I think that this has the potential to be a good series. But, man, me and this first book just really didn't mesh very well. I sort of think it was the writing style--It was descriptive to the point that it would pull me out of the story sometimes., yet it was still so surface level. It was like the wrong things were being lore dumped onto me. The POV shifts made my brain hurt, too. The first person, the third person, the epistolary bits, it was just not for me. I didn't dislike the characters, but because of the story they found themselves in, they didn't really get a chance to shine. It felt like their feelings and choices weren't supported by the narrative or writing style.
I don't know. I wanted to like this, and I do think that some people will, but I haven't decided yet if I'm willing to continue in this series.

A story of goddesses, vampires, magic and war.

A long time ago, Favre cut off her wings so that the girl she loved (Thana) loved could have powers. Theresa sacrifice though included losing the sun and led them to have to feed off of blood of others and a cursed life.

I was so excited for this, description had so many exciting elements, sometimes too descriptive of writing and not enough action.

This may just be one of those series where the first book is the worst book and is there for foundational knowledge. Would read more but this was just okay for me.

Great narration!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 4/1/25.

Where Shadows Meet is a dark and sapphic story from Patrice Caldwell. The lore behind this story is rich and detailed. Once upon a time, a girl named Favre cut her wings off for love. In the present day, a princess and a seer are fated to cross paths and either save or doom the world. I enjoyed the flashback sections which showed how the characters have arrived at this point. There is a lot of complex world-building so I am excited to see how the story continues in book two now that so much has been established.

Readers who enjoy slow-burn sapphic romance, detailed lore, and sapphic vampires should check out Where Shadows Meet.

Thank you so much to Patrice Caldwell, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc.

I really enjoyed the multiple POV's I love how we got both Leyla and Najja as the main characters but we also got in a way the villains Thana and Favre. I liked how it kept going back in time and we got the story of Thana and Favre over time and got to really understand it. I like how Leyla and Najja had a lot in common but where also so different from each other. I like the relationship they built and how they were always there for each other no matter what and knew what the other needed. I enjoyed the world and how we got the Royal Family Tree and the Bloodlines of Mnara. I liked that I could go back and reference those as needed.

I can't wait to read the next book! Thank you so much Patricia Caldwell and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to be apart of the ARC team!❤️

2.5 stars: I love black romantasy, but this missed the mark for me :(

Where Shadows Meet had such a cool premise warring vampires, forbidden love, and ancient prophecies? Yes, please! But the execution didn’t quite live up to the hype. The world building felt surface-level, and instead of truly immersing me in the lore, it read more like a summary at times. Plus, the constant shifts between first and third person (with diary entries thrown in) made the story feel disjointed and spoiled major plot points too soon in my opinion...

There were so many moments that should have been epic, but it fell flat. I really wanted to love this one, but it just didn’t pull me in the way I hoped. If you’re into fantasy stories with unique vampire lore, you might enjoy it, but for me, it missed the mark.

I was a bit disappointed in this book to be honest - I expected more. The switch between third and first person and three POV's was confusing and disoriented. I did not care for the world-building, I think it was lacking quite a bit.

This book for me was about 1.5-2 stars. I really struggled with this book because it felt like it was all over the place. It really jumped back and forth in the timing of the story and between so many different story lines that it was hard to follow. I also really struggled to connect with the characters, and because it jumped so much was not able to understand sometimes why they were having the feelings they were having. I think Favre was a good character and the Leyla also had a lot of good character too, but the mix of them and the timeline of how the book ran just made it really hard for me to get through.

I loved the concept behind this book, a black sapphic vampire fantasy! I thought the world was really unique and interesting and the lore and way that the story unfolded across different periods of time and viewpoints was really well done. I love a book where the characters have to take journeys, both physical and within themselves and this book definitely delivered on that.

I think the romance was a bit too rushed and it was more so told than shown. I just didn’t fully buy into the turning point in their relationship as much as I would’ve wanted. And some parts I found that I was a bit confused and things didn’t quite make sense with other parts of the book. Overall though, a really interesting story and I will be reading the next one!

I really wanted to love this book! The premise sounded fascinating and so promising, but found that I couldn’t get into the story or feel passionately about the main character’s ARC. I found the writing to be a bit dull, and even while there was exciting action & worldbuilding taking place, I was quite disinterested.

I would still be open to trying another one of this author’s books in the future! But this wasn’t for me. DNF.

Unfortunately, this is going to be another DNF (25%) for me.

The story was taking too long to get started, I wasn't a fan of the narration style (switching between 1st and 3rd person was a bit much for me), and I didn't really care about any of the characters.

However, I was really interested in the fanatsy world that wasn't eurocentric. It was nice to see POC just living without the crushing weight of colonialism.

This isn't a bad book, it just isn't for me.

I was very excited to give another sapphic vampire book a try. And this was probably my favorite one so far. The story was very interesting for me, especially the lore it created, and I enjoy stories with multiple narratives happening throughout the book. Especially when those narratives slowly start connecting more and more and answering questions. But I definitely found myself more invested in the narrative started in the prologue than in the main narrative. And by the end, the story started to feel rushed. I started to get confused in the climax because everything happened so fast. Overall, I would have enjoyed them both as separate stories. Thana and Favre as a story and Leyla and Najja as their own. Together they just felt like competing stories, and I definitely favoured one over the other.

I was so excited by the synopsis for this book; it was like a Venn diagram of my reading interests overlapping, but unfortunately I was just not the right audience for this particular story. There was so much info dumping and switching of POV without actually getting to know any of the characters that I was struggling to follow the idea of the plot; I kept needing to backtrack and re-read. There were a lot of enjoyable descriptive details, but overall so much that just didn't seem cohesive or captivating. I think this book will find its audience but sadly that was not me!

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this ARC!

Black. sapphic. fantasy. i truly thought ii was gonna eat this up and spoiler alert: i did not, in fact 😔 from the world building to the characters, i felt a bit of a disconnect and ultimately decided to dnf at 30%. this is by NO means a bad book, it simply wasn’t for me!!

When I heard Black sapphic vampires I was excited! The premise was intriguing, and I think the book was pretty unique. I enjoyed the backstory with the creation of vampires, and I liked all of the other magical characters as well. The big questions of what would you give up for love, and what would it cost you, what would the ones you love give up for you, etc. are explored, which is especially interesting when paired with vampires and seers.

As I was reading the prologue I was really invested in that story, and when I started the actual book I was kind of disappointed that the book didn't follow that story, and instead jumped ahead and added in a bunch of new characters. I feel like I'd have loved a whole book with the story from the prologue. I also think the world building could have been more cohesive.

3.5/5

I requested this for consideration for Book Riot's All the Books podcast for its release date. After sampling several books out this week, I decided to go with a different book for my review.

The beginning of this book had me enthralled. I was swept away by the sapphic love story between goddesses and the tale of vampires. The dual timelines didn’t help the tale fro there unfortunately.

I really really liked the premise for this book. The blurb was promising. Unfortunately this is one of those books that probably has a fantastic story but I just can’t vibe with the way the author writes enough to push through the book. Lots of info dumping in a writing style that just seems, for lack of better words, juvenile. I’ve never seen so many commas on a page. Sadly, this is a DNF. Thank you Wednesday books for the early copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. DNF. I will not finish. I have been waiting to read this since I found out the author was writing a novel since I read one of her anthology books. I’m not really interested in what is going on. I knew it was fantasy and had vampires but the different POv’s and timelines are something that I don’t think I enjoy in this way. I’m only rating because it makes me and reviewing so it doesn’t hurt my feedback ratio.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance reader's copy of the book. I enjoyed this different take on vampires. The world building was unique and I wanted more. The main characters were alright and the events of the end were predictable, but overall it wasn't a bad book. It will be interesting to see how things are resolved in the next book. Overall 3.5 out of 5.

Gods-turned-vampires took control over the human world a millenia ago. Every ruler since has had a lasting impact on history. Leyla, next in line, worries she will not meet the expectations of her ancestoresses. When her best friend is kidnapped during an attack, Leyla knows she has to be the one to save her. Will she save her friend, or will she set into motion events that could end the world?

This millennial will never read enough vampire novels. This was fast-paced and I was immediately hooked! I loved the various POVs and flashbacks. The chapters were short and I loved how many of them ended with diary entries or excerpts from texts in the royal archives. The diary entries made me more empathetic towards Favre. It was light on the world-buiding with character development as the primary focus. It is more appropriate for upper YA.
It’s definitely set up for a sequel; I am so invested in how the story continues!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the e-ARC!