fishgirl182

e-ARC received from NetgalleyLord of the Vampires is the first book in the new Royal House of Shadows series which will be written by 4 different authors. I'd heard great things about Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series and was excited when I found this book on Netgalley.The king and queen of Elden are slain by the Blood Sorcerer in a bid for power. But before dying, they each cast a spell on their four children to help them survive. One spell got them to safety and the other instilled in them the need for vengeance. The first book is about Nicolai, crown prince of Elden. Nicolai takes after his father's side of the family and is a blood drinker. He is also a notorious lover, bedding a different woman each night. In a cruel twist of fate, Nicolai finds himself as a sex slave to the cruel princess Odette. Having lost his memory, all he knows is that he has to escape and seek vengeance on the current king of Elden. To accomplish this he secretly casts a spell to bring back a human female, Jane, from another world to help him. Let's start with the good things about this book. The premise is interesting and original. Jane and Nicolai have great sexual chemistry. There's plenty of fighting and action, in full bloody detail. Now for the bad. Unfortunately this book just didn't do it for me. I never felt a true emotional connection between the characters and, therefore, was never able to invest in their relationship. Nicolai's plan is to use Jane to escape and then ditch her but he does an about face shortly after Jane appears. Suddenly all he can think is "Mine" and is willing to risk everything for her. Jane, likewise, is ready to risk her life for a man who kidnaps her and plans to leave her high and dry. She's even ready to kill for him, offering to accompany him on his quest to murder the Blood Sorcerer. Though they get to know each other a little more as the story goes on, I still found myself puzzled over why they were drawn to each other.I wanted to like Nicolai. I really did. Normally I love the dominant alpha male types. Unfortunately I didn't find him very charismatic or memorable. Jane was interesting though not particularly compelling. She accepts her predicament way too easily, even for a scholar of fringe science. Her guilt over surviving a horrible car accident is an interesting facet but it's never fully explored. And, while I admire her survival instincts, I find it hard to believe that she can make a hut from leaves, fashion tools from rocks and fell ogres after six months of self defense classes.The dialogue also felt off in this one. Nicolai often spoke in short, caveman-like sentences peppered with modern words and phrases. And don't get me started on the ogres. Their comical and cliche one word statements actually made me laugh while reading.The plot was also hard to follow at times. With the various spells, memory wipes and time/world travel, I had a hard time keeping track of what was going on. And Nicolai's ultimate mission was never resolved. I am guessing it's going to continue on into the next book? Despite the problems I had with this book, I am going to stick with the series. I am interested in the fates of the other siblings and in seeing what the other writers can do with these characters.I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.