The Vampire King’s Husband by Amber Kell

[reviews_and_ramblings]

The Vampire King's Husband is a stand alone book by Amber Kell, an author that in the past used me to short stories inside a series. Instead I believe this short story was planned as a one shot. It has a fantasy setting, an apparently medieval town: the young hero is searching work as apprentice from a blacksmith, there is a castle overlooking the town, the life inside the castle has a strict order level... all hints that the way of life is somewhat historical. Then, here and there, I found some pieces that goes against this idea, one of the young blood donors of the castle wants to be a musician and he plays a guitar, Bastion, the young hero, studied 20 foreign language and he was taught the bare hand fighting... All right, being this a fantasy tale, they are not point that are so important, it's only to let you have an idea of the feeling of the story.

Another thing that makes it a fantasy and not an historical story, is that Vasska, the king, is a centuries old vampire. He is still unmarried and he asks the Goddess to send him a mate, Bastion. As Vasska said to the Goddess, woman or man doesn't matter, and so the homosexual nature of their relationship is not something that arises trouble. It's more a question of vicious relatives that were almost convinced that Vasska would have never been able to find a mate. Beside, Bastion is an impoverished nobleman, he is cultured and pretty, so he is the perfect "bride" for the king. There is some "rebellion" from Bastion's side, who doesn't like to be treated like a pretty boy, but basically it's what he is, and the only thing he has to do his to be pretty and to love Vasska.

The story is not very long, less than 40 pages, and all the dangers Bastion has to face are always resolved quickly and without loss... but, truth be told, in so few pages you can't expect nothing more.

Amazon Kindle: Vampire King's Husband
Publisher: Literary Road Press (September 24, 2010)

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