3.5⭐

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for providing free advanced copies of this! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

Overall I think this was a solid fantasy debut. It's definitely a slow burn, with a more fantasy & lit fic focus that marketed, but overall I really enjoyed the story and themes!

I think one thing that will hurt this book was the way that it was marketed. This was pitched time and time again as a sapphic enemies to lovers romance. And while that is *technically* true, there is little to no actual romance in this first book.

Instead the focus is really on the themes of racism, classism, and privilege with the backdrop of 1920's vampires.

Elise is back in New York after running away to France to study music after the loss of her sister and best friend. And she is determined to save her youngest sister from having to take over the family business. She sacrifices her own future to take the title as heir, finding herself in a sea of mystery, lie, and deceit.

And it all becomes worse when she has to team up with her ex-best friend Layla, who is the vampire that nearly killed her 5 years prior.

From friends, to enemies, to reluctant allies, to attraction - these 2 get caught in dark mystery about what is happening to the vampires, is there a cure, and who is behind it all.

The plot itself is very slow moving and deeply explores who society chooses to help and how.

I loved the discussions and themes, I really loved how brutal and dark this book got at times, and I even enjoyed the progression of the girls' relationship. But the actual reveal was lackluster and honestly disappointing. Since it's the exact person you think it's going to be from page 1....

While this isn't going to work for everyone, I did have a good time reading this and do plan to continue with the series.