Book Review of Xavier (Vampires in America Series)
Tall, dark, and deadly, vampire Xavier Prospero Flores waded through blood to destroy his enemies and reach the pinnacle of vampire society--Vampire Lord. He has only one regret in his long life, and that’s the day he rejected the advances of Layla Casales. She’d been too innocent, too naïve, and far too young. But she’d also been his.
Layla Casales was only nineteen when she left Spain, brokenhearted and humiliated by Xavier’s rejection. But now, ten years later, the ties of family are pulling her back, not only to Spain, but to Xavier’s fortress. Her father, the vampire lord’s military commander, is critically ill. Layla has spent years fighting on battlefields around the world, so when her father asks her to come home, she can’t say no.
Though Xavier’s rule began on the ashes of his enemies, it’s not vampires trying to kill him now--it’s humans. He needs to eliminate his enemy before more of his people die. Layla arrives just in time to help, but while she came for her father, the minute she and Xavier see each other, desire burns as hotly as if they’d never been apart. Xavier isn’t going to let her go this time. But before they can rediscover the love they walked away from, they must first keep each other alive.
4 I missed Raphael Stars
Xavier, the 14th book in the Vampires in America series was a good and enjoyable read, but I really missed Raphael and Cyn in this book. I enjoyed the fact that the heroine was bad-ass like Cyn. As much as I enjoyed this book I felt like something was missing. I'm not sure what, but it was a bit off for me. Maybe it was because it didn't tie into the other American vampire lords working on a world alliance plot that has been going on for many books now or maybe it was that I didn't totally love Xavier. Whatever it was it made this book a good read but not a 5 star one.
Xavier was a hard one for me to warm up to. He was powerful, and loyal to those he cared for, but he was a bit too cocky for me. He came off pompous at times. I did like him and I liked how good he was to Layla, her family, and the little community he created but his arrogance was a turn off.
Layla was great. She was smart, tough, and was a no nonsense kind of woman. I like that she could not only take care of herself but Xavier as well. They made a cute couple I just wished they would of had a bit more time together for relationship building.
This book had all new characters. Which is good and bad. It's good that it can be read as a standalone. But it's bad because it feels out of sync with the series. I would have liked at least a phone call to Raphael to tie it into the series. I did really like Brian and Kerry from Layla's team. I liked that Brian loved Layla, but wasn't in love with her. He didn't step over the line and disrespect Xavier and Layla's relationship at all, and he was brave. I liked Chuy and Layla's parents too. I wish we would have got to see Layla's parents finding out that Layla and Xavier got mated. I was dying to know how her dad would have taken the news. The bad guy in this book was a bit of a wimp. The plot moved nicely and I was never bored. Overall a good book in the series but not one of my favorites.
