Review: Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter

Book Description:

Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden.  To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with a need for vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out.

Nicolai the Vampire is renowned for his virility, but in a cruel twist of fate “The Dark Seducer” has become a sex slave in the kingdom of Delfina—stripped of his precious timepiece and his memory. All that remains is a primal need for freedom, revenge—and the only woman who can help him.

When the wanton vampire summons Jane Parker, she is helpless to obey.  She's drawn to his dark sexuality and into his magical realm.  But for this human, all is not a fairy tale.  For saving Nicolai could mean losing the only man she's ever craved...

Review:

My initial intent was to review this series as a whole, with small mini reviews for each installment, but I have changed my mind (not too unusual for me), deciding instead to give each book a separate review. Why? Well, mainly because I am totally grooving on these books. The Royal House of Shadows, beginning with Lord of the Vampires, has stolen my attention for about 3 days now and I'm pissed that I don't have the last book yet!

The abstract fairy tale concept of Alice in Wonderland was so much fun, very unique, very cool, although I haven't found it to be necessarily the main focus of the plot. Does that make any sense? It serves more as an inspiration for an idea, with Gena Showalter turning everything you thought you knew about Alice upside down and inside out, replacing it with an erotic vampire that will blow your mind, an emotional journey that blossoms into love, and a quest to save a world! I'm telling you, this book has it all.

Nicolai is sex on a stick, dark and brooding, with a temper that would scare the bejeezus out of most people, the sane ones that is. He takes the alpha temperament to a whole new level, completely out of touch with what real emotions are, or how vital they are to his existence. Jane is recovering from a horrific experience that almost destroyed her, so while she might appear fragile in some aspects, she can definitely hold her own. She doesn't let Nicolai overwhelm her and he respects her strength and admires her courage. Their pasts are viewed as something they triumphed over, allowing them to meet as equals. Nicolai might rail and lose his formidable temper, but never with Jane. Instead he listens to her and considers her wishes before making any big decisions. But do not mistake him for a pushover, in any way, because that would be a mistake. He makes no secret that Jane belongs to him and he will stop at nothing to protect her. What I love about Jane is that she is a little bit bloodthirsty herself and doesn't cringe at exacting revenge or bringing death to those that seek to harm them. She has one of my favorite lines:

You're ugly and mean and I wouldn't give myself to you even if a flesh eating bacteria was ravaging this world, and your cock held the only immunization.~ Jane

Lord of the Vampires is an excellent beginning to this series, with solid worldbuilding, a unique mythology and a mind blowing sexual chemistry between the two main characters. Fans of Gena Showlater will definitely enjoy this book!

Other books in the series:

Lord of Rage (September- Jill Monroe)
Lord of Wolfyn (October- Jessica Andersen)
Lord of the Abyss (November- Nalini Singh)

To find out more about all the books in this series visit the Royal House of Shadows website.

And to learn more about Gena Showalter and all her fabulous books visit her website.