Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of We Love the Nightlife by Rachel Koller Croft

Dual timelines is always a fun time. The two main characters were great but the side characters were a vibe in this one as well. Sometimes I feel beauty and darkness walk hand in hand and we can really see that here. I love this author and this book was a hit. Looking forward to more of her work.

I found this to be a fun glamour filled read. I enjoyed the the past and present timelines. I enjoyed learning about Nicola, Amber and the side characters. I loved getting swept up in their disco filled world of beauty and darkness. Thanks to publisher for my copy.

Thank you to Berkley for an advance copy of We Love the Nightlife!

Nicola and Amber cross paths at a posh disco night club in 1970’s London and it changes their lives forever. They are both looking for something and they seem to find it in each other - Nicola is a vampire who is looking for a new eternal friend and Amber is looking for an out from her life.

The next 40 some years pass by in a blur of parties & fun until Amber discovers an awful betrayal that Nicola has kept secret for far too long. When Nicola hatches a plan to open their own nightclub - an attempt to get Amber to relax and stick around - Amber sees her opportunity to create a diversion and make her escape.

If you read more than one review from me, then you probably know that I. Love. Toxic. Characters. The more toxic the better. And Rachel has given us some toxic characters, no doubt. Even the side characters come with their own baggage and red flags.

I loved the concept of the story, I just didn’t quite love the execution. It moved a little slower than I think it should’ve, it almost read more like literary fiction at times (and I found myself bored during those parts). I couldn’t even really land on a genre for it because it is definitely a genre-bender. Fantasy thriller is probably most accurate, but there were some tense horror moments as well.

I like that we’re seeing a resurgence in vampires, especially in contemporary / near-normal settings. This is a great book for someone who dabbles in fantasy, enjoys some fantasy elements without the full world-building, and often historical, experience.

I have Stone Cold Fox on my TBR and I think I’ll bump that onto my ‘must’ for 2025 due to the toxicity I found in this one.

Rachel Koller Croft is an auto-buy author for me; I really love the way she tells a story. This one missed the mark for me plot wise; but her writing is so strong that I'd still recommend it to people. I can't wait to see what her next book is!

Nicola is a vampire who meets Amber in the 1970s. She turns Amber, and the two have a toxic friendship for years. Amber is finally ready for change, but it's not easy to escape from Nicola.

The characters are interesting, and we get Nicola and Amber's points of view. The setting is fun, and the story is entertaining.

We Love the Nightlife is a combination of horror and women's fiction.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am a fan of Rachel Koller Croft and moderated a book event for her in Scottsdale. We Love the Nightlife is like a female focused Interview With a Vampire. It was sexy, dark, mysterious, and the author really wove in quite a bit of emotional depth into the story oif two female vampires tied to each other for centuries. It was exciting and very enjoyable.

This was a lot of fun and definitely out of left field for me, as i don't read a lot of vampire novels! I think where this novel really found its groove for me was in the twist about halfway through the book re: narration. But the story is clearly a love letter to party culture (some of which I participated in on the fringes) so I had a lot of love for that.

Rachel Koller Croft is a must-read author for me. Both of her books have been 5-star reads. I absolutely loved this one and can't wait for her next!

We Love the Nightlife is a dark and seductive dive into toxic friendships, betrayal, and the glittering allure of nightlife. Set in 1979 London amidst the disco fever, this novel follows the fraught relationship between two vampires—Nicola, an enigmatic and brooding vampire who's been alive for nearly two centuries, and Amber, a fiery and free-spirited American who’s drawn to the glamour of the disco scene.

The story kicks off in the throes of London's vibrant nightlife, where Nicola and Amber meet on the dance floor, their connection electric. Nicola, with her centuries of experience, offers Amber an eternity of indulgence and excess, promising a life where they can always live in the neon glow of the night. But as time wears on, Amber realizes that Nicola’s promises come with heavy chains—and escaping those chains might cost her everything. The novel takes a thrilling turn nearly fifty years later when Amber, tired of Nicola’s controlling grip, starts to plot her escape. But leaving Nicola behind is far from simple. Every time Amber thinks she’s found a way out, Nicola is always a step ahead, keeping her in a gilded cage of vampiric devotion.

The plot is full of suspense and dark drama, but what really sets We Love the Nightlife apart is its exploration of toxic relationships, obsession, and the ways people can manipulate and trap one another. Nicola’s desire to keep Amber close is not just a product of possessiveness; it’s about control, vulnerability, and a desperate need for connection. Their bond is complicated, blending love, jealousy, and a shared history of nightlife euphoria, and Croft captures this in a way that makes it impossible to look away.

The setting of the disco scene in late '70s London adds a layer of decadence and tension to the story, contributing to the novel's compulsive readability. Fans of dark, twisty vampire stories will not be able to put this down. It's a must-read.

I’ve been spoiled for choice of vampire novels in 2024, which means my standards are higher than they were twenty years ago.  Despite lush 1970s glamour and an interesting twist on the fledging vampire trying to leave the nest narrative, We Love the Nightlife doesn’t quite manage what it sets out to achieve.

This was such a fun and twisty read for spooky season. Loved the vampire aspect, I would recommend. Thank you for the chance to read it

You know how sometimes failing couples adopt a dog or have. a baby in a terrible pitch to save a relationship? Well, in this book, the failing couple are vampires and the baby/dog is a night club. A beautiful evocation of the 70s here-- Rachel Koller Croft is an expert at portraying nuanced female relationships undone by toxicity and human weakness, and this was a gorgeous outlet for what she does here.

Felt like nothing happened. I love a vampire story, and this one had EVERYTHING for the makings of a great book, but unfortunately the execution fell flat.

It’s the late 1970’s London when Amber and Nicola meet, beginning a bloodthirsty female friendship that wasn’t exactly cut out for all of eternity.

Now, Amber’s had enough of Nicola but to leave puts her in peril of her very life. Nicola is the alpha and lost many previous companions, she’ll stop at nothing to ensure that Amber remains.

The complexities of female friendship is not lost here but there’s a little more at ‘stake’ haha! I enjoyed this one! The varying POV and timelines gives this story great insight. Ambers scheming is fantastic and Nicola’s even better.

Witty, fun and loads of drama!

3.5 stars.

"We Love the Nightlife" by Rachel Koller Croft is the perfect book for you if you love toxic and complicated female friendships, power plays and betrayals, jealousy, disco, dancing, and vampires. It has all of those things in spades. This book is a lot more glitz and glamor and a lot less bloodsucking (though there is *some* bloodsucking). While this story is frequently fun, it feels like it goes on a little long. I enjoyed Nicola and Amber as characters. Nicola is a great, conniving villain. She manipulates everyone around here to keep herself on top and to keep people relying on her for friendship and stability. Amber is naive when Nicola first meets her in 1979. She is a young, married woman who is lost and doesn't know what she wants, but quickly discovers that she wants to be a vampire. Nicola believes she has given Amber everything, that she has done her a favor by turning her into her mini-me, but Amber wants out the more she realizes she is being manipulated. I feel like the ultimate payoff could have come several dozen pages sooner, but when it gets there, it is quite satisfying. I think my ultimate gripe with this book is that there are these frequent bursts of intense and violent exposition, but what is in between these moments can get pretty boring, so you're left waiting for a long time for very little in return. The nightclub scenes are fun, though! I still recommend this book for its flash and pomp and circumstance.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel Koller Croft, and Berkley Publishing Group for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

This female led vampire book is an interesting take on friendship. The glitzy, clubby backdrop is a nice counterpoint to the bloody, controlling characters.

I'm not a vampire girly, but I fear I may be after reading this! The author's writing really well done and I felt like I was there in London the whole time. I feel like I may also have a crush on these women, especially Amber lol

We Love the Nightlife is a vampire disco toxic friendship character driven tale set in London and it certainly has a vibe. The characters are flawed. The backstabbing is plentiful.

Thank you Berkeley Publishing and Netgalley for the electronic advanced copy.

We Love the Nightlife by Rachel Koller Croft
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In London 1979 Amber is addicted to the dance scene. After meeting the beautiful and intriguing Nicola, Amber is offered a chance at an unending nightlife: as a vampire. Fifty years later there is a tension to their friendship and Amber has to decide to stay or attempt to leave Nicola.
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What I liked:
-I loved the love for disco. I think it got a bad rap and I loved reading about these women who enjoyed a good dance scene.
-There was a sinister suspense to the story that built.
-I was very curious about a couple things and one of the reveals really surprised me!
-The last part got really crazy and I liked how it ended.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

DNF for me - I couldn't get into it and didn't like the characters. Barely made it through a third of this one.