⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A mesmerizing sapphic vampire romantasy that will haunt your heart

From the very first page, Annie Summerlee’s debut swept me into the Gothic depths of a vampire-run university nestled in the misty Scottish Highlands. Her vivid world-building—crumbling stone halls, moonlit courtyards, and an undercurrent of ancient menace—was so immersive that I felt the chill on my skin and heard the whispers in the corridors .

Rebecca Charity is a brilliant protagonist: tough, snarky, and deeply conflicted. Disguised as a student to hunt vampires, she’s driven by righteous fury—and personal loss. I rooted for her every step of the way (). Then there’s Aliz Astra—a stunning, powerful vampire who subverts Rebecca’s hatred when she unexpectedly becomes her ally—and then her irresistible attraction .

Their enemies-to-lovers arc crackles with tension and chemistry. From near-death rescue moments to the curse binding them as familiar and vampire, every beat deepened their connection . The romance felt electric—intense, heartfelt, and satisfyingly addictive .

The plot races forward with pulse-pounding vampire attacks, secrets, and a mystical compendium everyone’s chasing—the Book of Blood and Roses itself. Twists and emotional scars kept me gripped until the final page

What’s more fun than a vampire school and a roommate to die for?

“The Book of Blood and Roses” forces Rebecca, a vampire hunter trying to learn the truth behind the death of her parents, to go undercover in a college for vampires where her new roommate Aliz happens to be a direct heir to one of the strongest families. When a mishap forces them together they must learn from each other to discover who the true enemy is.

A book that felt like a distant cousin or at least a good pairing to Wicked in that unadulterated loathing like forced proximity. Both women, this is aged up which I loved having them both be out of their teens, have their own prejudices and desire to see the other die but find strength in each other to each of their surprise and that was a nice journey.

The plot is rather expected and rather large but not in a way that feels heavy. We get a lot of moving parts and alliances but with there being such a strong focus on character and the primary dynamic between our two leads it anchored it all together in a way that worked. There is very interesting lore created for our vampires and I would love to see more of that mythology at play in future installments or just in general it’s such a unique idea and one that I think fits the vampire genre and all that it encompasses rather beautifully.

I have really nothing but positive thoughts for this book and one that I think fits perfect as my final read for pride month!

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

The Book of Blood and Roses by Annie Summerlee was a fun read! The chemistry between Rebecca, a vampire hunter, and Aliz, her vampire roommate, was great, and their tension added a lot to the story. The setting, with the mysterious university in the Scottish Highlands, created a cool atmosphere. The pacing was a bit slow at times, and I had trouble fully connecting with Rebecca, but Aliz’s character kept things interesting. If you enjoy sapphic paranormal romance with mystery and chemistry, this one’s worth checking out!

Once again this is something that scratches the vampire itch. This was so well written and paced. I truly enjoyed this one. Please check it out once available.

This is a gothic fantasy that explores a world of vampires, vampire hunters and humans. Mixing all 3 of these seems like a huge risk, but a school in Scotland decides to do just that. The main character is a vampire hunter, with a hatred for vampires, who infiltrates the school by pretending to be a student. She finds out she's been assigned a vampire room mate and they have to learn to coexist together, until a bond forms between them and they struggle with the fact they shouldn't be attracted to one another.

I liked that this wasn't just another YA vampire story with a hot MMC. This focuses on the 2 FMCs friendship/romantic relationship in a forbidden love type of way. Firstly, I loved the setting and the description of the Scottish landscapes, plus the grand buildings and libraries. It painted a vivid picture for me and with the addition of it being set in autumn made me wish I'd read it during spooky season.

The storyline actually went in a completely different direction from what I expected it to which was nice but the ending being a cliffhanger was so infuriating as it's going to be AGES before the second book is released.

I did notice in the Epilogue there was a date discrepancy (November 31st rather than October 31st) but I did read the uncorrected version so it's to be expected.

Overall, I actually really loved this story but it wasn't super fast paced and did end on a cliffhanger which was frustrating when the second book is nowhere in sight. If you like a gothic, atmospheric blend of fantasy , real life and anything vampire related then you'll probably enjoy this book

In the mists of the Scottish highlands lies a university where vampires and humans alike live and study.
But there is one student very different from the rest.

Rebecca Charity. Vampire hunter.

You had me at Vampire Hunter. Before reading this book I was wanting to get back into Vampire books and this one was a hit and just what I needed to quench my Vampire thirst.

Thank you to Annie and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Book of Blood and Roses in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one! The premise was compelling, and it was my first time reading a sapphic romance, which made it all the more fun. The book had a lot going for it: steamy romance, a touch of mystery, forced proximity, an academic setting... all elements I usually enjoy, and they worked well together for the most part. It was a good time.

I even had a few genuine “Omg, what?!” moments around the 75–80% mark, which I love. Those little twists and shocks always win me over.

That said, there were a lot of moving parts. At times, I found myself a bit overwhelmed trying to keep track of everything, and I think the story could have benefited from a little streamlining. The writing style occasionally felt choppy, with some sentences reading more like abrupt statements of fact than parts of a flowing narrative. While I appreciated that the story didn’t drag, I do think certain sections could have been written more smoothly and with a bit more finesse.

The ending tied things up nicely, but it also felt a bit rushed, probably because there was so much to resolve. I also found myself getting confused between characters due to the similar names (the Astras alone gave us Ada, Area, and Aliz… my brain needed a chart!).

All in all, I’d still recommend it, and I’d definitely be keen to read book two.

I really enjoyed this book! It felt perfect for people who are in the mood for a WLW (and more adult) Vampire Academy. It was a fun and fast read, with plenty of twists and a fantastic cliffhanger.

I really struggled to connect to this book. There was too much telling and not showing and I just couldn't get behind the MMC's plight. Also and then is probably just a me thing but the repeated use of the word leech really pulled me out of the story.

ARC Book Review
Sapphic romantasy readers, this one's for you!!
This book had me in a chokehold from page one. Dark, steamy, and dripping with gothic vampire vibes!
The tension? Chef's kiss. I tore through this book and loved every second of it. There were some intriguing hints about the world that have me so excited to see how it all unfolds in future books. And the slow romance? It absolutely delivers.

Huge thank you to @netgalley and anniesummerlee for the ARC!

We’ve got dark academia, vampires and sapphic enemies to lovers. We LOVE. I read this book in a day and can’t wait for the second one! Rebecca is a vampire hunter that goes undercover at a vampire college to find the Book of Blood and Roses. Her family was killed by vampires 4 years ago and she is the lone survivor. How is she supposed to navigate a world where she is supposed to be friendly to the creatures she hates? Enter Aliza Astra—the heir to the most powerful family in vampiredom—who flips everything Rebecca knows to be true, on its head.

The Book of Blood and Roses by Annie Summerlee is lush, haunting, and deeply romantic in the most gothic, rose-thorned way. It swept me into a world of secrets, shadows, and aching beauty — the kind of story that feels like a spell being slowly cast.

Summerlee’s writing is atmospheric and poetic, with a strong emotional undercurrent that hooked me early on. I loved the balance of tenderness and danger, the blurred lines between love and obsession, and the sense that something ancient and wild was always just beneath the surface.

If I had one wish, it would be for a bit more clarity or momentum in the middle — but the payoff was worth the patience. This is a book that lingers in your mind like a half-remembered dream, perfumed with magic, grief, and longing.

Love the dark academia that this book is serving. I think that it will perform really well in its categories/audience. I really liked this one.

This was an excellent introduction to the dark academia world Annie has created and seamlessly immersed the reader in. It’s a compelling mix of elements, all written with clarity and purpose, making it easy to follow and fully engaging. The story was intriguing and enchanting, with a beautifully crafted fantasy plot. I really enjoyed the immersive world-building, the romance, the friendships, and the strong character development throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

Alright go buy this book- it was one of my favorites this year and I’ve given out a lot of 5 stars already. This book has the favorite troupes of enemies to lovers, dark academia school setting, sapphic lovers, vampires, badass female lead character, the list goes on. I love sapphic vampire books and have quite a number on my favorites list and this has jumped up there with the top few. I HIGHLY recommend this book and sure hope it gets the recognition it deserves! 10/5 stars.

Really adored this one, I liked the subversion of Aliz being more innocent despite being the vampire. I felt like their relationship developed as realistically as possible with the circumstances, and the fear around either losing autonomy or becoming a monster was well written. The bedroom scenes were fun and written well. I did feel like things wrapped up very easily at the end, hoping for a sequel to see where they go from there!

The Book of Blood and Roses is a darkly enchanting sapphic fantasy set in a vampire university hidden in the Scottish Highlands. Rebecca Charity, a vampire hunter on a secret mission, must locate a powerful, forbidden text—but her plans are complicated by her mysterious and captivating vampire roommate, Aliz Astra.
This debut blends dark academia, romance, and intrigue with a refreshing twist on vampire lore. While the early pacing is uneven and some world details could be expanded, the tension between Rebecca and Aliz is compelling, and the supporting cast adds richness to the story.
With strong queer representation and a plot full of magic, secrets, and emotional depth, this is a standout read for fans of enemies-to-lovers fantasy. I look forward to the next installment.

Wow!! Fantastic novel for a new author.

Vampires, sapphic love with a touch of dark academia? Such a fantastic read! I will admit that in the beginning I struggled a little bit to engage with the story. The pacing at times felt off and that there should’ve been more clarification on some things. While Cassie/Rebecca is a human relatively new to the world of vampires, I felt that after four years of training with Callisto would’ve given her a more in-depth understanding. But after about 2-3 chapters the pacing became much better with only a few moments where it felt that the passing of time or transition to a new area our characters were was jumped.

A few things I think that would make this an absolute 5 star book is some clarification on certain things, as well as general editing/revesions. There were a few redundant sentence’s. A few clarification things for instance, how are some vampires born? That never gets explained and kinda left me confused considering they are dead after all. Another would be at the beginning of the book a map of the university. I felt confused at times regarding the layout of the school above and under ground.

A list of place and character name pronunciations would be helpful! I’m sure there are some readers like me who when faced a non native language (or just fantasy in general) in books it can be hard to figure out how they are meant to be pronounced and I spend a god awful time trying to figure or out.

All in all, I cannot for this book to be officially published! I look forward to the second book and the continued story of Rebecca and Aliz.

3.5 stars!
Dark academia is always an auto read for me and this was a great addition to the canon! Great pacing, setting and characters. Loved the revenge arc and eerie setting!

Wow wow wow!!!! This book was incredible. I'm absolutely obsessed with the Callisto universe and am so incredibly excited to hear that this is book 1 in the series 👀

The Book of Blood and Roses had everything.

Dark academia? Check.
Vampire University? Check.
Enemies to lovers? Check.
Hidden identity? Check.
WLW rep? Check.

A super gripping read from start to finish with plot twists to keep you guessing and secret societies galore ✨

I will 10000% be ordering a hard copy of this beauty, and cannot wait for book 2!!