Rachel Harrison’s deliciously eerie and addictive take on vampires delivers a feminist twist— in this compelling exploration of love, friendship, identity and female empowerment. That fellow horror fans will almost certainly want to sink their teeth into. 

We follow sole POV character Sloane Parker, and her childhood bestie Naomi on a weekend getaway to the Finger lakes for Sloane’s 36th Birthday. Which quickly spirals out of control when the pair find themselves the guests of honour at a vampire gathering that ends in violence. Leaving them to work through a lifetime of self doubt as they slowly come to grips with their new, bloodier and far more complicated lives. 

From the vividly intense, atmospheric settings to the addictively visceral descriptions, and character driven narrative. Harrison’s skillful prose is unmatched! I was completely in awe of her ability to craft such flawed, complex and endearing characters. And absolutely loved getting to know both Sloane and Naomi, whose Thelma and Louise-esque, ride or die friendship dynamics really stole the show.

I also really liked that we explore the transformation from the POV of women in their late thirties. A lot of vampire stories focus on the allure of eternal life for younger people, most of whom have barely lived long enough to fully comprehend the long term ramifications of such a change. So to see more authentic reactions (and the conflicting emotions) surrounding uprooting an entire life (and the people who must be left behind) was really interesting to me. 

The vampires themselves were all quite interesting too, though we don’t go nearly as in depth to them as we do Sloane or Naomi. But the little glimmer humour that abound in these scenes (thanks in part to Ilie and his adorable earnestness) really helped to break up some of the more emotionally intense moments. 

Henry, sloane’s brooding vampire admirer (whose adoration was in stark contrast to her rather bland relationship with husband Joel) was definitely my fave vampire. His chemistry with Sloane was scorchingly good and I was rooting for him the very moment they locked eyes. 

I don’t want to say too much else as I don’t want to spoil the plot, but if you love pacy feminist horrors (and sexy vampires) then you definitely need to order yourself a copy ASAP! Just check TWs beforehand.

Also, a huge thank you to Kabriya and Titan Books for the stunning proof