Jamie Dalton’s The Gloaming is a slick mash‑up of vampire romantasy and whodunnit.

At the heart of the tale is Erin, a gifted vampire‑hunter still raw from the suspicious death of her best friend. Her quest for the truth draws her into the orbits of three ancient immortals: the silver‑tongued Nicholas, his razor‑witted friend Izzie, and the brooding outsider Adam. What begins as a routine hunt flares into a murder investigation knotted with forbidden attraction, centuries‑old secrets, and delicious tension - especially between Erin and Nicholas, whose connection sparks the instant their eyes meet and only grows more intricate as loyalties clash.

Erin shines as a lead: fierce with a sword yet open‑hearted enough to mourn, doubt, and hope. Watching her juggle grief, duty, and a dawning desire is the novel’s emotional engine. Nicholas counters her fire with quiet protectiveness and murky allegiances, giving their developing bond a push‑and‑pull that never feels contrived.

The finale delivers satisfying answers while dangling threads ripe for the next book, leaving readers eager to step once more into Dalton’s twilight world. The Gloaming may blend familiar ingredients - hunter, vampire, murder mystery, but it mixes them with style, heart, and just the right amount of bite. Come for the vampire lore; stay for a mystery that sinks its teeth in and refuses to let go.

If you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer then you would enjoy this but more modern day. I really liked this book!
Erin, the FMC, is an independent, strong and badass queen who takes no shit from anyone. Her story does develop really well but I wish there was more of a background story of how she started as a vampire slayer 🧛🏻‍♀️
Nicholas, the MMC, is a Scottish vampire who clearly has undeniable bond with Erin. His overprotectiveness does bring the soft part of Erin 🥹

I do wish that the villain part of the story was brought in a little bit earlier, as it felt abit rushed towards the end with little context!
I also wish that the other character had development with their backstory😩 I just felt like they were just there.

Overall the story was great! The ending really got me 🙃 and the cliffhanger too! I really want to know what happens next! I can’t wait for the squeal next year 🥰📖

3 stars out of 5

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought it would! I did find myself skimming over chapters and feel like there wasn’t much depth to some of the chapters! All most like some bits were dragged on too much!

I did think the writing was good however some chapters felt a little dragged out! I did read the book however felt like i wasn’t really invested in it which is a shame! It might just be a me thing and this may just not be my cup of tea!

Thank you to NetGallley and the author for the early arc of this book!

Have you ever imagined what Buffy the Vampire slayer would be like if it was set in Sheffield? Me neither, but Jamie Dalton clearly has.

The Gloaming has massive Buffy vibes, from Erin's job as a vampire slayer to her budding romance with former bad vampire, turned good guy Cole.

There was a lot to like in this book, though it was slightly derivative of BtVS. But, if you're a fan of the show, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

My major gripe with this book was how quickly the romance with Erin and Cole moved. It felt very much like a case of instalove, with a dash of thr fated mates trope.

However, I did enjoy the story and particularly the friendships formed, it had strong found family vibes and I'd be interested to see how that develops.

Jamie Dalton is a great writer, and the tension and pacing were really good overall so I can't wait to read the next book and see how the story develops.

"The Gloaming" presents an atmospheric world where Erin Conrad lives a double life as a barista by day and vampire hunter (vânător) by night. When her best friend dies under suspicious circumstances, Erin is drawn into a complex web of ancient vampire rivalries and unexpected attractions.

While the premise held promise, the execution left me with mixed feelings. The pacing was problematic, with a particularly slow stretch between the 30-85% mark that made it difficult to maintain engagement. The novel was marketed as Sci-Fi/Fantasy, but the vampire elements felt almost incidental to the plot rather than integral to the worldbuilding. I found myself wanting more substantial fantasy elements throughout.

The romance between Erin and Nicholas suffered from an underdeveloped foundation. Their instant attraction lacked sufficient explanation, though the spicy scenes were adequately written. I'm hoping the sequel will address the origins of their connection more thoroughly.

The villain could have benefited from more development, and supporting characters like Jon and Tom deserved deeper backstories. These underdeveloped elements, combined with the pacing issues, prevented this from being a standout read for me.

A note for sensitive readers: the book contains torture scenes that weren't mentioned in the trigger warnings for the ARC.

Despite these criticisms, there's enough intrigue in the world Dalton has created that I'll likely pick up the sequel to see how the story continues.

Thank you to Jaime Dalton and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 ⭐️ Not a bad read, but didn’t pull me in as much as I was hoping it would.

The concept was interesting, basically murder mystery meets vampire romance. It was definitely reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Overall it intrigued me to a point, but I can’t say I felt a real urgency to find out where the plot was going most of the time.

I want to stress the I didn’t find the story bad or poorly written, it just didn’t necessarily capture my attention throughout as much as I would have liked, which also boils down a bit to personal preference. However, I will probably still read the second one when it comes out because that ending did get me.

While not perfect, this book was fun and super duper entertaining! I had a little trouble getting into it but I am really not sure if that was the book or a me thing.

I’m already looking forward to the sequel and I hope(and think we will) we get to know more about the immortals!

If you need a slow burn romance, supernatural Discovery of Witches vibe with a Scottish vampy, reluctant/found family and a fierce FMC this one's for you!

I will definitely be reading The Vanator when it's released.
Now I need a Adam prequel please! 😍

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and Jamie Dalton for the opportunity this read this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for giving me an earc in exchange for an honest review. This book comes out June 3rd

I liked it. It was enjoyable but I found myself bored at some points and I really wish there was more character development between the two main characters. I still liked this book so I can't wait for the sequel.

I thought I'd like this book because it says you'll like it if you're a Deborah Harkness fan. And I like urban fantasy. But I read three chapters and felt like nothing was happening. There was nothing to grab my attention. The first scene was a bit of a let down, you think it's going to be an action scene but it turns out they're hunting for a mouse. Then it got confusing. The police arrive and it cuts to her leaving the house and hunting some vampires. She's hunting and thinking about what happened before she left the house. The timeline and scene felt very clunky. I just didn't feel hooked by the first three chapters. Maybe the story begun wrong but it was really off putting. I also didn't enjoy the parts where the main character was talking to the reader, I felt at a distance from the story. I just couldn't get into it. I felt like the main character was trying to be too much like Buffy at one point.
Very odd and slow beginning with nothing really happening: a scene in the shower, a scene in work, she says "the afternoon dragged on" if the character's afternoon is dragging on and I'm reading about it, then the book is definitely dragging on too. The fake action scene was really off putting and although I tried to give this book a chance I won't be continuing this story. It didn't hook me.

Thank you NetGalley and Jamie Dalton for the ARC!

100% Gives me early vampire craze days! I loved everything about it and it felt like I sped through it! The wording and language in this book was so smooth and not disjointed at all which made for a great reading experience. The slow build was so tastefully done and well crafted you could sink your teeth into it (ha, pun!) The chemistry was so tasteful and almost velvet, I was always anticipating and reveling in the moments.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

When I saw this book was great for fans of Anne Rice, I just had to read it! I’ve always loved vampire stories.

I really the book a lot. Erin, the main character, was interesting, but I wanted to understand more about why she really wanted to be a hunter, not just because of her powers. I really liked Nicolas from the start—he was kind, charming, and easy to like!

I also really enjoyed seeing Erin work together with the vampire team. That part was alot of fun. The only thing I didn’t like was Erin’s best friend. He just annoyed me a bit and truly became a thorn in my eye haha.

The writing was smooth and easy to follow. It was a fun read overall! Also that ending? Give me more right now please!🙏🏻

I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys vampire stories! 🌹

Overall: 3.5⭐️

The Gloaming by Jamie Dalton is an enemies to lovers, vampire hunter dark romantasy. It’s reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and reminds me Buffy and Spike’s relationship.

Erin is a vigilante vampire hunter trying to “clean up” her home town of the vampires running amuck. When one of her best friend’s dies, little does she know vampires are more than willing to help.

This is a mystery thriller mixed with romance. Someone is hunting / killing those in Erin’s life. The pacing is fast and the writing is dark, broody, and atmospheric. Jamie Dalton writes beautiful, moody scenery.

The romance has a lot of angst and pining but unfortunately, they lust for each other a little too early for my taste.

Tropes:
✅ Urban Fantasy
✅ Enemies to Lovers
✅ Hunter versus Prey

You’ll enjoy this is if you like Mystery Thrillers similar to Buddy the Vampire Slayer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Jamie Dalton for this eARC. All thoughts are my own.

The Gloaming is a lovely debut that features paranormal suspense and supernatural intrigue. The intricate world-building and beautiful character development that the author has created will immediately draw you into her richly imagined universe. The gripping storyline and complex characters are a perfect blend of gritty realism and supernatural elements. Anyone who loves dark fantasy and supernatural romance will find this book completely captivating. As the first book in the Blood of the Revenants series, The Gloaming sets a high bar for its successors!

Thank you so much to the author for providing an advance copy to me. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it lived up to expectations.

This was a big 4.5, which I've rounded up to a 5. I loved this! This is exactly what I needed. An vampire urban fantasy with all the 00s vibes. Why aren't there more books about vampires set in the real world? Just give me Angel and Buffy vibes, that's all I need.

Erin is a vampire hunter in the UK, and she finds out one of her best friends has died. She and her friend, Tom, investigate into what happened as there are more that seems to meet the eye. They get tangled up in a world of ancient immortals on a quest to find out who the killer is.

I loved that it was set if Sheffield of all places. I love it when a book is set in a city that isn't London, Cambridge, Oxford or Edinburgh. I could feel the realism, I could imagine being there and that's what's great about an urban fantasy book set in an average city.

Adam was my favourite character, there's one particular scene with Erin and Adam that I particularly loved. He's a great idea for a character and I want to see more of him. Nicholas kind of gave me this Angel vibe, but if Angel was Scottish. Dark and broody with past baggage.

I really liked one of Tom's developments towards the end of the book. I wish I could talk in detail about some of my favourite scenes but I want to keep this a spoiler free review so I'm not going into detail but there's some really satisfying scenes.

The dynamic between the mortals and immortals was great. I've always found that dynamic interesting, like Giles and Spike, or David and Lestat, or Daniel and Louis. Immortal/mortal dynamics are my fave.

The pacing was great, there wasn't a massive lull at any point, something was constantly kicking off or moving the story forward.

There were just some little tiny things that stopped it being a full five for me. There were parts where I struggled with Nicholas' romantic dialogue. Maybe I don't read enough romance, but boy did he come on strong. Tom and Jon's names had me a tad confused at the start, but I got over it. I also wish Cole had continued being called Cole, even if they had another name. Those are my only quibbles, it was great, so many great scenes in this book.

If you like a vampire story where vampires walk among us in every day life, then you're going very much enjoy this book. I cannot wait for the next one.

The Gloaming by Jamie Dalton is such a good book. I loved every single second of this story. The characters are fantastic and the story is immaculate.

3.25⭐️

Thank you to the author, Victory Editing and NetGalley for the eARC <3

•vampires
•vampire hunter
•Murder mystery
•romance

Murders, loss, secrets, love and something lurking in the dark.

The book takes us through the streets of Sheffield, where Erin, a vampire hunter, finds her life turned upside down by the murders of people close to her.

One of the book’s strongest aspects is the vampire murder mystery. It is well plotted, with the right amount of enigma to keep the reader engaged. We discover clues at the same time as the characters. The murderer remains hidden until the end, maintaining the suspens and creating a real page-turner. I was really in and couldn’t put the book down!

The writing is very smooth and addictive! The only problem was the descriptions. The book sometimes linger on mundane details such as the movements and the actions of the characters. Some scenes are also redundant like when the FMC wants to get her mind off, she will always take a walk or she’ll go to work at the coffee shop, etc.

Another thing that didn’t work for me was the romance. The attraction between the two main characters is instant. Their relationship evolves too quickly to the point where it feels unnatural.

The pacing was a bit uneven. While the main plot is compelling, the middle of the book begins to slow down but the ending makes up for it.

Despite some flaws, the book was enjoyable and I am very curious to what is going to happen in the next book!

I absolutely loved "The Gloaming." Jamie Dalton's writing is fantastic. And as someone who knows Sheffield, the setting felt incredibly real and added so much.

The characters are deep and well-rounded, and watching Erin's friendships grow gradually was beautiful. Beyond that, the mystery element of the story was brilliant! I loved the murder mystery vibe I was getting and was desperately trying to guess who the real bad but was throughout.

And that ending? Wow! Absolutely stunning and leaves you desperate for the next book. Highly recommend this captivating read, especially if you enjoy a great vampire fantasy book with a beautiful romance included.

Awesome, highly recommended. Vampires, modern day story. Packed with strong female characters, action and plot twists. Thank you to the author and looking forward to the sequel. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

3.75 🌟 - Thank you to Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book. I found Erin to be really fascinating & I enjoyed her badassness as a Vampire Hunter. Her and Nicholas were very cute together. I liked how dark and mysterious the setting was, but I was confused on the time period. It was like a Victorian style storyline set in the modern day and in Sheffield, which I personally didn't like the unrealisticness of it. I would have preferred for it to have been set in a fictional place