Oh my gosh, I loved this book! I will admit that at first, I was worried that it was going to be just humans vs. vampires(with vamps being the bad guys of course)but man was I glad I was wrong. You can’t imagine how excited I was when the book revealed that Gabriel was half-vampire(I wouldn’t call that a spoiler since it was revealed at the beginning)! I don’t know why but I absolutely can’t get enough of the book trope of a half or even full monster(who is often filled with self-hate) fighting its own kind who are definitely the bad guys. And I hit the jackpot with this book!
I loved everything about this book. Everything from the illustrations(oh my god those were awesome) to the world-building but most of all I loved the vampire lore. It just felt like truly classic vampires and I loved that. It’s nice to have new takes on myths but sometimes it’s just nice to go back to the classics. I also can’t get enough of Gabriel being the shining example of the asshole mc whose heart of gold is buried beneath a bunch of emotional and physical trauma. And as anyone who reads fantasy knows that mc type makes the best protagonists
One thing that I was surprised I liked was the non-linear storytelling. Having the story told that way had me constantly worrying about what was going to happen in the past even though I basically knew the outcome. And weirdly enough telling the story in the format of the mc sharing his life story makes me even more intrigued about the rest of the series. Like is the rest of the trilogy going to be the same format or is everything going to eventually catch up with the present? So, in case you couldn’t guess I’m giving this book a 10 out of 10 and waiting till Fall 2024 for the next book will be torturous!
Nerd Thoughts 