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Everly Abbott #1
Servant of the Blood
I grew up with them, the creatures of the night, the blood suckers, the monsters.
The vampires.
I knew vampires before I could walk, not that I knew what they really were. Just that they weren’t really like me. I was human, just like my parents, and when I turned eighteen, I decided to work for the vampires after college, too. We had worked for their nest for over five generations and I wanted to continued that tradition.
But then, the master of the nest died. He’d practically raised me, my mother, my father, and everyone before us. He had looked at humans working for the nest as part of the nest. We were members of the family, even though we weren’t immortal or drank blood. He kept tight control and accidents were so rare I had never seen one happen.
The new master of the nest is not so kind or good at the job.
We need help. I need help. The new master is letting the vampires get out of control. Bodies are starting to pile up and even the other staff is at risk.
I’m Everly Abbott and I need a solution to this before more people get killed.
But the solution might be more dangerous than the problem.
The vampires.
I knew vampires before I could walk, not that I knew what they really were. Just that they weren’t really like me. I was human, just like my parents, and when I turned eighteen, I decided to work for the vampires after college, too. We had worked for their nest for over five generations and I wanted to continued that tradition.
But then, the master of the nest died. He’d practically raised me, my mother, my father, and everyone before us. He had looked at humans working for the nest as part of the nest. We were members of the family, even though we weren’t immortal or drank blood. He kept tight control and accidents were so rare I had never seen one happen.
The new master of the nest is not so kind or good at the job.
We need help. I need help. The new master is letting the vampires get out of control. Bodies are starting to pile up and even the other staff is at risk.
I’m Everly Abbott and I need a solution to this before more people get killed.
But the solution might be more dangerous than the problem.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 14, 2021
377 people are currently reading
730 people want to read
About the author
K.N. Banet
37 books722 followersAuthor of the Jacky Leon series, Kaliya Sahni series, and Everly Abbott series, along with standalones that belong in the same world as all of them!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews
October 15, 2021
While this is first in a new series, the world is the same as for the author's other serieses, Jacky Leon and Kaliya Sahni. There's no real overlap. Just the vampire reps on the Tribunal; but they're only really names in this one. So feel free to read this whenever.
So there's a huge problem with this story. It's not so much that it's walking to the story as that it's sitting around thinking about walking to the story when it gets some time later in the day. It's slow is what I'm saying. Indeed, the entire first half is one long round of "Everly's life sucks, no really. Seriously, sucks. Like that's not even a vampire reference, it sucks that bad." And that's a seriously long time to sustain a relentless down beat.
Worse, no real information is conveyed beyond her life dropping into a pit of awful. If anyone reading this wants to indulge an experiment, I'd love to see how it reads if you start at chapter seventeen. It's my guess that anything that's unfamiliar will be picked up in contextual cues without cheating the story. For reference, my Kindle says that's at 48%. This is the chapter where Alexius shows up and he breathes new life into the story (yes, that's deliberate irony because vampire!). From there, it's a rocking tale with tension, drama, a fast pace, and interesting developments.
Indeed, the second half is pretty awesome. I loved seeing Everly begin finding her way free. And the ending is beyond outstanding. I'll definitely add this to my Banet publishing-order series reading. So I'm putting this at three stars with the disclaimer that you have to slog through a lot of sludge to get to the good bits.
A note about Steamy: There's no romance in this story. There are two scenes that aren't really sex, but have enough bits around them that it's triggering my steamy tag. Overall, that makes it very low on my steam tolerance. Barely detectable, really.
So there's a huge problem with this story. It's not so much that it's walking to the story as that it's sitting around thinking about walking to the story when it gets some time later in the day. It's slow is what I'm saying. Indeed, the entire first half is one long round of "Everly's life sucks, no really. Seriously, sucks. Like that's not even a vampire reference, it sucks that bad." And that's a seriously long time to sustain a relentless down beat.
Worse, no real information is conveyed beyond her life dropping into a pit of awful. If anyone reading this wants to indulge an experiment, I'd love to see how it reads if you start at chapter seventeen. It's my guess that anything that's unfamiliar will be picked up in contextual cues without cheating the story. For reference, my Kindle says that's at 48%. This is the chapter where Alexius shows up and he breathes new life into the story (yes, that's deliberate irony because vampire!). From there, it's a rocking tale with tension, drama, a fast pace, and interesting developments.
Indeed, the second half is pretty awesome. I loved seeing Everly begin finding her way free. And the ending is beyond outstanding. I'll definitely add this to my Banet publishing-order series reading. So I'm putting this at three stars with the disclaimer that you have to slog through a lot of sludge to get to the good bits.
A note about Steamy: There's no romance in this story. There are two scenes that aren't really sex, but have enough bits around them that it's triggering my steamy tag. Overall, that makes it very low on my steam tolerance. Barely detectable, really.
September 14, 2021
Banet is one of my favourite authors, and I love not only her Tribunal series, but her Redemption Saga as well. So I was excited to read an ARC of her new series, now focusing on the vampires in the Tribunal world.
These are not your sparkly vampires. Whilst it is possible for them to be reasonably decent, they're presented as addicts to the blood and the vast majority of the vampires we see in this book are violent and depraved.
Poor Everley used to work for one of the few decent vampires out there, but after he killed himself as new sadistic master took over the nest and she and her friends are trapped.
Everley is a very different protagonist to Jackey, Kalyina or Sawyer. She is purely human and her only real skill set involves computers and technology. She is remarkably resilient and manages to keep going in the face of all of the horror she witnesses, but she is frightened and weak throughout the vast majority of the book. While I completely sympathised with her, I'll be honest and say that I was getting bored mid way through with just how unrentingly awful things were for her and wanting her to be able to fight back.
For me, the book took a turn for the better when Alexius turned up. He was an I troguing character almost straight away and I loved how, despite trying to be one of the better vampires, we still saw his baser nature, too.
I loved the resolution at the end and what it means for the rest of the series. That is going to be amazing to read and Everley and Alexius have the potential to be a great slow burn.
So, in summary, there are bits of this that can feel a bit of a slog to get through, simply because things are so unrelentingly grim for Everley. However, once you read the whole book you completely understand why Banet did it the way she did. I am so excited for the next one!
These are not your sparkly vampires. Whilst it is possible for them to be reasonably decent, they're presented as addicts to the blood and the vast majority of the vampires we see in this book are violent and depraved.
Poor Everley used to work for one of the few decent vampires out there, but after he killed himself as new sadistic master took over the nest and she and her friends are trapped.
Everley is a very different protagonist to Jackey, Kalyina or Sawyer. She is purely human and her only real skill set involves computers and technology. She is remarkably resilient and manages to keep going in the face of all of the horror she witnesses, but she is frightened and weak throughout the vast majority of the book. While I completely sympathised with her, I'll be honest and say that I was getting bored mid way through with just how unrentingly awful things were for her and wanting her to be able to fight back.
For me, the book took a turn for the better when Alexius turned up. He was an I troguing character almost straight away and I loved how, despite trying to be one of the better vampires, we still saw his baser nature, too.
I loved the resolution at the end and what it means for the rest of the series. That is going to be amazing to read and Everley and Alexius have the potential to be a great slow burn.
So, in summary, there are bits of this that can feel a bit of a slog to get through, simply because things are so unrelentingly grim for Everley. However, once you read the whole book you completely understand why Banet did it the way she did. I am so excited for the next one!
September 24, 2021
Everly Abbott works for a vampire nest that's under new management. The former master of the nest treated the humans in his employ well. The new master does not. As bodies start to pile up, Everly walks a tight rope trying to keep her friends alive. After her mother is killed by the vampires for speaking up about the mistreatment Everly finds herself in a desperate situation.
Servant of Blood is dark. The first half of this book is closer to horror than urban fantasy. People die. A lot of people die. And it all seems so hopeless. The second half of the book is more typical urban fantasy and while it's still challenging, there is a faint glimmer of hope. Though that light at the end of the tunnel could be an oncoming train.
I loved this book...well I loved it by the end. The first half was difficult, I don't read horror and that's what it felt like. But it came good. So good.
Servant of Blood is dark. The first half of this book is closer to horror than urban fantasy. People die. A lot of people die. And it all seems so hopeless. The second half of the book is more typical urban fantasy and while it's still challenging, there is a faint glimmer of hope. Though that light at the end of the tunnel could be an oncoming train.
I loved this book...well I loved it by the end. The first half was difficult, I don't read horror and that's what it felt like. But it came good. So good.
April 18, 2023
I'm going to be honest, the first ... like 60% of this book was almost intolerable to me. Everly was weak, whiny, borderline TSTL, and her life was utter misery. She pretty much accepted death was inevitable, but wasn't doing anything. Like, she's a tech wiz! Set up a situation to burn them down in vengeance when you die - all the video footage being sent to the BSA or media, because fuck all vampires, seriously. She once said something about not wanting good ones to die alongside bad ones ... but then finds out one of the "good ones" was planning to abandon her to her fate after she helped that one get free. So what the hell is she doing? Get mad! If you accept you're not getting out of this, go with mutually assured destruction! You don't have to tell them (because who wants to be tortured) - instead just have a video diary of you explaining the situation, and that this is a fail-safe set to send out to the media, government, etc when you die because vampires are fucking monsters who have killed dozens and dozens and dozens of people, unchecked, and they need to be stopped ... cue the video evidence.
Because they DO need to be stopped. Fuck their secrecy. Fuck their worries about safety. Everly is pathetic for even trying to protect them at all - they are fucking monsters who in the best case scenario don't care about her or find any value in humans... and in the worst-case scenario happily murder everyone because in their opinion humans are just walking food. Fuck them all.
And BTW, that geas is stupid and behind the times. Can't talk to anyone about this who doesn't already know about vampires? Easy to get around with a video file. She can film herself talking to her brother about it all.
It did get better in the back 30-40%, though, because stuff started happening and Everly wasn't just plodding through a shitshow like a kicked dog. So I'm hopeful it will continue to get better in the next book.
I'll give this 3 begrudging stars.
Because they DO need to be stopped. Fuck their secrecy. Fuck their worries about safety. Everly is pathetic for even trying to protect them at all - they are fucking monsters who in the best case scenario don't care about her or find any value in humans... and in the worst-case scenario happily murder everyone because in their opinion humans are just walking food. Fuck them all.
And BTW, that geas is stupid and behind the times. Can't talk to anyone about this who doesn't already know about vampires? Easy to get around with a video file. She can film herself talking to her brother about it all.
It did get better in the back 30-40%, though, because stuff started happening and Everly wasn't just plodding through a shitshow like a kicked dog. So I'm hopeful it will continue to get better in the next book.
I'll give this 3 begrudging stars.
March 18, 2022
Really!??? Her mom would have been a better heroine! This was terrible.
Half the book is about her feeling too terrified of vampires to do anything except cry and/ or have outbursts or her trying to be stoic: and suddenly she is threatening a scary vampire who apparently can easily kill the very vampires that she is afraid of. Like 20 pages apart!
Yup, this was terrible. Why did I finish it?
Half the book is about her feeling too terrified of vampires to do anything except cry and/ or have outbursts or her trying to be stoic: and suddenly she is threatening a scary vampire who apparently can easily kill the very vampires that she is afraid of. Like 20 pages apart!
Yup, this was terrible. Why did I finish it?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 8, 2023
3.5/5.0
I believe this may be the beginning of a series that is just as riveting and creative as any Ms. Banet has written so far. I read so many reviews, however, that mention how violent and depressing the first half of the book is, that I took a friend’s suggestion here on GR and tried jumping in at the halfway point. He was right in that I could pretty much figure out what was going on but I think my OCD reading kicked in because I was also super frustrated and wanted to understand more about the reasons everything was happening. SO, I gave in and started from the beginning, again.
I found everyone was not exaggerating when they mention how depressing the first half of the book is! It actually borders on horror (a genre I am NOT comfortable with). I did try skimming some parts just to get through the gruesomeness and was still able to get the depth of the depravity without being frustrated. And even though it does lighten up just a touch in the last half of the book, it never really does leave that topic. It does, however, deftly establish a very strong foundation for the world and sets up an extremely intriguing storyline to come in future books,so I hope all that gruesomeness will not be needed. The climax and ending of the book kicks in a few twists that one may not guess and succeeds in making one anxious to read the next book - even those like myself who cringed through most of this one!
I believe this may be the beginning of a series that is just as riveting and creative as any Ms. Banet has written so far. I read so many reviews, however, that mention how violent and depressing the first half of the book is, that I took a friend’s suggestion here on GR and tried jumping in at the halfway point. He was right in that I could pretty much figure out what was going on but I think my OCD reading kicked in because I was also super frustrated and wanted to understand more about the reasons everything was happening. SO, I gave in and started from the beginning, again.
I found everyone was not exaggerating when they mention how depressing the first half of the book is! It actually borders on horror (a genre I am NOT comfortable with). I did try skimming some parts just to get through the gruesomeness and was still able to get the depth of the depravity without being frustrated. And even though it does lighten up just a touch in the last half of the book, it never really does leave that topic. It does, however, deftly establish a very strong foundation for the world and sets up an extremely intriguing storyline to come in future books,so I hope all that gruesomeness will not be needed. The climax and ending of the book kicks in a few twists that one may not guess and succeeds in making one anxious to read the next book - even those like myself who cringed through most of this one!
November 11, 2024
I've liked other books in the tribunal universe but this was sloppy and didn't completely make sense.
March 25, 2022
If I didn't already love this author's Jacky Leon series, I might have DNF'd this before it got interesting. The "beginning" felt soooooo long, too long. But, now that I've finished, I'm excited about having another Banet series to follow.
(✮✮✮½)
(✮✮✮½)
September 15, 2021
Warning: Ambivalent review, cause the story started out annoying but redeemed itself at the end.
👩 👩💻 During the first half of the book, I didn't like the heroine tbh. I found her too...mousy? I don't know, she just wasn't like the usually strong heroines that Banet writes. Buuuuuut... after things happened and we saw how resilient Everly was in fact, I started to appreciate her hidden strength and careful nature. I understood that sometimes you can't be Mave, you can't be Kaliya, you can't be Jacky or badass Sawyer. Sometimes, in order to survive, you have to be Everly; the quiet little mouse that watches and schemes behind the scenes, the one who submits and speaks softly, but in the safety of her mind she's looking for ways to watch you spit-roast in the sun.
👨 🧛♂️ As per usual, we have a certain male romantic interest in the story. Again, buuuuut... one of the things that make Banet such a great writer, is that even if some of her characters have similarities, they're never the same. Considering this, I'll say that I'm quite fond of Alexius, the male MC. While Everly is a human woman in her twenties, Alexius is REALLY old (older than the Tribunal vampire leaders apparently). He is sort of the executioner/police/hall-monitor of his kind. He tries to keep naughty little vampires from hurting each other, from abusing humans and from generally killing indiscriminately and being a plague on the world by gorging on blood. He is low-tone, confident but also doesn't appreciate himself much.
📝 🦹♂️ ⚰️ 🦸♂️ 🩸 Now, as for the story. Well, it goes like this; old master of nest dies and a new head honcho comes in to take his place. Everly, her mom and other humans that work in the nest/house, start freaking out as time passes because people are being killed and they have to cover it up. The new vampires are cruel and blood-thirsty and they don't care who or how often they kill. One of those is Everly's mom. From the moment Everly loses her, she tries to protect her people and tries to find ways to get them out and get the vampires responsible punished. Things don't work out well for quite some time, which results in more people (humans and vampires) dying. Then she makes a surprising discovery and receives a mysterious phone call. After that, things come upside down for her, as she starts to learn vampire secrets, gets a sidekick and generally begins to work in detail in bringing the bad guys down. There is a crescendo at the end, but I'm not going to spoil it for you. For me it was worth it.
September 17, 2021
Have you ever felt like you just *had* to read a book no matter how much you were enjoying it? That is the way I felt about this one. It is written in the same world as Jacky Leon and Kaliya Sahni - and I adore both of those series. This book is overwhelmingly . . . sad. So very sad. I suspect the next books will be much less so, but this story needed to be told before we could move on - and I understand that. Nonetheless, this book is SAD.
Kudos - brilliant kudos - to Ms. Banet and her ability to bring to life 3 different women in the same world without making them all sound like the same person. That never ceases to amaze me.
I will definitely be moving on in this series because I very much love the characters and I seriously expect it to lose the sadness. If it doesn't, I will probably move on.
I can't tell you why it is sad . . . it is part of the story. But, just in case I didn't mention it - it is sad.
Kudos - brilliant kudos - to Ms. Banet and her ability to bring to life 3 different women in the same world without making them all sound like the same person. That never ceases to amaze me.
I will definitely be moving on in this series because I very much love the characters and I seriously expect it to lose the sadness. If it doesn't, I will probably move on.
I can't tell you why it is sad . . . it is part of the story. But, just in case I didn't mention it - it is sad.
March 24, 2022
Like everyone else has mentioned it is a bit slow to start but once it does it is a rollercoaster ride to the finish.
Everly isn't like the other Banet characters - on the surface. But she knows how to survive and when to break down and she has that fire and strength that Jacky has, she just know when to use it.
Also, Alexius? Yes please.
Everly isn't like the other Banet characters - on the surface. But she knows how to survive and when to break down and she has that fire and strength that Jacky has, she just know when to use it.
Also, Alexius? Yes please.
August 22, 2024
3 stars. It was ok, not my favorite Banet book but I was interested enough by the end to keep going to the next book. Glad I waited until I had 3 to read in a row so I get the continuity.
Spoilers ahead:
The story was slow, lots of minute by minute descriptions. Everly is raised by family that serve a Vampire nest and she decides to become the IT help for them.
I ask- why are there cameras in the nest in the first place, recording these atrocities, that they then have to have the humans erase the evidence? That made no sense to me.
Several things did not make sense but I kept on.
And slightly predictable like this scene:
“We can talk about it when I come home tonight,” she said, dismissing my curiosity. “I’ll see you when you get back to work. Love you!”
“Love you too, Mom,” I said, smiling as she hung up on me.
NO I yelled- she's dead. And of course- she died.
And when she heard a deep voice on the other line- yep, love interest.
What I didn't guess was how she was going to get out of the trap she was in. She was a little spineless but I guess that is to be expected of her circumstances. they were never encouraged or trained in defenses, so when the Nest was taken over they were defenseless.
Everly seemed to have no fear by the time Alexius showed up:
“If you screw me, I’ll get back at you,” I warned softly, a foolish thing to do, but after Lauren’s double-cross and her intention to leave me with the mess once she was out, I didn’t have it in me to be betrayed one more time. “Lauren was going to leave me to deal with the repercussions of what she was doing, what I was going to help her with. If you leave me here to deal with that, I’ll hunt you down.”
“And do what?” Alexius asked, amused.
This part I thought was cute:
I didn’t have time for his offense. “You play Snake?” I asked, trying not to lose my mind.
This vampire had rocked my fucking world the night before. He’d saved my life once already, and I was going to trust him to destroy Edwin tonight, and he was talking about playing Snake on a twenty-year-old phone.
--------
The conflict in his expression before he fed on me was the most obvious. “You don’t like yourself very much, do you?”
“Jacob once said I was the master of self-loathing.”
Spoilers ahead:
The story was slow, lots of minute by minute descriptions. Everly is raised by family that serve a Vampire nest and she decides to become the IT help for them.
I ask- why are there cameras in the nest in the first place, recording these atrocities, that they then have to have the humans erase the evidence? That made no sense to me.
Several things did not make sense but I kept on.
And slightly predictable like this scene:
“We can talk about it when I come home tonight,” she said, dismissing my curiosity. “I’ll see you when you get back to work. Love you!”
“Love you too, Mom,” I said, smiling as she hung up on me.
NO I yelled- she's dead. And of course- she died.
And when she heard a deep voice on the other line- yep, love interest.
What I didn't guess was how she was going to get out of the trap she was in. She was a little spineless but I guess that is to be expected of her circumstances. they were never encouraged or trained in defenses, so when the Nest was taken over they were defenseless.
Everly seemed to have no fear by the time Alexius showed up:
“If you screw me, I’ll get back at you,” I warned softly, a foolish thing to do, but after Lauren’s double-cross and her intention to leave me with the mess once she was out, I didn’t have it in me to be betrayed one more time. “Lauren was going to leave me to deal with the repercussions of what she was doing, what I was going to help her with. If you leave me here to deal with that, I’ll hunt you down.”
“And do what?” Alexius asked, amused.
This part I thought was cute:
I didn’t have time for his offense. “You play Snake?” I asked, trying not to lose my mind.
This vampire had rocked my fucking world the night before. He’d saved my life once already, and I was going to trust him to destroy Edwin tonight, and he was talking about playing Snake on a twenty-year-old phone.
--------
The conflict in his expression before he fed on me was the most obvious. “You don’t like yourself very much, do you?”
“Jacob once said I was the master of self-loathing.”
December 11, 2025
I have low tolerance for mysery, so first half of the book I mainly skimmed. the ending tho was good. onto the next one
September 10, 2021
I love K.N. Banet’s Tribunal books so much that I signed up for ARC copies because I cannot wait for publication!! I was thrilled when I got this book the other day and I read it instead of grading essays (sorry kiddos!) I adore Jackie Leon and warmed up to Kaliya Sahni pretty quickly, so I had high hopes for the start of a new storyline and cast of characters in the Tribunal world. I am excited to say that I was not disappointed.
First, a word of warning: this book is unrelentingly grim. Everly is a human, and her super power is that she grits her teeth and keeps going, even when life is trying to crush her beneath its ugly heel. She is smart, resilient and incredibly brave. I think this is why I identify with her so much more than Kaliya. She isn’t rare or special at first glance. She is weak, fragile and prey to the vampires. Her superpower is that she recognizes this and still does her best to do the right thing and help others, despite her knowledge that she may not survive the process. I find her resilience relatable; feeling overwhelmed by life this last year has shown me how much bravery it takes to wipe away the tears and refuse to give up. Though there were some parts of the plot that were not fully explained, there were enough clues to tantalize me with hints of where the story might be going.
After getting only glimpses of the vampires in previous Tribunal books, this was a very satisfying plunge into the deep end of their stories. I really like Everly and the cast of characters in this book, especially Alexius. Alexius, like Everly, is not perfect, but I like the hope offered by the ending and the reminder that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I cannot wait to read more!!
First, a word of warning: this book is unrelentingly grim. Everly is a human, and her super power is that she grits her teeth and keeps going, even when life is trying to crush her beneath its ugly heel. She is smart, resilient and incredibly brave. I think this is why I identify with her so much more than Kaliya. She isn’t rare or special at first glance. She is weak, fragile and prey to the vampires. Her superpower is that she recognizes this and still does her best to do the right thing and help others, despite her knowledge that she may not survive the process. I find her resilience relatable; feeling overwhelmed by life this last year has shown me how much bravery it takes to wipe away the tears and refuse to give up. Though there were some parts of the plot that were not fully explained, there were enough clues to tantalize me with hints of where the story might be going.
After getting only glimpses of the vampires in previous Tribunal books, this was a very satisfying plunge into the deep end of their stories. I really like Everly and the cast of characters in this book, especially Alexius. Alexius, like Everly, is not perfect, but I like the hope offered by the ending and the reminder that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I cannot wait to read more!!
December 20, 2022
Pretty good start! The world building can be a little clunky and the hero over-explains a lot but this was the first book and hopefully the dialogue improves when there is less setup to do in the next book!
I also I hope that there will be romance and it will go smoother than the Jacky Leon series since there won’t be that interspecies Romeo and Juliet shit stopping progress! I’m excited!
I also I hope that there will be romance and it will go smoother than the Jacky Leon series since there won’t be that interspecies Romeo and Juliet shit stopping progress! I’m excited!
September 12, 2021
A new series! Always excited for a new series for KN Banet. This was a great intro to Everly and her story. It's in the same universe as Kaliya and Jacky and I Love both of those so I was expecting great things from this one.
Dark Vampires.
This was a lot darker than I expected, you won’t find any Salvator Brothers here… although Stephan was a ripper and Damon is Hot AF… so I guess? Ha. Maybe. We have had intros to vampires in this universe through both Jacky and Kaliya and BOTH times they didn’t seem like fun fluffy Vamps, and true to that these were some pretty horrible vamps.
Everly as a character, I didn’t love at first but she is a definite grower and I expect that through the series to come. She was this sort of anxious stay out of the way type of person and honestly, I related to that. I started annoyed that she wasn't more of a badass fighter but as the book went on It felt like it was exploring a different side of fighting, of surviving. she had some extremely deep reserves of strength and as a soft person who is the opposite of a fighter that was really nice to see that side. We cant all be badass assassins or have great social skills, it was very humanizing and I enjoyed it.
I was a bit disappointed by her friends, but maybe we will see some better friendships in the future? this one felt like it was a definite set up to a long interesting story. It has suspense in spades and I felt like I was right there having anxiety issues with Everly.
It got vibes of Cat and Bones from Jeaniene Frost's Nighthuntress Series. I think anyone who enjoyed that series will love this one. Honestly not sure if this is a romance yet but that is the element that K N Banet always includes, even if this universe is more urban fantasy. Fingers are crossed for book two! I am excited by the plot twists and dark mysteries that I'm sure will come with Everly.
Dark Vampires.
This was a lot darker than I expected, you won’t find any Salvator Brothers here… although Stephan was a ripper and Damon is Hot AF… so I guess? Ha. Maybe. We have had intros to vampires in this universe through both Jacky and Kaliya and BOTH times they didn’t seem like fun fluffy Vamps, and true to that these were some pretty horrible vamps.
Everly as a character, I didn’t love at first but she is a definite grower and I expect that through the series to come. She was this sort of anxious stay out of the way type of person and honestly, I related to that. I started annoyed that she wasn't more of a badass fighter but as the book went on It felt like it was exploring a different side of fighting, of surviving. she had some extremely deep reserves of strength and as a soft person who is the opposite of a fighter that was really nice to see that side. We cant all be badass assassins or have great social skills, it was very humanizing and I enjoyed it.
I was a bit disappointed by her friends, but maybe we will see some better friendships in the future? this one felt like it was a definite set up to a long interesting story. It has suspense in spades and I felt like I was right there having anxiety issues with Everly.
It got vibes of Cat and Bones from Jeaniene Frost's Nighthuntress Series. I think anyone who enjoyed that series will love this one. Honestly not sure if this is a romance yet but that is the element that K N Banet always includes, even if this universe is more urban fantasy. Fingers are crossed for book two! I am excited by the plot twists and dark mysteries that I'm sure will come with Everly.
September 18, 2021
The Tribunal Archives Universe is expanding, this time branching out to the secretive Vampire aspect of this extensive world, or rather, the humans that serve them.
It's an interesting concept and one that isn't explored often in Urban Fantasy. We all know of the Renfields, the humans that take care of their blood-drinking masters during the day, find victims for them, or generally just help run the nest while the vampires sleep. While K.N. Banet doesn't label the humans here as Renfields, the notion is the same, though tinted with a modern twist.
Unlike most of this world, Everly Abbot has always known about Vampires and has always worked for them, just like her mother. It's an actual job, with benefits and a paycheck, not the servitude that comes to mind when human employees come to mind. Or at least it was.... until the beloved Master of the Nest committed suicide and a new master, with twisted ideals, takes over.
I have loved every FMC that Banet has introduced in this world, but I think Everly may be my favorite. There is just something so REAL about her, a vulnerability that is lacking with Kaliya and Jackie. Don't get me wrong, they are fantastic characters, strong and worth following - but the unapologetic 'Humaness' of Everly is incredibly appealing. Add in the not so Humaness of Alexius and you have a duo that is both entertaining and intriguing. I can't wait to see what the next foray into Everly's world will reveal.
It's an interesting concept and one that isn't explored often in Urban Fantasy. We all know of the Renfields, the humans that take care of their blood-drinking masters during the day, find victims for them, or generally just help run the nest while the vampires sleep. While K.N. Banet doesn't label the humans here as Renfields, the notion is the same, though tinted with a modern twist.
Unlike most of this world, Everly Abbot has always known about Vampires and has always worked for them, just like her mother. It's an actual job, with benefits and a paycheck, not the servitude that comes to mind when human employees come to mind. Or at least it was.... until the beloved Master of the Nest committed suicide and a new master, with twisted ideals, takes over.
I have loved every FMC that Banet has introduced in this world, but I think Everly may be my favorite. There is just something so REAL about her, a vulnerability that is lacking with Kaliya and Jackie. Don't get me wrong, they are fantastic characters, strong and worth following - but the unapologetic 'Humaness' of Everly is incredibly appealing. Add in the not so Humaness of Alexius and you have a duo that is both entertaining and intriguing. I can't wait to see what the next foray into Everly's world will reveal.
August 7, 2022
(3.5 stars)
I am a big fan of J.N. Banet but her new series, Everly Abbott is a different style for her and quite frankly I am still pondering my feelings about it.
Everly and her mother work for an ancient vampire, Jacob at his nest. Jacob is good and kind but then they discover he has committed suicide and another vampire, Edwin is taking over the mansion and inserting his people and ways instituting a new world order.
Edwin is detached and uninterested in the plight of humans. He requires that Everly cover up the death of various humans including that of her own mother. Everly is traumatized and at risk when an unhinged vampire, Oscar takes an unhealthy interest in her. She finds a telephone number to call and she requests assistance. Little does she know that she is about to set the stage for war and Edwin’s destruction.
I found the world building for this read to be dark, sinister and initially without much hope. Honestly, I had trouble getting through the read at first because there were no moments of humor or levity, just doom and gloom. The real action for this read comes at the very end and that is when my interest picked up. Banet is a good writer and I am hoping that now the series has gotten off the ground future installments will correct some of the issues I had with this first read. If not, I won’t be going on with the series.
I am a big fan of J.N. Banet but her new series, Everly Abbott is a different style for her and quite frankly I am still pondering my feelings about it.
Everly and her mother work for an ancient vampire, Jacob at his nest. Jacob is good and kind but then they discover he has committed suicide and another vampire, Edwin is taking over the mansion and inserting his people and ways instituting a new world order.
Edwin is detached and uninterested in the plight of humans. He requires that Everly cover up the death of various humans including that of her own mother. Everly is traumatized and at risk when an unhinged vampire, Oscar takes an unhealthy interest in her. She finds a telephone number to call and she requests assistance. Little does she know that she is about to set the stage for war and Edwin’s destruction.
I found the world building for this read to be dark, sinister and initially without much hope. Honestly, I had trouble getting through the read at first because there were no moments of humor or levity, just doom and gloom. The real action for this read comes at the very end and that is when my interest picked up. Banet is a good writer and I am hoping that now the series has gotten off the ground future installments will correct some of the issues I had with this first read. If not, I won’t be going on with the series.
January 21, 2022
Just finished and I need MOAR, K.N. Banet .
Cue an Owen Wilson style Wow for this series starter. Unexpected from first to last chapter. I'm still in a state of WTF so I can't properly review how much this rocked my cozy winter socks.
Everly Abbott is a rare UF heroine: quiet and thoughtful. She has 0 powers and has to play a psychological game against more powerful players. A sweet girl who is forced into a situation above her pay grade as the head of the IT Department.
If you think you know the tropes and beats in UF, this book will shake you up. I usually I can guess the ending from a Mile away. Not this one. I'm was like can the author do that? Then she did and I loved it! 😍
Omg can it be March so I can get at that sequel?!?!?!?!
Ps KN, you dropped this 👑
NOTE: I posted this in a reading group and had someone DM me with irritation because they didn't like this book because the main character wasn't like Mercy Thompson. Personally, I like Patricia Briggs's books, but I wanted to read a UF book that wasn't about a Mercy clone. I found KN Banet's originality to be refreshing!
Cue an Owen Wilson style Wow for this series starter. Unexpected from first to last chapter. I'm still in a state of WTF so I can't properly review how much this rocked my cozy winter socks.
Everly Abbott is a rare UF heroine: quiet and thoughtful. She has 0 powers and has to play a psychological game against more powerful players. A sweet girl who is forced into a situation above her pay grade as the head of the IT Department.
If you think you know the tropes and beats in UF, this book will shake you up. I usually I can guess the ending from a Mile away. Not this one. I'm was like can the author do that? Then she did and I loved it! 😍
Omg can it be March so I can get at that sequel?!?!?!?!
Ps KN, you dropped this 👑
NOTE: I posted this in a reading group and had someone DM me with irritation because they didn't like this book because the main character wasn't like Mercy Thompson. Personally, I like Patricia Briggs's books, but I wanted to read a UF book that wasn't about a Mercy clone. I found KN Banet's originality to be refreshing!
January 9, 2022
This book is set in the same world as this authors other two series, but the heroine is not a badass in anyway. I was a bit disappointed with that, and frustrated that she seemed completely powerless even with the brains she seemed to have, she still couldn't get certain things done safely. However, I am looking forward to the next book! I'm hoping she gets better.
September 16, 2021
This takes place in the Tribunal universe with Jacky Leon and Kaliya Sahni, BUT Everly Abbott's series introduces us to the vampire aspect of that world.
I mean... It's KN Banet, so you should just go read it already.
I mean... It's KN Banet, so you should just go read it already.
April 10, 2022
This was a decent story, but I’m afraid I didn’t really like most of it. The story was mainly about abusive vampires, but was really to setup Everly as the heroine for the rest of the series and maybe this will be more interesting.
If possible I would have given 2.5 stars.
If possible I would have given 2.5 stars.
January 2, 2023
3.5 stars!
January 18, 2025
This was on the bland side. The writing, in certain parts of the book, could be really awkward. Apparently book two is better- let’s see.
Read
April 25, 2023DNF after Kindle Sample. This one is kinda ookie. I cannot see anything interesting or exciting about the Vampire bad guy.
April 4, 2022
I don't know why I waited so long to start this series
I've love the Tribunal Archives books, so I cannot understand how it took me so long to start this series.
Everly has been working for vampires all of her life. She's human, but she has known about them since she was a child and she loves what she does for them. But when the master of the nest dies and the new one allows his acmpire to go on killing sprees, Everly needs to stop them and that means allying herself with the boogeyman of the vampires, Alexius the Hunter.
I've love the Tribunal Archives books, so I cannot understand how it took me so long to start this series.
Everly has been working for vampires all of her life. She's human, but she has known about them since she was a child and she loves what she does for them. But when the master of the nest dies and the new one allows his acmpire to go on killing sprees, Everly needs to stop them and that means allying herself with the boogeyman of the vampires, Alexius the Hunter.
September 16, 2021
3.5 stars
October 19, 2021
Superb New Chapter In The Tribunal Archives
This is the first book in a continuing series that is set in a world shared with several other series. You don’t need to read the other Tribunal Archives books to understand this series, but you’d probably enjoy them! There is no cliffhanger to this book, just a very fine hook for the next book in the series.
Everly Abbott is a Servant of The Blood. She is part of a family that works for vampires and she chose to join the family business after the nest paid for her college education. Her father died 15 years ago and her brother decided not to work for vampires. Her mother works in the same nest as she does and is in charge of the household staff, a very important role. Everly is the person who formed the IT department and introduced the nest to modern technology and how to get around it when necessary. This aspect of her job is a lot more commonly used than it used to be.
After losing the old master of the nest the nature of the vampires living there has changed significantly. Under Jacob, the old master vampire, humans were treated gently and with respect, the new master vampire, Edwin, sees humans as a walking meal unless they happen to be useful to him in other ways. The nest is oppressive and the humans and less violent vampires are walking on a knife’s edge in a bid to remain alive.
Everly in particular is placed in situation after situation where she doesn’t know if she will get out alive or if she can save her friends and colleagues. When she finally finds someone to help she grabs on with both hands.
I will say that this book does not shy away from killing off characters. There is quite a lot of blood and gore described in violent scenes of death. There are lots of twists in the plot which is fantastically paced. It draws you in page by page until you have no space left in your mind for anything other than this world. This author is a tremendous world builder and she has created something violent and bloody in the world the Tribunal Vampires, with brief moments of hope for a better world that we might see in future books.
I love the concept of this book, which looks at the purely human servants of vampires. This type of main character is very unusual and makes the book even more interesting. In any vampire book, there are always ‘useful’ humans who help the vampires and it’s fascinating to see this world from those types of eyes. We witness the darkness of the vampire world but we also see some of the joyful aspects of sharing lives with beings who are hundreds of years old.
I loved this book so much with the feisty character of Everly, who stepped off the pages and became real for me. She was traumatised, suffered from anxiety and grief and she still got back up again. She is protective of not only humans but also vampires that don’t stray towards the darker path of their existence. She’s very bright, hard-working and more capable than she realises. I can’t wait to see how her personality develops as she gains confidence.
This book is as fantastic as others written by this author. I can’t wait to see what comes next, after the way this book ended!
This is the first book in a continuing series that is set in a world shared with several other series. You don’t need to read the other Tribunal Archives books to understand this series, but you’d probably enjoy them! There is no cliffhanger to this book, just a very fine hook for the next book in the series.
Everly Abbott is a Servant of The Blood. She is part of a family that works for vampires and she chose to join the family business after the nest paid for her college education. Her father died 15 years ago and her brother decided not to work for vampires. Her mother works in the same nest as she does and is in charge of the household staff, a very important role. Everly is the person who formed the IT department and introduced the nest to modern technology and how to get around it when necessary. This aspect of her job is a lot more commonly used than it used to be.
After losing the old master of the nest the nature of the vampires living there has changed significantly. Under Jacob, the old master vampire, humans were treated gently and with respect, the new master vampire, Edwin, sees humans as a walking meal unless they happen to be useful to him in other ways. The nest is oppressive and the humans and less violent vampires are walking on a knife’s edge in a bid to remain alive.
Everly in particular is placed in situation after situation where she doesn’t know if she will get out alive or if she can save her friends and colleagues. When she finally finds someone to help she grabs on with both hands.
I will say that this book does not shy away from killing off characters. There is quite a lot of blood and gore described in violent scenes of death. There are lots of twists in the plot which is fantastically paced. It draws you in page by page until you have no space left in your mind for anything other than this world. This author is a tremendous world builder and she has created something violent and bloody in the world the Tribunal Vampires, with brief moments of hope for a better world that we might see in future books.
I love the concept of this book, which looks at the purely human servants of vampires. This type of main character is very unusual and makes the book even more interesting. In any vampire book, there are always ‘useful’ humans who help the vampires and it’s fascinating to see this world from those types of eyes. We witness the darkness of the vampire world but we also see some of the joyful aspects of sharing lives with beings who are hundreds of years old.
I loved this book so much with the feisty character of Everly, who stepped off the pages and became real for me. She was traumatised, suffered from anxiety and grief and she still got back up again. She is protective of not only humans but also vampires that don’t stray towards the darker path of their existence. She’s very bright, hard-working and more capable than she realises. I can’t wait to see how her personality develops as she gains confidence.
This book is as fantastic as others written by this author. I can’t wait to see what comes next, after the way this book ended!
September 14, 2021
Servant of the Blood takes us on a journey into vampires’ territory of the Tribunal Archives. Up until now we’ve only seen them through the eyes of the other species and that portrait though seemingly correct is probably a bit too one-sided.
This book gives the reader unique opportunity to have a look from the inside of the vampire domain. Unique in that it’s through the eyes of the human. Not an ordinary one, but still not someone of supernatural kind.
Everly Abbott was born into the long line of human servants of the certain vampire family. While knowing some facts about her ‘employers’, the protagonist still doesn’t know that much. Her circumstances are also kind of special, since she grew up in relatively happy environment with caring family members and doting master of the nest. Given the opportunity of free education and promise of stable job she took it… Not knowing what future has in store for her.
Everly is young but not freshly out of college and with enough experience and knowledge to be charge of vampire mansion’s technology and computer department. Girl’s not really a people’s person, preferring peace and quiet and a little bit more of solitude that average human to work with her favourite - the computers. She has a few friends but all of them work for the same ‘employer’, so it’s safe to say that the isolated vampire nest just outside Portland, Maine is her whole life. Unfortunately the everyday life in the nest was torn apart not so long ago by it’s master’s death. And with the arrival of the new master, called Edwin, Everly and her fellow humans woke up in the completely new and very bleak reality of being vulnerable servants and potential prey.
This book is a little bit different than what we’re used to with the firsts of the other Archives series. It’s definitely more slow-paced than for example Oath Sworn and is less about the action and more about establishing the personality of the protagonist through her everyday life in the situation that gradually gets worse and worse. And since Everly is human with no special training in martial arts or using a gun, she’s left with her wits, resourcefulness and enough self-preservation to survive in hostile environment that her place of work has recently become. I really, really loved the fact that while resilient and emotionally strong, Everly is not foolishly brave and is able live with the really, really difficult decisions she has to make to keep those closest to her alive. As a fellow human being it was really hard to watch her struggle for so long and operating mainly in survival mode for most of the book. Really, really can’t wait to see her spread her wings in others situations and how her personality is going to evolve in the incoming parts of the series.
So far I think it was the darkest and the most grim book in the entire Tribunal Archives and while I really, really liked it I hope for the overall atmosphere to become at least a little bit lighter in the further books. All in all, very solid start to a new series in the established universe with promise of so much more to come.
ARC in exchange for the honest review.
This book gives the reader unique opportunity to have a look from the inside of the vampire domain. Unique in that it’s through the eyes of the human. Not an ordinary one, but still not someone of supernatural kind.
Everly Abbott was born into the long line of human servants of the certain vampire family. While knowing some facts about her ‘employers’, the protagonist still doesn’t know that much. Her circumstances are also kind of special, since she grew up in relatively happy environment with caring family members and doting master of the nest. Given the opportunity of free education and promise of stable job she took it… Not knowing what future has in store for her.
Everly is young but not freshly out of college and with enough experience and knowledge to be charge of vampire mansion’s technology and computer department. Girl’s not really a people’s person, preferring peace and quiet and a little bit more of solitude that average human to work with her favourite - the computers. She has a few friends but all of them work for the same ‘employer’, so it’s safe to say that the isolated vampire nest just outside Portland, Maine is her whole life. Unfortunately the everyday life in the nest was torn apart not so long ago by it’s master’s death. And with the arrival of the new master, called Edwin, Everly and her fellow humans woke up in the completely new and very bleak reality of being vulnerable servants and potential prey.
This book is a little bit different than what we’re used to with the firsts of the other Archives series. It’s definitely more slow-paced than for example Oath Sworn and is less about the action and more about establishing the personality of the protagonist through her everyday life in the situation that gradually gets worse and worse. And since Everly is human with no special training in martial arts or using a gun, she’s left with her wits, resourcefulness and enough self-preservation to survive in hostile environment that her place of work has recently become. I really, really loved the fact that while resilient and emotionally strong, Everly is not foolishly brave and is able live with the really, really difficult decisions she has to make to keep those closest to her alive. As a fellow human being it was really hard to watch her struggle for so long and operating mainly in survival mode for most of the book. Really, really can’t wait to see her spread her wings in others situations and how her personality is going to evolve in the incoming parts of the series.
So far I think it was the darkest and the most grim book in the entire Tribunal Archives and while I really, really liked it I hope for the overall atmosphere to become at least a little bit lighter in the further books. All in all, very solid start to a new series in the established universe with promise of so much more to come.
ARC in exchange for the honest review.
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