The Mark of the Vampire Queen by Joey W. Hill

I don't think this is a bad thing because I think this book works as a romance in a way the first one didn't.

It was a bit difficult in the first book, and I think this book fell back into softer vampires than the original concept. It also kind of kills the metaphor of the vampire because a person sucking another person's blood and penetrating another person is meant to be sexual, but combined with actual sex it makes it extremely literal, so it is a fine line to toe. This inevitably softens their edges to being more like falling in love with a superhuman. Vampire romances are hard because they are horror monsters stuck in a genre that has to have a happy ending. Vampire romances are kind of overdone post Twilight, so I like seeing different takes on the concept. However, I like the concept of vampires being into BDSM. I also found the forced threesomes quite uncomfortable to read. I also had some issues with the depictions of BDSM in the first book, there were a lot of situations where it didn't feel consensual and it is my understanding that consent is a huge part of BDSM. The first and second books of these series would be so much stronger in a collected omnibus or something. I also don't read a lot of erotica, or contemporary-paranormal romance.

I think the first book really didn't hit the right beats for me because it was half a book. This book is erotica and comes with the requisite trigger warnings, but I am going to say a lot of the things in this series are a bit hardcore. A man who will serve her in all ways, even if he has to betray the priceless treasure of her love. His Mistress needs a warrior, a friend and a lover. Everyone knows that Vampires have no regard for humans, so why would a Vampiress bother treating a mere sex toy with respect? But Jacob knows a human servant is far more than that. He loves her, though other servants warn against giving her his soul. Now he finds the integrity of his soul challenged as he serves his Mistress's needs as fully as he services her desires. As a vampire hunter he wasn't prepared to embrace a world where humans are sexual commodities, but he has adapted. With his new title, Jacob must attend to Lady Lyssa's every need, venturing into a world of passion darker than he's ever known. Hill, the bestselling, award-winning author of the Vampire Queen and the Knights of the Boardroom series, comes this scorchingly hot novel of servant and master, vampire and vampire hunter.

The Mark of the Vampire Queen by Joey W. Hill