Rated up 4.5/5

Bloodstains by Gaslight is devastating and even that feels like an understatement. It's a dive into the hellscapes of domestic violence and neglect in the form of a modern vampire story.

I'm having trouble putting my emotions into sentences for this one. It's just so bleak and gut-wrenching to read. Red makes sure you do not go into this blind and yet I was still surprised at how hard it hit. I found my heart breaking for Reese and Michael, both products of their environment, kids who are left to raise themselves in the worst of circumstances.

There is a part in the story where Reese is trying to escape and the way she cycles through the emotions of pain, hate, grief, and acceptance only to be brought back to the beginning over and over is so hard to read.

Also, the cover art and the title are amazing, and I can't wait to have a physical copy. Red Lagoe is continuing to prove herself and is cementing herself as an auto-buy author for me. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC copy.

It’s a great read. Fun. Bloody. Brutal. It uses vampirism as a brilliant accentuator (?) of a toxic relationship, which is so perfect and terrifying.

The year is 1997 and high school student Reese has big plans for what she wants to do with her life. First on the list is breaking up with her abusive boyfriend, Michael. She has wanted to end the relationship for some time now, but he always manipulates her into one more chance. This time, she has had enough and no amount of pleading or threatening will make her stay.

But then it happens. The horrible accident that nearly takes his life. She feels compelled to help him through his recovery. She worries what people will think if she turns her back on him now. His recovery is remarkably quick, and suddenly he is stronger, more aggressive, and more dangerous than before. Is there any chance for escape?

I feel like if you took away the vampires, almost every woman in the world has a story like this somewhere in her past. Reese knows she deserves to be treated better, but Michael isn't just her first love, he has been her best and only friend. It's hard to walk away from that. Especially when you have hidden the dark parts of his personality, to the point that even your own mother might not take your side.

How fitting to combine domestic violence with vampires, since abusers share many of the same traits. After all, they drain us, don't they? They drain us of energy, time, emotion, friends, trust, and sometimes blood. If we don't escape they feed off us until there is nothing left of who we used to be or who we would have been.

I congratulate the author being brave in dealing with domestic abuse in this way. A very different vampire story with a delusion, coercive and abusive boyfriend. Vampires are meant to be monsters, and here they definitely are. The start of the story was mildly uncomfortable, but the horror just kept ramping up. Unfortunately this sort of situation happens with so many people in real life; obviously not the vampirism, but then again who knows because there are many real monsters out there. Thank you to Brigids Gate Press, LLC and NetGalley for the ARC. The views are all mine, freely given.

Reese is a senior in high school studying astronomy. She wants to cut ties with her abusive boyfriend Michael, but right before she does, he suddenly gets into a terrible accident. We see Michael struggle with his new life as a vampire as well as his breakup with Reese.

This story not only shows Michael’s life as a monster in the literal sense but also his monstrous acts against someone he claims to love. This story is by no means a light read. It deals with very real life struggles that many people, specifically women, go through. Michael is such a well-done yet hated character. This story shows the struggle of life for women stuck in an abusive relationship and how difficult it can be for them to get out. I think this book did a fantastic job balancing the reality of life with the fictional.

This book is a quick read, but can be emotionally taxing. Even so, I think this book offers up a unique perspective of domestic abuse and can help others gain insight and sympathy for the victims. The dedication in this book was perfect.

Please read the trigger warnings before diving into this book. There are several triggering scenes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my thoughts.

TW: domestic abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual assault, injury detail, rape, stalking, toxic relationship, violence, animal death

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This book is vampire horror done right, and horror of a different kind in the form of coercive control done right too. You can absolutely feel the terror radiating off the main character in this novel, and it proves to make for a very tense ride. The character points of view all differ from each other significantly, and there is a wonderful amount of growth for the main character throughout the story, which is simultaneously awful and also integral.

The action in this novel does not hold back in any respect, and there are significant sections that feel incredibly harsh and dramatic. I expected perhaps a bit more hope in the bleakest parts, but also can admire the capability of the author to simply go for it and give a realistic perspective on an abusive partner. The whole of the vampire storyline ends in well-intentioned but terribly executed tragedy, and there is certainly a sense of terror that follows every movement that is made.

Michael is a horrific villain, partly because he does not want to be one, and Reese provides a counter in an incredibly strong and resilient young woman. Trevor is also an interesting character who is eaten by his guilt to an extent, and it all makes for riveting reading. While this is not a perfect novel in that it does get a little bogged down and repetitive in places, it is a pretty darn good one - and well worth the time.

It’s so easy to look at someone in an abusive relationship and ask, “Why didn’t you just leave?” But Bloodstains by Gaslight by Red Lagoe shows why that question misses the point entirely. The horrors of abuse aren’t just about the bruises or the violence—they’re about the control, the manipulation, and the way fear warps everything you thought you knew about yourself and the world. And when that control is amplified by something as terrifying as vampiric power, the result is a story that’s as chilling as it is heartbreaking.

Set in 1997, Reese is a high school senior with dreams of the stars, hoping to leave her small town and toxic relationship behind. Her boyfriend, Michael, is already a monster in human form—jealous, possessive, and increasingly abusive. But just as Reese gathers the courage to end things, a tragic accident changes Michael in a way no one could predict. What follows is a transformation not just into a vampire, but into something that magnifies all the worst parts of him. His newfound speed, strength, and hunger for blood turn Reese’s nightmare into a waking hell, trapping her in ways far beyond bruised wrists. At its core, Bloodstains by Gaslight is more than a vampire story. It’s a brutal, unflinching look at abuse and survival. It forces you to stop asking, “Why didn’t you leave?” and start asking, “How can anyone escape something so horrifying, especially when the monster wears the face of someone you once trusted?”

This book is haunting in every sense of the word, and it stays with you long after you finish. Highly recommended for readers who appreciate horror with depth and emotional weight. Just be prepared—this one cuts deep.

High school senior Reese dreams of studying astronomy at college but is held back by her controlling boyfriend, Michael. Just at the moment she thinks she will finally escape his grasp, Michael is in a ghastly accident and becomes eerily changed.

Now a vampire, Michael is even more dangerous, and Reese finds herself also under threat from the wider network who want to keep their species a secret. Can Reese escape and at what cost?

I was hesitant about reading this because of the content warning surrounding domestic abuse but the storyline is sensitively handled and the emotional control Michael has over Reese is perhaps more subtly conveyed due to the vampiric plot. Perhaps that is the point – gaslighting can be so hard to prove. The real emotional punch is the epilogue.

A good vampire tale threaded with a nuanced subtale of domestic abuse.

3.5⭐️s

“Reese was a nebula. The remnant of what used to be a star, her matter too scattered and disorganized to regroup”.

The use of the nebula analogy is an apt one here, although you all should know that nebula can form from the extinction of a star, but they can also form by a collection of gases, which become star-forming regions themselves. I prefer to think of the antagonist’s journey along those lines, as a star ready to shine.

Thank you NetGalley and to Brigids Gate Press for the ARC. This book was very good, and it’s clear that the author has a ton of potential. She is someone waiting to shine herself.

The good…
This book touched on very important, but very delicate subjects, and did so deftly. The ongoing interior struggle we experienced with Reese throughout the book skillfully bridged the competing tensions present in an abusive relationship. I always understood the antagonist’s decisions, and none of them felt inauthentic.

Lagoe also took this book is some pretty gruesome and surprising directions in terms of the horror, which is always welcome in a trope recycling world.

The less good…
There is some for growth by this author. Parts of the story dragged and weren’t plot-essential. Some of the characters lacked depth, and I had to double back a few times to remember who some of them were. These are all things that come with time and experience.

To read, or not to read…
Yes, you should read. I’m excited about Lagoe’s future.

This is such an unforgiving and real story. The heartache and raw emotion this brought up from within me will stick with me for the remainder of my years on earth. I had to take some time to reflect on this story. This isn't a book you can easily review. Sometimes, there are no words when a story leaves you breathless.

Vampires - check
Love - check
Betrayal - check

Red Lagoe is a master at pulling your heartstrings and forcing you to face deep emotions. With the right words, she can weave a tale filled with gore, violence, death, assault, and most assuredly, love. Be prepared to have your heart ache and your mind go crazy mad.

Lagoe is an author that should be on your to-read list. She is going to be the author that can combine so many sub-genres into amazing stories.

#NetGalley #BloodstainsbyGaslight

Brilliant writing and well developed characters. I was pulled into this story right off the bat. I went through all the emotions as I followed these characters through their toxic relationships and descent into darkness and violence. Absolutely compelling.

The best contemporary horror stories are stories about love, grief, trauma and redemption that also happen to be horror stories.

Blood Stains by Gaslight is a story about a smart independent HS senior trapped in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend.

Lagoe does a wonderful job building these characters, their histories and their families without bogging the reader down in details. Reese’s hands-off mother and absent alcoholic father, force her into adult decisions before she is ready. Michael’s abusive father and weak mother makes him overly reliant on Reese’s love and support. Their love story is sympathetic, heartbreaking and frustrating, as their situation spirals into blood and violence. Michael loses control and Reese makes bad choice after bad choice.

Because Michael has been turned into a vampire, through no fault of his own. And despite his love for Reese and his desire to never hurt her, his trauma and his hunger combine into horror and you just cannot look away.

Red shows her prowess for crafting compelling and engaging characters in BLOOD STAINS BY GAS LIGHT, as I found myself completely invested in Reese and her story, an unapologetic and devastatingly heartbreaking novel, the very real horrors of domestic violence are perfectly balanced with the supernatural threat of vampires, utterly smart and scary, a bloody (lol) phenomenal book

Bloodstains by Gaslight. Wow. Now that's a title, right?

I've been a fan of Red's work since her early short story collections, and here she really has excelled herself. The idea of infusing domestic violence with vampires is not only admirable, given the circumstances, but it's also an absolute stroke of genius. Talk about turning it up... jeez. Tons to admire here, truly. A believable timeline for a start. Not always easy to pull off. Characters, of course. Class. Pacing feels just right. And it's all handled with real care, too. The violent scenes hit hard and fast, yes, but it's not full-on all the way, and that's a good thing . We get to breathe a little. We need it as readers as much as the characters.
This deserves five stars. It really does.

I actually feel quite proud of Red for writing this.
Well done.

I have never been so incredibly disappointed in the ending of a book as I was with this one. The storyline dragged on but I kept going because I liked the character of Reese. But that was possibly one of the worst endings I've ever read. I so rarely give one star reviews but this calls for it.

This took me a good week to think of where to even start with this review - it was just SO good. I'm so excited for this book to be released so I can force it down everyone's throats so I can talk about it.

This book looks at domestic violence under a scope of vampires, while fictional, often a more 'rational' fear in the public eye, and a physical sense of a monster. Reese, in her senior year, attempts to break up with her sorry excuse of a boyfriend, Michael, who is holding her back in EVERY single sense (the amount of times I was yelling at my kindle about him was innumerable). As soon as she's about to break up with him, the man gets into a ~little~ accident then turns into a vampire. Suddenly he has the upper hand physically and emotionally, and Reese struggles to break herself out of this cycle.

I enjoyed reading this so much, and a lot of that was to do with the strong cast of characters. This story is heavily driven by the characters and their actions, and I felt sick to my stomach several times because of the things they did (another important aspect of reading horror for me). It also wrapped up really satisfactorily in my opinion. Really excited to check out the rest of Lagoe's books!

Bloodstains by Gaslight
Red Lagoe

5/5

Words can't express how much I loved this book!

This story tackles the important real life horrors of domestic violence through the fictional horrors of vampires and immortality.

Pure genius! Horrifying, heartbreaking and hopeful.
This novel is so smart ... and scary in ways that are all too real and, sadly, all too common.

Highly recommend.

5/5

Wow! What an emotionally charged story. First, there are some triggers to be aware of. Normally triggers don’t impact me, which just goes to highlight the extraordinary writing found within. Not unbearable, but really got to me. The author does a devastatingly phenomenal job of making me feel what Reece was experiencing.
I loved her story In Excess of Dark, but Bloodstains leaves that story in the dust with its emotional and heartbreaking narrative hidden within a vampire tale.

This was creepy and disturbing but yet so entertaining. It's a bit different with the horror trope mixed with other genres but it really works. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thought this was a great horror novel, because it took a real horror and brought that to the front with the supernatural. The plot had that concept that I wanted and thought it worked overall. The characters had that realistic feel that I was expecting and thought worked in this world. Red Lagoe has a strong writing style and glad I got to read this.