This was deliciously dramatic in all the best ways. Their dynamic crackles with tension, wit, and just the right amount of gothic absurdity. I loved the boarding school setting, the slow-burn unraveling of secrets, and the aching pull between duty and desire. It’s funny, wildly romantic, a little bloody, and completely addictive. Austen would be proud, and maybe just a little horrified.

The last vampire is another love story that will steal your heartbeat. It was like a modern day dracula with enemies-to-lovers vibes. Lorena was the Lucy to his vampire heart as his kiss was the winter to her summer. Their love will be told to hundreds and continue as we read it.

I enjoyed the plot and storyline and found that i couldn't put it down once i dove in. Being a fan of dracula and just vampires , i knew i would enjoy it. It was a different take all together that kept me entertained......who doesn't love a vampire and human love story.

While this was not quite what I expected, it was everything I love! Lorena and her bff Selma are off to a newly opened, very exclusive school with students who were handpicked as the first class. After being given strict instructions to stay out of certain areas of the school for safety reasons, Lore and her new friends decide to go exploring. They find a hidden room with a casket inside as well as a library of what appear to be books with blank pages. While in there, a vampire, William, who has been sleeping for ages awakens. Everyone runs through the passage but Lore, who was the last to leave, gets caught and the vampire feeds from her, causing her to become his familiar.
As she tries to hide the fact that a vampire is now among them, her friends start to get suspicious of her behavior and things begin to unravel. While on a field trip William finds other vampires and realizes things aren’t as he thought. As he is torn between the life he knew and this new modern life with Lorena and her friends, he needs to decide what the future holds before it is too late and this new group of vampires comes after everything he’s come to care about.
This book was FANTASTIC and I truly hope to see a second book to find out what happens next!

Perfect book for spooky season! Although the story started off a little slow for me, once it picked up, I loved every second of it.

Read this if you like
- vampires
- gothic settings
- slow-burn romance
- spooky reads

This was such a good vampire book! I loved being able to read this during October too for spooky season. I was eating William up! I loved everything about him. It felt a little long but didn’t take away from the story. Also, I feel like if this book took place in college and had some spice it would’ve been a total 5/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

This is a book that sucks you in in the first chapter. I have had a really hard time recently getting immersed in a book, strangely the downfall of a nation has been super distracting, so to find something that lets me checkout for a few hours is sorely needed.

This book has everything I like, romance, mystery, friendship, spookiness and quirky humor. It doesn't have things that really drag a book down, in my opinion, like time switching, deep dives into the pasts of ALL characters or inappropriate sexual banter (you know like an intense fight scene where a female character notices how tight and well formed the buttocks are of the male characters, spare me).

I hope Ms. Garber writes more.

Romina Garber’s The Last Vampire delivers a fresh and emotionally rich take on a familiar genre, blending ancient vampire mythology with modern themes of identity, grief, and rebellion. The writing is lush and atmospheric, pulling you into a shadowy world that feels both intimate and epic.

The protagonist is complex and compelling — vulnerable yet fierce — and Garber does an excellent job of balancing character-driven storytelling with a fast-paced plot. The worldbuilding stands out, especially the way vampire society is structured and the lore behind their existence. It feels unique without trying too hard to reinvent the wheel.

If you're a fan of dark fantasy with a feminist edge and a strong emotional core, The Last Vampire is definitely worth sinking your teeth into.

A witty, gothic twist on the classic vampire romance, this story delivers dark academia, doomed love, and a centuries-old vampire learning to survive high school.

The Last Vampire by Romina Garber
Pub Date: Dec 2, 2025 | Wednesday Books, St. Martin’s Press

Let’s just say, stumbling across a vampire in a New England boarding school was not on Lorena’s syllabus… but here we are, and wow, was it a ride.

What I love most about this book: the characters refuse to stand still. Lorena and William (yes, he’s the last vampire) both mess up, learn, and genuinely change, which is something I always look for. William isn’t just a broody love interest—he’s complicated and isn’t always (and maybe shouldn’t be) “good.” The way the story weaves in real history and ancient vampire secrets made it feel big, even when everything is happening in a single, creaky manor house.

Was every moment perfect? Not quite. There were definitely bits that didn’t land for me, but honestly, the twists and the stakes (not just the wooden kind) kept me flipping pages. The “enemies-to-lovers” vibes, the gothic weirdness, the way choices actually matter—this is the sort of morally messy romance that I’ll remember.

So, if you want a book that digs into complicated loyalty and delivers actual surprises, give The Last Vampire a try.

Thank you to Wednesday Books & St. Martin’s Press for letting me sink my teeth into this one early.