Blood Slave

DNF @ 46%

Fair warning that the spoilers very much amount to a more verbose “your kink is apparently not my kink” with details about stuff which may be uncomfortable or even triggery for some readers.

Alright, so, I liked the premise. I'm a sucker for vampire erotica - and, incidentally, the song Vampyre Erotica. It's a guilty pleasure sort of thing. But I like my vampire lore to make sense and I like my characters to have logical thought patterns. And, for that matter, I like my romantic/friendly BDSM to be fully consensual. This book lacks all three.In this world, a vampire has been allowed to mingle with humans to the point he has assimilated into society, partaken in human sports teams, and gained himself a human best friend. The vampires are themselves so unconcerned with secrecy that they welcomed a nosy human with open arms so long as he was willing to run around naked for them. Yet apparently it's somehow not okay for the vampire to be close to his human best friend in a romantic way without being forced by his clan of friends and family to degrade, debase, and treat his friend as a slave....?! I get the premise being that he has to stake (pun not intended) a claim so the others won't hurt his pal, but why the fuck does he have to acquire full submission? Why isn't it his choice how to treat his own damn 'blood slave'?! Clearly, mingling with humans isn't even a problem - those who are aware vampires exist and get shared among the clan aren't wandering around on leashes acting like full submissives!I just... No? Make this make sense, please.Seriously, we get this -???We shower together after rugby,???Keats said. ???I notice things. I also noticed you???re really well hung, if that makes you feel any better about me sneaking a peak.???- but also this -It???s not just kink??? This is the only way things can be between a vampire and a human???- so which is it? Can he mingle with the humans, casually play sports and befriend and shower with them? Or can vampires only interact with humans if they've sexually subjugated them? I need to know!Also, why the fuck didn't Leland (the vampire) just leave the party with Keats?Additionally, I prefer my BDSM with more B&s than D&M - I prefer the loving exchanges of trust wrapped in pretty restraints. When we reach the side of full submission with subs locked in cages and being denied permission to partake basic human autonomy such as talking to other people, my brain pumps the brakes with a heavy no, thanks.And when we reach this point -Keats looked him up and down as if to ask ???who the hell do you think you are???????I am your master,??? Leland answered.Keats tilted his head on the side, as if he wasn???t quite sure what to make of him. ???Sorry, darling, but you???re really not. Not unless I say you are.??????I say I am.???- followed closely by this point -???I am not a human dominant,??? Leland said, as anger at the idea of Keats so much as looking at another man boiled inside him. He stared at the collar around Keats???neck???wondering just who he had really been trying to keep him safe from when he wrapped the leather around his throat. Right then, he was pretty sure the person most likely to either bite or throttle his friend was him.???Doesn???t mean you get to be a jerk,??? Keats said. ???I am your master,???Leland repeated. ???You will show respect.???- and then this -So vampire culture didn???t approve of praising their submissives. That really sucked. Keats shifted on his cushion, wondering if they actually knew anything about how human submission worked, if they cared???- after Keats is forced to sit on the floor instead of a couch, I just... I can't do this. This is where I toss in the towel. Words cannot explain how repulsed I am. I was able to cringe and accept the fact Keats is actually super into being caged and degraded with removal of basic privileges, because okay fine that's what he's into so he consents and that's cool. But here we have his best friend clearly giving zero fucks about consent or happiness, with a thin veneer of an absolutely stupid imperative to obtain full submission on top. And now in addition to the dubious-at-best consent to this treatment, we have that he can't even be praised for being a 'good' sub?!



Sorry, but I'm repulsed. I'll accept things like this in gritty, dark, fucked-up stories, but not something like this. Not a story that promised me one friend protecting the other. I want friendship and respect and concern - with some kink on top, of course - not... whatever this is.

Yes, that's a me problem, but it's still more than I can deal with right now. And this book certainly isn't without its actual flaws, either.

The writing consists of a few... oddities. In addition to not particularly flowing well, we get such clunky phrases as “tilted his head on the side” which bring to mind something straight out of a horror film since you'd have to disjoint your neck to put your head on its side. All characters have the same voice and the writing style makes it difficult to follow who's acting or speaking sometimes. Then there are the typos... so many typos...

My brain hurts.

I'm disappointed because I feel like the story didn't deliver what it promised and veered way too far from the concept of protective friendship. Maybe it gets better further along, but from a quick skimming I doubt it. One of my personal dislikes, the sub using ‘sir' to address their Dom, pops up, and I really don't have the mental energy to deal with any more squicks right now.