[Diane’s Review]: King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair

Their Union Is His Revenge.

Isolde de Lara considers her wedding day her death day. To end a years-long war, she is to marry vampire king, Adrian Aleksandr Vasiliev, and kill him.

But her assassination attempt is thwarted and Adrian threatens that if Isolde tries to kill him again, he will raise her as the undead. Faced with the possibility of becoming the thing she hates most, Isolde seeks other ways to defy him and survive the brutal vampire court.

Except it isn’t the court she fears most — it’s Adrian. Despite their undeniable chemistry, she wonders why the king — fierce, savage, merciless — chose her as consort.

The answer will shatter her world.

Will They Fight or Will They Fuck? The Ultimate Rhetorical Question For This Book.

Where do I even begin?

Before you all come for me…

This was hands down one of the most ridiculous books I’ve ever read.

So here we go, from the top!

Enter Killian: Probably the most obnoxious male character I’ve had the displeasure of reading. He is nothing short of insecure and possessive. It’s not a good look and made me want to throw this book across the room. There is nothing charming or endearing about his behaviour. Nothing remotely desirable. I’m convinced his only purpose was to annoy the reader. Congratulations, it worked.

On that note I will add, this is not in anyway enemies to lovers like it was pitched. Isolde has about two slightly questionable thoughts on the King (Adrian) before she fantasizes about him between her legs. Then proceeds to think about the way he would taste for a few pages before they actually act on those feelings. They were not enemies, they were immediately enamoured with one another.

Throughout this book I was wondering what the purpose of any of this was. I found myself going back because surely I missed something right? The answer would be no. I made it to the end and my main question was “Why the fuck does he constantly call her Sparrow?” The name came out of nowhere. Could it be that the whole piece of character development was simple left out of my book? Unlikely. I suppose the author wanted Isolde to have an endearing nickname, however, that only works if you build the relationship up enough for the reader to care.

Moving on.

I know a lot of romance authors go with the “Smut is the plot” movement, but they are also able to have some form of plot. Something of intrigue. This book spent about 200 pages traipsing through a vampire camp that was in the middle of trying to conduct its bi-annual orgy, which I’m pretty sure was coordinated by a guy named Mike.

I don’t really have much else to say if I’m honest as nothing really happened. Isolde spent most of her time either fantasizing about Adrian fucking her, or just having him do it. I’m still not sure what the point of this book is or what was supposed to be accomplished. I know there is a sequel coming, but the compulsion is not there. Though I hope for everyone who reads the it, something happens.

Diane

Hi there!

I’m Diane, I suffer from wanderlust and am from Toronto, Ontario.

Since I was a wee bairn I was obsessed with reading and the fantastical worlds books would sweep my away in. Flash forward 28 years, I can now be seen running through the trees in hopes of being carried to a world far far away, but mostly just tripping over tree roots.

When I’m not reading or watching What We Do In The Shadows on repeat, I can be found tracing my lineage to the ancient Vikings and Scots. Oh! And making organic dog treats for my high-maintenance pets.