Brutal, blood-drenched, beautiful, and breathlessly alive. This is going to be my best read of the year for sure.

We follow three women as their tale spans centuries and countries, each tale interlinking in ways you don’t expect. Thankfully there’s no ennui ridden vampires lamenting their immortality, no sir, 2025 is the year of Hungry Female Rage Vampires and I am Here. For. It.

This book feels like a natural progression of VE Schwab’s incredible talent, it is insistent and immediate and so, so rich. I can’t wait to read it again.

If The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo and Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson had a baby guided by VE Schwab’s dark, magical hands, this is what you would get.
Sapphic vampires, dual timelines, women ruling the night.

<b>“Bury my bones in the midnight soil, plant them shallow but water them deep, and in my place will grow a feral rose, soft red petals hiding sharp white teeth.”
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Here we have feral, hungry girls.
1521, Maria wants more from her small village. She sets her eyes on a Viscount passing through and is soon betrothed. Maria knows when to be the predator, and when to play the part of prey. However, the life as a noble is boring and more restrictive than suits Maria’s hunger for more.

2019, Alice is dedicated to becoming someone new moving from Scotland to Boston to attend university. She has a cluttered head and anxious heart, running from a past, waiting for her future.

The third timeline only comes into play after the 55% mark in London 1827. Debutante balls and secret debauchery and another wish for freedom.

<b>Why does Charlotte stay? That is like asking—why stay inside a house on fire? Easy to say when you are standing on the street, a safe distance from the flames. Harder when you are still inside, convinced you can douse the blaze before it spreads, or rushing room to room, trying to save what you love before it burns.
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The writing was delicious. The characters were angsty, angry, and sometimes atrocious. The yearning was blood red. The *scenes* were sensual and sexy but not overly detailed.

The ending was too easy, convenient, and sudden for me and thus anti-climatic, however it was still satisfying knowing this had to be condensed for a standalone.

Glow-in-the-dark proof gifted by Book break PanMacmillan.