Vampire's Queens (The Bloodline Chronicles 3) by Evelyn Silver
- Debbie
- 11 hours ago
- 10 min read
@EternalEvelyn @debbiereadsbooks
@eternalevelyn @debbiereadsbook
Sarai, Marcelle, and Setanta’s reign as the queens and king of the secret vampire kingdom of New Ulster has begun.
The duties of a queen consort are straightforward. For the witch Sarai, it means studying vampire law and history, knighting a bodyguard, growing an heir, and discovering what it means to have a family. All the while, a creeping thirst itches her dry throat with its bloody implications as she lusts for new sustenance. For the vampire Marcelle, it means trying to figure out who is tipping off the vampire hunters she’s meant to be eliminating. The lovers must brace themselves against plots spinning around them, or everything may go up in flames.
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“Enough.”
The grove was silent, and Sarai felt cold. That couldn’t be true. It couldn’t. Setanta had a dark and violent side, she knew that, but he wasn’t that. He couldn’t have committed that crime, could he? But in the silence, no one denied it.
“You didn’t, though,” Sarai said, breaking the stillness.
He didn’t reply.
Why didn’t he reply?
“Sarai, we should leave,” Marcelle said, but Sarai stepped around her to confront the vampire king.
“Setanta?” Sarai asked.
“Marcelle, take her inside,” he said without looking at her.
“You can’t send me to my room like a child. I’m your wife. You need to talk to me about this. I need to talk to you about this.”
“Do not confuse me for a man who loves you, Sarai,” he snarled, blood dripping down his front. “Go. Now.”
I'm incredibly excited to have completed this trilogy. I've got more in the wings with a book 2.5 following a side character, an origin novella, and maybe a few other treats, but this main trilogy in The Bloodline Chronicles has been a goal of mine for years, and I'm just ecstatic I was able to see it through. This particular excerpt is one of three scenes in Vampire's Queens (Book 3) that I've had sitting collecting virtual dust in a folder since before I even started writing Midnight Fear (Book 2), along with a family dinner scene that has a lot of meaningful personal touches and another very dramatic scene near the end that I can't tell you about because of spoilers so you'll just have to read to find out. It was all so fun to write!
Much love to the readers; I hope you love reading my work as much as I loved writing it!
5 out of 5 (exceptional)
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This is book 3 in the Bloodline Chronicles, and you cannot read it as a stand alone. You MUST read book 1, Witch's Knight and book 2, Midnight Fear before this one. There is MUCH that is not recapped and you will need to know about this vampire society and how it works.
I 4 starred books one and 2 and this is another solid 4 star read. I thoroughly enjoyed them!
Sarai, Setanta and Marcelle are ruling as a throuple. Sarai is pregnant, MArcelle is trying to work out who is tipping the Vasri off before they get there, and Setanta is doing King stuff (not actually sure WHAT he was doing for most of the book, to be honest!) But there are those who want them gone, and they will go to great lengths to make that happen.
Couple things: I said in my review for book 2, something about Sarai's sister. There was no mention of a sister here, so I'm not sure what THAT point was about!
Again, Setanta is only given a minor (1 or 2 chapters) voice. I needed him, I really did. Had he been given a bigger voice, I think this book would have been a much better read. (not that it isn't already but it would have been BETTER!)
Sarai's pregnancy threw up some surprises that no one saw coming and I loved that as old as they are, Marcelle and Setanta had not much clue how to help!
I did NOT see who the leak was coming at me, I really did not! I just about threw my kindle across the room in that chapter!! So very well played there Ms Silver, VERY well played.
It's quite violent in places, fighting a shape shifting dragon with was never going to be a walk in the park!
I found the steam levels a bit higher than in previous books, but not by much. I think it was because the one scene between all three partners was more sweet than smexy and I really loved that Setanta and Marcelle were mindful of Sarai's pregnancy, while still providing her with what she needed from them. The "birthday party" for Sarai, while multi person (6, I think) I thought was well written but not especially explicit. Some FF scenes, as well as multi partner scenes, with every which way combination of male and female partners.
What I need now is something else from this author! Given as I can only find this series by Ms Silver, I need more and I need not to have to wait a whole year!
I wrote 4 stars in an earlier line, I do love it when a book talks itself into...
5 full and shiny stars!
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Personal
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m bisexual and polyamorous in real life, which is why I write those sorts of romance stories! I live with my spouse, two kids, and two cats, and other than writing, I love to sing, dance, draw, or do anything creative!
What do you do when you’re not writing?
It’s hard to find time for hobbies between writing and being a mom, but I’ve discovered in recent years that I really love cooking. I make a fresh challah almost every Friday now. I make Ashkenazi food taste really good. I’ve nailed dishes like gimbap and bibimbap because my spouse is Korean. Apparently, food is my love language!
When was that point in your life that you realized that being an author was no longer going to be just a dream but a career you were going to turn into reality?
This is silly, but 8th grade. I wrote a (honestly mediocre) YA fantasy at about 80k words and was absolutely convinced I was a child prodigy because no one else in my class could fathom doing such a thing. Even though that book didn’t work out, the fact that I was able to complete a project on that scale was such a boost that I just knew I was capable of it. And now, I’ve got three books out, a novella in an anthology, and I’m working on more!
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully with another trilogy out! Maybe a little better known than I am… It’s hard to find my audience with such a niche focus.
Writing
Where do you get your ideas?
I write what I want to read and haven’t read yet. I love vampire books, always have. I love the concept of immortality and philosophising on how that would truly shape a person. More specifically, what kind of personality it would take to survive immortality. I love the idea of tangible witchy magic. Those aren’t unusual to paranormal romance, but I like to think I tackle them in my own unique way.
Other than that, I’ve always been disappointed with existing representation in fantasy and paranormal romance, especially in mainstream works. I wanted more bisexuals that embrace pairings with all genders. I wanted real polyamory, not just why choose or reverse harems. I wanted healthy kink with respected safe words. And I wanted to be able to see something of myself. I grew up very much surrounded by Jewish culture: Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahi, and all the minorities within those minorities from everywhere. I was always annoyed that most books representing my culture/ethnicity focused on religious aspects or were Holocaust books. Those are important, absolutely. I mean, my own grandparents are Holocaust survivors, and I grew up hearing stories of the Shoah, the Farhud pogrom, etc., so I’m not knocking it. But I wanted books that just… allow me to be. Where the trauma isn’t the generational trauma I inherited or trauma that’s inflicted on a character just because of who they are. I wanted a story about a Jewish character without the story being about Judaism. Like, growing up back when I still liked it, I was jealous that Harry Potter always celebrated Christmas. I wanted to be represented in fantasy, but I never saw it. Not in an intentional or positive way, at least. Witches don’t casually celebrate Hanukkah, and that left me feeling like I wasn’t allowed to be in fantasy or paranormal stories somehow.
Since then, I’ve really connected with the concept of embracing Jewish Joy. This can be a few different things, but as someone who connects with the identity culturally, it means Sarai speaking fluent Hebrew (it’s my first language), food, songs, dancing, lullabies my mother sang to me, loud parties with mixes of culture and four to five languages being shouted across a table, and more food. Did I mention food?
I don’t know if my little vampire/witch romance is exactly joyful (I may have tortured more than one character…), but it’s what I want to see, and that makes me happy. I think that life experience is why I wrote my FMC Sarai as disconnected from her heritage to start with, so she could experience the joy of discovering it, reclaiming it, and being reclaimed by it as part of her character arc over the trilogy.
Are you a planner or a pantser?
I’m definitely a planner. I’ve had my outline for this whole series since before I even started writing it, so that definitely falls under planning. If something feels unanswered, it’s because I intend to answer in the future, haha! Like, why does my book take place in 1999-2000? Because if I actually finish my entire series plan in future works, I need space for a time jump and didn’t want to have to account for technology and world events 30 years in the future that I can’t predict, so it was better to start 30 years in the past.
Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to get published?
I have a finished draft of another book in The Bloodline Chronicles right now with a co-author named Ben Hart, and that book follows my character of Lochlan and takes place between books 2 and 3. There’s a few challenges to publishing this. For one, I’m nervous tackling a whole novel from Lochlan’s perspective. I’ve always written primarily from the POV of cis women, so switching to a book entirely from Lochlan’s POV as a trans man was a change for me, which is why Ben and I are collaborating to make sure it’s all fine-tuned to perfection! Most of Lochlan’s storylines haven’t been about being trans, and the new novel we’re calling Reforged Flame still isn’t exactly that, but it’s much more a trans story than I would write on my own. We’re also planning on self-publishing, which is different from small press publishing I’ve been doing, so the challenge there is figuring out how it all works. It’s shaping up to be something truly spectacular, so hopefully we’ll be able to publish it soon!
Is anything in your book based on real-life experiences or purely all imagination?
I’ll put it this way. Excluding fantastical elements like magic or vampire fangs, I never write sex or kink I can’t test. So, uh, the physics all check out.
Are there certain characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with?
Absolutely! Other than the Lochlan novel, I want to do a Marcelle origin story novella of her human life in 1500s Paris. I’m toying with the idea of a Setanta origin story of his youth… but the amount of research required is very daunting. I also want to go forward with some new characters and expand the world!
Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
It’s possible, even probable, you’ll have duds before you have hits. Everything you write grows your skill as a writer and feeds your eventual success. So keep writing. You’ve got this.
What sort of Starbucks coffee would your characters order? Simple coffee or some complicated soy-non-fat-extra-espresso-half-caff-nightmare?
Sarai would get a caramel Frappuccino with whipped cream.
Marcelle would seduce and drink the barista.
Setanta would either get a honey and mint tea to relax or an ungodly bitter concoction of 16 espresso shots to help him focus and do a lot of damage.
Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?
I’m just really grateful to you! I’m amazed anytime anyone says they actually like what I write, and you have no idea how much it truly means to me. I’ve realized that while I don’t have a lot of fans, the fans I have are really awesome and really invested in what I write. So, thank you. It’s hard to keep writing books when there’s very little incentive, but the responses I get make it worth doing.
If you could cast your characters in a Hollywood adaptation – who would you choose for which character?
Not sure they’re 100% perfect because I think the ages might not be right for the first two, but looks-wise:
The singer Yuval Dayan as Sarai
Katie McGrath as Marcelle
Domhnall Gleeson as Setanta
How important are the names in your book?
So important. Names are culture, they’ve all got meaning, they’re personal. They’re expression of growth. Sarai starts the series using her father’s surname, Reinhart, and grows into using her mother’s, Meir. Her name is Hebrew for princess, and she marries into royalty. Marcelle means little Mars, and she’s very much a warrior. And Setanta, well. He’s just an epic mythological entity!
Evelyn Silver is a multi award-winning queer author who lives in Florida with her spouse, their two sons, and their two cats. She has a BFA in English and enjoys a variety of hobbies including belly dancing and singing opera. She is an Own Voices writer, spinning tales of polyamorous and bisexual paranormal romance. Evelyn sews her own clothes (poorly) and somehow manages to kill every plant she ever tries to take care of.
Author Website: https://eternalevelyn.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EternalEvelyn
LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/EternalEvelyn
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