Review & Giveaway – Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter

45 Comments / C REVIEWS, C- Review, Giveaway, Paranormal Romance / By

Publisher: Harlequin Nocture
Publish Date: August 23rd
How I got this book: NetGalley
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…
*Blurb from Goodreads*

Showalter kicks off a new series from Harlequin Nocture that will feature four different authors writing in the same world. The series follows four siblings whose parents were murdered and at the time of their deaths, cast a spell for their children to be cast to a safe place and a need for vengeance.

Nicolai is the oldest of the four, and has been living as a slave to the cruel witch sisters. He uses what little vampire magic he has left to send for someone who can free him, who can help him break out of captivity and get his vengeance. Jane comes to him in the form of the dead Princess and the two work together to break out of the castle alive.

Jane has suffered for far too long. As the sole survivor of her family from a fatal car accident, her life has become nothing but pain and recovery. When she is pulled into Nicolai’s world, she finally starts to really live life. She is drawn to the vampire and quickly falls for his strength and loyalty. With his memories slowly coming back to him, and the curse that was placed against her, saving him might very well mean loosing him.

I’m a big fan of Showalter, so when I heard of this new series, I was beyond excited. However, for some reason this story did not seem to live up to her other books. The world building in this is amazing. I really enjoyed the basis of the story, how it was a fairy tale and nightmare all rolled into one. I can’t wait to see how the other authors write within this world as well. And while the story itself was intriguing, there was just a little something extra that was missing for me.

I enjoyed both Jane and Nicolai’s characters, but their relationship fell a little flat for me. They were constantly having sex and falling on one another, but it felt flat to me. There didn’t seem to really be any reason behind the nookie, and instead of relieving tension between the two, it just seemed as if they were unnecessarily horny. While I’m all up for sexy times, they just seemed to be missing something between them.

While I enjoyed reading about Jane’s strength, at time she seemed too much like a super woman. After having survived a fatal car accident, she was forced to go through a painful recovery. While still dealing with the pains of that, Jane is constantly running and fighting and escaping narrowly. She was also TOO perfect in everything she was able to accomplish. I wanted her to have a few faults, but she didn’t.

Nicolai, an extremely alpha male, also felt like an ahole. His constantly repeating of calling her “mine” and going all possessive tended get almost annoying (if that’s possible) towards the end of the story. He didn’t have a ton of depth as a character for me. He grew a bit when he realized he was in love with Jane, but above and beyond that he stayed stagnant as a character.

All in all I think the opening book for the Royal House of Shadows Series was a great world-building book, but fell short of the romance aspect. I’m still very interested in reading more about the series, and can’t wait to see how the siblings get their revenge.
I give Lord of the Vampires a C-

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Thanks to Harlequin, I have one copy of Lord of the Vampires to giveaway. The contest will be open to US/Canada residents only and ends on August 22nd. Good Luck!

45 thoughts on “Review & Giveaway – Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter”

  1. Alycia

    I can’t wait to read this book! I love Showalter. But what’s not to love about some hot vampires right? Thanks for the giveaway! 🙂

  2. Pamk

    sounds like another great read by Gena. Looking forward to reading it.
    scrtsbpal at yahoo dot com

  4. Catherine

    I’m really excited to try this series out. I wonder how I’ll like each book being by a different author.

    catherine.n.morgan(at)gmail(dot)com

  5. CrystalGB

    Great giveaway. I would love to read this book. I am a big fan of Gena’s books.
    Crystal816[at]hotmail[dot]com

  8. June M.

    Sounds like a good beginning to a new series. I do love vampire books so am interested in reading this. Thanks for the chance.
    manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com

  9. Na

    I’m always looking for new vampires stories to read and this is a new author that I would like to try. Great giveaway.

  11. Tonya

    This book sounds intriguing!!! Luv vamps!!! 😀
    Thanks for the chance to win!!!

    jfort357(at)bellsouth(dot)net

  15. Barbara Elness

    I’ve loved every book I’ve read by Gena Showalter so far, and I’m looking forward to reading Lord of the Vampires as well.

    Barbed1951 at aol dot com

  16. Mara

    I am totally excited for this book and Gena’s new series. It would be great to start it off with a win!
    Mara
    marajbrandon AT earthlink DOT net

  19. Denise Z

    Thank you for your lovely review today and giveaway opportunity. I would really like to read this book 🙂

    dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com

  21. Patti P

    I love Gena Showalter books. This is already on my to read list..I would love to read it for free..lol

    musicalfrog@ comcast.net

  22. Jennifer Murdock

    I’ve been looking forward to this. Like I do for all of Showalter’s books. Thank you for the giveaway.

  25. Joani S

    Thanks for the honest review. I love her work, and the romances usually work for me, but I do like a little story with my sex. I really want to give this a try tho, thanks for the giveaway!

  26. Jen B.

    I love Gena Showalter. I have been waiting for this book. Gena + vampires….Yippee! Thanks for the giveaway.
    jepebATverizonDOTnet

  27. Jessica C.

    I love Gena’s books! Especially her Extraordinary Girl series.

    jcross719(at)yahoo(dot)com

  28. Maria (pronounced Mariah)

    I have been looking forward to this new series…I think it will be interesting having 4 different authors perspectives. I am a little disappointed you only gave it a C-. Who knows I may see it in a totally different light!

    Thanks!
    mmafsmith at gmail dot com

  29. lexi

    Love anything Showalter! This sounds wonderful! Thanks for the chance =)

    Eyesofblueice (at) gmail (dot) com

  37. Heather F.

    This book and series sound so interesting and I love that each book will be written by different authors. Thanks for the giveaway!

  38. Chelsea B.

    I want to read this book just because it is by Gena Showalter 🙂 Thanks for the givaway!

  39. Gail Nichols

    I would to read Gena Showalters book “Lord of the Vampires” Thanks for giving me a chance to win it

  45. Pingback: Review & Giveaway – Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Andersen | The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

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