Queen Takes Knights by Joely Sue BurkhartMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I got this on audio book and listened to it for the first time in May 2018. Since then I’ve read the rest of the series rather than listened, so I think that can tell you something about my enjoyment of the listening process. In relation to the narrators, I just didn’t think they were the right ones. They weren’t bad narrators, but they just didn’t fit with the characters, in my opinion.
The actual story is fantastic. I’d not read any other Joely Sue Burkhart before and I think it was a recommendation on a Facebook group that lead me to the books. The cover of the book is rather grisly and I’m not a great one for blood and gore, but the blurb and the recommendation counteracted that for me. After listening to the book my mind about the cover changed. It’s absolutely perfect for the book, and my perspective on the photograph changed.
The book is about Shara Isador, a young woman who has been on her own since the age of 17, when her mother was murdered, moving on every few weeks to avoid the same happening to her. Shara is tracked relentlessly by ‘monsters’. On the night we are introduced to Shara she is stranded outside, after dark, with only a salt circle and a club filled with iron nails to protect her against a mob of monsters. Just as she is about to give up she is rescued by two men armed with swords who quickly dispatch the monsters and hurry her into safety. Once there they tell her she is, essentially, a vampire. Instead of human blood she needs the blood of other vampires to provide her with power and strength. In turn she provides them with her blood to increase their power and strength. The more people she has feeding her and being fed by her the stronger she will become.
Shara is the last in the line of queens descended directly from Isis and she has been hidden from her society from birth, which has kept her weak. Rik and Daire, the two men who rescue her are shocked she managed to survive on her own for so long as she is a great temptation to the monsters and to other queens who wish to gain her power for themselves. Choosing to bond herself to Rik and Daire, as she hungers for the blood, she takes the first steps into a new world where she hopes to find out about herself and her heritage in order to protect herself and her Blood (her new men).
This is such a fascinating story and Shara is a strong and independent woman. She has an inherent royalty to her even after being on the run for so long. She resists being told what to do. I love that the Blood are completely loyal and won’t do anything against their queen that could possibly harm her. Their sole reason for living is to protect her and keep her happy. Rik and Daire both seem like very interesting characters. Two men who have been out in the world seeking for their own queen to bind to, risking security in a huge gamble, that actually pays off. I love that Rik is such an alpha but is submissive to the queen. I love that Daire is such a light hearted mischief maker who balances out Rik perfectly. I also love that Rik and Daire have their own relationship with each other and that isn’t forgotten about in the rush of becoming Blood.
The set up for this RH is one of the best I’ve seen. There is a need for lots of Blood to keep everyone strong and safe, and along with blood exchange comes sex. I like how well thought out the society is, with power descending from the goddesses, to the queens, to their Blood and their Sibs. There is a very well thought out history of this society and we have some of it revealed in this book along with the basic outlines of magic. On top of the world building and the strong characters the plot completely absorbs the reader. I didn’t stop listening from start to finish today, apart from short breaks. I would recommend reading the book though, rather than listening to it on audio, but you may have a different opinion if you listen to the audio sample.
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