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The Vampire Mage #1
Vampire Mage
Hayden Taylor is running out of time.
After going to bed with a beautiful woman he met at a bar, Hayden discovers he has an unquenchable thirst and the body of a pro athlete. Between the six pack abs and the extreme hangover, he can't decide if last night was a good thing or...something else.
Hayden quickly discovers that, if left unchecked, this thirst could end up killing him, but only if he fails to find the woman who turned him.
What's more, there's something unique about him, even among the vampires. Hayden isn't like the rest of them. There's something in his blood--something magical, almost otherworldly--and it's beginning to attract the wrong kind of attention.
Warning: this book contains a harem, violence, and cursing.
After going to bed with a beautiful woman he met at a bar, Hayden discovers he has an unquenchable thirst and the body of a pro athlete. Between the six pack abs and the extreme hangover, he can't decide if last night was a good thing or...something else.
Hayden quickly discovers that, if left unchecked, this thirst could end up killing him, but only if he fails to find the woman who turned him.
What's more, there's something unique about him, even among the vampires. Hayden isn't like the rest of them. There's something in his blood--something magical, almost otherworldly--and it's beginning to attract the wrong kind of attention.
Warning: this book contains a harem, violence, and cursing.
408 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 22, 2018
371 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
About the author
Joshua King
1,589 books25 followersJoshua King is a Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy writer that loves a killer story mixed with a few ongoing fantasies. Strong gorgeous women, super evil villains, precarious situations, and a normal dude that gets transformed into making it happen are all part of the fun.
When not writing, he's watching movies, traveling the US with his wife and son, or paying homage to the God of War. He's hoping to entertain you and give you a few minutes of heart-racing fun or mind-bending mystery in the various worlds he's created or the ones he plans to create.
When not writing, he's watching movies, traveling the US with his wife and son, or paying homage to the God of War. He's hoping to entertain you and give you a few minutes of heart-racing fun or mind-bending mystery in the various worlds he's created or the ones he plans to create.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
September 30, 2019
When everyone told me this was the worst harem book they read, I took as them just being colorful. When I read the first two pages I was thinking that maybe we were on to something interesting. The MC isn't a stereotypical pathetic nerd dropped into an empowering geek power fantasy, no. This guy was actually the cool kid in school, but school was ten years ago and now he's left to wonder what could have been if he grew into the person everyone expected him to be. That is interesting! It's fresh too, maybe everyone is wrong about this book, maybe it's actually something clever...
Oh how wrong I was.
Whatever tease of deconstruction of the trope goes right out out of the window when he starts his internal monologue. You quickly find out that maybe his body aged into that of someone near thirty, but his mind never left that of 15, I couldn't believe what I was reading. Very early on this manchild of an MC finds himself in a 'club' and immediately spots a girl with perky breasts. After the most minor of social cues he walks his way towards her supremely confident that he will achieve sex with her.
A fight breaks out in the club for some reason but do you think that'll stop the MC? No. He's a man. And like all men, physical violence is not only no determent to the sex drive, it actually enhances it. An actual quote from the book:
"I'd fuck them up and then I'd fuck her"
This of course is shortly after confirming he would 'bend the bartender over' if things didn't go his way with the first target.
It was after this point i began more skimming than reading. There was no self awareness, no satire. He actually thinks and acts like this and the girls around him give it no second thought. And no, turning into a vampire doesn't make him any mature, if anything he becomes more juvenile because of the abilites he's granted and the hollow sex object women who revolve around him.
It's a very long book so admittedly I did not finish but I read enough to see a lot of thoroughly unsexy erotica that was akin to the moronic Fratboy in your dorm bragging about how he 'scored' the other night with a clearly exaggerated and crudely told story. Also the fight scenes are bad too, very little description, just a lot of bragging.
The MC clearly feels like the coolest person in the world, the problem is, the book agrees with him.
Oh how wrong I was.
Whatever tease of deconstruction of the trope goes right out out of the window when he starts his internal monologue. You quickly find out that maybe his body aged into that of someone near thirty, but his mind never left that of 15, I couldn't believe what I was reading. Very early on this manchild of an MC finds himself in a 'club' and immediately spots a girl with perky breasts. After the most minor of social cues he walks his way towards her supremely confident that he will achieve sex with her.
A fight breaks out in the club for some reason but do you think that'll stop the MC? No. He's a man. And like all men, physical violence is not only no determent to the sex drive, it actually enhances it. An actual quote from the book:
"I'd fuck them up and then I'd fuck her"
This of course is shortly after confirming he would 'bend the bartender over' if things didn't go his way with the first target.
It was after this point i began more skimming than reading. There was no self awareness, no satire. He actually thinks and acts like this and the girls around him give it no second thought. And no, turning into a vampire doesn't make him any mature, if anything he becomes more juvenile because of the abilites he's granted and the hollow sex object women who revolve around him.
It's a very long book so admittedly I did not finish but I read enough to see a lot of thoroughly unsexy erotica that was akin to the moronic Fratboy in your dorm bragging about how he 'scored' the other night with a clearly exaggerated and crudely told story. Also the fight scenes are bad too, very little description, just a lot of bragging.
The MC clearly feels like the coolest person in the world, the problem is, the book agrees with him.
December 11, 2018
It wasn't for me, but some men might like this kind of story. It was more a male fantasy than something geared to female readers. This kind of mc isn't my kind of character. Good world building though.
January 24, 2019
What a crap book made it 10 pages in and stopped. Horrible start. New to a bar yet everyone knows his name before the reader even does. But it's a haram book so it's all about the 15 year old boy coming out of the writer.
Blah blah blah is a apt example of this book lalalalalalala la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
Blah blah blah is a apt example of this book lalalalalalala la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
December 26, 2018
Awkward sex scenes, unlikable characters
Tried this novel out and had to get pretty drunk to manage to get half way through. The main character is simply unlikable and has no draw, the story goes no where and the sex scenes have me skipping them because of how awkward and not sexy they are. Could not finish would not recommend.
Tried this novel out and had to get pretty drunk to manage to get half way through. The main character is simply unlikable and has no draw, the story goes no where and the sex scenes have me skipping them because of how awkward and not sexy they are. Could not finish would not recommend.
January 6, 2019
The main character of this story is infuriatingly stupid. If you don't mind over the top stupidity by all means read this book. I on the other hand could not finish this.
June 14, 2019
2 maybe 2.5 stars. I usually enjoy these type of book and don't take them to seriously but I was not a fan of this book. I think it was the MC mostly. It can be a fine line between a guy that loves woman and sex and a guy that is just a jerk or asshole. The MC in this book says a couple of things that leads me to think of him a asshole. Some of his comments and things he thinks are usually statements that bikers say to woman before the MC teaches them a lesson. It is nothing to crazy just I get the creepy jerk feel from him in the first couple of chapters and can never shack it off. I don't think I will be continuing as the story/plot was pretty cookie cutter anyway and nothing new under the sun.
May 29, 2019
Man this book was a 3-4 star book for me until the 1/3 mark. I marked it 2 stars because I don't regret reading it, but I'm not sure if I will ever get around to reading the 2nd book. Basically after the first third of the book I was like "move it along" and "are they having sex again?". Joshua definitely has more potential than similar writers, I would suggest he read some romance novels and learn why emotional attachment is important when it comes to erotica.
Rant Below
So after 1/3 Josh changes gears, and starts trying a little to hard;, trying to reinvent Vampires when really the characters are just Sucubi/Incubi type creatures that suck blood. The story was decent enough that without all the erotica it could of still stood on its own. When it gets to a point where you have to stop and let a sex scene happen and suffer through it so the story can continue again.
Also, he does the thing that you see in these new age LitRPG/Fantasy Erotica novels where he basically tries to shove how beautiful a character is down your throat. It's really not as bad as some other writers but it still happens. Beauty is subjective, just describe the girl with broad strokes and let the reader use his imagination.
Finally, the quest starts dragging a little and it just gets so boring. Your looking for Guy A, but to find him you gotta find Guy B. While every conversation being "half truths" and "I can't tell you yet" or "let me explain *three paragraphs later* that's how that was". Lots of just empty text describing things that don't matter or dialogue that is just air with no meaning. I don't need to be reminded once or twice every chapter that Haydens dick is going to fall off if he doesn't hurry up, when its his fault for not "shutting the fuck up" and moving the story along.
Rant Below
So after 1/3 Josh changes gears, and starts trying a little to hard;, trying to reinvent Vampires when really the characters are just Sucubi/Incubi type creatures that suck blood. The story was decent enough that without all the erotica it could of still stood on its own. When it gets to a point where you have to stop and let a sex scene happen and suffer through it so the story can continue again.
Also, he does the thing that you see in these new age LitRPG/Fantasy Erotica novels where he basically tries to shove how beautiful a character is down your throat. It's really not as bad as some other writers but it still happens. Beauty is subjective, just describe the girl with broad strokes and let the reader use his imagination.
Finally, the quest starts dragging a little and it just gets so boring. Your looking for Guy A, but to find him you gotta find Guy B. While every conversation being "half truths" and "I can't tell you yet" or "let me explain *three paragraphs later* that's how that was". Lots of just empty text describing things that don't matter or dialogue that is just air with no meaning. I don't need to be reminded once or twice every chapter that Haydens dick is going to fall off if he doesn't hurry up, when its his fault for not "shutting the fuck up" and moving the story along.
June 10, 2019
This book had its moments and could have been much better than it was saved for the following 2 reasons:
1 - I never gelled with the main character - I think this is because of his lack of ambition outside of just staying alive. He just never wanted anything hard enough to chase it unless it was already offered to him, and it just made him feel a little low-impact.
2 - Lack of consequence -
Overall, this is a book that has potential, but didn't quite do enough for me to keep reading.
1 - I never gelled with the main character - I think this is because of his lack of ambition outside of just staying alive. He just never wanted anything hard enough to chase it unless it was already offered to him, and it just made him feel a little low-impact.
2 - Lack of consequence -
Overall, this is a book that has potential, but didn't quite do enough for me to keep reading.
March 1, 2019
Terrible!
When I read the title, Vampire Mage , I thought that was an exciting idea. But this book is terrible. I only made it 15% of the way through and I just could not take all the bad writing. In particular I hate the protagonist. I am rooting for him to die. I don’t want him to succeed he is not a good person, has no moral compass, and pines for his glory days back in high school. He’s pathetic. But nooooo there is “something about him” so a vampire princess starts his turning and a bartender vampire agrees to help him even though she says she actively avoids those under going the “process”. This book is bad, nothing makes sense and there is no one to care about. So yeah, I gave up after seven or eight chapters and I’m kind of upset I stuck with it that long.
When I read the title, Vampire Mage , I thought that was an exciting idea. But this book is terrible. I only made it 15% of the way through and I just could not take all the bad writing. In particular I hate the protagonist. I am rooting for him to die. I don’t want him to succeed he is not a good person, has no moral compass, and pines for his glory days back in high school. He’s pathetic. But nooooo there is “something about him” so a vampire princess starts his turning and a bartender vampire agrees to help him even though she says she actively avoids those under going the “process”. This book is bad, nothing makes sense and there is no one to care about. So yeah, I gave up after seven or eight chapters and I’m kind of upset I stuck with it that long.
December 4, 2018
Inconsistent
I read an article by an aspiring author that talked about a story being consistent and believable to its environment. In this case I got 37% of the way in and to my thinking the MC behaviour is just not consistent and believable. He has been bitten and will die a horrible death in 3 days and is totally unconcerned. His priorities made no sense to the setting and worldview explained to us by the author. Too bad as the story had potential but I ended up being irritated by the MC and that is counter to my goal of being entertained by the story. So, didn't work for me.
I read an article by an aspiring author that talked about a story being consistent and believable to its environment. In this case I got 37% of the way in and to my thinking the MC behaviour is just not consistent and believable. He has been bitten and will die a horrible death in 3 days and is totally unconcerned. His priorities made no sense to the setting and worldview explained to us by the author. Too bad as the story had potential but I ended up being irritated by the MC and that is counter to my goal of being entertained by the story. So, didn't work for me.
January 3, 2019
A decent book.
Ok the author has done a better job with not having as many errors in this book. The story is ok the concept is decent and the twists are interesting but they are predictable. The author has trouble getting me to engage with the story and it was hard to follow what he was trying to accomplish at times. The fights are pretty simple and not that exciting but they are ok. The characters are interesting and may be the best part that they are interesting. Overall I enjoyed it and give it a 3.5 out of 5. It was decent for a new author and I hope that the books get better as he continues to write.
Ok the author has done a better job with not having as many errors in this book. The story is ok the concept is decent and the twists are interesting but they are predictable. The author has trouble getting me to engage with the story and it was hard to follow what he was trying to accomplish at times. The fights are pretty simple and not that exciting but they are ok. The characters are interesting and may be the best part that they are interesting. Overall I enjoyed it and give it a 3.5 out of 5. It was decent for a new author and I hope that the books get better as he continues to write.
April 2, 2021
MC is a tool, straight up holier than thou, cool highschool kid who beats on nerds and thinks he is gods gift to women... and the plotline reinforces it. Read it once a while back but left no review, re-read it again because of the many books in the series and then remembered why I only read book one.
This is a series you can skip.
This is a series you can skip.
June 18, 2023
I mean I love smut but this is just bad. No offense but this is like porn and what a male fantasy looks like. Bland and just a lot of unnecessary porn like somehow the male lead has a d*ck that any vampire couldn’t resist. Lol. Too many testosterone energy in this book
July 6, 2021
Intriguing but disappointing... And confusing.
The concept is intriguing and the story reads smooth enough as far as grammar goes.
However, it's constantly contradicting itself. One sentence a character is said to never have second thoughts the next says she needs confirmation for a decision they made. She's described as basically calculating and exacting but she displays none of those attributes. And there's so many more.
It also really doesn't make sense in a lot of other ways. For example, at one point they're on a quest to find someone (which itself is nonsensical to send someone weak, in flux and in transition on such an errand). Despite the quest giver having every reason to both know and share his location she doesn't. They then enter a gate to another world... A little later a character reveals they need to talk to that gate's keeper about their quest whom she stopped him from talking about it before they left. There's so many layers of nonsense it's dificult to express.
There were also themes that got thrown in out of nowhere and they felt disjointed. I took off an extra star for those and my personal distaste for them.
All in all the story feels like a polished first draft. Ideas are thrown together and pop up out of nowhere. Things often feel like they don't actually fit in the same world and the story doesn't know where it's going. It Also throws in the time honored author's hailmarry: Betrayal. So surprising! For me it was the final straw. Everything collapsed. I'm not sure why they always think betrayal makes the story better. 😌
The concept is intriguing and the story reads smooth enough as far as grammar goes.
However, it's constantly contradicting itself. One sentence a character is said to never have second thoughts the next says she needs confirmation for a decision they made. She's described as basically calculating and exacting but she displays none of those attributes. And there's so many more.
It also really doesn't make sense in a lot of other ways. For example, at one point they're on a quest to find someone (which itself is nonsensical to send someone weak, in flux and in transition on such an errand). Despite the quest giver having every reason to both know and share his location she doesn't. They then enter a gate to another world... A little later a character reveals they need to talk to that gate's keeper about their quest whom she stopped him from talking about it before they left. There's so many layers of nonsense it's dificult to express.
There were also themes that got thrown in out of nowhere and they felt disjointed. I took off an extra star for those and my personal distaste for them.
All in all the story feels like a polished first draft. Ideas are thrown together and pop up out of nowhere. Things often feel like they don't actually fit in the same world and the story doesn't know where it's going. It Also throws in the time honored author's hailmarry: Betrayal. So surprising! For me it was the final straw. Everything collapsed. I'm not sure why they always think betrayal makes the story better. 😌
Read
November 18, 2022AUDIOBOOK REVIEW
DNF at 96%
Why I didn't finish it when I was so close to the end? Aurora. That B gave Hayden so much freaking grief, stress and problems just because the little princess couldn't decide if her little whim was worth the trouble of turning him. He ran around the underworld trying to please her just to get her blood in exchange and when he finally gets her blood by force and completes his transformation he just KISSES her! 🤬🤬🤬 THREE DAYS! THREE F DAYS thinking he was going to die horribly rotting away from the inside out and he forgives her just like that! I would have shown her the finger and say to her "thanks but no thanks. I don't want to be anything yours much less your master".
GOD! This book was so good but that ending blew everything up to smithereens for me. Discovering Hayden's past, what the Dragon wants, and what kind of hybrid Hayden is lost importance. Hayden choosing Aurora as his second lover made me rage-quit the book AND the entire series.
DNF at 96%
Why I didn't finish it when I was so close to the end? Aurora. That B gave Hayden so much freaking grief, stress and problems just because the little princess couldn't decide if her little whim was worth the trouble of turning him. He ran around the underworld trying to please her just to get her blood in exchange and when he finally gets her blood by force and completes his transformation he just KISSES her! 🤬🤬🤬 THREE DAYS! THREE F DAYS thinking he was going to die horribly rotting away from the inside out and he forgives her just like that! I would have shown her the finger and say to her "thanks but no thanks. I don't want to be anything yours much less your master".
GOD! This book was so good but that ending blew everything up to smithereens for me. Discovering Hayden's past, what the Dragon wants, and what kind of hybrid Hayden is lost importance. Hayden choosing Aurora as his second lover made me rage-quit the book AND the entire series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2019
Took a long ass time to finish reading this book for some reason.
I feel a lot of the MC's prowess are not well explained. Just beating everyone up with practically no effort. Makes all the action scenes kind of unexciting. Most of it goes like this, " MC hits the first one, he goes down, second hits MC, MC doesn't even feel it and hits the second, he goes down as well." And so on and so forth.
All the explaination given for all his power is he is a mage (the big reveal is kind of spoilt by the title, I think).
Despite all my rant, I still think it's a good book and have potential going forward, have to see what the author do from now on.
I feel a lot of the MC's prowess are not well explained. Just beating everyone up with practically no effort. Makes all the action scenes kind of unexciting. Most of it goes like this, " MC hits the first one, he goes down, second hits MC, MC doesn't even feel it and hits the second, he goes down as well." And so on and so forth.
All the explaination given for all his power is he is a mage (the big reveal is kind of spoilt by the title, I think).
Despite all my rant, I still think it's a good book and have potential going forward, have to see what the author do from now on.
December 4, 2018
I love this take on vampires and the paranormal living side by side with "humans". Hayden thinks he has found the cure to his dismal class reunion in the arms of an unbelievable attractive woman. The last thing he expects is to find out he has been turned, half way, to a vampire! With the help of the super sexy bartender he is determined to find the one who turned him, and finds out a whole lot more than he bargained for...including things about his past. It's a great book and I highly recommend it.
December 12, 2018
Great Read
Hayden is partially turned by a beautiful vampire who isn't sure she wants him around. However there is something different about him. He tenaciously seeks her out to prevent dying. Chaos ensues as he puzzles through cryptic information in searching for her. The change has made his body better than it was at it's peak. Women are attracted to him as if he was a rock star. Battles ensue. I like the action, humor, and lust/love. Will he be able to change what he sees in his visions. I look forward to the next book
Hayden is partially turned by a beautiful vampire who isn't sure she wants him around. However there is something different about him. He tenaciously seeks her out to prevent dying. Chaos ensues as he puzzles through cryptic information in searching for her. The change has made his body better than it was at it's peak. Women are attracted to him as if he was a rock star. Battles ensue. I like the action, humor, and lust/love. Will he be able to change what he sees in his visions. I look forward to the next book
August 5, 2021
Meh. This was a free book as part of the audible membership ‘included’ package, so I gave it a go. The story wasn’t that interesting and much of the motivation and character drive wasn’t convincing enough to make this an entertaining read. Obviously there’s a lot of sex scenes but I felt that they we’re tastefully done and instead of spicing up the story they didn’t really do much. Overall, it’s a free audiobook so although I won’t recommend, free is free.
November 27, 2018
A really good read
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the story was interesting, the scenes well set and the action was hard and fast. The characters might have needed a little more polish as some of their motivations were a little hard to understand. Personally I wouldn’t have given away so much of the story with the title of the book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the story was interesting, the scenes well set and the action was hard and fast. The characters might have needed a little more polish as some of their motivations were a little hard to understand. Personally I wouldn’t have given away so much of the story with the title of the book.
December 1, 2018
Book 1 in this series and it was a very enjoyable read. I thought the characters were well developed within the book and the story was set up well. I thought the ending and cliffhanger graves us something to look forward to in book 2. This is a fast paced book that was intriguing from the beginning with many twists and turns as the story goes forward.
December 9, 2018
Extremely well written start to what could be a great series!
I loved reading this book, it just flew very naturally, it had character development, a great plot and setting. The world was also very well developed making me wish I knew more and more. Characters were not the typical 2D but had their own thoughts , wants, and flavors. I highly recommend the book.
I loved reading this book, it just flew very naturally, it had character development, a great plot and setting. The world was also very well developed making me wish I knew more and more. Characters were not the typical 2D but had their own thoughts , wants, and flavors. I highly recommend the book.
January 16, 2019
Reads like a Cliche B rated Hollywood movie
MC is dense as hell and has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
Never really breaks a sweat while battling the villains.
The plot is non existent and predictable.
Read it if you want a quick read, and have no other action flicks on your plate.
MC is dense as hell and has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
Never really breaks a sweat while battling the villains.
The plot is non existent and predictable.
Read it if you want a quick read, and have no other action flicks on your plate.
December 6, 2018
Not a bad start
Starts off really cool. Kept waiting for magic from o m the MC....didn't get it lol. Fast paced but kind of a snoozer in the middle but picks up with nice fighting scenes near the end. Good start but not that goox
Starts off really cool. Kept waiting for magic from o m the MC....didn't get it lol. Fast paced but kind of a snoozer in the middle but picks up with nice fighting scenes near the end. Good start but not that goox
December 7, 2018
Now what's next
A combination of magic and acceptance of what's going to be. What do you get when you combine magic with the supernatural world. Defiantly worth reading as it opens the realm of a hybrid.
A combination of magic and acceptance of what's going to be. What do you get when you combine magic with the supernatural world. Defiantly worth reading as it opens the realm of a hybrid.
December 19, 2018
This was interesting.
I enjoyed this story. The characters we interesting and the story line was diverse and captivating. It was well paced and kept the energy up all from start to finish.
I enjoyed this story. The characters we interesting and the story line was diverse and captivating. It was well paced and kept the energy up all from start to finish.
February 7, 2019
A mediocre example of the genre. I finished it and it wasn't terrible, but I never got sufficiently invested in the characters to bother reading any more. I don't quite want back the portion of my life I spent reading it, but there is better stuff out there.
February 25, 2019
This is too linear and the MC is a ‘mary sue’
I’m really not fond of ‘mary sue’ characters and the MC is another. The character development is too shallow and the links to the various events really are quite bland.
I’m really not fond of ‘mary sue’ characters and the MC is another. The character development is too shallow and the links to the various events really are quite bland.
December 22, 2020
Lame story
The story of the novel make twilight movies look hardcore. The book is all show and no go read half the book before giving up , no one died and it looks like a bunch of 5 year old fighting.
The story of the novel make twilight movies look hardcore. The book is all show and no go read half the book before giving up , no one died and it looks like a bunch of 5 year old fighting.
July 13, 2022
🎧📚
Narrated by David Benjamin Bliss
⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was cringe worthy 😖
Yeeeah, sure ... a mans driving improves by a blow job in a car chase 🤦🏼♀️
-it wasn't even so stupid it became funny ... it was just ... 🤢
Do not recommend 👎🏻
Narrated by David Benjamin Bliss
⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was cringe worthy 😖
Yeeeah, sure ... a mans driving improves by a blow job in a car chase 🤦🏼♀️
-it wasn't even so stupid it became funny ... it was just ... 🤢
Do not recommend 👎🏻
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews