#Book Review #Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert

DescriptionThree 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.

My thoughts:
 Court of the Vampire Queen consists of three previously published novellas Sacrifice, Heir, and Queen (Bloodlines series) which explains why there are brief re-caps at the beginning of Act II and III. Katie's writing is engaging and, as usual, there are a lot of steamy scenes (the protagonists are in a polyamorous relationship), so, if you pick this book looking for spice, you'll probably like it. Just read the content warnings (esp.blood play, explicit sex, pregnancy) and don't expect an intricate plot or serious character development.

Mina, the female protagonist, is a half-human, half-vampire daughter of a powerful 'bloodline' vampire overlord Cornelius. Given that she has no magical powers, her father has little use for her and sends her away as a gift (more like a snack) to his powerful prisoner Malachi. If Mina survives Malachi's bloodlust and even better gets pregnant by Malachi, Cornelius will be able to gain control over Malachi's bloodline. In this world/realm there 'turned' vampires and 7 bloodlines that are slowly dying out. Malachi and Mina's connection is immediate, but things get more complicated when he is joined by his friends/allies/(ex)lovers who would like to help him break free from Cornelius's imprisonment. In the meantime, they do discover that our magicless Mina was quite special, after all. As I mentioned above, the plot is pretty straightforward and heavily padded by sex scenes.

The protagonists (Mina and her 'reverse harem' Malachi, Wolf, and Rylan)  are well-differentiated, but we don't know much about their past or their views on just about anything apart from Mina). Mina herself is a far cry from strong, sassy urban fantasy heroines- her males keep talking about her as if she isn't present, she feels everyone is making huge sacrifices by being with her, whenever there is a serious decision to make or a cost to pay, someone else does it.
Overall, come prepared and expect lots of smut.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion.