Masquerade [Format Kindle]

Whew. Felicity knows how to write a damned good story. I didn't want to put this one down. I've only read her two short Vampire Erotic Theater novellas (Covet and Crave) before this book, but when she offered it to me, I jumped on it like a starving chocoholic let loose in the Hershey's factory.

This is book 10 in her Vampire Realm Romance Series. Now, about this series, there's a few things you should know:

1) The vampires in this book /series lean way more toward Lestat than Louis. And I don't mean poor whiny baby Lestat afraid of helicopters sitting around in moldy clothes and starving. I mean bad ass, killing whores, changing 6 year old little girls to torment his lover/companion, eating old ladies and their foppish boy toys out in the gardens Lestat. You feelin' me?

These vampires will eat you, kick you in the face, and laugh about how you squiggled and squirmed.

2) The sex is hot and graphic. I look forward to these scenes a little too much. Is there a 12 step program for Erotica Addiction? Well, if there is, please help me hide from the orderlies in your basement. With my Kindle. I love smut, and Felicity delivers.

3) There is gore and violence, so these books are definitely leaning more toward the "Horror PNR" than straight fru-fru PNR. So, if you're squicked by blood, guts, and battle, well, maybe not for you.

Alright, on to reviewerly things. This being book 10 in a series made me a little nervous. I'm just OCD enough to want to read every book, in order, before I'll read another farther down the line, regardless of whether I'm told I can read them out of order or not. But Fleicity assured me I could read this as a stand alone, and since I'm pretty sure she's got some kind of direct link into my brain with her story telling, I said, "What the hell, it's a free ARC. I can just lock the door eight times, wash my hands while singing 'Twinkle Twinkle', spin in a circle, and refold all my panties to overcome my OCD nonsense. I can do it."

So glad I did. The story line is tight, fast, and action packed in more ways than one. There isn't any sex in here for the sake of sex, and when you finally get to it, you're so damned happy and relieved for the couple. I loved the MCs in this book, and enjoyed their verbal sparring, the machinations of their superiors and friends to nudge them to the inevitable, and the big battle at the end of the book. I had no desire to root for the humans at all. LOL. I happily watched them get slaughtered and wished I was out on the field with our couple to give them a big fist bump before flying away on my pet dragon so they couldn't eat me. (Hey, combat burns a lot of energy and calories. I don't wanna be their snack.)

There are appearances by characters from the earlier books, and the breakdown of different houses within the vampire society confused me a bit here and there, but I think that is because I tend to read very fast and will skim names of things like countries, characters I don't like and hope to see get killed, overly expensive automobiles, and caste system naming conventions. (Only the society names were in the book, not the other stuff.)

The downside to this book for me was keeping the castes of vampires straight and the large cast of characters - like I said, peeps from earlier books show up. For fans of the series who have been following it, I think they'll be thrilled to see old friends and get some possible foreshadowing for future lurve for some of the guys and gals that don't have a twue wuve yet. So, I'm sitting here wanting all the other books now, because I'm intrigued about the characters I met in this one and want to know their stories too. Then I can come back and read this one again and feel all "Squee!" about seeing a series favorite pop up.

I'm happy to give this book a 4.5/5 stars. :) For a five, you gotta make me cry like a little bitch. And I didn't, thank Goddess. I'm an ugly crier.

***Yes, I got this for free, from the author for review. I'm being honest about my opinion of her book. I don't lie about books I don't like. I just don't finish reading them. LOL***

The book was amazing loved seeing some of my favorites from past vampire's realm books especially Winter, hyperion and valentine.

Sophos and Vivek are both guard for their bloodline, Venia. They used to be close. They used to be friends. But about a decade ago they both had a close call with death and it seemed to Sophos that this is when things changed between Vivek and herself.
A good part of Masquerade focuses on Sophos and Vivek and their conflict. Vivek seems to want to disgrace Sophos, saying she is not fit for her position on the guard. She is a liability.
Sophos spends her time trying to prove her worth and show Vivek and her superior that she can stand with the best and she has earned her position on the guard.
They both fight their true feelings for each other but they are made to work with one another. And eventually they find that they have to work together for the sake of their bloodline. There are some very powerful vampire hunters who are stirring up trouble...just in time for the big masquerade ball. All seven bloodlines will be there to celebrate and only the most important Lords and Ladies will attend. They realize that all of the bloodlines could be in danger.
This book is packed full of gripping action! The descriptions of each scene are painted brilliantly for the readers to see in their minds. I actually felt as though I was on the sidelines. I had the best seat in the house to all the hot action. The plot was fast paced and gripping. It kept me wanting more and more. I didn't quite know who to trust and in the end I found that I was a bit off on my assumptions. The sexual tension started out as a small spark. Then it began to smolder and finally it just exploded onto the pages. The sex is full of carnal need, blood and hot lusty passion that had been denied for a decade. I loved everything about this book! What a great addition to The Vampire Realm series!