Betrayed by Elyse Douglas
April 29, 2020
In a world where vampires have taken over, humans must navigate a society that treats them like cattle. Bailey Graves is just trying to survive when she’s thrown into the orbit of Alaric Vexmoor, a Black-Eyed vampire whose reputation lingers in the shadows. More interested in preserving the vampiric rule than falling in love, Alaric follows the crumbs of a blooming rebellion. But once he lays eyes on Bailey, he knows he must take a consort for the first time in centuries. Will Bailey be his salvation or merely a delectable distraction?
This story is a dark, paranormal romance with themes of power imbalance, forced captivity, and dark sexual themes.
While I live for a good list of trigger warnings, reader discretion is always advised.
First and foremost, Reign Black wrote a wonderful book synopsis that had me hooked from the first moment. Marked by the Black-Eyed King is the first book in Black’s Bloodbound Dominion Series. And let me tell you, the world-building did not disappoint. Black sets the tone with a successful prologue that introduces us to our FMC (female main character) Bailey. After being orphaned by the vampire takeover, Bailey learned the hard way that vampires were not to be trusted, a complexity that will color her relationship with Alaric.
This is one of my favorite examples of a successful prologue. It introduces the primary point of conflict, sets the tone, and portrays an atmosphere already rife with compelling stakes. Reign Black also makes good use of authorial intrusion (a writing technique that requires finesse and deliberate execution to be successful).
My only complaint is the frequent use of Point of View (POV) shifts. This literary device was successful in creating a distinct voice for each character and helped develop a bit of dramatic irony to support the romantic arc, but also slowed the pacing and made many scenes feel redundant instead of nuanced.
There are times when a book just hits the spot, and that sums up my experience reading Marked by the Black-Eyed King. From selection to completion, I felt a sense of homecoming while engaging with this work. I’d recommend this story to veteran vampire romance lovers and to readers looking to try out something new. Marked by the Black-Eyed King explores common themes in dark romance and paranormal romance alike, so it is a good benchmark representation of the subgenre as a whole.
Does Marked by the Black-Eyed King sound like the book for you? Get your copy today!
Learn more about Reign Black and her upcoming works!
And don’t forget to subscribe so you can get notified when we post our reviews for the rest of the series,
Because every word counts!
#VampireRomance, #DarkRomance, #DarkVampireRomance, #ParanormalRomance, #Romance #BookReviews, #TheWordCount, #BecauseEveryWordCounts
In a world where vampires have taken over, humans must navigate a society that treats them like cattle. Bailey Graves is just trying to survive when she’s thrown into the orbit of Alaric Vexmoor, a Black-Eyed vampire whose reputation lingers in the shadows. More interested in preserving the vampiric rule than falling in love, Alaric follows the crumbs of a blooming rebellion. But once he lays eyes on Bailey, he knows he must take a consort for the first time in centuries. Will Bailey be his salvation or merely a delectable distraction?
This story is a dark, paranormal romance with themes of power imbalance, forced captivity, and dark sexual themes.
While I live for a good list of trigger warnings, reader discretion is always advised.
First and foremost, Reign Black wrote a wonderful book synopsis that had me hooked from the first moment. Marked by the Black-Eyed King is the first book in Black’s Bloodbound Dominion Series. And let me tell you, the world-building did not disappoint. Black sets the tone with a successful prologue that introduces us to our FMC (female main character) Bailey. After being orphaned by the vampire takeover, Bailey learned the hard way that vampires were not to be trusted, a complexity that will color her relationship with Alaric.
This is one of my favorite examples of a successful prologue. It introduces the primary point of conflict, sets the tone, and portrays an atmosphere already rife with compelling stakes. Reign Black also makes good use of authorial intrusion (a writing technique that requires finesse and deliberate execution to be successful).
My only complaint is the frequent use of Point of View (POV) shifts. This literary device was successful in creating a distinct voice for each character and helped develop a bit of dramatic irony to support the romantic arc, but also slowed the pacing and made many scenes feel redundant instead of nuanced.
There are times when a book just hits the spot, and that sums up my experience reading Marked by the Black-Eyed King. From selection to completion, I felt a sense of homecoming while engaging with this work. I’d recommend this story to veteran vampire romance lovers and to readers looking to try out something new. Marked by the Black-Eyed King explores common themes in dark romance and paranormal romance alike, so it is a good benchmark representation of the subgenre as a whole.
Does Marked by the Black-Eyed King sound like the book for you? Get your copy today!
Learn more about Reign Black and her upcoming works!
And don’t forget to subscribe so you can get notified when we post our reviews for the rest of the series,
Because every word counts!
#VampireRomance, #DarkRomance, #DarkVampireRomance, #ParanormalRomance, #Romance #BookReviews, #TheWordCount, #BecauseEveryWordCounts
