Oh this is definitely filling the Bridgerton hangover I had! I adore regency vibes and have been dying for some more queer historical stories. I also thoroughly enjoyed the vampire element as the premise of a vampire being turned human is such a fun and unexplored idea. Nothing groundbreaking, but it was a good, quick read. I would have preferred the story without so many obvious 'bachelor' elements, but it was fun regardless.

A Vile Season is a delightful blend of vampires, romance, Bridgerton/Regency vibes.

Lucian Cross is a centuries-old vampire who suddenly finds himself human again. To reclaim his immortality, he must win the heart of a Duke, who just happens to belong to a secret society dedicated to hunting vampires. Lucian’s attempts to navigate life as a mortal were endearing, and his gradual journey toward empathy and self-awareness offered a refreshing twist on the typical vampire tale. Surprisingly cozy and thoroughly entertaining, this book features a memorable cast, light romantic elements, and plenty of charm.

This was an enjoyable read. I feel like it would have been exceptional if the author had have added a bit more detail and depth. This could have used at extra 200 pages to add atmosphere and character depth and story development. This would be a great older YA book.

I didn't get to finish this one, but hunky vampires and vampire hunters are never amiss. Bridgerton meets vampires with a super convenient ending.

I am going to be a bit mean here because if I had to suffer through this book, I might as well rant about it. I already spent over half an hour venting to my husband about it, so I will be able to finish it. It was bad; I'm not going to lie—from the predictable plot to a very conveniently tied-up ending to the underdeveloped romance. To be fair, the plot doesn't make all that much sense to begin with, but it's okay; it makes up for the most annoying MC I've read in recent years.
Back to the plot, I did not understand why we needed this Bachelor-type situation. It was boring and really underdeveloped. It seemed more like the author wanted this whole cast of characters around and didn’t know how to get them all here.
I really wish I had DNFed this one!

This book was good! I liked it but didn’t love it. I definitely see potential in it and look forward to seeing what else the author does.

There’s a lot going on here and very little of it good.

Thank you to NetGalley and Page Street Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley, Page Street Publishing | Page Street YA, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

After escaping from his own castle by vampire hunters, Count Lucian meets the god of vampires, Vrykolakas. Tired of so many vampire hunters and by how many vampires have been bested by them, the god gives Lucian a test: infiltrate the future duke's marriage as a suitor in order to uncover the clandestine vampire hunters he's sure lurk in their midst. Stripped of his immortality in order to walk among mortals, Lucian has to obey his god and he will be become the most powerful vampire in existence. Or be tortured for all eternity. Unfortunately, Lucian isn't prepared for the mixed emotions that comes with being a human, with the intrigues and subterfuge of the other suitors, for the lies and secrets and friends and enemies he will encounter. But maybe becoming again a vampire isn't worth losing the friendship and love he found in the meantime.

A vile season is Bridgerton meet The Bachelor, Interview with the vampire and it's absolutely amazing! A queer love story with vampires? I'm totally in! A vampire turned human in order to capture vampire hunters? Count me in? Love and queer love in a game to win a duke's hand? I'm totally ready to be devastated and I was. I am.
This queer regency romance is absolutely delicious, brilliant and fun. I loved the lies and secrets, I loved the intrigues and the whole game and story and I was so involved in everything. Oh, my Lucian! He's brilliant and intriguing and I loved every single moment!

Vampires and historical versions of dating game shows? Incredible combination. The relationships between characters were compelling and the mystery elements kept me in suspense. This felt like a good balance between the romantic tension of the competition for the Duke's hand in marriage, the mystery element of the vampire hunting cult, and the main character growing as a person.

I loved the concept of this: vampires meets the Bachelor and make it queer. However, the concept was stronger than the execution and it just didn't pull me in enough to get lost in the story.

4/5 ⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book!

"A Vile Season" follows Count Lucian Cross, a vampire, who is made mortal once again to infiltrate the marriage of a duke and uncover the vampire hunters in their midst.

After reading "The Alchemy of Moonlight," I was very intrigued to start this book. It is safe to say David Ferraro did not disappoint! He seamlessly combines the fantastical, gothic elements of this story with the tender relationship building. Overall, this book was so fun! I only wish it was a bit longer to expand on some of the plot points.

I would HIGHLY recommend this book to any lovers of the paranormal. Seriously, how can anyone resist queer romance, vampires, and a regency setting? 🧛🏻🖤

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Sometimes what's dead, should remain dead. I wanted so badly to love this book, and while I didn't hate it, I also didn't love it. Normally you'd only have to say that the book has gay vampires and I'd be in, but unfortunately, the main character was just a hair on the wrong side of "redeemable asshole" for me. Yes, he was traumatized, and yes he eventually changed but he spent such a large part of the book detailing how much he enjoyed the sound of bones breaking, the cries of anguish, and the sounds of his victims begging for their lives that I was not at any point actually rooting for the MC. There were also some non-con overtones that I couldn't get past.

Setting all of that aside, I felt that the ending bordered on laziness. Not *all* of your characters have to make it through to the end! How many times can a character conveniently have vampire blood running through their system when they die so that they come back? Sometimes it's okay to just let that character die and stay dead -- this isn't a season of Supernatural.

In the end I can only say that I didn't hate it enough to DNF.

Not really for me, as the story just didn't grasp me the way I hoped, but I'm excited to recommend it to my teen patrons!

A queer, vampire regency romance? Sign me up!
A Vile Season follows Count Lucien – a former vampire recently turned human by the vampire god Vrykolakas. The regain his immortality, he makes a bargain to uncover a secret society of vampire hunters. His investigation leads him to go undercover in a marriage competition for the hand of a Duke, and Lucien is thrown into human society where he navigates human emotions and social dynamics he hasn’t experienced for hundreds of years. As he makes his way in the competition and finds allies and answers, he needs to decide whether or not being a vampire is worth giving up everything he’s gained.

❤️ What I loved: Lucien was a great, morally ambiguous, character, and his journey to rediscover what it means to be human was as amusing as it was thoughtful. I enjoyed watching his various relationships develop throughout the book as he grew and changed, and I found many of the side characters to be compelling as well. The plot was also pleasantly surprising, with more twists and layers than I expected.

💔 What I didn’t love: With such a big cast of characters and an ambitious plot, some things just got left behind or stalled. I also would have loved a little more of the romance at the end!

Overall, A Vile Season was a really solid fantasy romance that I think many fans of a more complex YA story will enjoy.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 (4-4.5)

Acknowledgments & Disclaimers ✨ Thank you to NetGalley, David Ferraro, and Page Street Publishing, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book. ✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. ✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

This is David Ferraro’s BEST YET!!! All the characters were so fun and lovable! Lucian’s personality CHEF’S KISS!!! There was mystery, vampires, adventure, and romance!!! Thank you so much to the publisher for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review!

Okay, think Vampires, but in the Regency Era. Well, not so much Lucian anywayssss. Lol

The story follows Count Lucian who is a snobby, asshole. Cruel to his victims, servants, and fellow Vampires alike as a reigning bloodsucker. After he’s hunted down and forced from his home by the hands of Monster Hunters, he seeks refuge in a spooky cave where he meets the God of Vampires himself. A deal is struck between the two and Lucian is sent away to live with Humans as a REAL Human after his immortality is taken from him. To have it returned with more power than he ever hoped for, he is to dig up the hunters lurking behind the scenes AND win the hand of the future Duke through a competition with his other suitors. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

The story was intriguing and everything was solid, but I didn’t feel the strongest connection with the characters. It’s one of those books that I feel would have better flourished as a Series because I didn’t have enough time to really feel for everyone other than Lucian. I would have liked for the characters and their personalities to grow on me, and they were kind of squished into small packages so they could all fit in the story.

SPOILER AHEAD SPOILER AHEAD

I was very happy with the ending though! I love a good ending where no one really ‘dies’ and this was the perfect way to get the best of both worlds. For me, and for the characters! When I say I swallowed my tongue for Ambrose… BOI. I know we were supposed to hate him, guys I KNOW. But alas, I greatly enjoyed his arrogant and cocky nature, and he made me laugh. Their kiss scene cracked me upppp! I was fucking dyingggg! NOT to mention, he’s pretty much Lucian, only we were supposed to hate him? NU UH! And Vampire Ambrose at the end was so sad, but I was glad to see him not gone for good. GUILTY ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 /5 stars for me. (Ambrose earned that half star all by himself. FIGHT ME.)

To my knowledge, David Ferraro also has a book out Werewolves with similar vibes?? I am SOOO here for that y'all!! Werewolves are my literal JAM and his writing style is lovely. I look forward to reading more of his work!

My thanks to Page Street Publishing and NetGalley for the Digital ARC. This book is ALREADY OUT!!! Go check it out for yourself and see what you think!

Loved this story. Original concept and writing style flowed easily. Excited to read more from this author!

This was so good- such a lush and immersive read. While the plot has no similarity, the writing style felt very similar to Dark water Daughter to me and I think it's an excellent book to rec!

I read The Alchemy of Moonlight last year and adored it. I felt like that one filled a werewolf sized hole in my reading and I think it was so fun and interesting and a perfect blend of paranormal, historical, and romance genres together. A Vile Season had all that but with vampires and I could not have been more obsessed with it. This one also had a Bridgerton-esque vibe to it that I ADORED and ate up. The vampire aspect only made it even better. Between this and Alchemy of Moonlight, I can't decide which one I loved more, but I think that's just a testament to David Ferraro as a writer. Can't wait to see what's next from him!

While the premise of this title was extremely interesting and appealing, the execution was unfortunately lacking in my opinion. There were many instances in which the narrative told one thing and showed something completely different. For example, the reader was expected to believe that the main character was an ancient, wise, and powerful vampire. However, his consistent naivety and immaturity undermined this and made the story feel incongruent and awkward. Additionally, I felt the characters were lacking the emotional depth required to pull off a story like this. I was really looking forward to this book. It had some really interesting concepts and could have been a truly unique read, I just believe it was lacking the technical writing skills required to make it stand out.