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Cerise Bordeaux is determined to find
her sister
who ran off with her lover. In the Hellsing Woods, Cerise is stranded
when her
horse abandons her. Cerise soon finds
herself lost when her sense of direction is disastrous and Cerise is
scared to
death. The Hellsing Woods are said to be
cursed and no one dares enter them since the Vampire Lord, Daegon lives
within.
When Daegon
finds Cerise, he is captured and intrigued by her. She doesn't seem to
fear him
as others before her and he wants to take her back to his castle. While
in his
castle, he knows Cerise can't leave without his permission, but can
Daegon hold
her captive forever?
The curse
upon Daegon is one he can't break and he refuses to keep Cerise with
him
against her will. Cerise doesn't want to
leave Daegon, she has come to care for him, but she won’t stay were she
believes she's not wanted.
Dark,
passionate and even humorous at times, Daegon and Cerise have comical
exchanges
with heat that smolders beneath the surface and adds lightness to the
dark
tale. Reminiscent of The Beauty and the
Best, only hotter, Daegon is as enchanting as the classic Beast. Ms. deWinter pens a wonderful tale with
expertise to her craft. She weaves
romance in with humour, passion and self-discovery.
Readers won't be able to resist the hearts of
Daegon and Cerise, their inner strengths and their journey is a
pleasure. One thing I found surprising is
the final
submission of lovemaking between the characters that is not rushed. While the sexual tension mounts, Ms. deWinter
doesn't have her character fall into bed together immediately but
weaves the
story in first, bringing everything to the reader’s minds that is much
more
important. When Daegon and Cerise finally do come together, it’s
enchanting, pleasurable
and worth the wait.
Red as Blood is tender, powerful and
not to be
missed. This is one of the best renditions of Beauty and the Beast I
have ever
read – it will be a hard act to follow for future spins on this tale.
Reviewed by Tracey West
for The Road
to Romance
May 15th, 2004
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