A review by claudiadcd
The Radleys by Matt Haig

4.0

I like vampires. I know some people are over it by now, but if it's done slightly differently, with a new theme, I love where the monster and theme collide and what new explorations we might find. This new one: suburbia. The writing was so fluid, I fell right in and couldn't even look back. The tension pulled me through to the quintessential scene, for me, when the teenaged girl realizes what she is. That will always rock my world. The hidden symbolism, the power she felt, I felt. It was cathartic as hell and if you want a touch of realism with your fantastical but still get that real catharsis, I'm telling you, just give this one a try. It's not as deep as an Anne Rice nor is it just tapping into the magnetism of these creatures. A healthy dose of Santa Clarita Diet with just of 80s grunge nostalgia from childhood memories of The Lost Boys. There's something to be said about how we all have to grow up and evolve, even if we don't necessarily have to grow old doing it, but that's a bigger theme for deeper readers. It was fun, a quick fix, since it had been awhile since I had my vampire romanticism sated.