vampires

Review: The Late-Night Witches by Auralee Wallace

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The Late-Night WitchesThe Late-Night Witches by Auralee Wallace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The Late-Night Witches is a Cozy Paranormal story from Auralee Wallace. I really enjoyed Wallace’s Evenfall Witches B&B series and have been excited to read more from her.

When I saw this cover, I knew I’d have to read it. It’s absolutely adorable and I had no doubt that the story would fit the Halloweeny cover art. Spoiler alert: it definitely did!

This story, which is set on the atmospheric Prince Edward Island off the Eastern Coast of Canada, follows Cassie, her younger sister, Eliza, and the rest of their family, during the spookiest month of the year, October.

Oh yeah, and also, vampires have invaded the island and legacy dictates that they need to be the ones to defeat them. The set-up of this was a lot of fun and gave me heavy Practical Magic vibes, but not in a copy cat way, more in a comforting way if that makes sense.

I loved Cassie as a MC. She’s a typical older sister, but also a Mom to 3-kids, parenting by herself as her husband works overseas. Eliza is also a typical younger sister, and as a younger sister myself, I found it easy to connect with her.

The interactions among the family brought the cozy for me. They have an estranged Aunt, Dorcas, who due to the whole vampire thing, they end up reaching out to and unsurprisingly they a learn a lot from her about their family, and the special powers they may hold.

I also liked Cassie’s kids. I normally find children rather annoying in books, but I thought here the scenes with them ended up being more fun than trying, and I loved the banter.

The vampire bits were also fun, and I was laughing out loud in quite a few places. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Auralee Wallace’s other books, as well as fans of Lindy Ryan’s Bless Your Heart series. The humor and cozy level is fairly similar to that series, IMO.

Thank you to the publisher, Ace, for providing me a copy to read and review. It sounds like there could be a sequel to this, and I would absolutely pick it up!

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Review: Zomromcom by Olivia Dade

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ZomromcomZomromcom by Olivia Dade
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Olivia Dad’s Zomromcom is not in fact a romance novel where a protagonist falls in love with a zombie. Who knew?

Well, perhaps anyone who read the synopsis, which clearly, I did not. I saw the title and the adorable cover and was intrigued enough to give it a go. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed there was no zombie love. I was so curious how it was going to work.

Now I’ll never know…

So, what is it about then? This story is set in a post-apocalyptic landscape and follows our MC, Edie Brandstrup, who lives alone and has seemingly excelled at surviving in this world. She’s well-versed in the dangers and considers herself prepared for everything.

At the start of the novel Edie attempts to save her harmless-seeming, and of course stunningly-attractive, neighbor after the first zombie breach of their community in decades.

As it turns out though, the neighbor she assumed was a clueless bro is actually a very adept, super old and slightly grumpy vampire with a large sword. When he turns the tables and ends up saving her instead, Edie finds herself a little weak in the knees.

For all of his grumpiness though, the vampire, one Gaston ‘Max’ Boucher, quickly becomes quite protective over our Edie, and insists that she stay within his bunker until the breach has been resolved.

As you can imagine, with two people in forced proximity, with fear of the unknown outside, things heat up quickly. Edie isn’t willing to turn a blind eye though to what is going on with the zombies. There are innocent people still out there who may not be as prepared as they are. Thus, the two set out with the hopes of helping in the fight for humanity.

This was cute. I liked it. I was drawn quickly to Edie as a main character. She was funny and I loved her perspective, the way she viewed everything around her. She had a great sense of humor and I appreciated the lightheartedness she brought to the story.

Max was swoony too and I did like him as the love interest. I could certainly see why Edie would fall for him so quickly and their banter was great. With this being said, the story itself did feel overly-long and slightly repetitive.

The backdrop of the zombie apocalypse was quite refreshing though, and they even spent a bit time in an abandoned mall, which I loved. That’s such a classic zombie setting. I thought that was really fun. After the mall though, it sort of lost me. I found my eyes glazing over, just wanting it to end.

I see that this is set to be a series and I am interested to see what the next one is going to be about. If it will be connected by characters, or the world, or just another romance featuring a different paranormal character. Depending on the content, I may check it out.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Even though this one didn’t quite knock my socks off, I did really like Olivia Dade’s writing and sense of humor.

I’ll absolutely be picking up more from this author!

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Review: Blood Like Ours (The Blood Trilogy #2) by Stuart Neville

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Blood Like Ours (Blood Trilogy #2)Blood Like Ours by Stuart Neville
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Blood Like Ours is the 2nd-book in the Blood Trilogy by Stuart Neville. The 1st-book, Blood Like Mine, took me completely by surprise when I read it last year.

Initially, I thought that one was a standalone, so I was super excited when I discovered it was actually slated to be a trilogy. Since that time, I’ve been anxiously awaiting this installment and it didn’t disappoint.

These books are a stellar blend of Horror with Crime Fiction. It’s got such a tone to it. Dark, intense, and oh yeah, there’s a lot of blood involved.

Coffin Moon, which was a fairly-hyped Horror release this year, would be a fairly good comp in my opinion. So, if you enjoyed that one and are looking for more in a similar vein, you should check this series out.

Vein…did you see what I did there??

In this installment, we continue to follow Rebecca and her daughter, Monica, who she calls Moonflower. We also continue to follow FBI Agents, specifically, Special Agent Sarah McGrath, who’s very familiar with their case.

The cat-and-mouse dynamics from the 1st-book carry over here, but we also get a new perspective, an young Irish immigrant, who ends up with a shocking connection to Monica and Rebecca.

I love how this book continues to build out this world and cast of characters involved in this story. When it all started, it felt quite insular, with Rebecca and Monica feeling like islands unto themselves. As the story has progressed though, we discover just how many players are actually involved in this whole thing.

It’s intriguing as heck. The way Neville moves all these pieces around, it feels like you’re witnessing a first class chess match with a bunch of blood splatter.

This ending too, OMG!!!

There’s so much more to explore and I can’t wait to discover where the 3rd-book is going to lead us. One of my favorite aspects of this one was the new perspective, Emma, and all the insights she brought to the historical side of this story.

I don’t want to say too much, because the synopsis keeps it vague. I will say as a sequel, it’s completely successful at continuing the original story, whilst also bringing in a lot of new information and truly expanding the stakes, as well as the intrigue.

Thank you to the publisher, Recorded Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Book 3 cannot come fast enough. I can’t wait!!

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Review: Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson

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Coffin MoonCoffin Moon by Keith Rosson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Coffin Moon centers around Duane Minor, a Vietnam Vet working as a bartender in his wife, Heidi’s, parent’s bar, and his 13-year old niece, Julia, who the couple recently took in.

Duane is struggling with his sobriety, while Julia is struggling with some very traumatic events in her home life that has left her separated from her mother and brother.

When Minor ends up crossing the baddies that try to pull some shady sh*t at the bar, it changes all of their lives forever. Leading the charge for the bad guys is a man named John Varley, not your average killer, who sleeps during the day and whose teeth grow extra long at night.

After Heidi is killed in retaliation for Minor’s interference, he is wracked with guilt, while Julia is filled with rage. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game of pursuit across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Their goal is to root out John Varley and make him pay for all he’s taken from them.

Will any amount of blood be able to sate their grief and guilt?

This was devilishly good. Set in the 1970s, I feel like Rosson did a fabulous job channeling the gritty Crime Fiction vibes of that era. The tone of it, it’s morose, devastating and heavily vengeance-focused. We love to see it.

I’d love to read this again and take more time with it. This time through, I went rather quickly, so focused on what was going to happen. In future, I think it would be worth a revisit to focus in more on the character work and relationships.

I loved both Minor and Julia. Their interactions together and the way their bond evolved, it felt so natural and it truly tugged at my heart-strings.

Additionally, John Varley was fascinating. We learn quite a bit about him and his history, and those are some of the moments that I would like to revisit the most. There was something sweeping and epic-feeling about his story that brought even more to the historical meat of this story.

There were so many devastating moments in this book. Moments where I would read it and think, OMG, how would you get over that? But Minor and Julia just kept on going on, and I love that resilience and even if it was driven by rage in Julia’s case, I respected the hell out of their strength.

It felt like Rosson poured a lot of emotion into this one. It hurt my heart a bit, not gonna lie, but it was so worth it. I was sad about much of it, but impressed with the fact that Rosson could make me feel so much for these characters in such a short amount of time.

Overall, I found this to be such a unique and classic-feeling Horror story. I have never read anything from this author before, but I will be reading more in the future.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Random House, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I think this will definitely be one of my most memorable reads of 2025!

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Review: The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood and Boyfriends by Jamie D’Amato

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The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood and BoyfriendsThe Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood and Boyfriends by Jamie D’Amato
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood and Boyfriends follows 19-year old college freshman, Brennan, after he is suddenly turned into a vampire.

Navigating life as a new vampire comes with challenges, especially considering all the other things going on in his life, like school, family stuff, mental health and dating.

He has though, by default, also become part of a secret society filled with other local vamps, so at least he’s not alone. Also, it is helpful a little as far as learning how to survive as a young vampire, even though the sheer number of informational pamphlets is at times overwhelming.

Returning to university after recovering from a suicide attempt was tough. Brennan was hoping for a fresh start, but this wasn’t exactly what he was thinking. Even though his mind may be spinning a lot of the time, Brennan is determined to make it work. He can do this.

When the super cute boy who works at the campus library, Cole, discovers Brennan drinking from a stolen blood bag however, Brennan is forced to open up and reveal his new secret earlier than he would have liked.

Cole seems more than willing to keep Brennan’s secret, and it fact, it seems he sort of likes him? Brennan can hardly believe his luck. Everything would be perfect if it wasn’t for the pesky vampire thing.

Problems bigger than his own arise when students begin to go missing, and strange ‘animal attacks’ begin occurring around campus. Brennan, and his new friend group, believe there may be a rouge vampire in their area, and they need to stop them before anyone else comes to harm.

This is a very rough synopsis of this story, because this book is so many things. It’s Brennan, a regular guy dealing with life, transitioning to college, struggling to find his identity and path, while also being turned in a vampire and meeting the boy of his dreams.

That’s a lot to navigate here, but D’Amato blended everything into this story so absolutely beautifully. I loved getting to know Brennan and his relationship with Cole was sweet, swoony and so compelling.

I also loved the concepts behind the vampire bits. The local guilds, how they got their blood, etc., it was all very creative. I was impressed with how well D’Amato meshed the IRL-stuff with the fantasy/vampire elements.

The story itself was cute and funny. I listened to the audio and Michael Crouch’s narration was spot-on for Brennan. Crouch truly brought his character life. He is such a likable MC. I loved his perspective, just how he relayed everything that was going on, it’s highly-entertaining.

The banter between Brennan and Cole was fantastic; so witty and charming. But also amongst the side characters, all of the dialogue was well done.

I think for me the only areas where I wasn’t totally blown away was some of the vampire bits in the middle area. The beginning was fab, the ending was so, so fun, but it did sort of go off for me just a little bit in the middle. That’s the only reason this isn’t a full 5-stars. Also, I’m a picky bitch.

Overall, this is the sweetest, softest, swooniest, M/M vampire romance you’re going to find. Bonus points for the fact that there’s a real plot.

It definitely snuck up on me and sort of stole my heart a bit. Cole and Brennan were just the sweetest. I was swooning for them and the progression of their relationship amidst all the fun vampire content.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. Jamie D’Amato definitely impressed me!!

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Review: Nestlings by Nat Cassidy

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NestlingsNestlings by Nat Cassidy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Recently, life hasn’t been easy on Ana and Reid. A complicated birth with their first child, a daughter, Charlie, left Ana paralyzed, bitter and struggling to adjust.

When their number gets pulled in a housing lottery, and they have the opportunity to move into the Deptford, a prestigious, historic NYC-apartment building, they can hardly believe their luck. This could be their fresh start.

A chance to start anew, and with a fabulous address to boot.

Despite some reservations, they decide to accept the apartment and put their best efforts into their new beginning. Soon after they move in though, we all know where this is going, strange things start happening.

They notice peculiar behavior with some residents and staff, as well as some mysterious little bite marks on Charlie. Well, I say they, but it truth, it’s mostly Ana picking up on all the oddities. She’s housebound after all, while Reid still gets to go to work and leave the building regularly.

Ana’s unease grows as the days go by, and the tension in their marriage increases. Is Ana just being paranoid, or is something really go on there?

Reid has his own relationship with the building and its residents, and he’s not sure he’s buying what Ana is selling. Will the building be the downfall of their relationship? And who is paying attention to Charlie?

Though I didn’t connect with this one quite in the same way that I did When the Wolf Comes Home, I was still invested and curious to see how far Cassidy was going to take the unsettling apartment building trope.

Spoiler Alert: All the way!

I loved that part of the story. The creepy atmosphere was on point. I also like the claustrophobic feel of being in Ana’s perspective, though that was the only thing I enjoyed about her perspective. Sorry.

Personally, for almost the entire story, I wished we were just getting Reid’s perspective, along with the various Interludes, because I found Ana to be so incredibly grating. Every time I was in her perspective, I just wanted to be out of it.

With this being said, in the Author’s Note at the end, Cassidy did provide an explanation for the purpose behind some personality choices. I’m glad he covered that, and I respect his decision to write it that way, though not gonna lie, it did sort of deplete my enjoyment level a bit.

Overall, small nit-picks aside, this is another GREAT story from Cassidy. The Publisher’s comp to Rosemary’s Baby meets Salem’s Lot is apt, though the Rosemary’s Baby inspiration felt the heavier of the two for me. Highly recommend for fans of that story, or stories like that.

Also, I definitely recommend the audiobook, which was fabulously narrated and succeeded in pulling me in and engaging me with the story from the start.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.

Even though it’s taken me years to get to it, it was worth the wait. I’m excited to continue reading Cassidy’s work. He’s incredibly-talented, never failing to create well-developed characters, unsettling atmosphere and a compelling, fast-moving plot.

This novel is a great example of all of those things!

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Review: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

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The Buffalo Hunter HunterThe Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

THE BEST HISTORICAL HORROR NOVEL I’VE EVER READ!

MY TOP CONTENDER FOR MY FAVORITE BOOK OF 2025!!

THE MOST THOUGHTFUL VAMPIRE NOVEL I’VE EVER READ, AND PROBABLY EVER WILL!!!

AN EXCEPTIONAL AUDIOBOOK PRODUCTION — GET YOUR HANDS ON IT IF YOU CAN!!!!

I CRIED REAL GROWN-LADY TEARS AT THE END!!!!!

I’m not sure I need to say too much else about this. I’m sure from the stunning declarations above, you get the picture of my thoughts and feelings on The Buffalo Hunter Hunter.

I would also say though, as far as the content of the story goes, the Publisher’s synopsis really does a good job of telling you everything you would want to know going in. The book is best served if you just take your time with it, and let it reveal itself to you in the way SGJ would want.

Trust him. He knows what he’s doing.

If you follow my reviews at all, you probably already know that Stephen Graham Jones is one of my favorite authors; bested only by Stephen King in my rankings.

I always look forward to his new releases and I feel like every time I finish one, I end up saying, this is his best work yet!!

I know I said that last year upon completing my favorite book of 2024, I Was a Teenage Slasher, and I’m about to get repetitive, because THIS IS his best work yet.

When I tell you I was engrossed in this story, I mean it. Every fiber of my being was invested. The way it was told, it was like I was there. Each aspect of the narrative was blended seamlessly together for maximum impact.

I couldn’t stop once I started. I needed to know the truth behind this story; the everything behind this story.

The audiobook production was a master class in bringing a story to life; in transporting the Reader to another place and making them a part of the action.

Particularly, in the final act. OMG, I cannot express how good it is. If you have the opportunity to get your hands on the audio, in addition to the hard copy, I would 1,000,000x recommend that.

At the end of the day, Stephen Graham Jones is such a talent. His edgy-style brings a distinct voice to all of his stories. You can tell that he pours his entire soul into his work. It shows. Every book is a journey that I don’t want to end.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Saga Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

Finally, a sincere thank you to the author, Stephen Graham Jones, for continuing to hone your craft. Your ability to stay creative and keep pushing boundaries always astounds me. You are so appreciated. I can’t wait to discover what’s next!!!

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Review: Vampire Breath (Classic Goosebumps #21) by R.L. Stine

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Vampire Breath (Classic Goosebumps, #21)Vampire Breath by R.L. Stine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Vampire Breath is the 21st-book in the Classics Goosebumps Reprint series; it was #49 in the original Goosebumps series.

I received the entire Reprint series for Christmas a couple of years ago and have been slowly revisiting these classic tales. They’re just so silly and nostalgic. I love picking them up every once and while as a palate cleanser.

In this story we meet Freddy and Cara. They’re around 12-years old, I think, and best friends. Their friendship-style is a bit combative, they are always rough-housing and trying to one-up each other with how tough they are.

For those of you who have read many Goosebumps books, this will not surprise you, as it’s something that Stine includes quite a bit. If you are newer to these stories, you may possibly read this and be like, wait, these two are friends? They seem more like enemies?

There’s not a lot of kind, supportive, non-contentious relationships to be found in the Goosebumps world. Nevertheless, to me, this is old hat, so I grew use to their combativeness fairly quickly.

On one particular day, they’re playing together in Freddy’s basement, and while rather aggressively wrestling around, they end up knocking over a piece of furniture, revealing a secret door behind it.

Unable to stifle their curiosity, they end up going through the door to explore. They stumble into a mysterious chamber where they find a bottle labeled, Vampire Breath.

Like the proverbial pandora’s box, when they crack that bottle open, a whole host of unexpected and problematic events begin happening to them. Will either Freddy, or Cara, make it through this Saturday unscathed?

I read this one in just under 2-hours. I was on a ferry to the mainland for an appointment and it was a great way to pass my very early morning travels.

It doesn’t require a lot of brain power, but I did find it engaging enough to keep me interested. It had a typical Stein ending, IYKYK, but nonetheless, an entertaining tale. We love a vampire story in this house!

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Review: The Madness by Dawn Kurtagich

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The MadnessThe Madness by Dawn Kurtagich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was, wow…Dawn Kurtagich, I see you and appreciate you. This book is my tastes to an absolute tee.

Have you ever read a book and thought, this author and I share a brain, because that’s what I’m thinking right now.

I didn’t even realize this was an actual Dracula reimagining. As one of my favorite novels of all time, I love to see how current authors spin a tale influenced by that story. Kurtagich absolutely nailed it!

I highly recommend the audio format, should you have access to it. It’s narrated by one of my favorite narrators of all time, Imogen Church, and her inflection lends itself perfectly to this narrative.

This story is everything you would expect from the cover. It’s haunting, atmospheric and gripping. What you may not expect is how modern it is, as well as how impactful the characters arcs become.

I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to pick up a novel by Kurtagich, but I’ll tell you what, I won’t be waiting long until I pick up more. If they’re this good, I may have a new favorite author on my hands.

Thank you to the publisher, Graydon House, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This will definitely be on my Most Surprising List of 2024!!

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Review: So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison

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So ThirstySo Thirsty by Rachel Harrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars heavily rounded up**

I feel so bad. My head hurts. I have many mixed feelings on So Thirsty. I love Rachel Harrison, and her quirky Cozy Horror style, but this wasn’t great for me.

Unfortunately, I was mainly bored. It took me close to a month to finish. I just felt no sense of urgency, or compulsion to pick it up again once I had set it down.

This is the 6th-book I have read of Harrison’s, most of which I have adored, but this one is down there on the list. If not the bottom, it is close.

However, even Harrison’s slowest story for me is better than many others, so there’s that.

In this story we follow Sloane, who at the start of the tale is gifted a Girls Trip from her husband for her birthday. She, along with her best friend, Naomi, will be staying in a cozy rental cottage for the weekend.

Sloane wasn’t looking forward to her birthday, but reconnecting with Naomi, somewhere away from home does sound like a relief. Sloane and her husband have been having some issues and it’s been weighing heavily on her.

Naomi lives a completely different lifestyle, traveling the world with her rock star boyfriend, and she’s always good for a distraction.

Once there though, Sloane still doesn’t feel into it. Naomi literally has to drag the smiles out of her. It’s a struggle and their relationship seems to be feeling the strain.

The second night there, Naomi has something a little irregular in the cards for them. A house party with an attractive group of mysterious strangers.

That’s the night that will change their lives forever.

Generally with Rachel Harrison’s books, I become attached and invested in the main character. Usually, I find them highly relatable and more often than not, feel like they think, or see the world, very similarly to me.

But I just couldn’t connect with Sloane. I didn’t care for her, she felt like a rain cloud. Sadly, I couldn’t stand Naomi either. I found them both insufferable. Sloane seemed like such a Debbie Downer and Naomi was a selfish, self-centered twat the majority of the time.

I did enjoy the Horror concepts and how a lot of the action played out, I just wish it would have been with a different cast of characters.

The 4-stars are for the vampire bits and the scenes involving body horror and dangerous circumstances. I actually feel like I am being quite generous as I now sit here reflecting upon this reading experience.

Nevertheless, you can’t fault Harrison’s writing style, or her ability to create nuanced characters, whether or not I personally enjoy them. I know so many Readers have loved this one, so I feel like a lot of it will depend on how much you’re able to connect with Sloane and Naomi’s story.

I will say the first half did work more for me than the second. Around the halfway point, it started to drag, even though, one would think because of the timeline of events, the second half should have been more exciting.

I think perhaps I was just over Sloane and Naomi by then.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

Regardless of how salty I sound, I do absolutely adore this author and am looking forward to reading whatever she chooses to deliver us next!

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