The Court of Shadows (Vampyria Saga)
Louis XIV transmutes to the King of Shadows on his deathbed and becomes an immortal with absolute rule over the realm of Magna Vampyria. His kingdom is divided into four estates consisting of immortals (high nobility vampyres) and three classes of mortals (feudal lords, doctors, and commoners).
The prospect of execution lurks over the seventeen-year-old commoner, Jeanne Froidelac, in this historical fantasy, after her family is slain for sedition. She must masquerade as the baron’s daughter, Dianne, whom she kills to escape, and travels with Alexandre de Mortange to become the king’s ward. On the journey, she discovers Alexandre is a vampyre who viciously assassinated her parents and drank their blood. She swears to avenge them by slaying Alexandre and the King of Shadows. If she succeeds, the deed also seals her fate to die.
Author Dixen has masterfully crafted a gothic tale that leaves you on the edge of your seat with its evocative descriptions and razor-sharp tension as each scene unfolds. The world-building is based on the iron-fist reign of King Louis XIV and his strong, centralized state. The tale is told from the first-person perspective of Jeanne, whose emotions are pulled to the edge of a precipice as she anticipates the horror that awaits her at every corner. There are some graphic scenes of violence from immortals who hunt down commoners to drink their blood for eternal youth.
The Court of Shadows is highly recommended for those who enjoy reading dark tales filled with suspense, terror, and supernatural vampyres that satiate their lust for immortality by drinking the blood of mortals.
