I'm so glad I picked this up last night! This story had me desperate to know what was going to happen next and the raw emotions of the abusive codependency between Mia and her Mom, paired with the awful realities of vampirism had me in a chokehold. I was tearing up near the end. Just watching Mia try to leave survival mode and allow herself to want basic, normal things in life was heart wrenching. I definitely want to read the sequel when it comes out in April, I highly recommend this literary horror book. Just be aware of triggers, it definitely has some heavy ones. Thanks so much to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC copy!

Great dark read with some good twists the audiobook was top notch. Mia and her mother’s relationship was one of the more unique family dynamics I have read. Very much looking forward to book 2.

3.5*

This is one of the last books I read before I found out I was pregnant and entered a big reading slump. As such, I don’t remember as much as I’d like to when writing a review.

What I do remember is that this book carved at me when I read it. Mia’s emotional relationship with her mom was all too familiar to me, and I think it was done really well. Her guilt, anger, shame, analysis, rationalizing all echoed my own emotional experience.
As such, that made it a difficult read at times, since I had recently started therapy again to confront my relationship with my own mother.

I wish the ending had been intentional on Mia’s part, not that I wanted the ending to be happy, but to actually see her step into her own power. But I also understand why it was written that way.

That, along with this review coming months after I read the book, make me feel I am not the best judge on its quality, as I am emotionally conflicted as to its quality and merit due to my personal experiences.

This is a story about love & monsters.

I enjoyed this take on vampire lore so much. It was so modern! It was also beautifully grounded in a complex mother/daughter relationships AND it has a queer fmmc! I’m so excited for book 2.

Thank you so much @tornightfire & @macmillan.audio for the e & audio copies. Perfect weekend reading right before Halloween.

Whew! What a wild ride through the turmoil of an unhealthy mother/daughter relationship. Add in drugs and “vampires”, and the reader gets sucked into the depths of of dark secrets. I appreciated the pace of this book keeping me on edge the whole time. I found myself rooting for all the characters to get their sh!t together at one point or another.

The audiobook narrator was able to convey the utter desperation of the plot. They were also easily understood at a faster speed.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and author Liz Kerin for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The perfect vampire read for the month of October!

Creepy vampires and a sapphic romance in a post-pandemic world? Yes, please!

Recently, the market has been over-saturated with vampires, but Kerin offers a fresh take on this classic monster.

The vampire gore was not overdone and added just the right amount of unease the the narrative. Be warned, if the thought of blood makes you squeamish, avoid this book. Though Mia is not a vampire herself, we get vivid descriptions of bloody scenes and blood consumption.

Night's Edge provided a great twist on vampires. I was so enthralled that I finished this in less than 24 and still want more! There's so much potential for this world and I really hope that Kerin expands on it either through a sequel or a companion novel. Even if she weren't to do that, the ending was satisfying (and perfectly grim) enough for me to be happy with the conclusion of the story.

Now this is not your normal vampire book, it’s quite unique actually and puts a spin on the vampire creature. We have Mia our main character and her mom has this affliction along millions of others across the world and they have to keep this a secret, stay in hiding but we have a rebel on our hand, Mia is getting older and wants to branch out but the consequence to that is blood, a lot of blood. This was so engaging, full of paranoia, had me at the edge of my seat the whole time, it’s like nail bitingly intense. I think it’s the perfect spooky season read. There is going to be a sequel so the story isn’t finished. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s not a long book either, you’ll fly through it because you want to know what’s going to happen.

I loved this version of vampires and the fact that people are very aware of them and it’s more like a virus. I really felt for Mia and the relationship with her mother was so relatable. I also loved the switch in timelines between right when Izzy turned and the current day. I can’t wait to read the next book and will be following Liz Kerin from now on.

This is one of my favorite reads of the year so far. Liz Kerin has written a completely unique vampire story that captivates from the first chapter. I absolutely devoured this story. It is fun and dramatic and tense. I felt deeply invested in Mia's relationship with her mom Izzy. Chase Sui Wonders was the perfect narrator for this story. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series!

5 out of 5 stars Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Mia's life has never been the same since her mother went through a change her life has never been the same. Living in the dark, being chained to her mother she walks in to worlds. This is a beautiful,dark and haunting story. I wish that the next novel was coming out tomorrow! That is how much I loved it.

Definitely not for me. I really didn’t like it. Den effed just could not get into it plot, wise, character wise, anything wise

Calling all my vampire fans!!! This one is for you. A terrific debut that blends elements of True Blood + Cults + Pandemic Vibes (Saratov Syndrome, which turns you into a vampire) + Queer Romance + Family Drama

What I love:
✨Complex Mother/Daughter Relationship: Izzy and Mia have a twisted, complicated relationship bordering on codependency. Izzy relies on her daughter, Mia, for a blood source. Without Mia, Izzy would be institutionalized with other inflected people (vampires). Quite literally, Mia’s kept her mother safe and alive since she was ten years old. Their emotional needs twisted around each other for the past decade.
✨Dark Coming of Age: Mia begins to realize that her codependent relationship needs boundaries. Mia realizes that as her mother’s protector, she’s walled herself off from all personal relationships. As Mia begins to explore her sexuality, Jade pulls Mia beyond her walls and begins a budding romance. Jade infuses a bit of sarcasm and humor into the story as well.
✨Dual Timelines: The “2010” timeline provides context and backstory to the “Now” chapters and lays the groundwork for the rest of the series. However, I found myself longing for the “Now” chapters. I’m excited about where the “Now” chapters will take us in book 2!
✨Narration: Chase Sui Wonders brings the story to life, adding tension to the story, sarcasm to the dialogue, and allowing the listener to feel sympathy towards these characters. I hope she narrates book 2.

Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan audio for the arc !! It was definitely an emotional roller coaster ride. Also the ending had me thinking for about two hours . I recommend reading along with the audio book because the narrator brings so much more like to Mia & the world building. Its like I can her voice as the main character & it just goes together like blood and the pink tumblr. I love that’s this wasn’t an ordinary vampire Novel. The ending was amazing cliff hanger in my opinion, it left the reader to wonder what mia’s life would be now .

The narcissism of Mother Gothel combines with the raw power of traditional vampires to create Mia’s mother Izzy. Before Mia even hit puberty, her mother was infected with Saratov’s Syndrome. Shortly after, the world became aware of the new disease and the dangerous Saras who now hunt humans, declaring it a pandemic and public health emergency, and mandating that all infected individuals be kept in isolation for “treatment.”

Mia has spend over a decade hiding her mother and providing her nightly with blood to quell her appetites. But she’s 23, now, and Mia longs for freedom, social connection, and maybe even romance. But Izzy warns her that getting close to anyone increases the risk of discovery.

So why is Izzy going out at night? Why is her mother’s renewed fascination with the very man who turned her into a Sara acceptable, but sitting down at Starbucks for a drink with the cute barista girl forbidden?

The horror of this novel comes a lot less from the vampire elements, and more from Izzy as a mother. As I said, Mother Gothel, but with added danger. Being in Mia’s mind as she deals with the double-standards and verbal abuse is intense.

A great quick horror listen. The narrator, Chase Sui Wonders, does the gay confusion and social longing very well. Mia is never whiny, she’s frantic. It gives an increased intensity to an already fraught narrative.

Advanced listener copy provided by the publisher.

This audiobook was outstanding, the narration added to the character and aided in how you felt about every situation the main character was in. I loved that the author essentially wrote a vampire novel without ever using the word vampire. What sets this book apart is the author's ingenious approach of crafting a vampire tale without ever uttering the word "vampire." In most vampire novels, the vampires take center stage, but Kerin masterfully shifts our focus to Mia, unfolding her story through two captivating timelines—one when she's a mere 10-year-old and the other in her present-day life. What makes this book really stand out is the multilayered look at dependency and the layered aspects to family life. Overall, there wasn't anything major that I would have changed and found the book to tie up the loose ends in a manor that made sense to the entire story.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for an advanced e copy of this book.

✨ Review ✨ Night's Edge by Liz Kerin

This was a fascinating take on the vampire story by Liz Kerin (and the first of a new series of ?? books). The main character, Mia, is basically bound to her mother after her mother is turned when Mia is 10. The dual-timeline story is told in the present, where she's working at a bookstore without friends or much of a life and draws blood to sustain her mom each night, and when she was 10 and her mother was turned and they quickly ended up on the run.

I thought this had some fun elements and twists on the vampire classics, and it gave me some True Blood Sookie Stackhouse vibes. I think I liked the past POV more than the present timeline because it just moved a little slow for me. Ultimately, the book left a lot of questions, likely in a cliffhanger sort of setup for the sequel book. While I don't mind a good cliffhanger, I felt short of a lot of answer.

I enjoyed it but had some qualms too. A solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: horror-ish / sci-fi / fantasy
Setting: Utah / Arizona
Reminds me of: slow burn True Blood
Pub Date: out now!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and #netgalley for an advanced e-copy of this book!

Thank you to the publisher for the ALC. I need Chase Sui Wonders narrating more audiobooks cause she killed it.

This book is full of raw emotions. The fear of having an unreliable parent and that person being the only dependent. This could've been a lot heavier but the author does a great job balancing the glimpse of hope in between the awful abuse Mia has to go through every single day. How much are we willing to take for parental love and validation? When do we become independent from the string they like to play sometimes? Different from the regular view of the vampiric world, definitely different that what I expected but fully enjoyed it nonetheless.

"Sometimes in a life, hell I'll say it, in a girl's life, you get tangled up with people who want to control you because they lost control of everything else; people who make you feel safe when you're not."

But what do you do when the one you're tangled up with is your mother? The nuances in the metaphorical Sci Fi thriller Night's Edge by innovative author Liz Kerin are hidden in a tale of horror.

In 2010 Mia's man dependent, often drugged addled mother, Izzy is deliberately infected by her abusive boyfriend Devon with the infectious Saratov Syndrome, basically vampirism.

The are detention centers for the infected but Mia needs Izzy financially and to avoid foster care and Izzy needs her for blood. They live a life in hiding, no talking to anyone, no one comes over, except of course the ever present Devon, who is infecting those who will depend on him for everything, basically a cult leader.

In present time, now 23, Mia meets musician Jade and sees a life she could have, but guilt, misplaced love, and fear of the unknown, despite the known fear, keep her from leaving Izzy...until Jade intervenes with dire consequences for everyone.

Actress and debut audiobook narrator Chase Sui Wonders shows off her acting chops as young scared Mia to young adult tired and emotionally drained Mia. Izzy also has many transformations, at times trying to be a loving parent and turning into a real life monster.

Walking on tip toes everyday is exhausting but Mia can't leave because she feels she's the only one who can help her Mom. She is needed and that's a strong emotion. So she walks a tightrope everyday always waiting on Night's Edge to fall. Thankfully there's a sequel, First Light, in April 2024. After that ending I need some light!

I received a free copy of this audiobook from MacMillan Audio via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Another vampire book. Family drama. Teen drama. Homosexual teen drama. Horror. Domestic abuse. The blending of genres is getting out of control.