions. Yet at the same time, he’s such an endearing bastard that you can’t help but feel affection for him.

There are times when Vlad’s modern mannerisms seem at odds with his age and cultural background, but as a whole he’s a fun character to get to know. IF you’re in the mood for an oversexed vampire with a somewhat tongue-in-cheek sense of humour, then you’re probably going to get on just fine with Vlad.

Meredith’s a bit of a goody two shoes – a sensible girl whose being too level-headed means she’s not done anything reckless until she meets Vlad. I didn’t feel too strongly about her either way, but I did want to slap her for letting Vlad get off so easy. And, likewise, I felt the other supernaturals allowed Vlad to take charge way too easily. I’d expected a little more reluctance – after all, he is a newcomer. But, who knows, maybe it’s because he’s so damned charming no one can refuse him.

There were a few issues that I had with this book that I feel I need to mention – for the sake of offering an honest, balanced review. Throughout this novel, I felt the pacing was a fraction off. There are the two main story arcs as mentioned earlier, and I feel that there is not enough focus on the conflict between Vlad and Rigla. That being said, this is dealt with briefly at the start and the conclusion. The romance element smack bang in the centre of the planned coup robs it of much of its tension and sense of danger – I personally would have loved to see more build-up in conflict between Rigla and Vlad, and more of a heightened sense of danger. As it stands, the focus is diffused between the two.

There were a few wobbly moments with typos that crept through, so perhaps if there is a chance for the editor to give this another once-over at some point in the future, it might not be a bad thing.

That being said, it’s clear that when we’re dealing with De Vissage, we’re in the capable hands of a storyteller who enjoys his art very much – and it shows. His enthusiasm and attention to detail when it comes to setting and characters provides great entertainment. So often there is something lacking in many other paranormal tales – a sense of playfulness, especially when it comes to dialogue and characterisation – which De Vissage brings across in abundance.

Overall this is a fun, supernatural romp where vampires pack plenty of bite, and I suspect there are enough loose threads left on purpose at the end which suggest De Vissage may have a book two up his sleeve.

Vlad Chemer has had only one thing on his mind for the last six centures...vengeance. His hate for his sire, Baslo Rigla, drives his every thought, ever since Rigla buried him alive for leading a revolt against him in 15th century Transylvania. It was why he now found himself in Savannah, Georgia—of all obscure sites for Rigla to move the vampire capital—plotting his second revolt to overthrow the Domnitor. And this time, he intends to succeed.
Somehow, Meredith Swanson has ended up as 'lunch wagon' for her friends, roommates Dustin and Sebastian—one a werewolf, the other a vampire. She's a struggling college student which equates to having very little extra money to spend on herself, let alone on a daily hamburger run for the odd couple. Little did she know that Dustin and Sebastion would end up introducing her to the sexiest, most intriguing man...or rather, vampire...she'd ever met. She then finds out why Vlad was really in Savannah, to recruit an army of freedom-loving vampires to fight his old nemisis.
Vlad doesn't think much of the training, or lack thereof, this new breed of vampire exhibits, but he can remedy that with a little mental prodding to release their inborn knowledge, along with a little instruction in sword-to-sword combat. While Sebastian enlists a blacksmith to create their armor and weapons, and Dustin persuades the local werewolf pack to act as their K-9 Corps, Vlad and his longtime thrall, Dr. Marius Racleta, make their plans to end Rigla's tyrannical reign once and for all.
It's only when Vlad learns that Meredith wants to have a baby that he's sidetracked from his plans by a project to impregnate her. Who can Vlad and Marius find to do the deed? All they need is a sexually potent doppleganger. No big deal, right? After mentally surviving being buried under six feet of frozen earth, Vlad figures he can handle killing Rigla and becoming a father too. In walks college student Roman Florescu. All Vlad has to do is put both Roman and Meredith in a trance. Roman would never remember doing the deed, and Meredith would think he was Vlad. Perfect! Or so he thinks, but that's a tale for another book.
When the fight begins, what Vlad doesn't count on is Rigla discovering the one thing that means more than to him than his own life, more even than taking Rigla down. That one thing is Meredith...and the baby she carries.
With The Last Vampire Standing, Tony-Paul de Vissage writes a solid, fast-paced story in an expressive style of changing viewpoints that offers both cleverness and enough humor for a few chuckles. Deservedly so, this book placed second in the Paranormal Romance Guild's 2012 Reviewer's Choice Awards. While the battle scenes are sufficiently authentic, they aren't overtly, in-your-face bloody. The sex scenes are brief, but hot enough to stir the juices. The ending is sudden and jarring, like slamming into an invisible brick wall. It left me wondering about the obvious trouble brewing for Vlad, Meredith, and Roman.
On the surface, Meredith and Vlad seem perfect for one another. Yet, there's something missing from their relationship. Although there's spark, I didn't get a great sense that it's a deeply romantic pairing. Roman, on the other hand, seems to be romantically drawn to Meredith. His feelings just seem more heartfelt than Vlad's, but we'll have to wait and see which of Meredith's suitors wins her hand in the end. Fortunately, the author tells me there will be a sequel, but that it's a year or so down the road.