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Blood Oath #1
Bite of Loyalty
Being the sole survivor of the Van Helsing family was never a burden I wanted to carry. Yet here I was, an orphan with a score to settle against Dracula for orchestrating the near genocide of my bloodline. One small kink in that I was turned into the blood sucking creature that I was born to destroy. Being admitted into the Dark Imaginarium Academy to hone my new skills as a vampire, and to survive the blood lust, was the first step towards achieving that particular goal. No one was prepared for me…A vampire slayer amidst their ranks. But I wasn’t prepared for them. Lincoln, Andrei, and Drake. They weren't going to let me get my revenge without blood being spilled. Luckily, I’m okay with coating my nails with the entrails of anyone who stands in my way. My name is Alina Van Helsing and I’m out for blood. *** Bite of Loyalty is the first book in the Blood Oath series. It is a reverse harem, paranormal romance featuring a female lead with a backbone made of steel and three men who will fight her tooth and nail as she is on her path of vengeance. If you love enemies to lovers romance, (no bullying from the men) dark secrets, sassy and strong heroines, and forbidden love- look no further. DARK IMAGINARIUM ACADEMY FEATURES CHARACTERS THAT ARE ALL 18+. THIS IS NOT A HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY SETTING AND THE CONTENTS ARE INTENDED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES. Monarchs of Hell (Complete Series) by R.L. Caulder and M. Sinclair
294 pages, Hardcover
First published June 30, 2022
3549 people are currently reading
18934 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Caulder
42 books1,649 followersR.L. Caulder is a USA Today bestselling author who lives in her writing cave away from the intense heat of the Florida sun with her husband and furry writing assistants, MeowMeow and Winrey. Life is never boring for R.L., who has hundreds of imaginary friends constantly vying for her attention and begging for their stories to be told.
If you're looking for ways to interact with R.L., you can find her on Facebook, in her group:
The Cauldron: R.L. Caulder Reader Group
If you're looking for ways to interact with R.L., you can find her on Facebook, in her group:
The Cauldron: R.L. Caulder Reader Group
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 973 reviews
April 8, 2024
THAT CLIFFHANGER 😩😩🤌
This was exactly what I needed- paranormal spicy reverse harem and it delivered on all fronts.
✔️ Vampires
✔️ Reverse harem
✔️ Enemies to lovers
✔️ Fated mates
The only thing I found to be lacking was more depth to the plot. It could have used another 100-150 pages to develop and elaborate more on the world building.
I liked the characters so far. Alina is a badass and stays true to her Van Helsing lineage. Lincoln is simply put- hot, grumpy vampire professor. He has Lance Orion from Zodiac Academy vibes to him. Andrei is cheeky and I already adore his chemistry with Alina. But am super intrigued to know Dracula more 😩😩
The jealousy and possessiveness, paired with good spice made for such a great palate cleanser. I was initially going to rate it 3.5 stars but the ending really won me over. Can't wait to read the next one soon!
~•~•~
Vampire reverse harem? Let's give it a go 👀
This was exactly what I needed- paranormal spicy reverse harem and it delivered on all fronts.
✔️ Vampires
✔️ Reverse harem
✔️ Enemies to lovers
✔️ Fated mates
The only thing I found to be lacking was more depth to the plot. It could have used another 100-150 pages to develop and elaborate more on the world building.
I liked the characters so far. Alina is a badass and stays true to her Van Helsing lineage. Lincoln is simply put- hot, grumpy vampire professor. He has Lance Orion from Zodiac Academy vibes to him. Andrei is cheeky and I already adore his chemistry with Alina. But am super intrigued to know Dracula more 😩😩
The jealousy and possessiveness, paired with good spice made for such a great palate cleanser. I was initially going to rate it 3.5 stars but the ending really won me over. Can't wait to read the next one soon!
~•~•~
Vampire reverse harem? Let's give it a go 👀
August 2, 2023
DNF 48%
Alina's family has been murdered and she's been turned against her will (being a Van Helsing you can imagine what it did to her...) and then two days later she masturbated in front of a window being watched by one of her teacher and another guy????🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️ Is that for real???
Alina's family has been murdered and she's been turned against her will (being a Van Helsing you can imagine what it did to her...) and then two days later she masturbated in front of a window being watched by one of her teacher and another guy????🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️ Is that for real???
July 30, 2023
Honestly, this book was kind of fun.
Was it really corny? Was the writing bad? Was it a mess? Yes, it was. But it was a fun mess.
In equal amounts I was enjoying myself and cringing. So, do with that what you will.
Was it really corny? Was the writing bad? Was it a mess? Yes, it was. But it was a fun mess.
In equal amounts I was enjoying myself and cringing. So, do with that what you will.
March 26, 2023
Wow… okay… where to start….
Alina is a vampire slayer - turned vampire. She’s sent to an academy to be trained in all things bloodsucking and oh my gosh do I love her so much!
She’s funny, sassy & a bad ass.
This is a why choose and we meet some of the men in this book 👀
Hellllooooo, Professor Lincoln. I don’t know what it is about broody vampire professors but 😮💨😮💨😮💨.
Alina is a vampire slayer - turned vampire. She’s sent to an academy to be trained in all things bloodsucking and oh my gosh do I love her so much!
She’s funny, sassy & a bad ass.
This is a why choose and we meet some of the men in this book 👀
Hellllooooo, Professor Lincoln. I don’t know what it is about broody vampire professors but 😮💨😮💨😮💨.
August 31, 2023
Ladies, gents, and nonbinary friends! Please allow me to present to you the most ridiculous book I have read in my entire life. Perhaps I should have seen it coming. After all, TikTok books are infamous for being incredibly badly written. Then again, this is my first TikTok book, so I had no idea just how true this would prove to be. And the worst part: The spicy scene that was detailed in the TikTok promoting this book never even happens. What a shame! So, let's get into it.
Bite of Loyalty follows Alina Van Helsing, a vampire slayer turned vampire, who has made it her mission to murder Dracula for having her entire family killed. Frankly, I am thrilled that vampires are currently experiencing a renaissance and especially that there are more new adult books to choose from than there used to be. Hence why I found the premise of this series so enticing. Unfortunately, this book falls victim to a mistake that too many authors keep repeating: It tries to be something it is not. At its heart, Bite of Loyalty is smut. However, instead of embracing it for what it is, the author seems to have felt the desire to add a meaningful plot to what really should have been pure porn. What results is a badly written, horribly paced book about unbearably stereotypical, underdeveloped characters. Alina is an absolute Mary Sue that experiences neither a proper characterisation nor any type of character development at all. Her love interests, of which there are three, are severely damaged men (TM) that are inexplicably in love with her as soon as they first behold her. Her interactions with Lincoln (her much older professor) and Andrei (essentially Draco Malfoy, internal "my father will hear about this"-monologue included) range from toxic to straight up abusive. The blurb's promise that there will be "no bullying from the men" is an absolute lie; there is an entire plot point about Lincoln attempting to bully Alina out of the academy. Every sexual encounter Alina has with either of the men is terrifyingly undernegotiated, and the characters' emotions are so contradictory yet instantaneous that I would politely suggest that each and every one of them contact a suitable therapist as soon as at all possible. Drake , Alina's third love interest, only appears toward the very end of the book, and I will say that I applaud that plot twist. I did not see that one coming at all. Of course, that might be because it was meticulously planned and thus caught me off guard exactly like it was supposed to. Alternatively, it could have been due to its entirely nonsensical nature. We shall never know.
Now, the only thing that makes these characters worse is the speed at which their actions and interactions occur. Without giving away any of the specific plot points that are not mentioned in the blurb or happen within the book's first two chapters, let me try to summarise what happens over the course of the four (?) days this novel describes: Alina is out celebrating her birthday with her friends, casually presenting us with an immense info dump so that nothing will have to be properly explained later on, when she is suddenly informed that her entire family has been eradicated by an inexplicable vampire attack. She storms to her ancestral manor to assess the damage, somehow all alone despite having been in the presence of her friends as well as dozens of other slayers mere seconds before. This conveniently gives her the opportunity to be ambushed by a group of vampires that decide to turn Alina instead of killing her. Nearly unconscious, a freshly transformed Alina ends up killing a person by draining them of their blood. She is forced to run, but after being a fugitive for like two paragraphs, she is offered the opportunity to become a student at an immensely prestigious vampire academy that barely anyone is admitted to. Naturally, she accepts, so that she can train to ultimately get vengeance (TM) for her family's deaths. Within the first hour of getting there, she meets Lincoln, her professor, and the sexual tension between them nearly overwhelms them. Pause. Recap. In the last few hours, Alina has gotten shitfaced at a party, been informed that her entire family has been slaughtered, witnessed the death of a family member, been turned into a vampire, accidentally killed an innocent person she was very close with, decided to follow a random woman claiming to be a deity to a vampire school, and met her new teacher that she immediately thinks about fucking. Sounds about right. Ridiculously enough, this is is the pacing the reader has to deal with for the rest of the book. Alina throws herself head first into her new life, excelling at absolutely everything, barely thinking about anything but her two love interests and the filthy things she wants to do to/with them, actually executing some of those plans within her first day at the academy, and only sporadically recalling any of the absolutely traumatising circumstances that resulted in her stay at the school.
Frustratingly, Bite of Loyalty might have been a decent book if only the author had stuck to writing smut. I am a reader raised by traditionally published literature and fan fiction alike, and I have the standards that come with both. While I have obviously read much better smut than this book offers, I will still say that the spicy scenes in Bite of Loyalty are solid, especially for readers that are somewhat familiar with the genre and will not be negatively influenced by the plethora of undernegotiated sexual practices, which by all means should have come with plenty of content warnings. However, everything beyond the smut is an absolute tragedy that makes this novel almost unreadable. The reader is thrown off by the atrocious pacing that allows Alina to passionately fuck her teacher mere days after she witnessed the death of a loved one and personally caused that of another. The lack of characterisation as well as interactions between characters makes all relationships seem entirely random and superficial, yet the author attempts to present them as deep connections between people that are made for each other. I genuinely cannot imagine how anyone would enjoy the smut in these books without being thrown off by everything else. The only thing that kept me reading was the combination of disbelief and indignation I felt essentially the entire time. I simply wanted to see how ridiculous it could get. However, while I am convinced the rest of the Blood Oath series is capable of surpassing Bite of Loyalty in absurdity, I am not going to be willing to subject myself to another experience like this. Cheers.
Bite of Loyalty follows Alina Van Helsing, a vampire slayer turned vampire, who has made it her mission to murder Dracula for having her entire family killed. Frankly, I am thrilled that vampires are currently experiencing a renaissance and especially that there are more new adult books to choose from than there used to be. Hence why I found the premise of this series so enticing. Unfortunately, this book falls victim to a mistake that too many authors keep repeating: It tries to be something it is not. At its heart, Bite of Loyalty is smut. However, instead of embracing it for what it is, the author seems to have felt the desire to add a meaningful plot to what really should have been pure porn. What results is a badly written, horribly paced book about unbearably stereotypical, underdeveloped characters. Alina is an absolute Mary Sue that experiences neither a proper characterisation nor any type of character development at all. Her love interests, of which there are three, are severely damaged men (TM) that are inexplicably in love with her as soon as they first behold her. Her interactions with Lincoln (her much older professor) and Andrei (essentially Draco Malfoy, internal "my father will hear about this"-monologue included) range from toxic to straight up abusive. The blurb's promise that there will be "no bullying from the men" is an absolute lie; there is an entire plot point about Lincoln attempting to bully Alina out of the academy. Every sexual encounter Alina has with either of the men is terrifyingly undernegotiated, and the characters' emotions are so contradictory yet instantaneous that I would politely suggest that each and every one of them contact a suitable therapist as soon as at all possible. Drake , Alina's third love interest, only appears toward the very end of the book, and I will say that I applaud that plot twist. I did not see that one coming at all. Of course, that might be because it was meticulously planned and thus caught me off guard exactly like it was supposed to. Alternatively, it could have been due to its entirely nonsensical nature. We shall never know.
Now, the only thing that makes these characters worse is the speed at which their actions and interactions occur. Without giving away any of the specific plot points that are not mentioned in the blurb or happen within the book's first two chapters, let me try to summarise what happens over the course of the four (?) days this novel describes: Alina is out celebrating her birthday with her friends, casually presenting us with an immense info dump so that nothing will have to be properly explained later on, when she is suddenly informed that her entire family has been eradicated by an inexplicable vampire attack. She storms to her ancestral manor to assess the damage, somehow all alone despite having been in the presence of her friends as well as dozens of other slayers mere seconds before. This conveniently gives her the opportunity to be ambushed by a group of vampires that decide to turn Alina instead of killing her. Nearly unconscious, a freshly transformed Alina ends up killing a person by draining them of their blood. She is forced to run, but after being a fugitive for like two paragraphs, she is offered the opportunity to become a student at an immensely prestigious vampire academy that barely anyone is admitted to. Naturally, she accepts, so that she can train to ultimately get vengeance (TM) for her family's deaths. Within the first hour of getting there, she meets Lincoln, her professor, and the sexual tension between them nearly overwhelms them. Pause. Recap. In the last few hours, Alina has gotten shitfaced at a party, been informed that her entire family has been slaughtered, witnessed the death of a family member, been turned into a vampire, accidentally killed an innocent person she was very close with, decided to follow a random woman claiming to be a deity to a vampire school, and met her new teacher that she immediately thinks about fucking. Sounds about right. Ridiculously enough, this is is the pacing the reader has to deal with for the rest of the book. Alina throws herself head first into her new life, excelling at absolutely everything, barely thinking about anything but her two love interests and the filthy things she wants to do to/with them, actually executing some of those plans within her first day at the academy, and only sporadically recalling any of the absolutely traumatising circumstances that resulted in her stay at the school.
Frustratingly, Bite of Loyalty might have been a decent book if only the author had stuck to writing smut. I am a reader raised by traditionally published literature and fan fiction alike, and I have the standards that come with both. While I have obviously read much better smut than this book offers, I will still say that the spicy scenes in Bite of Loyalty are solid, especially for readers that are somewhat familiar with the genre and will not be negatively influenced by the plethora of undernegotiated sexual practices, which by all means should have come with plenty of content warnings. However, everything beyond the smut is an absolute tragedy that makes this novel almost unreadable. The reader is thrown off by the atrocious pacing that allows Alina to passionately fuck her teacher mere days after she witnessed the death of a loved one and personally caused that of another. The lack of characterisation as well as interactions between characters makes all relationships seem entirely random and superficial, yet the author attempts to present them as deep connections between people that are made for each other. I genuinely cannot imagine how anyone would enjoy the smut in these books without being thrown off by everything else. The only thing that kept me reading was the combination of disbelief and indignation I felt essentially the entire time. I simply wanted to see how ridiculous it could get. However, while I am convinced the rest of the Blood Oath series is capable of surpassing Bite of Loyalty in absurdity, I am not going to be willing to subject myself to another experience like this. Cheers.
January 5, 2023
DNF @29%
I just couldn't get into it. The FMC just lost her whole family, got exiled from her home and but focusses on the instalust between her and her professor and the struggles of academy uniforms? Maybe I should just stay away from academy settings, I always end up disappointed. Too much weird drama, unsettling student/teacher pining and screwed up priorities.
I just couldn't get into it. The FMC just lost her whole family, got exiled from her home and but focusses on the instalust between her and her professor and the struggles of academy uniforms? Maybe I should just stay away from academy settings, I always end up disappointed. Too much weird drama, unsettling student/teacher pining and screwed up priorities.
April 15, 2024
Oh my god this was so entertaining. I really liked Alina, Lincoln and Andrei and that cliffhanger was so unexpected. I need to read book 2 soon to find out more. RTC.
June 28, 2024
Omg 🤦🏼♀️
Everything about this is surface level. Nothing delves deep enough for me to care about the characters.
Everything is super easy and skills that should be tough to learn are learnt within hours, like wtf.
It’s all very convenient, how two males immediately are interested in her, fated mates (multiple!!!) all within the first book.
Absolutely not for me and won’t be continuing.
Everything about this is surface level. Nothing delves deep enough for me to care about the characters.
Everything is super easy and skills that should be tough to learn are learnt within hours, like wtf.
It’s all very convenient, how two males immediately are interested in her, fated mates (multiple!!!) all within the first book.
Absolutely not for me and won’t be continuing.
April 23, 2024
Was this the most remarkable thing I've ever read? No. But... I honestly had a lot of fun. And I'm alllll about that when reading.
This is just a super quick, fun, spicy vampire book. I don't think I'd rave & recommend it to everyone but I think if you want a good reverse harem vampire read that's quick with minimal world-building - this is a really good option!
I am intrigued to see what happens next so I am definitely going to continue! I am thinking I love professor Lincoln the most but idk because Dracula sounds tempting 🥵🥵🥵
3.5 ⭐
- vampires
- fated mates
- student x professor
- reverse harem
- enemies to lovers
- light world-building
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
This is just a super quick, fun, spicy vampire book. I don't think I'd rave & recommend it to everyone but I think if you want a good reverse harem vampire read that's quick with minimal world-building - this is a really good option!
I am intrigued to see what happens next so I am definitely going to continue! I am thinking I love professor Lincoln the most but idk because Dracula sounds tempting 🥵🥵🥵
3.5 ⭐
- vampires
- fated mates
- student x professor
- reverse harem
- enemies to lovers
- light world-building
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2022
The newest addition to the multi series Dark Imaginarium Academy is a brilliant story. The main character faces her worst nightmare as her entire world is altered. Her only option is to accept the invitation to the academy and train to honour her blood oath. She is faced with conflict and struggles with her reaction to certain men. It is a well written book that connects to the other books in the Dark Imaginarium universe. The author left me wanting more.
May 15, 2023
I don’t know what got me to read this but it was so funny. No plot but not even anything 😏 it’s just w o r d s and they make no sense. Someone help this poor girl. One point five stars (because the pacing was very readable only that)
December 19, 2022
3.5⭐️
Plot ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice 🌶️.5
Vibes ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Multi 1st person POV - mostly from FMC
While this isn't my first read from this author, they're still new to me and so the jury is still out on their writing style. This first book in the Blood Oath series (2 released, 2 TBR) is fast-paced and also not at the same time. The catalyst that brings Alina to the academy happens pretty much immediately so I don't quite feel the pain and connections that Alina had to the people that died. Combined with the fact that she completely tucks what happened into a teeny box in the back of her brain and doesn't mention the trauma that happened, it doesn't feel very genuine. I honestly forgot about their deaths for a bit until something forced her to think about them/what happened.
As for the plot, I'm finding I can't get over one glaringly obvious fact: Alina and her family (the Van Helsing's ffs) are vampire slayers who hunt the vampires that break the laws which means that there are good and bad vampires, just like any species. However, when she's forcibly turned, she immediately thinks about how she's now a monster. She's been raised to hate and hunt vampires her entire life but is aware that there are vampires who stay within the parameters of the law... it's just a logical fallacy that I'm stuck on. Granted, it's part of the larger plot that she's now a vampire and has to confront all of her previously held beliefs that the slayers are the heroes of the story, but still. I'm looking forward to her eating a slice of humble pie.
Now when I say this is fast paced and then not, this is what I mean. So much happens but I think this entire book is told over the course of a week. Because of that, there's some mistaken units of time that make the entire timeline confusing (ex: something major happens at a party and the next day, in the FMC's inner monologue, she refers to the events as happening "the other night" and then when we switch to a MMC's POV, he says "last night" because that's when it actually happened). Because so much happens it feels like it's been longer than a week but it really hasn't; every day is just told in extreme detail.
As for the characters, for the most part I'm enjoying our FMC but there have been times where something she thinks/says comes across as overdramatic and juvenile and other times where she's super mature. So TBD on her as of right now. For her men, we're introduced to 3 potentials in this first book and so far there's been a little bit of miscommunication but they quickly realize their errors and are working to make things right with our FMC. So I appreciate that extra drama isn't being thrown in here. Ends on a mild cliffy but book 2 is released and on KU so I'll be jumping right in!
Plot ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice 🌶️.5
Vibes ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Multi 1st person POV - mostly from FMC
While this isn't my first read from this author, they're still new to me and so the jury is still out on their writing style. This first book in the Blood Oath series (2 released, 2 TBR) is fast-paced and also not at the same time. The catalyst that brings Alina to the academy happens pretty much immediately so I don't quite feel the pain and connections that Alina had to the people that died. Combined with the fact that she completely tucks what happened into a teeny box in the back of her brain and doesn't mention the trauma that happened, it doesn't feel very genuine. I honestly forgot about their deaths for a bit until something forced her to think about them/what happened.
As for the plot, I'm finding I can't get over one glaringly obvious fact: Alina and her family (the Van Helsing's ffs) are vampire slayers who hunt the vampires that break the laws which means that there are good and bad vampires, just like any species. However, when she's forcibly turned, she immediately thinks about how she's now a monster. She's been raised to hate and hunt vampires her entire life but is aware that there are vampires who stay within the parameters of the law... it's just a logical fallacy that I'm stuck on. Granted, it's part of the larger plot that she's now a vampire and has to confront all of her previously held beliefs that the slayers are the heroes of the story, but still. I'm looking forward to her eating a slice of humble pie.
Now when I say this is fast paced and then not, this is what I mean. So much happens but I think this entire book is told over the course of a week. Because of that, there's some mistaken units of time that make the entire timeline confusing (ex: something major happens at a party and the next day, in the FMC's inner monologue, she refers to the events as happening "the other night" and then when we switch to a MMC's POV, he says "last night" because that's when it actually happened). Because so much happens it feels like it's been longer than a week but it really hasn't; every day is just told in extreme detail.
As for the characters, for the most part I'm enjoying our FMC but there have been times where something she thinks/says comes across as overdramatic and juvenile and other times where she's super mature. So TBD on her as of right now. For her men, we're introduced to 3 potentials in this first book and so far there's been a little bit of miscommunication but they quickly realize their errors and are working to make things right with our FMC. So I appreciate that extra drama isn't being thrown in here. Ends on a mild cliffy but book 2 is released and on KU so I'll be jumping right in!
December 11, 2023
This book was a full body cringe but at least it was short and sometimes entertaining in its ridiculousness.
February 8, 2023
3 stars.
I've been reading R.L.Caulder's books and this is the second series that I read. The last one I DNF because I thought it was too shallow, fast, and with little development. I think this one will follow the same path. Let me explain why. The FMC is kind of annoying for me, she's confusing and irritating at times. Her relationship with the guys happens WAY too fast for me, and I don't hate fast burns. I mean, EVERYTHING in this book happens in ONE WEEK! Even the enemies-to-lovers is in one week. Like what? Then there's the plot, which is not compelling and kind of predictable, sigh. The smut is kind of boring too... I don't know if the problem is me, because the author is quite popular... I will keep reading the next one to see if it gets any better.
I've been reading R.L.Caulder's books and this is the second series that I read. The last one I DNF because I thought it was too shallow, fast, and with little development. I think this one will follow the same path. Let me explain why. The FMC is kind of annoying for me, she's confusing and irritating at times. Her relationship with the guys happens WAY too fast for me, and I don't hate fast burns. I mean, EVERYTHING in this book happens in ONE WEEK! Even the enemies-to-lovers is in one week. Like what? Then there's the plot, which is not compelling and kind of predictable, sigh. The smut is kind of boring too... I don't know if the problem is me, because the author is quite popular... I will keep reading the next one to see if it gets any better.
June 3, 2023
4.6 stars.
Ok. Why I didn’t see that coming, I don’t know.
Anyway. No time to waste. I gotta go get answers.
Ok. Why I didn’t see that coming, I don’t know.
Anyway. No time to waste. I gotta go get answers.
April 9, 2024
This book is such a great start to a series. It's exactly what I was looking for - a short paranormal spicy reverse harem with vampires that was easy to read with an engaging plot. It's fated mates with light enemies to lovers - it won't blow your mind, but it has fun, likeable characters, plus that CLIFFHANGER ENDING? I read this in one sitting and jumped straight into book two.
July 14, 2022
Bite of Loyalty is the first book in the Blood Oath series.
After her family was slaughtered and changing into the one thing she was trained to hunt, Alina becomes the last of her bloodline to survive. She was forced to leave the life, she once loved. She encounters new obstacles in her newly transformed life. So, on top of her recent physical transition, she deals with attending Dark Imaginarium Academy, which is a whole other ballpark.
Not gonna lie, I totally get excited everytime RL Caulder comes out with a brand new book. The fact that it is set in the same universe as "Monarchs of Hell" and "Dark Imaginarium Academy" books by M. Sinclair and RL Caulder, makes me so much more excited. I absolutely looove this world. This may be a bit weird, but I would have loved more to see her give in to the bloodlust, since she is a fledgling (baby vampire). But, seeing her as one badness chick, who doesn't take any crap from anyone kind of makes up for it. The guys....OMG...I was swooning over them so much. They definitely know how to make hot guys. I was definitely hooked and left wanting more!
After her family was slaughtered and changing into the one thing she was trained to hunt, Alina becomes the last of her bloodline to survive. She was forced to leave the life, she once loved. She encounters new obstacles in her newly transformed life. So, on top of her recent physical transition, she deals with attending Dark Imaginarium Academy, which is a whole other ballpark.
Not gonna lie, I totally get excited everytime RL Caulder comes out with a brand new book. The fact that it is set in the same universe as "Monarchs of Hell" and "Dark Imaginarium Academy" books by M. Sinclair and RL Caulder, makes me so much more excited. I absolutely looove this world. This may be a bit weird, but I would have loved more to see her give in to the bloodlust, since she is a fledgling (baby vampire). But, seeing her as one badness chick, who doesn't take any crap from anyone kind of makes up for it. The guys....OMG...I was swooning over them so much. They definitely know how to make hot guys. I was definitely hooked and left wanting more!
March 31, 2024
Holy shit! That ending was NOT what I expected. I loved Alina so much.
Tropes: slight enemies to lovers. ( yk what...I liked this)
Student/ teacher (professor can get ittttt👀🥵)
Pov changes ( we get into each three lead characters ' heads: Alina, Prof. Lincoln and Andrei)
Rate: 9/10. Goodreads: 5 stars 🌟
Summary: Alina is a Van Helsing forcibly turned into a vampire. She has to go to a vamp school and meet a professor who has the burning hots for her. She also meets other mythical beings as well as another vampire named Andrie ( the enemies to lovers trope...kinda), and they hit it off.
There's mate bonds, murder and heartache. Alina is a firecracker ( her hot professor cakles her Spitfire, which is very fitting) and force to be reckoned with, but yet, as a reader, i did feel for her. She is a character who evolves throughout the story and is very likable. She has a few great comebacks. I plan on stealing as well, lmao.
Tired of twilight? Sink your fangs into this delish read.
I stumbled upon the author, and I think she deserves wayyyyy more hype!!
On my way to get book two
Tropes: slight enemies to lovers. ( yk what...I liked this)
Student/ teacher (professor can get ittttt👀🥵)
Pov changes ( we get into each three lead characters ' heads: Alina, Prof. Lincoln and Andrei)
Rate: 9/10. Goodreads: 5 stars 🌟
Summary: Alina is a Van Helsing forcibly turned into a vampire. She has to go to a vamp school and meet a professor who has the burning hots for her. She also meets other mythical beings as well as another vampire named Andrie ( the enemies to lovers trope...kinda), and they hit it off.
There's mate bonds, murder and heartache. Alina is a firecracker ( her hot professor cakles her Spitfire, which is very fitting) and force to be reckoned with, but yet, as a reader, i did feel for her. She is a character who evolves throughout the story and is very likable. She has a few great comebacks. I plan on stealing as well, lmao.
Tired of twilight? Sink your fangs into this delish read.
I stumbled upon the author, and I think she deserves wayyyyy more hype!!
On my way to get book two
July 6, 2022
That Ending! Wow!
It feels like I've been anticipating this book for a while. I loved the original series, Monarchs of Hell, so much when I found out Caulder and Sinclair both were working on individual series in the same universe, all of them set at Imaginarium Academy, I just knew I was going to love them. So far there have been three series and now the fourth series begins with Bite of Loyalty, the first book in the Blood Oath series.
Van Helsing, the legendary name of the most infamous family of slayers in entertainment history, the ultimate vampire hunters. Bite of Loyalty centers on Alina Van Helsing the sole heir and future leader of the House of Van Helsing and she's a complete badass. Alina is strong, confident, stubborn, snarky, determined and so much more. She fights for what she wants and will be no one but her authentic self which I can't help but admire. However, after the events at the beginning of this book Alina is broken, she's not coping well, compartmentalizing instead of facing her emotions but she's very self-aware and kinda crazy. I like her.
Too bad I can't say the same about her love interests. At best I'm annoyed with Lincoln and his attitude and rash actions, really needs to think things through. Andrei was actually a surprise, dude started off as a jerk but gets better and is surprisingly deep. Both guys have their issues and are just as broken as Alina, too bad they don't think through things better. Their actions leave little to be desired but there's room for growth.
Not gonna lie the beginning of the story left me emotionally raw for the rest of the book, I felt for Alina and instantly connected to her. Because of all the emotions flowing the story kinda left me on pins and needles about what was gonna happen next. Seeing Alina struggle but continues to do the best she can. One of my favorite parts is that all the Imaginarium books are connected, I loved seeing familiar characters and knowing their story while seeing certain interactions and events from Alina's perspective when I've seen them from others before.
Bite of Loyalty was fantastic, a great addition to the Imaginarium Universe. I loved seeing the vampires' world, learning the customs, behaviors, interactions, and cultures and it's even better seeing it from Alina's perspective, someone who is new to that world. The ending had me totally shocked with the mother-of-all plot twists, I did not see it coming. I have more than a few questions and I can't wait to see if I get the answers in the next book.
It feels like I've been anticipating this book for a while. I loved the original series, Monarchs of Hell, so much when I found out Caulder and Sinclair both were working on individual series in the same universe, all of them set at Imaginarium Academy, I just knew I was going to love them. So far there have been three series and now the fourth series begins with Bite of Loyalty, the first book in the Blood Oath series.
Van Helsing, the legendary name of the most infamous family of slayers in entertainment history, the ultimate vampire hunters. Bite of Loyalty centers on Alina Van Helsing the sole heir and future leader of the House of Van Helsing and she's a complete badass. Alina is strong, confident, stubborn, snarky, determined and so much more. She fights for what she wants and will be no one but her authentic self which I can't help but admire. However, after the events at the beginning of this book Alina is broken, she's not coping well, compartmentalizing instead of facing her emotions but she's very self-aware and kinda crazy. I like her.
Too bad I can't say the same about her love interests. At best I'm annoyed with Lincoln and his attitude and rash actions, really needs to think things through. Andrei was actually a surprise, dude started off as a jerk but gets better and is surprisingly deep. Both guys have their issues and are just as broken as Alina, too bad they don't think through things better. Their actions leave little to be desired but there's room for growth.
Not gonna lie the beginning of the story left me emotionally raw for the rest of the book, I felt for Alina and instantly connected to her. Because of all the emotions flowing the story kinda left me on pins and needles about what was gonna happen next. Seeing Alina struggle but continues to do the best she can. One of my favorite parts is that all the Imaginarium books are connected, I loved seeing familiar characters and knowing their story while seeing certain interactions and events from Alina's perspective when I've seen them from others before.
Bite of Loyalty was fantastic, a great addition to the Imaginarium Universe. I loved seeing the vampires' world, learning the customs, behaviors, interactions, and cultures and it's even better seeing it from Alina's perspective, someone who is new to that world. The ending had me totally shocked with the mother-of-all plot twists, I did not see it coming. I have more than a few questions and I can't wait to see if I get the answers in the next book.
December 28, 2025
5⭐️
2🌶️
I absolutely loved reading this so much I did so in one sitting! I could not pull my eyes of this book, I kept saying one more chapter and that chapter ended up being the next book, because the cliffhanger! OMG! I did not see that coming at all! 😱🥹
How I do love a FMC is so badass and Alina is just that, girl does not take shit from anyone despite her feeling like it’s her against the world. I can’t wait to continue reading her story.
The multiple POV is amazing and does not take away from the Alina at all, but you do get to feel what the men in her life feel when they see her and it certainly helps with the whole character building.
Book no.2 here I come! 🫶
“Never dim your shine for someone who thinks they’re going to be burned by your greatness. The right person for you will put on sunglasses and bask in your glow.”
2🌶️
I absolutely loved reading this so much I did so in one sitting! I could not pull my eyes of this book, I kept saying one more chapter and that chapter ended up being the next book, because the cliffhanger! OMG! I did not see that coming at all! 😱🥹
How I do love a FMC is so badass and Alina is just that, girl does not take shit from anyone despite her feeling like it’s her against the world. I can’t wait to continue reading her story.
The multiple POV is amazing and does not take away from the Alina at all, but you do get to feel what the men in her life feel when they see her and it certainly helps with the whole character building.
Book no.2 here I come! 🫶
“Never dim your shine for someone who thinks they’re going to be burned by your greatness. The right person for you will put on sunglasses and bask in your glow.”
Read
October 5, 2025DNFd at 30%. Within seconds of seeing the FMC, our first MMC is fantasizing about her mouth around him. Zero yearning, straight to the smut. Tried to keep reading, but it just didn't ease up on the graphic fantasies. If you don't know a single thing about this woman beyond her physical appearance and all you can think about is how much you want her mouth on you, I don't think you're someone I want to learn more about, let alone be in your POV.
September 1, 2023
Pretty safe enemies to lovers why choose. Her family is killed at the beginning.
February 7, 2024
bueno, por fin he terminado el peor libro que he leído en mi vida. coherencia 0. es literalmente el libro que le regale a Iru pero peor, la pava la escribieron con la intención de hacerla una baddie y lo único que es realmente es una petarda. dice odio a los vampiros, me voy a cargar a Dracula porque han matado a mi familia y me han obligado a comerme a mi mejor amiga… 5 páginas después está pensando en cómo le gustaría que su profesor vampiro llamado como un presidente de los eeuu le meta la p**** hasta el esófago. y esto no es un incidente aislado, todo el libro sucede en menos de una semana desde que llega a la academia está de los cojones y la pava ya tiene 2 fated mates y uno de reserva, se hablan como si llevasen años pillados y se conociesen de toda la vida, tiene enemigos jurados ya su clase… 🧍♀️de verdad es que es peor que cualquier fanfic que haya podido leer en mi vida y mira que he leído mierda y porn without a plot, pues esto tiene incluso menos plot
March 24, 2024
❝ “I owe Dracula a personal visit to figure out why I was left alive in this fucking misery, and once I get my answer, I’ll pierce his black heart with my blade, damning his soul to hell.” ❞
ALINA VAN HELSING, I LOVE YOU. ✨
I have been dying for this book ever since Alina's character was first introduced in Monsters Within, and I was not disappointed. I love the world-building in this shared universe and I definitely want to learn more about the lore and customs of the vampires and slayers.
Alina suffers a lot in the beginning— the loss of her family and former life as a slayer, being turned into a vampire, and then thrown into a school full of them. She is very strong in her resolve and her ability to adapt to her circumstances, but I also really loved that we still get to see her vulnerability. I do hope we see her interact more with the other shared universe FMCs because my girl really needs and deserves a friend ok?
This is a slow-build harem, light on spice, but I have no doubt its only going to get hotter as the series progresses. The tension between Alina and Lincoln was delicious, and I was living for all their back and forth banter. Andrei seemed really sweet, but with that ending there is definitely storms on the horizon. And the third mate reveal? 👀 I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS CHAOS. I have so many theories now and I cannot wait to see how this will all play out.
ALINA VAN HELSING, I LOVE YOU. ✨
I have been dying for this book ever since Alina's character was first introduced in Monsters Within, and I was not disappointed. I love the world-building in this shared universe and I definitely want to learn more about the lore and customs of the vampires and slayers.
Alina suffers a lot in the beginning— the loss of her family and former life as a slayer, being turned into a vampire, and then thrown into a school full of them. She is very strong in her resolve and her ability to adapt to her circumstances, but I also really loved that we still get to see her vulnerability. I do hope we see her interact more with the other shared universe FMCs because my girl really needs and deserves a friend ok?
This is a slow-build harem, light on spice, but I have no doubt its only going to get hotter as the series progresses. The tension between Alina and Lincoln was delicious, and I was living for all their back and forth banter. Andrei seemed really sweet, but with that ending there is definitely storms on the horizon. And the third mate reveal? 👀 I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS CHAOS. I have so many theories now and I cannot wait to see how this will all play out.
October 4, 2024
Read
Rating: 2.5/5 ⭐
Spice: 0/5🔥
Open door /Closed Door
Romance: 0/5 ❤️
World building: 3/5 🌎
Plot: 2/5 📖
Writing: 3/5 📝
Characters: 1/5 👥
Cover: 2/5 📓
❌ FMC is annoying and some things were unbelievable
✔️ interesting concept but the execution fell flat. But I'm still interested and will continue reading
Will I continue this series? ✔️
Would I recommend? ❌
TW / CW:
Rating: 2.5/5 ⭐
Spice: 0/5🔥
Open door /
Romance: 0/5 ❤️
World building: 3/5 🌎
Plot: 2/5 📖
Writing: 3/5 📝
Characters: 1/5 👥
Cover: 2/5 📓
❌ FMC is annoying and some things were unbelievable
✔️ interesting concept but the execution fell flat. But I'm still interested and will continue reading
Will I continue this series? ✔️
Would I recommend? ❌
TW / CW:
August 8, 2023
The Bite of Loyalty by R.L. Caulder, out now, 296 pgs
Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance, Dark Academia, Reverse Harem
Overall (out of 5) ⭐⭐⭐💫
Spice 🌶🌶🌶
Prose⭐⭐
Pacing(1=slow 5=fast)⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Character Development ⭐⭐
Library or Buy-worthy: Prime Reading
Similar vibe: Jennifer Estep's Mythos Academy or Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead series except with smut
The Blood Oath series by R.L. Caulder is going to get the special edition treatment by a certain book box so I thought I should read at least one of the books to avoid FOMO. 'Bite of Loyalty' initially reminded me of Jennifer Estep's Mythos Academy or Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead series except with smut (both excellent YA series btw).
***Caution Spoilers Follow***
The pacing in Bite of Loyalty is super fast, almost too fast. I wanted more depth of character and I would've liked more time between her parents dying and her entering the Academy, maybe some serious self loathing and grief. The whiplash speed made it hard for me to buy the explanation that the main character Alina was repressing her emotions. Her behavior is so juvenile and the timing so quick it became really annoying to me. I think the author was going for snark and sass but it just seemed eye rolling ridiculous. I realize there probably is one heck of a character arch for Alina in future books, I hope so at least. That would make her unlikability in this book understandable. Being a fan of RH books I'll give book 2 a try but I wanted more depth with this one.
Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance, Dark Academia, Reverse Harem
Overall (out of 5) ⭐⭐⭐💫
Spice 🌶🌶🌶
Prose⭐⭐
Pacing(1=slow 5=fast)⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Character Development ⭐⭐
Library or Buy-worthy: Prime Reading
Similar vibe: Jennifer Estep's Mythos Academy or Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead series except with smut
The Blood Oath series by R.L. Caulder is going to get the special edition treatment by a certain book box so I thought I should read at least one of the books to avoid FOMO. 'Bite of Loyalty' initially reminded me of Jennifer Estep's Mythos Academy or Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead series except with smut (both excellent YA series btw).
***Caution Spoilers Follow***
The pacing in Bite of Loyalty is super fast, almost too fast. I wanted more depth of character and I would've liked more time between her parents dying and her entering the Academy, maybe some serious self loathing and grief. The whiplash speed made it hard for me to buy the explanation that the main character Alina was repressing her emotions. Her behavior is so juvenile and the timing so quick it became really annoying to me. I think the author was going for snark and sass but it just seemed eye rolling ridiculous. I realize there probably is one heck of a character arch for Alina in future books, I hope so at least. That would make her unlikability in this book understandable. Being a fan of RH books I'll give book 2 a try but I wanted more depth with this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2022
This is one of my favorite worlds! Every book I’ve read so far has just had me sucked right in.
My heart broke for Alina at the start of the book, her entire world as she knew it was turned upside down when she was turned into a Vampire. She tried to figure out her new life with one goal in mind, avenging her family. But that would be much harder to accomplish than she would have ever thought.
This book is full of angst and tension. Alina and Lincoln have some serious tension for the very first meeting. Andrei and Alina have just as thick sexual tension. I can’t wait to see the tension unravel and them explore what they’ve got between them.
Sooo excited for the next book!!!
My heart broke for Alina at the start of the book, her entire world as she knew it was turned upside down when she was turned into a Vampire. She tried to figure out her new life with one goal in mind, avenging her family. But that would be much harder to accomplish than she would have ever thought.
This book is full of angst and tension. Alina and Lincoln have some serious tension for the very first meeting. Andrei and Alina have just as thick sexual tension. I can’t wait to see the tension unravel and them explore what they’ve got between them.
Sooo excited for the next book!!!
June 30, 2022
Got this amazing ARC from one of the authors I stalked errr follow . Truly, anything from her is a sure 'read-until-your-eyes-give up' stories.
Alina is a surprise fmc for me. Strong yet vulnerable, Reserve and yet shows confidence that is a great combination for a character under the Van Helsing family.
I love the push and pull from Lincoln the most, and shall I say their smexy banters are what I always wait for.
"Be a good girl" ....this words really summarizes the whole book for me 😁
I can't say enough on how much I really like this book. All I can say - is no spoilers for me (subject to change when it is live on amazon) but I'm confident (very) to recommend this book to all romance readers.
Alina is a surprise fmc for me. Strong yet vulnerable, Reserve and yet shows confidence that is a great combination for a character under the Van Helsing family.
I love the push and pull from Lincoln the most, and shall I say their smexy banters are what I always wait for.
"Be a good girl" ....this words really summarizes the whole book for me 😁
I can't say enough on how much I really like this book. All I can say - is no spoilers for me (subject to change when it is live on amazon) but I'm confident (very) to recommend this book to all romance readers.
March 9, 2024
Cheesy and cliche but somehow also a good time.
An easy, palette cleanser read that gets steamy— don't expect a lot of depth but if you can overlook the clunky worldbuilding, repetitive inner dialog, and oddly fast timeline, this is a fun read
An easy, palette cleanser read that gets steamy— don't expect a lot of depth but if you can overlook the clunky worldbuilding, repetitive inner dialog, and oddly fast timeline, this is a fun read
July 24, 2023
2'7, tiene vampiros y es corto y fácil de leer no ha habido mucho RH en este libro pero visto como ha terminado en el siguiente doy por hecho que si habrá (un poco turbio)
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