I felt this had an amazing premise, but the way the story is told is everywhere. We’re jumping from too many characters w/ different timelines. The execution was just messy, but I feel if done right- It would have some potential!!

An absolutely deliciously dark & sapphic vampiric fantasy romance. I initially thought this was a standalone, but was pleasantly surprised at the end to find it will get a sequel. Great story, world and character building. I will definitely be looking forward to the next installment! The narrators did an amazing job as

What a wild ride. This book is so fascinating to me in that it has all the elements of a phenomenal five-star read, and just…doesn’t stick the landing. The worldbuilding is so fascinating and unique, the structure is engaging, the characters are dynamic, the prose is…it’s decent. I think where it fails to live up to its promise is in the fulfilment of the narrative arc of some of its characters. We spend SO MUCH TIME in the book setting up Favre as a victim of abuse, and yes, sometimes complicit in the mistreatment of others, but a full, complex being with a deeply sad story, and then we get to the end, and she’s rendered a totally one-dimensional cartoon villain for the sake of Layla and Najja’s arcs. I don’t know, I just really felt let down by that.

In terms of narration, spectacular. All three absolutely killed, knocked it out of the park. I know I have a preference for Favre’s arc over the other two, though if that was because of the narration or the writing is anyone’s guess.

Where Shadows Meet focuses on what is more important: love or power? Different characters are willing to give up one or the other to meet their goals. A Sapphic vampire and goddess story? You have my attention. This is YA, but there are some snippets of spice.

It is an interesting take on vampirism and the logistics of that. The world feels large, and like there is still a lot we don't know about. However, there are a lot of aspects of this book that could make it hard to follow if you can't sit and devour it in only a few sittings (lots of POVs, some time jumping, diary entries). Some of this may be sorted out if the story continues because it could be a case of a book one world building info dump.

The audio version of this book has several narrators, which I love. It would have been helpful if there were more obvious tells between the narrators to help distinguish the character they were reading as.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ALC of this audiobook for an honest review.

I was provided both an ARC and ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this. The audiobook has several narrators, which is helpful as the story is told from Favre, Leyla, and Najja's perspectives. As many of the characters in this book are female and the POVs are female it really helped having a distinct voice as the POVs switched. This doesn't alternate between chapters, though it is mainly told in the present from Najja and Leyla's point of views with sprinklings of the past here and there from Favre's perspective. I also found it helpful to have a copy of the ebook handy as there are lots of characters and new names to keep track of. The ebook also has a handy family tree to look at and an explanation of the vampire bloodlines which are important. The audiobook will come with a PDF of supplemental information, the ALC did not so I don't know what all it contains.

This follows Leyla, a vampire, Crown Princess, and descendant of the original vampire. She tries to live up to her mother's expectations but always seems to fall short. When the capital comes under attack by strange monsters and Leyla's best friend is captured, she vows to save her. Her mother forbids her, but she has chosen to take fate into her own hands this time. Najja is a yamaja and her people are the messengers of fate, and her fate is tied to Leyla in some way. They team up to find Leyla's missing friend and possibly prevent the world from ending. As Leyla and Najja are on their quest, Favre a powerful and old vampire awakens from a long sleep and is determined to awake her true love who has also been asleep for very long time. Favre has sacrificed much for Thana and will continue to sacrifice to awaken her again, even if it ends in destruction.

We get some great info about Thana and Favre's relationship in the past and how the vampire bloodlines/classes came to be. We also get some background on the world and how everything works which I appreciated. Favre is on a mission to awaken her love and will do anything to get her back, but I can see the cracks in the foundation starting to form or atleast I hope I do. I'm hoping Favre comes to her senses about how much she has sacrificed for Thana, and Thana hasn't done much but manipulate and take from those around her. As for Leyla and Najja, their relationship is only just beginning to blossom, and I expect it to develop further as the series progresses. There are some more mature themes, but nothing graphic, gory, or detailed for YA readers who are ready for something on the more mature side of the age range.

I am really looking forward to where this series goes. This does end on a cliffhanger but you could see it coming well in advance. I thought the pacing was good, we got good character development, and I love a good YA fantasy that discusses some bigger topics. This does have trigger warnings so make sure you read the author's note before picking this up, she addresses them there.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

In a world where humans and vampires fought against the gods who created them, a girl has to travel to the Isle of the Dead in order to save her friend in the aftermath of an attack. Along with a seer, Najja, the two of them set out on a rescue mission. But nothing is as it seems, for a thousand years ago Favre and Thana set into motion a chain of events that is finally coming full circle. Will Leyla save her friend? Or will she become the catalyst that brings on the end of everything as she knows it?

The whole question of what we would do for those we love is a major premise that is explored in this novel. From Favre and Thana and what they sacrificed, to Leyla now as she travels to help free her friend, the whole idea of sacrifice is prevalent. Let's talk about the characters: I loved the story of what was going on with Favre and Thana. You have Favre cutting her wings off in order to win a battle, but it inevitably changes her. Then you have Thana who pulls a Zeus and kills her father and has a prophecy saying her daughter will end her... just like Zeus is told one of his children would end him (which started the war among the gods but that's not important. Or maybe it is since there's a prophecy and a war. But whatever.). But I loved seeing their story unfold and watching as it came full circle. I could not make myself care about Leyla and Najja. Yes, cool, Leyla drinks blood and is a vampire I guess? But there was nothing interesting about her to me which brings me to my next point: I only cared about the chapters that dealt with the original war and Favre and Thana and what they were going through. For the most part, this book didn't impress me, and I didn't find myself dying to know what happens next. But I will probably read book 2 just to see what the aftermath is after that ending.

Actual Rating: 3.75 stars, rounded up

THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD! Oh my, where do I begin?

This black sapphic vampire slow-burn romance was the perfect start to my April reading. We have three expertly written POV's that usher us into this world where vampires, gods, and humans exist in the same space, definitely giving a different spin on the traditional vampire stories. The relationship that blooms between Layla, Crown Princess of the Vampiric race, and Naja, a Yamaja, was quite precious. They didn't really know what to make of each other because they were clearly on opposite sides of the conflict, making them understandably cautious in their dealings with each other. Slow burns are not usually my go-to choice of trope. However, I enjoyed this one because it made sense, and the moments of awkwardness did not linger long. This cast of women was written with amazing strength and vulnerability. They were young but not childish, and their issues were valid. The ending left me wanting more, in a good way!

World-building top tier
Character-building top tier
Affection on the page top tier
Multiple POV expertly written
Dual timelines written in a manner that was followable and made sense
Vampires, Humans, Fates, and Witches, OH MY!

I had the pleasure of receiving the ALC of this amazing book. Alexis Campbell, Khaya Fraites, and Melinda Sewak, you ladies did a top-notch job with the voice acting! You really added color to this already exciting story.


I don't have the words to properly express how good this felt, and I am afraid I will begin to spoil it. This was a good time.

Thank you, Netgalley, Macmillan Audio | Macmillan Young Listeners, and Patrice Caldwell for the ALC of this phenomenal book!

I am voluntarily leaving my honest review!

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook arc. I love vampire tropes but this one did nothing for me slow to start. The following along via the audiobook was a little confusing at times when they jumps from person to person, Ended up DNF’ing at 20%. I tried getting into the book but just couldn’t

A book that combines many classic fantasy aspects in new and interesting ways. It includes vampires, royalty, gods, and magic.

Romance Type: Sapphic, slow burn

Spice: very little, fade to black

Themes: Grief, childhood trauma, chronic illness, fate

Perspective: Multiple perspectives with time hops

Disclaimer: recieved ARC from giveaway

I was hoping for a little more from Where Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell. One of my favorite genres is vampire fantasy and I am thrilled to see all the vampire books releasing in 2025, including Where Shadows Meet. However, this story fell flat for me. The world building was a little overwhelming and the romance between the two central characters lacked depth and their relationship felt forced rather than naturally evolving. Hopefully book 2 will redeem the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review. These thoughts are my own.

DNF @38%.

I really wanted to like <i>Where Shadows Meet</i> by Patrice Caldwell—the premise sounded fantastic—but the execution just didn’t work for me. The way the story is structured, with multiple POVs across different timelines, made it difficult to fully immerse myself in the world. Instead of feeling drawn into the narrative, I found myself needing to work extra hard to keep track of what was happening and when.

Worse, a huge chunk of the text is dedicated to excessive world-building exposition being thrown at the reader, which unfortunately comes at the expense of meaningful character connection. Because of this, I never felt much reason to care for any of the characters, especially when the story did shift to action. Moments that were clearly supposed to be emotionally impactful—especially when characters died—fell flat because there just wasn’t enough time spent establishing real attachment.

This last bit is rather nitpicky, but the audiobook was advertised as a multi-cast performance, which I’ve grown to prefer in a more graphic audio format—where we get multiple narrators performing the characters (ideally with sound effect, though this isn’t needed for all)—and this was not that, but instead just alternating chapters based on the POV. Which, I guess? But that doesn’t feel very full cast to me, making one of the huge selling points for why I even requested this novel in the first place feel like a massive disappointment.

Ultimately, between the scattered structure and lack of character investment, I just couldn’t push myself to continue.

This book I had to listen to as an audio. It was very well written and the story was intriguing.
This was a little harder to follow because you’re jumping back-and-forth in time following the main characters. The closest I can blame this with would be an almost Greek God, other gods mixed with vampires.

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.

I had a tough time with this one as I was constantly confused and could not connect to the characters at all as I didn’t understand the motivation for anything happening.

I think k that the book will find its audience but ai was not it which is why I went right down the middle with my rating. However I did consume the Audiobook so I’ll focus on that.

The production was done well. The sound quality was consistent and clean. It was a multicast narration by Alexis Campbell; Khaya Fraites, and Melinda Sewak who all did a good job albeit with different skill levels. I don’t know who is who unfortunately in order to highlight one of the actors who did an exceptional job with their recitation.

So if you’re going to give this one a go, I can recommend the audiobook from the production aspect! The book comes out April 1, 2025


I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from MacMillian Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This story was so interesting and I loved that is was Sapphic.

The world building was very good. I love that there was two different love stories going on at the same time that were so similar because they were between two beings that were the same in each relationship.

I was a little confused about what the conflict actually was. I know we were not wanting to wake up this princess/queen and we were trying to prevent the queen from getting her way but what is the reason? Because she was a crazy tyrant? I’m just a little confused. I did love the story, but was just a little confused on the plot. I was constantly rereading chapters to understand.

The ending is a huge cliffhanger. I know there is going to be a spectrum book. I’m not sure if I would continue the story however, I do think that the premise, the world building and the lore was written really well. So overall, I liked the writing I just was not fully invested in the plot.

I did listen to the audio. I thought the narration was fine. I had no issues with the narrator at all. I thought they did a great job.

Thanks for the gifted ALC!!

This is a soft dnf for me! The narrators are really hard to distinguish and the world building is already pretty intense so I’m having a hard time following. I def want to pick up a physical copy of this book!!

I really enjoyed this. I am a sucker for a vampire romance and this was amazing. I loved the fantasy aspect and the world building was amazing. This book had two amazing romances. Everything about this perfect and I just solidly enjoyed this.

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and alc!

unfortunately, dnf @ 56%

i think once i realized how uninterested i was, i should have stopped reading, but i was hoping i would enjoy this unique twist on vampirism.

i did appreciate the sapphic vampires, despite my overall disinterest.

as for the audiobooks, i enjoyed the narrators!

this book will definitely find its audience, but its not me

Started strong but lost me bit by bit as we adventured on. The world building was deep and interesting at first and the book even started with quite a bang, but I just started to lose interest and am definitely not sure how you would milk this into a duology. I think a rewrite into a standalone would have felt less like it was dragging. The worst part was the characters also started off very strong and interesting, but I think it just lacked consequential conflict throughout. There were lots of chances to add it, but it just wasn't there. The narration was interesting, having 3 narrators. They all really tried to keep immersion high and I would say that was successful.

The following didn't affect my rating but was just pure second-hand embarrassment for the author. Author's weird behavior on GR includes 5star self-rating and monologuing while blaming everything but the book being really mid which is super common for a debut. I read through a lot of the feedback and it was all very valid and evident to anyone who read the book without bias. Like she said herself, reviews are reader spaces. If she can't handle them, maybe she shouldn't be hanging out in them. Originally, I was going to be open to book two as I have actually had this on my TBR for ages, but I think I will pass.

ALC provided by Macmillan Audio via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I love when there are multiple POVs and multiple narrators! All of the narrators were good, there was nothing totally standout about any of the performances but I really enjoyed listening to this one along as I read it. It's a great quality audiobook!

Book review: 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.