34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Vampire Queen's Servant, September 2, 2007
This review is from: The Vampire Queen's Servant (Vampire Queen, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
Jacob Green has spent his life searching for purpose, but the day he saw Lady Elyssa Yamato Amaterasu Wentworth he knew he had found his destiny. He disregarded the fact that he was a vampire hunter and that he had no way of entering her world. Jacob would find a way to fulfill his destiny and spend his life serving Lady Lyssa. However, when his dream becomes reality, he finds that his life is now a constant struggle within himself: Jacob must renounce all he considers as "himself" and exist only as an extension to Lady Lyssa or he must walk away.
Lady Elyssa Yamato Amaterasu Wentworth is the last remaining vampire of royal blood. Her life is spent protecting herself from attacks from other vampires and keeping the façade of indifference to all the posturing of lesser vampires. The day she lets her guard down --even for a moment-- it could mean her death. However, these last years she has been fighting a foe that can't be defeated and must be faced alone, or so she thinks. When Jacob enters her world, Lady Lyssa has no idea how to take what he is clearly offering her; not without condemning Jacob to death. However, if Lady Lyssa does accept Jacob as her human servant, she must mold him to survive within the vampire world, something which might drive Jacob away form her.
When I was first offered this book for review I was delighted, as I had enjoyed books by Joey Hill in the past. The Vampire Queen's Servant is a book that is very well written and it evolves in the complex world of vampire society which is interesting in a horrifying way. However, I have to say that this book was difficult to for me to read for several reasons. The relationship that develops between Lady Lyssa and Jacob goes beyond your typical BDSM explored in mainstream erotica. In The Vampire Queen's Servant, we see Jacob struggle against becoming not much more than an obedient dog capable of performing complex tricks and providing sexual pleasure when Lady Lyssa demands. It also bothered me that rape was considered a spectator sport serving to arouse the watchers and physical torture (read broken bones and the like) was something utilized as easily as a hanky for no other purpose than proving who held the power. Jacob's thoughts at times seemed, to me, to reflect what we typically hear from abused spouses: it hurt, I don't like it, but I deserved it. I was completely unable to live the story from the character's perspective in order to understand their motivations. It was these things that made it very hard for me to care one way or another if Jacob and Lady Lyssa got a Happily Ever After. Also, the plot of the book moved so slowly that I found myself looking for reasons to put it down and at the same time I was desperate to finish it and therefore put myself out of my misery. I don't suggest that you pick up this book unless you are not squeamish and you enjoy extremely hardcore BDSM and senseless violence. The Vampire Queen's Servant is not a book for the faint of heart or those who enjoy fast paced books.
Sabella
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
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32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
4.5 Klovers! Courtesy of CK2S Kwips & Kritiques, July 17, 2007
This review is from: The Vampire Queen's Servant (Vampire Queen, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
As a born vampire who has lived more than a thousand years, Lady Lyssa is one of the most powerful vampires alive, if not the most powerful. Her power makes her a target for other vampires eager to seize her territory. Having contracted a mysterious and debilitating disease, it is the worst time for her to be without a human servant. Yet, still reeling from the loss of her beloved servant Thomas, she is reluctant to accept a new servant, much less train one.
But the dearly departed Thomas has taken matters out of her hand, by leaving her with one last gift - a new manservant in the form of Jacob, trained by Thomas himself during his final days.
Lyssa finds herself unable to reject Thomas outright, but recognizes that his alpha nature will never give her the true submission that a vampire requires in their servants. Yet Jacob is relentless in his bid as her vassal, and Lyssa comes to depend on him more and more...
Having read and loved several of author Joey W. Hill's digital books previously, I thought I knew what to expect with her new print release, The Vampire Queen's Servant, at least regarding the general tone and feel of the story. Hill managed to surprise me in more ways than one with this new story, and I am in no way disappointed - far from it!
With her previous releases, she proved herself as an entertaining writer of erotic romance, with a flair for the slightly wicked side of the sensual. In this book, she takes her writing to a whole new level, penning a tome that impressed me by the complexity of both the story and the characters.
I normally prefer the hero of a story to be dominant in the bedroom, but the idea of a man with strong alpha tendencies forced to submit willingly to the woman he loves, a woman who can normally protect herself better than he from her enemies intrigued me on several levels. This story taught me that there is as much strength of will in the act of submission as there is in domination - perhaps more so for those with naturally dominant predilections. For that is what Lady Lyssa requires in her servant - willing submission. And Jacob soon learns that this concept is much more difficult than it seemed.
The Vampire Queen's Servant is laden with vampire politics. Indeed, it is these very politics that make Jacob's submission to Lyssa so vital if he is to exist in her world and not undermine her power, inviting attack by enemy vampires in the process.
I will be frank - Jacob's training seems harsh at times, but it is the way of the vampire world, and necessary to both his and Lyssa's survival. The story is rife with darkness, and some readers may find it hard to fathom certain aspects of the vampire/servant relationship if they apply the rules of the real world to this story. However, Ms. Hill engenders total acceptance of these practices for those readers who allow themselves to immerse their imaginations in the harsh world of this vampire society.
This book will be continued in a forthcoming sequel, titled The Mark of the Vampire Queen. Note that I say the book will be continued, for this story is very much a `part one' to an ongoing story, rather than a typical edition in a series. I would compare this to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books, which are one story split into three separate books. The Vampire Queen's Servant is merely the beginning to Lyssa and Jacob's story, and while some of the story is wrapped up in the end, readers will be very conscious that there are storylines to be continued and more fully explored in the next book.
For those who enjoy a great paranormal tale with strong BDSM content, Joey W. Hill's newest release is one you won't want to miss!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Greatly disappointed, August 29, 2008
As a long time fan of JWH, this one was a great disappointment. I can't even get the concluding book to finish this story. I found the story and dialogue so so slow bordering on long-drawn and tedious, that I found myself skimming half way through. I did not feel the strong emotional and romantic pull that I've come to expect from JWH's books. I was so excited that JWH was venturing into the vampire genre because I love reading and watching vampire stories (ie Underworld, Delilah Devlin's My Immortal Knight series) which naturally have alot of eroticism and action adventure. This is a gifted writer but unfortunately she must be going through a different spell or inspiration because this is the second book of hers that I've read in a row which I've found lacking (Mistress of Redemption being the other one). I understand in order to grow, authors like to challenge themselves with different themes and genre, but the story still needs to be engaging, passionate, and keep moving forward. There were sections that felt like forever filled with internal battle/dialogue. Okay I get it she's hesitant about making Jacob her servant but does the whole book have to be about that struggle. I realize her other books (Ice Queen, Mirror of My Soul, Natural Law, If Wishes were Horses) were also about guy likes girl, girl is scared but drawn to guy, girl pushes guy away, guy pushes back, and eventually guy gets the girl, BUT those books had good pacing that made them engaging and the stories were aways moving forward with good character and story development not to mention action (ie kicking the heck out of that perverts, base jumping between buildings, Wiccan rituals). Now I will definitely be hesitant about picking up another JWH book without reading the reviews.
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