I thought this was a fun queer vampire novel where everyone is gay and hardly anyone dies. Ahh the perfect world.

Where Shadows Meet is a multi-POV book that is also told between present day and about a thousand years ago. Part of the story is told from Favre's point of view and how the vampires came to be and how the first vampire Queen, Thana fell. The other part of the story focuses on Leyla a descendent of Thana and a seer Najji. Leyla and Najji are traveling to Nekros to rescue Leyla's best friend.

I liked this book; it was a simple fun plot. The lore of the vampires was also well built and easy to understand. Also, there was enough plot leftover for a second book to be super interesting. The only thing that I felt could have used a little more building up, was the gods. In the beginning of the book the Gods/Goddesses in this world are very present, but when we are in present day there is no mention of them. There is a little cursory praying by the main characters, but no interference or mention of the pantheon. I just felt like it would have been easy to add more to the magic of the world by including the Gods/Goddesses throughout the story and not just as they relate to the creation of vampires.

Overall, this is a fun fantasy novel, and I will be picking up the second one for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press - Wednesday Books for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

This book has a lot of potential for any sequel that comes after. World building fell a little short for me. Normally, I don't like extensive time spent on it, but I would have liked more information other than the text book style that was given. It also is a little too insta-love for me.
I wanted more.... everything. It was just a let down.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read this e-arc.

The story started off strong with two intriguing ancient characters. I was interested in finding out more about them and perhaps would have liked a book that just focused on them. With the current day characters, it felt as though the main adventure didn’t start until after half way through book with the inciting incident happening just before the middle.

I didn’t find myself caring about the characters and their situation. I wish we’d gotten to know them more personally, I felt like we didn’t get to see their personalities. It felt as though situations were introduced just to move the story forward. While the concept seemed interesting and promising, I felt as though there were too many characters with two many points of view, leading to the story becoming disjointed and not as strong as it could have been.

This book had a lot of potential, but the plot and character development fell short. I think perhaps it was because the author was trying to make it a duology where it likely could have been one book.

I loved the idea of this book, different vampires, sapphic, and an interesting story but the actual execution fell a bit short.

I found there to be a lot of info dumping and I know the authors note at the beginning told us to trust her and we'd find out really cool things in book 2... I mean book 1 needs to stand on its own.

The POVs were a bit confusing and I ultimately lost interest around 70% through.

A new take on a large genre. While this book has so many strong points and themes, I still needed a little bit more from it. With fantasy, they say read till it starts making sense. I was expecting the world to be built up so much more and have a better connection to the characters by the end than I did. This could be because this is only the first in the series and meant to tease you into the next book, but sadly, I will not be along for the ride.

This book had a lot of potential, but it fell flat. I had a lot of issues with this book, and I felt that it was kind of all over the place and everything happened too quickly. I felt that this book's vampires had too many similarities to Carissa Broadbent's vampires, and I found that a little off putting. The lore of the world happened too late into the book, I was about 60% of the way through and then I was told the story of how this world came to be. This should have been explained in the WAAAAAY beginning. I feel like the chapters of Farve should have served places where the lore could have been presented to the reader earlier. This being a short book, there needed to be established lore at the beginning besides that Thanna killed her father and turned into a vampire as a result. That does not explain why there is a kingdom of vampires now or why there are different species of them. Another bothersome point is that this book is very gruesome as vampire books tend to be and I would not put vampires in a YA category unless you play down their violent nature. The content of the book was adult BUT the dialogue and the characters were around 18 but SOOOOOOO juvenile. It was so off, I felt if the characters were early 20s then their storyline would have felt better. Their age and behavior really threw me off. When they were on their journey to the "underworld" there was not conversation about how Leyla could be in the sun when Thanna could not or any discussion of food and what she was eating. I felt that there were a lot of inconsistencies with the vampires as if their abilities were not really well thought out.
Overall, I did not really enjoy this book and felt it was poorly written and had the potential to be great. I do not think I would continue this series whatsoever.

Thank you NetGalley for this e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

I've just emerged from the spellbinding world of "Where Shadow Meets" by Patrice Caldwell, and I'm still reeling from the experience. This multi-POV narrative took me on a thrilling journey through interchanging timelines, each perspective adding depth to an already intricate plot.

Every page turn revealed new layers, demanding my full attention but rewarding me generously. The narrative structure is ingenious, with each piece clicking into place to unveil a breathtaking bigger picture.

At its core, this tale pulses with true love, duty, and destiny. I found myself deeply invested in the journeys of these women, each trapped by circumstances, fighting against predetermined roles. Their sacrifices and losses hit me hard, adding raw emotional depth.

The relationships in this story are a maze of delightful surprises. It was like piecing together a jigsaw in the dark, each revelation illuminating another corner of this intricately crafted world.

I must warn you, this isn't a light read. It requires concentration to fully appreciate the nuances of the plot and the subtle interplay between characters. But believe me, it's worth every ounce of effort.

As the first in a series, "Where Shadow Meets" sets the stage for an epic fantasy saga. The world-building is rich, the characters are deliciously complex, and the plot is utterly captivating. Brace yourselves for a truly magical journey.

Thank you, Wednesday Books and NetGalley, for my free book.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Where Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell is a first person multi-POV YA Black Sapphic romantic fantasy with vampires, gods and seers. Crown Princess Leyla of the vampiric race grew up in the aftermath of a war between humans and vampires. When her best friend is abducted, she ropes in Najja, a seer who was imprisoned by Leyla’s mother. The two are drawn together as they rescue Leyla’s friend, but there’s someone else that they are unaware of who is going to do whatever she can to get her own destiny back.

This is not a paranormal romance as it’s set in a fantasy world with an entirely new pantheon with epic fantasy stakes. It also doesn’t go into the blood for the main couple until much later while a lot of paranormal romances with vampires, in my experience, have it happen a lot sooner. I think that would make this book perfect for readers who really like the idea of vampires but haven’t enjoyed most traditionally published paranormal romances but have enjoyed YA fantasy. I think this might be my first secondary world vampire romantic fantasy and I’m excited for more because I love the idea of vampires and fantasy romance/romantic fantasy and want to see how authors can expand the lore further out while keeping the things I love about PNR.

I don’t do this very often, but I really have to commend the prologue. It’s so easy to question why a prologue is there in fantasy these days because the information could be inserted elsewhere later or the book could start in a different place. What I liked about this prologue was the slightly dreamy quality and the angelic quality Favre had while Thana comes across as a bit darker even though Favre is the one who gives up her wings. It’s very biblical, in a way, but also darkly romantic and vampiric and I’m into it. It got me hyped for the rest of the book and hit all the right buttons. I also really appreciated that Black hair is drawn attention to by specifically referring to wash day in the prologue.

Najja and Leyla’s relationship develops as not so much enemies-to-lovers so much as ‘I don’t know what to make of you’-to-lovers. Fate weavers, or yamaja, are not really welcome in Leyla’s mother’s realm and Leyla is the heir to the prison who imprisoned Najja. There’s no good reason for them to trust each other behind not really having a choice but there’s also not a lot of good reasons for them to distrust each other either. I’m into the ways Najja and Leyla are sometimes framed more softly and also as strong and intelligent.

I would recommend this to fans of vampire romance who want a YA epic fantasy and readers looking for Sapphic Black vampires

I love a good vampire novel!! The dual timelines of this novel were really interesting - you would see something happen in the current timeline, then move to the past timeline to see why a certain situation happened or a reveal would occur and give you some insight into the current state of things. It those, it was a little jarring to move from 3rd person to 1st person POV.

The lore was really interesting but I felt the info dumping and travelling were a bit overdone and slowed the book down immensely. I had hoped for a bit more character and relationship development but the last 10% was action packed and had me hooked.

3.5 stars rounded up. Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the advanced review copy.

This book was just not for me at this time. I’ll have to try the audiobook when it comes out. Nothing against the book or the writing or the story in general but however it was me and I am no longer in the mood for this.

The author wrote very detailed descriptions of the characters and events, however I couldn’t get passed the third chapter. It was hard to follow and keep interest. It made me think of the Game of Thrones author; a lot of details but drawn out.

Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and St. Martin's Press for this advanced copy! You can pick up Where Shadows Meet on April 1, 2025.

This might be one of the most unique and imaginative worlds I've ever read. I really, really loved the lore that Patrice Caldwell wove together and how we see different facets of it for every POV in the book. We have Favre, a daughter of a witch and a god, who cuts off her wings to forge a god-killing blade for her lover Thana. Then we have Leyla, the vampire princess and descendent of Thana fated to reawaken her ancestress. And then there's Najja, a yamaja who can see visions of the future and communicate with the dead, and who's told she must save the princess's life to stop the end of the world (Thana's return).

Does that not sound so incredibly epic?? This story delivered lots of great back-story and action, as well as some sweet character moments, but I think they all could have been a bit more enhanced if the story was longer. I wanted to FULLY immerse myself in this world and be SHOWN how things work instead of told. The ARC was only 250 ebook pages, which gives us so little time to connect to the characters and FEEL everything they're feeling. I still had a fun time and will definitely recommend this book, but I just can't help thinking about what it could have been with more scenes depicting character relationships, the world, and the history of Favre and Thana.

I'd also like to point out how wonderfully Caldwell integrates themes of mothers and daughters into this story. We see three distinct mother-daughter experiences through these POVs, and it just felt like the icing on the top of an emotional cake.

If you're looking for a new epic YA fantasy full of Black lesbian vampires and emotional damage, this is your book!!

The blurb of this book definitely got my attention. I mean who wouldn't be intrigued by different types of vampires? With all the stories about vampires, it's rare to come across a new take on them. I found the world building to be lacking, and difficult to stay on track when the author jumps from third person pov to first person pov. Lots of info thrown at you and just in general feels a bit chaotic. Definitely an opportunity to take this idea and work out the kinks, but as is right now, monotonous and won't be continuing the series.

Where Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell is a very original story with vampires and Gods and vampire gods. There are tons of characters and a whole family tree to look at but it not hard to keep straight once you start reading the story. The world is a vast as the characters. It is greatly described and wonderfully developed. The story starts out slow but then as you get further into the story, you begin to see how it all fits together in a mythological tale. It is a great tale that obviously is going to be told through many books, like an epic series, as this book leaves you hanging but wanting more. If you like epic fantasy with romance and mythology, then this is the book for you.
Thank to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I wanted so badly to love this book. Honestly my two stars is being generous. I found several flaws with this book. So many places where the Author should have gone into more detail. I had so many questions and almost none of them were answered. This book has potential to be great but it was severely lacking.
It started in third person POV in the beginning then switched to first person POV. I feel like we may have gotten a lot more information about the beginning and how they were turned into vampires if it was in first person POV from the beginning.
The family tree was blurry and I couldn’t see a single name.
I found myself rereading several pages thinking I missed something, but I didn’t. The author jumped around a lot.
I didn’t have any real connection to the characters and honestly thought about putting this book down and never picking it back up several times.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7358751044


This book has the potential to be really good and I am all for a LGBTQ book but I feel like every FMC being gay took it a bit far. I personally am not gay so I couldn’t relate to a single character in this book.

Read this in one day! It was fast paced and the plot had me so captivated. So many important themes explored here, how far one is willing to go for love, when does love cross the line into manipulation and selfishness, grief and childhood trauma and its lasting effects.

Things of note:
✨ Morally grey and villainous FMCs
✨ two sapphic romances in dual timeline
✨ very unique world building and mythology
✨ bloody food market because there are so many ways to consume blood than just drink it
✨ dark fantasy
✨ vampire princess x snarky “oracle”
✨ “she’s probably evil but love is blind” energy
✨ matriarchy
✨ queernormative world
✨ anxiety rep

This is a quick stream of consciousness review, full to follow closer to release day. Thanks to Wednesday Books for the ARC!

The mythology woven into the world-building was really interesting, and the story had a strong theme of love and sacrifice!

The story follows Favre, who gave up her wings for love, and Thana, the goddess who chose power over that love. Fast forward a thousand years, and Leyla, a vampire princess, sets out for Nekros, the island of the dead, to rescue her best friend.

The romance played a big role, and I liked how it tied into the characters choices and the bigger plot!

It definitely ends on a cliffhanger, so be ready for that!!

If you’re into fantasy with gods, vampires, and high stakes, this one is worth checking out!

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the e arc.

This is a YA fantasy novel about vampires. Favre gave up her wings (which she never got over) to Thana for love. However, Thana gave up that love for power since she is a goddess. The novel takes place years in the future after a war between the gods, vampires, and humans. I thought the mix of mythology elements and fantasy was crafted beautifully. The world building was excellent and I thought the self-discovery for the characters was also well down for the first book in what will become a series. The only thing I didn't love was that the plot felt slow to be, which is something that I struggle with when getting into books.

I will not be continuing this book and will only be reviewing here on Netgalley. I only got to about twenty percent of the story. Unfortunately, despite an interesting world and concept, I struggled with actually reading this book. The language felt choppy and did not flow well. I found myself reading the same sentence multiple times to absorb the correct meaning and inflection. I do not know if this is something that would be better fixed in the final edit but it was a struggle here.

It was also a weird mix of overexplained and under explained for concepts in the story. Things I had questions about remained unanswered but things that were very clear were drilled into my head multiple times.

I think there could be a good story here with stronger editing.