I was a bit disappointed in this book to be honest - I expected more. The switch between third and first person and three POV's was confusing and disoriented. I did not care for the world-building, I think it was lacking quite a bit.

This book for me was about 1.5-2 stars. I really struggled with this book because it felt like it was all over the place. It really jumped back and forth in the timing of the story and between so many different story lines that it was hard to follow. I also really struggled to connect with the characters, and because it jumped so much was not able to understand sometimes why they were having the feelings they were having. I think Favre was a good character and the Leyla also had a lot of good character too, but the mix of them and the timeline of how the book ran just made it really hard for me to get through.

I loved the concept behind this book, a black sapphic vampire fantasy! I thought the world was really unique and interesting and the lore and way that the story unfolded across different periods of time and viewpoints was really well done. I love a book where the characters have to take journeys, both physical and within themselves and this book definitely delivered on that.

I think the romance was a bit too rushed and it was more so told than shown. I just didn’t fully buy into the turning point in their relationship as much as I would’ve wanted. And some parts I found that I was a bit confused and things didn’t quite make sense with other parts of the book. Overall though, a really interesting story and I will be reading the next one!

I really wanted to love this book! The premise sounded fascinating and so promising, but found that I couldn’t get into the story or feel passionately about the main character’s ARC. I found the writing to be a bit dull, and even while there was exciting action & worldbuilding taking place, I was quite disinterested.

I would still be open to trying another one of this author’s books in the future! But this wasn’t for me. DNF.

Unfortunately, this is going to be another DNF (25%) for me.

The story was taking too long to get started, I wasn't a fan of the narration style (switching between 1st and 3rd person was a bit much for me), and I didn't really care about any of the characters.

However, I was really interested in the fanatsy world that wasn't eurocentric. It was nice to see POC just living without the crushing weight of colonialism.

This isn't a bad book, it just isn't for me.

I was very excited to give another sapphic vampire book a try. And this was probably my favorite one so far. The story was very interesting for me, especially the lore it created, and I enjoy stories with multiple narratives happening throughout the book. Especially when those narratives slowly start connecting more and more and answering questions. But I definitely found myself more invested in the narrative started in the prologue than in the main narrative. And by the end, the story started to feel rushed. I started to get confused in the climax because everything happened so fast. Overall, I would have enjoyed them both as separate stories. Thana and Favre as a story and Leyla and Najja as their own. Together they just felt like competing stories, and I definitely favoured one over the other.

I was so excited by the synopsis for this book; it was like a Venn diagram of my reading interests overlapping, but unfortunately I was just not the right audience for this particular story. There was so much info dumping and switching of POV without actually getting to know any of the characters that I was struggling to follow the idea of the plot; I kept needing to backtrack and re-read. There were a lot of enjoyable descriptive details, but overall so much that just didn't seem cohesive or captivating. I think this book will find its audience but sadly that was not me!

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this ARC!

Black. sapphic. fantasy. i truly thought ii was gonna eat this up and spoiler alert: i did not, in fact 😔 from the world building to the characters, i felt a bit of a disconnect and ultimately decided to dnf at 30%. this is by NO means a bad book, it simply wasn’t for me!!

When I heard Black sapphic vampires I was excited! The premise was intriguing, and I think the book was pretty unique. I enjoyed the backstory with the creation of vampires, and I liked all of the other magical characters as well. The big questions of what would you give up for love, and what would it cost you, what would the ones you love give up for you, etc. are explored, which is especially interesting when paired with vampires and seers.

As I was reading the prologue I was really invested in that story, and when I started the actual book I was kind of disappointed that the book didn't follow that story, and instead jumped ahead and added in a bunch of new characters. I feel like I'd have loved a whole book with the story from the prologue. I also think the world building could have been more cohesive.

3.5/5

I requested this for consideration for Book Riot's All the Books podcast for its release date. After sampling several books out this week, I decided to go with a different book for my review.

The beginning of this book had me enthralled. I was swept away by the sapphic love story between goddesses and the tale of vampires. The dual timelines didn’t help the tale fro there unfortunately.

I really really liked the premise for this book. The blurb was promising. Unfortunately this is one of those books that probably has a fantastic story but I just can’t vibe with the way the author writes enough to push through the book. Lots of info dumping in a writing style that just seems, for lack of better words, juvenile. I’ve never seen so many commas on a page. Sadly, this is a DNF. Thank you Wednesday books for the early copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. DNF. I will not finish. I have been waiting to read this since I found out the author was writing a novel since I read one of her anthology books. I’m not really interested in what is going on. I knew it was fantasy and had vampires but the different POv’s and timelines are something that I don’t think I enjoy in this way. I’m only rating because it makes me and reviewing so it doesn’t hurt my feedback ratio.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance reader's copy of the book. I enjoyed this different take on vampires. The world building was unique and I wanted more. The main characters were alright and the events of the end were predictable, but overall it wasn't a bad book. It will be interesting to see how things are resolved in the next book. Overall 3.5 out of 5.

Gods-turned-vampires took control over the human world a millenia ago. Every ruler since has had a lasting impact on history. Leyla, next in line, worries she will not meet the expectations of her ancestoresses. When her best friend is kidnapped during an attack, Leyla knows she has to be the one to save her. Will she save her friend, or will she set into motion events that could end the world?

This millennial will never read enough vampire novels. This was fast-paced and I was immediately hooked! I loved the various POVs and flashbacks. The chapters were short and I loved how many of them ended with diary entries or excerpts from texts in the royal archives. The diary entries made me more empathetic towards Favre. It was light on the world-buiding with character development as the primary focus. It is more appropriate for upper YA.
It’s definitely set up for a sequel; I am so invested in how the story continues!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the e-ARC!

This, to say the least, is short and sweet. It definitely feels like a setup for the next book, but that doesn't stop it from being fast-paced and full of mystery. The character and how they interact really makes this story and it feels as if the world bends around them. They each have their own unique personalities and relations. The world is very interesting, to say the least and I adore the characters steeped in folklore. This novel has everything from gods to vampires and feels like a dopamine rush. The Price that the charecter pay for what they want just feals so personal as you watch it unfold. I do think it should have been more drawn out in the first few chapters because all the characters are introduced very quickly and I definitely got confused and had to back track quite a bit. In the end, I think it's a great short read I will continue the series and recommend you read it.

Okay, so I actually think there are a lot of really fun ideas here! We have an interesting take on vampires, a lot of lore, and a lot of different POVs. I think the author has some unique ideas. I did struggle, however, to keep all of the characters straight in my head, which perhaps led to me feeling a little disconnected from them and not really feeling the emotional connection I would have liked. I also felt like a lot of the lore was narrated to me rather than shown or integrated into the book in a natural way, which is a shame because I do think there were some good ideas.

Loved how queernormative it was and the focus on sapphics. I would definitely try out another book by the same author.

This could have been 5 stars for me, but there were just SO many timelines and POV's, I got confused at numerous points throughout the story. I loved the premise, the characters & everything else about it, but the feeling of being thrown across so many points, I unfortunately need to take off a star.

DNF at 23%. I like the concepts with the world building, but it’s very info-dumpy, and it spills a lot on the reader at once. The characters aren’t particularly gripping, and their POVs aren’t distinct. Granted, I’m in a massive reading slump, so I may try again when I’m in a better mood,

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I started reading it. I was a little confused at the beginning, but I kept reading and learned more which helped clear it up. Thano and Favre are evil vampire queens (not evil at the beginning). Thano is the first ever vampire. She gets drained and imprisoned in a tomb. Favre wants to release her and needs help to do it because she loves her. Enter Leyla, Danai, and Najia. Najia is one who can tell the future. She goes to help Leyla (the princess). They go on a journey to rescue Danai who was stolen. They learn a lot and there is some romance but it is definitely more fantasy than romantasy. No spice really, not explicit at all, more closed door. Definitely a good fantasy story and would definitely check out the next one (supposed to be a duology).