This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

OK. So. Jesus. This book….

I just discovered this author last year with the FEVER HOUSE duology and quickly fell in love. (Those books are amazing, seriously, he’s got a fan for life from those alone.) So of course I had to pounce on the chance to read this ARC from NetGalley.

Whereas I found the FEVER HOUSE books “fun” (in my own twisted way) - they were frenetic, rock-and-roll, apocalyptic, chaotic - this was just… quietly beautiful, I don’t know. For a while anyway… it’s absolutely peppered with glorious bursts of violence and gore you’d expect from a Rosson vampire story.

In 1970s Portland, Duane has custody of his niece, runs a bar, is a generally good-but-troubled guy. The kind of guy you root for. One of the most sympathetic characters of all time… If this means anything to anyone, I haven’t felt for characters this much and this quickly since MURDER ROAD, which was the last time I was just fucking instantly rooting for characters.

So anyway, it’s a book about vampires, sure, but about family and revenge and grief and… ugh. It was perfection. I generally don’t compare authors, but if you use that to gauge if you’d like something, this is like the best of Paul Tremblay, S. A. Cosby, Stephen Graham Jones, and the afore-mentioned Simone St. James. They all had this glorious baby.

As a bonus (?), I absolutely tortured myself by reading this during the week, when I had to work… and kept having to stop at the most inopportune parts. I’d be wallowing or sitting on a cliffhanger for hours. It gave me such delayed gratification, and I truly can’t decide if that was a great move, or the worst thing to ever happen to me.

This book was just emotion-wrecking perfection. Can’t wait for more to come.

Sometimes an author just isn’t a good fit for your taste. And that’s ok.

I like vampires. I like the 70’s. I like revenge-fueled violence and superfluous brutality. But there’s something about the way in which this tale was told that didn’t meet me where I’m standing.

Rosson is clearly a beast on the keyboard and will continue to make noise in the genre, deservedly so. This is the second book of his I read that just didn’t resonate with me.

I was really engulfed in the first quarter of the story. I loved the atmosphere, the setting with the bar below the apartment, and the relationships between the family. In fact, I loved it so much that that’s what I what I wanted the story to be. I wanted to see the family dynamic play out amidst conflict and disarray. I wanted to see more of Duane and Heidi’s relationship. I wanted Julia to emit chaotic teen energy, driving invisible wedges between family members, only to realize the depth of their love and re-ingratiated herself. I wanted mother and son-in-law drama to test marital strength. I wanted all of this set within a horror-tinged plot, with vampires and other blood thirsty creatures impinging upon those familial connections.

But, I got none of this. The story went a completely different direction, and one I didn’t particularly love or find compelling. The revenge lust lost its luster at some point about halfway through for me and I could never get beyond it.

I’m very appreciative for NetGalley and Random House’s willingness to give me an advance copy for an honest review. This one just didn’t reach me at the right time in my life.