Before reading Court of the Vampire Queen, Katee Robert’s name was on the fringes of my bookish milieu. I knew she was Good™️, but nothing else. When I was at the library searching for Emergency Good Times, I saw Robert and the word “vampire” and blindly picked it up.

So boy was I delighted and surprised when I realized Court of the Vampire Queen is erotica! And not just one erotica, but three erotica novellas collected together in one convenient package! Hahahahaha, dear reader, I’m sorry I can’t share my face. The supernaturally biracial Mina has been caught between mundane and magical cultures all her life, and, more to the point, under her father’s thumb. When her father sells her as a brood mare curiosity to the powerful vampire lord Malachi Zion, she’s determined to rebel–by not getting pregnant. She knows a barren marriage won’t be easy, but the minute she walks past Malachi’s threshold she realizes something more is at play here. Why is a powerful vampire lord starving? Why is he alone? Is the great master of darkness…really this polite?

Court of the Vampire Queen is a delicate balance between world-building and smut. Robert drip-feeds the reader blood lore among the sex scenes. Sometimes frustrated by this storytelling choice, I took refuge in the Watsonian explanation for the slowness. Mina’s father kept her ignorant of esoteric and even basic monster knowledge, and a main thrust of Mina’s character arc is learning and reclaiming her unique heritage. She and the reader learn together How Stuff Works in Robert’s universe. Ultimately, the slow world-building spurred me to keep reading because I wanted to find out more. 

The relationships and titillation are Court’s central focus. In addition to Malachi, Mina romances definitely-not-Damon-Salvatore and Spike-with-serial-numbers-filed-off. In a refreshing change of pace, the main female character is not the only glue that holds the polycule together. The other two men show up for Malachi and are equally enamored with him. This sense of equal attraction was a refreshing change of pace for me. It lifted a burden I didn’t realize I’d been carrying for reverse harem romances. The emphasis on consent and the pains taken to keep the relationships healthy, despite some serious supernatural bonding shenanigans, were exactly what I needed to read too. The sex was hot too, of course.

Overall, Court of the Vampire Queen was a brilliant, fun foray into Robert’s writing, and left me eager for more. I’m especially eyeing her queer forays, like Blood on the Tide, The Succubus’ Prize, and Stone Heart.