Synopsis:
A Duel With The Vampire Lord is the second book in the Married to Magic series of romantasy standalones by Elise Kova.
On the night of the blood moon, the Vampire Lord must die.
Floriane’s position as the forge maiden of Hunter’s Hamlet is one of reverence, for it is her skill that arms and protects the vampire hunters. She knows her place and is a faithful servant to the Master Hunter and her community… until the night of the blood moon. Until her brother is dying at the hands of the Vampire Lord Ruvan.
Wanting to defend her home at all costs, Floriane fights the vampire lord, ready to give her life if it means taking his. But Ruvan doesn’t want to take her life… he wants her.
Kidnapped and brought to the vampire castle, Floriane is now blood sworn to the vampire lord. She is bound in mind and body to her worst enemy. But Ruvan isn’t the fiend she thought he was. She learns the truth of the vampires: They are not mindless monsters, but a proud people, twisted and tortured by an ancient curse.
Ruvan believes that Floriane might be the key to ending his people’s suffering. All Floriane wants is to defend her home. Loyalties are tested and the lines between truth and lie, hate and passion, are blurred.
When her dagger is at his chest, will she be able to take the heart of the man who has claimed hers?
Review:
I won’t lie, I’ve been putting off reading A Duel With The Vampire Lord since it was published because it’s over 500 pages long. For some reason, I’ve never thought of checking out Elise Kova’s books, so when the dramatised version of this popped up I decided to give it a go.
I’m not sure if I’d listen to this type of audiobook again, not for a story I don’t know anyway. At points I had the ebook open to follow along and I noticed that not all of the content was involved. There were moments that described how the characters were feeling and what they were doing that were missed out.
I did enjoy the performance though. The ambient noise and full cast narrative made the experience extremely immersive and the acting was pretty good. The voice actor for Floriane was probably the weakest of them all though. She felt quite monotonous at times and the difference between the descriptive narrative and her character talking was a little jarring at times.
I did enjoy the story of A Duel With The Vampire Lord, but it’s probably my least favourite of Elise Kova’s I’ve read so far. The vampir lore was interesting and I loved the gothic setting but I do worry that I missed a lot by listening to this version. I didn’t feel a connection to the characters and I honestly didn’t care about their relationship. I’ve learnt my lesson for the next book, don’t listen to the dramatised audiobook.
This is the shortest and most lukewarm review I’ve ever written for an Elise Kova book. I’m usually singing her praises but this production did not do her book justice.
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