It wasn't amazing but it wasn't awful. It hit the fantasy, modern day placement that I needed but it still moved much slower than I wanted it too. The characters are intriguing, but still make you wish they were making different choices. Ended on a cliff hanger that requires you to read the next book, which wouldn't bee bad if I was really dying to read the next book. I don't think I am feeling like I absolutely need to finish the series though. ( )

I am Bloodkin, born a vampire. Direct sunlight won’t hurt bloodkin.

Tavish is nightling, a human who was transformed into a vampire. Direct sunlight kills nightling.

The Bloodkin women are gone, killed by the bloodking plague. Konstantin searches for the Gray Woman to save the last of the women, his wife, Elisava. She tells him it is too late. She cannot help, but, she has a plan. Will Sash and Alexa be the answer? As time goes on, I’m not sure if her plan is good or evil.

Cee Bee takes us to the past and brings us back to the present, one thousand years later. Alexa is now eighteen years old and has no memory of her past. Anya explains that her and Sash had both been in comas. Alexa is plagued with nightmares, and Sash has an illness that requires expensive medication to keep her alive. To do that, she has become enslaved to a mobster. Her father owed him millions and to save them her ‘mother’ promised she would work to pay off his debt.

Alexa spends her life taking care of her sick sister and putting up with her useless mother.

We do have moments of humor:

“Pick a vowel! It’s Wheel Of Fortune, not Circle Of Idiots!” I laughed out loud because it sounded like me talking to the TV.

Once Caelin sees her, he can’t forget her. Alexa receives a job offer from him, but neither is prepared for what is to come.

“What d’ya think I do all day?” Lexa shrugs. “I don’t know. Race around in sports cars! Toss cash out windows?”

Violins and Vampires by Cee Bee is written in a fun way. The title was a hint for me, but I love anything vampire. They can be soft and fuzzy or hard and monstrous. I love them all. Yes, we do have evil roaming around, but there are moments of humor and laughter.

I feel like Violins and Vampires by Cee Bee is setting us up for the future books, giving us details and explanations, laying a foundation. For sure, the last twenty percent picked up the pace and made me eager for more. Next up, Veils and Vampires. Cee Bee also writes young adult fiction under the name of Christina Bauer. It’s always nice to know that.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Violins and Vampires by Cee Bee.

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This story had so much to enjoy: great world-building, a sexy Scottish vampire king with a broken heart, and an incredibly savvy and sassy kick-ass heroine!

Violins and Vampires is the riveting first book in author Cee Bee’s adult paranormal romance series, Vampires of the Daemonverse, and it is a hands-down fantastic debut! I was captured by the story from the very start (with naked mud-wrestling!), and now I’m anxiously awaiting the availability of book two (which I wished I could have had in my hands YESTERDAY.) This story had so much to enjoy: a sexy Scottish vampire king with a broken heart, an incredibly savvy and sassy kick-ass heroine, and intriguing world-building with bloodkin, nightlings, daemons, and elementals.

Lexa is a strong female protagonist with some unusual abilities that even she doesn’t understand yet. I loved how she met and accepted the responsibility for her family head-on and did an amazing job keeping things on track and together. She deserves a worthy mate and a happily ever after.

Caelin, the long-lived bloodkin king, truly loves his queen, and keeps himself under tight control around other women, accepting what he needs but not wanting to cause a human woman to succumb to “the red madness.” He still feels the pain and guilt of being helpless against the bloodkin plague.

I liked that Konstantin had made it into the modern world as well. He and Caelin have a millennia-long alliance born of their shared grief over his sister Elisava’s death. And the story would not be complete without the modern iteration of The Gray Woman, now reinvented as a doctor, doing her utmost to keep her promise to Caelin while indulging in her affinity for chaos. Prudence and Vice are suitably creepy and menacing from the start, but then the author really turns it up a notch for them.

The story is fast-paced throughout, with never a slow moment where you would want to put the book down. So, take care of your needs before reading that first page, and be prepared to stay up late to get to the last. With characters you’ll really root for, an intriguing world of paranormals, and a riveting plot, I recommend VIOLINS AND VAMPIRES to readers who enjoy paranormal romance and suspense, especially those with fresh and new vampire lore.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Xpresso Book Tours. ( )

Vampires, magic, a blood plague, and the mafia, oh my. Lexa has found herself in an impossible situation thanks to her family, and Caelin has all but given up on life before meeting Lexa. Sparks are absolutely flying between the two of them, and you can't help but wonder just what fate has in store for these two. Lexa is more than what she seems, and getting to know both her and Caelin and their backstories was a delight. The characters are well-developed, and the world is nicely done with plenty of depth. The plot moves along at a smooth pace. A great way to kick off a new paranormal romance series. ( )