February 10, 2012

Review: The Vampire King by Heather Killough-Walden


February 9, 2012
The Vampire King (The Kings, #1)
by Heather Killough-Walden
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: February 6th,2012
Author Website


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Author Summary
It was immediate for Roman. In three thousand years, he’d never lost control of his emotions, or his heart. But the moment he laid eyes on Evelynne Farrow, he knew she was the woman who haunted his dreams. And everything changed.

Everything.

Evie Farrow has always loved a good vampire romance. In fact, she makes a living writing them. While sitting in a coffee shop and working on her next mega-hot book, Evie is approached by a tall, dark, and handsome man who could have been pulled directly from one of her novels.

Unbeknownst to her, Roman D’Angelo is exactly what he appears to be – a vampire, and not just any vampire, but the king of vampires.

Unfortunately, while Roman is both ancient and invulnerable, Evie is flesh and blood. Just as Roman decides that he and Evie have a date with destiny, for reasons of their own, an ancient god and a homicidal vampire take an equally strong interest in her. To make things more complicated, there’s something very special about Evie. Something not quite human.

Can Roman fight off the incredible forces that would have Evie as their own long enough to win her heart, or will destiny betray him, and destroy everything he has ever dreamed of?

“Lalura had told him about her vision. Thirteen kings on a chess board – and thirteen queens….”
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My Thoughts

In the words of Lalura - the wise advisor of the Kings:
“On a chess board, the queen is always more powerful than the King.”



Heather Killough-Walden delivers a fabulous tale of good vs. evil with deep characterization, enticing plot and lots of intrigue.  She makes us truly care what the characters are feeling and what motivates them.  The first novel in new paranormal romance series – The Kings - delivers us into an alternate reality of supernatural races – vampires, werewolves, Akyri, warlocks, witches, phantoms and the Thirteen Kings that rule.

So about the story…
This first novel revolves around the King of the Vampires.  Vampires are the Offspring born of the union between a warlock and an Akyri (a dark and dangerous demon race) giving them the magical power of their warlock parent as well as strength and immortality of the Akyri.  Vampires cannot be made.  They must be born.  Or so everyone thought. 

After 3000 years, Roman, the vampire King and most powerful of all kings, has been advised by the witch Lalura that his queen is out there and he has to find her as she is in grave danger.

Evie is unaware of the existence of supernaturals.  But there’s an interesting twist on our heroine.  She is a Paranormal Romance novelist who writes about the world of vampires, werewolves and archangels.  Despite her creation of these stories, she believes they’re just stories.

Charles is a vampire supposedly loyal to Roman and a member of his trusted team.  Blaming Roman for the death of his friend, Charles plans his revenge by killing the vampire queen.  In league with a warlock seer, she directs him to where he can find her. 

And so the search is on. 

Characters…
The characterization is deep in this novel and I found myself affected by Evie’s character.  Her life is complicated and almost sad even.  Deep down, she wants a normal life with family and children; however, she has so many other responsibilities she doesn’t have time or energy to pursue those desires.  Besides self-publishing her novels, she is caregiver to her ill parents and volunteer at an animal shelter.  She is an all around good person wanting to do good in the world but never seems to get ahead.

For a 3000 year-old vampire, you would expect Roman to be arrogant and out of touch; however, he is quite gentlemanly and kind.  I wasn’t expecting him to shows kindness towards humans that he did which made him all the more appealing.  However, he was also a force to be reckoned with if angered as we witnessed.

Charles, Roman’s enemy, is pure evil motivated by vengeance.  The only redeeming quality I could see is that he did have love for his friend and mentor.

There were other memorable supporting characters that were key to the story and therefore we got to see a little into their background. Lalura is a witch and advisor to the Kings.  David and Lizbeth are members of Roman’s vampire court and also close friends seeming to have Roman’s best interest at heart. 

There are a few stories touched on in this novel that leave opening for future novels.  Not all of the Kings were mentioned.  
·      We get a glimpse of Thantos – King of Phantoms and how he wishes to have a queen in his life.  Once he sees Roman found his after 3000 years, he is full of hope. 
·      Jason Alberich – King of the Warlocks sees a woman he believes to be an Akyri and is desperate to follow her as she’s running away. 
·      Jesse is the Overseer of the werewolves and is being considered as the 14th King now that the curse on the werewolf race has been lifted and he his race is now considered a powerful ally. 
·      Ramses is in the story under the guise of leading the Hunters (those who hunt the supernatural race).  He is actually the ‘god of gods’ looking for his beloved Amunet.  He feels her presence and believes she must be one of the supernatural females already mated.

A Heather Killough-Walden novel would not be complete without the toe-curling passion she writes as only she can.  There’s a beautiful chemistry between Roman and Evie that just keeps you cheering for them as a couple.

And finally, the epilogue will leave you stunned and feel like you were hit with a thunderbolt!  That’s all I can say about that.


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Bottom Line
In my opinion, the author delivers a fabulous tale of good vs. evil and this first novel has set the stage for a great series.  It has everything that makes a great Paranormal Romance – passion, conflict, intrigue and compelling characters.  Once I figured out the backstory, I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading the next in the series.

Happy Reading!!

4 Bad Boys – Really Enjoyed It!!!!
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BUY NOW…



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