When you go for a walk in the woods and get hit by a car... that is it right? Game Over. But what if instead you wake up starving but not for food? Well it is time to hit the library and see if you can research your way out of thinking you may just be a vampire. At least that is what you do if you are Brennan of The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood & Boyfriends by Jamie D'Amato, a YA romantasy that is equal parts paranormal fantasy and cute queer romance. While Brennan is furiously looking up Transylvanian history, the cute librarian Cole stops by to suggest Twilight is an essential component of through vampire research. Brennan and Cole start up a sweet college romance full of reality tv watch parties, library study sessions, and a college party with drunk poetry recitation from a countertop stage. The author makes fun use of modern epistolary materials in the form of text messages, social media posts, and Vampire informational pamphlets.

I had a lot of fun reading this book. I was personally more invested in the romance than any of the Vampire society shenanigans and that made some parts of the book drag a little when I wanted to see the couple interact instead of finding out how they save the day. On the other hand, I really appreciated Brennan's own emotional journey from being ~6 months post suicide attempt to now dealing with the possibility of living millennia which was essentially tied to the vampire narrative. Things get a little hokey at times - intense garlic aversion - but that adds to the charm and keeps the book feeling YA even as it deals with issues like mortality.

Realistically, I've probably give this a 4.5 but since I enjoyed the overwhelming majority of it I'm gonna go ahead and round up to a 5.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm a sucker for vampires. Gay vampires are even better! You can pry them out of my cold dead gay hands.

This was a fun read. It doesn't take itself too seriously, it's fun, and the romance is cute. It's a bit mushy, but not in the super sickly uwu way that annoys me so it didn't bother me at all. My biggest complaint in the pacing, and that I definitely think it was a bit overly long in spots. There comes a point in the book where it basically retreads an entire plot device for a second time after having already just done the whole miscommunication/main character is miserable during a temporary breakup thing about 90 pages prior, and it would have worked better if the first time had been handled a bit differently.

The actual big overarching story is kinda just there for a majority of the book, and the finale is pretty rushed but I wasn't exactly expecting a From Dusk Til Dawn showdown bloodbath or anything so it didn't bother me too much. This is a book where you're there for the characters and their development, and when it comes to Brennan and Cole they grow together in a cute and endearing way so it's all good to me.

The only word for this was charming, it was just genuinely such a lovely read. It handled some darker themes in a way that felt both real and also very well done, the relationships of every sort be they romantic or platonic were so fun to read about it. The entire cast of characters really set up shop and do some heavy lifting. The plot was well done and I had a good time but mostly, I smiled and kicked my feet because love is fun.

After a tough semester where Brennan debated whether life was worth living he is suddenly stuck with the knowledge that he is now going to live forever. After a car hits him, he wakes up a vampire. Suddenly, this lifelong vegetarian has to learn how to drink blood, pass his college classes, and deal with his pre-existing depression. Brennan is now faced with a whole bunch of existential questions about his life and how he is supposed to survive. While studying all he can about Vampires, cute Librarian Cole stumbles upon him with some cute banter and a copy of twilight. Cole ends up becoming the only person that knows Brennan is a vampire and watching their relationship develop was oh so cute.

Brennan has to learn to navigate vampire society, new friendships, his confusing sire, his own thoughts about being a vampire, and possibly being in a relationship. What we get is an exploration on what it means to live and grow into yourself and build friendships that become like family.

This book was a very enjoyable read! I loved the flow between story, text, reddit posts, and through this story flowed so well! If you are in the mood for a fun Vampire RomCom with salient themes, I would pick this one! Thank you to the publisher for providing an advanced readers copy via Netgalley in Exchange for an honest review

I love a good vampire rom-com and this book didn't disappoint. Brennan’s life turns upside down when he unexpectedly turns into a paranormal creature but to keep his secret he has to pretend everything is normal. This gets tougher when a cute boy discovers his secret. Comedy and passion collide to deliver this fun and exciting read. Thank you Wednesday Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Nineteen-year-old Brennan’s life is upended when he’s turned into a vampire. After recovering from a suicide attempt, this is not the new life he was hoping for or expecting, much less now that he has to live forever. But if there’s one thing Brennan can do, it’s pretend everything’s fine when he’s close to losing his mind. Brennan’s newly bloodthirsty existence gets way more complicated when Cole, the cute librarian stumbles on Brennan drinking from a stolen blood bag. Luckily, adorable Cole is happy to keep Brennan’s secret and even seems to maybe like him.

As soon as there were references to Vampire Academy, Vampire Diaries, Twilight, and Interview With the Vampire two pages in, I knew this book would be for me. You might have noticed this about me, like I know I don’t talk about it a lot but I ! love ! vampires ! Vampire Academy was one of the first vampire series I’ve ever read. The Vampire Diaries was one of my first obsessions. IWTV is my current all-time obsession and also my bible. So y’know. the target audience (me) has been reached.

This was delightful!! Extremely funny, sweet, and just so charming. Part of me feels that this book won’t necessarily work for everyone as much as it did for me. Especially if you’re not a fan of pop culture references in books. But idk man!!! It was so me-coded. Every reference was something that I either loved or grew up with.

This book is, first and foremost, a rom-com. The slow-burn and tension between Cole and Brennan and their overall relationship is so !!!! cute. Like they flirt by reading Twilight together (I never read Twilight and don’t plan on reading it, but I have watched the movies and I did live through the Twilight Craze); they dance to Abba. I was giggling blushing kicking my feet !!

While it’s mostly a very lighthearted book, I was surprised by how it also explored Brennan’s journey with mental health. It manages to deal with serious issues while still keeping the story light.

I do think this maybe could have been adult? Bc it falls in that in-between space of technically new-adult, considering the characters' ages and also it is set in college, but also still being YA. But it didn't bother me all that much!!!
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Anyway, I loved this!!!! Thank you to Wednesday Books for the ARC and everyone make sure to check it out when it comes out in August !!! Especially if you love vampires 🧛‍♂️

The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood & Boyfriends by Jamie D'Amato is a charmingly dark and heartfelt coming-of-age story that puts a fresh, queer twist on vampire lore. Brennan’s snarky resilience and vulnerability shine as he navigates the chaos of vampire puberty, college life, and the unexpected possibility of romance with the campus dream guy, Cole. I loved how the story balanced humor, emotional depth, and supernatural mystery—it’s as much about finding belonging and healing as it is about blood and boyfriends. With its quirky cast of “good” vampires and a tender romance at its core, this novel is a clever, moving, and delightfully undead tale that sinks its fangs into your heart and doesn’t let go.

This is one of my new favorite books. It’s fun, emotional, so heartfelt, and in many places laugh-out-loud funny. The voice is fantastic! It just grabs you right from the beginning. I also appreciated the mental health representation and queer representation; it’s so nice to see intersectionality. The story itself is a lot of fun to follow and there’s a bit of a mystery as well to figure out what’s going on with not only the main character but also the overarching world, with a couple twists that keep you on your seat! The romance is also sweet and validating and sexy. Just such a good book. I will be telling everyone about it.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc. This was such a cute and funny story. I love a good vampire story. And I love a good romcom and I got both in one. This book deserves all the stars. I really enjoyed reading this one

"So you're a vampire, now what? The Modern Vampires Guide to Drinking Blood Safely and Politely."

Characters: 4⭐
Plot: 3⭐
Writing Style: 4⭐
Enjoyment: 4⭐
Overall rating: 4 ⭐

What to expect? When Brennan wakes up as a vampire, he's, to put it mildly, confused. Thankfully, he has his area's vampire clan to rely on and budding romance with Cole.

Things I loved?
🔸 This was a modern romance with a lot of gen-z references and the form of the book reflects that. I enjoyed how text conversations, reddit threads, call logs, group chats, facebook groups, journal entries, letters etc were added in. They broke chapters up really nicely, made the book a quicker read and added a lot to the reading experience and they weren’t thrown in there too much. It was a good balance.
🔸I loved the meet-cute twists that Cole and Brennan have.
🔸 Nellie texting is a riot. And so are the pamphlets. Who knew becoming a vampire would come with so much reading?
🔸 The letters cole and Brennan send to each other over break build build their characters out so much and were so fun to read.
🔸The rom com apology is peak
🔸I love the full circle Bachelor tv show viewing at the end.

"Oh lord, don't give me the Edward Cullen New Moon "I'm dangerous" bullshit! I'm not letting you go to a murder spot alone, because I don't want you in danger, either, and I'm definitely not letting you solve a vampire murder mystery without me because that sounds cool as hell."

What could be improved?
🔸 The formatting for some of the text messages is messed up though (likely something that will be corrected for the final release)
🔸I wish it was more focused on romance than the vampires because the romance was where this book shined and the plot was semi-predictable, not that that’s necessarily a bad thing.
🔸 The climax could have been spiced up a bit more.

Books recs if you liked this one?
🔸 Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Um. I can't believe I just recommended this book. But if you go into Twilight for the bit, then you'll have a lot of fun. The book from Edward's pov is even funnier.
🔸 Until the World Ends by Jolene Gettler. A paranormal, punchy, gen z-humor type romance novel. It's an mf romance, but just as good as The Good Vampires Guide.

Would I recommend this book? Yes! It was a fun read.

“coles my main bitch. you’re a side ho, at best."

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute YA book. I loved the development of Brennan and Coles relationship and Brennan trying to navigate life as a new vampire. The struggles Brennan went though both as human and vampire was very relatable. Overall this was a fun yet deep story and I learned more about Vampires than I ever thought I would. Also I love the title of this, its what caught my attention in the first place.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who grew up reading about vampires (and still loves them!), this was such a fun read. College freshman Brennan has to come to terms with the fact that he is now a vampire. He meets Cole, the cute librarian, who’s happy to help him keep that secret.

Filled with Twilight jokes, funny moments, meaningful mental health and neurodivergent rep, and heartfelt characters, The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood and Boyfriends was easy to devour.

This book is slated to be released in August 2025!

This book was such a new, fresh, and enjoyable read! It has a whole new take on vampires, and the journey between the two main characters was raw, emotional and real. I was not able to put this down, and I highly, highly recommend this to anyone who wants a fresh, new take on vampires in a modern setting, mixed with an incredible LGBTQ+ love story.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an early access copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood and Boyfriends has a fun, cheeky premise and clearly aims for a lighthearted take on vampire lore, but the execution didn’t quite land for me. The writing felt a bit rough and unpolished, with an overall tone that came across as more juvenile than I expected—even for a younger YA audience. While I can see the charm in the humor and the potential in the concept, I found it difficult to stay engaged due to the uneven pacing and underdeveloped characters. That said, there’s an energetic spirit to the story that could appeal to readers looking for a quirky, offbeat read, and with further refinement, the author’s voice could really shine.

The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood and Boyfriends by Jamie D. Amato is a hilarious, heartfelt romp through the world of modern vampirism, awkward dating, and unexpected self-discovery. This book is like if What We Do in the Shadows got cozy with a queer rom-com—and the result is pure magic.

Our undead narrator is as witty as he is endearing, navigating love, bloodlust, and the hazards of the 21st-century dating scene with a dry sense of humor and a surprisingly big heart (that, thankfully, remains un-staked). The tone is playful but never shallow, and Amato balances the absurdity of vampire life with authentic emotional depth.

There’s swoon-worthy romance, laugh-out-loud moments, and just enough paranormal mischief to keep things deliciously weird. Whether you’re Team Edward, Team Lestat, or just here for the drama, you’re going to have so much fun with this one.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! I absolutely adored this book—it’s clever, queer, and completely un-put-downable. Bring on the sequel, please!

I really enjoyed this! At first, I was like “what am I reading?”, but then the pace picked up and it got real interesting real quick. Brennan was dealing with a lot the entire story! Managing his mental health, then dying and coming back as vampire, meeting and getting a boyfriend, and to top it all off he had to organize a plan to save a small portion of the human race! Like WTH?!

The author did a good job giving us all the feels and giving us enough to get to know the MCs. I also liked the supporting characters like Sunny & Nellie (they were funny af) and Mari & Tony (comical couple as well). Mari’s super feisty and protective attitude reminds me of myself when it comes to my friends.

I enjoyed Brennan and Cole’s love story, as well as, Brennan’s other relationships that he developed throughout the story. Brennan didn’t think he was worthy of it all (and probably still doesn’t), but I think he finally started getting comfortable with the idea of looking forward to the future.

The only thing I was disappointed about was the vampire ball. I expected some big show down and yeah it wasn’t as big as I thought it would be. I guess the author was trying to trick us? Not give us what we were expecting? I dunno 🤷🏾‍♀️

4.5 ⭐️

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin Publishing Group for the ARC of this book. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it.

This was very refreshing urban vampire story! it has a lot of potential and the main couple was super cute

I’m starting to get more into a diverse genre of books especially those that touch on the lgbtq community as my daughter is a big advocate for the community. This was a good starting point because it touched on the areas we don’t speak enough about like depression and crappy family. Throw in fantasy and it was a great read. You have a MMC who went from human to vampire and also dealing with a new found family that melts your heart. Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday books for the arc. This is my honest opinion

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Just when Brennan thinks his life can't get any more complicated, he is turned into a vampire after an accident. And oh yeah, there's a cute boy working at the library that may or may not be into him. As he learns to balance the new things in his life--vampirism, friends, boyfriend, life gets even more complicated. Someone is trying to expose vampires.

This was a good book. There are trigger warnings for attempted suicide and depression, so head's up. I liked the relationships and different personalities. I will say that I felt that Brennan's struggles with depression seemed to almost disappear once he was turned, but his anxiety remained. It was a little too easy. Other than that, I quite enjoyed this book.