I love a good Vampire story. I'm so excited to continue the series. Valen is JUST my type and I really hope that their future builds over time.

Unique and engaging book. Storyline was creative and entertaining and kept me turning the pages. There were numerous plot twists I didn't see coming and I really enjoyed that aspect. The author created great world and character building. Can't wait to read what comes next!

A dark gothic, horror-filled macabre romance(-esque).

It's sort of dual timelines. Most chapters are headed with a (mostly brief) recovered journal entry, and the body of the chapter is present day, but sometimes the past. It's not consistent. Via the audiobook, it's slightly confusing as it's fluid between the two and not nearly as distinct as it could be.

At first, the narrator's voice, when speaking for the vampires, is grating. Maybe it's supposed to be and adds to the drama, but for me, it was a bit chalk-board-like irritating and took a while to get used to.

Dr. Georgia Clark is a human captive in a dystopian world that has been taken over by vampires. She draws the unwanted attention of vampire royalty for the knowledge they think she has. However, obtaining that knowledge proves to be challenging to the vampires, even to the malicious interrogator that can manipulate and probe minds... it is also extremely painful for Georgia. Which goes along for the course as she is starved, beaten, tortured, and broken. She is just an animal... nothing more than potential cattle for feed and slaughter once they get the information they seek.

One such vampire that has his sights on her is Valen, and he is one of the most merciless and vicious of his kind. They call him the "Specter", for he is a monster and he kills without qualm. But yet... through the tattered haze of her fragmentes memories, Georgia somehow knows him. He is quite a puzzle, one that throws her into more confusion.

Death, gore, torture, betrayal, unraveling the mystery of stolen memories, darkness, and a twisted slow slow-burn and draw to the forbidden. Much more savagery than romance, this is not for the faint of heart. And... it ends on a cliffhanger.

I was able to listen to this is an audio. This is like a post apocalypse, but not really with vampires that take over and hidden memories. It does end with a twist and cliffhanger. It has been said that it was a copy of some other novel/fanfic. I couldn’t tell you because I have not read fanfic novel. It is on the darker side. So keep that in mind it’s different. I wouldn’t classify this as in the first novel for this book as a romance it’s reads like it’s gonna turn into one and then there are some underlying romantic vibes with it, but it’s not a romance, so don’t go into this hoping for that.

I like the writing style! It was very gothic, and I love the slow burn! I didn't get to finish since it expired, but I will definitely be getting this one!

If you love gothic and atmospheric reads and super slow burns, then you will enjoy this. I listened to the audiobook and found the narrator enjoyable, they did several voices for the different characters, and that definitely brought the story to life. That being said, this was slow burn to the point that I felt like neither the romance nor the plot advanced greatly, which was fine at the time since I was in it for vibes. I presume the sequel will pick up the pace.

CW: Blood, gore, suicide attempt, sexual assault, child death, war.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

Good but too much like Manacled by SenlinYu. There aren't enough differences to make me feel like I'm actually reading a different book. I'm honestly wondering if someone asked AI "Take Manacled but add vampires.""

I had such a great time reading this book! It sounded so interesting, and it had me hooked immediately-I had to keep reading! This world of vampires, alongside a plague that have really devastated humanity, sounded like an interesting world, and I had to know more! I have since learned after reading it that there's been heavy comparisons to Manacled/Alchemised by SenLinYu.

Georgia is missing memories. Some pretty important ones, of when she was researching a cure for the plague. So when she's brought up to be a prize for the vampires, and ends up in Valen's clutches, she wants to a) escape and b) recover her memories. That we got little snippets from her journal in the period of time that she's missing was really interesting!

Valen is pretty scary. He's the bastard son of the King, and his full blooded and special heir brother has just been killed. Side note, her missing memories, could she have something to do with his death? And maybe the guy wanted it to happen?

That ending though? I don't know where it's going to go from here, because yeah, there were some really big reveals, and I need to know what's going to come of them, how these characters are going to react. I'm so excited to find out in the sequels!

Loved reading this book and I can't wait to continue the series!

Manacled mixed w/ Castlevania vibes- But make it vampires. *Also only attempted 🍇 So it’s a bit more bearable to read for some than Manacled.
*ALSO, there’s diff breeds. Vampires w/ WINGS? Yes pls. But also, acid blood if you’re kinky lol.

The #1 Blood Countess sent me ☠️ The way he was so 💅🏽 HBIC 💅🏽 He turned the House of Night into Baddies fr lmfaoo. As dark as this was, there was so much humor that I fr could not. Literally dying in serious moments sometimes 😭😭😭

“Or are there others like you? I lift my gaze to Valen.”
“There’s only one of him, be grateful, Cole says.”
“Valen gives him a withering look.”
“It’s almost like banter? Are they bantering?
That’s when it dawned on me. Wait- Are the two of you friends?”

Georgia never ceases to amaze me by how bright she is sometimes lmfaoo. SB: I just love the side characters, like they add so much to this!!

The sarcastic humor from Valen also catches me so off guard sometimes ☠️

“What is this?”
“A library, Valen answers dryly.
Perhaps I’ve overestimated your perceptive powers after all.” 😭😭😭 Maybe she’s just been through it, like they didn’t let her breathe fr lmfao.

“The ball.
“A ball?”
“Her hearing still works.” ☠️☠️☠️ Foot on her neck.
I’m fr convinced this isn’t even enemies to lovers, just straight up enemiessss lmfaooo.
*I love my man mean though, so 🙂‍↕️

“There’s are simply too many of us, we have the numbers, a whole planet full of humans.”
“You HAD the numbers.”

<img src=https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/04/30/multimedia/30xp-meme/29xp-meme-superJumbo-v3.jpg>

*Trauma dumps*
“God… *I shiver”
“He didn’t help her either 🫤”
Melody was fr my fave 😭😭😭 My sweets.

After a while, the FMC fr grew on me. Her personality really shined for me towards the mid-end. I mean, after being tortured for so long, you can only develop such a personality, right? ☠️

“I’m locked in an underground castle and you think I have any idea which way the wind is blowing? I scoff at her. That’s something else about you that’s changed, you used to be smart.”
CLOCKED HER REAL BAD ☠️☠️☠️

Another fave from Georgia was
“I shoot them both the bird ‘cause I’m an adult.” 🙂‍↕️

“Just stay, please? You can go on a murder rampage after or drown orphans or whatever you want once I’m out.” Their chemistry has me dead fr, but the way he’s still lowkey sweet w/ her like

“Go to sleep, little rabbit. The wolf will keep watch.”
Had me gnawing at my enclosure, I NEED BOOK 2. *Also, ‘cause that ending? RUN IT BACK REAL QUICK. I love a good reveal.

Overall, I def see the similarities to Manacled, but it’s def mixed w/ Castlevania… Which I both loved, so I’m so torn w/ people hating on this lmfao. I still enjoyed it though & Emilia Bauer did an amazing job, but I do wish this was a duet 👹👹👹 But I still loved.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this. Don’t be expecting paranormal romantasy with a basically good broody male protagonist. This is dark, a post-apocalyptic landscape where vampires rule supreme and humans are slaves or food. Playthings to be tortured, used and cast aside. The main character is a virologist who has been trying to develop a cure but she is taken – with others – as a political prisoner and kept in a literal dungeon. A chance remark results in her being attached to a Vampire Lord’s household, where she has to navigate the power plays and politics, waiting for a chance to escape. There is some romance but it’s of the very dark kind and takes a backseat to the rest of the story. This was an immensely compelling read

Thank you Celia Aaron, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for an advance listen copy of the book House of Night.

I thoroughly enjoyed the narration and production. The narrator does an amazing job. Her voice is so seductive for both male and female voices. I would say it is hard at times to know when it transitions from notes or memories from the past with the present story on narration. You have to pay attention for sure.

The story was a different take. I was invested in finding out more about Georgia's past and what happened. I enjoyed the mystery fantasy for sure. At times I enjoyed the characters and other times the character development fell flat. I like the little bit of realism that there was which made the world building not so overly complicated so I could just enjoy the story. This isn't the best book out there but it was enjoyable.

The House of Night took me several weeks to get through, and it wasn’t because the writing was bad. The writing itself was actually very good. The issue for me was the plot. In the beginning, it felt very similar to the fanfiction story Manacled, and as I kept reading, the pacing and inner monologue became a struggle. It made the story difficult to stay engaged with, and as much as I wanted to love it, I just couldn’t fully connect.

For me, the characters lacked the emotional depth needed to really sell the story and pull me in. I wanted to give this one a fair try because I normally love this author’s work, but unfortunately, this one just didn’t hit the mark for me.

To add to that, the story ends on a cliffhanger just as the action is finally starting to pick up, which felt abrupt and left me a bit unsatisfied.

I rounded this up to 3 stars because Celia is an amazing author, and I am sure many readers will still enjoy this one.

Georgia Is confused and can’t remember what she is being compelled to tell. Her memory is blocked. Valen Her captor is the vampire is hates along with all of his kind.

But strangely enough Valen is there for her with whatever trouble she is in. And he’s bidding something. But she just can’t remember what.

This was an amazing book and the cliff hanger this book left you on makes you want to read the second book. Just as things were stating to straighten out in Georgina’s mind.

Nah, this isn't what you're looking for unless you're looking for straight plagiarism. The synopsis sounded great, but as so many others have pointed out, it's just Manacled with very few details changed. The writing was lackluster overall, and frankly, the only saving grace was the narrator for the audiobook for me. I really wouldn't bother if I were you and would just recommend you wait until Alchemised comes out.

2.5⭐️ rounded up. I received this audiobook from NetGalley before I knew about all the Manacled plagiarism talk. I’ve also never read Manacled so I can’t compare it to that! This is a slowwwwww burn for sure. It almost doesn’t feel like a whole lot happened, however I feel like the 2nd book would make up for that as things unravel. I enjoyed the vampire dystopian world building. The narrator’s male voices were killing me though, especially when she was speaking in Gregor’s voice..

I really went into this with an open mind but this is straight up Manacled with vampires. I guess if you want to make your own opinions at least read Manacled first and then this one.
I understand authors take inspiration from others but this one is beyond “inspired by”.

Celia Aaron offers an amazing premise in House of Night, unfortunately, it didn't deliver for me. A novel with so much promise reads more like a very long prologue. There was little plot, and the repetition annoyed me. Not to mention the "cliffhanger" at the end. I found it hard to care about any of the characters because there was no movement in the story. Basically, a drawn-out girl explores with no memory, and a boy saves her while being a jerk is what we get.

I see where Aaron was trying to go with this tale, but it doesn't hit the mark.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to audiobook of House of Night by Celia Aaron. Narrated by Emilia Bauer.

I felt the narrator did a good job voicing the different characters as well as matching the emotions with the different events.

The plot is intriguing and I was curious how the story unfolds. I feel this story is marketed incorrectly. It has gothic vibes and more of paranormal not fantasy. Dystopian vibes as well. There’s a hint of romance but it feels confusing. I don’t want to give spoilers but this felt insta love with rage at the world in the mix. Just not in a passionate manner.

There wasn’t enough world building for me. The angst is immediate, which can work but I need to know why I’m rooting for the main character. It feels as if we’re dropped in the middle of a conversation, trying to understand why certain people and situations are significant.

I think this story needed more time to flush out the characters, transitions and story in general.

Due to the alarming about of comments regarding this story and the author responding as well. I feel rating this would be lumped in with the escalation.

This was very slow-paced and the book ended on a cliffhanger right when things were getting interesting! I didn't know about the plagiarism accusations when I requested this ARC, and while I don't feel comfortable commenting on it as I haven't read Manacled yet, I will say that it does read like Dramione fanfiction where the Death Eaters win the war.

The story follows Dr. Georgia Clarke who was working on a cure for the plague before waking in a dungeon with fragments of her memory missing. Her sister--the president of the United States--is dead, and humans are on the losing side of a deadly war against vampires. Though she has no memory of it, Georgia was witness to the death of the beloved son of Gregor, the ruler of the vampires. In an effort to learn who was responsible for his death, Gregor hands her over to his other son, Valen, the vampire general responsible for wiping out entire cities of humans.

This book's greatest strength is its dark, gothic atmosphere. Georgia is trapped in an underground vampire mansion and spends her days exploring every dark corridor throughout the story. The vampires here are truly monstrous beings--evil, sadistic, and a touch insane. They were so fun to read and Celia Aaron did not hold back during the horrific and gruesome bits. However, there was an issue with the pacing. The majority of the book consists of Georgia exploring the mansion and her memories before capture. They do give a bit of insight on what life was life before the world fell, but overall they don't deliver any revelatory information or forward momentum to the plot.

My biggest gripe though was that I kept waiting for the romance! For the first 50% of the book, the interactions between Georgia and Valen were pretty much a repeat of: Georgia getting caught exploring somewhere she shouldn't be, Valen sneaking up behind her, and then some non-consensual groping/biting, and “little rabbit”/"you're mine"/etc. It wasn't until 60% through that Valen did something I felt was halfway likeable. There was an attempt at diversity, but some of it falls into problematic trope territory (ex: "evil gays").

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator's performance was excellent, especially her seductive vampire voices, which really brought the characters to life. However, there were occasional inconsistences in the character voices, which sometimes made it difficult to tell who was speaking.

Overall, this book started slow but finished strong, though I'm not sure it hooked me enough to continue the series.

TW: graphic violence, murder, gore. dub-con/non-con. attempted SA.

Thank you Dreamscape Media for providing this audiobook for review!

The gothic romance and intriguing vampire lore in *House of Night* immediately pulled me into its dark world. Celia Aaron paints a desolate landscape where vampires have almost eradicated humanity, forcing the remaining humans into a desperate game against each other, all lured by the false promise of immortality.

Our main character, Georgia, is at the center of this power struggle. She holds a crucial memory that could elevate the High Lord to even greater global dominion, but frustratingly, these memories are locked away. She finds herself trapped in a manor with Valen, its cursed lord. His constant taunting creates a fascinating push-and-pull, leading to a truly conflicting dynamic as Georgia begins to develop feelings for him, yearning for his touch and, yes, even his bite.

As the first book in an upcoming trilogy, it's expectedly a bit unresolved at the end, which leaves you eager for more. I really enjoyed learning about this richly imagined world, though I do still have some burning questions. I'm hoping future books will delve into details like the nature of the pandemic that wiped out humans and how the vampires ultimately took control. Overall, if you're a fan of dark gothic romance with unique vampire lore and a compelling, intense dynamic, you'll want to pick this one up!

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 3/2/25.