Exceptionally good reading, this novel of Jane Austen, her sister, Cassandra; her feisty little niece, Anna; her mother and their close friend and housekeeper, Martha, is set in the sleepy little village of Chawton. What shakes up an otherwise pleasant but routine existence for them is the new neighbors...renting Jane's brother's house. A family of vampires including Jane's creator, Fitzwilliam/Fitzpatrick, the handsome vampire who became Jane's "maker" when the French and English were battling and the help of the "Damed," those recognized as vampires, was required to win against the forces of Napoleon. Jane's worried about the safety of her family given the hunger and lack of morality of most of the vampires she knows! It's the push-pull of these gorgeous creatures, their blood lust ways and their enticings of the innocents vs. Jane's eagerness to protect and not fall back into her own vampiric ways that makes this a wonderful read. Not to mention Jane's love interests... :]

Janet Mullany's research is impeccable. But, more than that, she writes with such believability. Every scene is beautifully rendered; so much so that you can hear the china tea cups clink in Mrs. Austen's drawing room, and the see the crystal chandeliers gleam in the gothic ballroom of Fitzpatrick's house. I felt like swooning myself as she describes the dazzling vampire men. Who could resist them? I have such a weakness for dark and mysterious, dangerous men...especially vampires! Mullany knows how to create them, and she places them like gems in her Georgian vignettes. I love Jane Austen, but dress her up with a struggle over three main, gorgeous vampires of the "Damned" and I'm there for the asking every time!

Anything Mullany writes should be a must read for those who love "mash ups" of Miss Austen. In this case, the book is so entertaining, engrossing from the start, including a beloved cast of characters that all Janeites will be familiar with. It's not possible to be anything other than delighted to be reading "Jane Austen: Blood Persuasion." I loved it, and tried to read it in one sitting. Would have accomplished that, if it hadn't been for a grandson who wanted to go swimming all day!

5 stars for this brilliantly vampirish Jane! ( )

I've tried to read this book about four times now, and I just can't do it. I might try to pick it up again a few months down the road, but it's just not the right book for me. ( )

Jane Austen: Blood Persuasion, the sequel to Jane and the Damned, follows up with Jane years after she had taken the Cure. Finally finding the time and creativity, Jane has begun writing again. Her peaceful work is short-lived however, once the vampires descend upon her village.

I love how Janet Mullany mixes facts about Jane Austen's life with vampire adventures. Both books are fun paranormal stories that do much to showcase the strength and perseverance of the real Jane Austen. In Blood Persuasion, we continue to see Jane shed the conventions of her time in order to aid others in need and keep her family safe. Against her own wants, Jane becomes once again involved with the Damned, including those of her own former vampire family.

As a respectable spinster, she fights against her rekindled attraction to Luke. Of course, it's easy enough when he seems to have switched allegiances from her creator, William, to a band of vampires who have no qualms about eating her neighbors and other villagers.

Janet Mullany continues her Immortal Jane Austen tale in a way that makes the post of the time period, vampires and Jane Austen herself. The ending is truly excellent, making the book more emotional and giving the reader some unexpected closure. Blood Persuasion wraps up Jane's life in a way that leaves very little room for a third in the series. I'm disappointed that it seems there won't be more stories about Jane Austen and her vampires, but the I absolutely loved the ending of Blood Persuasion, so I can't complain. ( )

Blood Persuasion by Janet Mullany is the second in the "Immortal Jane Austen" series. This story takes place approximately thirteen years after the action in Jane and the Damned and we learn that Jane did take the water cure. For the past thirteen years she has been living quietly with her family and continuing to write.

Jane's father has died but she continues to live with her mother and sister Cassandra. Jane's niece has been sent to stay with them because of her scandalous and flirtatious behavior. What could be worse punishment that being banished to the countryside with her widowed grandmother and spinster aunts? But things in the countryside are not quite as bland as one might think, especially when two warring factions of "The Damned" move in. Vampires are no longer wholly accepted in polite society, thus the retreat to the country. Having "the Damned" as neighbors is bad enough but Jane's Creator as well as her former vampire master and lover have taken up residence nearby. Their visit coincides with several mutilations and attacks on the village. The higher class vampires are at odds with the lower class vampires termed le Sale. These lower class vampires have often been banished and hunt without regard for alliances or allegiances. Jane's creator is attempting to diplomatically stop Les Sales from their wayward behaviors. Of course Jane and her family are stuck in the middle. Jane's niece is enthralled with the leader of Les Sales, and even her own mother and sister can't seem to understand why Jane wishes to restrict their friendship to them despite her warnings. Jane must battle her inner demons as it appears she was not cured in Bath, while caught in the middle of the battle between the vampire groups. She must also deal with her attraction to her creator and his brother, as well her dormant feelings toward her former lover.

Blood Persuasion was slightly more credible for me than Jane and the Damned, but I still found it problematic. For basically thirteen years Jane has lived a quiet life free from vampirism but as soon as the vampires return to the countryside her desires for blood return. This behavioral change along with the idea that she actually pondered making one of her characters in Mansfield Park a vampire, basing the relationship of Mary and Henry Crawford loosely on that of her former lover and his sister, wasn't very believable to me. It did tie the notion of her vampirism and experiences as a vampire in with her writing but it seemed to be rather gratuitously thrown into the mix. The characters and the action in Blood Persuasion are slightly more developed and more in keeping with 19th century society. Blood Persuasion isn't a bad read, all things considered, but it just wasn't the right fit for me. ( )