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Darling
“Vampires should not love, Mistress. Their love is dangerous, expressed in a way humans do not understand. It could bring out the worst in both of you.”
From birth, Cassandra has been groomed to be the Beloved of Lord Constantine. Deeply in love with her lord, she is obsessed with being his wife and mother of his future Half-Blood children. As the Pureblood Vampire King of Nightmares, Lord Constantine has been obsessed with keeping Cassandra sheltered from the necessary cruelty of his world.
Even if that means keeping Cassandra a perpetual maiden.
Unfortunately good intentions and love are not enough when Cassandra cannot be protected from the one man capable of destroying her—Lord Constantine himself.
From birth, Cassandra has been groomed to be the Beloved of Lord Constantine. Deeply in love with her lord, she is obsessed with being his wife and mother of his future Half-Blood children. As the Pureblood Vampire King of Nightmares, Lord Constantine has been obsessed with keeping Cassandra sheltered from the necessary cruelty of his world.
Even if that means keeping Cassandra a perpetual maiden.
Unfortunately good intentions and love are not enough when Cassandra cannot be protected from the one man capable of destroying her—Lord Constantine himself.
61 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 10, 2011
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11 people want to read
About the author
Claudia D. Christian
14 books42 followersI am a writer who craves to create literary experiences that makes you question your beliefs. I want to push you out of your safety zone. I want you to walk away from reading my fiction and feel, "I am that person," no matter how ugly or scary the character may be.
Why? Because that's what I want to experience as a reader of my work.
I use my fiction as a way to see myself beyond what I present. I hunger for a connection that feels real. Dark romance is the canvas but the paint is how I use the words.
You will never find easily identifiable characters in the hero and villain roles. There are none. Every character is wicked and pure. Just like me. Just like you.
Why? Because that's what I want to experience as a reader of my work.
I use my fiction as a way to see myself beyond what I present. I hunger for a connection that feels real. Dark romance is the canvas but the paint is how I use the words.
You will never find easily identifiable characters in the hero and villain roles. There are none. Every character is wicked and pure. Just like me. Just like you.
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March 7, 2026Darling touches on some interesting topics: How protection can be harmful, the complex relationship between lust and love, and, similar to the protection theme, how trying to preserve a relationship by never touching it can backfire.
The writing here is solid, the premise promising, and the worldbuilding, interesting. But I think Darling would have been much better served as a longer story.
I also wasn't very fond of either of the main characters, Cassandra and Constantine. While I could understand where each of them was coming from, I found myself frustrated with both of them throughout the story, and that wasn't counterbalanced with many endearing or compelling traits.
I think part of my problem was that both characters felt a little too cut from the cloth of gothic vampire fiction. Cassandra felt too much like every wish-fulfillment protagonist. Constantine felt too much like every irresistible vampire lord. Each had flaws and problems that did pique my interest (especially Constantine's terrible choices), but the story didn't go far enough for me to see what lay on the other side of their arcs. I would have absolutely given this story a high rating if it had concluded the characters' arcs somewhere unique and interesting (which it very well might have if it had continued).
As a final point, I found something a little stilted and... unnatural? About the characters' dialogue and even actions. Almost like they were amateur actors in a play. And I read enough Victorian-era fiction to know I'm not generally put off by that style of speech.
I think this story would be interesting for the author to return to and continue if she ever wanted to. I'd give a completed and perhaps partially rewritten version another go. There are good bones for a gothic vampire drama here, and I'm always down for a good vampire drama.
The writing here is solid, the premise promising, and the worldbuilding, interesting. But I think Darling would have been much better served as a longer story.
I also wasn't very fond of either of the main characters, Cassandra and Constantine. While I could understand where each of them was coming from, I found myself frustrated with both of them throughout the story, and that wasn't counterbalanced with many endearing or compelling traits.
I think part of my problem was that both characters felt a little too cut from the cloth of gothic vampire fiction. Cassandra felt too much like every wish-fulfillment protagonist. Constantine felt too much like every irresistible vampire lord. Each had flaws and problems that did pique my interest (especially Constantine's terrible choices), but the story didn't go far enough for me to see what lay on the other side of their arcs. I would have absolutely given this story a high rating if it had concluded the characters' arcs somewhere unique and interesting (which it very well might have if it had continued).
As a final point, I found something a little stilted and... unnatural? About the characters' dialogue and even actions. Almost like they were amateur actors in a play. And I read enough Victorian-era fiction to know I'm not generally put off by that style of speech.
I think this story would be interesting for the author to return to and continue if she ever wanted to. I'd give a completed and perhaps partially rewritten version another go. There are good bones for a gothic vampire drama here, and I'm always down for a good vampire drama.
Displaying 1 of 1 review