Night Marked Darkfell Vampire Clan Book #!
Dragons and Mythical Creatures, Dark Fantasy, Paranormal Vampire Romance
Fools Journey Press
July 30, 2021
Kindle
358
Amazon
A virgin queen determined to choose her own fate.
A scarred warrior marked by darkness.
And the king who will kill them both to keep the throne.
I was plucked from my ordinary, ho-hum life and plunked into a nightmare.
Abducted by a corrupt vampire king, I’ve gone from night classes to navigating the dangerous world of the Darkfell Clan, where the courts are a maze of deception, you test your wine before you drink it and never, ever sit with your back to a door.
They say I’m the strongest queen in a thousand years. Destined to overthrow the king and take back my kingdom. I don’t know about all that, but I know I can’t face him alone.
He commands a legion of monsters, but I’m building my own army, and though my bonded warriors are few, they love me. Together, we’ll defeat Viktor.
Or die trying.
I might be a queen, but this isn’t like any other fairytale.
Review By S.C. Principale
Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team
Vampire romance novels are a dime a dozen, but this one gripped me immediately. Night Marked has incredible world building and never info dumps. As Seraphina, our headstrong heroine learns about the dangerous and deadly world she’s a part of, we learn about it, too. The pacing is exquisite.
Seraphina is NOT your average college med student at Tulane. All of her life, she’s been on the run, sticking to the parts of the world where it’s cold and snowy. Why? She never knew the truth. That is, until she’s abducted with a dozen other girls, and taken to a horrible dungeon in the heart of New Orleans.
Luthor has been kept in the prisons of Viktor, a King of Carpathian lineage. Years ago, Viktor slaughtered every vampire in the royal court of a rival clan and took over. For a century, he’s tortured the only survivors of the attack, the loyal, royal guards who failed to save their queen. Luthor can’t help but feel the horrors he’s endured are somewhat deserved. He failed his queen, and lost the chance to save any future of the clan. At least, that’s what he assumes until he smells the blood of a queen in the cell next to his.
Seraphina is what vampires call a “queen.” She carries royal blood of the Marvelle clan, and special powers that can come with it— as long as she can escape Viktor. With Luthor and Cyrus (the other guard’s) help, she does, but not before Viktor catches them and inflicts a fatal wound. Seraphina has no choice. Within a few days, she’ll become a mindless undead slave to Viktor, a necromancer, unless she risks death and lets Luthor turn her.
The rest of the story is rich and complex as Seraphina, who was always headstrong and spunky, learns about her new life, this new world, and her new powers. She’s going to learn how to take down Viktor and reclaim her throne. She also learns that Luthor is more than a loyal guard. His love for her goes beyond duty. And, in an unexpected twist, Seraphina finds herself wanting to make love with not just one royal guard, but two. The love story turns into a reverse harem story, although there are still strong elements of romance.
I COULD NOT put this book down. It’s utterly engrossing. The world building is skillful and the characters are captivating and believable. I love that none of them fit the “stereotype” of a sexy vampire love story. Seraphina is not the timid and retiring or unwilling lamb. She’s out for revenge and strong enough to try. Luthor is handsome, but maimed and doesn’t magically recover. This book made supernatural characters “real people.”
That said, there are some deep disappointments in the book. Luthor and Seraphina have such chemistry and Luthor shows such a desire to be whole. When Seraphina gets together with Cyrus (even in a reasonably constructed way) it felt like a slap to the characters and what they were building.
If you like reverse harem or “why choose” stories, you’ll adore this. If you prefer monogamous relationships, you’ll struggle with some of these plot twists! Overall, a brilliant piece of writing from L.A. McGinnis !!