The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood & Boyfriends by Jamie D'Amato is a charmingly dark and heartfelt coming-of-age story that puts a fresh, queer twist on vampire lore. Brennan’s snarky resilience and vulnerability shine as he navigates the chaos of vampire puberty, college life, and the unexpected possibility of romance with the campus dream guy, Cole. I loved how the story balanced humor, emotional depth, and supernatural mystery—it’s as much about finding belonging and healing as it is about blood and boyfriends. With its quirky cast of “good” vampires and a tender romance at its core, this novel is a clever, moving, and delightfully undead tale that sinks its fangs into your heart and doesn’t let go.

This is one of my new favorite books. It’s fun, emotional, so heartfelt, and in many places laugh-out-loud funny. The voice is fantastic! It just grabs you right from the beginning. I also appreciated the mental health representation and queer representation; it’s so nice to see intersectionality. The story itself is a lot of fun to follow and there’s a bit of a mystery as well to figure out what’s going on with not only the main character but also the overarching world, with a couple twists that keep you on your seat! The romance is also sweet and validating and sexy. Just such a good book. I will be telling everyone about it.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc. This was such a cute and funny story. I love a good vampire story. And I love a good romcom and I got both in one. This book deserves all the stars. I really enjoyed reading this one

"So you're a vampire, now what? The Modern Vampires Guide to Drinking Blood Safely and Politely."

Characters: 4⭐
Plot: 3⭐
Writing Style: 4⭐
Enjoyment: 4⭐
Overall rating: 4 ⭐

What to expect? When Brennan wakes up as a vampire, he's, to put it mildly, confused. Thankfully, he has his area's vampire clan to rely on and budding romance with Cole.

Things I loved?
🔸 This was a modern romance with a lot of gen-z references and the form of the book reflects that. I enjoyed how text conversations, reddit threads, call logs, group chats, facebook groups, journal entries, letters etc were added in. They broke chapters up really nicely, made the book a quicker read and added a lot to the reading experience and they weren’t thrown in there too much. It was a good balance.
🔸I loved the meet-cute twists that Cole and Brennan have.
🔸 Nellie texting is a riot. And so are the pamphlets. Who knew becoming a vampire would come with so much reading?
🔸 The letters cole and Brennan send to each other over break build build their characters out so much and were so fun to read.
🔸The rom com apology is peak
🔸I love the full circle Bachelor tv show viewing at the end.

"Oh lord, don't give me the Edward Cullen New Moon "I'm dangerous" bullshit! I'm not letting you go to a murder spot alone, because I don't want you in danger, either, and I'm definitely not letting you solve a vampire murder mystery without me because that sounds cool as hell."

What could be improved?
🔸 The formatting for some of the text messages is messed up though (likely something that will be corrected for the final release)
🔸I wish it was more focused on romance than the vampires because the romance was where this book shined and the plot was semi-predictable, not that that’s necessarily a bad thing.
🔸 The climax could have been spiced up a bit more.

Books recs if you liked this one?
🔸 Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Um. I can't believe I just recommended this book. But if you go into Twilight for the bit, then you'll have a lot of fun. The book from Edward's pov is even funnier.
🔸 Until the World Ends by Jolene Gettler. A paranormal, punchy, gen z-humor type romance novel. It's an mf romance, but just as good as The Good Vampires Guide.

Would I recommend this book? Yes! It was a fun read.

“coles my main bitch. you’re a side ho, at best."

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute YA book. I loved the development of Brennan and Coles relationship and Brennan trying to navigate life as a new vampire. The struggles Brennan went though both as human and vampire was very relatable. Overall this was a fun yet deep story and I learned more about Vampires than I ever thought I would. Also I love the title of this, its what caught my attention in the first place.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who grew up reading about vampires (and still loves them!), this was such a fun read. College freshman Brennan has to come to terms with the fact that he is now a vampire. He meets Cole, the cute librarian, who’s happy to help him keep that secret.

Filled with Twilight jokes, funny moments, meaningful mental health and neurodivergent rep, and heartfelt characters, The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood and Boyfriends was easy to devour.

This book is slated to be released in August 2025!

This book was such a new, fresh, and enjoyable read! It has a whole new take on vampires, and the journey between the two main characters was raw, emotional and real. I was not able to put this down, and I highly, highly recommend this to anyone who wants a fresh, new take on vampires in a modern setting, mixed with an incredible LGBTQ+ love story.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an early access copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood and Boyfriends has a fun, cheeky premise and clearly aims for a lighthearted take on vampire lore, but the execution didn’t quite land for me. The writing felt a bit rough and unpolished, with an overall tone that came across as more juvenile than I expected—even for a younger YA audience. While I can see the charm in the humor and the potential in the concept, I found it difficult to stay engaged due to the uneven pacing and underdeveloped characters. That said, there’s an energetic spirit to the story that could appeal to readers looking for a quirky, offbeat read, and with further refinement, the author’s voice could really shine.

The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood and Boyfriends by Jamie D. Amato is a hilarious, heartfelt romp through the world of modern vampirism, awkward dating, and unexpected self-discovery. This book is like if What We Do in the Shadows got cozy with a queer rom-com—and the result is pure magic.

Our undead narrator is as witty as he is endearing, navigating love, bloodlust, and the hazards of the 21st-century dating scene with a dry sense of humor and a surprisingly big heart (that, thankfully, remains un-staked). The tone is playful but never shallow, and Amato balances the absurdity of vampire life with authentic emotional depth.

There’s swoon-worthy romance, laugh-out-loud moments, and just enough paranormal mischief to keep things deliciously weird. Whether you’re Team Edward, Team Lestat, or just here for the drama, you’re going to have so much fun with this one.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! I absolutely adored this book—it’s clever, queer, and completely un-put-downable. Bring on the sequel, please!

I really enjoyed this! At first, I was like “what am I reading?”, but then the pace picked up and it got real interesting real quick. Brennan was dealing with a lot the entire story! Managing his mental health, then dying and coming back as vampire, meeting and getting a boyfriend, and to top it all off he had to organize a plan to save a small portion of the human race! Like WTH?!

The author did a good job giving us all the feels and giving us enough to get to know the MCs. I also liked the supporting characters like Sunny & Nellie (they were funny af) and Mari & Tony (comical couple as well). Mari’s super feisty and protective attitude reminds me of myself when it comes to my friends.

I enjoyed Brennan and Cole’s love story, as well as, Brennan’s other relationships that he developed throughout the story. Brennan didn’t think he was worthy of it all (and probably still doesn’t), but I think he finally started getting comfortable with the idea of looking forward to the future.

The only thing I was disappointed about was the vampire ball. I expected some big show down and yeah it wasn’t as big as I thought it would be. I guess the author was trying to trick us? Not give us what we were expecting? I dunno 🤷🏾‍♀️

4.5 ⭐️

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin Publishing Group for the ARC of this book. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it.

This was very refreshing urban vampire story! it has a lot of potential and the main couple was super cute

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.