Review Defying The Covenants by Celina Summers

Title: Defying The Covenants (Vampire Covenants #3)
Author: Celina Summers
Source: Requested Review
Genre: Paranormal, Historical - Vampires
Format: eBook, 368 pgs
Release Date: March 30, 2011
Publisher Website




As the Conclave prepares to confront the Russian renegade Grigori Volkonsky, Marguerite von Wittershiem has been shunted aside. Her husband and mentors hope to keep her out of danger by assigning her the unglamorous task of protecting the written lore of their people.

But their plans go awry when a traitor within the Conclave betrays them all to the enemy. As the most powerful vampires in Europe fall to Volkonsky’s minions, Marguerite must find not only the strength to stand alone but the ability to withstand the greatest threat that the hidden world of vampires has ever faced. If she fails, the immortal races and humanity will be destroyed.

In order to ward the Covenants as she has sworn, Marguerite must be prepared to defy them as well.




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My Review:

This is a historical vampire story, the third and final book in the Vampire Covenants trilogy, which takes place in 1788 - 1789 Europe during the time of great famine and rioting before and during the French Revolution. It starts in Paris and then moves to Bucharest, Budapest and the Carpathian mountains with the famine and rioting spreading all over Europe.

Marguerite, our female lead, is an independent young English vampire of a little more than 1 year turned against her will at the age of 22 by a ancient rogue vampire. She is married to Gunther, a much older German vampire and eldest and strongest of the vampire Elders are her teachers, mentors and guardians. She is a seer & empath tasked with the survival of a library and its contents, the "lore of our people", the ancient scrolls of knowledge about the vampires. She is later forced to take on the Elder leaders of Europe in the vampire war. Her youth is not the only hindrance. In the eyes of the centuries old Elders she is also short and a woman in the later part of the 17th century. It is very easy to underestimate her, especially so when pitted against a Russian warload bent on not only taking over Europe but also taking her and the special Elder's sword she was bequeathed. Marguerite chafes at being kept out of the action under the yoke of protection of her mentors and guardians. She takes matters into her own hands, sneaks away and engages the enemy.

While I did enjoy the story, I was hindered by not having read either of the first two books in the series. There were very many things I was confused about and that were left unexplained as if they took place in the earlier books. Additionally, there were many German and French phrases used that I needed a translator for since the author didn't explain what they meant. Luckily there are several web pages which will do this for you.

Summers separates the story into five parts the author calls Books. Personally I didn't see the need for the separations as the story continued virtually uninterrupted so the separations seem like a waste of five pages.

While not a romance, the prologue features the love between the female lead and her husband (with sexual scenes alluded to) and later there is some unrequited love which could be the basis for another stand alone story.