Review "A Victory that Counts" by Ioana Visan

Synopsis (Goodreads):
For the first time in five hundred years, pandurs and vampires need to work together and defeat the new breed of vampires that threaten to upset the current order of things. Liana Cantacuzino travels to New Zealand to find the new breeds and their makers, but even with the help of her friends, Maximilien Hess, Dr. Jesse Carver and Radu Basarab, the task turns out to be close to impossible to accomplish. The enemy is vicious, always one step ahead, and has no respect for any kind of life, including its own.

With a prize put on her head, unreliable informers, exploding arrows, and turned pandurs, Liana has to lead what’s left of her troops through a terrible siege, while struggling to keep Jesse safe and fight for her own survival.

The second novella in The Impaler Legacy series, a vampire saga like no other.

My review: 

For those who don't know, this is the second novella in "The Impaler Legacy" series. You can find my review for the first one here. 

I was really excited when Ioana Visan told me that her new novella was out, because I couldn't wait to discover what happened with Liana and my dear vampire Max. He grew on me and I kind of have a crush on him. Who wouldn't like a strong, funny and gorgeous vampire? Twilight is to blame. :))

Now let's begin. An army formed of vampires and pandurs (humans trained to kill vampires) travel to New Zealand in order to stop an enormous group of new-born vampires to damage the world that they all lived in. Of course, the sweet doctor Jesse couldn't let Liana alone and he decided to accompany her, in spite the fact that it is very dangerous and he hates vampires. His gesture is very sweet and I appreciated to see him taking care of Liana. Their relationship is stronger and together they can conquer all, but Max has an important role and he does his job successfully. 

It's not new to say that I really enjoyed Ioana's writing style and all the information that takes us closer to the universe we read about. The fights were intense and challenging, as expected, and Liana's life is in danger more than ever. She also needs to put into practice the knowledge she gained since she was a child (including torture) and she is afraid that she can't be as tough as she would like. Also, the stakes are high and our leader must be prepared to any challenge to win the war. And be sure she's not giving up on her people who depend on her.   

My sympathy for Liana has grown as I got the chance to enter into Liana's head and to see that she has a change of heart regarding vampires, after some of her friends are turned against their will. She realizes that not everything is black or white, but something in between. After entering into a trap and many of them are slaughtered, they need to change the tactic and to work as a team, to forget for a while the differences between them. Unfortunately, things are even more complicated than that and Liana is still in danger at the end of the story. 
But don't dispair, there is still one more part left on the series that I am eager to read and a lot of mysteries to unfold. Don't miss it!

Note: I received a copy in exchange for a honest review.

5 out of 5 butterflies

 

About Ioana Visan:
Award-winning writer Ioana Visan has always dreamed about reaching the stars, but since she can't, she writes about it.

Her stories have been published in on-line magazines like Argos, Nautilus, Gazeta SF, SRSFF, Revista de Suspans, Suspans, SFera Online, EgoPhobia, Every Day Fiction, and they have also been featured in several Romanian anthologies, “Dansând pe Marte şi alte povestiri fantastice” (2009), ”Steampunk: A doua revoluţie” (2011), ”Venus – Povestiri erotice science fiction” (2011), "Cele 1001 de scorneli ale Moşului SF” (2012), "Zombii: Cartea morţilor vii" (2013), "Călătorii în timp. Antologie de povestiri SF" (2013).

So far, the highlights of her writing career have been having her Romanian short story collection “Efectul de nautil” published by Millennium Books in March, 2013, and being awarded the Encouragement Award by The European Science Fiction Society at Eurocon 2013.

She made her debut in English with a short story published by Every Day Fiction, and also has one included in Evolved Publishing's "Evolution: Vol. 2" short story collection. After fighting the apocalypse aftermath in "Human Instincts", she played with shapeshifters in “Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks”, and then she dealt with vampires in “The Impaler’s Revenge”, before tackling longer works like a fantasy trilogy and a science fiction series.

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