The Depraved Prince

by Lexie Axelson

It’s the 1990s, and nothing ever happens in my small town in Texas. But then I met him, and I turned into his obsession. Hayden Drago is dangerously handsome, monstrous, and…a vampire. He’s a monster I only thought existed in fictional books or movies. I was never supposed to meet him. I’m a working college student, and one night our paths collided, and my life changed forever. I thought I knew the world I lived in, but that quickly dissolved after I got taken by him. He’s never letting me go, and I’m afraid I don’t want him to. Little do I know something about my existence causes wars in Hayden’s world. Everyone calls him The Depraved Prince, and he takes pleasure in showing me why.

Genres: Dark Romance, Vampires, Audiobook, Fantasy, Dark, Paranormal, Romance

412 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 2, 2024

About the author

Lexie Axelson is a Hispanic Author from South Texas. She is a military spouse currently residing on the East Coast. She loves to pen angsty, heartbreaking love stories. When she isn't reading a book, she loves to watch horror movies and travel with her family.

Reviews

[Jordan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The genre romance requires an HEA. This is not a vampire "romance"

Honestly I'm pretty pissed rn 😅 it's been marketed as a romance and it is a standalone (i asked the author because if it wasnt id be cool with a cliffhanger BUT SHE SAID ITS A STANDALONE). We go through 43 chapters of FMC and MMC fighting and getting back together in this toxic cycle JUST FOR HER TO DIE AT THE END. WTF. Originally I was leaning toward 3.5-4 stars because I liked the story but the dialogue was cheesy and repetitive. But saying this is a romance with no hea? Immediate 1 star. If I could unread it, I would. What a waste of time 😒

***edited 10/17: she has now posted that it is to be a series vs a standalone. But I literally don't trust her as an author anymore. Hopefully she does the romance genre justice and recognizes that an HEA is required.

[Terree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again BROKEN by a Lexie Axelson book 💔😭 but in the best way possible — the ending of this book will live in a loop in my head for life 😭

[britt · Rating 2 out of 5]

when i started this book i was rly excited bc hayden right off the bat gave damon salvatore tvd season 1 vibes but the more the story progressed the more the writing became very shallow. there were heavy subjects woven throughout the book but the delivery fell flat. for example when threats of rape were brought up the attacker would announce “i’m going to rape you!” and the reader is supposed to be like omg!! oh no he’s going to rape her!! there is no emotion in that delivery and i’d just picture some dumb caricature that’s completely non-threatening making empty threats. then the romantic dynamic between hayden and millie was a mix of kindergarten “if you don’t do what i want, i won’t be your friend” drama and what you can imagine gentle parenting looking like in a romantic setting. hayden would throw tantrums just so that millie would give him his way and millie then would turn around and be like “fine fine you can have your way but also just so you know i’m really mad and that’s turning me on, my pussy is dripping but i HATE you and yes you may have my virginity. you evil monster i will never love but am so in love with bc your stalking and manipulating is so hot and depraved, you depraved prince that everyone knows is depraved bc you’re the depraved prince!” in the end i didn’t even care that the ending wasn’t an HEA. i was kinda hoping millie would launch herself off a cliff so that we could all collectively end our suffering. legit, cooper the dog was the only character worth our time.

[destiny · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow. just wow.

thank you lexie for giving me the amazing opportunity to beta read this book ❤️ it was my first time beta reading and i had the most wonderful time with this one. my cliffhanger queen 😭

oh this book is just so lovely, heartbreaking, mindf*cking, and beautiful 🖤 if you are a fan of a vampire romance, set in the 90s, stalker vibes, feisty virgin fmc, dominant possessive and obsessive mmc, smut so good you froth, character driven, and intense plot twists … then you have the perfect book for you. from the bond between hayden and millie, the smut, the tension, the banter, the PLOT TWISTS ???? ugh i’m so obsessed. i loved that this was the first vampire book i started off the fall season with. it’s just the perfect timing and the vibes are EVERYTHING !!

sweet little innocent millie is my new favorite fmc. she holds so much in her heart and no matter how many times it breaks, she always looks for the good in people. she always put her loved ones first but when she needed that same energy reciprocated, it never came. she is one who holds all her feelings in and writes in her little journal. that alone just made me connect with her character in such a deeper level. i loved everything about her. from her fire when she bickers with hayden to how she loves 🥹

hayden is unhinged, dominating, dark, and depraved. this man had me by the throat the second he popped up with that devilish vampire smirk ready to save millie. he has that darkness in him that just makes you fall in love with him. the things that came out of his filthy mouth not only had me drooling but i was also falling in love with his poetic words 😫 mans made me squirm and he’s literally just a fictional character … his love for millie is an instant attraction/love and i absolutely ATE IT UP !!! he knew from the moment he met her that she would be his ruin. hayden would burn the world down for millie. he has always been watching over her. he is my new favorite misunderstood villain. he is the depraved prince 🩸

the world needs to meet hayden and millie and just read about their love for real 😭

🌶️🌶️🌶️

[Whatthekink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whew. Let my heart rate slow.. cause im IMMEDIATELY here after finishing…

1.) let’s have a round of applause 👏🏼 for Lexie! Cause girl, THE TWIST!

2.) “Until the moon and sun collide and the oceans dry. I will love you infinitely.” 🫠❤️‍🔥😍 screaming and kicking the whole time.

3.) captive/captor - I love love love this trope and this book nails it. Every time. 😅

If you love paranormal, “touch her and die” literally unhinged vampire MMC then this book is a MUST READ! 🖤

[✨Wendy✨| downtherabbitholes · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Depraved Prince by Lexie Axelson

Format: ALC Audiobook 🎧
Narrators: Joe Arden and Janine Granda

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Check the Trigger Warnings…

I listened to this as an ALC audiobook. This is one of those books that will stay with me for a while. I need to process everything that happened. I will keep the review as vague as possible because I feel the less you know the better the experience.

The Depraved Prince was dark, twisted and toxic but oh so good. Hayden and Millie’s story had me in a chokehold from the very beginning. This was in no way a romantic love story, but more of a tragedy. It was devious, manipulative but alluring all at the same time. Was this manipulation to the minds of the reader? Maybe. The mental health aspect really drew me in (Stockholm Syndrome and many others). The ending is not of the fairytale we all want. Every great story has an ending and this one will leave you feeling emotionally and mentally drained… My heart broke for these characters. The best description I can give is; tragically beautiful.

The narrators were phenomenal and so intense, giving these characters a pulse and bringing the story to life.

[jezz.readss · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW

This read is perfect for the “hoa hoa hoa hoaaa’ season 👻

I have not read a vampire romance since Vampire Academy or Twilight years ago, and did this make me fall in love with this type of fantasy romance all over again? Yes, yes it did.

I fell in love with the aura of this book, it was dark, gothic, set in the 90’s and it dragged me right in. All my 90s kids, this one’s for us!

Our FMC Millie, a working college student, is doing her best to keep together and work on her relationship with her ever-crumbling family.

Enter Hayden Drago, the next heir of the Northern Vampires, unapologetically psychotic and obsessive.

After rescuing her from the hands of the Southern Vampires, Hayden plans to not let Millie go, not matter how hard she fights. Unknown danger lurks for Millie in Hayden’s world, leaving Millie unsure if she really wants to leave the safety and security of the vampire Prince. They call Hayden Drago the Depraved Prince for a reason, and he unapologetically takes pleasure in showing Millie why.

For Lexie's first dip into romantasy, this was hauntingly beautiful. An immortal man who can literally have anything, but all he wants is the human woman who sees him for who he truly is.

I loved the twists and turns of this book, the captor/captive vibes, the confessions of love and pain, and the ENDING?! 👀
Everything I thought was going to happen, went out the window. I’m still lowkey processing 😅

“I’ll see you next moon.” 😭😭😭

"Until the moon and sun collide and the oceans dry. I will love you infinitely." Yeah. I melted 🥲

Thank you to Lexie and her team for giving me the opportunity to be apart of the ARC team for this book ❤️

The Depraved Prince releases on October 1st and has some of my fav tropes:

🩸Vampire Billionaire/Royalty
💀Morally Gray MMC
🩸Latina FMC
💀Enemies to Lovers
🩸90’s era
💀Dark & Gothic
🩸Captive/Captor
💀Spicyyyy

[Brittany Ferraro · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

So the depraved prince, is a paranormal vampire romance set in the 90s. Our MMC is set to marry and take the throne even though marriage isn’t shit to him. That’s until he meets Millie. I loved watching him soften for her. It always hits different when the MMC falls in love for the first time and when I tell you my man was OBSESSED I mean it🤭 like at first glance he was like “you’re mine” and we love that

The plot was there and the spice was good but sometimes the dialogue was just a little repetitive. While I do love a cat and mouse chase, there was a lot of back-and-forth. And I think I just wanted more moments of them in love instead of her fighting at every step of the way. But that’s just a personal preference!

This was totally giving the vampire diaries at the moments and I was eating that up. I literally love blood play/ feeding so I am a sucker for a good vampire romance (pun intended) but when I tell you, I was truly not ready for the ending I fucking mean it. I don’t know if I’ll ever recover……

Thank you so much for this arc 🖤🧛‍♀️

[Heather myfriendsdontread · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think most of the people I met through BookTok would probably enjoy this book. I’d say it’s a fun, dark, unhinged, and spicy vampire romance book.

But maybe for me, this may have been a case of “right book, wrong time?”

I didn’t get sucked in the way I feel like I should have. I honestly don’t know if I didn’t like it that much or if I just wasn’t in the mood for it. Or maybe I’ve just read too many vampire books.

It took me over two months to finish it, and I finally had to switch to audio and listen to it at 3x speed just to try to get through it.

Here were some of my critiques though:

The words “craved” and “depraved” were WAY over used. We could have thrown in a few new adjectives.

I also didn’t love any of the characters so I think that made the story less interesting to me. Because I didn’t care about them, I didn’t care to know what was going to happen next.

And Millie’s POV (the female main character) was way too repetitive for my liking.

It’s also frustrating to me when FMC’s are promised the world by a billionaire vampire or something, and they kick and scream and demand to go home to the people who hate them. It makes no sense to fight so hard for people who don’t even want you around, and that was most of the book.

Also when I switched to audio, I noticed immediately that it was narrated by Joe Arden, and I think I may have gotten sick of his voice by now 😂 I can’t believe I’m saying that.

He’s good as narrating these unhinged characters, but whenever he does them, the books and the characters all sound the same. I feel like he’s Aero all over again.

This became one of those books I had to force myself to finish.

Most of my friends rated this 4 stars though. So I’d still recommend someone try it themselves and see how they feel about it.

It’s not great, but it’s got a lot of spice, and I think most romance readers will think it’s entertaining.

Also, maybe I just have high standards because I’ve read so many epic vampire books? 🤷🏻‍♀️ I wish I knew.

I really wanted to like this one. I’m really bummed that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

[Sara Lillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

LEXIE, you broke my heart and stomped on it with this one. Hayden and Millie’s story was EVERYTHING.

Morally black MMC and a MFC with Stockholm syndrome? Sign me up 🤪 This book had me reading late into the night never knowing where it was going next. The ending will have you REELING and begging for more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

[Andrea Nelums · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg..... that ending....... I need answers. I received an advance copy and LOVED IT. This amazing and such a wild ride. Please say there will be a sequel to this.

[Paige Cucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do I even start?! First and foremost, Lexie out did every expectation I had for this book and then some 👏🏻 an actual fucking QUEEN 👑

Being set in the 90’s was such a fun nostalgic vibe!!
And when we say enemies to lovers, we mean it. *screamingggggg* 🥵 THE MORALLY GREY IS MORALLY-GREYing with our depraved prince 🤤🤤

“Bambi, you’ll be begging me to shut you up again and again after you get a taste of me” 🤭🧎🏼‍♀️

The plot twist & the ending?! I NEVER saw coming. All predictions and theories I thought were going to happen went right out the door!! The processing phase I endured after this book is wildddddd.

I giggled, I screamed, I fucking SOBBED. I am obsessed!! Hayden & Millie took a piece of my broken soul to keep forever with theirs 🥺🫶🏼

🖤 Commence the insane book hangover because nothing else can compare right now 😮‍💨🖤

[Bria Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

At this time I'm unwell 😭
Poor lexie got a mouthful from me from this ending but God damn it it was so good 😭

[Isis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lexie, anything you write I WILL READ.

I don’t even have words to talk about how much I loved this book.
Hayden is a complete Psycho. I didn’t know what to expect, if I could jump into a book it would definitely be this one. Billionaire vampires, gothic mansion, set in the 90’s and captivity?! TAKE ME. 🧎‍♀️
I cannot believe everything what I read, I highlighted so many parts. I’m sure i probably highlighted an entire chapter. Hayden becomes completely obsessed with Millie since he rescued her from the Davenports that frightful night. He never stopped obsessing over his little Bambi so when it came time to take what was his, HE TOOK IT. The tension, angst, emotional whiplash had me on the edge of my seat. Now those plot twists, I WAS SHOOK. Who the f-LEXIE!!
I swear you know exactly how to play with my emotions and give me heart attacks at the same time. I honestly didn’t see those coming, I still can’t believe it. And that ending, PLEASE. PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY, I NEED MORE😩
Two broken souls becoming one, that’s what Hayden and Millie are to each-other. The way you wrote about such deeper emotions and fears made me cry, I felt every single word. I hope we get more of The Depraved Prince sometime 😭

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I’ll see you next moon”

I read this book in one sitting, I could not put it down.
This book took me on a rollercoaster of emotions.
I don’t know if I will ever be over it!

Like all of Lexie Axelson’s MMC’s, Hayden Drago is unapologetically who he is.
Hayden Drago is the heir to the Drago kingdom in this world and will destroy anyone that gets in his way of living life to the fullest.

Millie is just trying to finish college at the age of 20 and build a better relationship with her family.

All of that changes after she is taken by the Prince of the Southern Vampires and rescued by the Depraved Prince himself, Hayden Drago.

Three months after letting Millie go, though, Hayden is an obsessed psychopath they kidnaps her thinking it’s all about revenge…or is it?

Seriously such a beautiful book!

[blueberry]

DNF. The hero is supposed to be over 300 years old and sounds like an edgy 14-year-old.

[Jamie Engel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay…not sure what I was expecting when I got this one, but I knew it was about Vampires and I needed to read it.

This a paranormal vampire romance set in the 90s and has the vibe of Vampire Diaries. Hayden is set to marry another but then he meets Millie. I loved watching him slowly become such a softie for her. There is a lot cat and mouse, back and forth and I absolutely love that in romance books. Millie is a fierce FMC and she never let up. Absolutely ate them up during those spicy scenes…Lexie can write some spice. And can we talk about that ending!?!? WTH!! Did not see that coming…

Some things I didn’t like…some of the dialogue felt repetitive and I wish Millie would of stopped being a stubborn ass sometimes LOL. But overall these 2 things did not change how I felt about this story.

Thank you Lexie and team for an eARC. I am so excited to read more from Lexie.

Overall: 3.5
Spice: 2.5

Tropes:
- Paranormal Romance
- Vampire
- Morally Grey MMC
- Enemies to Lovers

[Dani Bueno · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no words. SPEECHLESS! Lexies best work yet! I said what I said. Millie and Hayden 🥹. The ending got me!! 😭
Thank you Lexie for allowing me to BETA read The Depraved Prince. I know the time, sweat and tears you poured into this book and it’s amazing! 5 ⭐️! Y’all aren’t ready for this!

[Katie O’Reilly]

Note to self that there’s no HEA so ☹️

[Eni ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a disappointment...
I was about to rate this book for 3-4 ⭐️UNTILL THE ENDING. This book is NOT a HEA!!! (The FMC dies in the end in a fucking tragic and useless way for no fkin reason) If I had known, I wouldn't have read it!!!!
The story was alright, even tho FMC was annoying as hell, TRYING TO RUN EVERY SECOND when she knew, she'll be killed if she goes out.. 🤦🏽‍♀️ I loved Hayden as an MMC, it was giving Vampire diaries and Twilight in one.
I think after this book there's a thing called TOO much plot twist...
Also how did she order an Uber in the 1900's? 🥴

*sighs* The ending after fmc died was weird, was it a teaser for the second book? I might be dumb but I didn't understood.. did she got reincarnated??

After all they went through in the story.. killing her was useless. All this FOR WHAT? 🫠

[Rommaisreading · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sigh! I hated them both so much, I didn’t even care that she died🚶‍♀️.

➡️ It started good, but then the dialogue got repetitive.
➡️ Lmao, for someone she hates, she spreads her legs quite often and way too quickly. Matter of fact, I don’t think they can have a conversation with their clothes on. Like most of it was, “𝑶𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉, 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑩𝑼𝑻 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒎𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒄 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒚. 𝑯𝒂!”
➡️Also, what is with this man and railing her after she encounters a near death experience?
➡️ I also can’t get over the fact that this vampire man has fangs but threatened her with his cock instead😂.

[Ashley⛓️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this story and these characters so much. You could tell while Lexie was writing this she bleed onto the page.

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Spoiler: it does not have an HEA. I was stunned but I go into books blind and I cried (per usual)😭😭 but this love story was so fucking good regardless of the outcome and honestly after reading Lexie’s author note at the end I understand why. But I’m still so sad. Definitely still a 5 star read.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no words. That was absolutely perfect. I loved Hayden and Millie. I loved the 90s nostalgic vibes. Such a beautifully depraved and tragic story.

I'm currently choking back tears because if there were ever 2 characters that I wanted to have a HEA, it was these 2.

[Literature with Lindsey 📚✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5⭐️

RTC

[Tea&Biscuits · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed The Depraved Prince by Lexie Axelson. I’ve always been a big vampire fan, and I grew up in the 90s so this book being set in the 90s was a big pull for me. I loved the FMC Millie, and Hayden the MMC was exactly the amount of unhinged I love. This story does not have a HEA and I would definitely suggest checking the triggers.

The audiobook is narrated in duet by Janine Granda and Joe Arden. What an amazing duo for this story. They both performed their characters phenomenally and added to my enjoyment of the story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Nicole Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down!!!

I was chosen as an Alpha reader for this book and have to say I absolutely fell in love with the characters. Hayden is perfection and Lexie has a way of making you fall in love with her depraved characters 🫠. I'm BEGGING her to write another!! Im obsessed 😅

[SydneeDarling · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was going to be a 3 star until I read the ending. I was completely shocked. Which normally I don't mind, but this is marketed as a romance. It isn't. She dies and we don't really know what happens to Hayden afterwards either. Just some vague stuff. I get you can't market this as a tragic love story without spoiling the ending, and the shock factor was definitely there, but it should not be marketed as a romance either. Besides that ending though, I felt like I skimmed a lot of this book because it was just the same thing over and over again told in different ways. I would have preferred to know beforehand that this wasn't an hea or for Millie to have become a vampire and see the world. Pretty disappointed by this book.

[Laura Castellano-Lusk✨🪩💖 · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5⭐️

I first went into this book with the best wishes, I was excited plus I love vampire books. BUT

If you love Damon Torrance from Devil's Night you will LOVE Hayden but unfortunately, this had a different ending. both characters are very similar in their undying love but less than normal ways of showing it.

Millie is also not Winter, she is unsure of herself and in most of the book doesn't know what she wants which I think ruins the character and their relationship. I understood why Hayden loved Millie so much and the depths he would go to be with her and love her but Millie did not feel like that towards him at all, she time after time tried to run away, but she settled and that's what so sad about it I think in some ways she ended like her mom, obviously Hayden is not abusive but both women settled. I think Hayden deserved better, and to have a healed and mentally strong Millie by his side even if it didn't end the way it did I think their relationship would've failed at the end just because Millie was not completely into the relationship. I believe good sex shouldn't be the only foundation for a relationship. I'm kind of bummed about the ending it felt like a betrayal to Millie who only wanted a happy ending and to see Alaska which she didn't get to do, she didn't even finish school at the same time I think she would've been miserably by Hayden's side as time went on especially if they had children so at the end I'm stuck on how to feel about the book, especially the ending.

[Tali · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

There is no rule that romance has to end in an HEA.

Love is messy and complicated. Even in the realm of vampires and humans. I knew going in, reading the book and listening to the audio, that this wasn’t an HEA, but it never prepares you for when the time comes. I loved the 90s theme and maybe a nod to The Lost Boys (one of my favorite vampire movies) with some Twilight sprinkled in. Don’t let that fool you as it is very much its own portrayal of one of the greatest monster/paranormal genres, the brooding vampire. The Stockholm Syndrome even had me convinced. Definitely check your TWs, because there is a lot of heavy content. It seems like there could be a potential for book two and if so I’ll be first in line to read it. This was a beautifully written story so full of emotion. Narrators Janine Granda and Joe Arden a phenomenal job.

🚨Potential Spoiler🚨
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I do wish more was written about the war and the vampire parents that were around sometimes. The mom had a story to tell. What was her story? Where were they when the war broke out?

I received the ALC through Blue Nose Audio

[Sarah Guzak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, Lexie destroyed me with the ending to one of her books.. Every time I think we're going to get answers and a HEA tied with a dainty bow and BAM. I wanna throw my kindle because Lexie throws us for a loop. Lil old me thought I had the ending allll figured out. BOY was I wrong lol.

This book is definitely for my DARK romance girlies. Don't be fooled by the beautiful cover, this book is FILTHY in the best way. If you're looking for your next dark romance book bf who's possessive as hell, morally grey/black, gives off touch her and die vibes (and ACTS on it), then look no further. Prince Hayden Drago is at your service.

This story is also more than just a dark romance. It's two people recognizing the darkness and trauma in one another, and finding solace to help the other crawl out of the shadows. It's learning to love the darker parts of yourself and find peace with your inner demons.

I also loved how our FMC, Millie, was so resilient. Girl had been through some shit and still came out swinging. She fought and fought hard to keep her "normal" human life, but when she finally caved to her darker side that craved Hayden, that was a beautiful sight to see.

Lexie, for the love of all things holy, I need MORE. lol

My only wish for this book was that it had been more thoroughly edited. There were some phrases that didn't make sense, sentences that were hard to follow, adjectives/descriptions that didn't make sense or "belong" in that moment, and repetitive words in the same sentence.