Series: Vampire Blood*
Release Date: March 27th, 2017
With the threat of the vampire monarchy becoming stronger every day, the Black Lily must take drastic measures. As the leader of the underground resistance, Arabelle concocts the perfect idea to gain the attention of the Glass Tower. Her plan? Attend the vampire prince’s blood ball and kill him. Fortunately for Prince Marius, her assassination goes awry, and Arabelle flees, leaving behind only her dagger.
Marius is desperate to find the woman whose kiss turned into attempted murder, hunting for the mysterious assassin he can’t push out of his mind. But what he uncovers could change the course of his life forever…
• Concerning the nefarious plot: Cliffhanger
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
• No OTT sad parts.
• Does have OW/OM
– Hero feeds on blood, and his bite is erotic. He has 3 blood concubines in his harem who he then feeds from and has sex with. (Hero feels bad about turning down the blood concubines after feeding so he comforts them by hugging them and calling them ‘my sweet.’)
– Hero is also betrothed to a vampire princess (she doesn’t want to marry the Hero so she doesn’t cause much drama).
– Heroine has been celibate for 2 years after the death of her last lover, the OM
– If Heroine becomes a vampire, both the Hero and Heroine would have to feed on humans… which would result in those humans orgasming or wanting to have sex with them
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does not have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Rating: 3/5 stars
*Each novel in the series is Standalone
I love a good Cinderella retelling and The Black Lily had all the makings of a really great story. The heroine, Arabelle, is a kickass leader of the resistance, the Black Lily, who is fighting against the totalitarian Vampire monarchy (dictatorship). Having read many vampire romances, this was an interesting take on vampire lore, as it takes the lore back to its roots with vampires being monsters who only see humans as food. However, Cross is careful to mention that as not all humans are evil, the same is true for vampires. But, it is also important to note that with the human’s being their food source, the moral compass of vampires is not completely congruent with humans’.
I really did enjoy Arabelle’s character, but her opinion of vampires which seemed to extend to all vampires got a bit on my nerves. While she did eventually acknowledge that all were not the same, it felt like it took a while. Plus, there was a great deal of OW/OM tension, since the only way for vampires to survive was to drink from people. In Cross’s book, when vampires drink it puts the person in a thrall, making them feel this overwhelming amount of pleasure. This results in the vampires–especially the royalty, like the hero, Marius–taking what are essentially blood mistresses (women he drinks from and also sleeps with). It really isn’t until Marius becomes captivated by Arabelle that he acknowledges the disservice he has done to his mistresses: they’re essentially in love with him but to him, they are simply a biological necessity (that sounds so harsh but sadly it’s true).
“sensing someone’s presence immediately, then smelling the sweet, familiar scent of his concubine.”
“He could smell her desire and hear the rapid beat of her pulse. Normally, Marius would not only appreciate such a gesture, he would take advantage, slake his thirst and his lust, then give her the passion and tender affection she craved in return.”
He turns her down, and the concubine starts crying. He comforts her, calls her ‘sweet’ and gives her a hug because he doesn’t like that he’s made her cry.
And he continues with:
“I’ll never forget you, Larissa,” he said sincerely, cupping her cheek. “Even after I am married”
So, even though he’s with the Heroine and he wants to marry the Heroine…. he will still be thinking about concubine Larissa???
Like, if that’s true why don’t you marry Larissa?
For these reasons, I didn’t really like Marius. He’s also quite highhanded, which is understandable given he is a prince, but it just rubbed me the wrong way. He acted like a complete know-it-all when interacting with Arabelle, as if she knew nothing, not realizing how right she actually was. Just look at their ‘proper’ method of feeding! The mistresses are treated like objects!
So, while I really did like the idea of this plot, the ending left a lot to be desired, especially since, if Arabelle were to change into a vampire, both would have to drink from other sources. At one point Arabelle even points this out and Marius teases her for being jealous, but then she points out how she’ll have to drink from someone else too–and he finally clued in. I think it was Marius’s inability to see things from alternate perspectives that also contributed to me not really liking The Black Lily. His failure to understand also led to him jumping to conclusions that put many people in danger.
An interesting part of The Black Lily, which was ironically part of the OW tension, was the introduction of Marius’s betrothed. She was surprisingly very nice, and a supporter of Arabelle’s plans. The Black Lily was made up of very detailed and real characters, who had their faults and strengths. Cross also created a very convincing world, but the romance between the Arabell and Marius and the characterization of Marius himself made me a bit ambivalent towards this book.
