A long time ago in a kingdom far, far away, there lived a royal family who ruled their realm well until an evil sorcerer came along determined to destroy them all. To save the king and queen's four children, they cast a spell upon them; carrying them to safety and instilling them with a fierce need of vengeance. A magical time piece is the only thing that can bring the four siblings together again and return them to their kingdom, but if they don't find it soon - time will run out and the sorcerer will rule forever. 
 Nicolai was known as 'The Dark Seducer' until that fateful day when he was swept from his bed, and the arms of his current lover, and into the role of sex slave for the vile princesses of the kingdom of Delfina. Now, without his memory, magick or his timepiece, Nicolai's only hope of escape is the mysterious woman who appears in his cell, unseen to all others but him. Summoning her to this magical realm, he must earn Jane's trust to gain her assistance and then escape the evil clutches of the jealous princess. But the lands that surround the castle are just as dangerous; can Jane and Nicolai make it past lusty ogres, fearsome guards and the powerful magick that the princess Laila wields? Or will they have to give up one another in order to save each other? 
 Fast moving and action packed, Gena Showalter immerses you into a world of magick and fairytales; with paranormal creatures, time-travel and alternate dimensions, in this first novel in the Royal House of Shadows series. And being Gena Showlater; a sexy alpha male, strong female, page scorching sex scenes sprinkled with witty humor. She puts her own little twist on the fairy tale classic Alice in Wonderland with our heroine, Jane Parker, falling into a different realm instead of the rabbit hole but time is still an issue. Damn that rabbit and his time piece! LoL With detailed and imaginative world building, the foundation for the rest of the series is set up here. 
 As Lord of the Vampires begins, the story flows somewhat choppy and it was difficult to become engaged in it at first because facts about these two main characters, Jane and Nicolai, are slowly revealed one little piece at a time so we are missing a lot of background information at the start. But as the story progresses we find out that the characters have had their memories messed with and we are learning the important details right along with them. This short novel starts right off with the action though and doesn't let up until the very end, keeping you on the edge of your seat the entire time. There is an irrefutable chemistry between Jane and Nicolai that develops instantly, which may seem somewhat unbelievable at first but not to worry; this is not the first time these two have met... 
 Nicolai was instantly intriguing and downright sexy with his fierce protectiveness towards Jane and his possessiveness. The world alpha in the dictionary should literally have Nicolai under it. With a tendency to go all caveman, when he growls the word "mine" you will get naughty shivers all along your body! Jane herself starts of as a regular, everyday, human. She could be you or me, but she is one strong and determined woman that I admired and connected with. Together these two are hot hot hot, despite several interruptions and a few horny ogres. The memory and time-travel aspect of the story was bit hard to follow and the ending belt abrupt but there were a few surprising twists and over all this was a unique tale that I really enjoyed, I can't wait to see what else is in store for this series with the collaboration of these four awesome authors.