Seven ancient Vampires Kings.One fight to save humanity… his newest offering. She’s beautiful and poised, but her curious, mismatched eyes intrigue him more than they should, and when he hurts her, he can’t help wanting another chance…
Shayla McKinnon knows the rules: Serve the needs of the Vampire Warrior King. Obey his commands. Don’t ask questions. But knowing the rules doesn’t always mean that Shayla follows them. She’s waited her whole life for this moment, for a chance to become part of another world—for the possibility of getting justice for those she’s lost. And Kael is her darkest fantasy come to life, even though he’s intimidating as hell, too.
Now they’re locked in a red-hot battle of wills, and the only question is which one will end up on their knees…
more
I love Laura Kaye’s books and this is all the more special for being paranormal! Yay! In the Service of the King is a sexy, fated mates story with all the things I like in a book: dominance and submission and a hugely sexy non-sex mating scene! Must read!
I was given a free copy of this book by the author.
In the Service of the King starts a new series by Laura Kaye that was previously published. It’s been reedited and has a new cover. I had not read this series before and couldn’t wait to get started.
This book started out slow, for me, because we were being introduced to this new world and what was going on in the vampire king’s head. Turns out this is a short read and once you get through the initial chapter or two you’ll read it really quickly.
I enjoyed this love story and hope to see these characters in the coming books!
Shayla is the proffered for Vampire King Kael, a human woman who will feed her blood to, and mate with. Kael botches their first meeting, Shayla leaves, but Kael brings her back. He knew that they were mates as soon as he saw her. They talk, they feed from each other, He explains that she will be his Queen, and they will have children. They go through the mating ceremony together, and spend the rest of the night in their bed.
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
3 1/2 stars
It had been so long since I read this originally, I didn’t remember a single thing when I reread it. If you are looking for a short story that is high on the sexy scale than this is for you. Kael and Shayla has great chemistry, I just wish there was a bit more story.
3.75-4 stars. This was a really good novella! In the Service of the King is the first book in the Vampire Warrior Kings series and is Kael and Shayla’s story. Kael is one of the seven “good” vampire kings in the world who fight the “bad” vampires, Soul Eaters, who want to take over the world. He was widowed 300 years ago during a Soul Eater attack and has vowed not to open his heart again. But he does have to take blood every now and then in a ritual ceremony from one of the proffered. While most humans are unaware of vampires existence, there is a counsel of human supporters who train proffered women. A Proffered woman is a human women who supports the vampire cause, a virgin who is twenty years old, who volunteers to feed the vampires. Shayla is one of those women who has dedicated her life, trained and dreamed of fulfilling her destiny to support the cause. When Kael meets Shayla, during her turn to be his Proffered during his ritual, they have an instant connection and it quickly becomes apparent that she is his destined mate.
This book was a quick read, but had amazing world building. The story was interesting, sexy and sweet. The characters were well developed and had a great connection to each other. I really liked the atmosphere of this series too. Overall, this was a really enjoyable read! I binge read this series and was wanting more!
In the Service of the King was a bit intense and quite steamy for being a shorter book. It’s a fast paced read as well. Kael can be intense at times, but also gentle and sweet at others. Shayla is more on the shy and quiet side at first, but then opens up and becomes more after her encounters with Kael. I found them to be quite fitting for each other and think they make a good match. I also really enjoyed Liam. He’s funny, reliable, and a good friend to Kael.
5 stars
Shayla has studied to be a Proffered for years. A Proffered is a virgin who offers her blood to vampires. She wants revenge against the ones that killed her sister. She has fantasized about the King and now gets her chance to sacrifice her virginity to him. Kael is one of the seven ruling kings of the vampires. He was mated several hundreds of years ago, when his mate and baby were killed, he swore to never mate again. As soon as he sees Shayla, he can tell she is special but refuses to see if she’s his mate. But after he runs her off, he feels bad and sends for her to return. Will she forgive him and become his Queen?
Great story. This is a re-issue and smoking hot.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for the author *