Blood Slaves is dark, addictive, and utterly gripping. From the first chapter, I was pulled into a brutal, seductive world where power, survival, and desire are constantly at odds. It’s not for the faint of heart—but if you like morally grey characters, high-stakes tension, and a dash of forbidden romance, this book delivers in spades.

The main character was fierce and compelling—both a fighter and a survivor—and I appreciated how the story didn’t shy away from the horrors of her world while still allowing space for vulnerability and emotional depth. The vampire lore felt fresh without losing that gritty, old-world allure, and the dynamics between captor and captive were tense, layered, and unsettling in the best way.

This book had me torn between racing to the end and lingering in each moment. It’s dark fantasy with bite (literally), and I can’t wait to see where the story goes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Markus Redmond’s Blood Slaves is a masterpiece of horror fiction. The trigger/content warnings prepared me for what I was in for and it is heavy. This book isn’t for the weak or faint of heart as there is a lot of gore and violence within the entire book.
In this alternate universe that Redmond creates, the juxtaposition between vampires and humans begging the question of who is truly the monster is so masterfully done that you have no choice but to root for the vampires.

The lore of the Ramunga was well done and I felt that I had a good understanding of how they came to exist, their heirarchy and purpose in history when the story was said and done. Rafazi called himself a coward because he hid among the living for centuries until he and Willie met. Then he had purpose. Even Rafazi, a centuries old vampire, had more humanity and morality than the slave masters. I wanted to ungodly things to Monroe, Amos and Barrow for what they did to Willie and the other enslaved. The fear of humanity, the monsters who live among us is real. Those that hate enough to kill, rape, pillage and torture - those are the real demons.

This book was so good, that I couldn’t sleep until I finished it but I did take breaks because it is a very emotionally heavy story but I feel the ending made it worth it. Brava, Mr. Redmond, brava!

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blood Slaves is an alternative history with a fantasy spin, where enslaved African Americans free themselves by becoming vampires (what an amazing premise!)

Be aware before starting to read of the heavy violence against enslaved people shown here (tw for rape and torture). This book doesn't shy away from how horrible slavery was, which feeds into the horror aspect. Also, very gory kills, particularly of the enslavers (which were very satisfying to read).

There was a lull in the story for me in the middle, where I felt we were repeating some things. Like, how many times do I have to hear about Gertie's opinion towards the Ramangan vampires? I already got it the first couple times. Nonetheless, the rest of the narrative was great, and I wonder how the story will unfold from now on.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so much more than I expected. I went in thinking I would get a horror story featuring enslaved people... blood, gore, and tragedy.... What I got was a masterpiece of horror fiction.

First, the writing is phenomenal. Markus Redmond is now an auto-buy author for me. His grasp of language is impeccable; the effortless movement and vocabulary, the fluid and harmonious dialogue weaving between vernacular and colloquialisms, it was absolute perfection. What a commander of the written word.

This book delivers literal jump scares and had me on the edge of my seat like I was watching a movie. The characters are deeply developed and compelling, making it impossible not to root for them. But be warned: this book will torture you emotionally. There are high highs where you celebrate victories with the characters, but given the brutal context of slavery, the lows are devastating. You will dwell in the depths of sorrow, hatred, and the searing desire for vengeance alongside them.

💭 Narrative Impact:
The story of slavery is an important one, and this novel tells it through powerful, unflinching fiction. It reminds us that there are monsters among us far worse than any blood-lusting vampire. The narrative is expertly crafted so that by the end, you are rooting for vengeance at a primal level.

💬 Final Take:
Blood Slaves is part historical drama, part supernatural horror, and part alternate history (maybe a light romance?), an ingenious creation myth of the vampire rooted in justice and the violent means sometimes required to achieve it. This book will haunt you, move you, and demand your attention long after the last page.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC.

This was a wild ride from beginning to end. I enjoyed the returning of violence from the enslaved back onto the enslavers. Don’t go into this book lightly, there is a lot of violence perpetrated on the enslaved, both physical and sexual. But it all drives the point home the treatment they received was unwarranted and gratuitous. Some aspects of the story were briefly touched upon and could have been explored more in depth, but overall this was an enjoyable read and highly recommended.

This story is mentally and emotionally gripping and raw in such a unique and thought provoking way. It was a really good story. The pacing was a little challenging at times due to it being a much slower pace, which may be because it was overly detailed at times. The pacing made it hard to stay engaged with the story sometimes.

This book was recommended reading for those of us who saw Sinners, the cinematic masterpiece from Ryan Coogler. While this book didn't quite rise to the excellence of Sinners, it was still a very good read. Given the political climate of the day (which, let's be honest, has been the political climate since the "birth" of this country), I was definitely drawn in by the promise of enslaved people exacting revenge on their enslavers. Redmond certainly painted the pages red with revenge, sometimes quite graphically. I think the story was maybe a little lopsided, though, and too much time was spent setting up the reasons for revenge. The true horrors of the book were the enslavers, who inflicted horrific and unimaginable violence through word and action upon the enslaved...but we already know that and at times, it felt like the violence was almost gratuitous. The folklore behind the vampires was cool and it sent me down a googling path to learn more; I wish there had been a little more of that in the book. I also wanted more Irene; she was a badass and felt far more developed than the main character Willie. All in all, this was a good book and if this is the first in a series, I hope the author digs a bit deeper into the characters in the next one. From what I understand, he is a screenwriter; I hope he puts more of a novelist's hat on for the next book.

Fierce and emotionally raw, Blood Slaves smashes the door open to a new genre in fiction For Us By Us: Plantation Horror. The combination of historical reimagining and reclamation is delivered in a way that has always been a part of our legacy - storytelling.

It's 1710 and as the last of his vampire tribe, Rafazi, is wasting away as Shit Boy on the Borrow plantation in the province of the Carolinas. On the same plantation, Willie is paying dearly for his unsuccessful attempt at escape. His punishment opens the door to a chance meeting with Shit Boy and an opportunity to change the future of slavery.

Willie must decide if the price of trusting a stranger from a time lost to legend is worth giving up everything for the possibility of creating freedom for his people. Sacrifices will be made. Tragedy is inevitable. And there will be blood.

If an act of malicious violence was the key to the salvation of a people damned, what would you do?

What I:
Love Loved – there is a moment in the story when one of the characters reclaims their identity. It made my soul pause. That wasn’t just a storyline. That was an ‘I see you’ love letter from the author to all of us.
Loved – the characters in this novel are the shining light for me. Redmond managed to give every single person a voice and purpose without copious backstory. Just bang, in a sentence or two, you knew exactly who you were dealing with. And the couple few people he allowed for some shades of grey, he still managed to deliver a complete character.
Liked – there wasn’t any wasted space. This was written and edited to perfection. Every chapter, scene and sequence of dialogue was meaningful and moved the story at a pace that made me want to simultaneously tear through it and savour each page. Original storytelling that reads like a movie with the emotional quality of classic literature is a vibe I didn’t know I needed.
Meh – n/a, it’s just that good
Didn’t like – n/a, can you tell I loved it yet??
What I wish was included – a playlist

Fav Character – Irene. Oh man, she was so bad ass. I appreciated that she didn’t really fit in anywhere and when life bore too much for her to bare, she was given a second chance and allowed herself to be wholly consumed by her new path.
Fav Scene – return to innocence ~ without giving anything away, there is a young girl, Fanna, who is given an opportunity to right the wrongs done to her. The entire scene is hard core, merciless, satisfying and terribly heartbreaking.
Fav Quote – “Your bloodline will be a blight on this world no more.” Irene

Please be prepared for multiple TWs, especially violence towards the enslaved.

Thank you NetGalley, Kensington Publishing and Markus Redmond for this eArc and the opportunity to share my honest review.

A bold, unforgettable twist on historical fiction!

As a lover of historical fiction, especially stories rooted in the era of slavery, Blood Slaves by Markus Redmond completely surprised me. This isn’t your typical tale—Redmond introduces vampires into the narrative in a way that symbolizes resistance, power, and transformation. The love story between Gertie and Willie (aka Kwadzo) was beautiful and heartbreaking, especially when he makes a life-altering choice. No spoilers, but that ending? Shocking in the best way. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough and now I’m patiently waiting for book two.

Highly recommend for fans of speculative historical fiction, strong Black leads, and stories of rebellion and resilience.

This is definitely a story that takes a very original approach to vampires. It was really interesting to see this author blend this time period with unique vampire lore in a story set on revenge. Having a story set in on plantation during slavery time is a very challenging task and I felt that the author did a really good job creating a very realistic narrative of the times. The author did not hold back on the brutality of this story and somehow made the vampires the “good guys”. I liked our main character and really enjoyed the cast of side characters. The ending although predictable was very cathartic and the epilogue was a nice little touch!

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. “Blood Slaves” will be published July 29, 2025.

A gruesome, heartbreaking, and amazing tale of revenge! Willie's journey is not an easy read (check your triggers!) but it is an immensely rewarding one, and so, so earned. Can't wait to see Markus Redmond's author career take off!!! I am here for it.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.

I wanted to love this. I was so excited to read Black vampires getting revenge on the slave owners. But it takes so long to even get to the vengeance that I just cannot do it.

I’m almost halfway through the book but this book seems to be less about the ancient vampire tribe and more about spotlighting the grotesqueness that happened during American slavery. I swear, there were so many SA scenes, whippings, etc that I almost forgot this was supposed to be a story about vengeance with vampires. I feel like it was supposed to set up the reasons for why each character would want to become vampire/get revenge but yeah, no. It was too much and I don’t think they were handled with care. It felt there just to be there and perhaps, shock value. I hate when authors show violence like this just for the sake of it and after the first few scenes, that’s what this felt like.

The vampire tribe could have been cool if we saw more of them. Rafazi could have been a cool character as well but he takes an backseat to the other characters.

All that to say, I’m very disappointed. Don’t go into this for the vampire lore. You will be sorely disappointed. Instead, check content warnings and expect a very slow build up to the vengeance.

Thank you the publishers for sending me an eARC through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

There were times while reading this novel that I had to close my eyes and breathe while bearing witness to the atrocities our beloved characters were subjected to. And then there were the times, more and more as I reached the end, of rage-filled rebellion and bloody vengeance that had me brimming with pride and sporting a grin so feral I could’ve been counted among the Ramangans. I was so enraptured by the story, and felt so many emotions while reading it. I found Willie/Kwadzo’s character development particularly compelling in how he allowed his anger at the injustice of his and his fellow slaves’ treatment to outweigh his fear of the Barrows’ retaliation, and how he became more sure as time went on that the definition of what was good isn’t so black and white when they would never be rewarded for that goodness. When he said “She could do good. He would do right.”, it was that moment where I think he really drew a line in the sand, where he truly understood that in order to not only survive, but to actually claim a life of freedom, he and his fellow slaves would have to set their own terms of what was good and right, and that what might be seen as a monstrous change does not actually make you a monster. I think it was very understandable that Gertie had reservations about the Ramanga and what it would take to truly be free. At times I was frustrated with her for condemning Willie/Kwadzo for having opinions and making decisions against her beliefs, though I could see why it would be a daunting realization to come to that instead of holding on to hope and waiting for grace to fall upon you, that you will need to instead demand that salvation for yourself by means you’ve always regarded as evil or wicked. You do not need to allow how others have utilized or abused their power to dictate how you wield that power should you come to possess it. Self determination I feel is an overarching theme present throughout the narrative, and you can see it play out in Gertie’s character arc, as well as in Irene’s wrathful transformation, Rafazi’s vow to redeem himself from his past cowardice, Willie/Kwadzo’s reclamation of his true name and establishing himself as a leader for his people.

Redmond stated in his opening author’s note that he sought out to write “a badass vampire novel”, and I can attest that he achieved that and so much more with Blood Slaves. I find myself feeling almost possessive of it, because though I did not write this novel, I felt the narrative becoming a part of me the further on I read. The characters became my family, my ancestors. The plantation owners and overseers became my enemies. I was Willie/Kwadzo, Gertie, Rafazi, Irene, Charlie, Fanna, Rosanna, and Tussy. This story was my pain, my fear, my hope, my love, and all of my rage. This story was written for me, for all of my fellow Black readers. It belongs to us, and we belong to no one.

Never again.

Thank you so much to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC, and I cannot wait to sink my teeth into the next installment of the Blood Saga.

I wanted to like this so badly but unfortunately, I am not the audience for this. I was expecting a horror story that focused on vampires and violence in that way and not what was actually the content of this book. Granted, there are trigger warnings at the beginning but I don't even think the warning was enough lol.

This book heavily focuses on physical and sexual abuse/violence as a way to show how terrible slavery was and I think that it veered too far into unnecessary territory. I know the horror of slavery was a core part of this narrative, but I don't think we needed on page sexual violence in almost every chapter? There are at least 5 explicit rape scenes in this story and every time it came up I was wondering why. We can deduce that slave owners were evil! I don't know if we need to see a grown man raping a child??? Like, who is that for? How does that serve the narrative?

In addition, the n word is used 138 times in the story. This is a 400 page book. You do that math. It was just overkill for me. Like I got it! They're racist (beyond) and think of black people as animals. I don't think we needed to see the hard r 3x on every page.

There wasn't enough exploring of the actual lore of the Ramanga for me. The book starts off so well and makes you think you're about to get the entire background, but then it switches up and you don't even see a vampire until like halfway in! The first 50% of this story is violence against slaves and the second half is like 25% more violence against slaves and 25% actual uprising with no lore.

Once you get into the Ramanga stuff....the choices were odd. For example, there's a very clear language difference between how the slaves talked and how the white people talked obviously, but once the slaves become vampires, they talk "properly" because they absorb language as their brains get bigger or something like that. Weird choice. Some people also get more powers than others, but it's not clearly explained. Again, needed more lore.

There were just a lot of elements in this that I didn't enjoy. Violence and language aside, the primary romance between Willie and Gertie felt off. Willie basically disrespected her at every turn and I get both of their motivations for feeling the way they felt, but the romance didn't add to their characters in any positive way. It just made them both unlikable.

Watching the slaves get their lick back wasn't even satisfying for me either. That was also dragged out and bordering on ridiculous. Like, these people turned into vampires and the slave owners are still calling them the hard R and telling them they're property?? It went from grossly evil to ridiculously evil.

The tone changed into one that didn't really mix with the overall premise of the book and overall idk! It just left me feeling weird??

I think ...this book wasn't for me and it sucks because I have been anticipating reading this for months. I think the bones of the story are good and the idea is great but the execution left a lot to be desired for me. It definitely needed WAY LESS sexual violence and more backstory on the vampires. More time showing them plotting the rebellion and less time showing them being physically abused! Like over half of this book was day to day torture with nothing else going on?? I don't want to see that!

I think it's irresponsible for people to recommend this for fans of Sinners and I recognize that it's because it's about black vampires but that is the only similarity. I don't know if I'd read the following books.....I know this is a series and I want to support this idea but this book sort of felt anti-black in a way and I feel that it's more for white readers to feel pain and disgust more than anything else. Knowing that it was written during 2020 sort of emphasizes that for me.

Again, I hate that I didn't enjoy this and I suppose I'll keep tabs on the series to see how it pans out but sheesh. This disturbed me in a way I wasn't expecting and in a way that was not enjoyable.

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley, Kensington Publishing and Dafina!

This is not an easy book, and I braced myself after reading the thorough content warning list at the start of the book. The true historic horrors of slavery are worse than than the vampire horrors, and this book does not shy away from any graphic description. As a non-Black reviewer, I encourage others to go read reviews by Black folks for a more informed opinion. Overall, I found the revenge plot to be a slow build, but it was worth seeing the enslavers die bloody deaths at the end. The characters were multidimensional with various approaches and mindsets, and I found that added depth to the story. The book sets up for a sequel, and overall the book was well done. A huge thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a chance to provide my honest thoughts in exchange for an eARC!

Humans are scarier than vampires. I will never yield from this opinion and this book is a testiment to my argumentation. I really liked this and I'm thrilled it's part of a series. I'm looking forward to the next part.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Ahhh, this was incredible. I was sold from the tagline: “What if nobody ever freed the slaves…because they freed themselves – 150 years before the Civil War?” What a great concept. I am glad this is only the first book in a series because this is only the beginning. I can’t wait for more.

This is a revenge story that spends such an integral amount of time showing exactly WHY the revenge is justified, brutally so. While you start to get this emotional connection with the book and the characters, we see the two different types of horror form: the paranormal and the human.

We follow Willie, among others, as they are faced with a decision. Rafazi, an old slave who keeps away from everyone approaches Willie with a curse that could be their salvation. He is the last of his tribe, roaming for centuries… and in Willie he sees something. To him, the answer is easy, but to others, not so much.

In their new form, they will get the revenge they so rightly deserve, but at what price? I found this book to be so engaging. The story jumps off the page and you really get an in depth insight into these characters. I am so desperate for more.

When I say revenge was the motive it was taken lightly on how they got their revenge. I loved the vampire addition to the story. It was a great read especially if you have seen Sinners in theaters and looking for something similar in book form.

I decided to DNF this as it was not for me. As an enjoyer of horror and someone who is generally not affected by trigger warnings or violence, this felt like glorified torture porn with very little plot (of revenge and vampires).

First, thank you, @netgalley and @kensingtonpublishing for the e-arc and the opportunity to read and review this book. I’m probably in the outlier and going to get flack for this, but I did not enjoy this.😩 I could not connect with the majority of the characters, and the only character that I found likable was Irene, who was interesting, fierce, and badass. I could not get behind Kwazdo/Willie as this badass character or even take him seriously as a leader, due to his hyper-fixation with Gertie. Also, I would have loved more background about the Ramanga tribe and how they came to be. I would have also enjoyed an explanation of what the plague was and just more background or a focus on Rafazi, especially those years he spent in the States before meeting Willie.

In conclusion, although this wasn’t the book for me, I will acknowledge that it is highly and positively rated, so if it looks interesting you may want to give it a try.