A Vampire's Heart

By: Kayleigh Sky

Narrated by: Darcy Stark

Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

Vampires live.

And they hunger....

Otto Jones, a cop assigned to the seemingly random murder of a vampire, would rather hide out in the nearest bar than waste his time on a dead vamp. He hates the bloodthirsty demons. But when the king of the vampires commands him to work with one of the lesser princes and find the killer, he has no choice. 

Prince Jessamine Senera is ready to sacrifice his happiness in a loveless marriage for his family’s benefit...but not yet. He dreams of adventure, excitement, and true love. He lives on romance novels and detective stories and wishes he could drink synthetic blood like every other vampire. But he can’t. He needs human blood to survive and is hated by vampires and humans alike. 

As Otto and Jessa draw closer to an entity that doesn’t want to be discovered, Otto finds the heart he thought long dead opening to the romance-loving Jessa. No good can possibly come from falling in love with a vampire, but when a shadowy assailant attacks Jessa, Otto will descend into the darkest pit of the earth to rescue him. 

If you like vampires, mythical and urban settings, intense suspense, and happily-ever-after, then you’ll love this first book in the dark and mysterious Ellowyn Found trilogy! 

A Vampire’s Heart is a stand-alone paranormal dystopian noir romance with a satisfying conclusion to the love story and a central mystery that weaves the trilogy together.

©2018 Kayleigh Sky (P)2019 Kayleigh Sky

Great new take on Vampires!

4 - 5 Blue Roses
4.5 Blue Flames

Narrator Darcy Stark is the King of paranormal erotica. OMG, OMG, OMG! he knows just how to throw that extra bit of emotion into his readings. In my opinion this narrator is slowly creeping up the ranks, spitting out one successful audiobook at a time. He has a smooth reading voice and has flexible versatility with male and female voices. It is subtle and I love his gruff manly baritone.

The author Kayleigh Sky is new to me, I'm so glad we had a chance to hear this on audio. It has fantastic world building and a whole new approach to vampires. I can not wait for the next installment, this series has tons of promise, I hope we can keep the author writing.

The sex is extremely hot and original.
The post apocalyptic plot with vampires emerging from the depths of the earth with talents undiscovered kept my interest 100%
I do recommend this audiobook, especially if you like vampires. Do not miss this one!

Happy Listening

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

A must read for all you vampire lovers

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Both the narrator and the author are new to me and I can't wait for more from both of them. My only real issues were Otto constantly thinking about Maisie, its been 10 years yes I know her murder is still unsolved but it felt like every thought was of her. And I was having a problem with keeping all the names straight. Initially I didn't like Otto, he just rubbed me the wrong way, but it didn't take too long before I fell for him. Jessa I loved from the moment he stepped onto page. Jessa is a "drainer" someone who has to drink from humans and is allergic to the synth blood. He is such a romantic & all he wants is to love & be loved. He is engaged to Wen, an arraigned marriage, & has resigned himself to having a loveless marriage. Wen isn't bad to him and isn't disgusted by Jessa's need to drink blood from donors. There are so many secondary characters that I liked. Both Jessa's brother & sister, the king and Issac his donor. One of the sort of bad guy (you will see what I mean about "sort of" when you read the story) I knew was involved from the beginning. There wasn't anything obvious, I just had that feeling. So we have the investigation of a string of murders. Otto does something, and gets fired. The king hires him to investigate the killings and pushes Jessa to help Otto out. Otto, who despises vampires, is immediately drawn to Jessa & start thinking of him as his mate. Otto tries to deny his attraction.
Jessa is also immediately attracted to Otto. Okay for those of you who are turned off about cheating, which I absolutely hate, there isn't any cheating. Jessa & Wen haven't bonded yet & they are free to do what they want until then. Again, it's arraigned not because they love each other. As they get closer to figure out who is involved in the murders and why, they also get closer together until they give into their desires. I really loved these two as a couple and the sex was off the charts hot IMO. I can't wait to continue with this series.

Audio ARC provided by LesCourt Services in exchange for an honest review.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Secrets..

Otto Jones is a cop that struggles with his job and his life in general. He feels extreme guilt over the death of his older sister at the hands of an unknown vampire and for the last ten years has been unable to move on from her murder. His new partner is not helping as he is a vampire and none other than the detective that investigated her death and who Otto holds responsible for her case going unsolved.
When Otto is given the case of a murdered vampire with a missing human witness there are many similarities to his sister's death and Otto is left questioning if they are somehow connected.

Prince Jessamine is a half human/half vampire whose body has rejected the synthetic blood that most vampires drink to survive. He is known as a drainer and must wear a mark to let others know of his condition. He is looked at as weaker and someone of lower status by most vampires. Jessa is engaged to another vampire but they have no real connection beyond his fiance's ambition to join a higher ranking family and Jessa's need to relieve his family of what he perceives as a burden.

Jessa is asked to work with Otto as a go between to ease tensions between humans and vampires. Jessa, a romantic at heart is captivated by Otto from their first encounter and Otto sees Jessa as beautiful and strong and someone he wants even though Jessa is a vampire and engaged to someone else.

Otto and Jessa are beautiful in the devotion and tenderness they show each other even when they see no possible future together. The heat and desire between them burns hot and lights up this story in no way taking away from it but only enhancing an already detailed and exciting book.
I enjoyed Darcy Stark's narration of this book.

I received a copy of this audiobook but this is my honest review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

New take

I liked the new take on vampirism and thought it was a great story. I did get tired of hearing how even after 10 years everything Otto did and thought was because of his sister Maisie. I like Darcy Stark's narration but I had a hard time following along/keeping track of who was talking. The heat level is a medium and not really angsty.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

erratic story

Great narration but the story is a bit all over the place. There are too many unresolved or abandoned clues. The final outcome seems contrived and unsupported.

A new take on vampires and it's incredible!

First of all, this world that the author has built is beyond fascianting and I can't wait for more. Second, the narrator adds so much to this story that you will not want to stop listening. Now with that said, I had to warm up to Otto just a bit but then it was suddenly, why did it take me so long? Jessa was an instant like and as these two move through the story, everything just seemed to flow.

Vampires...What's not to Like!?

The author and narrator are both new to me. I really like vampire romance books and this one had a lot of plot twists and character development. Jessamine was my fav character and kept me invested in the story. I enjoyed the world Otto and Jess live in and the world building that took place. The narrator didn't just read lines but helped breathe depth into the story. I will continue with the next book in the series!

Amazing Story

I received an ARC of this audio for my honest review. I really enjoyed listening to this story. The story-line not only caught my attention but held it from beginning to end, I didn't want to put it down. Darcy did an absolute great job narrating. This story is about Otto a cop who has lost it all and a half human/vampire Jessamine. In the end of this book I never thought who the person behind the killings was. The person or I should say vampire that I thought it was, was killed. Can't wait for the next book in this series.

Excellent

Thoroughly enjoyed this one from a new to me author! I thought it was well written with an excellent plot and great characterization! I thought the narrator did a super nice job with this book and I definitely want to read more from both Kayleigh and Darcy!

Compelling paranormal post-apocalyptic story!

Compelling and convoluted paranormal post-apocalyptic story that will keep you listening!

I did enjoy the audio and found the narrator's voice pleasant to listen to. 
Otto and Jessa are really well-crafted characters and their slow-burn love story will keep you listening and enjoying.  

This is book one in the Ellowyn Found series an i am definitely going to read book two and waiting on book three.  I hope we get more of  Isaac and Rune's story.  

Stark is truly amazing.

This story was not bad, interesting at points, but somewhat lacking in something. Stark however manages to bring to life and create interesting vocalizations to each character. I found myself captivated by Stark’s voice.

Interesting, and intriguing!

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.5 stars
🔥🔥🔥🔥 Heat Level: 4
🎧🎧🎧🎧 Narration: 4.5

Interesting, and intriguing! I was impressed!

I really enjoyed this story and the somewhat different take on vampires and fated mates. So much happens in this book and with so many characters I admit I had to "read along" with the narration so really follow what was going on and who what interacting with who.

With so many twists and turns I was on the edge of my seat as to what would happen next and who would be in danger next. I enjoyed the vampire elements and the idea of half-lings. I loved the mystery and detective elements and really enjoyed Otto's character growth and healing. A good take on Vampire Royalty too, and I loved that Otto was of course fated to a vampire.

I loved Jessa, he's so sweet and such a great character! I loved his passion and desire to help and even his overly romantic nature was endearing!

I really liked this adventure and look forward to the next one and hopefully more of Otto and Jessa and the world of intrigue and betrayal that lies ahead!!

Exceptional narration from Darcy! I love the different character dialects and passionate overall narration!

Thanks for reading!

Awesome

I really enjoyed this audiobook.
The story was very entertaining.
I really enjoyed the narration of this audiobook.
I can’t wait to listen to more of this series.

Different.

A new to me author Kayleigh Sky writes a complex and totally absorbing book. Add in Darcy Stark, honey voiced and so easy to listen too, it becomes something ... well, just ...other!
I like the different spin on the Vampire Lore. Otto and Jess are fabulous together, the slow burn then the Heat keep the story flowing. The mystery isn’t one of those “ I knew who did after the first chapter” type, the listener needs to keep up.
I’m looking forward to more in this series.

Amazing audiobook

This was a new to me author and narrator, and I recommend them both.

The story was amazing. Very well written and the plot was created so well that I didn't know who has done what until the end.
I loved Otto and Jessa and their story was a mix of slow burn and hot flame that was amazing to read. I loved their interaction from the beginning and I loved how it ended.

The narration was great and Darcy Stark voice is amazing to listen to.

Really enjoyed it

Different take on a vampire world.

This is an interesting story, with a different take on the vampire world. The world building could have been a bit more structured, but overall, it was easy to basics of the vamp hierarchy.
Jessa and Otto were an unlikely couple - Jessa is a vampire prince who cannot drink synthetic blood; Otto's sister was killed by a vampire, so he's not exactly fond of them. Both of them are thrown together to find out who is killing vampires.
The mystery is interesting, the story a good start to the series.
I really enjoyed listening to Darcy Stark's narration. He brought out the noir-ish feeling of the story and he was great with the different characters. He enhanced the feeling of the world being built, so after a while I got a better feel for the world the author was trying to portray.
This is probably my preferred way to experience the story and the series :)


Audio ARC provided by for my enjoyment. My review is my unsolicited opinion.

Awesome paranormal world building

Otto, a human detective who hates vampires bound to work with a vampire Prince, Jessa. Their journey unravels secrets and the mistery around crime. I enjoyed the world building, the story has a slow burn romance and full of great characters. Jessa though is my favorite, the gentle vampire caged by his family and on his way to a loveless marriage but he has an adventurous heart. Otto will find hate has a fine line that separate it from love. Mr Darcy made the story come to life.

Complex and compelling

I loved this complex and compelling slow-burn romance. There are so many twists, turns, and questions from the very start. Friends become enemies, enemies become friends, and everyone seems to have secrets and hidden agendas. Except Jassimine. He just wants to do his duty to relieve his family of the burden he presents to them...but not yet. First he wants to go outside his restrictive existence and experience action and adventure before he marries and gets put on the shelf forever. I loved Jessa and his innocent naivete. I loved his brother and sister too, and how they were so protective of him. The love between Jessa and Otto was slow to develop, and they both resisted it, but in the end even supposed enemies can't fight fate. This book/audiobook could be listened to alone. It does wrap up the immediate story and mystery, but there are still questions left open and secrets to be revealed, so I hope more books come soon and continue with these characters.

Darcy Stark is a phenomenal narrator for this story. He does a perfect job with the sly, arrogant, silky tones of the vampires as well as the menace. Great job with Otto, too, and all the emotions.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving this honest review, and two thumbs way up!

“Compelling!”

This is a very complex story of vampires, humans and a future world where the vampires and humans live side by side and earthquakes are common place.
I love Jessa, a low ranking Vampire Prince, who cannot survive on the artificial blood that nearly all other vampires live on and needs to drink from consenting “feeders”. He is hated by humans and vampires alike.
Otto is a human detective, he has valid reasons to hate vampires, especially “Drainers” like Jessa, but when their paths cross during an investigation Otto finds himself drawn to Jessa and his gentle ways.
This is one of the best Vampire stories I have listened/read in a long while, but it it is very complex. That may have to do with where my head was at the time but it didn’t stop my enjoyment of it and I found it compelling and couldn’t stop listening.
I believe this is going to be a trilogy so I eagerly look forward to the next two books.
Darcy Stark was the perfect narrator and and I hope he continues to narrate the next two books.

good

this was good.. well written.. narrator did a good job.. certain parts got a bit.. weird for me,, but overall i enjoyed it and those parts didnt last long. it was good.