Sips of Blood

I LOVE IT! I could not put it down, it sucked me in from cover to cover. The characters are very well developed in this first book of a series, however, make sure you read this one first or the others (Quenched and Cathedral of Vampires) will make no sense to you at all. Kudos to angel's and algerina's posted reviews, I could not describe the book better myself.

This book means so very much to me. I don't think you understand. It's as if somebody wrote a story of my life and then put it onto several hundred smallish pieces of paper. No, I'm not French. No, I'm not a vampire. In fact, I'm polish and I'm told I look like a very old Johnny Depp. That's beside the point. The Canterbury Tales changed my life.

The Marquis the Sade and his mother-in-law still among us -- as vampires! Well, I've read two biographies of the Marquis, and Sips of Blood is remarkably faithful to his character, and includes the occasional well chosen quote from Sade's own works. But beyond that, it's a riveting fantasy of blood and sex, with a surprising plot and delightfully twisted life-like characters. The haunting ending moved me to tears. Mary Ann Mitchell has done it again: another truly original novel.

This story is about many kinds of horror; monsters, cruelty, even man's inhumanity to man.Reading about De Sade was fascinating, but I found myself much more intrigued by his mother-in-law and niece (who were the nerve and the heart of the story for me). I also found the end to be satisfying, which is not always the case with tales of the undead. It's a good read for those of us with a taste for VERY powerful women and who like to speculate about how historical figures would survive in our century.

Fans of Mitchell's first novel DRAWN TO THE GRAVE are definitly in for a shock with this one. Part vampire tale, part S & M saga, this story deals with the descendants of the Marquis de Sade. Even the most ardent vampire fans may be shocked by some of the intense bondage and torture scenes. Not as spooky as DRAWN, but a very original take on the Marquis de Sade, with some obscure vampiric night zombies tossed in for good measure. Mitchell has managed to once again pull off an original novel.....though maybe a bit too perverse for your average horror fan.