Book Review: A Royal Vampire by Gabriella Bradley

Romance Reviews Submitted by Authors Proudly Presents

A Two-Part Presentation of Gabriella Bradley’s Royal Vampires

Book One

A Royal Vampire

Written by Gabriella Bradley

Published by eXtasy Books

Paranormal Ménage

120 Pages

 

A Royal Vampire- Book Synopsis

After twenty-four years in captivity, Joshua must suddenly take on the task for which he was created and trained. Taking on the role of king is no mean task, though Joshua doesn’t care. He will finally have the freedom he so longed for all his life. Paul, his nemesis, tells him how much he hates Joshua but can’t destroy him.

Paul’s insane jealousy and hatred causes him to change his mind and send Joshua’s throne tumbling. He decides to turn most of the population with the help of his army of vampires and recapture his royal title.

    Joshua finds himself entangled in a web of deceit, murder and witchcraft. His biggest secret, that he has inherited the vampire gene from his nemesis, must remain so. Vowing he’ll rid the island of murdering vampires and werewolves, he devises a plan to escape the castle and freely roam the city and forests without fear of recognition and exposure.

    Much to his surprise, he meets the woman he’s seen so many times in his dreams.

Unsure of himself, wondering if she is really his soulmate or if the feelings he has for her are caused because he’s never been with a woman, he makes plans to date Katarina Goddard.

Book Review of A Royal Vampire

*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*

A Royal Vampire is a great paranormal novella between an aging vampire King Paul the Third and a male “grown” heir, Joshua,  to the throne. The young King had DNA taken from the King and his dead Queen who had her DNA frozen. The King ordered to have a son “grown” through science to be a mortal and the vampire gene irradiated from him. Joshua grew up in a science building with the best tutors, guards and the regular scientific studies. Derek, the scientist, created a fully fledged human and at twenty-four years old, he introduced him to the King. Immediately, Joshua can hear all of the Kings evil thoughts which were full of hatred for him. He was, however, the only option for Paul to keep his cousin and his three sons from taking over the throne. The King, since vampires don’t age, started wearing makeup around age fifty to make him look older. He introduces Joshua to the little island where they live and steps down as King.

The old King Paul kills everyone involved with the “growth” of his heir. When the young King meets his “father”, he immediately learns he can hear thoughts. Paul fakes his death while on his ride to his country house, killing his guards but escaping safely into the night. He visits a local facial surgery doctor and has his face altered so he can move around during the nightly hours without anyone recognizing him. Joshua finds Paul is not the only vampire around and there have been many deaths in the local area so locals usually stay in at night or travel in packs.

Joshua knows exactly how to rule the island based on his upbringings and Paul’s thoughts. Paul is moved to the royal quarters in the castle and learns of a secret passage that leads to outside of the castle. He starts regularly escaping to the beach and swims in the water at night alone. One day he decided to explore further than the beach and found a small town nearby. He was afraid of being recognized so he arranges with the Minister of Finance to create an offshore account for him giving him a credit card and cash. He takes a makeup class, does his own makeup and ventures into the local bar. He is immediately befriended under his new identity and starts to uncomfortably mingle with his friends as he’s never been in this situation before. In walks the most beautiful woman Joshua has ever seen and he feels an immediate connection with her but wonders if it’s only because he’s never seen another woman let alone been close to one. He reads her thoughts and finds out she feels the connection between them as well. They dance and talk and he sees her to her car while promising to see her again.

When he returns to the bar, Paul and his minions enter the bar and have attracted three very, “easy” women. Joshua is very concerned and follows them into the ladies room and pays them off to leave. Joshua saves several people from becoming dinner for some of the other vampires.

The story ends with Paul in handcuffs from a bar brawl that Joshua created by punching Paul, whom didn’t know it was Joshua either. Joshua is easily aroused by Katarina and “takes care of himself” before drifting off to sleep by watching her in his mind.

Gabriella Bradley weaves a great beginning of a series of novellas. She really creates such a world that makes the reader want to be there themselves within the story. She has fully developed the main characters quickly in this first edition.
Gabriella Bradley makes her characters personable and has the reader expressing their specific emotions for each character. Her ability to suck the reader into her world is an excellent talent.

A Royal Vampire was interesting from beginning to end and was very hard to put down. I was so vested in the characters that I longed to see what more happened within the story. I can’t wait for the next edition! What will happen between Joshua/Tim with Katarina? Will Joshua/Tim be able to live the double life? What will happen between Joshua and Paul? Are Paul’s evil plans enough to conquer the throne for himself again? What an exciting journey from inception to concealment...this story takes you on a whirlwind of events.

~Reviewed by Jodie Pierce~

Author Jodie Pierce is known for her work in paranormal romance. Writing vampire romances, Jodie is well known for her acclaimed books The Vampire Queen and The Vampire Chronicles.

Visit Jodie on the web at: http://thevampirequeen1.weebly.com/ or http://www.thevampirequeen1.blogspot.com