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Midnight City #1
Twisted Sorcery
Midnight City has taken everything from Deni. Two months after being turned into a vampire by her abusive ex she’s broke, starving, and one bad day away from ending up on the street.
But when her desperation carries her to the nightclubs of Elysium, where the wealthy pay to have their darkest fantasies fulfilled, she meets someone who could turn the tides of her fate: Celeste, a powerful witch with honey-sweet blood and a dangerous arcane smuggling ring at her command. Working for the beautiful woman could mean an end to Deni’s downward spiral and, most importantly, safety in a city of monsters – human or otherwise.
But Celeste’s charity comes at a high price. Every bit as demanding as she is beautiful, Celeste pushes Deni further and further away from her humanity – and toward the dark vampire instincts at the back of her mind. Yet no matter how hard Deni tries, the enigmatic witch is impossible to resist.
When Deni has nothing more to give up but total control, she can’t help but wonder: is Celeste using more than her charms to keep Deni under her spell? Is the safety Deni was searching for further away now than it has ever been before?
But when her desperation carries her to the nightclubs of Elysium, where the wealthy pay to have their darkest fantasies fulfilled, she meets someone who could turn the tides of her fate: Celeste, a powerful witch with honey-sweet blood and a dangerous arcane smuggling ring at her command. Working for the beautiful woman could mean an end to Deni’s downward spiral and, most importantly, safety in a city of monsters – human or otherwise.
But Celeste’s charity comes at a high price. Every bit as demanding as she is beautiful, Celeste pushes Deni further and further away from her humanity – and toward the dark vampire instincts at the back of her mind. Yet no matter how hard Deni tries, the enigmatic witch is impossible to resist.
When Deni has nothing more to give up but total control, she can’t help but wonder: is Celeste using more than her charms to keep Deni under her spell? Is the safety Deni was searching for further away now than it has ever been before?
270 pages, Paperback
First published September 13, 2023
232 people are currently reading
1770 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
no-never
August 30, 2024ai cover art 😬😬😬 that's unfortunate
January 29, 2024
I've started to get a little weary of picking up sapphic books as I tend to be critical of them. I don't know why that is but I'm trying to get over it.
I was excited that I really enjoyed the story, the romance and the darker themes. It had discussion about heavier things and was done well. Very glad to have this on my shelf.
I was excited that I really enjoyed the story, the romance and the darker themes. It had discussion about heavier things and was done well. Very glad to have this on my shelf.
February 29, 2024
4 Stars
It’s weird, dark, bordering on “hang on, this feels unethical” sort of thing…. And I love it!!!
The whole thing felt like an allegory to our present society’s issues on drugs, racism, marginalisation and exploitation of vulnerable humans, crimes and it was amazing to read as a supernatural story.
It’s weird, dark, bordering on “hang on, this feels unethical” sort of thing…. And I love it!!!
The whole thing felt like an allegory to our present society’s issues on drugs, racism, marginalisation and exploitation of vulnerable humans, crimes and it was amazing to read as a supernatural story.
November 16, 2023
I did not realize when I started reading that this was the first book in a series. I want to know more about this witch and vampire- immediately. I fell for them as individually flawed, supernatural creatures and as the disjointed couple they become over time. The plot is delicious, I was invested in the storyline and the outcome. Their bedroom romps were hot, vampire sizzling in the sun burning hot. A little domination, a side of play, and a whole lot of service. It was just enough and well written! So, 10 stars from me, and off to read more by this author.
September 1, 2024
“Exactly. You’re only helpless if you’re alone.”
3.5 stars. Finally some good fucking food!!!!! After a string of books that were just... fine, it felt really good to read something that I ended up really enjoying. I don't know if the fact that my last reads have all been lacklustre maybe made me go easier on this one? And I mean, it's definitely not perfect. There are some typos and a little weirdness in the writing, some moments that really needed to be fleshed out. This is a 20 pound story in a 10 pound bag. Still, despite the things working against this, I enjoyed it so much. It's a dark sapphic paranormal romance between a down on her luck vampire, and the powerful witch she reluctantly starts working for.
I liked it right off the bat because it's not the typical sexy vampire lore that we're working with in this world. Vampires are regarded as second class citizens, looked down on by humans and other paranormal beings, and if you don't already have power and privilege, it's hard to get it as a vampire. Deni, at the start, is absolutely going through it: poor, starving without a regular source of blood, unable to get a job, but not willing to hurt random people for sustenance. When a job goes wrong, she's saved by Celeste, a cocky, powerful, slightly obnoxious witch. And even though she doesn't want to, Deni nevertheless feels an undeniable pull towards her. Their romance was just... so good. The kind of power dynamics that would be nightmarish in real life, but reading about it? Oh, I was living for it. Just the image of a super powerful witch, and the almost feral, newly turned vampire who gets stronger when drinking her blood. I loved every moment where Celeste would tease her, where you could see Celeste being intrigued by her. She's dominant in a way that was almost too much, but never crossed the line for me. And the ways Deni fought back, or tried to fight her attraction, made it all the better for me. God, I love a pet name, and maybe I'm basic, but every time Celeste called her 'Kitten' I wanted to melt. And the latter half of the book was really good, where we got to see a softer, more vulnerable side of Celeste, see more of her weaknesses and flaws. Even better was when we got to the fallout, and got to see Deni being (rightfully!) angry about some of those reveals. Some of their banter was soooo swoony, and I loved the moments of realisation, the declarations.
It had its flaws. Again, I really wish it was longer. There were so many scenes that felt like they could have been fleshed out more. Some of the descriptions were just lacking, to the point where it wasn't almost clear what was happening in a scene. I remember feeling that way about a lot of the early blood drinking scenes, and anything that dealt with venom. The whole plot about the witch blood and the different factions and the spying wasn't all that clear to me. Maybe that was my fault? Maybe I just didn't absorb the details well enough? But yeah, there were so many moments I wish we had lingered on. I hate having a scene end abruptly after the characters have just spoken about something important. Also, I know that this is dark, and I went into it expecting it to be so, but sometimes... it was just too much. Especially near the end. Deni went through so much, and seeing the main POV character suffering so much, so many times, so graphicly... it felt like overkill, tbh.
Not a perfect book, but I just had fun with it. Sometimes it's nice to get lost in a little unhinged romance. Deni and Celeste had me giggling and kicking my feet.
(Side note: I like the cover, but some things about it, like her legs and those symbols... I can't tell if the cover is AI or not. I'm far from an expert, but after noticing some things, I can't stop noticing. :/ I liked the book, but not enough to continue the series if the author is using AI.)
Content warning:
I love you, I think. I love you, I love you, I love you. Let me find you.
February 20, 2024
Interesting plot. TW…though
August 26, 2025
“Even after everyone had thoroughly proven that loving me is an impossible task, I threw myself at her like the dipshit I am.”
Sometimes I take a long time to read books – really great books, mind you – but I find I get distracted and overwhelmed with life and my reading goes on the backburner. But sometimes I pick up a book that somehow tickles my brain in just the right way that I literally cannot set it down. A book so enthralling that I will dedicate hours out of the day just to keep reading and reading because I could not bear to focus on something else knowing that I could be finding out what happens next. Kira Adler’s Twisted Sorcery falls into the latter category. This dark sapphic romance between a vampire and a witch hit all the marks that I was looking for when I picked it up and then it exceeded even further.
Deni is a disenfranchised, newly turned vampire living in Midnight City. Living with nothing more than a piss-stained mattress, piles of musty clothes, and near-empty bloodbags, she is desperate for any way to make money. But in the metropolis of Midnight City, if you aren’t already rich, being turned to a vampire is a one-way ticket to poverty. Forced to turn to prostitution, Deni finds herself caught in the center of a web far bigger than she could have ever anticipated. And the one manipulating that web…
Celeste is a powerful witch running a ring of organized crime in Midnight City. But simply living a wealthy, luxurious, perfume-coated life isn’t enough to keep her safe. And her enemies know exactly how to hurt her the most.
Deni and Celeste. Together they are a rose bush wrapped in lace – delicate, yet filled with thorns. And those thorns scratch. They bleed. They hurt. It’s not their fault; like the thorns on a rose stem, Deni and Celeste have surrounded themselves with protective barriers because their past experiences have told them that love hurts – that love is a dangerous thing. These are two women who have been shaped by their trauma, yet they are not defined by it. And over time, with care and patience, the rose buds blossom and something truly beautiful is created.
There’s an inherent power imbalance in what they have. At times it teeters on the edge of “this feels morally unethical, yet if it is wrong then I don’t want it to be right.” They fight, they yell, they run away – from each other and from the idea of love – but they learn to be patient. They learn to care for each other. It’s not all cozy cuddle sessions and tea parties (though there is some of that); these characters are flawed, and their flaws are a driving force in the narrative.. There were moments between these two characters that felt so emotionally raw it was like having someone grip my heart and squeeze it with an iron-clad fist.
The world-building was also stellar. In a plot and character driven novel, I found that Kira Adler does a phenomenal job weaving the world into the story. We get just enough info about Midnight City sprinkled throughout the story that I felt I could immerse myself in it without relying heavily on paragraphs of world-building. I really enjoyed how fantasy races were integrated into society in a way that felt realistic to how they would fit in a 21st century city. It flipped many tropes on the head by having classic monster movie creatures not be all-powerful. Vampires struggle to find steady work and afford blood. Witches have lost a lot of influence and knowledge due to persecution. Sirens are powerful, but risk driving themselves and others mad when using their song. There’s also minotaurs, djinn, lycanthropes, ghouls, and seraphim. I’d love to see more of these races if (please please please) we get more Midnight City!
This book tackles some pretty heavy real-world issues. Being a vampire often serves as an allegory for poverty and wealth inequity (often faced by lgbtq+ individuals). Deni remarks on the unfairness of the world – that the only way to make her own situation better is to make other people’s situation worse. Wealthy humans seem to have no issue becoming vampires, but for someone like Deni – a lesbian woman disowned by her christian family – it means living without knowing when her next drink of blood will be. There’s also intense depictions of attempted SA and of drug addiction and withdrawal, so please proceed with caution.
A quick shoutout to the supporting cast. Mav was a great character. Living in a similar situation as Deni, he often served as her rock when nobody else was there. And Mel, the siren “blazin’ guns” who works for Celeste. Her crass attitude was a good relief between the tense moments.
Overall, this book really stood out to me. I will, without a doubt, reread sooner rather than later. And I will be waiting very patiently (twitching and foaming at the mouth) for more from this author and more of Midnight City. This book is so real and raw and spicy and definitely worth the read.
Sometimes I take a long time to read books – really great books, mind you – but I find I get distracted and overwhelmed with life and my reading goes on the backburner. But sometimes I pick up a book that somehow tickles my brain in just the right way that I literally cannot set it down. A book so enthralling that I will dedicate hours out of the day just to keep reading and reading because I could not bear to focus on something else knowing that I could be finding out what happens next. Kira Adler’s Twisted Sorcery falls into the latter category. This dark sapphic romance between a vampire and a witch hit all the marks that I was looking for when I picked it up and then it exceeded even further.
Deni is a disenfranchised, newly turned vampire living in Midnight City. Living with nothing more than a piss-stained mattress, piles of musty clothes, and near-empty bloodbags, she is desperate for any way to make money. But in the metropolis of Midnight City, if you aren’t already rich, being turned to a vampire is a one-way ticket to poverty. Forced to turn to prostitution, Deni finds herself caught in the center of a web far bigger than she could have ever anticipated. And the one manipulating that web…
Celeste is a powerful witch running a ring of organized crime in Midnight City. But simply living a wealthy, luxurious, perfume-coated life isn’t enough to keep her safe. And her enemies know exactly how to hurt her the most.
Deni and Celeste. Together they are a rose bush wrapped in lace – delicate, yet filled with thorns. And those thorns scratch. They bleed. They hurt. It’s not their fault; like the thorns on a rose stem, Deni and Celeste have surrounded themselves with protective barriers because their past experiences have told them that love hurts – that love is a dangerous thing. These are two women who have been shaped by their trauma, yet they are not defined by it. And over time, with care and patience, the rose buds blossom and something truly beautiful is created.
There’s an inherent power imbalance in what they have. At times it teeters on the edge of “this feels morally unethical, yet if it is wrong then I don’t want it to be right.” They fight, they yell, they run away – from each other and from the idea of love – but they learn to be patient. They learn to care for each other. It’s not all cozy cuddle sessions and tea parties (though there is some of that); these characters are flawed, and their flaws are a driving force in the narrative.. There were moments between these two characters that felt so emotionally raw it was like having someone grip my heart and squeeze it with an iron-clad fist.
The world-building was also stellar. In a plot and character driven novel, I found that Kira Adler does a phenomenal job weaving the world into the story. We get just enough info about Midnight City sprinkled throughout the story that I felt I could immerse myself in it without relying heavily on paragraphs of world-building. I really enjoyed how fantasy races were integrated into society in a way that felt realistic to how they would fit in a 21st century city. It flipped many tropes on the head by having classic monster movie creatures not be all-powerful. Vampires struggle to find steady work and afford blood. Witches have lost a lot of influence and knowledge due to persecution. Sirens are powerful, but risk driving themselves and others mad when using their song. There’s also minotaurs, djinn, lycanthropes, ghouls, and seraphim. I’d love to see more of these races if (please please please) we get more Midnight City!
This book tackles some pretty heavy real-world issues. Being a vampire often serves as an allegory for poverty and wealth inequity (often faced by lgbtq+ individuals). Deni remarks on the unfairness of the world – that the only way to make her own situation better is to make other people’s situation worse. Wealthy humans seem to have no issue becoming vampires, but for someone like Deni – a lesbian woman disowned by her christian family – it means living without knowing when her next drink of blood will be. There’s also intense depictions of attempted SA and of drug addiction and withdrawal, so please proceed with caution.
A quick shoutout to the supporting cast. Mav was a great character. Living in a similar situation as Deni, he often served as her rock when nobody else was there. And Mel, the siren “blazin’ guns” who works for Celeste. Her crass attitude was a good relief between the tense moments.
Overall, this book really stood out to me. I will, without a doubt, reread sooner rather than later. And I will be waiting very patiently (twitching and foaming at the mouth) for more from this author and more of Midnight City. This book is so real and raw and spicy and definitely worth the read.
October 3, 2024
4.5⭐
Enjoyed it way more than I thought I would!
Definitely different than the normal romance books I read, but also not as dark as most dark romances.
I did really like the characters and the writing.
Enjoyed it way more than I thought I would!
Definitely different than the normal romance books I read, but also not as dark as most dark romances.
I did really like the characters and the writing.
November 29, 2023
Enthralling Story!
Now that was a plot! I really like this book and had a hard time putting it down. I might've been late to a few places I needed to be because I had to know what happened next. Especially in the last half of the book when it really started to pick up speed. I love that this vampire story was so unique from others. It showed a different aspect. Instead of romanticizing and glorifying the life of a vampire, this showed what it might be like if they were the lowest of the lower class citizens. I thought that was an interesting twist to the genre. I've been liking the darker stories lately and this one could get pretty gruesome. I felt my stomach turn a few times at some of the graphic details. That's how well written it is.
The characters were well written too, likeable and relatable. I got a really good understanding of their personalities and the 2 main character's chemistry was always present and completely believable during their build up. The 3rd act conflict was believable as well. I usually put a lot of stock into whether or not I believe the conflict and that has a huge impact on my opinion of a book. Usually I'm disappointed when it's a ridiculous misunderstanding that could've been solved in a paragraph or when it's a lazily written dispute that doesn't seem genuine. But in this story when the MC's separated, I could easily understand how they got there with both of their past experiences.
I also enjoyed the dialogue between all the characters. It never felt stiff or manufactured. Everything flowed well and the character's interactions and conversations were important to feeling their connections and bonding with each other. I definitely could've used more spice, though. The scenes were good but I would've loved if there had just been more. More pages and even just more in other chapters. More please.
Everything about this book hit all the right spots for me and I wish there were more books by this author because now I'm hooked. I really like her writing style and the world she's written so hopefully there's more similar things to come in the future. I will definitely be following to find out.
Now that was a plot! I really like this book and had a hard time putting it down. I might've been late to a few places I needed to be because I had to know what happened next. Especially in the last half of the book when it really started to pick up speed. I love that this vampire story was so unique from others. It showed a different aspect. Instead of romanticizing and glorifying the life of a vampire, this showed what it might be like if they were the lowest of the lower class citizens. I thought that was an interesting twist to the genre. I've been liking the darker stories lately and this one could get pretty gruesome. I felt my stomach turn a few times at some of the graphic details. That's how well written it is.
The characters were well written too, likeable and relatable. I got a really good understanding of their personalities and the 2 main character's chemistry was always present and completely believable during their build up. The 3rd act conflict was believable as well. I usually put a lot of stock into whether or not I believe the conflict and that has a huge impact on my opinion of a book. Usually I'm disappointed when it's a ridiculous misunderstanding that could've been solved in a paragraph or when it's a lazily written dispute that doesn't seem genuine. But in this story when the MC's separated, I could easily understand how they got there with both of their past experiences.
I also enjoyed the dialogue between all the characters. It never felt stiff or manufactured. Everything flowed well and the character's interactions and conversations were important to feeling their connections and bonding with each other. I definitely could've used more spice, though. The scenes were good but I would've loved if there had just been more. More pages and even just more in other chapters. More please.
Everything about this book hit all the right spots for me and I wish there were more books by this author because now I'm hooked. I really like her writing style and the world she's written so hopefully there's more similar things to come in the future. I will definitely be following to find out.
January 11, 2024
CW: consent, drug addiction, SA (attempted on page)
2.5 stars rounded up because maybe my hopes for books are too high lately.
MCs are a bi-witch and a lesbian vampire. Story was a bit convoluted at times with subplots distracting a bit from the main story. The romance developed fine... but the sex scenes felt like they played out bit backwards or were disjointed with
2.5 stars rounded up because maybe my hopes for books are too high lately.
MCs are a bi-witch and a lesbian vampire. Story was a bit convoluted at times with subplots distracting a bit from the main story. The romance developed fine... but the sex scenes felt like they played out bit backwards or were disjointed with
November 30, 2023
10/10 would def recommend
When I first started reading this book I was annoyed with how slow it was moving but as we got to the middle of the book I just couldn’t put it down which made me late for class but it was total worth it because this book is amazing.😍
When I first started reading this book I was annoyed with how slow it was moving but as we got to the middle of the book I just couldn’t put it down which made me late for class but it was total worth it because this book is amazing.😍
October 9, 2025
Had all the ingredients to be truly awesome, but sadly needed some more fleshing out to deliver and actually be *all that*. A lot of interesting topics & subplots are introduced but then get kinda lost in the shortness of the book.
I did have a fun time reading it still though.
I did have a fun time reading it still though.
June 23, 2024
I seem to keep picking up books that seem like they'd be easy, sexy reads and instead I'm getting plots and deeper meaning.....and I'm not mad about it. I have to say that one of my favorite things is that in this case, the vampire isn't the one with the upper hand. For the most part they are portrayed as strong and beautiful and ultimately unflawed...Not so here. I missed somehow that this is a series and while this didn't end on a cliffhanger, I'd love to read more of Deni and Celeste.
October 11, 2024
Less spicy than I expected. But well written and the story is interesting, if not captivating. Though I do wish the world this story is set in had been explained just a little more.
April 29, 2024
+2.5 for the bloody-good story!
+2.5 for the bloody-good writing!
I received a free ARC of this for an honest review:
Simply put: This was deliciously fun and sexy! Well-paced, well-written, and has a cast full of nuanced characters. My one gripe is that it wasn't longer.
Looking forward to Adler's next work ;)
5*s!
+2.5 for the bloody-good writing!
I received a free ARC of this for an honest review:
Simply put: This was deliciously fun and sexy! Well-paced, well-written, and has a cast full of nuanced characters. My one gripe is that it wasn't longer.
Looking forward to Adler's next work ;)
5*s!
September 24, 2024
More plot and less smut than was expected, enjoyed this! I want a hot witchy sugar momma too.
January 19, 2024
Vampires and witches? Oh my!
TRULY DIVINE! Loved every single second of this book. The plot and world were vibrant and rich and the character development throughout the book was absolutely flawless.
This is seriously such a fun read - it felt effortless. Kira Adler has built something really special.
Just warning: there are some triggering scenes in the beginning of the book (and a few throughout) - but to me they do not seem like violence for the sake of violence and I didn’t have a problem with them. This is a dark romance so go into it with that mindset.
TRULY DIVINE! Loved every single second of this book. The plot and world were vibrant and rich and the character development throughout the book was absolutely flawless.
This is seriously such a fun read - it felt effortless. Kira Adler has built something really special.
Just warning: there are some triggering scenes in the beginning of the book (and a few throughout) - but to me they do not seem like violence for the sake of violence and I didn’t have a problem with them. This is a dark romance so go into it with that mindset.
January 13, 2024
Five stars, no notes.
This was a totally engrossing, well-paced, tension-filled read. Great, vivid writing; efficient and descriptive story-telling and world-building; sapphic and smutty done absolutely right. Deni is a wonderful and atypical vampire narrator in whom you’re invested right from the start and she never lets you down.
I was totally caught off guard by not one but several twists, which I always appreciate, and could simply not put this down.
This was a totally engrossing, well-paced, tension-filled read. Great, vivid writing; efficient and descriptive story-telling and world-building; sapphic and smutty done absolutely right. Deni is a wonderful and atypical vampire narrator in whom you’re invested right from the start and she never lets you down.
I was totally caught off guard by not one but several twists, which I always appreciate, and could simply not put this down.
June 20, 2024
Almost perfect.
Shows the dark side of being a vampire well. The constant thrum for blood and the MCs inability to get it played out perfectly. I loved the romance in this, the only thing I would change is to show more of it. As someone else pointed out it feels a bit rushed. Not that I think the characters shouldn't be in love, I just wish we had like two more chapters building up their relationship. I'm excited to read more of this series in the future!
Shows the dark side of being a vampire well. The constant thrum for blood and the MCs inability to get it played out perfectly. I loved the romance in this, the only thing I would change is to show more of it. As someone else pointed out it feels a bit rushed. Not that I think the characters shouldn't be in love, I just wish we had like two more chapters building up their relationship. I'm excited to read more of this series in the future!
December 20, 2023
I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. From start to finish, the evocative prose kept me riveted, as did the well-fleshed out characters. It takes a bit for Deni and Celeste to begin their dance, but once it begins, there's no stopping it and I devoured it all in just a couple of sittings. The story takes interesting turns toward the midpoint, especially one gruesome scene that was just brutal. There's also an interesting use of magic (spoilers) that was fun to unpack toward the ending. On the whole, though there's a sizzling romance at the forefront, there is so much more to the story that kept me engrossed.
December 11, 2024
Had a good time with this one and would definitely read more books from this author in the future. Too many books in the sapphic genre have what I lovingly call "flowery writing" and it's why I DNF most FF books. This book has no flowery writing to be found and I couldn't be happier about that. I seriously don't need character's inner monologues/conversations to be paragraphs of composing sonnets in a field of daisies and speaking poetic nonsense, I ain't got time for that. maybe it's just a me problem.
Small rant aside... I enjoyed this book and it got me out of a reading slump when I kept trying to read new books, but got bored so I ended up just re-reading books I love.
Small rant aside... I enjoyed this book and it got me out of a reading slump when I kept trying to read new books, but got bored so I ended up just re-reading books I love.
November 14, 2023
Definitely give this a read. I actually really enjoyed this book. It’s much better than the 1 star rating left as its first rating. I read a lot, I mean A LOT, of romance. Within the lesbian realm of vampires and witches, this is an 8/10. There’s not enough in this genre to begin with, but even if there was, this is still a good book in my opinion. The romance is built, not insta love. The romance makes more sense, and is kinky. The ending I’m not as thrilled with only because of length of execution. It was short but could have been made out longer. Still, a happy ending is all I could ask for. My favorite part in the book was the middle. So good.
March 17, 2024
While I was interested at first, and particularly intrigued by Deni and Celeste's relationship dynamic, this fell flat for me in the end.
Somewhere near the middle, I wasn't as invested, and the writing started feeling bland. By the time the end came around, it felt a little convoluted without enough explanation, and when the moment of Deni and Celeste saying they love each other happened, it had me rolling my eyes because, personally, I don't feel there was enough development of their relationship in this book to justify those feelings.
It's fine for what it is, and I'm not mad that I read it, but I don't think I'll be picking up the next book.
Somewhere near the middle, I wasn't as invested, and the writing started feeling bland. By the time the end came around, it felt a little convoluted without enough explanation, and when the moment of Deni and Celeste saying they love each other happened, it had me rolling my eyes because, personally, I don't feel there was enough development of their relationship in this book to justify those feelings.
It's fine for what it is, and I'm not mad that I read it, but I don't think I'll be picking up the next book.
May 3, 2024
My opinion is that based on the level of sapphic dalliances this book was lacking the anticipated quality that I had been expecting. But it definitely delivered in the quality of paranormal interaction.
Therefore on that merit alone it rates the highest level😎❗.
Therefore on that merit alone it rates the highest level😎❗.
December 20, 2023
a bi witch and a gay vampire walk into a bar... literally
January 29, 2024
*screaming* literally perfection. If Celeste doesn’t step on my neck and make me beg, my life is meaningless
February 3, 2024
if the ending had been a tad longer it wouldve been so much better but alas i enjoyed this alot. i kept imagining Celeste as Wanda Maximoff which made this even better 😌
June 5, 2025
Let’s start with the obvious: yes, the cover art is most likely AI generated and if the author (or any other writer for that matter) reads this, then please, for the love of god, don’t use AI for your covers. Using it makes books look super cheap; the first thing to greet a reader shouldn’t be unnaturally proportioned twisted limbs. It also makes it less likely for me to recommend a book to others, and if this one wasn’t included in my Kindle trial, I probably wouldn’t have read it.
Which would’ve been a shame, considering that it’s pretty good. It isn’t really as smutty as it’s advertised (in fact there’s only two sex scenes in it, with the first only halfway through the novel) but the characters and plot were engaging enough for me to read the whole thing in less than two days. Adler doesn’t do anything groundbreaking here (witches or fantasy races as allegories for minorities is hardly a new concept), but the combination of two well developed leads, interesting side characters, absolutely disgusting villains, and a unique semi-fantasy setting works really well here. The setting is a bit hard to grasp initially, but I never felt like I was missing crucial information. Those only interested in the smut might be a bit disappointed, but the novel is good enough on its own, to a point where the sex scenes feel more like a bonus on top for those interested in that sort of kink. The lead characters aren’t always particularly great with consent, but there are ample trigger warnings and the supernatural nature of it all makes it very unlikely for anyone to take this as inspiration for their real life sexual encounters. There’s even a section on what BDSM is and isn’t in the appendix.
This feels like a book written very much for me (lesbians, vampires, moving past trauma and learning to trust again) so naturally I really enjoyed it, and I’d recommend anyone with similar interests to look past the cover and give this a chance. I’ll definitely be interested in reading whatever it is that Adler does next, and also in buying a copy for myself once there’s an edition with new cover art.
Which would’ve been a shame, considering that it’s pretty good. It isn’t really as smutty as it’s advertised (in fact there’s only two sex scenes in it, with the first only halfway through the novel) but the characters and plot were engaging enough for me to read the whole thing in less than two days. Adler doesn’t do anything groundbreaking here (witches or fantasy races as allegories for minorities is hardly a new concept), but the combination of two well developed leads, interesting side characters, absolutely disgusting villains, and a unique semi-fantasy setting works really well here. The setting is a bit hard to grasp initially, but I never felt like I was missing crucial information. Those only interested in the smut might be a bit disappointed, but the novel is good enough on its own, to a point where the sex scenes feel more like a bonus on top for those interested in that sort of kink. The lead characters aren’t always particularly great with consent, but there are ample trigger warnings and the supernatural nature of it all makes it very unlikely for anyone to take this as inspiration for their real life sexual encounters. There’s even a section on what BDSM is and isn’t in the appendix.
This feels like a book written very much for me (lesbians, vampires, moving past trauma and learning to trust again) so naturally I really enjoyed it, and I’d recommend anyone with similar interests to look past the cover and give this a chance. I’ll definitely be interested in reading whatever it is that Adler does next, and also in buying a copy for myself once there’s an edition with new cover art.
April 1, 2026
2.5 stars.
Would have been 3.5-4, apart from one very glaring problem.
The worldbuilding is a little generic but good and well worked-out, the discussions of trauma and trust issues are very good, and some of the social commentary is good too.
Unfortunately, this book falls into the Zootopia school of race analogy:
This has been said to death already but apparently it needs repeating: ethnic minorities aren't vampires.
Even outside of over-policing and over-conviction, disadvantaged people tend to commit crime because of desperation and trauma. If you remove the social causes of the desperation, those crimes disappear.
You know what brown people don't have? An inherent biological desire to kill and eat people! Like holy fuck this should not be difficult!
Would have been 3.5-4, apart from one very glaring problem.
The worldbuilding is a little generic but good and well worked-out, the discussions of trauma and trust issues are very good, and some of the social commentary is good too.
Unfortunately, this book falls into the Zootopia school of race analogy:
“It just feels like the system is rigged if you’re a vampire. Either you’re already rich, in which case you can buy blood and keep getting richer, or you’re poor and you can literally never improve your situation because you’re useless without blood, so you can’t make a living, and without any money, you can’t buy blood, so you become more useless…” Catching my breath from my ramble, I throw my hands up. “And the city won’t help you. So your only option is to just attack someone in the street. And then they track you and lock you up and say, Vampires are statistically more likely to be violent than any other race.”
This has been said to death already but apparently it needs repeating: ethnic minorities aren't vampires.
Even outside of over-policing and over-conviction, disadvantaged people tend to commit crime because of desperation and trauma. If you remove the social causes of the desperation, those crimes disappear.
You know what brown people don't have? An inherent biological desire to kill and eat people! Like holy fuck this should not be difficult!
September 1, 2024
Ended up binge reading all of this in one day! The writing was easy to read while also being just the write amount of descriptions. I also liked the humor in some parts that actually made me laugh a bit, which is pretty rare for me.
The world building was pretty nice with the caveat that I wasn't sure if it took place in our world (with the amount of references made) or an entirely different one.
Deni and Celeste were super cute throughout the book as I loved their overall personalities showing through conversations, and there was just the right amount of spice. But I'm not too sure how I felt about the ending as well as the declaration of "I love you"s since it felt too fast and like we could've used about 50 or so more pages. The overall ending sequence felt kinda wattpady, in my opinion, how it played out being exactly what I would've read on wattpad when I was younger.
Overall, I really liked this story, and I will DEFINITELY be reading the next one
The world building was pretty nice with the caveat that I wasn't sure if it took place in our world (with the amount of references made) or an entirely different one.
Deni and Celeste were super cute throughout the book as I loved their overall personalities showing through conversations, and there was just the right amount of spice. But I'm not too sure how I felt about the ending as well as the declaration of "I love you"s since it felt too fast and like we could've used about 50 or so more pages. The overall ending sequence felt kinda wattpady, in my opinion, how it played out being exactly what I would've read on wattpad when I was younger.
Overall, I really liked this story, and I will DEFINITELY be reading the next one
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