The Assassin and the Libertine, by Lily Riley. Ohhhh wait until you get a load of this book. Move over Twilight saga, we have a vampire saga for the adults. And oh boy is it a good one. Before I begin, I have to say this.
Etienne I LOVE YOU and yes I will lay down where ever you desire to take me. Uhm, now that I have gotten that out my system I will share my review with you. Now I normally don’t read paranormal romance books. I actually came across this book without reading the synopsis and I’m glad that I didn’t, because this book was astounding. Ladies you are absolutely going to love this romantic love affair.
A love affair between a woman who clearly knows how to handle herself in a bad situation, and an irresistible vampire that will have you wanting to read more about him and his rakish ways. Oh yes ladies. Etienne contributed most handsomely to my imaginations of a wet read and I think that he will do the same for you. Now, the partnering of Daphne and Etienne together was fabulous. The two characters fed off each other so well.
I loved how the writer crafted their dialogue, helping the plot move easily for the readers. The dialogue was a most added benefit to the dangers of the story. While reading these scenes my imagination took over, offering me not only the rage, but the fear of love and passion from the characters. When it came to the strong desires of Etienne and Daphne, the dialogue not only intensified their scenes, but ignited something so real. Their raw dialogue ignited the flames of passion to wear they had to continually flick their clothes off.
I will add this little side note to the writer, please add more detailed love scenes, naughty dialogue, the works. The steamier the better. Just enough to cover a couple of pages. I thought Daphnes characters was fantastic. Her cousin Charlotte was a beast herself, but back to Daphne though.
Daphne was hell fire in heels and she did not play. The woman knows how to take down vampires in darken alleyways and stare down the many faces of evil without breaking a nail or ruining her hair. I absolutely loved her quick wit and razor sharp tongue. It was her undeniable desires for Etienne that had me chanting for her to give in to her temptations, as well as that the little voice in the back of her mind, telling her to take that leap. Enjoy yourself.
Explore all the wonderful ways that he can give you exquisite, carnal pleasure. Ladies the plot wasn’t bad itself. I thought that would throw that in there, just to keep my review from being all about the fun times between the sheets. Bwahhahaha! Who am I kidding here?
Yes I am! Girl that Etienne, sauntered his way into the garden party like he owned the place. His words flowed through this book like a sugary sweet lollipop that Daphne excitedly begged to lick at. Etienne’s character is a very strong and dominant one who softens to the pleasure of looking upon Daphne’s sultry face. Not only does he challenges, but he fights the demons of hell, just to see that Daphne achieve her goals of fighting for what is right in the world that she believes in.
Their intimate relationship grows to a higher level as they try to save the people of Paris from the dangers that haunts the allies at night. Readers let me tell you, the plot was fresh and engaging with the characters. I said that I would talk about Charlotte and I will. That woman was phenomenal. I loved her brazen craziness.
She had me chuckling every time she kicked a certain person backside. Charlotte brought the humorous side to this story that collided well with the entertainment. This book is an exciting and easy read for me. The narrative and dialogue was on point. I don’t think that the story trailed away from the main points of the story.
The details regarding the history of Paris was informative. I thought that the action scenes were intense, adding to some good visual as I read these parts. This book reads with so much ease that I couldn’t put it down until I had read the last word. Lily Riley has provided a book that’s an awesome page turner. I recommend this book with two snaps and a, “Charlotte stop kicking the poor man’s head, he’s already unconscious”.
“I was making sure that he was still alive, Daphne.” Until next time my fellow readers… read on!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this eArc!

This was so fun!! If you like historical romance, definitely give this one a go!

The Assassin and the Libertine, Lily Riley

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Romance, Sci Fi & Fantasy

well, romance, history, vampires – sounds great fun. And it was but....somehow I expected a bit more depth. Its weird saying this given the subject matter but it felt a bit light and fluffy for me despite the demon side, the vampires, the death of people from starvation – and of course the gruesome deaths.
If you want a read that's easy to follow along, has some sensuality to it, and yet more than just sex in the plots this is a fun read. I just didn't feel for me that it was a five star because everything felt a little surface treated. The parts that were dark, Etienne's past, Daphne marriage, were just sort of excused as “happened in the past” when for me they were a huge factor in how the characters behave now.
Its interesting, the premise of the Order was good, and I did like the characters but its just wasn't enough depth for me to rate higher. As ever though that's personal, it will be perfect for others who don't want that intensity to plots, we all enjoy different things in our reading. I'm unsure if I'll continue with the series, unless it gains more detail I suppose.

Stars: Three, a fun read, easy to follow, but ultimately a little light for me.

ARC supplied by Netgalley and publishers

I love historicals but I also love when they blend the paranormal in with them, and this was a fun read on several levels, not the least of which was because it was set in a time period that doesn’t often get attention in histroms. Lady assassin + sexy vampire + French court intrigue + a murder mystery to solve made this one a very entertaining and easy read for me, and the chemistry between Daphne and Etienne was super juicy. I’m just as excited for the fact that this is going to be a series, because I’m so curious about who Charlotte’s mystery hero is.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Daphne de Duras is a proper French duchess by day and fledgling assassin by night. Her latest mission is to dispatch justice and protect the French aristocracy by executing Étienne de Noailles, disgraced former noble, legendary rake.When I started reading I couldn't put it down.Lily Riley is magnifysent and amazing writer.I cannot wait to read more of there books.Keep up the great work.You should definitely read this books.Can't wait for the next book ..

Oh my, this was a lot of fun. The tension, the romance! I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers and this book had just the right amount. Plus, who doesn’t like historical vampires?!

This is not a classic vampire story and certainly not a classic romance.

There are moments when I wanted it to be such, but many more moments when I was glad that it wasn’t.

Let me explain.

18th century France is one of my favorite times and places to read about, watch films about, and daydream about. Versailles is one of my favorite pieces of architecture in the history of…well, basically everything. And Madame de Pompadour has always been a subject of mystery, intrigue, and romance that, for me, can never be forgotten or moved past. She must have really been something! Certainly King Louis XV thought so.

In The Assassin and the Libertine, it is the death of Madame de Pompadour that sets off the story. The story’s hero, Étienne, is accused of Madame de Pompadour’s murder and as the heroine of the story was the best friend of the king’s favorite mistress and in charge of bringing her killer to his justice, a very common enemies to lovers story begins to unfold.

Here’s where I would normally start rolling my eyes and looking for something else to read. It’s a common plot. Only, in this one, the accused murderer is also a vampire. It does complicate things, but the fact is that there are so many stories set up this way, an author really needs to do the work involved in separating their work from the works of others. The bounty hunter/assassin (in this case) vs. evil hunky vampire accused of obscenities and atrocities is done to death. Yet, in this book, the author manages to yank her story out of the void of cliches and plop it directly into a reader’s wildest bloody fantasies.

The book has a decent heat level and the writing is great. I love the story having the depth of the eighteenth century because honestly, it does add more appeal for me. I’ll certainly look for this author again and I’ll most definitely be sure to recommend this book to my friends.


As far as I can tell, both kindle and paperback copies are available at Amazon if you’d like to find out for yourself.

I liked the cover and blurb, not really sure what drew me to the title but it was a good read.

What did I like? My first by this author and it was really well written. However I didn’t really get into the book, I guess vampire books no longer appeal to me. I enjoyed the characters Daphne and Etienne but Charlotte was more fun and carefree.

Would I recommend or buy? This was a shock that vampire books just don’t appeal to me. I guess I was under the impression that the book was about something else. It is well written so lovers of the genre may like it better.

I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review!

Even though this should’ve been the perfect read for me, combining historical romance and vampires, I couldn’t quite get into it. The few tagged on historical details didn’t make the setting in 18th century France feel real or immersive, and I couldn’t connect with the main couple. The writing was fine, though (if you can ignore the inconsistencies in addressing the noblity) so give it a read. Maybe it suits you better.

Loved, loved, loved!
What a great paranormal romance with plenty of mystery, action and romance.
The setting made this so unique and immersive. As a person who loves French history I was geeking out.
I think the characters were done really well too. Daphne in particular. Both main characters had agency and their own journeys to go through.
The pacing was perfect. I was never bored.
The cover is gorgeous too!
Can’t wait to see what happens with the next installment.

Daphne is an assassin for the Order, which takes out Vampires who commit the most atrocious acts. Étienne is a vampire hoping for a better future, but his plans go on pause when he is accused of murdering the king’s mistress. When both assassin and vampire team up to find the real killer, romance blooms as darker forces are at work.

I actually really enjoyed this book. It’s set in 18th century France and was a face paced read. What I would say is that it doesn’t really feel like 18th century France, the language is modern and the book has a very modern day feminist feel to it. So I felt the book could’ve just been set in modern times, because it being set in that time period didn’t really add anything for me.

I loved both of the main characters and loved the fact we got both POV’s. The character development is really good, mainly seen from Daphne’s side as she becomes more open minded throughout the book. Étienne was just a little darling and I just wanted to give him a hug.

The plot was really good. I loved the mystery behind the killings and the creepiness when we got to certain parts. The plot twist was just incredible and I really didn’t see that coming. I do want to find out more about the order and who is behind it, so I’m hoping we’ll find out more about that in book two.

Overall, I devoured the majority of this book in one sitting because it was such an easy read. The plot to romance ratio was perfect and I can’t wait to read book two.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fun take on vampires - this time in the court of Louis XV in Versailles and in enlightenment Paris. No, Marie-Antoinette is not queen, but if she were, she might have said, "Let them drink blood." Peasants are having such a difficult time finding food to eat that vampirism seems to be the only option other than starving to death. Etienne is the vampire emissary to the court, and he's trying to pass reforms both to recognize vampire rights but also to reduce the amount of peasants "turning" to vampirism. Daphne is a part of a secret group that assassinates vampires to keep the blood plague at bay. She and Etienne join forces to solve the mystery of who killed Madame de Pompadour.

Look, if you want a fun vampire romance set in Paris, you don't have to look any further. The gestures toward social justice are a nice overlay to vampire lore, and the court politics in the age of Louis XV add a unique setting. The romance advances in fits and starts, but has a satisfying resolution. And who can resist a vampire love story where the woman has the best tasting blood ever?