2019-04-12
A vampire, his human lover, and their friends and families try to stop a powerful enemy's devilish scheme in this final installment of an erotic supernatural series.
For 10 years, Dante Gabriel was the captive of a fellow vampire who called herself the queen. Since his escape, he's been plagued by the queen's voice in his head and a growing inner darkness that's ultimately led him back to his captor. But he's also formed a blood bond with Erin Hamilton, a human who's determined to rescue her lover from the queen's supernatural hold. Erin has help from cop partners Jay (her brother) and River (Dante's cousin) as well as the ghost of Dante's father, Julian. But the group doesn't brave the queen's subterranean compound merely for Dante. The band is also searching for women the queen and her vampiric cronies have kidnapped, including Erin's best friend, Lucy Cyrus, a wolf-shifter, and Dante's pregnant sister, Emilia. The women and Dante are unwilling participants in the queen's "research," which is part of a devastating plan she's concocting. Finding specifics on that scheme involves perusing a prophecy detailed in the ancient Vampyre Texts. Fortunately, the untranslatable book slowly reveals deciphered messages to Erin, but only in increments. While tracking down abductees in the compound, the group faces off against evil vampires, but the queen is the most formidable one and seemingly undefeatable. As her fiendish objective steadily comes to light, via gradual Texts translations, the band soon learns there may actually be a way to vanquish the queen before it's too late.Hardt's (Unmasked, 2019, etc.) preceding series entries have amassed a plethora of unanswered questions, from the queen's fascination with Dante to secrets in the Texts. This fifth volume will certainly satisfy returning readers, as the mysteries unravel at a breakneck pace. The tale focuses on the queen's plan, which involves a member of the Gabriel family who's been missing nearly the entire series. As always, the author writes lavish and tantalizing sexual encounters between Dante and Erin. Though the story is set primarily in the underground facility, these scenes are viable: Dante's feedings from an accommodating Erin typically entail their mutual sexual gratification. But the trysts diminish the urgency of saving their loved ones, which in turn lessens the overall suspense. On the plus side, romantic love remains a prominent theme, particularly as the couple's blood bond may be Dante's defense against the darkness overtaking him. The story's supernatural elements are in full force: Dante continues to discover new powers, such as healing, and Julian, often a covert internal voice, is a stellar ally. But it's Erin who truly shines this time. The emergency room nurse comes to captives' aid; makes sense of the Texts' cryptic passages; and displays empathy toward a villain whom the queen has likely been controlling. But despite this novel's wrapping up the queen-centric plot, some things are still unresolved, leaving Hardt room to pick up a subplot or two for a new series.
This smashing vampire saga ends on a high note with a rousing denouement.
