Book Review: The Wicked Vampire by Kate Baxter

Title: The Wicked Vampire
Author: Kate Baxter
Publisher: St Martin's
Publication Date: 5 December 2017
Pages: 297
Format: eBook - EPUB
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Source: ARC via NetGalley



Sasha Ivanov is a vampire party girl, living life on the edge. Drinking, dancing, and hooking up--she’s tired of playing it safe. But when she finds herself tethered to a mortal enemy, she realizes she’s about to play the most dangerous game of all.

Liam Brún’s existence has been steeped in violence. A berserker, he is viewed as nothing more than a mindless fiend in the supernatural world, and Liam has no qualms with perpetuating that myth. Until he finds himself thrown into the company of a gorgeous vampire who claims he’s her mate. The stunning beauty is able to soothe the beast in his soul like no other ever could. But Sasha is his clan’s nemesis, and Liam and Sasha must decide: is loyalty most important? Or could their budding love trump all? (Goodreads Synopsis)


From the way The Wicked Vampire was pitched, it sounded like a standalone read. In some ways it was; however, it is set within a world already used in several other titles, and at times I felt that I was missing something in the background, with references to past events and characters. I liked the story premise of enemies to lovers. Nonetheless, the characters fell a little flat for me. I never came to care about them, and I think some of the trouble there was the irritating use of epithets, especially 'the male'. It got to the point where I could feel myself glowering every time it appeared. We know the character's name. Use it! There's a lot of description sex in this story. That doesn't worry me, but it did get a bit repetitive after the fourth or fifth time. Overall, although enjoyable to an extent, this story didn't grip me as much as I would have liked since the characters never leapt off the page for me. I could take it or leave it; however, if you are deeply into the sexier end of paranormal romance, and constant epithets don't worry you, you'll probably find something to love here.