I really do love a good sapphic vampire romance!

I think my main issue with this series as a whole is the pacing. While I was invested in the characters of Stela and Elizabeth/Irina, and really disliked Fane (how could you not), these books just took so long to get through. I was interested to see how it all played out in the end of book two, with Stela’s internal struggle between her alliance to Fane and commitment to Elizabeth (Irina) as well as Irina’s struggle between Stela and Fane. But I found often my eyes were glazing over and I just wanted to get to the climax of the book.

If you like slower paced, character driven books and queer vampires then this is for you! Unfortunately it was not exactly my speed.

I read the first book of this series and had to jump into this one immediately. It picks up right after the events of Terrible Praise, so it's best to read that book first. Otherwise, you miss the two protagonists falling in love. Closer to obsession than passion, book 1 hit all my love beats and then some. You will miss a lot of the motivation for their actions in this novel if you don't commit to reading the first one.

The intensity and suspense is much higher in this novel because the stakes just got wildly complicated. Stela loves Elizabeth more than she loves Fane, but she can't reveal her connection. Doing so would risk both her and Elizabeth's existence. It makes for a much tenser novel. Also, you get to really see what vampires are made of. They are gorgeous, seductive and utterly lethal, and the circumstances of a hidden love affair just made everything that much more engaging, especially when the couple in question are often at odds with each other. There is a dark realism to this that makes Stela and Elizabeth a compelling pair.

I can't say enough about Fane, either. He is an excellent, well-written antagonist who is intelligent, patient, even heroic but also grows even more creepy as he senses that something is off between Stela and Elizabeth. When it all falls apart, it is brilliant and gutting.

The pace of this novel is slower but the writing and tension keep you turning the pages (I honestly didn't mind that the pace was slower than that of the first book, because I was fully engaged in the world building).

Warning, it does end with a cliffhanger but I would have been desperate for book three anyway if it had not. And I'm sincerely desperate, because book 3 is nowhere in sight and I'm dying to know how this series ends.
I received an ARC from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Originally posted to www.serataino.com/bookshelf:-all-together-stranger-(the-redamancy-series,-book-2)-by-lara-hayes