At the risk of saying something that will sound really dated when someone stumbles upon this review years from now, I thought this would be more Brat?!

Credit to Koller Croft for at least putting together a fairly original story. I thought this might be a little like Gwendolyn Kiste’s fantastic modern vampire novel Reluctant Immortals, but it’s unfortunately a far lesser animal.

First, this doesn’t really feel like a vampire novel. Which in and of itself is fine, but it lacks a lot of the characteristics that make vampire books so good when they’re well done. And I struggled a lot with the fact that this book has absolutely no sense of humor. I mean…Clubbing vampires? How could that not be at least a little bit funny?

The pacing is fine and it’s certainly a compelling enough story to keep you turning the pages, but I never felt especially invested in what was happening, and the lack of humor and atmosphere made it hard for the book to stand out in any real way.

Were you a fan of True Blood?
Do you love toxic friendships?
Drama?
Ready to enter your vampire era?

I adored Croft’s 2023 debut, Stone Cold Fox, and my love for her writing just doubled after finishing We Love the Nightlife!

This book is so good! It literally gave me all the feels from my obsession with True Blood. This book is toxic, dramatic, and so darn cleverly woven together!

We Love the Nightlife is told from alternating points of view between Amber and Nicola, who’s sections actually span different years from her long vampiric life. This allows readers to get inside each of their heads as the tension between them ratchets higher and higher during the book’s progression. I loved switching between both narratives and found the twists within each perspective fun and entertaining.

I absolutely devoured this book (full vampire pun intended). It kept me coming back for more time and time again.

This book is easily one of my favorites for 2024 and I can’t wait to see where Croft takes her future novels!

Happy Pub Day!!

A HUGE thank you to Berkley Publishing for an advance copy of We Love the Nightlife in exchange for my honest thoughts. The perfect book to sink your teeth in now or this fall!

I ate this book up!!! I couldn’t stop reading! I stayed up way past my bedtime and woke up early the next morning to get right back to it.
This was beyond addictive! It was catty, glamorous and the twist is absolutely bloody brilliant & so good!

This book had it all! Toxic women friendship trope mixed in with vampires say less!!

If you love the following this book is definitely for you:
🫦London Nightlife
🫦Vampires
🫦 1980’s Disco Music
🫦 Dual POV
🫦 Dual Timeline
& so much more!!! 4 mesmerizing stars!

Book Length: 384 pages

🖤Pub Day Book Review 🖤

Vampires are back and they’re ready to party like it’s 1979 🪩!

Two vampires locked in a toxic relationship, one a companion desperate to be free, the other the maker longing for more power. Nicola is the Lady of the Laurels, heiress to a sprawling estate and all the money that goes with it. When she comes across Amber, a lonely newlywed from America looking for excitement in the pulsing London disco scene, Nicola readily offers her a new life. Literally.

50 years later the shine has worn off for Amber. She begins to see Nicola’s true colors after a brutal betrayal and secretly sets her escape plan into motion. And Amber’s way out? By reliving their party girl days half a century earlier.

WE LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE bounces around in time, from Nicola’s childhood in the 1840s through the present day, slowly peeling back the curtain and letting the reader in on Nicola’s life pre-Amber, Amber’s life pre-turning, and everything that came after — the highs, the lows, discovering *MySpace* (all Amber, Nicola never cared much for technology). I was here for it all.

If you’re not quite yet ready to leave the summer reads behind, but are also looking forward to spooky season, WE LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE is for you. Disco vampires, y’all. Reading this was like binging on reality tv, I was eating up the drama, the frenemy love/hate bestie relationship with every page. This was a really fun spin on the classic vampire tale and has a bangin’ soundtrack.

I tore through WE LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE by RACHEL KOLLER CROFT and loved every twist, dip + move. Thank you again to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC of one of my most anticipated books of 2024!

It’s no secret that complicated female friendships are one of my favorite things to read about. Layer then into a thriller that’s part paranormal & all party I am showing up fashionable early.

In 1979 London, Nicola & Amber have a fateful meeting on the dance floor. Newly married Amber is craving more than housewife life & Nicola knows all about *more* having spent the last two+ centuries as a vampire. She offers Amber eternal life & endless adventures.

Spanning 50 years & through dual POVs we see the evolution of their friendship. In present day, Amber is looking for a way out, but she knows no one walks away from Nicola alive. So she needs to find an escape.

It’s always so hard to distill everything I love about a book into a short review, but one element I connected to was how a friendship can shift from instant connection to inseparable to differing paths to an ultimate demise. There’s a lot of focus on the end of romantic relationships but if you’ve ever been through a friend breakup it’s a whole different level of pain and hurt. I connected so much with these themes and emotions.

There’s a lot to unpack & to be entertained by. Questions around youth & romanticizing + trying to recapture the past. The toxicity of female friendship. Exiting a relationship. Exploration of choice + loyalty + revenge. Alliances are formed. Plans are made. And a new disco is coming to London.

Expect a bit of blood (they are vampires after all!), but also a totally entertaining, fresh spin on a vamp tale + a well-written achievement of a book. And the musical references are everything.

Toot-toot. Beep-beep.

We Love the Nightlight by Rachel Koller Croft felt like a whole new take on vampires and the 1970s. The author definitely had me feeling like I was walking on a movie set in the 70s with the details she brought to the pages. While the book was a little slow, the premise was great and I loved the main characters, Amber and Nicola. Overall a decent read.

Thank you to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing for the eARC!

This book immediately captured my interest with its intriguing premise and captivating start. The story dives right into the intense cat-and-mouse dynamic between Nicola and Amber. The vampire element adds a fresh and fun layer to the intricate drama. While the premise was creative, I had some issues with pacing and character development. The twist at the end was a nice touch, though it felt like it could have been more fully explored. Overall, it was a highly entertaining read, perfect for the spooky season!

This eARC was given in exchange for an honest review.

There are so many people raving about this book! I enjoyed it, but it was a little slow for me. I was expecting a more fast-paced vampire thriller. I needed more suspense, more action, just more. The audiobook was very nicely done with the different narrators for the main characters.

*Thank you @berkleypub and @prhaudio for the #gifted e-galley and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

We Love The Nightlife proved Rachel Koller Croft is a creative genius when it comes to writing.

I was captivated by her writing and loved the multiple POVs and multiple timelines. She truly brought the 1970s to life.

We Love The Nightlife is full of high drama, lies and revenge, sprinkled with a couple surprises.

Disco, vampires, and the electric pulse of 1979 London—"We Love the Nightlife" is a thrilling ride that takes you deep into the heart of a world where the nightlife never dies, literally. Nicola, a vampire with nearly two centuries of experience, is drawn to Amber, an American with a passion for disco and a rebellious streak that’s impossible to resist. Their love affair, steeped in glamour and the allure of eternal youth, is intoxicating but dark.

What makes this story stand out is its exploration of the seductive yet sinister aspects of immortality. Nicola and Amber’s relationship, though built on love, is fraught with power struggles and manipulation. As the decades pass, the sparkle of disco fades, and so does Amber’s willingness to remain under Nicola’s control. The tension between the characters is palpable, especially as Amber plots her escape from a life that’s begun to feel like a gilded cage.

The twist of opening a nightclub together is both a nostalgic nod to their past and a final desperate attempt to rekindle what once was. Yet, beneath the surface, the story pulsates with the threat of danger, betrayal, and the ever-present possibility of death.

"We Love the Nightlife" is a seductive, dark, and thrilling exploration of love, power, and the price of freedom, set against the vibrant backdrop of a bygone era. If you’re drawn to stories that mix romance with a bite, this one is a must-read.

A codependent toxic female friendship AND they are vampires! This book was so great. The first half made me fantasize about becoming a vampire myself. Around the middle, I was having second thoughts. And at the end, I wanted to be a vampire again!! lol
That is all I am going to say about this book. I like being mysterious and vague. (I am practicing being a vampire, see?)

Give me a novel about toxic female friendships but make it literal bloodsucking.

This follow-up from the author of Stone Cold Fox was fun, tongue in cheek and on the nose. When you think of eternal life, what you don't think about is wait a minute, do I want to be stuck with this person for life?! This is the conflict at the center of this read- Amber was turned by Nicola over 40 years ago, but now she wants out from under Nicola's controlling thumb and to live out her everlasting life doing what she wants, for once. But leaving Nicola isn't so easy... Vampires are monsters, you know.

You rarely see books about female vampires, and especially those that center around friendship rather than romantic relationships, so I enjoyed this spin on the genre. I also loved this idea of vampires as non-stop parties and the background of a disco club in London was the perfect setting. The novel is dual POV between Amber and Nicola, between present and past, and I felt really transported by each narrative and time period. This was a mix of thriller, light horror and light gore, but it hit all the right spots. I think this will be a hit with many readers. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for my earc.

I was a big fan of STONE COLD FOX, and eager to read Croft’s latest novel. A thriller set in London and spanning centuries, Amber and Nicola are BFF vampires that adore clubbing and basking in attention. The dialogue is punchy and the settings are to die for. I recently visited London and loved the chance to revisit the city described on the pages. I loved how women were central to the book, and they went for exactly what they wanted. The last few chapters were very suspenseful and a tad gory, but well-placed in a vampiric story. This book perfectly blends glamour with suspenseful scheming, and I flew through the pages! I could easily see Croft’s novels being adapted to film, as they would translate beautifully to the screen!

WE LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE ain't your run of the mill vampire book. It's so much more. This book was fun, it made me smile, and laugh at the witty one-liners that I've come to expect from Rachel's larger than life characters. The story masterfully intertwined Nicola and Amber's dreamy past with their prickly present. There were several moments where I itched to find a dance floor pronto.

The way I consumed this book!! Ahhh! I read half on kindle as an ARC from Berkley (thank you so much I literally love you!), and the rest on audio thanks to PHR Audio!

This book was such an amazing blend of genres as it’s part psychological (soft) thriller, part contemporary fiction with a dash of paranormal due to the lead female characters being vampires. And don’t get weird. The vampires bit isn’t crazy and you don’t have to learn all the rules etc etc, it’s just straightforward and easy to understand. But the way in which being a vampire becomes a trap to our FMC Amber rather than a liberation was so interesting to me! More on that soon.

Amber is a vampire frozen forever at the age of 23 by her friend Nicola who has been her companion for the last 50+ years. Back in the 70’s when disco was at its height, Amber meets Nicola out one night and they strike up a friendship.

At the time Amber is newly married to an older British man named Malcom who whisked her away from her midwestern life one night and rather than a fun and fulfilling life like she was promised, she’s more of an arm candy accessory that Malcom dusts off whenever he needs a good image for his work colleagues. Completely miserable, she goes out to discotheques and is the center of attention when all eyes are on her amazing dancing skills. She soaks it all up and catches the attention of antagonist, Nicola. Desperate for friendship, empathy, and someone to appreciate the bright fucking star she is, Amber learns of Nicola being a vampire and agrees to let Nicole turn her. On New Year’s Eve 1980, she gets her wish.

Nicola is an almost 200 year old vampire who is utterly obsessed with keeping Amber loyal to her. She has had several other companions who didn’t make the cut and Amber is her longest relationship yet. She wants to live the life of luxury while keeping her world small in order to keep Amber close to her. Never letting her stray too far, we learn through chapters of flashbacks about how Nicola orchestrated Ambers estrangement to her husband to get her to change and later on after having her as a companion, how she pulled the strings to isolate Amber every time she tried to make new friends or have a life outside of Nicola.

It was truly sick learning all the ways Nicole manipulated Amber to get her to stay loyal and utterly trapped with her. Once Amber learns more about who Nicola truly is, she devises a plan to leave her once and for all. But all of Nicola’s previous companions are dead other than 2 still remaining in London. She turns to these two to figure out how they did it and ends up hatching a plan to get what she so rightfully deserves.


I was captivated from the start of this book and could not put it down. I was obsessed with the little tid bits of revelations each chapter let us in on. I honestly wish Amber learned ALL the ways Nicola rightfully fucked her over in which we the reader were privileged to know from Nicola’s chapters. Just insane! So much toxic female friendship, so much delusional thinking from Nicola and poor Amber being caged for so many years but a “friend” who did so much to hurt her. Insane!!!

I loved this with my whole heart and anything Rachel writes will be one I love. No doubt about that!

We Love the Nightlife
By Rachel Keller Croft
4/5 stars!

This book was very different from many of the paranormal books that I’ve read- in a good way. Nicola and Amber meet in 1979 at a Disco, they hit it off and Nicola convinces Amber to join her in becoming a vampire—loved this for her. 50 years later, Amber is over it and doesn’t want to be Nicolas partner anymore.

I loved the dialogue between these characters and the story was easy to follow, while also being entetaining!

I highly recommmend you check this off your TBR list.

Rating 3.5

Two women. Toxic female companionship. Unhinged retribution. Vampires.

This book is ALL style and pure glamour. Slow beginning, but by the middle pacing picks-up for a satisfying end.

Thank you, Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley

I like the idea of vampires starting a nightclub because, yeah, that totally makes sense. I’m glad I’ve never embraced the nightlife, as it’s clear this has kept me safe from a bloodsucking doom.

That said, this was only an okay reading experience for me. I don’t think the vampirism or the toxic friendship were amped up enough. Neither aspect ever made me uncomfortable, as their depictions always seemed to exemplify a very basic understanding of the topics. I do commend the author for trying to address the way emotional vampires drain in a clever way. Aside from feeling superficial, however, I felt she explained far too much about her characters‘ intentions instead of showing it all to the reader through their actions.

The novel does spring a few surprises on readers, although I felt its biggest twist was easy to spot a mile away. Even if it hadn’t been, I’m not sure it would have been effectively jaw dropping. It just wasn’t that exciting.

I’ve read several vampire stories that satisfy my hunger for depth. I suppose We Love the Nightlife was more like a sweet piece of hard candy. It didn’t fill me up, but I enjoyed its flavor enough to suck away until it was finished.

I am immensely grateful to Berkley and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

"...was there anything more irresistible than a brand new gal pal?"

Well that depends, can she make you undead if she decides that's what is best for her...I mean you? In the sassy fun We Love The Nightlife, by clever thriller author Rachel Koller Croft, we get an upfront view of a toxic female friendship...they just happen to be vampires.

Amber loves her husband, Malcolm, but he's not into the nightlife and has probably never been to a disco. But it's 1979 and at 23 she wants to dance to Donna Summers' "Bad Girls." At a popular London disco she meets the beautiful Nicola. They dance. They bond. They party. Then Nicola convinces her to leave Malcolm, her sister and her parents for an eternal nightlife of dancing and disco.

Now it's 50 years later and disco has died and so has Amber's undying love and loyalty to Nicola. Amber had one stipulation and when Nicola goes behind her back and does the unthinkable Amber knows what she has to do; "... it's not just about getting away... It's about getting even."

This writer has created an original hilarious banter filled paranormal twisty thriller with a mash up of Saturday Night Fever and Interview With The Vampire. Nicola and Amber are as petty as Lestat and Louie but they do it with glittering style.

I received a free copy of this book from Berkley Publishing via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

We Love the Nightlife is a unique look at being a vampire. It is a story of being stuck with someone you did not like, not even a little bit, and knowing that if you leave you will be hunted down.

I enjoyed this book, it was fun. The book did not have that WOW feature that made me need to and want to read more all the time, but I did enjoy reading while I had the time. I felt like the story moved a little bit slow at times and there were some parts that I felt did not make a difference to the story. None of the characters were ones that I connected with.

If you like paranormal books, check this one out. I am interested to see what other’s will think.