TL;DR: Immortal Dark was one of my most anticipated 2024 releases and I'm thrilled to say that Tigest Girma did not let me down. She slayed with this stunning debut! While I'm not a dark academia girlie, I loved exploring the vast history of Uxlay University and the complex relationship between dranaics (vampires) and actis (humans). The writing is lush, the world-building richly detailed, and the characters delightfully wicked, complicated and so very morally grey. Despite the pacing being on the slower side, it allowed me to completely immerse myself in the gothic setting and by the time the action kicked off in the latter half, I was fully invested and wowzer, I did not see some of those surprises coming! Girma leaves readers with a double whammy that has me *aching* to get my hands on the next book immediately. I feel like this is going to be a hit! 4.5 stars rounded up

I was equally terrified and excited to start reading this book because let's just say my track record with anticipated releases and debuts in 2024 has been rather abysmal. I know that this book won't be for everyone but I'm so happy that I wasn't disappointed by it! If this is Girma's debut I honestly can't wait to see how her writing evolves as she releases more books. 😍

The world-building is vast and complex (this is a word I'll use *a lot* in this review but IMHO, it perfectly sums up so much of this book... Sorry, not sorry)! From the history of the university's establishment to the history of the complicated peace between dranaics and actis spanning millennia, there is so much to uncover about in this world. I will admit that the richness of it, especially establishing the world and its "rules", meant that the pacing of the story often fell on the slow side but the overall journey made it worth it. I loved how Girma also weaves Ethiopian mythology into the storyline as it's not something I've much about before. I enjoyed learning about the terms of peace between dranaics and actis and the unique element related to their feeding which I don't think I've read in a vampire story before. Depending on where the dranaic drinks from the actis, both parties will experience a different emotion or event about the other, which of course can get tricky. 😉 I thought this was a fascinating element and it played fantastically into upping the tension between our two main characters, Kidan and Susenyos.

I also liked that we learned about all of this alongside Kidan as she studies Dranactis as part of her goal to rescue her missing sister. It was refreshing to read so much of the academic part of the dark academia subgenre and between attending Dranactis classes, the study group sessions, and Kidan's independent study, there are plenty of these moments to enjoy. I don't think lovers of this aesthetic will be disappointed! Another element that the author did brilliantly is the way she set the atmosphere. The setting is extremely gothic and that mysteriously dark tone is present not only in the way the setting is described but also in the emotions depicted by our characters. I especially loved how House Adane was given a life of its own. This house that, quite literally, controls your emotions, projects your nightmares, and whose walls are steeped in your greatest fears was deeply unsettling but also, amazing. I would not want to spend a night there though, that's for sure! 🤭

As much as I loved the setting though, it was the characters and their relationships that that made this most enjoyable. Aside from our two main characters, there are several side characters we came to know and who I grew to love as well, which made some of the later scenes particularly heartbreaking! The story is told from one POV, Kidan's, and we go through quite a journey with her, as she navigates the reality of being surrounded by the "creatures" she passionately loathes. She's not very easy to like (although she doesn't have to be likeable to be great!) and she is morally grey and Machiavellian to the extreme, but I came to love her heart, ferocity, strength, and willfulness; even if that willfulness drove me up the wall at the beginning, lol. Honestly, Kidan is unlike any other MC that I've read before in both good and bad ways! There's so much darkness that envelopes her and it feels rather oppressive at times. She's rough around the edges, emotionally volatile, and has a thirst for blood and death that I found at turns discomfiting and alluring. It's almost as if she's obsessed with death and dying, and as if she yearns for its embrace—which she proves time and again when she throws herself into life-or-death situations with little thought or care for the consequences. She certainly won't be everyone's cuppa but the complexity of her character steadily grew on me!

Our other main character, who unfortunately doesn't get a POV, is Susenyos. He's the dranaic of House Adane and to say Kidan hates him, and vice versa, would be an understatement. Her relationship with Susenyos was complex, to say the least, and combined with their contrasting personalities, it made for some great tension but also created a deliciously dark and angsty enemies-to-lovers romance. I was disappointed when I realised that Susenyos wouldn't get a POV as I feel like it would've added more dimension to the story (not like it doesn't already have enough of that, lol) and I think it would've also helped speed things along in the initial set up. There's a lot of mystery surrounding his character and I loved uncovering more of his complex past to better understand what's happening between him, Kidan and House Adane in the present. Ngl, I still have so many questions but with how book one concludes, I know we'll be getting many of those answers in the second book. What I loved the most in how the author wrote about their relationship was their opposing natures. While Kidan is an actis obsessed with death, Susenyos is a dranaic who is obsessed with life. As much as it seems like she would do anything to die, he does everything in his power to stay immortal. There is so much delicious tension in their interactions as they fight (sometimes literally) to understand each other's motives and it just made each scene between them so good because you never know what the other is going to do next!

Now, for all of you readers who came here at the mention of "enemies-to-lovers" romance, buckle up because you're in for an incredibly tense ride! When it comes to this favourite trope, I'm always prepared to be disappointed by the "enemies" aspect but I should've known that Girma would not disappoint! This isn't a miscommunication or misunderstanding between the two. No, Kidan and Susenyos tread a very fine line between "like" and hate, and for the majority of the book they do anything in their power to hurt, humiliate, sabotage, and enrage each other. Some moments had me questioning if a romance even made sense but again, the author does a fantastic job of weaving the emotions and reveals to create a believable connection between them. This is one of the darkest and best enemies-to-lovers romances I've read in a very long time and I loved every moment of it! I also wouldn't say this gets "steamy" (as it's YA) but there is one bigger intimate scene that is depicted but not in detail. I will also say this tends to read more like New Adult rather than Young Adult or the older end of the YA range.

I could go on gushing about this book but I'm going to stop here. I will just say please read it and then come talk to me about it because this is a story that I would love to talk to other readers about! I would also say sorry for the long-winded review but I'm not. I do hope that most of it makes sense though because this is full-on word-vom of the thoughts in my brain but it doesn't even cover all of it! I think it's safe to say that Immortal Dark is my favourite debut of 2024 so far and it's making it onto my top reads of the year!

This dark academia fantasy book had me in a chokehold! It features Ethiopian rep, Black vampires, and lots of tension between our two main characters. I was very intrigued right from the beginning of the novel about the politics in this world between humans and vampires. The mystery of June's disappearance also had me hooked (although I was able to guess what really happened with June's disappearance). The middle part of the novel was a bit slow for me, but I found the chemistry between Kidan and Susyenos in the last 25% of the book as the best part of the novel. Seeing their slowburn tension build into more was very gratifying, and I can't wait to see where their relationship goes in book 2!

What I love the most about this book is the lore it builds regarding vampires, called dranaics. The history of how the houses and companions came to be, the constant exchange of immortal life, how biting a human in a different part of the body creates a different experience because of the memories or desires it shares. It’s unlike any other vampire story I’ve read in the best way. I can’t wait to keep reading and see how everything continues to build.

I could read a whole history style book about the lore the author develops. Everything was constantly peeled back, adding in more and more information until you think you understand everything there is to know, but that’s never the case. Honestly, I need to reread it I think to fully wrap my head around everything, and it’s been a while since I’ve felt that way about a book.

I honestly struggled to get through this book. I went into it with a little bit high expectations, and was majorly disappointed. I really, really wanted to like it. But it just felt like there was too much going on. Like with the school: I felt like the courses, etc., could have been expanded upon. Instead it is mentioned she has to take certain classes, but it doesn’t really follow up with them. I just felt like there were many missed opportunities.
Another thing that felt odd was the strong hatred Kidan has for Sussenyos, and how Sussenyos responds to it. He’s acting like he has some huge secret, but there really wasn’t anything too surprising ever revealed. It just all felt too forced.

I’ve seen so many others like this book, so I don’t want to yuck anyone’s yum. I would still recommend others to try it, since I seem to be in the minority.

Title: Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma
Genre: Romantasy
Pub Date: September 3, 2024
📖 432 pages

🩸 Vampires
✨️ Dark Academia
🩸 Arcane Society
✨️ The Cruel Prince x Ninth House
🩸 Enemies to Lovers
✨️ Sentient Houses
🩸 Morally Gray Characters
✨️ Villainous Romantic Leads
🩸 Twisty Mystery

My Review:

Immortal Dark is a vicious enemies to lovers, dark academia fantasy, perfect for fans of Ninth House and lovers of all things vampire! The writing is beautiful, the pacing quick and chapters short, the characters believable and maybe a little unstable... Follow Kidan on her journey to find her missing sister and destroy all evil.

The disappearance of her sister drives Kidan insane, and she would do anything to find her, including kill.
After being arrested for murder, she's miraculously bailed out by someone whose got an interesting offer for her: come to Uxlay University, pass the courses, inherit her familial home and, most importantly, get closer to finding which vampire stole June, or sign away the rights to her last family vampire, Susenyos Sagad.

I really enjoyed the murder mystery/whodunit aspect, I never could've guessed the outcome. The characters are very well written and multidimensional, I became invested in the whole little group, their losses hurt me too. This is only book 1, so no HEA unfortunately, but we are blessed with one heck of a cliffhanger!

Thank you so much, TBR and Beyond Tours and NetGalley, for the digital review copy ❣️

🔗 check out https://tbrandbeyondtours.com/ to follow the tour schedule

@tbrbeyondtours @tigestgirma #ImmortalDark #TBRBeyondTours #TigestGirma

I realize it’s only the first week of September, but after reading TIGEST GIRMA’s IMMORTAL DARK, spooky season is officially on! I can’t think of a better book to kick-off my fall reading.

Kidan Adane is convinced that her sister June is hidden away inside Uxlay University, the secret community where her parents were murdered. When her Aunt Silia dies, Kidan is next in line to inherit Adane House. But to become owner of the House, she must pass Dranacti - a notoriously challenging philosophy course on vampire-human relations - and share a home with Susenyos Sagad, the savage vampire she believes kidnapped her sister.

This story has it all - dark academia (REALLY DARK), mysterious societies, ancient vampires, family secrets, gorey violence, magical artifacts, and sexual tension.

Let me be clear. This world is deadly. There is no moral justification for the characters’ choices. But the shared darkness serves to bond a group of lonely, desperate individuals in friendship. And the more the main characters and their friends reveal about themselves, the more intriguing the book becomes.

Writing main characters that are defiantly unlikeable and unrelatable was a deliberate choice of the author. And that’s what makes this book so interesting. What happens if we let go of guilt and regret? What influences us to remain supportive of friends who make hurtful choices? What factors separate the desperate from the truly monstrous?

It’s not all dark philosophy, however. This book is packed with page-turning twists and turns as plots are uncovered and secrets are revealed. I’m really eager to see what Girma does with the rest of the trilogy.

I loved this. Morally grey vampire fantasy is definitely a vibe, and I feel like there have been a handful of books this year that made me feel this way. I definitely think this is going to be a great book to read when the days get shorter and darker, and cold. This is going to be a big book this fall, I can feel it. I loved the setting/world, the characters and I found the plot to be really compelling. I would like the next one now, please, because I need more!

Does a great job maintaining that dark seductiveness vampires are know for and I like how these vampires were tied into Ethiopian culture. Got a little too purple prose at times to the point where it felt cliche. Could've been a little shorter as it started dragging as we got closer to the end but I enjoyed following Kidan and finding out more about the house.

A troubled girl wants to find her sister so she moves into the house she never wished to see and joins an academy of vampires and humans (only one can graduate). There are rules to keep the humans safe, but the vampires have too many politics and games to get away with their will. Now Kidan is living in the house with the vampire she believes took her sister (or killed her). To claim the house for her she must attend the academy and have good grades, but the vampire living there wants to claim the house as well. Then a murder... and Kidan invokes all her courage to unveil darker secrets. Enemies to more than "allies".

Slow burn and a cliffhanger ending. Great atmosphere and vibes. Will probably be awesome too as an audiobook.

Happy pub day, Immortal Dark 🧛🏿🩸

Things I loved:
-Kidan Adane. She’s impulsive and filled with rage. She doesn’t always make sense or think about the consequences of her actions — and while that drives me crazy as an adult — this is a YA novel and I believe it sets us up for great character development as the story progresses in the following books.
-The writing was beautiful. You could feel the tension, angst, rage, and hatred coming from the pages. The vividness of the writing also made you feel, at times, in the rooms of when it’s happening. Especially when they were at House Adane.
-Magical system (House Magic). There’s something powerful about having this house be tied to families for generations, and how it serves basically as a museum of some sort.

Things that drove me bonkers:
- The world building. (Yes, I know I said I loved it yet here we are.) There was a lot of world building and set up, so much that I would say that there was TOO much. I was so overwhelmed with information that wasn’t fully explained that I couldn’t keep track.
- World building part 2: there were so many characters that it was hard for me to not only keep track of them and their importance to the story, but connect with any of them.
- A lot of stuff just didn’t make sense because things weren’t always fully explained. While reading it, I said out loud, “how does any of this make sense? Why does this matter? What does this have to do with Kidan getting her sister back?” This also ties into all the side characters because I didn’t understand their reaction or why they behaved a certain way. For me, there was just a lack of connecting the dots for the readers.

The thing that absolutely drove me insane:
-There was no clear timeline, so by the time we were at the end of the school year, it was simply kind of like “oh”. It also impacted how I viewed Kidan in relation to others. So when she’s essentially saying these people are her friends, I was confused because it felt like she had just met them.
-The synopsis mentioned that a murder “shakes Uxlay”… I was waiting for the “shakes” part to enter the room! IT DID NOT HAPPEN. There was no uproar or massive mourning, other than Kidan fighting to how the murder was tied to her sister’s disappearance.

Overall: I didn’t end up hating it, but 🤷🏾‍♀️ it’s complicated AF and naturally, so are my feelings about it.

Fortunately (and unfortunately) I’m locked in on this rollercoaster ride Tigest is about to take us on. BUCKLE UP!

*It should go without saying, but: go buy it and/or request from your library!*

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

As I said earlier, this was quite an interesting read. For the most part, and just as I’d finished, I decided on 3 stars, maybe add on a .5 stars for the vampires. Now it’s a solid 4 stars. Did I like the main characters? No, they’re terrible. But they’re meant to be terrible and they’re written great (in that sense). If you like unlikeable characters I recommend this book!

It’s not that I don’t like unlikeable characters, I do, I also tend to get really annoyed with characters if they annoy me. I’m aware of how it doesn’t make sense. For this book I liked the male main character (Susenyos) way more than the female one. Arguably, he’s definitely the worst as he’s a vampire and doesn’t care about silly human things like morals and values. The female lead (Kidan) hated Susenyos for being a vampire and doing bad things but like you knew that? In this world vampires are extremely bad. They’re not sparkly romantic ones like Twilight. They’re terrible! But I did like that she herself felt connected to those dark areas of Susenyos and disliked herself for that. Somehow I think that made me like her more – like her disliking herself led to me liking her more.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I love world-building. With paranormal creatures the lore is built into the world-building so it’s technically more world-building, which is great for me. Plus the creature lore is almost always different every time. That was definitely the case here. Girma created new and really interesting vampires and explained their rules in different ways – through the classes, Kidan interacting with Susenyos, through her learning about her family’s history. Made for quite an interesting reading experience.

I also liked the other characters we got to know to. I’ll admit, I didn’t like Slen as Kidan’s friend but then I read her sporting a South African pin so I feel like I have to support (as a fellow South African). I’d probably say Taj (Susenyos’s friend, another vampire) and GK, a student in Kidan’s class were my favorites of the supporting characters. I will say that I didn’t like June 😅. I didn’t get her and Kidan’s relationship; maybe that’s why I disliked Kidan a bit – she was so focused on finding her sister but I didn’t see the relationship between them. Maybe that’s just me.

The action in this is largely in the background as it’s more psychological. The focus isn’t so much on action and vampires lighting each other – which is a difference from other vampires books, maybe that’s another reason why I didn’t like this so much. I’m so used to vampires fighting and high action plots and scenes in books. One thing I definitely won’t be able to do is attend this university because I half understand everything they said – but that’s okay!

This book was beautifully written, if you enjoy Ethiopian mythology, dark academia, true enemies to lovers, mystery, vampires, sentient houses, and a lot of twists and turns, then this book is definitely for you.
I struggled with the first half of this book, Kidan was super immature and rash with all decisions, diving head first into everything and never considering the consequences. Susenyos was the most cocky character in the beginning but became protective and possessive very quickly. The last half of the book is super fast paced and a LOT happens. I know this is supposed to be dark academia but I kind of wish that fell more into the background because there was just too much happening at times.
I also feel this book should be marketed to upper YA if not NA readers. I know it’s labeled differently on different websites but based on certain things in the book I wouldn’t call it YA.
Thank you so much Little Brown Books for the ARC.

This was a terrifyingly immersive, dark, murder-y dark academia vampire romance—the worldbuilding was unique and complex, the characters' romance compellingly toxic, and the action breakneck. I can't wait for more from Girma!

This is definitely one of my favorite books of the year! I am a huge fan of vampires and dark academia, so taking those two elements and making it Black, I KNEW I would love this, and it didn’t disappoint!

The mystery in this story kept me intrigued the whole time. It was slow burn mystery done right. From the first chapter all the way to the end I was hooked. I loved the characters so much! They were morally grey characters done perfectly! I’m not usually an enemies to lovers girl, and it did take me a minute to get into the romance, the transition from hate to attraction seemed abrupt to me, but by the end of the book I loved Kidan & Susenyos together! And I had so much love for both the main & side characters!

The story had so many great elements such as gothic vibes & a sentient house. The ending perfectly tied up everything we needed in this book, whilst simultaneously setting up for an exciting sequel! I can see this becoming a tv series one day👀 I can’t wait for the next book!

Thank you Little Brown Books for Young Readers for the review copy! All opinions are my own.

CWs: parental abuse, death, gore, murder, sexual content, strong language, suicide ideation, and violence.

Anything with a dark academia setting, an enemies-to-lovers romance, and vampires, and I’m immediately intrigued. This book had all that plus more, and it was one thrill of a read that I couldn’t put down!

Kidan has been looking for answers about her sister's sudden disappearance when her search takes her to the place that has always loomed over her family, Uxlay University—the origin of her family’s legacy and inheritance—and to the vampire she believes knows what happened to her sister. But, when she arrives and finds out she will be in close proximity with the very same vampire, she starts unraveling more twists and turns than she ever thought possible.

I was immediately drawn into this book by the atmosphere of the novel, the heightened sense of mystery and suspense, and the chemistry-filled, passionate enemies-to-lovers romance! This romance completely blew me away, and I loved seeing these two grow from being so completely at odds with each other and then realizing how similar they were.

The story always had me on the edge of my seat. The twists and turns were giving us pieces of a much larger puzzle, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Where the hell do I even start? I LOVED this book! I barely have words for a coherent review.

But what I can tell you is that I was very entranced by this writing and level of storytelling. I’m reading and the whole world around me is quiet… and the only thing I see if the vividness of the story being told. I loved it. I haven’t read a story like this in a while.

I loved the way Susenyos and Kidan’s relationship transformed throughout the story, but on the baseline was still… symbiotic? They needed each other at every point regardless of the hatred they harbored towards each other. There were definitely moments of peace but I enjoyed when they were at each others necks 😭

The premise of Immortal Dark and Uxlay University were a unique concept (to me atleast) I enjoyed the shifted dynamic of power where Dranaics (vampire) were companions to the Acti (humans) and their life’s were constrained to their companionships to the humans in the houses they pledge to.

I can’t wait for book two. I’m really looking forward to how everything plays out especially with that ending!

Everything on paper indicated I'd like this book. I'm always a vampire fan, I enjoy dark academia, and who doesn't like a good vengeance story? It was the relationship between Kidan and Susenyos I didn't care for, and I didn't really like either of them. I also had difficulty understanding the magic system and the dynamics between the humans and vampires. Judging by other reviews, there's a big audience for this novel, but it just wasn't for me.

This book had so much potential. From the description of it, I thought I would LOVE It. I tried so freaking hard to, but in the end I can not say this was even close to what I was expecting.

Kidan was ANNOYING. She is so frustrating to listen to her thoughts and her reasoning for things. The author also had Kidan (our main character) doing A LOT. She is being charged for murder, but some how moves to this weird university with vampires?

There was almost zero work building with details. We know that houses are in a circle but other than that…. Nope. Nothing.
So many different things going on and I wish the author would have tried to do less and focus on those few things instead of all over the place.

This was a really good gothic fantasy. I enjoyed following Kidan in this story and I found her to be a uniquely complex character. This was a very well written book and there was a lot packed into this story. I loved the dark academia setting and everything that went along with it.

Read this if you like:

📖 Gothic Fantasies
📖 Vampires
📖 Academia Settings
📖 Family Secrets
📖 Dark Magic
📖 Morally Gray Characters

I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this trilogy! Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy.

I feel quite torn on how to rate this, I experienced a slump while trying to read it and probably should've DNF'ed it. I might revisit it on audio and see if that improves my experience, but here are some rapid fire thoughts:

- I have no idea how this house magic works. The magic and fantasy elements in this are very vague and vibes-based. My brain ended up just having to go "yeah, sure, no questions, we'll just keep reading and hope for the best."
- Speaking of vibes, DAMN, did this have it! It's incredibly atmospheric and despite the melodramatic purple prose, I found moments of enjoyment with it. I believe Olivie Blake and S.T. Gibson fans will enjoy this!
- I really struggled to feel any sort of meaningful depth or connection with any of these characters. It can't be a good sign if towards the end, when we're experiencing so much climactic energy and main characters are going through horrid situations, I felt absolutely nothing towards them.
- Okay but the Ethiopian vampire lore and background to this confusing worldbuilding is SO intriguing! We never get to see Black vampires and an entirely Black cast in dark academia books, and it's something I'd love to see more of. I definitely perked up when more details were revealed concerning their origins and myths!
- Kidan is an incredibly frustrating character. She's so impulsive and rushes to conclusions, with every other chapter making me want to reach through the pages and screech "GIRL! Calm down and THINK for a second!". Not only that but the amount of self-hatred she harbors is a LOT. I will say Susenyos ends up being quite a good match for her and I'm invested enough in their tantalizingly dark dynamic that I'll be checking out the next book when it releases.
- I really liked the short chapters. Very helpful for when you're racing to the end!

Overall, I think this will be a hit with the readers who love dark academia, purple prose, vampires, dark romance, and murderous characters.