A Tale of the Posh, the Privileged and the Paranormal…No one ever claimed that third year at Oxford University is easy, but Harriet French has more to worry about than just her final exams.Richard, an ancient vampire with no love for Cavaliers or Roundheads, has dragged Harriet to his French fortress as part of his quest for revenge and power. Can Harriet support Richard’s plot to kill … plot to kill Augustine? He may have the country in his thrall, but he’s still family. She has no such qualms about killing the Roundhead leader Fea and her twin henchmen, but is she willing to sacrifice herself to do it?
And then there’s George, once the archetypal Cavalier, who now seems to have betrayed both Harriet and the society. It’s hard to be sure about anyone’s true loyalties and harder still to know the right thing to do.
Ivory Terrors concludes the story told in Oxford Blood and Screaming Spires of Harriet French’s time at Oxford and her involvement with an elite vampire society.
Ivory Terrors is the final book in the Cavaliers Trilogy, a British paranormal romance series. It’s a dark tale with vampires that aren’t afraid to kill and a heroine who’s not afraid of sex or her own ambition.
more
I have enjoyed this series from the first book and actually wish that we could have just one more so that I could see how things turn out for everyone after they have gotten past the worst. I love the fact that historical facts as well as fictions are interwoven giving it a richer feel and giving a fuller life to the characters. I have fond characters that I really liked and some that were kind of annoying but always got some type of reaction from me, which means they are well established in mind as more than two dimensional. Descriptions of locations are so vivid that you can almost see them. I was immediately drawn back into the story of vampires who have forgotten their humanity and see killing a few people as nothing in the grand scheme of things.
The action starts right on the heels of the last book with Harriet still unconscious after George has mesmerized her and kidnapped her from the summer party. She is not allowed to wake until they arrive at their destination and finds herself in France with him, her mother and the man she has always believed to be her father, though he was supposed to be dead. What she finds is that she has been brought to a man/vampire who wishes to kill her enemies but also wishes to kill the only father she has ever known, Augustine, who he hates for abandoning him. He wants Harriet’s help in setting up all his enemies and gaining him the power to take the Cavaliers in another direction. But does Harriet want to see Augustine dead, even if he is somewhat ruthless he has always been good to her.
The Roundheads are still out there and plotting their own retribution for the Cavaliers unaware of a third party plotting to decimate their ranks. They are also not aware that a traitor has infiltrated their ranks and is working against them. When things finally come to a head everyone will be surprised by what is learned and what is lost.
This was a great way to end a series that has been riff with conspiracies from the very beginning. Betrayals were a way of life for all those involved whether human or vampire, love was given and taken away only to be redirected, lying was taken to a high art. I was very glad to get the full story behind Augustine because he was a big part of this and finally knowing what he had gone through to make him who he was made this so much more interesting. The only thing that annoyed me was who Harriet ended up with, really, him! While I loved everything else that was my one sticking point. Harriet went up and down for me because she was so mercurial about everything from her family to the men she claimed to love, but in the end she did what I would have done.
If you want to step off into a world that has beautiful men, fabulous parties, and more death than the law allows, then you have to read these books. I’d still like another one! 🙂