I’m starting to get more into a diverse genre of books especially those that touch on the lgbtq community as my daughter is a big advocate for the community. This was a good starting point because it touched on the areas we don’t speak enough about like depression and crappy family. Throw in fantasy and it was a great read. You have a MMC who went from human to vampire and also dealing with a new found family that melts your heart. Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday books for the arc. This is my honest opinion

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Just when Brennan thinks his life can't get any more complicated, he is turned into a vampire after an accident. And oh yeah, there's a cute boy working at the library that may or may not be into him. As he learns to balance the new things in his life--vampirism, friends, boyfriend, life gets even more complicated. Someone is trying to expose vampires.

This was a good book. There are trigger warnings for attempted suicide and depression, so head's up. I liked the relationships and different personalities. I will say that I felt that Brennan's struggles with depression seemed to almost disappear once he was turned, but his anxiety remained. It was a little too easy. Other than that, I quite enjoyed this book.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LETTING ME READ THIS BOOK! I PROMISE EVERYTHING IN THIS REVIEW IS TRUE AND MY OWN THOUGHTS!

If i could give this book a million stars, i would do it in a heartbeat. Not going to lie, i was a little unsure of this book at first, but i decided to give it a chance. And thank god i did. This book was AMAZING! it’s pretty cheesy, a little cringy (i love cringe), and a bit weird but in ALL THE BEST WAYS! this queer vampire romcom is the best book i’ve read all month which is saying something because i read Sunrise on the Reaping this month. It is EXACTLY what i needed. I tolerate no hate for this book. If you didn’t get the ARC, you better be reading it when it comes out.

It's a fun rom-com premise: a college student comes to the realization that he has become a vampire and has to deal with his new existence as well as some of the regular social anxieties of just being an undergrad. I think for the right audience, (among other factors younger than I am) it will be an enjoyable read.

However except for a few chuckles here and there I found the book to be a bit of a slog. The pacing was too slow and the characters didn't grab me. Also, I know this is massively nitpicking, but as a former college librarian myself, I found the inaccuracies of the college library setting irritating and it repeatedly pulled me out of the story.

Disclaimer: A free galley was provided to me by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

i’m pretty tired so coming up with coherent sentences for this review is proving to be a challenge, but this was super cute!!! this book is a paranormal y/a romance, and boy did it have an adorable romance! brennan and cole were so sweet and i loved their relationship and all of their interactions throughout.

i also enjoyed the found family adjacent vibe going on with the side characters and i’m actually upset we didn’t get more nellie and sunny. i saw the twist coming, and the end of the book was over pretty quick, but as i said before this is definitely a romance book more than an urban fantasy book, so i guess that wasn’t the focus. which i would say was evident as the vampire lore was sort of just dropped in at times - in a mostly smooth way to be fair, but still.

definitely check the trigger warnings if you’re thinking of reading this as there are lots of thoughts of/mentions of suicide, depression and anxiety. however i will say this book left me with a happy feeling and i think there is an overall feel-good atmosphere to the story. generally throughout i wanted to keep reading and was only stopping because i was going to work or bed, so i would for sure recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet, lgbtqia+ romance (the vampires are a bonus)!

I really really loved this book. The premise was enough to draw me in. College boy turns vampire and tries to balance it and having a new boyfriend, too cute! I loved the characters, no one ever even got on my nerves like some tend to. They all had their fun quirks and different ways of doing things. The writing style was really easy to read and flowed really well. I am really hoping there will be a sequel because I need to know what happens with Tony and Mari and how Dom is getting on!

This one was a fun romance that reminded me of love, Simon with a vampire twist.I liked all of the references to popular vampire media, I've always loved vampires so it was fun to see the different rules mentioned. There was a mix of some fun cringe (80s style health pamphlets about vampirism) and accidental cringe (referring to twilight as its government name The Twilight Saga every time. I thought the parts on Brennan's phone were incorporated well. I also think it did a good job at handling the mental health issues.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If "Twilight" and "Heartstopper" had a queer, awkward baby who loved library dates, vampire orientation pamphlets, and sarcastic inner monologues, it would be this book.

Jamie D’Amato’s debut is a hilarious and heartfelt paranormal rom-com that follows Brennan—your average anxious college freshman who just so happens to wake up one day as a vampire. And not the brooding, mysterious kind. No, Brennan’s more the “accidentally breaks vampire law while stress-sweating in a hoodie” type. As he tries to figure out his new bloodsucking reality, he also has to navigate a crush on Cole, the very cute, very emotionally intelligent library assistant who introduces him to Twilight (which Brennan pretends to hate... badly).

Told through journal entries, text threads, pamphlets (yes, seriously), and straight-up adorable narrative, this book is a bite-sized treat. There’s pop culture galore, solid representation of mental health struggles, and a slow-burn romance that feels like being wrapped in a cozy blanket—if that blanket also had a little vampire drama and a few sharp teeth.

Is it a little silly? Absolutely. Is that the point? 100%. It’s a soft, snarky, sweet story that doesn’t take itself too seriously but still manages to hit you right in the feelings.

Final verdict: Think less “doom and gloom vampire prince,” more “anxious disaster bisexual learns to drink blood responsibly and talk about his feelings.” 8/10 would recommend if your spooky season needs more serotonin and smooching.

Thank you to Wednesday Books, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really really loved this book. The premise was enough to draw me in. College boy turns vampire and tries to balance it and having a new boyfriend, too cute! I loved the characters, no one ever even got on my nerves like some tend to. They all had their fun quirks and different ways of doing things. The writing style was really easy to read and flowed really well. I am really hoping there will be a sequel because I need to know what happens with Tony and Mari and how Dom is getting on!

Thank you to Jamie D'Amato, St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced digital access to this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is the book we all need right now and I wish I could erase the memory of reading it and do it all again in the fall as I am jealous of those that will get to experience it for the first time when it is released in the spooky season.

Brennan is just an angst ridden guy in college trying to deal with the fact that he has been turned into a vampire, as one does. He is so funny and made me laugh out loud at his relatability. I mean, his response is so much closer to "normal" then what has been portrayed in previous vampire novels. AND, and can we just applaud the nods to the previous vampire lore out there.

When Cole, the cutie who works at the library, gets Brennan to start the Twilight series and Brennan has to act like he doesn't like it...come on. So good! And yes, Cole and Brennan's evolving relationship is delightful.

But it doesn't stop there...because there is a whole vampire world to explore and they don't all get along. As Brennan is trying to understand what his body is now doing, he also has to decide where his new vampire allegiances lie so there's that in addition to college classes, a nagging Mom and awakening of feels for Cole.

This is the perfect in between when you want more than a cozy fantasy with its low stakes BUT not as much serious, end of the world issues of romantasy and dystopia. Is this genre sarcastically sweet supernatural magical realism? I don't know but I want more of it!

4.5⭐️Such a cute read! I loved the way the story was told—mixing journal entries, pamphlets, texts, and the main narrative. It was a fun touch and gave you these little bits of extra info that made it even more enjoyable. The relationship between Brennan and Cole was so sweet. I really liked how they supported each other, stayed true to who they were, and still grew together. The pacing was pretty solid until the end. I actually thought it was going to be a duology for a minute because everything seemed to happen in the last 5%. The ending was clear, but I think it might’ve had even more impact if it was less rushed. Overall, such a fun and adorable read! Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for the ARC!

3.25 stars

This book didn't have alot of depth, although it does discuss mental health issues. It's a vampire rom com and I loved all the pop culture references. It was just a low stakes fun read. The story was easy to follow, and gave me some laughs. I do wish we saw more complexity in the characters and their motivations.
Cute book

Thank you Jamie D'Amato, Wednesday Books, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑽𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝑮𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒐𝒚𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 is Jamie D'Amato's debut novel, a paranormal rom-com where a college freshman must navigate suddenly becoming a vampire, the underground society he's now part of, and the cute boy who discovers his secret.

I was hooked to this book from the title and the very first page. I could not put it down and I was giggling through many of the parts. It's a sweet, relatable and awesome book to say the least. The movies and shows referencing were fun.

I loved the slow-burn and tension between Cole and Brennan and their overall relationship is so cute. I enjoyed reading about them as individual people too, where Brennan is usually the grumpy and restricted while Cole is aloof and enjoys life as it passes. I enjoyed reading about all the side characters --- who were well developed and have distinct personalities and traits that made the narrative more fun.

The way mental health was represented in this book was amazing. I think this prospect made me like the book even more.

The vampires in this book were fun. The lore and histories were intriguing to read and amazing that it coincided perfectly with Cole and Brennan's relationship.

Overall, this was a really fun read, filled with emotional, cute, adorable moments, self-discovery and mental health representation and vampires.

This was very fun and easy to read, I just wish the characters had a bit more depth.

I did really like the characters and the dynamics between them, they really were fun to read about. I just didn't find myself that connected to them, maybe that's an age thing? Or maybe just a me thing? Or maybe a writing thing? I don't know. Maybe look at other reviews to see if that's a thing.

These characters were charming in a goofy and nerdy sort of way (which is very endearing to me) but at times, I did find them quite predictable, but YA can be very predictable at times. So I am not really upset by that at all.

This is definitely a more light-hearted, low-stakes sort of book. And those are always nice palate cleansers, I mean, it is a vampire rom-com. Overall, this was fun and cute. I would recommend if you are in the mood for something like that. Nothing too deep, nothing I got super invested in, but still a good time. And that's what matters to me! I also really like the cover!

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

My rating system is as follows for any ARC book:
1 star = DNF, wouldn't recommend this to anyone and found significant flaws in it
2 stars = Finished, not something I would recommend but some may find it good
3 stars = This is a good book, nothing too spectacular but I enjoyed the read
4 stars = This was a fun and intriguing read, would talk about it and look for other works by this author
5 stars = An amazing book, would re-read

Overall rating: 4.5 stars (5 on a non-half rating system)
This is a breath of fresh air kind of book. There's brevity and angst and a lovely romance that's wrapped all up in someone having to figure out how their life works now that they're a vampire! The plot was perfect for the characters, and I felt immersed in the story. There was no point where the story dragged at all. In fact I was so invested by the end of the first chapter I had a hard time putting the book down to get enough sleep for the next day.

Specific feedback:
There was some sentence structures that pulled me from the story every so often but I expect those to be fixed by official publication and they were so few and far between I wouldn't even say it's an issue.

I enjoyed this book but it's not what I thought it would be. It was funny and cute. Definitely a lighthearted read, not a serious book. A great one to read for a beginner looking to read again or if you want a lighter book as a bit of a "palate cleanser"

ARC copy provided through Netgalley / Publishers
This is definitely a rom-com kind of vampire book. I was intrigued by the description of the book and, as an avid lover of vampires, jumped right into it. It’s a pretty light read despite having some serious notes to it (Trigger warnings for suicide ideation / death [because…vampires]) and the pop culture references had me chuckling. Some of the scenarios that happen are things that would only happen in a rom-com of course and some of the interactions just reminded me of how young the characters are in the book. The target would be teen/YA and I would say very teen friendly (like, if it was a movie definitely PG-13). And that’s the thing- I could totally see this being a TV show and made me nostalgic of a certain teen vampire TV series of the early 2000s.. whose name wont’ be mentioned but there’s totally a mention of them in the book!
It’s not a ‘super long’ book by number of pages (most books I’ve been reading these days are well over 600 pages these days!) but there are certainly times where the book ‘felt’ long, and despite having humor and charm, it didn’t have the pacing I was hoping for to keep the excitement going all the way through.
My favorite line from the book (it happens early on, but it lasted through my entire read) : 'He looked like if Timothée Chalamet had a less punchable face.." AHAHAHAH!!! (Relatable).
The MC and love interest are adorable and had me rooting for them-and I do enjoy that it was not INSTA LOVE. There’s some build up and awkwardness that made me chuckle (I personally would have loved a little more drama, but everything gets resolved pretty quickly IMO…)

I think the Teen/YA crowd will like this book :)

Big thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. This is an honest review of the book.

Brennan's life becomes astronomically more complicated when he wakes up undead following a hazy accident. He's a vampire, and has no idea how to deal with it. Cut to vampire orientations, a cute librarian and his protective friends, and a plot that might put everything Brennan values in the crossfire, and you have a fun story about friendship, love, and finding the courage to keep living. This book has big Heartstopper vibes and that's part of why it's a charming story to read.

This book was another 3-3.5 star read for me. I enjoyed aspects of the story and I adored the relationship between Brennan and his beau, but the tone of the narration made it hard to maintain interest early-on and I really had to push through before I became invested. I enjoy books that have high levels of conflict, and I would say this one had moderate levels. Issues arose but they were resolved pretty quickly and without much difficulty. Some miscommunication or lack thereof due to overthinking (which is normal for young adults, so this is personal bias). I loved Heartstopper so I went into this story with the expectation that I would see similar themes and I did, so that was pleasant.

The overarching plot of the story is not this book's strong suit. There aren't clear motivations for the villains (imo) so their behavior kind of falls flat and feels a bit like nonsense. The romance is a strength, however, and I mainly enjoyed this book because of that. I would recommend if you're looking for a fun, young adult paranormal romance with some wit and sap. The story does discuss mental health and suicide, so be aware of that. Overall a nice read.

Thank you to net galley for the arc. I love cute, cozy vampire stories. This would make a really cute fall read. I still enjoyed it and the characters were great. I highly recommend reading this.