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Lord of the Vampires

(Royal House of Shadows #1)

Gena Showalter (Goodreads Author)

3.94 · Rating details · 8,994 ratings · 584 reviews

Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with a need for vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out.

Nicolai the Vampire is renowned for his virility, but in a cruel twist of fate “The Dark Seducer” has become a sex ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 281 pages

Published August 30th 2011 by Harlequin Nocturne (first published August 22nd 2011)

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Jul 12, 2011 UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish rated it really liked it

Shelves: ebook-own-have-read, format-kindle-or-kindle-compatible, format-ebook-for-netgalley, series-royal-house-of-shadows, first-in-series-trilogy-duet, 2011-reads, author-gena-showalter, reviewed-by-me, 4-stars, pnr-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink

Warning! This book contains sex… wow. Hot, crazy, vampire sex! And lots of it.

Lord of the Vampires is the first book in the new Royal House of Shadows series, and my first read of Gena Showalter’s writing. I’ve heard her name mentioned time and time again as friends encouraged me to read her Lords of the Underworld series, but when I saw Lord of the Vampires listed on netgalley, I just couldn’t pass it up!

The first thing that really stood out, and I enjoyed very much, was just how edgy and vici ...more

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Mar 08, 2011 Laura rated it really liked it

http://www.demonloversbooksandmore.co...

Once upon a time, a vampire prince named Nicolai was an arrogant seducer of anything with breasts. He lived happily, frolicking with his brothers and sister, learning to fight, to control his temper, to use his powers, and learn to heal...until one day, an evil sorcerer attacks. His parents, the king and queen, are slaughtered, and with their dying breaths, each casts a spell. His mother sends all 4 of her children to safety, while the king instills a need http://www.demonloversbooksandmore.co...

Once upon a time, a vampire prince named Nicolai was an arrogant seducer of anything with breasts. He lived happily, frolicking with his brothers and sister, learning to fight, to control his temper, to use his powers, and learn to heal...until one day, an evil sorcerer attacks. His parents, the king and queen, are slaughtered, and with their dying breaths, each casts a spell. His mother sends all 4 of her children to safety, while the king instills a need for vengeance against the Blood Sorcerer. Unfortunately the queen's spell sent her children to different places in their world. Nicolai finds himself naked in the sex slave market of Delfina, "a kingdom without time or age."

He escapes and is captured by the princess of the witches, Odette. She and her sister Laila have his memory erased and Odette forces him to become her sex slave.

Meanwhile, in a place far, far away, a cabin in the human realm, we find our heroine, Jane. Jane is recovering from a horrific car accident. A drunk driver hit her car and killed her family, paralyzing Jane, crushing her from waist down. After a long torturous year, she is up, walking, jogging every day to keep her muscles from stiffening, and she is dreaming of a chained vampire. Oh yes, she knows the hero's a vampire because she used to work in a research facility that interrogated the "others." She's a scientist who has been trying to send things over to Nicolai's realm-and she's succeeded with inanimate objects. But one day she finds a book on her doorstep. Opening it up and reading it, she can not only picture Nicolai, the vampire who wrote the lines, but she can see him as if she knows him. Does she?

Next thing she knows, Jane is transported into the Princess Odette's life. Everyone who sees her, sees Odette. Everyone, that is, except Nicolai. He convinces her to free him, and she is whipped by her "mother," the queen, but our hero, in a fit of rage tears through everyone to get to his woman. And that is really just the first 60 pages or so!

But never fear! Once they escape, danger is constantly dogging their heels. Jane is captured by *ahem* very lusty ogres. Even in her fat, ugly, Princess Odette disguise, they want her anyway. She does a good job of fighting one off, but more grab her, and unfortunately Nicolai fought them until he was incapacitated with some of his memories rushing back. Each time he gains more of his memories, it's painful and he loses time. Finding Jane is a priority, but his memories force him to re-live them, and each is a debilitating memory. But as his memory returns, so do his powers, and luckily he's able to find Jane each time.

The two of them find amazing amounts of danger! But I enjoyed watching Nicolai learn that he couldn't just use Jane to escape-he began to care for her, and respect her. The sex came pretty early on, and as we all know Showalter, that woman can write some steamy naughtiness. But I liked it. The world-building wasn't hard to follow, but the memory stealing was. I had a hard time remembering whose memories were stolen and by whom. And the ending was a bit abrupt. But other than that, it was a fun ride. I liked seeing the trademark Gena Showalter sense of humor and I really enjoyed the way Nicolai got possessive over Jane, but he didn't understand why. For those of you who are rolling your eyes at the love at first sight bit, stop right there-it wasn't. There's a sneaky little twist in there that lets us know they've met before. They were friends, but something happens that takes that away.

I liked it, I was confused a few times, but I am really looking forward to the next installment (which is actually written by Jill Monroe. And Jessica Andersen and Nalini Singh have the 2 after that. This looks to be an intense series.

ETA: I've been told this is a variation of Alice in Wonderland, and that actually helped clarify some of the confusion for me.
**eARC courtesy of netgalley.com

...more

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Mar 11, 2011 Danielle The Book Huntress (Back to the Books) rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Very devoted Gena Showalter fans

Shelves: part-of-a-series, royalty, paranormal-romance, scarred-heroine, enslaved, nerd-prof-scientist-genius-geek, bad-boy-rake-or-rogue, witch-sorcereress-healer, 2011-reading, possessive-and-or-jealous-hero

Sadly, I was pretty disappointed with this book. If it was written by another author that I didn't have higher expectations for, I would have liked it fairly well. But for Gena Showalter, and what I know she can write, this one didn't quite measure up. I think it's the Harlequin Nocturne curse. I've found that these books don't have enough content to make this PNR fan happy. Ms. Showalter seemed to have some issues with the word count restrictions. I think she did the best she could, but I felt Sadly, I was pretty disappointed with this book. If it was written by another author that I didn't have higher expectations for, I would have liked it fairly well. But for Gena Showalter, and what I know she can write, this one didn't quite measure up. I think it's the Harlequin Nocturne curse. I've found that these books don't have enough content to make this PNR fan happy. Ms. Showalter seemed to have some issues with the word count restrictions. I think she did the best she could, but I felt that the storytelling wasn't as cohesive, and some aspects were less concrete that I would like. I think as a 400 page book, this could have been an awesome story. For a 281 page book, it's rather half-done.

I wanted more world-building and stronger characterization. The world seemed a bit like a Saturday morning cartoon as far as the fairy land stricken by dark magic. I was left wanting more on that front. The bad guys were kind of cardboard. I love a wicked witch villainess, and this could have rocked in that sense. As is, the players were too sketchy for my tastes. As far as the romance/sexy bits, that was very well done as it was, although more time spent on Nicolai and Jane getting to know each other wouldn't have come amiss.

On the positive side, I really liked Jane as a heroine. Nicolai didn't impress me, but I wasn't necessarily disappointed. He was just okay. He was the standard rakish hero who happens to be a vampire. He didn't strike me as particularly tortured, but yes, he was sexy! I didn't mind the monosyllabic/neanderthal speech as much as some of my fellow readers. It fit Nicolai's character to me, so it didn't stick out. He's an elemental, primal kind of guy, and I would expect that of him for the woman he fell in love/felt a strong bond with. As far as the sex slave to beat all sex slaves angle, I think The Pleasure Slave has a somewhat similar scenario in some respects, but done much better, because there was more time for the story to ripen and bloom fully.

As much as it pains me, I can't give this one more than 3.25/5.0 stars. Ms. Showalter, you still rock for me, and I am still a loyal fan. I blame this more on the short format than on a lack of writing skills on your part. My fingers are crossed that I enjoy the following books in the series a little more. I'm not giving up on Harlequin Nocturnes yet, darn it! ...more

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Mar 03, 2020 Mindy Lou's Book Review rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: pnr-scifi-fantasy, 2020

3.5 Stars. I think I would have liked this more if I had read it vs listening to the audiobook. The narrator was good with most character voices...until she did the heroes voice. Unfortunately, her male voice made me cringe. I know I’m pretty picky about that, so I tried to ignore her performance of his character and enjoy the story despite it. I did like this story and will have to do a re-read with the book another time.

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Dec 17, 2015 Daniella rated it did not like it

Look, if you're going to write about a heroine who's supposed to be a scientist, please make sure that her thought process is rational, at the very least . No amount of term dropping would convince me that she's smart if she acts like a bloody dimwit most of the time. Seriously. What self-respecting scientist would believe in vampires in the first place?

She knew that vampires, shape-shifters and other creatures of the night existed, even though her coworkers on the quantum physics side of the

...more

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Mar 07, 2011 Ren Puspita rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Gena Showalter fans

Shelves: author-autobuy, drooling-cover, alpha-hero, stubborn-chara, special-ability, paranormal-romance, reviewed, e-books, there-are-hot-men, steamy

e-ARC provided by netgalley.com

Edited rating : 3,5 stars

The first book of Royal House of Shadows series. The story about the crown prince of Elden, Nicolai, who turned to sex slave and need this woman, Jane Parker, to save him.

Nicolai, once a crown prince of Elden, the magical Kingdom. Knowing as Dark Seducer, he seduced many women as he want, never bother to search his queen. But when Blood Sorcerer took over his kingdom, the king and the queen was killed but before their last breath, they sen ...more

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Oct 10, 2011 Kristen rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: steamy, couldnt-connect-with-characters, abuse-and-or-rape-issues, lost-interest-in-story, strong-willed-heroine, vampires, 2-star, eye-rolling-moments, audiobook, disappointing-read

1½ Stars

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Jul 07, 2011 Bonnie rated it liked it

Shelves: arcs-netgalley, pn-vampires

Lord of the Vampires was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Harlequin.

3 stars - but only because of the originality of the story.

“They called him Nicolai,” and he is one of the four royal heirs to the kingdom of Elden. After his father the King and his mother the Queen cast spells in a poor attempt to protect their children, the spells go awry and Nicolai winds up having his powers bound, his memory wiped clean, and being the prisoner of Odette, princess of the witches in Delfina, “a kingdom Lord of the Vampires was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Harlequin.

3 stars - but only because of the originality of the story.

“They called him Nicolai,” and he is one of the four royal heirs to the kingdom of Elden. After his father the King and his mother the Queen cast spells in a poor attempt to protect their children, the spells go awry and Nicolai winds up having his powers bound, his memory wiped clean, and being the prisoner of Odette, princess of the witches in Delfina, “a kingdom without time or age”.

Jane is a scientist in the modern world who is recovering from serious injuries from a recent car accident where a drunk driver killed her mother, father, and sister; Jane was the only survivor. She has recently experienced dreams of a man chained up and being held against his will. His name is Nicolai and he is a vampire. Jane receives a book in the mail that was written by Nicolai. There is no explanation for why she knows this, she just does because she feels that she knows Nicolai… and not just from what she dreams about. Jane falls asleep reading Nicolai’s writing and wakes up in another time and place… in Delfina, as princess Odette. Jane of course having no clue how this has happened is glad to find that Nicolai is in fact real. She manages to free him and they escape Delfina together and that’s when their troubles begin.

This book is the definition of paranormal romance… which is probably why I ended up not being the hugest fan of this book. I originally thought this leaned towards urban fantasy but I guessed wrong. I had a hard time with this book. I felt myself scrunching my forehead for the majority of the book trying to figure out what was going on. The memory issue and how they would come to Nicolai in spurts was confusing and a bit hard to follow at first.

The overall story was quite original and I actually found it quite interesting. But if I had to read ‘tented loincloth’ one more time I swear I was going to scream. Overall, I’m sure this was a great novel for paranormal romance lovers, unfortunately… it just wasn’t my cup of tea. ...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Laura rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Fans of PNR, romance,erotic

Shelves: scorching-hot

This was my first read by Gena Showalter and I am happy to say that I was very pleased with this story. Lately, I’ve had a difficult time find good paranormal romance novels that I could really get involved with. I enjoy my PNR with solid world building, believable characters, and hot and heavy on the romance; “Lord of the Vampire’s” was full of both.
After the king and queen of Elden are tragically slain, their four children are cast out being protected by a spell cast by their witch mother. Alo This was my first read by Gena Showalter and I am happy to say that I was very pleased with this story. Lately, I’ve had a difficult time find good paranormal romance novels that I could really get involved with. I enjoy my PNR with solid world building, believable characters, and hot and heavy on the romance; “Lord of the Vampire’s” was full of both.
After the king and queen of Elden are tragically slain, their four children are cast out being protected by a spell cast by their witch mother. Along with the protection spell, the four children are filled with a need for extreme vengeance against those who tore their family apart. The first book in this series is about eldest son and Vampire, Nicolai.
Nicolai has quite the reputation with the ladies, and it’s no surprise to see multiple women in his bed at one time. But when Nicolai wakes up from the spell that was cast, not only does he discover he is now a sex slave to the evil princesses Odette and Laila, he also has no recollection of how he was brought to this place, nor of the life he led before. He knows that only one person can save him, and he calls out to her desperate to have her rescue him…
Jane lives in present day USA and works for the government in a group that investigates paranormal beings and the ways of their lives. She is also the sole survivor of a tragic car accident that claimed the lives of everyone else in her family. Jane has no real passion in life and merely exists. Nothing exciting or interesting happens to her. When she comes home one day and finds a box on her doorstep with a mysterious book inside it, all the excitement she’s been missing suddenly comes to life. After reading the book, Jane realizes the man that’s haunted her dreams is calling out to her. As she finally falls asleep, she imagines she’s there with Nicolai, there within the same castle as he, and when she wakes up, lo and behold, she is.
The attraction between Nicolai and Jane is immediate and I N T E N S E!! Together, they come up with a plan to help Nicolai escape. They flee the castle together and encounter creatures of all types, dark magic, and dangerous situations. They also discover a hunger for one another that is every bit as necessary as breathing.
The world building in this novel was fantastic. The author did a great job of creating a believable world that I found to be interesting and realistic. Elden and Delfina are filled with paranormal creature and magic around every corner and it was very enjoyable to read.
The sex between Jane and Nicolai was steaming, sizzling hot and I was sweating throughout the novel and completely addicted to their chemistry. Couldn’t get enough of it.

Hands down, favorite part of this book; Nicolai. Oooooh, I just love the way his name rolls off my tongue. I loved his bad boy alpha self and his possessiveness over Jane. I couldn’t get enough of his short and to the point sentences. "Want you. Now”……Um…..YES PLEASE!!! Good grief I was swooning over this man.
This book is full of paranormal elements, action, and hot steamy sex. I highly recommend it to any lover of PNR. Looking forward to the rest in the series. Four Solid Stars.

This book was provided to me via NetGalley
...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Francesca the Fierce (Under the Covers Book Blog) rated it liked it

Shelves: genre-paranormal-romance, vampires, books-read-2011

I love the concept of the Royal House of Shadows. It's a bit fairytale, a bit paranormal, and some time traveling.

Nicolai is a vampire. He was bought as a slave years ago and has been kept prisoner, and used as a sex slave. He now finds a way to bring a human female to him to rescue him. He is in a land where there is not time. And to escape, this human comes in the form of one of his captors. Only he can see her true self. He is a bit of a caveman, sometimes he can't put complete sentences tog ...more

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Oct 06, 2011 CaroB rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: did-not-finish

This is the first book I have picked up from Gena Showalter, though I have a few of her ebooks in my TBR shelf. I was completely unimpressed.

The writing style felt stilted, the story had holes the size of Uluru in it, not to mention that the characters were so two dimensional it was off-putting. The only thing this story had going for it was the steam factor, but even then, I quickly came to the conclusion that I'd rather have good plot and wit than mediocre storytelling with a touch of smexines ...more

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May 16, 2011 Desperado rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal-romance, arcs, reviews, 5-and-4-star-ratings, on-kindle

ARC provided by Netgalley & Harlequin.

Lord of the Vampires is the first book in the 4-part “Royal House of Shadows” series by Gena Showalter, Jill Monroe, Jessica Andersen and Nalini Singh about four royal siblings who are sent to different kingdoms by their parents after being defeated by the corrupt “Blood Sorcerer.” The hero is Nicolai, a dark-haired vampire with a frustrating case of memory loss who fights and seduces with equal passion. The heroine, Jane, is an intelligent scientist recover ARC provided by Netgalley & Harlequin.

Lord of the Vampires is the first book in the 4-part “Royal House of Shadows” series by Gena Showalter, Jill Monroe, Jessica Andersen and Nalini Singh about four royal siblings who are sent to different kingdoms by their parents after being defeated by the corrupt “Blood Sorcerer.” The hero is Nicolai, a dark-haired vampire with a frustrating case of memory loss who fights and seduces with equal passion. The heroine, Jane, is an intelligent scientist recovering from a devastating accident. With the help of magic, the two cross paths and so the story begins!

I’m going to be honest; I did not enjoy this book at first. Which is a bit of a shocker because I love me some Gena Showalter. I’d marry her if she’d have me. Get on one knee for the chance at a lifetime of terrific romances…Okay, back to the story. Jane came off like a sex-starved idiot from the very beginning. Almost all of her thoughts revolved around making sweet, sweet love to the scorching hot man in her dreams. And when she met the man of her dreams, Nicolai, it only went downhill from there. She’s one of those women who claim to be extremely intelligent but are lacking in common sense. Like the scene with the Ogres where she thought her self-defense classes would turn her into Betina Badass. I had a hard time warming up to her as a heroine, since all we seemed to have in common is that we both like sex. A lot. Or maybe that’s just me.

And Nicolai? Well, I couldn’t relate to him either. I saw him more as a horny teenager with anger management issues than as “The Dark Seducer” the blurb proclaims. There’s only so many times a man can wax poetic about a woman’s luscious everything before I’ll start advising him to invest in a blow up doll.

But it all got better towards the middle of this book. Jane quit lusting-as much. Nicolai quit playing with himself-as much. The plot line of him trying to get his memories back moved along nicely. There was a lot of action and intrigue along the way that kept me entertained and a ruthless Princess who deserved every bad thing coming to her. And the sex scenes? WOW. They make you want to knock Jane down a well just so you can have Nicolai all to yourself. For the first time, I started to believe that there was more to the attraction between Jane and Nicolai than the burning urge to insert tab A into slot B. When those two love, they love like complete idiots. But isn’t everyone a fool in love? I can’t wait to continue this series with the next book, Lord of Rage by Jill Monroe.

My favorite quote from “Lord of the Vampires”:

Jane: “I lied. You’re ugly and mean and I wouldn’t give myself to you even if a flesh eating bacteria was ravaging this world, and your cock held the only immunization.”
...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Ana rated it liked it

Shelves: zz-read-in-2011, zz-netgalley, z-silhouette-nocturne, paranormal-romance, vampire-romance

Nicolai is a slave, his past gone, only the thirst for revenge remaining. Well, and the desire to kill the princesses that tortured and used him for years. But to escape his prison he needs help. Help that comes in shape of a human woman, a scientist that researches his kind. But the moment he sees her, his planes change. There's no way he could sacrifice her life in exchange for his freedom. The best laid plans...

Jane is incredibly surprised to find herself in a strange bedroom with people call ...more

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Mar 12, 2011 Riverina Romantics rated it liked it

Shelves: on-blog

3.5 Stars

Since I started reading The Lords of the Underworld series my heart starts to beat a little faster whenever I hear of a new Gena Showalter release.

Gena is a brilliantly talented author! She has a flair for hunky sexy hero’s who make my knees weak, an amazing sense of humour that draws me in and the ability to make me hang on her every word.....so it pains me to say that I didn’t feel a great deal of any of that in this book.

Lord of the Vampires contained the style of writing I have gro ...more

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Mar 16, 2011 Leah rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult-lit, anthology-omnibus, m-f, love-triangle-love-v, 4-stars

When I first heard about this series, I was really intrigued by the idea that four different authors were going to write one of the four books. And I was really looking forward to the Gena Showalter and Nalini Singh ones.

Despite hearing that this wasn't one of Gena's best, I really liked it. It may not be my "Oh my God, this is totally my favorite of hers!" book, but it was still really good. I liked the world she started building up and I loved Nicolai and Jane. They were a great couple.

My only ...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Vashti added it

Shelves: dnf, on-hold-for-now

Could not finish this book, will leave for later
1.5** for only the parts I read which was 1/3 of the book.

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May 27, 2011 Katya rated it did not like it

Shelves: vampire

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Okay I just want to start off by saying that I love Gena Showalter and the Lord of the Underworld Series. I had high hopes for this book, "Lord of the Vampires" (Royal House of Shadows, #1.) But I was sadly disappointed.

It starts off in typical Gena Showalter fashion. Some mythical, wild kingdom...history, fable, history, a few mythical beings to set the stage and then bammmmm we are in the present and everything is as normal as the readers life. Before you can exit chapter 1 you already know th ...more

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Mar 16, 2011 Annie rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Gena Showalter fans, paranormal romanca fans

Shelves: pnr, first-book-in-series, netgalley, keep-a-spare-pair-of-knickers, warriors, vampires, author-gena-showalter, mages-or-witches, read-in-2011

This is a group review for Under the Covers

Lord of the Vampires is the first book in the Royal House of Shadows series. This series tells the tale of three brothers and one sister, each is a prince or princess in the royal house of Elden, that is until their home is destroyed and their parents, the King and Queen, murdered by the Blood Sorcerer who now rules cruelly and desecrates their land. We loved the sound of this series, and as massive fans of Gena Showalter we had to pick it up and read ...more

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Aug 15, 2011 Lauren rated it it was ok

Shelves: paranormal-romance, vampires, fated-mates, pregnancy, retellings, revenge, tortured-hero, amnesia, dreams, harlequin-silhouette

Lord of the Vampires
2 Stars

Synopsis:
Once a vampire renowned for his virility, Nicolai is currently a sex slave to a revolting family of witches. When he summons help, the most unlikely of women is unable to disobey his call. Jane Parker is a human scientist who finds herself in a magical realm and must save the life of the only man she has ever craved.

Review:
An intriguing reverse fairytale plot, however, the execution is exceedingly disappointing.

While I’m usually a fan of dominant alpha males, ...more

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Dec 29, 2011 The BookChick rated it did not like it

Shelves: 1-star-read, never-read-again, dnf

Book Description:
Nicolai the Vampire is renowned for his virility, but in a cruel twist of fate “The Dark Seducer” has become a sex slave in the kingdom of Delfina—stripped of his precious timepiece and his memory. All that remains is a primal need for freedom, revenge—and the only woman who can help him.

When the wanton vampire summons Jane Parker, she is helpless to obey. She's drawn to his dark sexuality and into his magical realm. But for this human, all is not a fairy tale. For saving Nicol ...more

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Aug 15, 2017 Carrie rated it did not like it

Shelves: annoying-characters, vampire, did-not-like

My gods that was painful...so freaking painful and so disappointing, I really expected more from Gena Showalter.

I did not like any of the characters.

Story line wise there was some potential but it I couldn't see past it. If not for a challenge I would have gladly dnf it.

Jane finds a book one evening on her door step, the text is directed to her. Come safe me...blah blah she poof wakes up in another world they all think she's a princess, lots sex and saying of the word mine, I'm yours, mine. Bl ...more

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Jul 14, 2011 Susan (susayq ~) rated it it was ok

Shelves: 1st-in-series, category-romance, paranormal, 2011books

2-2.5 stars. This was my first Gena Showalter and it was ok. I'm kind of disappointed that other than Jane and Nicolai getting together, nothing happened. He didn't even make it back to his home land. Yeah, I get that he'll need his brothers and sister to fight and defeat the Blood Sorcerer, but he could have started the journey to either find his family or to his home land. There was lots of SEX. Not that I'm against reading that, cause I'm definitely not. But it seemed like all they were doing ...more

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May 13, 2011 Jae rated it really liked it

Shelves: hot-shagging-action, 2011, arc, first-read-by-author, paranormal

I liked Nicolai and Jane and the story well enough, but just hated the ending. And I hated it not only because it was too rushed but also because it was left as a cliff hanger. I guess, we'll only know what really happens to Nicolai and his kingdom after the fourth book.

Each book in the Royal House of Shadows series was written by different author, so will be a hit or a miss with each one. ...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Lynsey (A Bookish Life) rated it did not like it

Shelves: books-that-should-die

I don't seem to be having a good week for reading Gena Showalter this week. I read The Darkest Prison Novella and was...unimpressed, shall we say? Now this effort...

This is book one in a multi-author series called the Royal House of Shadows. With this only being book one, I don't, as yet, know how each book is connected with the others, or whether or not I actually needed to read this one to get background information for the rest of the books in the series. Out of the four authors currently in ...more

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Jul 18, 2011 Lisarenee rated it really liked it

Notes: I read the ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of this book. The book will be released August 23rd. Contains violence in the form of attempted rape and murder.

The Royal House of Elden was attacked. In an effort to save their children, the Queen cast a spell to send each of them to a different kingdom. At the same time, the King cast a spell so that each of his children would seek vengeance upon the Blood Sorcerer. Each child possess a silver timepiece which connects each child to the other and to ...more

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Apr 29, 2011 Jen Davis rated it liked it

Shelves: arcs, pararnormal-romance, royal-house-of-shadows

I feel like a traitor. I LOVE Gena Showalter. She is one of my top go-to authors for paranormal romance. So when I found out about this book and the Royal House of Shadows series, I was sooo excited. But (I can't believe I'm saying this) I was disappointed. This book had all the hot sex you'd expect from a Showalter story, but for me, it was missing something substantial. I couldn't connect with it; I couldn't feel what the characters were feeling.

The premise of the series is this: An evil sorce I feel like a traitor. I LOVE Gena Showalter. She is one of my top go-to authors for paranormal romance. So when I found out about this book and the Royal House of Shadows series, I was sooo excited. But (I can't believe I'm saying this) I was disappointed. This book had all the hot sex you'd expect from a Showalter story, but for me, it was missing something substantial. I couldn't connect with it; I couldn't feel what the characters were feeling.

The premise of the series is this: An evil sorcerer has killed the king and queen of the magical world of Elden. But before they died, the sovereigns used their last bits of power to reach out to their four children. The king instilled in them a burning need for vengeance; while the queen wished them away to safety. Each of the four gets his or her own book, penned by a different author. Showalter's book features the eldest prince, Nicolai.

When his mother's magic whisked him away from the castle, he was in the middle of a sexual conquest... And with the strange way the magic worked, he reappeared as a sex slave. Some evil witch princesses bought him and had his memory erased. He doesn't remember who he is, but his need for revenge still burns in him and on some level, he knows he is more than a slave.

Using magic, Nicolai summons a human named Jane to free him. (The how and why of this are revealed over the course of the book.) Jane appears in the visage of one of the princesses and together, they flee from the royal court.

The two are instantly attracted to each other. It's one of those "mine-at-first-sight" things. I'm not usually bothered by the whole alpha-male "mine" mentality, but here, it went on and on. And while I am a big fan of some steamy love scenes, I tend to enjoy them most when they resolve an underlying sexual tension. I just didn't feel the tension here... the two of them were ready to get busy with each other from the first moment they saw each other. No build-up at all. Nothing to grab me and say, "If I can't see these two get together soon, I'll die." Their attraction was explained later, but it was too little, too late.

Beyond that, I never felt a fear that something would come between them. Jane's concerns about Nicolai's reaction to her job felt out of left-field and contrived. Worries that he might have a woman floating around out there... suffice it to say, I wasn't worried. Then to top it all off, I didn't understand how Jane resolved the final obstacle to their happily ever after. Nicolai sends her a note telling her to "use her head" and then all of a sudden her science experiment works in a way it's never worked before? I'm just... kind of at a loss.

I'm sorry, Gena, because I really do think you're awesome. 3 stars.

*ARC Provided by NetGalley

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Jul 08, 2011 Vanessa theJeepDiva rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2011, paranormal-romance

Nicolai is one of four children who at the time of his parent’s death were sent away from the royal palace that was under attack. Only a time piece that he is no longer in possession of links him to his siblings. He is not even aware of a missing timepiece though. His lusty ways and an error in magic cast by a dying parent sent him to the slave market, as a sex slave. His purchasers have wiped his memory repeatedly. In an attempt to escape he writes magic into a book and draw a modern time huma Nicolai is one of four children who at the time of his parent’s death were sent away from the royal palace that was under attack. Only a time piece that he is no longer in possession of links him to his siblings. He is not even aware of a missing timepiece though. His lusty ways and an error in magic cast by a dying parent sent him to the slave market, as a sex slave. His purchasers have wiped his memory repeatedly. In an attempt to escape he writes magic into a book and draw a modern time human Jane to come assist in his escape. Jane works for a sect of the government that studies the supernatural. So she is not shocked that the chained vampire she has been dreaming of for the past several months is in this book. She is also not shaken that she has been brought into another realm by the chained vampire. Jane’s a trooper. She agrees to help Nicolai. She has a gazillion questions and her scientific mind questions everything, but she atrocities that he has dealt with and feels the need to help him obtain his freedom.

I have no idea why but I loved Nicolai’s short choppy sentence caveman speak. Not to mention the really hot over used “Mine.” When I say over used I mean in this book alone, not as readers see it in so many books. Nicolai might as well been shouting this as his mantra when in Jane’s presence. I also liked Jane and Nicolai’s connection. As a couple they really worked for me. I give much of that credit to Jane not freaking out about popping up in an alternate realm where magic is used and vampires exist. I also really enjoyed all the flashbacks that Nicolai had while his memories randomly trickled back to him. The catalyst that caused his memories to begin surfacing was captivating too. I am one who typically does not enjoy a historical like fantasy world (that what this book is) but I really enjoyed the magical elements and the setting was perfect.

This was a very fast paced book. I was also amazed at how much action was squeezed into the 288 pages. Loved what the books big evil doer got in the end. Justice was served in the most appropriate way. Very interested to see where this series goes. The readers are given very little information of the other siblings. Nicolai shows the readers small memories of his siblings as he is getting his memories back. Once he has all of his memories back he still only knows vague hunches or rumors. The location and well-being of the others for the most part is unknown. Thus I’m tremendously intrigued. I will definitely read the next book in the series, which is Breena’s (the only female sibling) story. At the end of Lord of the Vampires, Nicolai has found out that she is possibly with Berserkers. A series that has been written by four different seems quite interesting!

Favorite quote, from Jane: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but I might be a vampire so I don't give a shit."
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Aug 08, 2011 marlene rated it liked it

I really should start this off by saying that I have huge issues with books who have main characters that meet someone of the opposite sex and within about 3 seconds flat think its an awesome idea to leave their lives and go run off with them abandoning everything else. (regardless of how little that may actually be) It gives me Twilight post traumatic stress syndrome. I just want to lock these women in a padded room and keep them well medicated.

Lord of the Vampires, (Royal House of Shadows #1) I really should start this off by saying that I have huge issues with books who have main characters that meet someone of the opposite sex and within about 3 seconds flat think its an awesome idea to leave their lives and go run off with them abandoning everything else. (regardless of how little that may actually be) It gives me Twilight post traumatic stress syndrome. I just want to lock these women in a padded room and keep them well medicated.

Lord of the Vampires, (Royal House of Shadows #1), by Gena Showalter is released by Harlequin. Right there I knew this would be a little different than her other work. I was really intrigued by the concept of a series where each book was written by a different author so I went for it anyway. I just happen to love all of the other authors involved in this project.

This book starts out in modern day with a scientist named Jane. She is recovering from an accident that left her paralyzed for some time and killed her family. Jane apparently specialized in paranormal being research as well as trying to have things / people travel inter-dimensionally. I don't really get it. It seemed kind of random. At no point in this story do we get into any sort of corporate or government involvement so all of that was just somewhat extra. It was more used as a device to make her acceptance of the supernatural seem logical. It didn't really work, but I went with it anyway.

Nicolai, the vampire of the story lives in the magical realm which is pretty archaic. They are still riding horses from far away kingdom to far away kingdom. Apparently education is on that same level. He is pretty “Me sexy vampire. You Jane. Naked now.”

Rules of the world are established as we go along. Then they just are pretty much shattered without much of an explanation. For example, it is stated that vampires are born and not made, yet that gets staked to dust later.

The book was a fast read. The world was okay. I really had nothing else at the time so it was all good. Aside from the the story of the H/h there is an overall story arc to the series that does not get resolved. This is in no way a cliff hanger, the story of Jane and Nicholi is done I am interested to see what the other authors do to move the series story arc along, but I was pretty happy to see this installment end.

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Nov 18, 2011 Duchess Nicole rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2011, recommendations, genre-paranormal-vamps, genre-paranormal-other, pick-it-for-me

This was okay. A bit confusing and convoluted at times, though I like the idea behind the series. I thought it just seemed a bit rushed, like she skipped a lot of the details so she could hurry through to get to the end. It comes across as almost a fantasy world, with this different dimension full of mythical creatures. I'm assuming that the other three books in the series, with Nicolai's siblings, will delve a bit more into the details and conclusions to the storyline. Though since Nicolai is s ...more

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Jul 05, 2011 Jess rated it liked it

Review posted: Happily Ever After - Reads

Nicolai is a vampire with no memory of his past. He can’t remember that as his parents were being attacked and ultimately killed by the Blood Sorcerer, they each cast spells to protect him and his siblings. One spell cast was to send them away, the other to get vengeance on their killer. The spells went wrong and Nicolai ends up being sold as a sex slave, his memory is wiped and he’s held prisoner. First by one horrible princess Odette, then after her dea Review posted: Happily Ever After - Reads

Nicolai is a vampire with no memory of his past. He can’t remember that as his parents were being attacked and ultimately killed by the Blood Sorcerer, they each cast spells to protect him and his siblings. One spell cast was to send them away, the other to get vengeance on their killer. The spells went wrong and Nicolai ends up being sold as a sex slave, his memory is wiped and he’s held prisoner. First by one horrible princess Odette, then after her death, he was held by her sister, an equally horrible princess, Laila. Every now and then snippets of his memory come to him only to be followed by intense pain unless he loses the train of thought on trying to remember. Nicolai is able to communicate with Jane Parker, though she initially comes to him as a vision. He’s able to spin a spell to get her to him, body and spirit and only with her help can he try to escape from Laila and figure out the missing pieces of his past.

Jane Parker has lost everything. One year ago, a car wreck took her family from her, and she was bed bound for months recovering from the devastating crash. She now lives alone and having no job (a fallout from her accident), no family, her life consists of waking up, running to help strengthen her legs which suffered damage from the crash, she eats, reads and goes to sleep. There’s not much to live for at this point and when she receives a book that was left on her porch with the words “I need you, Jane” – she instinctively knows that the story within this book has so much more meaning, and after feeling the connection to the words and the man in the partial story that’s written on the pages, she falls asleep only to wake up in another place. One with Nicolai there, waiting for her help.

Nicolai and Jane are tossed into a struggle to try to figure out a way to get Nicolai’s memories back and to free him from Laila. They are drawn to each other in ways neither can explain, although Nicolai knows without a doubt that she is his. No question. He wants to mark her, to protect her and be with her always.

He would protect what was his, and fight for what he wanted. Always. Anyone who tormented him or those he loved would suffer. And with him, a woman would never have to worry about anything. Well, except her panties. Those might be ripped a few times.

Jane found herself in plenty of trouble throughout the book. Just when our couple had escaped and went on the run, Jane was captured by ogres who wanted her as their sex slave. One thing about Jane I enjoyed, she kept her sarcastic sense of humor throughout. Even when she was being beaten, threatened and facing rape by monsters, her inner dialogue about the head ogre had me laughing:

“You. Knees. Now.”

“I understand what you’re saying.” Moron. Some people drank at the fountain of knowledge. He must have gargled and spit. Then again, he might not have done even that. “That’s why I’m telling you no.”… “you’re ugly and mean and I wouldn’t give myself to you even if a flesh eating bacteria was ravaging this world, and your cock held the only immunization.”

The relationship between Nicolai and Jane was intense. They both knew pretty much from the start that they were meant to be together, especially in Nicolai’s mind, and when they share blood, interesting side effects happen. They both gain different abilities and Nicolai finds that Jane is the key to him slowly getting his memories back. A very drastic change occurs for Jane with their blood sharing, one that she easily accepts. I thought maybe she’d have a little more reservation about everything that was happening, but when you think about Jane’s life and this being her chance to start over, to build something new for herself that doesn’t include all the pain and hurt from her past, it’s easier to believe that she’d jump at the chance to have happiness.

It took a little bit to get into the world and the story, but I finished the book interested to see where the series will go. I like the idea that a different author is writing a book for each sibling, giving them their own unique voice. Nicolai’s story is ongoing, as he’s still on the move to return to his home and take back the throne and along the way find out where his brothers and sister are. I’m curious about Breena, who’s up next, followed by Dayn and Micah and the ultimate battle that will be coming between the siblings and the Blood Sorcerer. While this book might not have fully captivated me, I do look forward to seeing what happens next.

2.5/5 stars ...more

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What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Romance/Fantasy Female MC saves prince in other dimension/realm. [s]	6	86	Sep 28, 2019 02:15PM
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About Gena Showalter

Gena Showalter

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Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over seventy books, including the acclaimed Lords of the Underworld series, the Gods of War series, the White Rabbit Chronicles, and the Forest of Good and Evil series. She writes sizzling paranormal romance, heartwarming contemporary romance, and unputdownable young adult novels, and lives in Oklahoma City with her family an ...more