At the beginning of this book I felt really interested about the world-building and Kat and Taylor's plot seemed awesome (the friends to enemies angst, chef kiss) it was easy to like both of them

But I think I had so many expectations of the mystery part that it was a bit disappointing at the end, the plot twist didn't surprise me because I already saw it coming tbh

Also the miscommunication between Kat and Taylor became boring, I was waiting for more drama like they weren't okay because their friendship ended pretty badly, but at the same time they usually acted like nothing had happened and that felt weird. Plus I had some issues with the fact that it was the 80% of the book and Taylor was still having sex with Evangeline (or whatever their relationship was) and Kat was "dating" Galen

Despite what I mentioned before, it was a nice reading and very engaging so I enjoyed it

Thanks NetGallery and Penguin Teen for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

If the maze runner and twilight made gay had a baby, it'd be this book and i'm HERE FOR IT!! We follow 2 students; Taylor and Kat who were once childhood friends that lived together. After Kat and her mother skip town, their friendship is severed, well for now. They never heard from eachother until they both show up at a vampire academy (ikr, cool already) and coincidentally end up as roomates (and they were ROOMATES!) When Taylor stumbles upon the dead body of a vampire, and Kat makes a shocking discovery in the school’s archives, the two realize that there are deep secrets at Harcote—secrets that link them to the most powerful figures in Vampirdom and to the synthetic blood they all rely on. cool eh?

Lets get into the nitty gritty.

The world:
This book is what I would consider low fantasy. Normally this isn’t something I gravitate towards but I actually really enjoyed it. When I read a fantasy book, one of my main pet peeves is over the top world building that is there for more of the volume aspect then the actual contribution it makes for the plot. With youngbloods, that wasn’t something I had to worry about. The world building was fairly easy to understand and played a huge role in the plot. I was confused a little pit with the pedigree system, but as it got applied (wink wink nudge nudge) its became more clear.

Speaking of the school, this is where we spend the most time in the book. I didn’t mind that at all especially because it is supposed to be school centered. I loved learning about what a vampire school would be like, especially with things like decendants day. I thought that was super cool. I also found really interesting that there was one rule. It is said many times in the book that this rule is to get the youngblood vampires to start thinking like the other vampire generations. I thought this was really a nice detail to describe vampirdom, and to show what it really is.

Now lets Talk ABOUT THE ROMANCE YAS!
I kid you not I was SCREAMING THE ENTIRE TIME. Talk about slow burn! Taylor has had a crush on kat since they were living together, and kat was convinced she was straight (more on this queer discovery later bc yes, its discovered.) the romance is SO SWEET. Even when they’re pretending to hate eachother in their dorm room they somehow were always there for eachother. One of my favourite moments that had me shakily writing notes on my notes app was in the middle of the prom, when kat is panicing and taylor’s the one that’s there for her. It’s a sweet and tender moment (that later gets doused with a big bucket of ice water) but it still melts my heart 😊

While this was a sweet moment, the romance wasn’t always sweet. Infact, it was actually agonizing at times. Both taylor and kat while in denial of their feelings are with other people. Kat gets with galen, while being aware she feels nothing. And taylor gets with Evangeline who is…I’m not sure if using her is the right word? But she gets closer to taylor and then messes with kat after finding out taylor has feelings for kat? Its AGRIVATING. But, I liked it. I loved the torture the author put us through as they made us endure these scenes with either of their partners for the time being. It helped to make me want them together more and further drive in that sense of slow burn. So much so that multiple times I literally wrote out “They’re killing me.” Not only that, but the build up to the big ol’e confession was amazing. While you spend most of the time hating Galen and Evangeline, they sure come around which I’m glad about. Enduring them paid off in the end to get to….Tat? Kaylor? UHM ANYWAYS

Writing-
I did have a few issues here. A lot of it was real, real, REAL modern. Like the sentence “A version of taylor lived rent free in my mind.” I get what’s trying to happen here, this is a modern book, but a pet peeve of mine is when it becomes too modern. This was toeing the line a bit. Also I noticed a lot of big words I didn’t see the need for like…clavicle? Why not just collarbone 😭😭

The Queer Discovery:
I really enjoyed that this was a part of the book. I was so proud of kat as she discovered more about herself. One moment that I appreciated that stuck out to me was this quote:
“I’ll figure out labels later.”
Labels can be confining and can make one feel like they have to fit in a box, and therefore I appreciated this. It really helped to convey the idea that you don’t need to identify with one label, and was a healthy approach to it.

This book was such a cute, special read and made me want to go watch First Kill on Netflix again lol. Anyways, 5/5 stars and I RECOMMEND HIGHLY!

I liked Youngblood quite a bit more than A Wicked Magic which I read last year.

Kat is a young vampire that has been living with humans her whole life. She and her mom move around often. Kat has great best friends, but she wants to be around other vampires. She applies in secret to the Harcorte School. Her mom told her no and she knows they can't afford it, but Kat applies anyway. She and her mom can barely afford their Hema, a blood substitute so that they don't feed on humans that may be infected with CFaD. This disease will kill any vampire that drinks that blood, so Hema was created to keep them safe. But it's very expensive. Kat is surprised when she's accepted into the school on a full ride. The benefactor will even pay for her clothes. She and her mom fight, but Kat goes anyway.

Taylor is the only person who is openly gay at Harcorte. It's been hard on her and she really doesn't have friends. Taylor spends her free time with another teacher that is gay. He's become her best friend. There are two popular girls, Evangeline and Lucy, that rule the school. The most popular boy, Galen, is loved by almost everyone. Evangeline is mean to Taylor in person, but spends private time with her. Taylor just accepts this for some reason. When Kat shows up at school, she ends up rooming with Taylor. They were friends when they were kids, but their parents both told them stories about why Kat and her mom left. So they aren't friends anymore. Kat starts hanging out with the popular kids. She starts becoming someone she's not.

When a teacher is found dead, Taylor and Kat start looking into the death. The teacher was a revolutionist. He believed that humans and vampires could live together. But the high up people, including the creator or Hema, believe that vampires are superior and they want to be separate. As Kat and Taylor spend more time together, they quickly fall back into their old friendship. But Taylor has kept a secret for a long time. She's been in love with Kat since they were kids.

I gave this book 4 stars.

Thank you to the publisher for Netgalley for both my earc and my finished copy for review.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for an eARC of Youngblood in exchange for an honest review!

We LOVE a good vampire book, but a QUEER vampire book? Even more! I'm digging the academic vibes and the sapphic, friend-to-lovers romance. It is INCREDIBLY slowburn, but expect it to take quite a while for both of them to realize they're in love with each other.

It was a bit difficult to get used to the head jumping (switch POV within the chapters) but once I got used to it, I didn't mind.

Just all in all a really great read, especially for LGBTQI2S+ vampire fans!

I LOVED this book! This was everything I could have asked for and more in a sapphic vampire book! I really enjoyed how the plot and the vampire politics made this story a bit more unique than from other vampire school books! The characters were also so well written!

Youngblood follows Kat who is a vampire living in the human world. One day she gets accepted into a vapmire boarding school. Taylor comes from a wealthy vampire and goes to the boarding school. On move in day Taylor finds Kat in her room. Taylor and Kat used to be friends a long time ago but then had falling out. One day Taylor finds a dead body and her and Kat team up to find out what happened. They leanr that the school is hiding deep secerts. While they spend time toegher there friendship mends and there might be hope for them after all.

I really did not enjoy this book that much. I really liked the beinging but then it just got so slow in the middle. And by the time the end of the book happened I really didn't care. This book sounded so good but just really ended up missing the mark for me. I really thought it was going to be alove story mytery kind of book. And it just wasn't. This book felt super young to me. Mabye it is because it is a YA book and I am adult. The writing just felt super young. I found myself board reading this one. I am sad I did not like this one because it sounded great.

When I heard about a new YA release about sapphic vampires at boarding school, I immediately knew that I had to get my hands on it. I’m not much of a paranormal reader, but I simply couldn’t resist picking up Youngblood. If I had to describe Youngblood as other media, I’d probably say it reminds me of The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, and The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith. I went in really not expecting anything, given that I didn’t have a particularly strong attachment to most vampire stories, only to find that Youngblood was everything I wanted, and more, and I’m so glad that I got the chance to read it early.

Told in dual point-of-view, Youngblood follows Kat Finn and Taylor Sanger, a pair of estranged childhood best friends, who team up to uncover a campus conspiracy and change Vampiredom forever. For as long as she can remember, Kat’s life has simply been just her and her mother, save for the few years they lived in the Sanger’s guesthouse. In this world, all vampires survive off of Hema, a ridiculously pricey blood substitute, as most of humanity has been infected with a virus that is fatal to vampires. As the cost of Hema exponentially increases, Kat and her mother have struggled to make ends meet. Between hiding her true self as a vampire, constantly masquerading amongst humans, and their financial state, it’s no surprise that Kat is overjoyed at the prospect of attending the Harcote School with all her expenses and tuition paid by a mysterious benefactor. The Harcote School is one of the most prestigious boarding schools, with a single-digit acceptance rate, but what most people don’t know is that it’s only for vampires. It isn’t until she arrives at Harcote that she realizes her new roommate is Taylor; the girl she grew up with, and the reason why her and her mother were kicked out of the Sanger home.

On the other hand, Taylor Sanger is simply counting the days until she’s done with the Harcote School, a place riddled with conservative values. As the only out lesbian on campus, and someone who isn’t afraid to speak her mind, she’s not exactly the most popular person at Harcote — and especially not in Kat’s eyes. To Taylor, she’s unsure why her childhood best friend — and lifelong crush — randomly packed her bags, moved away, and completely cut off all contact between the two of them. But when Taylor stumbles upon the dead body of a vampire, and Kat has a startling realization about the school — and Vampiredom, the two of them must team up to uncover the connection between Hema, Harcote, and the two of them.

There were many things I appreciated about Youngblood, but ultimately, what I appreciate the most about it is how thoughtfully written it was. Upon reuniting for the first time in three years, tensions are high between Kat and Taylor, but they still check in and ask what each other’s pronouns are. Something that I also noticed is that Sasha Laurens consciously wrote what race or ethnicity each character was, not just when it was a character of color, but also when they were white. I think most readers just assume that white is the default, and to see that despite Harcote’s predominantly white student body (which is also addressed in the book a couple times), Laurens intentionally describes each character’s ethnicity with care. I also really appreciated that Laurens uses the word “lesbian” on page multiple times throughout the book, and encourage you to check out this thread that Theresa from libraryofsappho wrote!

When going into this book, I didn’t realize how much of a commentary it would be on our society, and I truly value it for that. Youngblood primarily delves into classism, food access, and what it means to stand up for yourself and the values you believe in, among other things, but it also does get at some other topics. I particularly appreciated how privilege was discussed, especially with the character of Galen, Harcote’s golden boy, and Kat’s boyfriend. In Youngblood, Galen is very much a foil for Kat — he’s rich, he knows who his fangmaker is, and has been sheltered into Vampiredom his entire life. Galen doesn’t need to concern himself with how humans are treated, or who has Hema. It takes his relationship with Kat to open up his eyes, and I found his journey to be interesting, albeit predictable.

“I was supposed to help him through this emotional crisis. I knew more about his privilege than he probably ever would. Wasn’t it my responsibility to teach him? To be his manic pixie emotional laborer? I didn’t want to be the thing that woke him up.”

A subplot of Youngblood is Kat questioning her sexuality, and I really appreciated the juxtaposition Laurens presents, between Kat realizing her sexuality a bit later, in comparison to her two human best friends, who have known their entire life. There isn’t a timeline to figuring out your identity, and I just really appreciated seeing that represented on page.

As our main characters, I found both Kat and Taylor to be compelling, and I found myself quite invested in the two of them. I appreciated that the story was told in dual-POV, and I firmly believe it wouldn’t have packed a punch in a similar manner if we’d only gotten Kat’s POV, or Taylor’s. Both of them grew quite a bit over the course of the book, and really came into themselves. Kat and Taylor both had to figure out what it meant to be queer, what it meant to be a vampire, and more importantly, who they were and what they stood for.

The mystery aspect of Youngblood was honestly really predictable, but I also didn’t particularly care. I felt like the plot moved at a pretty fast-pace, kept me engaged, and I was just having a fun time following Kat and Taylor on their journey! That being said, I felt like the last 20% of the book felt very rushed, and would’ve liked to see more dedication to the fall out, and the resolution. It’s not often that I say this, but I do wish that this book had been longer. I would’ve loved to see how the rest of the cast fared after the ending of Youngblood, but overall, I’d highly recommend Youngblood! I can’t wait to reread it once it comes out.

Officially 3.5!

I've never read the Vampire Academy books but this is what I imagine them to be like lol.

This YA book has:
🏳️‍🌈 Slow-burn sapphic romance
🩸 Vampire boarding schools
👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 Childhood best friends to lovers
💚 Dual POV
🔎 Solving a campus mystery

If you're reading this just for the romance, believe me when I say SLOW BURN!! I had my issues with the plot pacing and other things, but it was entertaining and fun!!

Thanks Penguin Teen for this advanced e-book copy.

Sasha Laurens' YOUNGBLOOD is a fun read. That's not to say it's fluff--no, it's very clever in its spin on vampire myths and lore. The tone is very fang-in-cheek from the first image of Kat at her summer job. Then we get classroom discussions on "vampire" morality and "traditionalists" ("travs") vs. "reunionists," which give the reader something to ponder. It could be an allegory for humans in the US today--and Laurens ties it all together in a unified, satisfying way. This is a book I'll be using with my creative writing students, specifically to give them an example of how old tropes and myths can be given fresh, vibrant energy and feel grounded instead of always requiring an over-the-top satire.

Vampire Academy but modernized and with lesbians.

Overall, this was a fun sapphic read. I liked watching Kat have to come to realize she did like girls. And to see how Taylor navigated a semi toxic hookup relationship.

The story seems like it’s going to get into the plot fairly quickly, but it doesn’t. This is very much so a slow read.

The twist with Radtke was easy to see. As was the twist with Victor… ish.

This was so much fun! I really enjoyed the Vampire Academy and Carmilla aspects of the book. The friends to enemies to lovers plot was incredibly fluffy and tension filled and I enjoyed it so much! I loved how much these characters fully embodied teenagers in their flawed and emotive ways. This will be a great book for curriculum reading!!

I loved this one! It was super fun and definitely a quick read since I was so into it. It gives me hope for this whole vampire revival phase we are jumping into lately.

The romance was 100% the best part of this book. The mutual pining was just *chef’s kiss* it hurt. Childhood bffs to enemies to lovers. Need I say more? Oh, did I mention it’s gay? Because yeah, it’s gay. And they actually say the word “lesbian” many times! Hooray! My standards are so low it’s horrifying! Taylor is actually the literal love of my life. Her sarcasm, her “I hate everyone but her” vibes, her defiance of the status quo? Amazing. I loved Kat too, but no offence she was kinda… dumb. Sorry Kat, nothing personal just the truth. Also there was a love confession in the rain (kinda) (if you read it you’ll see what I mean).

The mystery plot definitely took a backseat to the romance, at least for me. The conclusion was not obvious, but if you tried you could definitely figure it out faster than the main characters did. The miscommunication, the stupidity, the not seeing what’s right in front of their faces. So frustrating.

This book claims to be dark academia, and it definitely started out that way but the vibes faded fast. I think they went to class maybe three times total? And Kat did homework once. But the setting as a whole was very dark academia.

Moving on to the representation. The queer rep did not disappoint. However, every character but one was white, but it was kind of on purpose?? The author made a point of Kat pointing out the lack of POC students at Harcote, but like, I kind of feel like, just add them? Idk, I know she was probably trying to draw attention to the lack of inclusivity in the dark academia aesthetic but this is a YA novel, not an essay. Personally, I think it would have been better to have some POC characters, but I understand what was attempted.

Some of the dialogue, especially in the beginning, was super awkward, but by the end I did not notice anymore. Overall, this was super fun to read, I was completely sucked in and the romance was A+++++++.

CHILDHOOD BEST FRIENDS TO LOVERS BUT MAKE IT ABOUT LESBIANS AND MAKE IT ABOUT VAMPIRES?!?! THIS IS THE BOOK OF MY DREAMS!! i actually really liked this and really enjoyed all the political aspects of this which i found really interesting

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

(14-March edit: Author has confirmed the reference will be removed! Am very excited!)
I really enjoyed this one, but the HP reference at 93% was really unnecessary. WHY!? Especially in a queer book. WHY!?

Youngblood follows estranged best friends Kat Finn and Taylor Sanger. As vampires, both of them are dependent on Hema, a blood substitute. But their access to Hema is very different. Kat and her mother live in poverty and can barely afford Hema and their rent. When Kat is offered a full ride scholarship and all other expenses paid to Harcote School, a private academy, for young vampires, she jumps at the chance to lift a burden from her mother.

When Kat and Taylor become roommates, they decide to be civil with each other. When Taylor finds the body of her vampire teacher and Kat unearths secrets in the school archive, the two realize much more is happening at Harcote than any of the other students realize. Taylor has always been an out and proud lesbian, and Kat has always thought she was straight, but she comes to think that she might have feelings for her roommate after all.

I really enjoyed this one. I love boarding school stories. I was so excited to see one about queer vampires finally. Gave me so many Vampire Academy vibes, but even better! I loved both Kat and Taylor as characters. The chemistry between these two was almost unbearable. I swear I spent most of this book going "Kiss Already!". It was such a great slow burn, and I really appreciated seeing Kat's questioning journey on page, I think a lot of sapphic queer people will relate.

One thing that did bug me was that Kat is all for social justice activism, but refers to multiple people as "guys". She disparages the Headmaster for using "ladies and gentleman" as a non-inclusive phrase (and she's right), but she also doesn't use gender neutral language. Guys is not a gender neutral term, but some that are: y'all, people, everyone, friends, cowards etc. Making an inherently masculine term the default is the opposite of being gender neutral. It really bugs me that she seemed to be so progressive on similar issues, but not this one? Made me sad.

Rep: white questioning-sapphic female MC, white lesbian female MC, white queer nonbinary side character, Salvadorian gay male side character, Chinese female side character, biracial white-Indian male side character, Black side character (briefly mentioned).

CWs: Lesbophobia/lesbomisia, blood, murder, violence, panic attack. Moderate: general queerphobia/queermisia, racism, ableist language, biological warfare, death, medical content.

Youngblood is good for fans of Vampire Diaries and Dark Academia books. I’m a fan of both which is why I requested to review this. There’s a lot of drama and I wish there was more romance. Overall, it’s a compelling story!

Holy moly!!! My queer heart has never wanted to live out vampiric/dark academia so hard. I absolutely loved Taylor and I have a soft spot in my heart for Kat. This book was a whirlwind in the best possible way. And I NEED EVERYONE TO GO READ IT! There’s love, there’s drama, there’s vampires, there’s mystery…ugh. Just so freaking good!

(As someone who is lowkey OBSESSED with vampires, this book has to be my favorite take on them yet.)

It's been decades since CFaD, a blood-borne disease in humans that is fatal to vampires, has ravaged vampire populations and made it near impossible for vampires to feed on humans. But thanks to Hema, a blood substitute created by CasTech, vampires have managed to stay alive (or well... undead). Until the Black Foundation can find a cure for CFaD, vampires are reliant on Hema.

Katherine Finn, or Kat, is a Youngblood, meaning she is a vampire born from vampires, no human turning necessary. When she is given the opportunity to attend Harcote Academy, a school specifically for Youngbloods, she is elated. By contrast, Taylor Sanger, who has attended Harcote Academy for three years, is less than joyful at Kat's arrival. The two quickly become entangled in a decades old conspiracy that threatens all of Vampiredom.

Although that seems like a lot of lore and new terms, this book does an amazing job at explaining the current state of vampires in a natural way. The world-building is spectacularly well done, and made me wish, as I often do, that vampires were real. The plot of this book was also amazingly developed, with Kat and Taylor having clear voices and motivations for their actions, and of course, having beautiful chemistry and a sweeter romance. Kat's journey of self-discovery was really refreshing to see, and I related to her in more ways than one (cough the comphet relationship cough). The main "mystery" of the book was also really engaging, and I read through several of my classes because of how interested I was in the story.

In short, if you like vampires, sapphic enemies-to-lovers romances, neat mysteries, and moving characters, I *highly* recommend this book. This book ties with the Shadowhunter series for my favorite representation of vampires in modern media.