Snatched as a human baby and turned vampire at age eighteen to serve as a chevalier for a sadistic queen, Julian is forever alone and waiting for his destiny to be fulfilled. While on watch one night in San Francisco, Sebastian, an elder vampire of immense strength, comes to him, intent on killing him. Instead of bringing Julian to death, this stranger turns Julian’s life upside down, exposing … secrets that have kept him bound in his torturous life. Can Julian accept the truth and free himself of his bonds to find the love he’s always yearned for or will he find he can’t betray the queen he’s sworn to protect?
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I liked this story overall, though I would have liked more world-building and character development. Julian was taken as a child to serve a vampire queen. He has always thought he was an orphan and has served his queen faithfully, waiting for his ‘destiny.’ Then, he meets Sebastian and discovers all is not as it seems. This is a short, quick read with insta-love, fated (vampire) mates, secrets, lies, and a semi-cliffhanger ending.
I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
3.5*of enjoyable enough.
This is the first book in a short series that is best read in order, as it does finish in a cliffhanger, so if that is a no-no for you take heart book 2 is available too. This book gets a bit dark in places. It is a quick-ish read and can be read in a single sitting. The story is thought out, has a good amount of world building, good pacing and characters. Julian and Sebastian, Julian was turned into a vampire at 18, while on watch for his coven he meets Sebastian, an elder vampire who is tasked with killing Julian. Sebastian then opens Julian’s eyes to the truth of what happened at his birth. This book has plenty of action to keep the reader hooked, so I’m off to read book 2 by this new to me author.
Book received from GGR for my honest review.
I liked it but…
I wanted,
needed more
(Yes I know it is part of a series I can still whine)
This is a new author for me but it has a mix of some of my favorite genres so I jumped on the chance to read this
It took a bit to get into the story and for me to grasp who was who and what was going on – This first book was more of a foundation setter and character introduction
Julian has only known the world he has been fed and when events cause him to question his reality he finds he does not like what he sees
Sebastian knows Julian is his the question is can he open his eyes to the truth? And can he do it before the “Queen” claims him for her own?
This is a quick read that had me wanting more
Plenty of action and heart-stopping moments to keep the reader engaged
Sweetest of romance between Seb and Julian
ARC received from GRR for an honest review.
Julian is chevalier for his Queen. One night on guard duty he encounters Sebastian. Immediately enamored of him he falls hard. It’s becomes harder when Sebastian tells him some truths that his Queen has hidden from him.
Sebastian was sent to kill Julian and then the Queen. When he meets Julian he realizes that he’s his One and cannot kill him. Will they be able to figure a way to kill the Queen and keep Julian alive?
This book is hard for me to rate. There are parts that I like and parts that are just blah. Sebastian is supposed to be this really strong vamp and he’s just a big wimp. Julian has been kept away from anything normal (even for a vamp) that he’s just a pushover. This book is too short and we don’t really get a good background on any of the characters. There’s no much world building either. The big surprise that leaves this book hanging is terrible. Why give Julian this info and then tell him he doesn’t get to do anything with it. Sebastian, his father, Maggie and the counsel all seem heartless and it wasn’t a good cliffhanger. So it’s an ok book but I can’t recommend it and won’t read it again.
Things happened quickly in Hanging In The Balance by Christie Gordon. There was insta-love between the main vampire characters, Sebastian and Julian. There was some holes in the plot that I’d hope will be explained in the following book.