I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This was an interesting trip through the nightlife of the late 70's and early 80's disco scene in London. Amber is an American who loves to dance and visit the many disco clubs the city has to offer. Her husband prefers a quiet night at home. Enter Nicola, another fun disco loving party girl who befriends Amber with her glitz and glamour. Unbeknownst to Amber, Nicola is a vampire and she is looking for someone to be her companion as the years go by.

Fast forward 50 years and Amber has had enough of Nicola and her manipulative ways. She forms a plan to get away from her maker, but things go off the rails when Nicola decides they should open their own disco club reminiscent of the clubs they used to visit when they first met. Can they reignite the friendship they once had or will everything go up in flames?

This is a book you are either really love or be indifferent to. I fall in the latter, I also don't typically care for character driven novels. I found the pacing a bit slow for my taste. The friendship between Nicola and Amber was toxic from the start, but you still want to know what is going to happen between them Nicola's anti-hero persona was kind of compelling despite her being kind of evil and manipulative in the end. Amber was kind of a pushover which is why she was kind of the perfect companion for so long, but I did like the twist in the end where she finally finds a backbone.

Overall, this wasn't bad, it wasn't necessarily to my taste but I think people that like a more contemporary spin to their fantasy will really enjoy it. I prefer more fantasy in my vampire books.

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing for inviting me to read an early digital copy of this book. I had been wanting to get my hands on a copy of this book, so I about fell out of my chair when I saw an email from Berkley with a widget to this book. I have not yet read Stone Cold Fox, but I will promptly be getting a copy to go back and read. We Love the Nightlife is an entertaining story, one you can really sink your teeth, or fangs, into, and with the shift into September and the fall months, it is the perfect fall read. The story alternates between our two main characters, Amber and Nicola, and the past and the present. Nicola is Amber's "maker," in other words, she is the one who made, or turned, Amber into a vampire. I've been reading some vampire stories here and there, and although I was never a fan of the Twilight series, I am slowly becoming a fan of some of these contemporary vampire stories. Maybe it's the immortality or their lifestyle that's interesting to me, but I am becoming hooked! Rachel Koller Croft does a great job of crafting the tension between these two women, that is juicy and bitchy and fun. She crafts a world that is believable yet the perfect escape, and a history that unravels Nicola from start to finish. I was curious enough to keep reading and see where the story was going, yet also wanting to savor every bit of it. I also liked the world of vampires, such as Pierce and Margeux and Tamsin, and the Laurels and Hey Mister and Roddy. Of course, being a vampire is not all its cracked up to be, and RKC did a good job of explaining the conflicts and feelings without being whiny. I can also say that I did not expect there to be a twist at the end, which was fun and surprising. I can't wait to see what RKC comes up with next.

Thank you to @berkleypub for the #gifted copy.

Vampire fans unite! If you love vampire sotries you will enjoy this one! Craft does a great job with the toxic friendshipt trope and the dynamics between vampire and maker was fun to watch unfold. I will admit I was not a fan of Nicola. She drove me crazy! Amber needs her friends and trying to get away from Nicola proves to be difficult. The question becomes ..can Amber get away from her maker? Don't Miss it!

Rachel had me at disco-loving vampires in 80s London. A devilishly fun romp filled with snarky humor, toxic female friendships -- Rachel's specialty -- and a cat-and-mouse chase through nightclubs and mansions and dark cobblestoned streets, this is one for the keeper shelves. Toot toot, beep beep. I loved every second.

This sexy and wicked novel is a fun read!! I became a fan of author Rachel Koller Croft after reading her previous novel, Stone Cold Fox last year. listened to the audiobook of Nightlife and was immediately drawn into the story and the chokehold of these characters! Just like Stone Cold Fox, Croft writes her female narrators with such power, sass, and desire! And let's be honest, I'm a sucker for a hot vampire novel!

We Love the Nightlife tells the story of Nicole and Amber, vampire companions stuck in a toxic friendship. In a last ditch effort to revive (heh) their relationship, Nicole purchases a nightclub for the pair to open, along with a motley crew of other London-based vamps and humans.

I wasn't sure how I felt about this book for the first quarter or so, but once the action picked up, I flew through it. The premise and voice are both wholly original. The book felt like listening to a friend recount some truly wild gossip. I do wish we learned more about some of the secondary characters, though. Overall, a perfect book for transitioning from summer to fall.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

I love books set near or around the 80s.
I love dual timelines.
I love strong women MCs.

That said, vampire books are not on my typical read list… which is why I was surprised I liked this one so much. I was fascinated with the way Croft explained the roles of the vampires and their turnings. There are a few twists, but the crux of the book centers on if & how Amber will leave her maker, Nicola. Nicola is the type of character I loved to hate. I liked the characters, but I loved the setting and setup more. Wholeheartedly recommend We Love the Nightlife to lovers of vampire books and anyone looking for a book with Halloween vibes.

Thank you to Berkley for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you @PRHAudio for the free audiobook and to @berkleypub for an eARC.

Loved Stone Cold Fox and was excited for this one. I enjoy unlikeable characters, and this one gave me plenty! I found myself rooting for some of them.

Also love vampires and disco. And thrillery vibes - so this one checked a lot of boxes.

So unique and different - definitely recommend!

**Many thanks to Berkley and Rachel Koller Croft for an ARC of this book provided via NetGalley!**

"I want to go where the people dance
I want some action, I want to live
I love the nightlife
I've got to boogie on the disco 'round, oh yeah!" - "I Love the Nightlife (Disco Round)", Alicia Bridges

Flashing lights, glittering sequins, and cocktails always at the ready - swinging London in the seventies was nothing short of a Disco Inferno. For disco fanatics Nicola and Amber, it might have been just another night of partying 'til dawn...until their paths crossed, their eyes locked, and a fast friendship was born. But what seemed like a simple soul-sister meet cute quickly becomes something far more sinister...and even deadly. You see, Nicola is a vampire, fresh on the hunt for a new companion...and Amber looks like she might just fit the bill. Never mind that Amber has a beau waiting for her back at home...Nicola really GETS her. And when she reveals her salacious secret to Amber and offers her the chance to party - well, FOREVER - Amber thinks all of her dreams are coming true. But has she instead opened the door to a nightmare that simply won't end?

Years later, Amber has settled into life as Nicola's vamp companion...but she's growing restless. Nicola has very specific rules about who they can hunt, WHEN they can hunt, and where their paths will take them next...and needless to say, Amber's had about enough of her controlling ways. After all, SHE is a full-blown, full-bred vampire now, with her own strength, smarts, and desires...why should her companion hold her back? When the two hatch a plan to create their own nightclub, Amber thinks this is FINALLY her chance to pawn off Nicola on a newer unsuspecting vampire...and perhaps forge a new path with hunky would-be beau Roddy. But with a group of other unpredictable vampires tangled up in their plans, and Nicola's frightening past still a mystery to Amber, can she execute her plan while keeping Nicola in the proverbial dark? Or will Nicola's prescience (oh, and extra HUNDREDS of years of experience) clue her in to Amber's true intentions...and turn the tables at the WORST possible moment?

Three things completely SOLD me on this book before I read a single word:

1) That PERFECT cover. 10/10.
2) Vampires. Need I say more?
3) DISCO. (Don't knock it till you've tried it....Or at least if you do, you'd better 'knock, knock, knock on wood...')

ANYWAY...as much as I was fairly certain this was going to be the sort of smash sleeper hit that I'd tear through eagerly in a day or two, with the adrenaline rush that only incredible music AND a thrilling read combined could possibly provide...I felt more like I'd stumbled INTO the bar at last call, to be met by that horribly sickly smell of spilled beer and the sort of disorienting light that reminds you just how grimy a club ACTUALLY is when you can SEE it....and I could not WAIT to go home!

For a book about vampires...this one definitely lacked some bite. So many of the interactions, from selecting victims to even the turning of humans to vampires were just sort of...boring. In so many other vampire stories I've read, there's a crescendo of tension, passages exploring the intense thirst the vampires experience before their next meal, etc., but that was hardly present here. While there may have been a bloodbath at the END of the book...keep in mind it takes the ENTIRE book to get there. This story certainly didn't NEED to be gory or blood-soaked...but at the same time, having this aspect of the vampires essentially removed made the tension far less palpable. While the notion of mind control (or 'glamour', as they called it on True Blood) was here occasionally, it was never played to full effect. Essentially, even Nicola, the arch villain of the story, never truly seemed as evil as she was supposed to be...or frankly, as enticing either. (Pretty sure Amber could have found another dance partner pretty easily...if she had EVER taken more than 10 minutes on one of her many nights alone at the club to look for one!)

Which brings me to the next glaring issue I had with this book: this story plays as a 'toxic female frenemy' story....rather than what I felt should have OBVIOUSLY played as a toxic romance. I mean, I can't say that I've read a successful vampire story yet where some form of romantic love is NOT present...but this is not really even a consideration for either party (or so it seems) and I just felt like this was a missed opportunity. I get that some friendships can keep bringing you back for more, but adding in a hint of romance (on either side! OR BOTH!) could have made the stakes THAT much higher....and this book needed that sort of tension to keep it driving. Maybe this isn't the author's cup of tea, and that's perfectly okay...but I just kept imagining the sort of inner torment Amber REALLY would have had if she'd on some level believed that she was in love with Nicola or even if she felt confused about the nature of her relationship, if she was having her thoughts manipulated by Nicola, etc.. Instead, she essentially likes her for about 15 minutes, gets turned, and seemingly spends the rest of the book (slowly) plotting her revenge. Yawn.

And then there's the timeline, and the backstory...which once again, are aspects I normally LOVE in vampire stories...but were just sort of messy here. I'll be honest, the back and forth between the 1800s and now seemed ENTIRELY unnecessary. Since I had such a hard time caring about Nicola in any way as a character, it didn't really MATTER how or why or when she became a vampire or what she had done to anyone else prior to meeting Amber...I just did not care. The present day plot revolving around the nightclub also felt dragged out, where I kept wanting Amber to just put her plan in motion already and get on with it. I didn't care about any of the side characters, Nicola's family, or basically ANYTHING that was going on with anyone else, and I wish the author had spent more time really developing FEELINGS of some sort (other than petty ones) between her two MCs - THAT is the book I was dying to read. (And don't get me started on their ridiculous call and response with one another - "Toot toot. Beep Beep." Yes, I know it's in the song Bad Girls...but thinking about two characters saying this sincerely to one another ALWAYS elicited an eye roll...or more accurately, an upchuck reflex.)

And at the end of the day, as much as I personally adore it and will gladly put on the BeeGees, ABBA, and Donna Summer at a moment's notice, especially on a bad day...

There's a reason that disco died.

3 stars

i actually enjoyed this, the story of their toxic friendship was interesting to read about. it was just a bit to struggle through, i read other books while reading this and i flew through them but this one felt like a drag at times.

📚 PUBLICATION MONTH BOOK REVIEW 📚

We Love the Nightlife By Rachel Koller Croft
Publication Date: August 20, 2024
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚MY REVIEW:

Rachel Koller Croft, you had me at disco. Toot toot. Beep beep.

Because I'm a girl who will forever wish I lived and danced my way through the disco era, it was a no-brainer that this book was meant to be read by me. Disco balls, Donna Summer, sequins, stilettos, and dancefloors are my love language... So I was in a reader's paradise with this book.

I loved everything about this story! A sultry and salacious page-turning read, the multiple timelines and multiple POVs in this thriller kept me enraptured from the very start. I initially wondered if the fact that the MCs were vampires might feel too campy, but no need to wonder -- it didn't. In fact, the more I read, the less I remembered they were even vampires -- until they got hungry, of course.

The nightlife of vibrant London is the quintessential setting for this group of vampires, especially ones who live such a luxe life of over-the-top dancing and mingling all night long. The main characters, flawed as they were (I mean, they're vampires after all), were either sweetly loveable or downright despicable -- but they were all memorable and brought with them a well-developed backstory that was slowly revealed as the book went on. The ending included a couple monstrous twists I didn't see coming, and I actually found myself cheering at the story's end. I envision this book being adapted to become a massive big screen hit -- and I'll be the first in line on opening night!

If you're a fan of thrillers with strong female MCs, multiple POVs, and fantastically-developed characters, this one is for you. If you like disco, vampires, or London - give a little hip bump to this one and shake it on up to the top of your TBR list. A massive thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

#WeLoveTheNightlife #RachelKollerCroft #BerkleyPublishing #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARC #fivestarreads #greatreads #thrilleraddict #thrillerlover #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrecommendations #vampirereads #discoreads

I love everything about this new groovy funfest of Rachel Koller Croft's We Love the Nightlife. I'm fascinated by vampire thrillers, and this one strikes the perfect note between okay, yes, we're vampires and you all know what the entails and not being too graphic. The dual timelines gave just the right amount of information about Nicola's background to keep me anxiously flipping, and the twist at the end was shocking, but also made perfect sense. We Love the Nightlife is just the latest example (after Stone Cold Fox) while RKC is one of my must-read authors.

We Love The Nightlife is a new take on the vampire tale. This time about a young woman who gets turned into one by her best friend and together she haunts the London nightlife scene with this toxic friend from the 1980s to present. This book was so addicting. I loved it. So clever. So unique. So snarky. So biting. No pun intended. Or maybe I did intend it? I loved the friendship dynamics, the drama, the fun throwbacks to the disco days and all the pop culture references.

I admit to singing the song every time I read the title. Acshun! Though these two weren't living at all!

Nicola is Amber's maker but after years and years living with her, she knows she wants out. How do you escape your vampire creator? When Nicola kills her ex-husband, she knows for sure. Amber is so naive though. Nicola will do anything to keep her with her.

Lots of blood and killing but I was rooting for Amber to be able to get out of Nicola's clutches. Plenty of surprises as we also see their backstories.

I enjoyed it even if I do have a weird fear of vampires. I blame Barnabas Collins!

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for a copy for review.

wow!! I love going into books blind!! 😨 thanks to a few reviews, I knew it was an unconventional thriller about vampires out for each other’s blood (literally and figuratively), however it was nothing like anything I’ve read before!!

following nicola and amber, two girlfriends turned vampires, it’s a total cat and mouse game! amber wants out from under nicola’s thumb after she discovers that nicola is a bit more vicious and controlling than she signed up for, and nicola would rather unalive her than let her go 👀

while the story itself surrounds two vampires, it felt more like a thriller than a fantasy story, which let me down a bit. I wanted to learn more about the origins of vampires & how nicola went from a rich heiress in the 1800s to a bloodthirsty vampire in the night! and I definitely wanted more of the vampire culture in london!

however, my heart was pounding from start to finish to discover how amber was (or wasn’t) going to finally make her escape! there wasn’t much of mystery surrounding the story, which also disappointed me, but I still enjoyed binging this one!

that one plot twist towards the end had me gasping, but other than that, it felt like there was something missing to make this story really great…

thank you to berkley for the gifted advanced and finished copies in exchange for an honest review! this one’s out now!

rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: LOL you already know what I’m going to say 🩸

One thing about RKC is that she knows how to not only write about toxic female dynamics but also knows how to create some incredible character development. While reading I thought I knew what the twist was, but I had it all wrong & was pleasantly surprised when it was revealed. If you like a London backdrop, a vampire story, disco, dual timeline & pov then this one is for you. There was nothing but drama, suspense, and betrayal which makes for a fantastic read.

At the risk of saying something that will sound really dated when someone stumbles upon this review years from now, I thought this would be more Brat?!

Credit to Koller Croft for at least putting together a fairly original story. I thought this might be a little like Gwendolyn Kiste’s fantastic modern vampire novel Reluctant Immortals, but it’s unfortunately a far lesser animal.

First, this doesn’t really feel like a vampire novel. Which in and of itself is fine, but it lacks a lot of the characteristics that make vampire books so good when they’re well done. And I struggled a lot with the fact that this book has absolutely no sense of humor. I mean…Clubbing vampires? How could that not be at least a little bit funny?

The pacing is fine and it’s certainly a compelling enough story to keep you turning the pages, but I never felt especially invested in what was happening, and the lack of humor and atmosphere made it hard for the book to stand out in any real way.

Were you a fan of True Blood?
Do you love toxic friendships?
Drama?
Ready to enter your vampire era?

I adored Croft’s 2023 debut, Stone Cold Fox, and my love for her writing just doubled after finishing We Love the Nightlife!

This book is so good! It literally gave me all the feels from my obsession with True Blood. This book is toxic, dramatic, and so darn cleverly woven together!

We Love the Nightlife is told from alternating points of view between Amber and Nicola, who’s sections actually span different years from her long vampiric life. This allows readers to get inside each of their heads as the tension between them ratchets higher and higher during the book’s progression. I loved switching between both narratives and found the twists within each perspective fun and entertaining.

I absolutely devoured this book (full vampire pun intended). It kept me coming back for more time and time again.

This book is easily one of my favorites for 2024 and I can’t wait to see where Croft takes her future novels!

Happy Pub Day!!

A HUGE thank you to Berkley Publishing for an advance copy of We Love the Nightlife in exchange for my honest thoughts. The perfect book to sink your teeth in now or this fall!

I ate this book up!!! I couldn’t stop reading! I stayed up way past my bedtime and woke up early the next morning to get right back to it.
This was beyond addictive! It was catty, glamorous and the twist is absolutely bloody brilliant & so good!

This book had it all! Toxic women friendship trope mixed in with vampires say less!!

If you love the following this book is definitely for you:
🫦London Nightlife
🫦Vampires
🫦 1980’s Disco Music
🫦 Dual POV
🫦 Dual Timeline
& so much more!!! 4 mesmerizing stars!

Book Length: 384 pages

🖤Pub Day Book Review 🖤

Vampires are back and they’re ready to party like it’s 1979 🪩!

Two vampires locked in a toxic relationship, one a companion desperate to be free, the other the maker longing for more power. Nicola is the Lady of the Laurels, heiress to a sprawling estate and all the money that goes with it. When she comes across Amber, a lonely newlywed from America looking for excitement in the pulsing London disco scene, Nicola readily offers her a new life. Literally.

50 years later the shine has worn off for Amber. She begins to see Nicola’s true colors after a brutal betrayal and secretly sets her escape plan into motion. And Amber’s way out? By reliving their party girl days half a century earlier.

WE LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE bounces around in time, from Nicola’s childhood in the 1840s through the present day, slowly peeling back the curtain and letting the reader in on Nicola’s life pre-Amber, Amber’s life pre-turning, and everything that came after — the highs, the lows, discovering *MySpace* (all Amber, Nicola never cared much for technology). I was here for it all.

If you’re not quite yet ready to leave the summer reads behind, but are also looking forward to spooky season, WE LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE is for you. Disco vampires, y’all. Reading this was like binging on reality tv, I was eating up the drama, the frenemy love/hate bestie relationship with every page. This was a really fun spin on the classic vampire tale and has a bangin’ soundtrack.