Royal Blood: A Vampire Kisses Novel by Ellen Schreiber

Ever since the return of Alexander and Raven to the town she calls Dullsville, Raven's been in a starry swoon on cloud nine. It's summer vacation, and she's been spending lots more time with Alexander, simply enjoying being in his presence, kissing and caressing under the light of the moon and stars. But now summer is over, and it's time to get back to school.

Ugh, school. Raven isn't looking forward to waking up early or to encountering her preppy Nemesis Trevor Mitchell again any time soon, but when Alexander receives a strange letter, he wants to avoid opening it for as long as possible. Raven, however, is desperate to know what is going on and who sent the letter. Eventually, at her urging, he opens it.

The letter is from Alexander's parents, and they have news for him. They are coming back to Dullsville. Raven thinks this is awesome, but Alexander is downcast at the news. Obviously, once his parents arrive, they aren't going to be able to spend as much time together. Raven hopes to be introduced to them. She wants to be a worthy love for Alexander, and hopes that his parents will like her as much as hers love him.

But once they arrive, she hardly sees him at all, and he certainly not rushing to introduce Raven to them. In fact, several other people see them around town before Raven does. Even Trevor sees them before Raven does! But when she finally does get to meet Raven, as Alexander's "Friend", she finds out the most startling fact of all- Alexander's parents are selling the house and moving back to Transylvania... with Alexander! Raven is shocked and heartbroken, but Alexander hasn't been able to tell his parents that he doesn't want to move. He wants to stay- with Raven.

But what choice do they have? Alexander finds it hard to stand up to his parents, especially his father, who he doesn't even call Dad or Father, but by his given name. Raven and Alexander decide they can keep anyone from buying the house by spreading rumors about it being just this side of falling down. And that seems to work... at first. But when Trevor Mitchell's father decides to make an offer so that he can bulldoze the house and build a mall, Raven and Alexander know they have failed.

Now, the only way for them to win the house is for them to raise money and make an offer on it themselves. But how can they do that? Raven's not rich, and has barely any money, and even if her family had money, they wouldn't lend it to her to help her buy the house, no matter how much she and Alexander are in love. So, how can they raise the money? And even if they do raise the money, will Alexander's parents agree to sell him the house and leave him in America while they return to Europe? And will Jameson return with Alexander?

I liked this volume, which finally gives Raven and Alexander a problem to deal with besides something exclusively vampire-related. Yes, his parents are vampires, and they are responsible for deciding to sell the house, but it's not an exclusively vampire problem. Who hasn't lost a friend whose parents moved away? In this case, it just happens to be Raven's Boyfriend, and she doesn't want a long-distance relationship at all.

Raven and Alexander are ready to move heaven and earth to stay together- everything except talk to his parents. Raven is hesitant because she's afraid that Alexander's parents won't think she's good enough for him, and Alexander because even though his parents love him, they aren't really close. He hasn't even told them that Raven is his girlfriend! And he's also afraid that his parents would reject her for being merely human.

In the end, it takes a spectacular display of talent for Alexander to realize his wish and stay with Raven. Hopefully, at the same time, he grows a bit closer with his parents and might find it a bit easier to confide in them the next time. But once again, we see how Raven does care for Trevor and he for her, which worries me, if Raven and Alexander are going to find a way to somehow stay together. If Raven and Alexander do break up and she ends up with Trevor, nobody will be able to say that Ellen Schreiber didn't lay the groundwork for that long ago. Recommended