Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

This was exactly what I needed to dive deep into my vampire era and TC did an amazing job with this one. The chemistry and spice between Vlad and Reine was so well written. I enjoyed the cameo's from her other work with the mixture of gods and witches so I will be going back to learn more about these characters.

5/5 stars
3.5/5 spice

A spectacular, lyrical, and incredibly well-balanced start to the NOLA After Dark series. T.C. Kraven masterfully expands her existing universe, blending historical lore with a high-heat paranormal romance that seamlessly moves between character growth and intense plot progression without ever dragging.

The prose is beautiful and atmospheric, immediately setting a dark, gothic tone for New Orleans vampire politics. Vlad is a phenomenal MMC—fiercely protective of his daughters and his fragile peace, yet completely undone and turned into a powerful, yearning mess the moment Reine enters his orbit. The forbidden, high-stakes nature of their fated bond keeps the tension dialed up from the very first chapter. Reine is a fantastic FMC, and watching her discover her origins while her own art betrays memories she doesn't even know she has is incredibly gripping.

The rich world-building—complete with otherworlders, witches, and gods—makes the universe feel incredibly deep and cohesive. The chemistry and spice between Vlad and Reine are absolute perfection, serving the overarching plot beautifully. It's a decadent, fast-paced ride that completely entrapped me from start to finish!

Thank you to NetGalley, T.C. Kraven, and Diversion Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely loved everything about this book. It was a super unique take on vampire books and nothing like I’ve ever read before. The yearning and the reincarnation are some of the best tropes I’ve read. This author just has a way of putting you entirely in the story. I loved the dual POV

First and foremost, one can only pray to encounter a love that survives lifetimes. The chemistry between Vlad and Reine is haunting, magnetic, and heavy with an almost wicked intensity. The harder he fought to deny his dark hunger for her, the more relentlessly they were pulled right back into each other's shadowed orbit. Their connection brings a scorching, level 5/5 spice to the page. It is decadent, raw, and beautifully unrepentant.
​Beneath the music and midnight rituals of the city, T.C. weaves a world building that is atmospheric, dangerous, and utterly intoxicating. The story serves as a profound reminder that the found families we choose in the dark can run deeper than blood—and that even the most harrowing betrayals are worth forgiving when a bond is truly immortal. Ultimately, it proves that if love is absolute, even the deepest sins can find absolution, and a relationship can withstand any trial.

​For anyone craving a fiercely protective hero, a resilient heroine, and an epic, high stakes romance steeped in gothic atmosphere and exquisite heat, Blood and Bedlam is an absolute must read. Highly recommended!!

Love love love! Can't wait to see this one out in the world. New Orleans, vampires and a MMC who'd cross oceans.

If you enjoy dark fantasy packed with action, danger, and morally gray characters, Blood & Bedlam absolutely delivers. From the opening chapters, the story throws you into a chaotic world where survival often depends on making impossible choices.

I especially loved the balance between brutal action and emotional character development. Even during the biggest battles, the story never lost sight of the people at its center, making every victory and loss feel significant.

The pacing never slowed, the twists kept coming, and I finished the book already looking forward to whatever comes next. This is a fantastic read for anyone who enjoys darker fantasy with plenty of heart beneath the chaos.

🩸🦇 Blood & Bedlam 🦇🩸

📖 Bookish Thoughts

My full review will be shared closer to the publication date.

✨ What to Expect
• Paranormal Romance
• Vampire Romance
• Gothic Atmosphere
• New Orleans
• Fated Love
• Ancient Magic
_ _ _ _

📅 Pub Date: September 15, 2026
Thank you to Diversion Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

SLAY LESS!

Hooked from the cover but once you dive in, HECK YES! It has everything and more I expect from a TC Kraven book. There’s intrigue, banter, spice, VAMPIRES. An immediate banger.

If you are looking for a book to set you firmly on your fall path, look no further.

5 ⭐
3.5 🌶️ Several explicit scenes
4 ☠️ Several triggers apply

Ahhhh! This book is everything! Heart wrenchingly honest, shrouded in mystery, devilishly seductive and tantalizingly spicy!

Reine is phenomenal, with a vialant spirit and unwavering devotion. Vald is down soo bad and such a great dad, I love him. The Dracul clan is a beautiful example of chosen family and the strength they nurture in each other. Each of the girls brings a unique personality to the table, I enjoyed watching them bond with Reine and welcome her to the family. I'm excited to see more of their stories. It was so nice getting to see some of the Dark Fates krewe again too!

T.C. elegantly weaves history and lore into soul altering tales of love and defiance, and I can't get enough of them!

This was such a cool way to tie in the casket girls, vampires, romance, I could go on and on. I was crying at points, laughing in other moments, this was just an all around good time. I really hope to read more about Camille and her eternal. Vlad though? Obsessed with him, a top MMC for me now.

I was entranced from start to finish! The storyline is so good and I enjoyed that new information was slowly revealed throughout the chapters. The spicy bits are amazingly detailed and make you want to blush. The twist of events toward the end had my head spinning and I’m pleased with the ending (though I cried a few times throughout). I also was really happy that my grrrl Hecate was an important character in this book! Would definitely recommend for those who love spice, magic, vampyrs, and witches.

T.C. has done it again. A vampyre after dark New Orleans story with twists and secrets. Yes please. I need more. This was emotional as you go through it with Vlad and Raine.

Listen, hot vamps, witches, alligator shifters, gods and goddesses. Love, lust, secrets, and hidden identities. You need this. And I need the next one.

THIS IS EASILY A TOP READ OF THE YEAR.

Omg. TC. MAAAAAM YOU DID THE DAMN THING.
This has me OBSESSED from the very beginning and I kept thinking there’s no way it can get better, & guess what?! IT FUCKING DID.

The love that our two main characters have for each other is so truly out of this world. “Fuck the fates” yessss honeeeyyyyy. The years, the longing, the complete soul crushing NEED they have for one another. Absolutely beautiful.

& the love that he has for his “daughters”?! Oh I cried. His heart is the best thing about him. And then her love for them, at 89% I did in fact ball like a baby because of the moment and the love and the caring.

10000000000000000000000000stars. Go read it as soon as you possibly can brothers

♾️🌟
OBSESSED!! I ate this book up! Perfection!! I loved how we get the Vladimir Dracula lore, but with a twist that has all of my FAVORITE things. Hecate, gods, shifters, mates, witches, and ancient magic. Did I mention feminine rage, gaining power to avenge and protect yourself. Oh wait found family and a love so strong it spans hundreds of years.
Aside from all my favorite things, the writing was done in a way that sucked me in and had my imagination on overdrive. The spice was beautifully passionate. The love between Vlad and Reine and within Clan Dracul radiates off the pages.
This was such a unique spin off of "Dracula" that I will forever prefer this version. T.C did an absolutely amazing job paying homage to Casket Girls of Louisiana. I knew nothing about that part of the culture and thought it was beautifully done. I can't wait to read the next one!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

🎃THE HALLOWEEN READ OF THE SEASON🎃

this book was so mf good, tc kraven puts crack in her books i swear. she had me hooked from the first chapter!

it’s like she took a dash of brides of dracula (but made them daughters) & you know that dracula movie everyone went feral for where he tries to k*ll himself after losing her and he finds her reincarnated?? THIS IS THAT BUT MOREEEEE!

vlad is everything you want in an vampire mmc, he’s hot, feral for his lost love, soft for her & his girls, but monstrous when he needs to be (literally). reine is soft yet stubborn & sassy. i loved her to pieces. the plot was fantastic, the spice was spicinnnn 😮‍💨, each character was detailed & unique.

BARK BARK BARK I NEED MORE ASAP

🩸 touch her & die
🩸 human x vampire
🩸 fated mates
🩸 magic
🩸 second chance romance
🩸 found family
🩸 gods/goddesses, witches, shifters


thank you to the author for the arc!

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice Rating: 3/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Format: ARC | Ebook
Book Type/Dynamic: MF Paranormal Romance | Fated Love Across Lifetimes | Ancient Vampyr x Human | Found Family | Touch Her & Die

New Orleans, ancient blood magic, vampire politics, dangerous women, and an immortal man who has spent centuries yearning for the same soul?

Yes. Put the fangs directly into my veins.

Blood & Bedlam is a lush, bloody, deeply romantic beginning to T.C. Kraven’s NOLA After Dark series. It takes the familiar bones of Dracula lore, drags them through the candlelit streets of New Orleans, and dresses them in Casket Girls history, Otherworlder politics, midnight rituals, and enough supernatural chaos to keep the story moving well beyond the romance.

At the center of it all is Vlad Dracul, the original vampyr, ruler, protector, father, and immortal wife guy of my darkest dreams.

Vlad could have easily become another ancient, controlling vampire archetype, but there is so much more beneath his possessive exterior. He carries centuries of grief, responsibility, devotion, and barely restrained violence. His love for his daughters, the Casket Girls, gives him an unexpected tenderness that made him feel far more layered than simply being the terrifying supernatural male everyone fears.

Do not misunderstand me. He is still terrifying.

He is simply terrifying while being a devoted girl dad with a centuries-long yearning problem, which may be an even more dangerous combination.

Then there is Reine, a bartender and artist who finds herself pulled into a world of vampyrs, rival factions, old magic, and secrets written into her own blood. Her dreams and artwork suggest that some part of her remembers Vlad, even when her conscious mind does not.

I appreciated that Reine did not immediately become a helpless ornament in Vlad’s world. She is understandably overwhelmed by what is happening around her, but she still questions, pushes, reacts, and attempts to hold on to herself while being dropped directly into the supernatural deep end with several emotional bricks tied to her ankles.

The relationship between Vlad and Reine develops quickly within the present-day timeline, but this is not exactly ordinary instalove. Their connection carries the weight of memories, loss, reincarnation, and a love that has been starving for centuries. Vlad recognizes her soul long before she understands why she is drawn to him, creating a delicious imbalance between his certainty and her confusion.

He remembers everything while she remembers almost nothing. And he has been bleeding for her for far too long to behave normally about finally having her within reach.

That yearning is where the relationship truly shines. Vlad does not merely want Reine. He recognizes her. He mourns her while she is standing directly in front of him. His desire is wrapped around grief, worship, protectiveness, and the kind of possession that comes with an implied body count.

The wider Dracul family was another enormous strength. The Casket Girls are not decorative background characters placed around Vlad to make him appear powerful. They have distinct personalities, relationships, loyalties, and histories of their own. Their bond feels like a true chosen family: loving, complicated, fiercely protective, and entirely capable of murder before brunch.

The setting is equally intoxicating. New Orleans doesn't feel pasted behind the characters as gothic wallpaper. Its music, history, masks, rituals, heat, and supernatural undercurrents are woven into the story’s blood supply. Kraven blends the mythology surrounding the Casket Girls with traditional vampyr lore and her established Dark Fates universe, creating a city crowded with witches, gods, shifters, monsters, and political grudges that have had centuries to ferment.

As for the spice, I am settling firmly on 3 out of 5.

There are several explicit scenes, and the book understands that blood drinking becomes an entirely different activity when desire enters the room. The intimacy is seductive, possessive, occasionally feral, and deeply connected to Vlad and Reine’s supernatural bond. However, this is not a smut-first story or a book where everyone is naked by chapter three and simply remains that way for convenience.

On my personal scale, a five means the plot is gasping for air beneath an enthusiastic pile of bodies. Blood & Bedlam keeps its clothes on long enough to build its characters, mythology, mystery, and family relationships. When the spice arrives, it absolutely brings the heat, but the emotional yearning leaves the deeper burn.

Overall, Blood & Bedlam gave me nearly everything I want from a vampire romance: an immortal man hopelessly devoted to one woman, a heroine connected to something ancient and dangerous, historical mythology, blood-soaked intimacy, supernatural politics, vicious found family, and New Orleans gothic atmosphere dripping from every page.

It's romantic, decadent, violent, occasionally heartbreaking, and sexy without sacrificing the world around its central couple.

A solid 4.5 stars from me.

Vlad Dracul may have crossed oceans of time for his woman, but more importantly, he arrived with fangs, daughters, emotional damage, and touch-her-and-die energy.

That is what I call properly accessorized.

ARC Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!! Truly so well-written and had me hooked from page one. Kraven created a world I never want to leave.

Give me vampires and New Orleans and I'm already hooked.
Now I live in the NOLA area and so I was excited for this book because hello, there are so many ways that you can get the lore in this book!! Like I'm obsessed with the way T.C. Kraven has taken the Casket Girls in this different way but also the way there is world building (without taking away from the New Orleans setting) the lore that we see and the way that Vlad is with the girls? I loved so much of it.
This was such a great read and I am so happy I was able to ARC read this!!
Vampires, New Orleans, Casket Girls? So so good!!

TC Kraven has sucked me back in (yet again—not that I was ever gone in the first place). New Orleans holds a special place in my heart, and adding in some vampyr lore and magic and witches and shifters….plus some extra sneaky Easter egg appearances from some Dark Fates friends…and this tale has wormed its way up into one I’ll be thinking about for a while. Vlad is 1000% Daddy, and Reine is SUCH a badass—I loved them and the whole host of new characters. And I simply cannot wait to see the next installment!

I received an advanced reader copy for free and am leaving a review voluntarily.

Love TC Kraven's Dark Fates series (or if you haven't read it yet that's okay, but I would recommend it)? Fascinated by the power of New Orleans? Love a sexy vampire, or is that vampyr? Both? Both. TC's upcoming book, Blood & Bedlam has all this and more.

I loved the inspiration of the Casket Girls lore woven with ancient magic and blood. This story is spicy, sexy, mysterious, and supernaturally sweet. Vlad is several centuries old and I loved his character as readers travel through glimpses of his long life and history. His relationship with Reine is magically quick, but the world building and story weaving is excellent as we learn more about her. I craved this story like a vampyr craves blood. I can't wait for the next book!