In Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert (9/6), Mina grew up as an outcast in her own 
father’s compound, being that she was half human and half vampire–a dhampir–with no powers. Her father literally beat into her the knowledge that she was less than his other offspring. Something he proved one more time when he sent Mina to vampire Malachi Zion’s mansion to be nothing more than a blood bank and womb to carry on the bloodline. Knowing she won’t easily get free has never stopped her before from trying. And she bears the scars to prove it. But when Mina meets Malachi and they form an incredible bond together, she sees the possibility of them creating their own future. Once they remove her father from the picture.
‘The only path to peace is through power, and it means taking my father’s place as head of the compound…and head of the bloodline.’
Soon Malachi isn’t the only bloodline vampire in Mina’s new world. His friends and sometimes lovers, Wolf and Rylan, join them in their plans to overthrow Cornelius’s oppressive rule. The foursome also falls a little deeper into each other’s arms with each day that passes. Something Mina could never have dreamed up. She finds herself becoming more and more protective of her three vampires, knowing each day could be their last with so many enemies at their door. With some strategic planning, calling in a few favors from unsavory beings, and their blood bond holding them close, Mina, Malachi, Wolf, and Rylan will do whatever it takes to ensure they get the future they so deserve.
“There are more ways tomorrow could go wrong than there are ways it could go right.”
“I know.” He cups my face and drags his thumb along my lower lip. “But we’ve survived impossible scenarios already. What’s one more?”
“That logic is so incredibly flawed.”
He gives a brief smile. “It’s the only logic I have.”
Court of the Vampire Queen was Katee Robert’s sinful and seductive reverse harem trilogy, the explicit Bloodline Vampires books, all packaged up in one tantalizing anthology.
‘I am painfully aware this trio are apex predators and I am one measly step above human.
I might not survive the night.’
Trigger warning: View Spoiler »
While I’m sure this won’t be every reader’s cup of tea, Court of the Vampire Queen was one super hot polyamorous paranormal romance. Katee Robert took her Bloodline Vampires trilogy (Sacrifice, Heir, and Queen) and put all three books into this one offering, set up as Act I, Act II, and Act III instead of referencing each book’s name. Even though it sometimes felt like the love scenes took over the story and we lost the plot a couple of times, the bond Robert’s created between the four main characters was strong enough to hold it all together for me. Talk about compelling. It certainly helped that the three male leads: Malachi, Wolf, and Rylan, had a history together. So that added a layer of tension and familiarity to their relationship. But it was adding broken-spirited, naive Mina to the mix that changed the dynamics forever.
Mina’s role in it all definitely changed the most by the end. It was frustrating to watch her opinions get passed over and how the guys treated her like a possession a few times. But I loved that she grew into her powers and into her own skin, showing that backbone of steel she’d used since she was a child at her father’s abusive hands. So it was even more lovely to see how Malachi and Mina had an intense emotional connection right away and how things also evolved to include Wolf and Rylan in protecting and caring deeply for her.
I will mention that when I read book one, Sacrifice, a couple of years ago, I remember thinking I must have missed a novella or short story that introduced us to this world because Robert drops us right into the thick of things from the start. Turns out, that’s just how the story begins. Once the characters were revealed and the plot became apparent, though, I was pretty hooked. There’s just something about the bond the four of them made that piqued my interest.
QOTD: Character dynamics were everything in this racy trilogy. Do you prefer a character-driven or a plot-driven story?
Book Info:
Publication: September 6, 2022 | Sourcebooks Casablanca | Bloodline Vampires
Three Powerfully Alluring Vampire Men
And One Queen to Rule Them All
All Mina ever wanted was to escape her father’s control. Half human, half vampire, she lived eternally torn between two worlds, never fully experiencing the pleasures of either—until her father chose her as the pawn in his latest political move, gifting her to the darkly powerful and dangerously seductive Malachi Zion.
Malachi is not a vampire to be trifled with. He rules with an iron fist and has a reputation for the darkest of sins. But the longer Mina spends with him, the more she realizes he’s not the monster she first thought—and as fear bleeds into lust, then trust, then something more, Malachi opens Mina up to a world she never knew could be hers for the taking: including the love of Malachi’s two closest friends and companions.
Now surrounded by all three men, the center of their shockingly seductive world, Mina may finally have the power to face down her father and take back the life—and crown—that by all rights should be hers.
LONG LIVE THE QUEEN.
