Thank you NetGalley and the Author, Lumen Reese, for sending me this ARC!

This was a WEIRD book LOL. The story forllows a Chief of Surgery and his goal to harvest vamoire organs to sell on the black market. It's essentially a "catch and release" program, but with a stake to the heart contingency plan. This is a morally and ethically gray concept of stealing organs for the good of the human race, but without the vampire consent.

I found the writing to be interesting style wise, but I truly loved the added banter that gives it almost a comedy/horror vibe. The characters are almost...loveable? You are rooting for them to win during intense action scenes that add to already great pacing. I truly found this book interesting and fun.

Really fun premise!!! Found it interesting and engaging! How Ray and Riley’s relationship developed throughout the book was interesting to see.

I absolutely loved this dark noir fantasy/horror novel. Organ harvesting, vampires, battles…. What more could you ask for? Highly recommend this treasure of a book!

Great take on a vampire story. It’s not a subject I usually choose to indulge in, HOWEVER, this was really enjoyable. Love the good vs. evil questionability aspect too. Thank you for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this. While it's generally really hard for me to read contemporary vampire novels, I really wanted to check this out. However, ultimately this wasn't for me for the following reasons;


- Scifif but also religious?
- gov there very soon and very ready to do it all
- the cops believe them really quickly
- the mom is a vampire now; like thats the way to save everyone
- no one questions anything?
- did not believe the romance

However, this book had potential and a plot; could serve as a tv show or movie.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book officially publishes on 4/5/24!

This book had an interesting premise, something that I personally have not come across a lot in my reading. I would classify this book more as sci-fi than horror, as this book was not overly “scary”. Giving this book 3 stars because some of the character interactions fell flat for me and this novel had a bit of a slow pace in the beginning. However, the author’s plot did have an interesting spin on the “vampire” trope which I enjoyed. Would recommend giving this one a read if you don’t mind slow burns and are interested in the science-fi type genre.

This was a DNF for me!!!

There was too much going on in the story. Seems it changed midway through and then you were not sure what was going on.

There was not enough character build and was very confusing

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review

I've never read anything by Lumen Reese before but this was such an interesting look into vampires and between this and The Passage trilogy I'm starting to enjoy vampire books.

There were a few scenes where I was completely blown away by the violent descriptions of the deaths. Seeing both sides of the organ donations was also engrossing. From the witty banter involved with the first surgery to the despair felt by the vampire as the organs were removed, it was a genuinely new experience.

Overall, this was such a solid read and it's short enough to be done in one sitting which makes it that much better. If you enjoy vampires, horror, things hidden behind locked doors, and suspense then this should immediately be added to your TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley and XpressoBookTours for the ARC in exchange for an honest rate and review.

I had to DNF this one. I was not aware this one was a contemporary vampire story. Not a detractor for some, but I just wasn't interested.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was a really interesting and refreshing take on the vampire genre, which of late has been mired in more of the romance and less of the gore. The start of this novel was an immediate hook - really well written and approached, with interesting characters and a focus on the struggle between good, not-so-good, and probably just plain evil. The world is written well to start with, and the book really draws you in.

However, that's where the positives ended for me with this one. The point of view switches were all just a bit too much, and the changes between them were meant to culminate, but instead they ended up making the plot confusing. There was also just a little too much tied up in the characters that didn't make sense, and I just didn't connect very well with the book as a whole.

It was also a little short compared to what I might have expected, particularly for something that was trying to build out a bigger world. I enjoyed it, but not quite as much as I might have with some adjustments and less of a focus on the action and more of the world in the end.

I am personally deciding that 2024 is the year of the vampire. The characters are all so much fun and feel like fully realized people. Their banter is hilarious. The concept is both really interesting and suspenseful from the jump. I was invested the entire time. Overall, I had an enjoyable time with ‘To You Shall All Flesh Come’, which releases very soon (April 5).

I really struggled with this. I almost DNFed several times, but forced myself through it.

It's third person PoV, which is not a problem, but the perspectives changed mid-chapter and it was quite confusing sometimes.

The characters weren't very likeable, especially Riley. They were quite shallow. There wasn't enough backstory to make them interesting or to really connect with them. Jazz and Jen were probably the two that you got to know the most.

The differences between the vampires wasn't explained. Why were some mindless beasts and others able to blend in with society? It was just a bit of a mess.

This book was a real struggle to read. This book a multi POV in which made it very confusing. They would change in the middle of a chapter. I think that is what made it disjointed for me.


Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I was hoping to get to this one. I am sad that I was not able to read this before it was archived. I think it will be interesting read, and I will try to get a physical copy if I can find one for a reasonable price!

The Chief of surgery, the hospital janitor, and two new parents are seemingly producing organs for sick patients out of thin air. An FBI agent is on their tail to figure out how they do it without leaving any bodies behind. The vampires they’re harvesting organs from are angry and out for blood.

This was such a unique and refreshing vampire story that was gripping from start to finish. I had such a fun time with the diverse group of main characters and their hilarious banter. The stakes (hah!) are high in this book and you can’t help but fall in love with each individual as their own personalities and motivations shine throughout the book. However, readers might find the perspective shifts to be jarring and confusing.

If you’re looking for a fun vampire adventure with silly dialogue, diverse characters, and toothpick stakes, then To You Shall All Flesh Come comes out on April 5th!

Lumen Reese’s new novella takes the tired trope of the urban vampire story and gives it her twist in her newest horror-tinged thriller To You Shall All Flesh Come.

Unfamiliar with Reese’s previous work, the title was what sucked me into her upcoming novella. To You Shall All Flesh Come has all the hallmarks of a fantastic title, it teases the reader with greatness without giving too much away!

The story follows four unlikely partners, a couple Jazz and Jennifer, along with medical professionals Riley and Ray as they navigate their side hustle of harvesting organs from vampires for implants into deserving patients or to sell on the black market. While they have been able to carry out their trade with seeming anonymity, the FBI is now catching up with them, as they are being investigated by Special Agent Sloane.

Oh, Ray is a vampire too, just to keep things spicy!

What worked for me in To You Shall All Flesh Come was the novel premise, as it took familiar tropes of urban vampire mythos and gave it a new, almost optimistic spin. In this regard, the setting felt a lot closer to the TV Show (and graphic novel series) The Strain rather than Dracula or Twilight. In addition, the inclusion of Sloane’s cop POV gives the novel a noir aesthetic, with his jaded characterization. In fact, Sloane’s character was the one that felt most fleshed out among all the major players.

However, that is where the positives sputter out with Reese’s newest offering. There were more elements, not egregious enough to make the book unreadable per se, took away a lot of gravitas and kept the story from reaching its true potential. The characterization of Riley in particular is found to be particularly grating. His dynamic with Jazz and Ray was saccharine in its quality, with cringey quips, immersion-breaking real world references (Twilight, etc.). I would assume that Reese intended on Riley being the comic relief, especially in the first act of the book, but the humor felt extremely forced and caused more sighing and eye-rolling than general mirth. The fact that an ancient vampire like Ray and a hardened no-nonsense bagman like Jazz keep playing along felt immensely counter to their character markup.

What really rankled at me were the confusingly uneven potrayal of vampires in To You Shall All Flesh Come. While Ray and other named vampires that form important characters to the story defy the age-old tropes and can daywalk, and blend well into human society to a point of total secrecy, there is an entirely different set of vampires that are potrayed as rabid beasts (as seen on 28 Days Later). While Reese pokes in-universe fun at established vampire lore tropes, she goes ahead and dilutes the mythos herself, leading to a vampire universe in her novels that neither have the Gothic cheese of Underworld or Van Helsing, the cheesy romance of Twilight, the classic tropes in Dracula, or the grimdark violence of The Strain or Castlevania. In truth the vampire mythos felt very like early True Blood, but without the length of content to make the world feel lived-in.

In addition to uneven characterization, the third person present tense style of prose that the book was written, while again, a minor qualm, didn't really work for me. Furthermore, and more egregiously, the multiple POV shifts within the same chapter, with “head hopping” between chapters felt particularly jarring and, on a few occasions almost confusing. Understandably constrained by the novella length, Reese would have been better served by sectioning her writing either with single POV chapters or doing a better job of differentiating different POVs within the same chapter via chapter-breaks more often than she does.

The novella length, the stylistic choice of prose, and the uneven characterization work against the pacing and plot of To You Shall All Flesh Comes and keeps the story from being truly special.

The first act of the book follows the main premise of the blurb at a pace more suited to full-length novels, and the pivot into the more dramatic second act leads to a rushed finale leading to a relatively unsatisfying climax. The premise and characters were interesting enough for Reese to consider expanding into a full-length novel or splitting into two separate stories to give both major trajectories their due. Without spoilers, she does indicate that Sloane will be (and possibly was) a recurring character in her Horror Noir series, which hints at a larger world.

While an enjoyable premise, To You Shall Flesh Comes is held back by the author’s choices in characterization, pacing, and prose styling, leading to yet another take on Urban Vampire fiction that comes in fangs bared with potential, but leaves everyone rather anemic!

Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc of this book! In all honesty, this seemed to be a genre bender, but it’s marketed more in horror than any other genre.
Vampires? Sign me up. Mystery? Sure, I’ll check it out. Queer elements? Hell yes. So idealistically this should’ve been a home run for me. Unfortunately it wasn’t.

I think I'm a bit done with horror novels involving cops, detectives, the FBI, ECT. Horror is a tough genre because it's pigeonholed into oblivion. Once I got past the intro, I was shocked at how fast I flew through the book. The pacing was fantastic. I also thought it was a more original spin on vampires..

Vamp organ farmers? Yup, I'm in!

Just one chapter in and I was hooked. Vamp vibes, gay vibes, things behind locked doors vibes 👀

Pop culture references have always been controversial in the reviewer *gestures around me writing this review* but this book lands them all with a 10 10 10

Unique, fresh, and well-plotted story.

Features:

Supernatural horror
Morally gray characters and situation
Interesting approach to vampires

Is it really a crime if there are no victims? This supernatural horror centers around the morally gray organ business of Riley, Ray, and Jazz and the FBI detective trying to uncover the secret behind their operation. I am generally not a big fan of vampire books, but this one really hooked me with its unique approach and how each of the characters perceive the fascinating moral questions at the heart of this story. It is a shorter read that manages to pack a lot in and there is a wonderful balance between horror, humor, and drama. This book throws you right in and can be a little disorienting at first, but it is well worth letting the story unfold. My only complaint is that the writing occasionally feels disjointed or unclear at times, but this did not really detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. If you are looking for an engaging supernatural horror that includes a little bit of brain food, this is the book for you!

50 Shades of Morally Gray

Pun aside, this book manages to accomplish something that many books try and fail to do: present and develop intriguing moral questions/dilemmas in a way that feels natural. The story centers around Riley, Ray, and Jazz’s side hustle of secretly donating and selling organs they collect from vampires in order to save human lives. Being immortal, the vampires don’t die from this process and can be tapped again for harvesting once their organs regrow. For Riley, Ray, and Jazz, it’s a win for all involved. However, there are a lot of moral questions that grow from both their operation, and their true motives behind it.

Though I would not call this a strong character novel, how their varying motives and attitudes caused them to act still made them intriguing to follow. More importantly, everything was allowed to sit in a morally gray area without feeling like they were forced to be there. Overall, I was left not really knowing what to think, but in a way that still felt satisfying and elevated beyond most supernatural horror books.

Wait…What?

We have all had those moments where our brains don’t quite register what we have just read and we have to go back before continuing to charge ahead. However, after a certain number of times going “wait…what?” I have to admit that in this case, the writing isn’t always clear. There is nothing specific I can point to as the reason, but there were many times where an odd detail would stand out or I would suddenly feel like I had missed something and would have to go back to try puzzling it together. It could just be that I wasn’t completely vibing with the writing style despite being engaged in the story. However, it made it a little difficult for me to become hooked at the start and is the main reason I am rating this a four instead of a perfect 5.

Special thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!