Review: Guilt Keeps Him From Taking His Throne.  Will It Keep Him From Love Too?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 13, 2012
This is a short novella that got off to an exciting start.  I was really eager to read this one after having enjoyed the first book in the series.This one could be read out of order in a pinch, but the experience would be much more rich and enjoyable.  The first one should be read in order because it takes the time to give an in-depth explanation of the world building of the two vampire factions, the human's who support the good vamps, the proferred concept and the beautiful ceremony for when the vampire takes a mate and how that mate bond works.  In this one, the reader is expected to have a basic understanding of this and only gets little refreshers instead of full blown explanation.  Okay, so maybe I should have just said that the reader should definitely read the first in the series before tackling this one.  ;DStory opens in Moscow with Nikolai and his fellow warriors trying to take out a bunch of the Soul Eaters.  Nikolai is the rightful vampire king, but he ignores that duty to be just one of the warriors because he feels responsible for the deaths of his brothers.  He feels such guilt that he takes crazy chances.  On this night, he tries to take out all the bad guys single-handedly and that doesn't go so well for him.  He's riddled with bullet holes and is on the point of death.Onto the scene of Nikolai bleeding out in an alley steps, Katherine.  Kate is an American exchange student who is fluent in Russian and French besides English, but she's not there for the cultural experience.  She's done a runner on the future her parents have plotted out for her.  Kate's parents wanted her to put herself forward as a Proffered candidate to a vampire and she's just not into the idea of being used to service a vamp's needs.  Trouble is that now that she's run to the other side of the world she still feels uneasy about her decision.  That is until she comes across the dying vamp in the alley.  It feels so right to help him and she offers her blood willingly to save his life.There is an instant connection between the two, but Nikolai fights it because of his guilty feelings of inadequacy.  Can he get past the guilt to forgive himself and take a chance on love?  Can Kate give herself willingly when before she rejected this whole idea of being with a vampire?As I noted before, the plot hit the ground running and never really slows down to the abrupt end.  I liked how Laura is able to tell a complete story within the short space allotted to it.  Do I wish it was longer?  Oh, yeah because I liked the characters and would have loved more of them.  The character of Nikolai has a sad background and he does have a great deal to mourn.  Kate's background is not explored, but her character is described quite well just in the actions of her opening scene.  Nikolai and Kate together are like a match to dried wood and their passion is on fire.So if you want a satisfying read that can be finished in one sitting and you like your vampires hot, give this one a try (after you read In the Service of the Vampire King so this one will make some sense).