Review: Bound by the Vampire Queen

Bound by the Vampire Queen (Vampire Queen - Book 8) by Joey W. Hill


Publication Date: December 6, 2011
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Genre: Erotic Romance, Paranormal
Pages: Paperback, 449pp
ISBN-13: 978-0425243442

ISBN: 0425243443

(Received for an honest review from Berkley Heat)


Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, IndieBound


Joey W. Hill on the WEB: website, blog, facebook, twitter


Books in the Series: The Vampire Queen's Servant (2007), The Mark of the Vampire Queen (2008), A Vampire's Claim (2009), Beloved Vampire (2009), Vampire Mistress (2010), Vampire Trinity (2010), Vampire Instinct (2011), Bound by the Vampire Queen (2011)


CoverArt: Click on the picture for a larger, clearer image of the covers in this series. (Bound by the Vampire Queen is totally my favorite cover of the series)

Excerpt from Bound by the Vampire Queen (WARNING: This excerpt is not appropriate for readers under 18 years of age)


Synopsis:


Sworn to obedience, compelled by loyalty and threatened with damnation for betrayal, Jacob entered Lady Lyssa's servitude as a human servant. Now he is a vampire but still bound to Lyssa, who has found herself struggling with the capricious powers that have come alive in her paternal Fae blood - and is challenged by two enemies...


While the Vampire Council threatens to take away Lyssa and Jacob's newborn son, the Fae Queen has ordered Lyssa to appear before the Otherworld court to face inescapable charges. The Fae have nothing but contempt for vampires, and yet to serve her, protect her, nourish her and pleasure her, Jacob will follow his lady into hell itself. No one - neither Fae nor vampire - will compel him to break the oath he made to serve a vampire queen forever. 


Thoughts:

Bound by the Vampire Queen, eighth book in the Vampire Queen series by Joey W. Hill is erotic paranormal romance at it's best. Hill's writing is expressive, dramatic and full of resonance. Readers who are familiar with this series, will love the return of Queen Lyssa and her once human servant Jacob. This novel is more than just a hot, steamy, erotic read, as it delves into the strength and power behind true love.

This was my first experience with Lyssa and Jacob since I had not read the first two books in the series, which explores how Jacob, once a vampire hunter became the servant of the vampire queen and eventually came to love and care for her, giving her a rare and beautiful gift of a vampire child. Hill gives enough of background that readers are able to pick up the story, but I think they miss the building of this very strong, erotic relationship between them. I know I found myself wondering at their deep love for each other and the fact that Jacob is willing to suffer any kind of treatment or torture to keep Lyssa safe. It was a very emotional and searing kind of love. The erotic scenes were extremely hot, including some menage a trios action that will get a readers motor running in a hurry!

I tend to like erotic romances that feature submission and dominance. Usually it is the male dominating the female and Bound by the Vampire Queen was a nice change from that scenario. Lyssa is very dominant, which sometimes makes her come off as aloof and hard. But where Jacob is concerned her vulnerability really shines through. When she and Jacob are called to the Unseelie Court of the fae, to prove Lyssa's strength and fae abilities. She is pushed to absolute limits and readers will respect her whether they necessarily like her or not. I like strong characters like Lyssa and I found myself drawn to her and what made her this way. 

Jacob is easy to love. He is a servant, he is submissive, but there is such raw power in him that it is easy to see what kind of damage he could do, if he wanted to. He restrains that part of himself in some ways and expresses it in others. He loves Lyssa to the very core of his existence and that is very compelling. I found myself wondering at how he could take so much for her, when she can be a hard person to be around. There relationship is flawed and dangerous and in some ways very unsettling, but it works... it works really well.

I liked the whole plot of Bound by the Vampire Queen. There was so much going on. Politics rules in Hill's world. The political machinations of the Vampire Council. The political implications of what would happen if Rhoswen keeps Lyssa in faerie. The possibility of Lyssa and Jacob loosing their child, Kane. I also enjoyed the whole idea of the three quests that Lyssa and Jacob must complete before they are allowed to return to their own world and I couldn't help but wonder if Rhoswen was just waiting for a mistake, a way to knock Lyssa even further down. It was a very complex scenario and I thought Hill pulled it off in grand fashion.

I can't wait to see what comes next for this series and yes, I'm going back to read the first books as soon as I can. I did review book seven in the series, Vampire Instinct which I liked a lot as well. But the combination of Jacob and Lyssa was just amazing! I loved this one... and I think you will too!

Bound by the Vampire Queen is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 5 out 5 apples from my book bag!

 

Joey W. Hill is a recipient of multiple Top Reviewer Picks from Romantic Times, Night Owl Reviews, and others. She has been nominated for the Romantic Times 2009 Career Achivement in Erotica. She lives in North Carolina.