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Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'
Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite by Natalie C. Parker, Zoraida Córdova
15 reviews
wardenred's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I confess I've been going through a terrible reading slump lately. This book of short stories has been a big help with that: whenever I felt like reading at all, I could just grab it and read another story. My relationship to short stories in general is complicated—I don't always like them, even when they're objectively well-written, because I'm more of an "epic sprawling story" kind of reader—but I always have a higher chance of liking one when it deals with one of my favorite topics, and vampires happen to be at least in the top-5 of my favorite things to read about. I can't help it; it's an obsession I never got over. I got through my teenage years watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, reading Anne Rice and Laurel Hamilton, and playing Vampire: the Masquerade with my friends. I still play VtM with my friends a lot. Vampires really never get old.
The thing about anthologies that makes it hard rating them is that any of the stories contained in the book can be hit or miss. This one contained a lot more hits than misses for me. The book is full of fresh, fun takes on the vampire myth. I was delighted by the sheer amount of diversity here. Most of the main characters were somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, and there were other types of representation, too. A lot of the authors didn't shy away from choosing big, complicated topics to explore through the lens of undead bloodsuckers, be it something as expansive as colonialism or as claustrophobically private as the darkness that may be found in the relationships between disabled people and their caregivers.
The thing about anthologies that makes it hard rating them is that any of the stories contained in the book can be hit or miss. This one contained a lot more hits than misses for me. The book is full of fresh, fun takes on the vampire myth. I was delighted by the sheer amount of diversity here. Most of the main characters were somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, and there were other types of representation, too. A lot of the authors didn't shy away from choosing big, complicated topics to explore through the lens of undead bloodsuckers, be it something as expansive as colonialism or as claustrophobically private as the darkness that may be found in the relationships between disabled people and their caregivers.
The stories that stood out for me in particular were:
- Seven Nights for Dying by Tessa Gratton: I've always been fascinated by fiction that deals with the transition from human to mythical monsters, and this story does a great job out of exploring it.
- The Boys from Blood River by Rebecca Roanhorse: This was like watching a great horror movie in my head.
- The Boy and the Bell by Heidi Heilig: I'm highly likely to enjoy anything that is set in Victorian times, deals with class differences, and has a trans MC, if it's well-written. This one was really well-written.
- Bestiary by Laura Ruby: The prose here was viscerally vivid, to the point that it almost made me want to stop reading sometimes because I was seriously feeling everything in the story and a lot of it wasn't pleasant. Definitely an author I now want to read more of!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Transphobia, Ableism, and Sexism
booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Vampires Never Get Old is a pretty strong collection of excellent vampire tales. No two mythos were exactly the same and I loved most of the stories.
I liked almost all of the collection, so first let me cover what I really enjoyed. Many of the stories had really powerful depictions of marginalized people finding strength during their interactions with vampires, sometimes by being vampires and sometimes through rejecting them. My particular favorites are "The Boys from Blood River", "In Kind", "Bestiary", and "Mirrors, Windows & Selfies". I love the premise and the feeling of "The Boys from Blood River", the MC handles relaying backstory while being firmly anchored in the moment in a way that immersed me very quickly into the story. The ending was really good, but now I want even more with the MC. "In Kind" gives a voice to a real kind of victim whose killers are frequently excused or even praised for their murder. It handles a difficult topic well through a really superb story. "Bestiary" was a slow burn, gradually trickling in details to make the MC's backstory clear, crystalizing in one fantastic moment when the pieces are finally in place to understand what happened. I never really felt confused leading up to it, but that moment of really understanding felt really good, especially in a tale this short. "Mirrors, Windows & Selfies" is a story about using the internet to feel a little less alone when you can't leave. I wish this had a follow-up I could read, it implies a very interesting variation on a lot of vampire lore and I'm fascinated (plus I really care what happens to the MC).
I cannot in good conscience recommend the final story, "First Kill". Minor spoilers to follow. It contains a gay character saying "People aren't straight... They just don't know better." I wasn't sure what to think about it as a one-off comment from a teenage character, but it erases a lot of people who are straight as well as queer, and it's a bizarre sweeping denial of people's understanding of their own identities. It's completely unchallenged within the narrative. The second thing which changed this from a story I was concerned about to one I cannot recommend is that there's a character who is a monster-hunter, and in the backstory describing the monsters her family has killed, there's reference to a "full-grown wendigo" and a teenage character tries to take a "monstrous claw" as a prize. He's not allowed to because there's a general "no-trophies" rule. Having that appear here just to add background details for a secondary character felt bad to read. The actual plot was interesting, but I can't recommend this collection without giving a warning about this story. Neither moment was examined, and they felt like they were there just to be filler about secondary characters, instead they're just cringey and bad.
Seven Nights for Dying: CW for parental death (backstory).
The Boys from Blood River: CW for homophobia, bullying, violence, parental death, death.
Senior Year Sucks: CW for blood, death.
The Boy and the Bell: CW for transphobia, misgendering, gore, death.
A Guidebook for the Newly Sired Desi Vampire: CW for colonialism, death.
In Kind: CW for ableism, child death, blood, death.
Vampires Never Say Die: CW for sexism, blood, violence.
Bestiary: CW for vomit, death (backstory).
Mirrors, Windows & Selfies: CW for kidnapping, imprisonment, death.
The House of Black Sapphires: No major CWs.
First Kill: CW for death. TW for discussion of body parts as trophies (wendigo).
I liked almost all of the collection, so first let me cover what I really enjoyed. Many of the stories had really powerful depictions of marginalized people finding strength during their interactions with vampires, sometimes by being vampires and sometimes through rejecting them. My particular favorites are "The Boys from Blood River", "In Kind", "Bestiary", and "Mirrors, Windows & Selfies". I love the premise and the feeling of "The Boys from Blood River", the MC handles relaying backstory while being firmly anchored in the moment in a way that immersed me very quickly into the story. The ending was really good, but now I want even more with the MC. "In Kind" gives a voice to a real kind of victim whose killers are frequently excused or even praised for their murder. It handles a difficult topic well through a really superb story. "Bestiary" was a slow burn, gradually trickling in details to make the MC's backstory clear, crystalizing in one fantastic moment when the pieces are finally in place to understand what happened. I never really felt confused leading up to it, but that moment of really understanding felt really good, especially in a tale this short. "Mirrors, Windows & Selfies" is a story about using the internet to feel a little less alone when you can't leave. I wish this had a follow-up I could read, it implies a very interesting variation on a lot of vampire lore and I'm fascinated (plus I really care what happens to the MC).
I cannot in good conscience recommend the final story, "First Kill". Minor spoilers to follow. It contains a gay character saying "People aren't straight... They just don't know better." I wasn't sure what to think about it as a one-off comment from a teenage character, but it erases a lot of people who are straight as well as queer, and it's a bizarre sweeping denial of people's understanding of their own identities. It's completely unchallenged within the narrative. The second thing which changed this from a story I was concerned about to one I cannot recommend is that
Seven Nights for Dying: CW for
The Boys from Blood River: CW for
Senior Year Sucks: CW for
The Boy and the Bell: CW for
A Guidebook for the Newly Sired Desi Vampire: CW for
In Kind: CW for
Vampires Never Say Die: CW for
Bestiary: CW for
Mirrors, Windows & Selfies: CW for
The House of Black Sapphires: No major CWs.
First Kill: CW for
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Bullying, Child death, Ableism, Transphobia, and Gore
Minor: Sexism and Kidnapping
CW for parental death, homophobia, bullying, violence, death, blood, transphobia, misgendering, gore, colonialism, ableism, child death, sexism, vomit, kidnapping, imprisonment. TW for discussion offeuillycakes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
This is this first anthology I’ve read since I was a child, and it didn’t disappoint. Each story brought something new and unexpected to the table, and I found myself liking each one in its own way. I’ve loved vampire stories since I was a child, and this new take on them was refreshing and exciting. The one thing I could wish for from this book is that some of the stories were longer. They set my imagination running wild and I found myself wanting more. My favourites were SEVEN NIGHTS FOR DYING , THE BOYS FROM BLOOD RIVER , and IN KIND, but they all brought something to the table that I can’t quite explain, except to say that they got me in my emotions and they did it quick. The latter two were also super dramatic and I’m in to that in a vampire story. A close contender for a favourite is BESTIARY , because the world building that occurs in this story is fantastic, what with a seemingly dystopian setting that is somehow also set in the near future but the very very near future.
Anyway this book is the diverse rep we always needed from teen vampire books so kudos to all the authors for being awesome!
(That being said there are brief descriptions of the negative stuff that comes along with being any variation of non cis/white/straight/able bodied in the world, so take care, but it’s not extreme and is shown to be a negative thing in the writing.)
Anyway this book is the diverse rep we always needed from teen vampire books so kudos to all the authors for being awesome!
(That being said there are brief descriptions of the negative stuff that comes along with being any variation of non cis/white/straight/able bodied in the world, so take care, but it’s not extreme and is shown to be a negative thing in the writing.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Death, Blood, Homophobia, and Hate crime
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Transphobia
All the content warnings except for the blood is shown as negative, and is mostly looked down on or addressed in story. There is a scene of a gay man being beaten for being gay and the perpetrators are punished, and another of a trans man being misgendered where once again the perpetrator is punished. Both are dealt with violently. The adult/minor relationships are implied, what with the vampires being very much above the age of consent in years if not in appearances and the other party being 17. This is not illegal or even frowned upon in most countries but it’s important to note for the places that have the age of consent higher than 16.madarauchiha's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜 my about info carrd: https://uchiha-madara.carrd.co/ 💜 💙 💚 💛 🧡❤️
Ok. I knew I wasn't going to like this anthology when straight off the bat, first story up, it's romanticized pedophilia and grooming apologia. But then the author hits you over the head with transphobia / transmisogyny and it's like wow. You are a fucking shut in who has never encountered a trans person who had blatantly told you they're trans. What kinda moronic cis person thinks "yeah, I'm going to have a transwoman character and have a cishet character immediately out her by describing her childhood trauma". This one apparently.
Only good stories that I liked: The Boys From Blood River: Rebecca Roanhorse, A Guidebook for the Newly Sired Desi Vampire: Samira Ahmed, Mirrors, Windows & Selfies: Mark Oshiro, and In Kind: Kayla Whaley.
The story 'The House of Black Sapphires' gets an honorary 'like' but considering the author is a weirdo who sets her twitter followers onto random college students who don't want to read YA books for class assignments? Nah, pass. A shame about using gendered slurs against a college kid. I can't believe the lack of professionalism there. But compared to other authors using blatant pedophilia and transmisogyny in their stories? Eh, not comparable. It;s bad, buddy. It's all bad.
And the fact that this is marketed at children / teens? What the fuck.
◆ Seven Nights for Dying: Tessa Gratton
minor racism of the author comparing a black African character to an animal cat / mythical animal. whorephobic slur,
medium explicit rape scene,
major pedophilia and grooming, transmisogyny.
◆ The Boys From Blood River: Rebecca Roanhorse
minor drug overdose, child death,
medium homophobia and bullying, anti native American racism, violence, gore,
major physical child abuse,
◆ Senior Year Sucks: Julie Murphy
minor animal cruelty
medium religion christianity,
major unhealthy relationships, snakes,
note hated this story
◆ The Boy and the Bell: Heidi Heilig
minor cissexism, historical sexism, institutional abuse,
major accidental buried alive trope, minor diseases / tuberculosis, classism, transmisogyny and repeated misgendering, transmisogynic threats of outing,
note: hated this story. Again with the transphobia and transmisogyny in this story, god give it a rest cis ppl!
◆ A Guidebook for the Newly Sired Desi Vampire: Samira Ahmed
minor british colonization and theft of cultural artifacts, winston churchill mention, starvation and genocide,
medium mention of the Indian Caste system, consent age laws type mention?,
note: best story in the anth so far
◆ In Kind: Kayla Whaley
minor emetophobia, medium gore, sharps,
medium alcohol, kink, sexual harassment / assault,
major ableism and murder of disabled minor,
note despite the ableism I appreciated that this isn't the typical ableist euthanasia type story. it is handled with some tact, at least.
◆ Bestiary: Laura Ruby
minor underage drug use,
medium drug and alcohol abuse / addiction, domestic abuse,
◆ Mirrors, Windows & Selfies: Mark Oshiro
minor murder, homophobic language,
medium minor, guns, gore, kidnapping, starvation, torture, murder,
I liked this one. canon gay young men. atypical story telling.
The House of Black Sapphires: Dhonielle Clayton
Minor soft drug use think weed or lsd?, hunting,
medium black slavery,
◆ First Kill: Victoria “V. E.” Schwab
Minor attempted rape, anti Native American racism in using a wendigo horror trope. this is when I stopped reading. Sorry, I don't know if there's further CWs
medium murder,
Ok. I knew I wasn't going to like this anthology when straight off the bat, first story up, it's romanticized pedophilia and grooming apologia. But then the author hits you over the head with transphobia / transmisogyny and it's like wow. You are a fucking shut in who has never encountered a trans person who had blatantly told you they're trans. What kinda moronic cis person thinks "yeah, I'm going to have a transwoman character and have a cishet character immediately out her by describing her childhood trauma". This one apparently.
Only good stories that I liked: The Boys From Blood River: Rebecca Roanhorse, A Guidebook for the Newly Sired Desi Vampire: Samira Ahmed, Mirrors, Windows & Selfies: Mark Oshiro, and In Kind: Kayla Whaley.
The story 'The House of Black Sapphires' gets an honorary 'like' but considering the author is a weirdo who sets her twitter followers onto random college students who don't want to read YA books for class assignments? Nah, pass. A shame about using gendered slurs against a college kid. I can't believe the lack of professionalism there. But compared to other authors using blatant pedophilia and transmisogyny in their stories? Eh, not comparable. It;s bad, buddy. It's all bad.
And the fact that this is marketed at children / teens? What the fuck.
◆ Seven Nights for Dying: Tessa Gratton
minor racism of the author comparing a black African character to an animal cat / mythical animal. whorephobic slur,
medium explicit rape scene,
major pedophilia and grooming, transmisogyny.
◆ The Boys From Blood River: Rebecca Roanhorse
minor drug overdose, child death,
medium homophobia and bullying, anti native American racism, violence, gore,
major physical child abuse,
◆ Senior Year Sucks: Julie Murphy
minor animal cruelty
medium religion christianity,
major unhealthy relationships, snakes,
note hated this story
◆ The Boy and the Bell: Heidi Heilig
minor cissexism, historical sexism, institutional abuse,
major accidental buried alive trope, minor diseases / tuberculosis, classism, transmisogyny and repeated misgendering, transmisogynic threats of outing,
note: hated this story. Again with the transphobia and transmisogyny in this story, god give it a rest cis ppl!
◆ A Guidebook for the Newly Sired Desi Vampire: Samira Ahmed
minor british colonization and theft of cultural artifacts, winston churchill mention, starvation and genocide,
medium mention of the Indian Caste system, consent age laws type mention?,
note: best story in the anth so far
◆ In Kind: Kayla Whaley
minor emetophobia, medium gore, sharps,
medium alcohol, kink, sexual harassment / assault,
major ableism and murder of disabled minor,
note despite the ableism I appreciated that this isn't the typical ableist euthanasia type story. it is handled with some tact, at least.
◆ Bestiary: Laura Ruby
minor underage drug use,
medium drug and alcohol abuse / addiction, domestic abuse,
◆ Mirrors, Windows & Selfies: Mark Oshiro
minor murder, homophobic language,
medium minor, guns, gore, kidnapping, starvation, torture, murder,
I liked this one. canon gay young men. atypical story telling.
The House of Black Sapphires: Dhonielle Clayton
Minor soft drug use think weed or lsd?, hunting,
medium black slavery,
◆ First Kill: Victoria “V. E.” Schwab
Minor attempted rape, anti Native American racism in using a wendigo horror trope. this is when I stopped reading. Sorry, I don't know if there's further CWs
medium murder,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Transphobia, Racism, and Ableism
kelsireads's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This has become one of my favorite anthologies. I'm a sucker (ha) for a good vampire story, but I haven't read anything inventive or out of the ordinary in years. This anthology featured so many different concepts and characters revolving around vampire lore, and I'm SO glad it lived up to my expectations. I loved that several of these stories discuss the fictional appeal of vampirism to teen girls, the physical power it gives them in a world where they often feel very powerless. Also, it's super gay. Thoughts on each story are below.
Seven Nights for Dying by Tessa Gratton - 5 Stars
Damn, what a way to start things off. This ended up being my favorite story in this book. The main character is offered the opportunity of a lifetime and has seven nights to decide if she wants to live forever. Tessa Gratton did an amazing job with characterization - this main character has so much depth and introspection in just a few pages than some books manage or hundreds. The bisexual/mga rep is excellent. The discussions of strong emotions like grief, anger, and compassion are beautiful.
"I said, “Is grief like anger? Will I take it with me?”
Esmael said, “Come here, and I’ll show you, instead, how it’s all just love.”"
Mirrors, Windows & Selfies by Mark Oshiro - 5 Stars
This story is formatted like a blog post, and it worked very well for this story. The main character is a child of vampires, told from a young age that he shouldn't exist and has to be hidden away for his own safety. He writes this anonymous blog as a diary and slowly uncovers secrets his parents are keeping from him, all while desperately trying to see himself - literally, he has never seen a reflection or image of himself. The parallels between vampirism and queerness are pretty obvious, but excellently done. The main character experiences attraction to another boy in the story, but it is not romance focused.
The House of Black Sapphires by Dhonielle Clayton - 3 stars
The lore and worldbuilding of this story are really the standouts. The main character, along with her mother and sisters, have been brought to New Orleans to make their home for the foreseeable future, brought by the firebird of the Turner family. This short story is packed with an inventive world where supernatural beings gather together and Black people are NOT vampires, but Eternals, beings who were turned by slave owners but whose ancestors sent firebirds for protection and guidance. I was not very invested in the plot, and there were too many characters to get a clear picture of everyone in such a short time.
The Boys From Blood River by Rebecca Roanhorse - 4 stars
This was definitely the creepiest of the anthology. The main character is lonely, the child of a dying mother and an outcast among peers in his small bigoted town for being Native and gay. A mysterious song summons a group of boys who offer to become his family and take him away, all in exchange for "sharing a meal" (we all know what that means). There's an interesting twist on the 'vampires must be invited in' trope that I loved.
Senior Year Sucks by Julie Murphy - 2 stars
This is an attempt at a sapphic vampire/ slayer romance that just didn't work for me. The chemistry between the characters wasn't there for me. I did appreciate the fat vampire slayer that's also cheerleading captain and very bossy, but that didn't do enough for me to enjoy it overall.
The Boy and the Bell by Heidi Heilig - 3 stars
This story follows a medical student moonlighting as a grave digger who stumbles upon a ringing bell in a graveyard - someone was buried alive. He digs him up only to be confronted by an ungrateful rich asshole who tries to blackmail him. The main character is a trans man, and there is intentional misgendering in this one so be aware.
In Kind by Kayla Whaley - 3 stars
This is a great confrontation of the typical able bodied, physical "perfection" that is standard in a lot of vampire stories. The main character is a victim of a so-called mercy killing, is saved by a friend, and decides whether to exact revenge. There is quite a bit of ableist language so be aware of that going in.
A Guidebook For The Newly Sired Desi Vampire by Samira Ahmed - 4 stars
This was SUCH a fun concept and super well executed. As the title says, this story reads as a guidebook for baby vampires. It is laugh out loud funny with pop culture references and super dry disdain for obnoxious British tourists. There are great references to technology and how it would adapted for modern use by secret groups of people.
Bestiary by Laura Ruby - 2 stars
This was an intereseting concept that lacked in execution. The near future world was underdeveloped and the plot and main character's inner thoughts were confusing and disjointed.
Vampires Never Say Die by Zoraida Cordova & Natalie C. Parker - 4 stars
I loved the world building and set up for the relationship in this story. There are two perspective, both women who met on Instagram, one human, one vampire. The story is much more plot driven that character driven, but it was unpredictable and the characters had super engaging personalities. This is a story of friendship and I really enjoyed that theme.
First Kill by V.E. Schwab - 5 stars
I'm a die hard Schwab fan so please take this review with a grain of salt. I loved it. In this world, vampires are born, and our first main character is a teen vampire. Our second main character is a teen slayer. This story has an awesome twist, so I don't want to say anything more! I just love the way Schwab reveals new information a little at a time but the reader never feels left in the dark.
Seven Nights for Dying by Tessa Gratton - 5 Stars
Damn, what a way to start things off. This ended up being my favorite story in this book. The main character is offered the opportunity of a lifetime and has seven nights to decide if she wants to live forever. Tessa Gratton did an amazing job with characterization - this main character has so much depth and introspection in just a few pages than some books manage or hundreds. The bisexual/mga rep is excellent. The discussions of strong emotions like grief, anger, and compassion are beautiful.
"I said, “Is grief like anger? Will I take it with me?”
Esmael said, “Come here, and I’ll show you, instead, how it’s all just love.”"
Mirrors, Windows & Selfies by Mark Oshiro - 5 Stars
This story is formatted like a blog post, and it worked very well for this story. The main character is a child of vampires, told from a young age that he shouldn't exist and has to be hidden away for his own safety. He writes this anonymous blog as a diary and slowly uncovers secrets his parents are keeping from him, all while desperately trying to see himself - literally, he has never seen a reflection or image of himself. The parallels between vampirism and queerness are pretty obvious, but excellently done. The main character experiences attraction to another boy in the story, but it is not romance focused.
The House of Black Sapphires by Dhonielle Clayton - 3 stars
The lore and worldbuilding of this story are really the standouts. The main character, along with her mother and sisters, have been brought to New Orleans to make their home for the foreseeable future, brought by the firebird of the Turner family. This short story is packed with an inventive world where supernatural beings gather together and Black people are NOT vampires, but Eternals, beings who were turned by slave owners but whose ancestors sent firebirds for protection and guidance. I was not very invested in the plot, and there were too many characters to get a clear picture of everyone in such a short time.
The Boys From Blood River by Rebecca Roanhorse - 4 stars
This was definitely the creepiest of the anthology. The main character is lonely, the child of a dying mother and an outcast among peers in his small bigoted town for being Native and gay. A mysterious song summons a group of boys who offer to become his family and take him away, all in exchange for "sharing a meal" (we all know what that means). There's an interesting twist on the 'vampires must be invited in' trope that I loved.
Senior Year Sucks by Julie Murphy - 2 stars
This is an attempt at a sapphic vampire/ slayer romance that just didn't work for me. The chemistry between the characters wasn't there for me. I did appreciate the fat vampire slayer that's also cheerleading captain and very bossy, but that didn't do enough for me to enjoy it overall.
The Boy and the Bell by Heidi Heilig - 3 stars
This story follows a medical student moonlighting as a grave digger who stumbles upon a ringing bell in a graveyard - someone was buried alive. He digs him up only to be confronted by an ungrateful rich asshole who tries to blackmail him. The main character is a trans man, and there is intentional misgendering in this one so be aware.
In Kind by Kayla Whaley - 3 stars
This is a great confrontation of the typical able bodied, physical "perfection" that is standard in a lot of vampire stories. The main character is a victim of a so-called mercy killing, is saved by a friend, and decides whether to exact revenge. There is quite a bit of ableist language so be aware of that going in.
A Guidebook For The Newly Sired Desi Vampire by Samira Ahmed - 4 stars
This was SUCH a fun concept and super well executed. As the title says, this story reads as a guidebook for baby vampires. It is laugh out loud funny with pop culture references and super dry disdain for obnoxious British tourists. There are great references to technology and how it would adapted for modern use by secret groups of people.
Bestiary by Laura Ruby - 2 stars
This was an intereseting concept that lacked in execution. The near future world was underdeveloped and the plot and main character's inner thoughts were confusing and disjointed.
Vampires Never Say Die by Zoraida Cordova & Natalie C. Parker - 4 stars
I loved the world building and set up for the relationship in this story. There are two perspective, both women who met on Instagram, one human, one vampire. The story is much more plot driven that character driven, but it was unpredictable and the characters had super engaging personalities. This is a story of friendship and I really enjoyed that theme.
First Kill by V.E. Schwab - 5 stars
I'm a die hard Schwab fan so please take this review with a grain of salt. I loved it. In this world, vampires are born, and our first main character is a teen vampire. Our second main character is a teen slayer. This story has an awesome twist, so I don't want to say anything more! I just love the way Schwab reveals new information a little at a time but the reader never feels left in the dark.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Chronic illness, and Transphobia
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