Review: Escape

Escape (Vampire King #1)--Kenya Wright
Published by Secret Cravings Publishing
Released December 2012
Review copy provided by author for honest review


A domina’s only purpose in life was to birth vampire children for the Quiet King. Any human woman with the domina gene spent their lives in the castle under strict rules and the guards’ watchful eyes. Brie has been a domina for two years. After witnessing the slaughter of babies, she plans to escape and seeks help from Samuel, a vampire known for aiding many out of slavery.

However, Samuel has only one policy. He won’t help dominas escape the king. The penalty is too high and their blood triggers powers in him that he doesn’t want released. So Brie is forced to lie about being a domina and Samuel is lured in by her blood. Something emerges within them that they can’t deny, overwhelming their every cell and igniting an all-consuming hunger that neither can flee.

I am a huge fan of paranormal romance; a HUGE fan.  And when I was asked to review this book, I immediately said yes because it looked like something I would totally buy.  And of course, there were vampires involved, why wouldn't I read it?!  While it could technically be called PNR, this was more urban fiction for me.  It starts off right in the middle of the story, I mean, right in the middle.  Told in first person, I get a sense of the heroine's thoughts but not information on the problems or the world.  I didn't get much sense of her appearance either.  It was almost enough to turn me off the story.  Then the first illustration appeared.  Yes, illustrations!  This book has them every so often.  They're not colored or extremely detailed, but sketches showing you the basic description of the characters.

And it did get better.  Helped of course by the hero. :)  He was dark, mysterious, and dangerously sexy.  He doesn't like the heroine, and shows it; then you notice how he treats her and realize his face hides a softer side.  Not too soft but you can tell he is the type to protect women.  And when he admits his feelings to Brie: wow!  Smoking hotness.  I had no problems seeing these two together; I wanted them together despite the obstacles that were in the way. 

The problem I had with this story was with the length.  Total, it was 127 pages (according to Goodreads anyway) and it crams a lot in those pages.  Perhaps too much.  I wished there had been more grounding in the world and details explaining some of the rules.  The series is called Vampire King but their was only a brief mention of him.  If he is the "bad guy/dictator" you should see why he was such a bad guy.  Numerous wives and such weren't enough for me to get the bigger picture.

The shortness of it wasn't wasn't enough to keep me from enjoying once I got past the beginning.  It really was interesting, different from other vampire stories today.  I was so caught by the story, I went to see if the next book had been released.  It had!  The downside was, at almost $5, it is too steep for me for the number of pages.  If only it were a little cheaper...  Still, Escape was an interesting read.  I've added the author (and the second book Captured) to my TBW list. 

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Secret Cravings Publishing