Review: Interesting character but short on depth
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 8, 2013
While I love Laura Kaye's writing style and I love vampire stories, I didn't love this novella. I'm not exactly sure why though. One thing that I know for sure is that I never "get" or enjoy the sexual turn-on that some humans find in drinking vampire blood. I'm okay with the vampires drinking human blood because, well, they're vampires. That's part of the deal. But I draw the line when the human drinks blood and then enjoys it or even finds it erotic. Ugh. So that was a turn-off for me.I liked Kael, the Vampire King, but I wanted to know more about him. The entire story took place in one room in this ancient castle, and it was all about this ancient mating rite that he had to perform. That was it. We never got to see Kael in any other situation, so we don't know what makes him so great, or how he commands his minions, or how he battles...nothing. I guess I got enough of his character that I wanted to know more. I realize this was just a short story, so that may be the problem.I also enjoyed the dual characteristic of the situation - it's present-day, but Kael is a very old vampire and has thus lived through a lot of history. The setting is in an ancient castle and involves the ancient vampire rites of the world, so you kind of forget that it's not a contemporary setting. It has a medieval feel, and then you're jarred to the present during certain dialog. That worked for me; I liked it.I guess I need to read the next book in the series to see if I end up liking it more.