i loved this a lot. the black dahlia was always something that intrigued me a lot, and i always wanted to know more about it because, well, it was so heartbreaking. i was a little nervous that this might have been insensitive to it, but wow. it was so great, but then again... i love vampires, so it just made sense that this would be right up my alley!

Hmmmmmm not my favorite Karina Halle book I’ve ever read, but also not my least favorite. I thought it was fast, fun, and solidly okay!

What a fun read! A story full of mystery and twists and some paranormal romance? Sign me up! Karina creates a really interesting gothic/noir setting with well developed characters, and intriguing plot and steamy romance. It kept me hooked from beginning to end!

The way I LOVED this book!! I’m a true crime junkie, so the black dahlia reimagining was everything to me. Absolutely adore the 1940’s time period and LA vibes as well. And vampires!! Basically this book was written just for me. A+ on the romance and spice too!

The twists, turns, mystery and the swift way that this book is written made me not put it down. I absolutely loved how I felt on edge and craved the darkness within. The atmosphere was beautifully written and the characters. Loved every second!

I love Karina Hale as an author and this book was no exception to this. I first found this author with the Dracula duet and this book is at that same standard. She knows how to create the most perfect gothic dark setting with a hint of sizzling chemistry and lust. She will forever be an auto-buy author for me , can’t wait to buy a trophy of this book and do a re-read

⭐️⭐️ - 2.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ - 3

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review, and here it is.

I had really high hopes for this one, and honestly, it started out great. I found myself visualizing the story in black and white, as if I were watching an old noir film. The mystery of solving Elizabeth's murder held my attention until about halfway through. That's when I started to lose interest in the investigation as everything else was going on.

I did really like Lena and Callahan as the main characters. I found myself truly rooting for them and wanting them to get a happily ever after. But I found myself struggling with the romance, especially the spicier scenes. They felt rushed and forced, especially their first one when he barged into her dressing room.

I thought that the story had great potential, but I feel like there was too much unnecessary action added to it. It went from a murder investigation to something you'd see more in a show like Buffy. (Don't get me wrong, I love Buffy. But it just wasn't what I was expecting or wanting from this style of story.) I feel like this could have made a great novella if she stuck to the Noir PI storyline.

There were so many typos, and I found a minor plot hole. It just felt like the book was rushed to get published and poorly edited. I could have also done without the non-con sister stuff.

I still gave it two and a half stars because I did finish it and I was invested enough to want to know how it ended, but I struggled through the last 20% of the book. This, however, did not turn me off from Karina Halle as an author. I will still continue to read her work; this just wasn't it for me.

Karina Halle has already to write a book that i didn’t love! In Nocturne the true crime and vampire’s elements are blended so well that you can only think “ wow it’s really happened!” And,so I really liked the dark and rich vibes of the ‘40s with all the mystery ,obsession , lot chemistry and mystery combined with a fast pacing, two intriguing characters and lot of suspense ,are given birth to the perfect summer read!

Karina Halle delivers a gripping, dark romance in Nocturne, set against the smoky backdrop of 1940s Los Angeles. Drawing inspiration from the infamous Black Dahlia murder, Halle weaves a tale of obsession, mystery, and supernatural intrigue. Lena Reid, a lounge singer with a hidden vampire heritage, becomes entangled in a web of murder and secrets when her best friend is found dead. Enter Victor Callahan, a private investigator with his own dark past. Their chemistry is palpable, and their journey is both thrilling and haunting.
The novel seamlessly blends elements of film noir, true crime, and paranormal romance, creating an atmosphere that's both nostalgic and eerie. The pacing is steady, allowing for character development and suspense to build naturally. Fans of dark romance and historical fiction with a supernatural twist will find Nocturne to be a compelling read.

Nocturne by Karina Halle
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ out of 5
Words cannot described how obsessed I am with this book. I didn’t know I needed a 1940s noir vampire romance with some true crime thrown in but it turns out it was exactly what I needed. I honestly cannot recommend this book enough!

Our heroine is a jazz singer and a vampire in the 1940s in LA. Her best friend is murdered horrifically (Black Dahlia murder) and she sets out to discover what happened. Hired by the family, our hero is a PI who also sets out to discover what happened and when he crosses paths with our heroine they decide to (eventually) team up to solve the case.

Incorporating a real life murder into this book really hooked me and then I stayed for the fantastic world building, characters and suspense. I loved the main characters and their journey together and honestly I have all praise and no notes!

3.75/5

this book was a good ass time! i had never read karina halle before so i didn’t really know what to expect, but the vibes she brought to the table were exactly what i was looking for as a read. set in LA during the film noir/post war period we explored the case of the black dahlia with a paranormal twist, making this book feel nostalgic and familiar without trying overly hard. i love anything to do with vampires, but the setting was so sexy featuring jazz clubs and mobsters that i could hardly put this book down. while the plot was quite formulaic and the ending predictable, the story was gripping enough to keep me engaged. weirdly enough, i actually wanted a little bit more from the romance and smut, as i felt it was so well done that i wanted more details about it. i love a man who is feral for his woman (victor literally goes actually feral multiple times in this book, swoon) and that primal mating urgency between the two of them was so hot. i could read about them bonding and drinking each others blood in bloodlust for hours!

i thought it was pretty silly getting introduced to van helsing, “dracula” and the brief mentioning of charles manson during the story, and i wish she would have left those characters out so the plot could have stood on its own. she had great backbones for it, and she didn’t need to reply on name recognition to create an intriguing storyline.

in all, karina didn’t need to reinvent the wheel with this paranormal vampire romance, and i’m glad she didn’t. i would surely pick up another one of her books in the future.

3.75 stars
Ok, this was a fun dark romance-mystery vampire read. I really enjoyed the old Hollywood feel of this book as well, and for a standalone I feel the word was built up nicely. There were a few things that bothered me plot wise, but I had a good time reading this.

Karina Halle never disappoints. I didn’t know I wanted a vampire murder mystery (based on a true crime case) until I read this! Highly recommend.

L.A confidential meets SeVen, basically an L.A noir with VAMPIRES!!! This was a total vibe and I devoured it in one sitting.

Pros
obsessed MC
femme fatale vamp FMC
murder mystery
VAMPIRESSSSS
old school holywood vibes

Cons
uh weird accidental incest???
basically the whole scene/plot which included the above.

Fun read where you don't need to use your brain, like it's not ground-breaking but it's a good time.

Thanks so much Netgalley and publisher for the copy!

4.5 My true crime and vampirism lover self ate this up ♥️

I had been wanting to read Karina Halle’s books for so long and finally got to reading one because I got it granted as a wish here on NetGalley, and safe to say I need to read the rest, hopefully I’ll be able to get them here in my country, because her writing style pulled me in immediately and I adored her storytelling.

Lena’s (a lounge singer) and Callahan’s (a PI) paths cross while he is trying to solve the famous irl cold case of the Black Dahlia, with a twist in this story of course (or is it? 👀), adding vampires, gangsters, cults, with old Hollywood noir vibes and a moody atmosphere. Plus some forced proximity and lust? Hell yes. It was an amazing read ✨

I loved that the fmc was a femme fatale so she didn’t mince her words, wasn’t shy and was bold. The mmc? Morally grey, protective and possessive, bold, forward, touch her and 💀, and oh so scrumptious. The control and willpower on that man! That's so sexy to me. Like Lena said, man has balls of steel, and I find that too damn hot.

And obviously can’t miss the eroticism of vampirism in this spicy standalone 🔥 and there’s of course biting and blood play, so yes. I thrived.

The ending! If you’re a true crime fan, you’ll know.

I’m one for going in blind with books, so I try not to give away a lot on reviews, but there’s so many components in this book that I loved that I won’t mention because I feel they’d be too spoilery.

But if you love true crime, vampirism, old film vibes or the ones in the mood board, spice and mystery then this book is for you. ♥️

Thank you Metal Blonde Books for granting my wish for this ARC as well as NetGalley and Karina Halle too, for the opportunity to read this amazing story.

Being loosely based on the Black Dahlia Murder case back in the forties, Lena is a vampire hiding in plain sight and is a singer in a mob controlled club and her best friend is killed, resulting in her crossing paths with private investigator Callahan. Callahan is experiencing black outs, resulting in Lena suspecting what he may be. This leads to personal journeys, romantic journeys, and lots of conflict.

Overall, this was my first time reading a Karina Halle book and I will definitely check out more of her work! This story was well-written, was easy to follow, and overall good in my opinion. Some parts were repetitive and redundant. I rated this book a 3 because I did have a hard time getting into it, and it might just not have been for me being a time piece. Thank you Karina Halle and Netgalley for the ARC!

Everytime I read something by Karina, I love it.
This is a dark vampire romance. Add to that one of my favorite characters of a private investigator? It was made for me.
The book is set in the 1940's and is a murder mystery with a serial killer, rituals, stalking, kidnapping...its like a menu of all the fun thriller tropes we love to read and add some romance in and you have a perfect setting for this book.

Lena is the FMC and her vibe is everything for me. A singer for the mob nightclub-perfect for the 40's setting. and the spice is definitely red hot

Karina nailed it with this one.

***Overall Rating: DNF @ 70%***

At this point, I don’t know why I’m still slogging through this book. Mysteries usually have me flying through the pages to get to the reveal, but in this case, I just couldn’t care enough to continue.

The mystery of the Black Dahlia’s death and who was killing these women didn’t make me curious enough, and even the relationship (with explicit spicy scenes) between Lena and Callahan couldn’t make me feel anything except boredom. I felt so disconnected from the characters, and the pacing was too slow and flat for me.

Did I laugh? Yes. For some reason, I found it funny when Valtu, aka Dracula, was flirting/teasing Lena.

Did I cry? No.


***Swoon Score: 🦋🦋 One Sigh, No Replay***

Callahan took “touch her and die” literally

He became possessive and protective of Lena shortly after they met. He stepped in one time when he found Lena’s boyfriend Marco hurting her.


***Steam Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Hot and Explicit***

Callahan was feral for Lena

Callahan had a little bit of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde sitch, and so far, he only gave in to his need for her when his “good guy” side was not in control. This meant those times became furious claimings because his primal side couldn’t be denied. The spicy scenes were definitely explicit, and there was even a WTF scene (at least for me) that I thought wasn’t necessary, but the author included to maybe show how vampires were supposed to be hypersexual creatures.


Do I recommend this? No, not really. Unless you’re a fan of true crime and curious enough about this take on the Black Dahlia murder.

~Thank you to NetGalley and Metal Blond Books for the review copy of this book. This is my honest review and opinion. I read the book on KU when I found out that the book had already been published.~

♥♥♥

GENRE: Paranormal
POV: Dual, 1st person
TROPES: vampires, jazz singer x private investigator, true crime inspired, touch her and die, protective MMC

I went into Nocturne really intrigued by the early 1900s setting and the backdrop of a dark, supernatural tale. The first half of the book pulled me in with the mysterious air around both Lena and Victor; their setup was very interesting and unique. However, I found myself wanting more from the characters emotionally.

I struggled to fall in love with Lena or Victor. Their dynamic was lust-charged throughout and lacked actual love, and while the spice did increase later in the story, it never quite evolved into something that made me crave them as a couple. That “epic romance” vibe I was hoping for just wasn’t there.

It also didn’t help that the vampire element — which I expected to be central — was almost non-existent in the beginning. It became more significant in the second half, but by then, I’d already started to feel a bit detached. When the secrets finally began to unravel, things turned pretty predictable. And I'm not someone who usually sees twists coming, so that says something.

I can see why readers are drawn to Nocturne. I just wanted a little more from both the romance and the plot.

(4.5/5)

Moody and atmospheric, this book ticked boxes I didn’t even know I HAD.

Seductively haunting, Nocturne can be read as a dark standalone romance set in 1940s Los Angeles where a dark murder has recently happened and its circumstances may not be as originally thought. For those who have read this authors other books, particularly the Dracula Duet, you will enjoy the nods to characters you have met before!

Lena was a phenomenal FMC, the epitome of Femme Fatale. Karina introduces to her slowly, revealing her intricacies and secrets over the course of the first third of the book. This subtle introduction really leans into the noir genre, mysterious and mesmerising, every page spent within Lena’s chapters were enthralling.

In comparison, Callahan hit the pages like a steam train. Abrupt, bold, brash and immediately likeable. He has some secrets too, but ones not even he can share.

This was my first ever Karina Halle book, but let me tell you it will not be the last.

I want to thank NetGalley, Metal Blonde Books, and Karin Halle for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. The review is my own opinion and I have given this freely.