Rating: 4.25 stars
Buy Links:Â Â Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Seiran Rou is a rare male Earth witch with great power. He is the first male to be allowed to take magic classes, mostly on the strength of his powerful mother’s influence. School has not been easy for him though, as female witches are the norm and he suffers lots of abuse from his fellow students who don’t want him there.
For years, Seiran has had an on/off relationship with a powerful vampire, Gabe. Gabe is pretty clear he wants more from Seiran, but Sei doesn’t have much faith that once they are together Gabe will want him for long. With a hateful mother who he is pretty sure wants him dead and a long history of those who seem to be friends turning out to be enemies, Seiran is not one to let his heart go easily. But deep down he cares for Gabe and Gabe is always a solid foundation in Seiran’s life.
When a dead body turns up on Seiran’s door and the police focus in on Serian, things start to get even more complicated. There seems to be a serial killer on the loose targeting those connected with vampires, and someone is looking to blame Seiran. Not to mention his mother is trying to force him to produce an heir whether he wants to or not, and her methods of coercion are horrifying. On top of that, Seiran has been hiding the strength of his powers and folks are getting suspicious of his true abilities. And in the midst of all that, Seiran begins to realize how much he loves and cares for Gabe, despite his efforts to keep a distance. He and Gabe are finally on the verge of something real, but danger is all around and a killer is on the loose.
I chose Inheritance for Favorites Week in our September Reading Challenge. It fits with our Favorite Vampire/Shifter Pairings list and since the story sounded unique and Lissa Kasey is a new author to me, I decided to give it a try.
This story had somewhat of a slow build for me as we get settled into the characters and the world building, but once it got rolling, I was totally hooked. Seiran is such a fascinating character. He oozes sex appeal and loves to flirt, with his hip high boots and his long black hair. He is snarky and strong and uses sex a bit as a defense mechanism. Seiran is one of those characters who put up a tough front, but deep down needs the love and security he is sure he will never have. His mother is horrific and he has learned that those who claim to want him often are the ones who hurt him most, so he keeps up walls between himself and Gabe, despite the fact that it is clear how much he needs and cares for Gabe. Seiran could have been frustrating or irritating, but somehow he just works and I totally loved him. And of course Gabe is a total sweetheart who is patient and loving, gives Seiran his space, but still is always in his corner.
As I said, I read this story for its vampire/shifter theme and it is a really interesting take on shifter lore. As part of being a witch, Seiran is also a shifter. Even though shifting is not allowed by the Dominion, the ruling body of the witches, at the new moon Seiran can’t help but obey the call of his lynx side and often shifts to run free in his animal form. This story offers an unusual take on shifters, as when in animal form, Seiran loses most of his humanity. He often can’t recognize people he knows as a human (even Gabe), doesn’t understand English, and has the simplified mind of an animal. So he truly encompasses animal form and the scenes where he has shifter are really cleverly done. Also, unlike the lycans in this story, Seiran’s ability to shift is tied with his magical powers, rather than a factor of biology. Kasey does a great job here of building the world around magic, the Dominion, the shifting, and the society of witches. It is quite well done and really engaging.
On the vampire side, things are less developed. We really get only the bare basics about Gabe’s life as a vampire, the way vampires live, or their governing body. I did miss that a bit, partly because I choose this book due to the vampire connection, but also because I don’t feel like we get to know Gabe as well as I would have liked. We are in Seiran’s POV, but even with that I feel like more could have been developed about Gabe, especially with regards to what draws him to Seiran even as Sei pushes him away.
Other areas were also not quite as well developed as I would have liked. For example, we hear a lot about how horrible Seiran’s mother was when he was growing up, but other than one admittedly awful example, we don’t get much detail. I think given how many of his issues center around his mother’s role in his life, more information would have helped. We also learn about his horrible treatment when he was living in the dorms at school, but again not a lot of detail. I also left with some questions, like why, given his mother’s incredible power in the Dominion, did so many of the female witches attack Seiran without fear of reprisal. As much as his mother seems to dislike him, she also seems determined to protect him, at least to put up a good public front. But more significantly, I found myself confused at Seiran’s reaction to his mother’s ultimatum about having kids. Without going into spoilerish detail, he is pretty sure something terrible is going to happen if he has an heir. Now he has a very good reason for agreeing to have a child, but this concern about his safety seems to get dropped as the story goes on and I am not sure why.
This book is the first in a series so I know there is lots more to come for these guys. Just for some clarification, the first four books in the series were originally published by Dreamspinner Press, but the first three have now been revised, expanded, and rereleased by the author (and I read/reviewed the revised version of this book). There is an updated version of book four coming next year, and more new stories to come as well. The author has also incorporated some of the free shorts that accompanied the original series into the revised versions.
While this one started a little slow and choppy for me, I found it gained speed as I continued and I really fell in love with Gabe and Seiran. The world building with regard to the witches is quite interesting and unusual and definitely kept my attention. I liked the bit of suspense plot with the murderer on the loose and thought it all came together well. I am really excited to continue this series and see where things go from here. So if you are a fan of witches, shifters, vampires, or just a overall good paranormal, I’d definitely give this one a try.
This review is part of our September Reading Challenge Month for Favorites List Week! Leave a relevant comment below and you will be entered to win this week’s fabulous prize of books and swag from Samhain Publishing, as well as our amazing grand prize sponsored by Riptide Publishing. You can get more information on our Challenge Month here, and more details on Favorites List Week here. And be sure to check out our prize post for more about the awesome prizes!Â
Great review, Jay! I read Inheritance last year, and I enjoyed it a lot. I really loved Sei, he is such an attractive character (so strong and vulnerable at the same time), and found Gabe and his attempts to build a relationship with the evasive Sei really endearing. I liked those two together. The only weak point for me was the mystery in the book (I thought it was a bit obvious). It’s curious, though, now that I’m re-reading my review of Inheritance at Goodreads, that I intended to continue reading the series and never did. I think it is time I get reacquainted with Sei and Gabe.
Thank you for your review!
Thanks Susana! I had no idea what to expect of this one but really enjoyed it. I am definitely looking forward to reading the others.
I’m not heavily into paranormal, so I was surprised at how much I loved this series! I think part of it’s Sei and Gabe, and part of it is the more everyday setting that makes the world-building easier for me to get into.
Yes, I think despite the paranormal angle, the world building makes it very accessible even if that is not your usual genre.
What a great and interesting review! I really enjoyed reading about your view on the story and the characters, but most of all I enjoyed the discussion of vampire/shifter and shifter lore as you put it. Ordinarily I am not a huge fan of paranormal, but this could be a reason for me to pick it up. T
Sara, I think it is definitely worth the read, but you can also try one of the free shorts that go with the series if you want to get a feel for things. The first one is a prequel that ends up in the start of this story. I don’t think it is as strong as the book itself, but it would at least give you a little flavor for the writing and the storyline.
Thanks for the detailed, informative review. Â I have had Inheritance on my wish list for a while but did not know that the series was being re-released. Â So, I will have to grab the revised editions. Â I like to read series all at once when possible, so hopefully the lack of development for some of the characters is resolve in further installments.
I am really enjoying all the “themed” reviews this month.  🙂
Oh good Jen! Glad to hear you are having fun with the challenge!
This sounds really unique & interesting, so I’ve added it to my wishlist. Thanks for your review!
I read the whole series the first time they were released and really enjoyed them all. I’m wondering
how much was changed. I probably won’t buy them again to compare, but now I have the urge to
re-read.  Thanks. 🙂
They are definitely expanded. Some of that is that some of the original shorts are incorporated into the new versions, but I think also some stuff has been expanded. That said, if you read the first four, I doubt you will have trouble jumping into the new book 5 when it comes out b/c i can’t imagine they changed so much that you would have no idea what is going on. Sounds like the fourth one is coming out next year and then there will be an all new fifth book.
Thanks for the great review! More vampire stuff to come, promise.
LOL yay!
This sounds intriguing especially the fact that magic in this world seems primarily to be in the hands of women. I also find interesting the fact that Seiran loses his humanity as he shifts. Thanks for a thoughtful review.
Yes, I thought that aspect was so interesting. I read a lot of shifter and I haven’t come across that before, at least to that extent. In fact, most books actually seem to really emphasize that the character retains their human side when they shift. But in this case, Sei really is an animal and the scenes where we see his animal mind responding to danger and the way he gets comforted by Gabe even when he doesn’t recognize him are really fascinating.
Thanks for the great review! I really enjoyed this book. I had a few niggles with it, but I fell for Seiron and Gabe so much that they didn’t matter as much to me. I have the second on my Kindle. I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next for these guys.
I’m usually not a fan of vampires. However, the book that inspired this list, Until Forever Comes by Cardeno C is probably one of my absolute favorites. 🙂 Thanks for the great review. I’m still a little leery of other vampire books, but I’ll keep this on my radar.
Yes, LOVE that book! FWIW, this isn’t heavy on the vamp side at all, so if you want to give it a shot, you can get a feel for whether you like the story before getting into the later books that sound like they may have more of a vamp angle.
I don’t really read much books with vampires in it and I don’t know why exactly. I’ll definitely have to give this a read. Seiran seems like a fun character and Gabe sounds like a awesome stable guy even if readers don’t get too much of a read on him.
I haven’t read anything by Lissa Kasey before, but I have two of her books, and now I feel I should add this one (and of course it starts a series). I was hooked in just at the description, but I wonder if I would have picked this up if I just glanced by the cover. I don’t think I would have, so I’m glad you chose this one, Jay! I appreciate that you’ve shared the shortcomings for this one, but its strengths seem to outnumber them, making this one I’m looking forward to getting into. I just finished a pnr, so it’s whet my appetite for more.
Yes, I agree the cover is kind of misleading. First, Sei is total sex on a stick with leather pants and hip high boots and this guy is a little too “wood sprite” looking for me. Doesn’t fit at all with Seiran’s vibe. So I am not sure i would have grabbed it due to the cover either, but I am glad I did b/c I really liked. Definitely the pros outweigh any issues I had and I am really looking forward to continuing with the series.
The cover is trying to convey his earth affinity. I’ve heard that if a character looks to “feminine” readers won’t buy it. So Sei on the covers is a bit more on the normative side than his sex on stick persona. Think of a sexy long haired anime guy and there you go. 🙂Â
Yep, I totally get that. Though I LOVE a good femme guy, lol. But yes, I completely see what you were going for here.
I like some fantasy & vampires are very interesting. The cover is a turn off, but I appreciate the review. I’ll check this one out further.
I actually think the covers on this series are pretty. Â When I was a kid I was in love with Speed Racer, Â and Seiran
is a lot prettier than Speed, don’t you think? 🙂
lOL, yes, for sure!
Love the cover! Vampire/shifter is pretty much my least read genre but I love books with good world building. The fact that this an already finished series is a plus! Sometimes it’s hard for me to recall the world if it’s been a long time in between series publications!
Juliana, from what I understand, books 1-4 are already done. The first three have been rereleased already and book 4 is being rereleased early next year. But there are more coming (at least a book 5) so it is not totally done. Still, definitely think it is worth giving it a try.
Thanks for the review! I haven’t read any book by Lissa Kasey before although I heard this series is very good. However, my concern is how long it will be (I thought it was finished???) because for me it gets tedious to follow long-ish series, I really have to be hooked.
I got the sense that the fourth book is currently under revision and is out early next year, then a new fifth book will be coming out next year as well.
I admit, sometimes I judge a book too much by it’s cover, and this one doesn’t appeal to me at all for some reason. That said, it sounds like a fascinating read – I should probably ignore that superficial impression and give it a chance!
I really enjoyed the whole series and especially Inheritance!  I love Seiran and Gabe together.  When Seiran shifts into his Lynx self, he loses almost all his human side.  He depends upon Gabe to take care of him.  I love the dynamic between the two.
Yes, I loved that aspect of things as well