Filthy Rich Vampires: Three Queens
By Geneva Lee.
By Geneva Lee.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“When I say I love you, I mean that I was born for you. I exist for you. You are the air I breathe. You are the blood in my veins. You are part of me, my love.”
Three books in and the Filthy Rich Vampires world is getting bigger, messier and considerably more dangerous.
Three Queens takes Thea and Julian beyond the question of whether they can actually be together and into something much larger. Their relationship might finally be established, but magical bloodlines, family secrets, dangerous alliances and an approaching war ensure there's absolutely no chance of these two getting an easy happily ever after.
The story begins in Greece during the Christmas celebrations, with Thea experiencing more of the traditions surrounding Julian's world. I really enjoyed these quieter moments, particularly seeing their vampire celebrations alongside Thea introducing Julian to some very human Christmas traditions. There's something wonderfully entertaining about ancient, ridiculously wealthy vampires being brought down to earth by things like baking Christmas cookies.
Their engagement has also finally been acknowledged by Sabine, although being accepted into the Rousseaux family certainly doesn't mean life becomes any easier for Thea. If anything, the family dynamics become even more complicated as secrets begin emerging and tensions between certain characters continue to grow.
One of my biggest questions throughout this series has been exactly what Thea is, and Three Queens finally starts providing some proper answers. Her connection to magic, the changes happening to her and the mysteries surrounding her parents become much more central to the story. I appreciated finally getting somewhere with this because the uncertainty surrounding her heritage has been building since the first book.
There are some huge revelations here, and I enjoyed seeing the supernatural side of the series expand beyond the vampire society we were initially introduced to. The mythology feels much bigger now, with different forms of magic and histories beginning to connect in ways that suggest Thea's place in this world is far more significant than anyone initially realised.
The trip to Venice also introduces a darker element, particularly for Julian. His history with the city forces him to confront parts of himself that Thea hasn't fully seen before, and I liked exploring more of who he was during those centuries before she entered his life. For all his wealth, confidence and protectiveness, Julian has plenty buried beneath the surface.
That said, this was probably my least favourite of the three books so far.
I still had a great time reading it, but there were sections that felt unnecessarily drawn out. Some conversations and conflicts seemed to circle around the same points, and I occasionally found myself wanting the story to move forwards rather than spend quite so long reinforcing information we already knew.
The balance between the quieter relationship moments and the larger magical storyline didn't always work for me either. Some of the lighter scenes were genuinely great, but others felt like they were delaying the answers I was increasingly desperate to get.
Thankfully, when things do start happening, they REALLY start happening.
The kidnapping storyline immediately raised the stakes, and the revelations surrounding it brought some of my favourite moments in the book. By this stage, morally grey alliances are becoming increasingly difficult to untangle, and I'm enjoying never being completely certain who Thea and Julian should trust.
The ending throws so much information at us that I did find parts of it slightly confusing. I understood the important developments, but there were moments where I had to stop and work out exactly what had happened and what certain revelations meant for the characters going forwards.
I also can't help wondering whether the series might have benefited from being slightly tighter. With some repetition removed, I could easily imagine this story working as a trilogy rather than four books.
Still, apparently I'm incapable of walking away from Thea and Julian now.
Three Queens might not have had quite the same addictive pull as the first two books for me, but the expanding mythology, major revelations and chaos of that finale have ensured I'm heading straight into the final instalment. At this point, Geneva Lee has created far too many questions for me not to demand answers.
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