Reviews with content warning for Violence - Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite

Fun book! I don’t think short stories are particularly for me, but it was still enjoyable. Personally, I prefer my vampire stories a little more gory and gothic than most of these, which is why it isn’t higher. My personal fave was ‘The boy and the bell,’ but I also really liked ‘Bestiary,’ ‘The house of the black sapphires,’ and ‘First kill.’ Would recommend to people who enjoy pop culture vampires more so than horror vampires (which is not a dig, I’m a Buffy stan through and through!)

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obscurepages's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Loooovee how this anthology reinvents and reimagines vampire myth and lore! I also love the short commentaries after each story–tackling different aspects of the lore, the fresh twist that we see in the stories, as well as the questions that we ask ourselves when we think about vampires.

My favorites would have to be Mirrors, Windows & Selfies by Mark Oshiro, The Boy and the Bell by Heidi Heilig, and The Guidebook for the Newly Sired Desi Vampire by Samira Ahmed.

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Marking this book as part of reading challenge: #ReadQueerly2023.

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kaetheluise_nckl's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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3.25

This anthology was a bit average for me. There weren’t any outstanding reads, but neither were there many terrible ones. My favourite was Senior Year Sucks. I will review each story individually:

Seven Nights for Dying by Tessa Gratton: This is one of two problematic stories in this anthology. It featured a romance between a teenager and a vampire who was hundreds of years old and looked like they were 30. This story says it’s all about the right to choose to become a vampire, yet how could the teenage MC be in control of her choices if she was being groomed?

The Boys from Blood River by Rebecca Roanhorse: An atmospheric and compelling story ruined by its ending when the MC romanticises a murderer.

Senior Year Sucks by Julie Murphy: The MC of this story had great narrative voice, and the plot developed a philosophical question well. The romance was also cute.

The Boy and the Bell by Heidi Heilig: This was spooky and atmospheric and worked really well as a short story.

A Guidebook for the Newly Sired Desi Vampire by Samira Ahmed: The format of this story gave both a fun and unique approach to the subject material, and had a great take on vampires and colonisation.

In Kind by Kayla Whaley: This was a really confronting story with a powerful resolution, defying “mercy” killings and the ableist “magical cure” trope. The mixed media format also worked well.

Vampires Never Say Die by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker: This was the second problematic story of the anthology. This is due to more grooming. Why on earth is it considered okay for a 200 year adult to be seeking friendship with a teenager?

Bestiary by Laura Ruby: In my opinion, this is the worst story of the non-problematic entries in this anthology. I simply didn’t understand the point of it. It was supposed to be related to animal companionship, but there was no plot or development generally, let alone one involving that concept.

Mirrors, Windows, and Selfies by Mark Oshiro: The blog format elevated the narrative, which was otherwise average.

The House of Black Sapphires by Dhonielle Clayton: This was incredibly atmospheric, but too much time was spent on the (albeit fantastic) worldbuilding, so that the plot felt squished in at the end as an afterthought. I think this concept would have worked better in a longer format.

First Kill by V.E. Schwab: I think this was a good story, but it was nearly identical to Senior Year Sucks which I found to be stronger.

Some final general notes. The first is that I am sick of YA modern vampire stories containing the immortal/mortal romance/friendship trope. This anthology even states it will be seeking to rectify the more problematic traditions in the vampire genre, yet it still includes this! Secondly, the editor’s notes at the end of each story were frustrating. Not only did it take you out of the fictional zone, but they should have been unnecessary, i.e., the story should have done a good enough job of showing its relevance to an aspect of the vampire tradition - and this often wasn’t the case. Finally, I listened to the audiobook for this one and it was also average. Some narrators were good; some, not so much.

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atlas_shruggs's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny informative lighthearted mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is one of the few short story collections I have ever read, and I enjoyed it thoroughly throughout. The collection covers different aspects of the myth of the vampire, told both through short stories and short essays by the editors, Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker. The essays were hilarious but also good addons to the stories, and give you better insight into the history of the vampire. The stories themselves are excellently written, and the characters in them often break the vampire stereotype, with one of the vampires being in a wheelchair and one of the vampire slayers being a fat girl. The view they gave of the vampire myths were refreshing, and I loved how good the representation in the stories was. I highly recommend this collection whether you're a fan of vampires or not, as it is highly entertaining and also wonderfully educational.
Average Rating: 3.75
Seven Nights For Dying: 3 stars
The Boys from Blood River: 3.75
Senior Year Sucks: 4
The Boy and the Bell: 3
A Guidebook for the Newly Sired Desi Vampire: 4.75
In Kind: 4.5
Vampires Never Say Die: 3
Bestiary: 2.75
Mirrors, Windows and Selfies: 3.5
The House of Black Sapphires: 4
First Kill: 4.5

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caitlin_doggos's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

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fictionaladventures's review

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

"Seven Nights for Dying" by Tessa Gratton: ⭐️ (read February 15, 2022)
About a girl debating whether to become a vampire. I didn’t like this at all! Why was it so sexual?? And it made me uncomfy that vampires were more demonic in this one.

"The Boys From Blood River" by Rebecca Roanhorse: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (read February 15, 2022)
About a boy who’s bullied for being Native and gay who has the opportunity to become a vampire. This was really good! I was interested the whole way through.

"Senior Year Sucks" by Julie Murphy: ⭐️⭐️.5 (read February 16, 2022)
About a fat cheerleader vampire slayer! This was good but kinda cheesy too.

"The Boy andthe Bell" by Heidi Heilig: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (read February 16, 2022)
About a trans boy who meets a vampire during his attempt to dig up a body for medical research. This was awesome! Heidi’s writing is amazing!

"A Guidebook for the Newly Sired Desi Vampire" by Samira Ahmed: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (read February 16, 2022)
Exactly what the title says it is, lol. This was really funny! It went on a little long though.

"In Kind" by Kayla Whaley: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (read February 16, 2022)
About a girl who lives in a wheelchair whose father tries to “mercy kill” her. This one was great! I was definitely hooked.

"Vampires Never Say Die" by Zoraida Córdova & Natalie C. Parker: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (read February 16, 2022)
About two girls, one a vampire and one a human, who are friends online. I thought it was sweet that this one was about friendship, but otherwise found it fairly unmemorable.

"Bestiary" by Laura Ruby: ⭐️⭐️ (read February 16, 2022)
About a vampire who works at a zoo. This was just kind of boring to me?

"Mirrors, Windows & Selfies" by Mark Oshiro: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (read February 16, 2022)
A blog from a boy who was born a vampire and lives in the middle of nowhere with his parents. This was great! The blog format served the story well and it was very fast-paced.

"The House of Black Sapphires" by Dhonielle Clayton: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (read February 17, 2022)
About a Black family of vampires. The mythology of this one was super cool! Definitely not your typical vampire story. I definitely enjoyed it.

"First Kill" by V.E. Schwab: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (read February 17, 2022)
To summarize this one would be to spoil it, so I won’t! But of course the Schwab story would be my favorite! This was so good! I loved it!

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readerette's review

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

If you dislike open endings, this is not the story collection for you. I don't know if I liked the "reflection questions" added after each story, but mostly because they make the preceding story feel less like something to live in and more like an academic or therapeutic exercise. Not a bad thing (often stories do that for me anyway), but I'm not sure most readers really need to be prompted to think of how a piece of fiction might connect to real life.

Some really cool takes on creatures of the night, and engrossing characters and plotlines.

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