Review: Doormat or Vampire Queen?
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 7, 2011
Spoiler Alert*.  I read the series through the 4th book, and I remained tolerant of the basic premise and action.  However, there are way too many inconsistencies in the heroine: she slashes villains apart with ease, but simultaneously tolerates manipulative, disrespectful men and still bakes cookies for them.  The first love interest, Gavin, turned from a potential soul mate, into a classic spousal abuser, and so became a cardboard character by the second book. In fact he quickly developed a nuisance quality.  Despite the way Lissa is regularly mistreated, the strongest protest she manages is attempting suicide by nearly toasting herself to death in the sun. Not only does the suicide fail, but it leaves her bald, she still bakes cookies for the half dozen or so men who are drooling onto her neck and/or treating her like a slave.  It becomes annoying (even though there's something inherently enjoyable in this series) for a protagonist to have so much strength as a supernatural woman and so much weakness in the area of pride and self esteem.  Unfortunately, the series goes awry when the author suddenly throws a curve ball at us in the form of a planet of vampires for Lissa to go to: It could have just been B.F America, because once again she is part-time queen and part-time security guard. And she's still taken for granted, and still baking the damned meals for undeserving men.  Suspending disbelief is sorely tested when a plot becomes this ridiculous. It's too late to change Lissa from a vampire doormat into a character whose pride is equal to her skills. A book with a primary character whose potential strength is so impressive but who cannot maintain the courage of her convictions is not one readers can stick with.