Ruby Roe

I'm glad this author exists and fills a niche but HOLY HELL it was not for me. This is basically just porn with relatively little substance and the writing was very, very (honestly shockingly) poor. It read like fanfiction and seemed as if the author had not picked up a traditionally published book in years. No characters acts lifelike in any way, shape, or form.

Like let's be honest: this is just jack-off material and anyone attempting to judge it by the standards of a novel is kidding show more themselves. I truly did not know the level of writing passed off in the self-publishing world was this poor and I'm frankly astonished the ecosystem encourages it.

As a resident vampire book reader and reviewer, if you are a vampire fan this also won't be for you. Very little worldbuilding is involved and the whole vampire thing is just a ploy to fuck in blood. I will give the book its flowers for having the most deranged blood mechanics ever though--just one drop and your panties are on the ground! Viagra who?!

Anyway, I've been looking for shitty lesbian romance/romantasy books to pass the time with where the author lets the characters fuck for once but this course corrected too far 😭 Girls can't get nothing good lmao!!! show less

*KINGDOM OF IMMORTAL LOVERS BOOK 1*
Are you someone who remembers the vampire craze of the late 2000s? Did you look at Twilight, True Blood, or Vampire Diaries and think to yourself "This would be so much better if it was queer?" Then House of Crimson Hearts is the book for you. In a world where humans and vampires live in fragile peace side by side, a prophecy for power and the cure to vampirism reveals itself. But the quests will be dangerous and in order to sniff out the true heir, the show more city's most powerful vampires and hunters (this universe's version of police) must undergo a series of trials. Octavia, a thousand year old vampire, is paired with her former love, Red, for the trials but she can't focus. She and Red have their own problems and secrets they need to sort through if they want a chance at running the city.

In the fashion of its inspiration, this book has a "traditional" early 2000s dark romance Twilight-esk writing style. If that's not your cup of tea, then you won't enjoy this book. I really wanted to learn more about the trials and the world, but I felt like the plot was just loosely strung together and lost in the sheer amount of smut in this book. I love a good spicy scene, but when it doesn't add to the story or grow the character's relationship or intimacy, I tend to loose interest. If those are the kind of books you like to read, definitely check out this series; it just didn't hit the mark for me. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I felt as though the relationship between Red and Octavia was more physical than anything else and couldn't really see how they fell for each other. I feel like this book missed the lesson on 'show don't tell.' I was told Octavia and Red love each other, but I wanted to experience why. And I wanted the why to extend beyond the bond they share through blood magic. I think if the number of spicy scenes had been reduced and there was a bit more structured plot (A but B therefore C instead of A and then B and then C) I would have liked this book a lot more. I'm not sure if I'll finish the series. That remains to be determined.

Spice Level: DIRECTOR'S CUT (PREMIUM EDITION)
- I thought Bloom Town was spicy Octavia and Red are FREAKS
- very detailed, very graphic, in PUBLIC, so very detailed
- my god these women are inventive

WARNINGS:
- depicitons of bodily harm
- violence
- foul language (VERY foul language) show less

This is chaotic as fuck. The plot and the tropes are a lot of everything and nothing terribly cohesive. There's no clear definition on what the time line is? Its urban... but not?

The spice is good, though heavy on the dubious consent aspect. The addiction theme was a bit much for me and yucked a bit of the spice for me.... But ill still probably continue the series and see where this goes.

Fast paced adventure with great characters tossing around witty banter, brilliant sass, and lots of spice. The magic systems are exciting and new, too!