Shattered Glass

Author: Elaine Bergstrom 
Series: Austra
Publisher: Elaine Bergstrom
Publication Date: January 24, 2011
How Received: For Review
Rate: 3
 
Summary: (as quoted from Amazon)Helen Wells, 19, is a gifted painter, struggling to create a legacy before the illness that left her crippled claims her life. Stephen Austra is a brilliant glass artist, and an immortal. When they meet, their passion is immediate and intense. But as their love grows, Dick Wells, Helen's uncle and a homicide expert on the local police department, begins investigating a series of savage murders committed, he is forced to believe, by something not human. Soon all three will be drawn into a struggle with a dark presence from Stephen's past, one that lays claim to the life of the woman he loves and one that, for all his power, he is helpless to control. This novel, first published in 1989 to critical acclaim is being reissued in a special updated -- and uncut -- version, and includes 12,000 words not found in the original edition. It is the first of 6 books in the Austra series

My thoughts:
Shattered Glass was definitely a very different take on vampires. There were a lot of different love stories, and a lot of characters, who, at seventy, (or sometimes even older- the book is about vampires, after all!) were still struggling to come to terms with what happened to them in the past. A lot of the story is about coming to terms with the past, and looking to the future which I thought was a very important theme. The plot was very good, but the punctuation could have used a little tightening. The multiple points of view were at times confusing, but once I got the flow of the novel, I was able to enjoy the story.
3/5
~Moujnir