A reader of my Sons of Navarus series sent me an email last night and said she loves the series because of the very hot romance between the Sons and the women they love, but she’s not sure how she feels about the dubious morals of the characters outside the romance storyline. As soon as I saw the words “dubious morals” I couldn’t help but smile. All I could think was, “This is a reader who gets this series!”
The reality is in the Sons series, the main characters often do things that I would agree are of dubious morality. Vasilije starts the series in Blood Avenged, and if he isn’t the poster child of dubious morals, then I don’t know who is. A pure hedonist, he loves being a vampire because he’s able to indulge in all the activities he loves the most–eating fine food, fucking gorgeous women, drinking tremendous amounts of alcohol, fucking gorgeous women…oh, I mentioned that already? Trust me. It’s worth mentioning twice because more than eating and drinking, Vasilije loves to fuck. It’s his raison d’être. And he doesn’t much care who he hurts in the process.
Then he meets Sasa and he wants more than just fucking. But Vasilije is still quite morally dubious.
In the second novel (Blood Betrayed), Saint spends a good deal of time doing that very same thing and not with the heroine. If that makes your romance feelings squeamish, let me say that in the end, there isn’t a more devoted husband or mate than Saint (as readers of the series can attest to). Thankfully, for Saint, his heroine, Solenne, is a strong woman who knows that there’s a difference between sex and love.
Terek is the hero of the third novel (Blood Spirit), and I guess his keeping a harem of women who all adore him and whom he loves but keeps around more for his own pleasure is a bit morally dubious. I personally have no issue with it, but some might. He meets Ilona and then sees that he’s kept the harem to hide his heart away more than anything else. Well, he sees that after he goes on a rampage and kills a bunch of bad guys, but I guess that’s not a morally dubious issue.
In the fourth book (Blood Prophecy), there’s more of that dubiousness (I love that word!). One Son has to impregnate a female who his fellow Son has fallen in love with. Well, that’s awkward and definitely going to make the morally rigid a bit uncomfortable. And then that same Son who had to sleep with his best friend’s love succeeds in seducing away another man’s vampire. Definitely morally dubious there. But don’t worry. He’s staked and sent to the Underworld, where his character still lives but he’s forced to deal with torments from Hades, the quintessential example of dubious morals.
The most recent Sons release, Blood Craving, has a lead character who was a Nazi. Yes, you read that right. Sion was a Nazi. He was a concentration camp guard and shot people (no, this doesn’t involve the Holocaust but he did shoot prisoners who were non-Jews). Some would say he was a very bad man in his human life. Sion would agree, which is why he’s hidden away from the rest of the world, except the Sons of Navarus, for seventy years until he meets Kali. But even when he knows he truly cares for her, he struggles with his past. Is it morally dubious? I think many would say yes, but for those who would get up in arms about what he did as a human, I would say they’re missing the point of his story and the entire series.
The Sons of Navarus isn’t real life. It isn’t just romance either. It’s never been just that. I have to categorize it under paranormal romance because non-romance readers may not appreciate how graphic the sex is (and it’s very graphic), and perhaps that forced categorization is why romance readers sometimes struggle with the idea of the characters’ dubious morality.
So to that reader, who I sent a very thankful email to this morning, and everyone else, I would say this. The Sons of Navarus series is about vampires, and if you’re looking for the typical romance story with vampires, then you might be disappointed (you know the kind–they seem like Alpha males but then they fall in love and blah, blah, blah). The Sons are definitely not that.
However, if you’re a reader who wants something more than the boy meets girl, boy gets girl after romantic stuff happens, then give the Sons a try. The series has mythology, erotic sex, a non-romantic storyline that involves a prophecy, and characters who aren’t your typical romance heroes. In fact, I think if you asked the Sons if they were heroes, they might drain you for asking such a question about vampires. You see, they aren’t the boy meets girl and gets defanged kind of vampires. No, they’re the I’m going to suck your blood while I fuck you like you’ve never been fucked before, and by the way, I’m not interested in human morals so don’t expect me to be a nice guy you can make your lapdog kind of vampires. (That last line came straight from Vasilije. He’s not a fan of the sappy vampire stuff. LOL)
