Actual rating 3.5-4.0 stars.

A Vile Season by David Ferraro is a period vampire story with a twist. Often, these novels tend to follow a human encountering or trying to become a vampire, or, more recently, vampires who become curious about the humans they devour--not to mention the entire vampire sub-genre of paranormal romances. While all of these elements are indeed included in this book, the vampire protagonist Count Lucian Cross has a rather different problem. After being chased from his castle by an angry mob of vampire hunters, he makes a deal with the vampire god, Vrykolakas, to save his hide: Lucian will become human again in order to go undercover on a mission for vampire-kind--he is to find the identities of his attackers and win the hand of Ambrose Harclay, the eldest son and heir to the ailing Duke Harclay. In return, Vrykolakas will not only make Lucian a vampire once more, Lucian will will be even more powerful than before. However, a mission that should have been simple quickly becomes complicated as Lucian is beset by former soured relations, becomes embroiled in the mystery of Ambrose's missing middle brother, Emmett, and finds himself increasingly drawn to the youngest Harclay brother, Maxwell... What do you mean, there are consequences for one's actions?

Set in fantasy England during an unspecified, pre-electricity time period, this novel combines mystery and the paranormal with a well-balanced ratio of romantic subplot. Referencing classic vampire tropes, such as shape-shifting, a sensitivity to garlic and crosses, and a fatal allergy to the sun, Ferraro pays homage to the original Gothic vampire tales readers know and love while putting his own spin on the genre. He adds colorful balls and game-show-esque challenges to the competition to become Ambrose's betrothed. This is not to say that there aren't also mysterious crypts, ghostly cemeteries, hidden passageways, and secret societies--there's plenty of those, too! This well-paced and adventurous novel, with its quirky cast of characters, will keep the reader engaged from dramatic start to happy end.

Two things, however. First, some of the language used in the dialogue and description feels a bit anachronistic, which did take me out of the book a few times; overall, though, I was able to overlook this in favor of the plot and action. Second, while Ferraro does include flashbacks to Lucian's past that do shed light on the repercussions he experiences in the present due to choices he made in the past, I would have liked a deeper understanding of his relationships with Helena and Raven for certain plot points to pack a bigger, more effective punch. Apart from those aspects, however, this was an overall quite entertaining read! I will likely seek out Ferraro's other work in the future.

Readers interested in other vampire tales may enjoy Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, Dracula by Bram Stoker, Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, When I Arrived at the Castle by Emily Carroll, and Renfield (dir. Chris McKay). For those interested in neo-Gothic works, try Crimson Peak (dir. Guillermo del Toro) and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. For another new LGBTQIA+ fantasy mystery, try Voyage of the Damned by Frances White.

This book includes:
- vampires, werewolves, ghouls etc
- a competition for the honor of the Duke's hand in marriage
- family drama
- a plot for revenge
- irredeemable acts
- forbidden love
- LGBT

An ancient and cruel man, Count Lucian is a vampire-turned-human with a vendetta to punish the vampire hunters who destroyed his home and ended his immortal reign. To earn back his immortality, he must enter and win a competition to earn the future Duke's hand in marriage. On top of that, he must also uncover the identities of the members of the vampire hunting guild that attacked him, and deliver a list of their names to the King of vampires. Easy!

Bridgerton (the show not the books) meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this satirical, but action-packed book. Lucian is so funny and his dry sarcasm is so fun to read. Getting to watch him interact with so many unique and quirky characters is very entertaining and you can't help but root for him (even though he is basically a villain). I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a bit of fun, romance, and paranormality. My only issue was in the final act, which felt a bit reductive. Oh well.

I received this eBook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, David Ferraro, and Page Street Publishing for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted to GoodReads check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863 and it will be posted to my bookstagram account https://www.instagram.com/tinynightingales/ and booktok https://www.tiktok.com/@tinynightingales?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Count Lucian loses his vampire immortality in a quest to go undercover to find a group of vampire hunters - all while also competing for a duke's hand in marriage.

Vampires meets the queer Bachelor meets Regency era vibes - the premise of this had me enthralled from the get go. Its concept was compelling, but the execution fell flat for me, unfortunately. I think I struggled with the "historical fiction while not being historical" aspect - to be clear, it was never billed specifically as historical, but the more modern language paired with the Regency feeling threw me for a loop. I think I was also hoping for a little more character development.

Overall, this was a fun book, and I was able to read it pretty quickly - I love queer shenanigans and vampires, so I did enjoy myself.

I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. The main character was arrogant and wasn’t overly likeable.

The main premise of this story was the competition to see who would win the Duke, but it took a major backseat to the mystery of the Duke’s missing brother. We have very little context about this missing character so I wasn’t overly interested in spending most of the book trying to find him.

I liked some of the side characters, but some of them were quite similar that it took me a while to be able to tell the difference between them.

The plot took a while to get started and it was hard going through most of this book. The idea of this book was good and I wished I had enjoyed it more.

This book has a unique and intriguing plot! I enjoyed the characters dynamics and I always love a queer vampire story, but it fell a bit flat at times for me. It was hard for me to become invested in the characters and I found some parts a bit predictable.

I liked the premise but didn't love this story or the characters. I enjoyed reading a queer vampire historical fantasy, but the world-building had an issue that was hard to ignore, and I didn't think the character development was there.

A queernormative Bridgerton-style mystery with vampires? I'm all for it! This is the book for me for spooky season as I'm not a fan of overly scary/dark books. A Vile Season mixes regency, banter, a bit of romance, and mystery with the supernatural. The cast is wonderful, and Lucien is a surprisingly fun main character. His journey through learning human emotions is quite entertaining.
The romance itself is not the main focus of the book but rather an accompanying extra next to the mystery plot. And I quite liked it this way.
Overall, this charming and cosy story is absolutely worth a try for the remainder of the spooky season.

The latest from David Ferraro introduces us to Lucian, a ruthless vampire that finds himself barely escaping his castle when it is overrun by vampire hunters. The god of vampires challenges Lucian to gain the attention and favor of the Duke’s heir by competing with other suitors. . In order to do this he is made a human again. It has been several hundred years since Lucian was last human and he is having a difficult time acclimating. He is emotional, he is surrounded by other suitors that pretend to be friends, some are deceitful and others are hiding secrets. Failure is not an option as Lucian finds himself dividing his time between flirting with the handsome duke and helping solve a mystery.

I really enjoyed Ferraro’s first book and jumped at the chance to read his latest story. It did not disappoint!! The characters were written with depth, growth and humor. Lucian was an absolute delight as he traversed the human world and dealt with feelings that he had not experienced in a long time. I was in his corner from the beginning ignoring the fact that he was a monster!! The pacing of the story was perfect and the romantic tension was well written.

5 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Creative and intense, a regency vampire tale of love and found family with a queer MC and lots of blood! I really enjoyed the familiar setting mixed with the modern twists and undead elements, but I found the ending a bit convoluted. Things got a bit messy, but the resolution was still satisfying. You should try it if you’re a fan of Bridgerton, Dracula, and Buffy.

Thank you to TBR & Beyond Tours, NetGalley and LibroFM for my copies. These opinions are my own.

I like the premise of this book and enjoyed the earlier chapters. Ultimately, the last quarter or so of the book left me with a worsening impression of the main character and an inability to believe the ending. Despite describing himself as sensitive prior to becoming a vampire, Lucien is slow to regain redeemable human characteristics, making me think it wasn’t his vampirism that makes him an arrogant, selfish, jerk. Him sexually harassing his valet, a man whose livelihood depends on professionalism while helping Lucien dress, is upsetting, not humorous. His bad behavior is attributed to being a vampire for so long, so I find it impossible to believe that multiple vampires we encounter late in the book are in control of their instincts and emotions. Despite Lucien helping humans, we don’t see much character development or romantic development beyond attraction and friendship, and everything wrapped up too neatly.

The premise of this book pulled me in, and oh did it deliver. Bridgerton meets the Bachelor with vampires, the regency period, and marriage games?? Absolutely yes.

This book was so fun. I love reading regency books, and the addition of vampires made things feel really fresh. The marriage games were a ton of fun, with balls, competitions, and social manipulation, with the added excitement of trying to root out a group of monster hunters.

I really enjoyed all the characters, especially watching the main character realize how he’d been manipulated into being a monster. Seeing him learn what it means to be human again was sweet.

My only complaint is I wish the ending had a bit more teeth (pun absolutely intended). While I liked how some of the plot lines were wrapped up, I found some things were concluded too quickly and conveniently, such as the tensions between humans and vampires. I wanted to see a bit more struggle and maybe a more ambiguous ending there as I don’t think things would’ve wrapped up that easily.

Overall, if you’ve ever enjoyed regency and vampire books, I think you’ll like this fusion!

Thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy. This review was left voluntarily and all opinions are my own.

4.5 Stars

Thank you Colored Pages Book Tours and Page Street YA for the gifted copy of this book! All thoughts are my own!

This book was an honest delight. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I usually struggle with historical fiction, but the romance and fantasy aspects added so much to it that the historical aspect of it actually enhanced it, too. I loved everything about this book. From the side characters, to the redemption arcs, to the romance all around, I was hooked from the beginning and it didn't stop until the last word! I definitely recommend this book!

A Vile Season has the most absurd set of comps—it's vampires! It's Bridgerton! It's The Bachelor!

It is! And it rocks!

The book focuses on our main character, Lucian; a once vampire whose immortality was taken away by the god of all vampires following a failure, and given the task to get it back by winning the hand of a Duke and warming his way into society to snuff out a group of vampire hunters. Along the way, he finds a place with the new high society folks he's competing against, sees a few old faces from his vampire past, and falls in with the family of the Duke he's meant to seduce—in particular, his younger brother, Maxwell, who might just be a better match for Lucian after all.

Lucian is such an interesting main character—he's not likeable for I would say 3/4 of the book, and not consecutively. The author writes him with such a deft hand that every time I was reminded the terrible things he had done, the author was quick to pepper in beats of his growth. Lucian starts to gain a genuine affection for the humans around him, to the point where even I kept yelling at him through my screen when he would try to remind himself that his end goal was immortality far away from them. His character journey was incredibly well-written, and honest for a character of his type. I wish to some degree I had a better idea of the timeline as part of me wonders if it all happened quickly, but the author still made it feel believable the ways he changed and the ways he did not even through the end.

Though the premise of the book requires Lucian to court Ambrose, the Duke to be, the clear romantic plot is between Lucian and Maxwell, the youngest of three brothers. The two characters spend plenty of time together attempting to solve the mystery of the missing middle brother of the set, and their dynamic was charming, though I wish I had gotten to see a little more of it between scenes. This is only because I immediately was rooting for them! I wish I had gotten a little more of their quiet flirting and bonding between life and death situations and the broader marriage competition plot.

Speaking of the broader marriage competition plot, that takes up a good chunk of the book, until it doesn't—I've never had such tonal whiplash (affectionate!). The way the author manages to balance extremely violent scenes with vampires into a bachelor style competition in the regency era and make them all feel relatively congruous is delightful, even if I saw several of the twists coming.

While I think the ending felt a little rushed in both major climaxes, and the epilogue slightly unrealistic, it's a romance book. I can be led to believe that (almost) everyone can get a happily ever after.

I loved this. This was a great queer vampire story, and the regency drama socialite Bridgerton vibes were so much fun! I loved that this was queer and I loved the characters and the way they change and grow throughout the story. Gah, I just had such a great time with this and I long for more books like this and more books from this author!

“Humanity is a powerful thing.It gives you perspective.”

A Vile Season was a delightful read. When I read about the concept, I knew I needed to read it: a Duke wants to marry and organise a series of trials in order to decide who will be his spouse… or when Bridgerton meets The Bachelor… the whole being sprinkled with vampires in a very Queer world. I absolutely loved all the references I could catch about old school vampire culture, as vintage as I am.
That book is funny, spooky but not in a Horror way. I adored all the characters –living or undead– who were almost all morality grey. Depending on the point of view and the motivations, the actions could appear awful… or the total opposite, which made them very human. The redemption arcs, especially Lucian’s, are delightful, and full of twists (catch yourself for the last 25%, what a ride it is!!!).
Beyond the very entertaining story, with colourful characters, a great mystery and a lovely (un)love triangle, the book questions deep notions like life quality vs its lengths, what it is to be human, how we react to traumas in our lives, but also gives a hope about an inclusive society, no matter the differences.
I had a wonderful time with this book, and it was the perfect companion for this Spooky Month.


Thank you David Ferraro, Colored Pages Book Tours, Page Street Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

I forgot to give feedback for this one, but I really love the cover, and I can't wait to read it when my TBR gets less unwieldy!

This was a really intriguing read, I definitely recommend if you're looking for a queer vampire story!

💫 Bridgerton x Bachelor vibes but the MC is a new re-alived human (he was a vampire) and he has to uncover a group of vampire hunters
💫 Ex-vampire human MC relearns emotions and how to love and how to have friends/family 🥲

-- ty to the author, the publisher and @coloredpagesbt for an advanced copy!

If you're into socialite vampires, regency drama, and a bit of gothic flair, A Vile Season offers all that and more. This queer regency romance delivers a unique spin with Lucian, a vampire stripped of his immortality to infiltrate marriage games at the behest of the god of vampires. The premise alone—a newly human vampire competing for marriage amidst fancy dress parties, some concerning monster hunters, and the charm of regency society—is wonderful.

The real interest lies in Lucian's character arc. Having lost his immortality, he’s forced to grapple with his newfound humanity, the emotions that come with it, and his previous monstrosity. For someone who’s lived for centuries as a cold, powerful vampire, regaining human feelings brings a fascinating vulnerability that was... amazing. His personal growth is wonderful, especially with flashbacks showing just how dark and twisted his past really was; and the trauma he endured to get there. Watching him wrestle with his old, bloodthirsty nature while discovering genuine friendship and love makes his journey so satisfying. It's a unique redemption arc.

The clandestine monster hunters added a layer of mystery to the regency setting. And speaking of that setting, Ferraro nails the regency vibe—there's courtly elegance, fancy dress balls, and enough drama to keep any fan of period romance engaged. The "marriage games" concept was a fun twist, and it was refreshing to see both men and women vying for the duke's affection, opening up a variety of dynamics.

Lucian’s relationship with Raven and their shared past brings some extra depth to the story and is an interesting sort of 'generational trauma' kind of feel. The supporting characters, while interesting, do sometimes blur together, but the overall cast is vibrant enough to remember.

If you’re a fan of Bridgerton meets a hint of the complex relationships between the vampires in Buffy The Vampire Slayer, this one’s a win. I had a great time!

Thanks to TBR and Beyond Tours and the author for the complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own. I ALSO got an audio copy of this and tandem read it - the narrator is perfect and certainly made my read even more enjoyable. Thanks to libro.fm as well.

2.5 stars and my thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the eARC.

This was a first for me from Ferraro and A Vile Season was enjoyable enough to finish the novel, but I don't think he will be a repeat read or read-more-from-him type. I was excited about this book from the summary, but the execution was a lesson in perseverance.

Lucian is a vampire made back into a human to be taught a lesson from the God of Vampires. His mission: infiltrate high society, take part in the marriage games for the hand of the Duke, and find out the names of local vampire hunters. Only then will Lucian be allowed back to his vampire self.

I get that Lucian was supposed to be a shitball of a character, but he was insufferable to read even when he was trying his best to be "good." His relationships to the other characters was interesting since he had next to no chemistry with anyone. A character claiming to be in love with Lucian after a single kiss had their entire character thrown out the window in the last 20%.

And god, the sudden change of heart for Raven with little more than a 2 page conversation? Literally everyone is okay with being a vampire and/or living among them? The entire last 20% of the book was so stupid and for what.

Thanks to NetGalley & Page Street Publishing for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

Vampire Bridgerton, basically. That's what it is.

It can get pretty corny at times, but it was a fun read. The biggest issue I had was with the protagonist--we were told so often how evil he was as a vampire for hundreds of years but he was pretty chill in this book. It was hard to root for him when all his misdeeds were placed at his doorstep--did he really deserve redemption?