A Dozen Black Roses takes place in part of a large U.S. city called Deadtown. The citizens of Deadtown are made up of drug addicts, alcoholics, gang members and vampires. There are two vampires that are fighting for control of Deadtown. One is Lord Esher who was good friends with a certain horror author from the 1800’s. The other is Lord Sinjon who founded Deadtown and is a much older vampire then Esher.Everyone in Deadtown lives in fear of Esher and Sinjon but things change when Living vampire and monster hunter Sonja Blue comes to town to put an end to both vampires. Sonja soon discovers that destroying the vampires may not be as easy as she thinks when she meets a boy named Ryan whose mother is being brainwashed into marrying Lord Esher. Sonja promises to save Ryan’s mother but Esher practices black magic and has power that may be to much for Sonja to handle.A Dozen Black Roses is a bloody good time. There are some great characters in this book, including an alcoholic priest with a troubled past and an aging hippie that doesn’t take crap from anyone. I really enjoyed the backstory on Esher and Sinjon. Both vampires even when they were human only cared about having power over others but their personalities are very different. Also the way they gained their power is different as well as how they conduct themselves. Esher has plans on expanding outside of Deadtown and through black magic has a more loyal following then Sinjon. Sinjon on the other hand is satisfied being the drug lord over Deadtown and still dresses and acts as he did in the 1700′s. Nancy Collin’s vampires have very unique peronalities but all have the same motivations which to me makes them more interesting.My favorite part of the book was how Eddie and Sonja became surrogate parents for Ryan. These two characters don’t have any experience with children but when Eddie finds Ryan eating out of a dumpster he does what he feels he has to do by taking Ryan in. Sonja on the other hand makes the promise to get Ryan’s mother back and shows a different side to herself when Ryan shows his feelings for her.I also enjoyed the action scenes in this book. One scene I didn’t see coming was when the townspeople have decided they’ve had enough of hiding in fear and go through “changes” as they decide to rid Deadtown of lowlifes. Another good one was when two gang members are forced to fight to the death naked, while suspended in a cage above an audience of bloodthirsty vampires. This scene will hurt to read if you are a guy. I also liked the suspense that buils towards the end as Sonja prepares to take on Esher. A Dozen Black Roses is definitly worth your time.
Deadtown is the centre of a turf war between two vampires of different houses. The scarce population knows to go into hiding when the sun goes down, aside from a five year old boy who is trying to reach his mum, whom the monsters have stolen. In the midst of this a stranger arrives into town with an agenda of her own. Since rescuing the mother of the little boy fits in with her plans she agrees to do so. She enters the house of Escher and swears fealty and he accepts not knowing the consequences of that decision.Sonja Blue is one of my favourite characters and Nancy A. Collins is the amazing author who brought her to life. The story is fast paced, very violent and wicked fun. You don't have to read the books set before to enjoy this story, it is very self contained. If you like the female leads in Lilith Saintcrow's stories you will love this series.
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
—Dharia Scarab
I first read about Sonja Blue a few years ago when I read the book Sunglasses After Dark. Sonja Blue is the female version of Blade with her Corey Hart sunglasses, leather biker jacket, blue jeans, and boots. She is a vampire/vampire slayer whose only goal in life is to kill all the kindred ( that's the term for vampires in the Sonja Blue universe ) and destroy the one who stripped her of her humanity all those years ago. Walking into Deadtown, she brings chaos in her wake. Sonja is determined to send the undead denizens of the town straight to Hell. Can she keep the humans out of the bloodbath? Read A Dozen Black Roses and find out. I reccomend this book to all horror and vampire lovers.
—Amber
