We Become Darkness

by Grace Morrow

A human and a vampyr forge an unsteady alliance in this marriage-of-convenience romantic fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent and the Wings of Night and One Dark Window.

Thalia, Princess of Agripa, has spent the last four years hunting her ex-lover, Cassius—the man who shattered her heart and betrayed her kingdom by becoming a Vampyr. Vampyrs and humans have had a tenuous past since Thalia’s father and sister were murdered thirteen years ago. But with Agripa’s ore supply—the lifeblood of human cities—running out, Thalia’s mother strikes a desperate and dangerous deal: Thalia will marry a Vampyr prince in exchange for their ore.

Thalia is blindsided by the arrangement—and horrified to find Cassius, now serving as the prince’s Hand, is the man tasked with bringing her to the Vampyr kingdom safely. To save her people, she agrees to the marriage: but plans to dismantle the Vampyr kingdom from within
by killing the prince.

The Vampyr court is rife with danger and secrets, and Cassius is always watching. When a monstrous new threat emerges, Thalia realizes the safety and security of their world is far more fragile than she ever believed.

Caught between duty and desire, Thalia must grapple with her feelings for Cassius and decide if she will fulfill her duty to the human crown or embrace the darkness within herself to protect both realms.

We Become Darkness is an atmospheric romantasy perfect for fans of Nosferatu to sink their teeth into.

Genres: Fantasy, Vampires, Romance, Romantasy, Paranormal, Adult, Adult Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

Expected publication April 7, 2026

About the author

Grace is an author of magic, mayhem and mischief. A true Californian, she lives with her husband and two unruly cats. When she isn't writing you can find her binge watching the latest trash reality tv show, working with an academic support program, or trying to keep alive her many, many, succulents. Grace's debut adult gothic romantasy WE BECOME DARKNESS comes out April 7th, 2026 with Alcove Press.

Reviews

[Ceacea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley, Alcove Press, and Grace Morrow for this gifted eARC.
Genre: Gothic Romance
⭐️ 4.5/5
🌶 2/5
🧠 4/10
Cliffhanger: N/A
Noteworthy: This book is a standalone written in 3rd person limited. The expected publication date is 4/7/2026.

All my gothic paranormal peeps stand up! You are gonna love this one. This book is the rare treat of a standalone under 300 pages. It's about loss, betrayal, revenge and ultimately trusting yourself even when it's hard.

I had an incredible time reading this mostly due to the character interactions. Our main character Thalia is not one to back down from her convictions. I loved how she stood her ground and didn't let anyone walk over her but was still reasonable. I was giggling as she was snapping back at anyone her tried to come for her but the tea was piping hot from everyone honestly. It was delicious! The vibes are dark but the content is really not dark. A wrathful princess betrothed to an enemy prince for the good of both kingdoms. Let the espionage ensue! 😂

[Rmplift, Rachel Phillips · Rating 2 out of 5]

The FMC in this book is absolutely awful. I get that authors do this to let the character evolve but the FMC in this book does nothing but get into preventable and repetitive situations due to her own BS actions. It's to the point where it completely takes away from the story. The FMC can't even grow up a little bit to have an adult conversation with the MMC. GET OVER IT or at least let him speak!

Also, what really annoyed me as a reader is that the author was so insistent on having the FMC be "rebellious" that the story completely stalled. Another writing where "slow burn" is mistaken for babbling. If something could happen besides her finding infected people and monsters that'd be great.

[gillian bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

i received an e-ARC of this book in exchange for a review (also i love the author and think she’s fab) <3

a lush, new gothic romantasy for the ages 🥀 the world is sweeping but easy to digest, and the characters and their houses fit well into the familiar rhythm of a fantasy novel and yet grace still manages to make them unique enough to stand out amongst others.

grace also has a talent for fleshing out her characters and giving them distinct personalities, which isn’t easy to do, especially in a book with such a largely rotating cast! thalia is such a fantastic FMC; she’s flawed and brash and admirable because of it. and cassius is my favorite sort of MMC - he’s intense and not afraid to do what he needs to, but he’s capable of being gentle and is not needlessly violent or arrogant like so many other current romantasy love interests.

in a market saturated with vampire stories, grace morrow’s vampyr novel manages to feel new and exciting, with an intriguing plot that keeps you guessing up until the very end!!

[Maddison Leach · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a really hard time deciding how to review this because the concept was actually really cool and the plot was pretty original, which can be hard to find in romantasy right now - especially in a book about vampires! Unfortunately weak writing and a lack of attention to detail really let this book down.

Thalia is the princess of a human kingdom that has been at war with the neighbouring vampire territories for years. She’s determined to eradicate vampires after they betrayed her family 13 years ago, and then her best friend and lover Cassius turned about four years ago. So when her mother, the queen, promises her in marriage to the vampire prince she’s furious. Even more so when it turns out the prince has sent Cassius to collect her and bring her to the vampire world, where something even deadlier than vampires is lurking.

You can tell that Morrow really cares about her characters and their story and it’s obvious that she put a lot of time and thought into creating them and the world they inhabit. But I think this book really needs another thorough developmental edit. The world building is all over the place, the court politics and key players are confusing, the rules of the world aren’t made clear, and there a plot holes and contrivances where there shouldn’t be. There’s also so much repetition of Thalia’s tragic backstory that it lost all meaning to me tbh.

I might have been able to look past all that if the writing was really strong but unfortunately it just wasn’t. There were spelling and grammar errors in almost every chapter and multiple instances of the straight up wrong word being used (e.g. “instance” instead of “instant”) which suggests the book hasn’t undergone a proper edit. I’m sure some of that will be fixed before publishing, but even on a line level the writing isn’t that strong. Things are often told rather than shown and the lack of descriptive and atmospheric language sometimes makes the world feel empty and hollow.

As for the romance, it was probably one of the high points of the book but the problem with them having already been lovers in the past is that I feel like no work was done to establish why they fall for each other again now. It just felt a bit meh to me, but that might also be because I didn’t love Thalia as a protagonist. She just felt a bit flat and stereotypical of the overdone “stabby FMC”.

Overall this book wasn’t for me but I know a lot of romantasy readers will enjoy it. I think Morrow has some real promise and I’d definitely pick up her work in the future when she’s had some more time to hone her craft.

*I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

[༘˚⋆&#x1065a;｡⋆ &#x1d613;&#x1d62a;&#x1d622; · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is going to be my favorite gothic book of 2026 can't wait🫀 🏹 ✒️🕯️📖🪞🦢🏛️🥀

[Nelly]

Please someone tell me this book is as good as the cover its gorgeousssssss <3 <3

[charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

betrayals, vampyrs, and gothic vibes???? i’m so ready for this! 🧛🖤🩸🥀

[Taylor Epperson · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a beautiful gothic romantasy with spine-crawling chills and a romance to yearn for !!!! the world is so intriguing and fun with all the vampyr courts and characters and creatures. THE ROMANCE!! Grace Morrow will definitely be an auto buy author for me!

[Gab · Rating 5 out of 5]

need this on my bookshelf pls and thank you

[aliyana ᥫ᭡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

well…this was a debut! 2.75 ⭐️ rounded to 3! thank you Alcove Press & NetGalley for the e-arc! with the title and premise, i knew i was in for vampire romantasy with a romance that promised to be tension-filled and a ballsy FMC. unfortunately, the momentum of it all got lost within the writing and weak plot. there were vampire court politics that went away and never came back…and there’s a creature spreading a disease…and that’s basically it. the world-building was really interesting with the houses, a forest dividing the human world from the vampire world for sunlight purposes, and even the mages! the elements just weren’t colliding well. the side characters were more interesting and i reacted to the ending with her mother with the biggest eye-roll ever (im sorry). also, are they only limited to two curse words? (genuine question)

Thalia as a FMC is so stereotypical it pains me. she’s a princess who vowed to get revenge over her best friend/ex-lover who betrayed her and became a vampyr; the same creatures who killed her sister and father. but even when she gets thrown into the vampire world, her decisions are terrible! what happened to her plan? she’s so flat and though her backstory made me care for her, it seemed like that was all i needed to know about her.

the romance & smut were also annoying to me. thalia & cassius were already lovers so when they become lovers again, i just didn’t care for them. the angst, betrayal, tension weren’t heavy enough for me to care.

this book had a lot of promise, just needs to go through more editing (lots of grammatical errors too) & i’ve been following grace for a bit too so hopefully improvement will follow!!

[ren]

grace my beloved! so excited to read and own WBD after going insane about its lore <3

[❥ farrah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Grace & NetGalley for the ARC! (disclaimer: though the author is a good friend of mine all opinions are mine alone!!)

STUNNING ROMANTASY one of the better romantasies I have read with an amazing romance that has so much tension and angst it will have you SCREAMING.

thalia is very stubborn and strong willed and i could tell her turmoil between her family and her heart. loved her as a main character but wished she was more stubborn against cassius (what can i say i love more angst and longer tension ok!)

the PLOT however is what hooked me. the disease that spread and how??? i was asking questions left and right and hoping for answers and BOOM big plot twist CRAZYYYYY

overall an amazing read, so excited for everyone to finally have this book in the open and on shelves AHHHH!! I hope everyone enjoys it as much as i do!!!

[bookishpadawan · Rating 5 out of 5]

▸Fantasy romance
▸Gothic romantasy
▸Marriage of convenience
▸Lovers to enemies
▸Forced proximity
▸Found family
▸Only one horse
▸Vampyr x princess
▸Morally grey MMC x stabby FMC
▸Betrayal x revenge
▸Court intrigue
▸Sentient forests
▸Standalone

♥️♥️Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Alcove Press for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own♥️♥️

For the past 4 years, Thalia has been hunting Vampyrs–exterminating them–to find her ex-lover, Cassius, who turned into a Vampyr and betrayed her and her kingdom. Humans and Vampyrs became mortal enemies since Vampyrs killed her sister, the crown princess, and her father, the king, 13 years ago. When her kingdom runs out of its source of lifeblood, Thalia's mother–the Queen, arranged Thalia to become the bride of the Vampyrs prince to save the kingdom. For the sake of her kingdom and her revenge plan, Thalia agrees even though she has to face Cassius–now the Prince's Hand, who is always watching her. Her revenge plan is become difficult with the presence of Cassius, who always awakens feelings that she wants to bury deep, more after she finds something dangerous that is lurking not only for humans but is deadly for the vampires.

"What are we doing here, Cassius?"
"I'm trying to have a conversation with you–"
"No, you're not," Thalia cut in. She set the pliers down with a harsh clink. "What is it you want? Do you want to be friends again? Is that it?"
"Yes," Cassius said without missing a beat.
"Why?"
"Because I miss you," he said softly. "I miss talking with you. I miss being in your presence. I miss the smell of your jasmine perfume, and the way your nose quirks right before you laugh. I miss how you'd tease Marcus whenener he showed us some new information he'd found lost in the library. I miss watching you train with Reina. I miss how you used to look at me. Not with hatred but with something else. I miss you."

I really really really enjoyed this, I had an absolute fun time reading this book!🤩😍🤩😍 It was absolutely amazing😆 the storyline and the characters all came together so beautifully. I was completely captivated from the very start🤩 What I love most about this book is the tension it creates and lots of yearning😆 they were all just sooo good✨ I liked the dynamic between Cassius and Thalia...there are so many unsaid and misunderstandings between them, Thalia’s thirst for vengeance at times overrules her sense of logic, all she needed was to listen, but she was too blinded by her revenge. Cassius is so patient with her and still loves her fiercely🥰 overall, well worth a read!✨ Such an amazing story that keeps you engaged, loved loved loved this book!!🥰 If you love lovers to enemies, forced proximity and good tension, I highly recommend this book!✨

Cassius's rough hands cupped her cheek. "I have died every day since that night. Since the moment that I was turned. I've been a walking corpse, wandering around in hopes that maybe one day ... one day you'd finally forgive me."

Cassius smiled against her lips. "I've missed those little noises." He nipped at her lips, his hand over her heart drifting to her breast. "I missed the taste of you."

I’m so obsessed with these twooo!!🥰😆 I'm left thinking about them long after I've finished this book. This book and these characters are my new roman empire🥰✨

[Julie - One Book More · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dark and atmospheric romantasy with a slow-building, enemies-to-lovers romance that follows a princess who must travel with her ex love to marry the leader of a vampire prince. Thalia loathes vampires and her ex, Cassius, who became one several years ago, so she sees this marriage of convenience not as a way to align the kingdoms, but as an opportunity to infiltrate and destroy the vampires who murdered members of her family. But when she arrives at her new home, her fiancee is nowhere to be found, Cassius is everywhere, and nothing and no one can be trusted.

Thalia is thrust into a dangerous and deadly world of supernatural beings with little preparation. Strong, determined, and smart, she quickly learns that everything is not as it seems. Political turmoil, deception and lies, mysterious monsters, and more plague Thalia as she tries to gain her footing and learn her role. It's suspenseful and dark, and Thalia seeks vengeance for the tragedies in her past, while spying on the enemy. And the more she unravels, the more she starts questioning who the real enemy is.

She's not happy to find out that she is linked to Cassius. I like that the story included flashbacks to Cassius and Thalia before he became a vampire. They were very much in love, and I was really curious what happened to push him to become a vampire, knowing how much it would devastate Thalia. Cassius is so mysterious and secretive, and it's pretty clear he's hiding a ton from Thalia. I liked how he slowly revealed himself and what happened to him over the course of the story. He's definitely a compelling character.

Cassius and Thalia have a roller coaster of a romance, and even though she's betrothed to the prince, I was so hoping that they would find a way to be together. They have so much chemistry, and there are a lot of unresolved feelings between them. You can almost see the electricity pouring off of them when they are together, and their banter only proves it more.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty immersive vampire romantasy. It had a bunch of tropes that I love, the characters and world are intriguing, and the romance is swoon-worthy! Special thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

[Nessa’s Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

We Become Darkness swept me up from the very first chapter and didn’t let go until the final, brutal twist.

This book is everything I want from a dark romantasy: sharp edged politics, unsteady alliances, aching betrayal, and a romance so tangled and painful it borders on delicious torment.

We follow Princess Thalia of Agripa, who has spent years hunting down the man who broke her heart..Cassius, now a Vampyr and the source of her deepest grief and fury. Their history is messy, tender, enraging, and so emotionally loaded that every interaction between them crackles like lightning.

Then Thalia’s mother drops a political bomb:
A marriage alliance with the Vampyr kingdom.

And Cassius (of COURSE) is the one chosen to escort her.

Grace Morrow clearly said, “Let’s make this as agonising as possible,” and succeeded beautifully.

Thalia’s internal war is riveting. She’s fierce, hurting, determined, and so deeply human in her fear and fury. And Cassius… he’s a study in controlled longing and impossible choices. Their bond is built on shattered trust and unresolved desire, creating a tension that practically seeped off the page.

Then the plot turns darker, stranger, more dangerous.

A new monstrous threat emerges. Political alliances crumble. And Thalia is forced to confront something she never expected: that the Vampyr realm and Cassius may not be the enemy she believed.

The atmosphere is thick, gothic, and beautifully rendered. The twists are brutal. The slow burn romantic agony is exquisite.

By the end, I was torn apart in the best possible way, whispering, “There is no way this ends well, is there?” and flipping pages like my life depended on it.

I cannot wait for book two.
Bring on more darkness.

[ROSIE !! · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to the Publisher, and to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review. All opinions are my own!

“We Become Darkness,” is a dark and atmospheric romantasy that I would recommend for fans of Castlevania, The Witcher, and “One Dark Window.” A princess must depend on her ex lover — who is now a Vampyr — to bring her to the prince she must marry in a classic marriage of convenience. But the path is full of danger and betrayal, and Thalia finds herself caught between duty and desire. Who is pulling the strings, really?

Oh, oh, I deeply enjoyed this read. I cannot tell you how curious I was regarding the disease that was spreading, and I deeply enjoyed the slow build of tension between Thalia, and her ex-lover, Cassius. The history between them was fun to unravel, and I will speak for all of when I say forced proximity is for the WIN! This is a lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers-AGAIN with so much intrigue, blood, anger, and grief. Very romantic, and the intimacy scenes had me blushing ( VERY OPEN DOOR! ) — so hold on to your lingerie, my friends.

I am taking off one star just because I was struggling with the pacing, but still, very well done, and very talented author. Definitely check this out if you want an angsty, roller coaster of a ride read — just be patient for it to kick off!

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The gorgeous cover of this book was what initially caught my attention then to find out that it was about vampires? I was sold. The marriage of convenience in this ( of sorts ) is one of my favorite tropes so that was a fun element right off the bat. The writing and flow was very easy to follow, reading in third person is usually always my preference! The tension between Cassius and Thalia I found delectable. Their attraction was still evidently obvious despite their qualms with each other and when the dam broke, it popped off. 🔥

While there were some minor pacing issues, i was easily able to skip a page or two and not feel like I missed out on anything. The disease that was affecting the vampyrs was certainly a cool aspect of this story and I’m glad everything was wrapped up nicely in the end.

All in all an Amazing debut, lovers to enemies to lovers again vampire romance!!

Favorite quote:
“And no matter what darkness comes, no matter if we become darkness itself, that love will never fade”

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Special thanks to the author, Netgalley and Alcove Press for an advanced readers copy of the book for an honest review.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had betrayals, forced proximity, arranged marriage and a stabby FMC. After years of war with vampires, Thalia is bound by a treaty to marry the vampire Prince so there can be peace between their people. She is feisty and angry, with both her circumstances and also with her ex friend Cassius. He is now a vampire and the right hand man of the Prince she is marrying. Despite her hating him for betraying her, they still have good banter and there is also good chemistry and tension. He is sassy and clearly never got over her despite everything that happened. I enjoyed seeing them repair their relationship. There was also interesting world building here with the different vampires and how the court worked. It wasn't super detailed but it was enough that you understood it. This is a standalone and I really enjoyed reading it.

Thank you Alcove Press and NetGalley for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

[Emily Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovers to enemies to lovers vampire romance. This book started out a little slowly for me, but it really picked up at the 75% mark, so I'm glad I finished it. A good ending is always appreciated. Speaking of endings, there is some room left for more books in the series, but the rest of the plot threads are very neatly snipped. So, it's important to note that this is NOT a cliffhanger book waiting for its sequel. The worldbuilding is very different than most other vampire books. There's a completely different origin story and mechanism of how the magic works. So this might be a good book to choose if you're looking for a little novelty in your vampire genre. I received a ARC copy from the publisher.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun little gothic romantasy.

Dark courts, vampyr politics, the feels and a princess who refuses to go down quietly.

Thalia was fierce in a ✨I’m terrified but still fighting✨ way, and Cassius is so Intense, loyal, morally questionable but soft with our girl.

The world felt easy to fall into, the pacing never dragged and the whole marriage for ore thing was a great plot.

A really addictive, weekend devour kind of book. 🩸✨

🦇 enemies to lovers
💍 marriage of convenience
🖤 gothic romantasy
🔥 simmering tension
👑 princess x vampyr prince
🩸 betrayal x revenge
⚔️ court politics

[Sarah Glenn Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A darkly enchanting tale that will hold you in its thrall as predators become prey, complete with a romance that will have you swooning even as it sinks its teeth into you." --Official comments

Unofficial scream: This is the book my Castlevania-loving heart needed. Hauntingly romantic, epic, compelling the whole way through. Keegan is a national treasure. Read this so you can scream with me!!!! <3

[Norees · Rating 5 out of 5]

luscious, dark, romantic, and wonderfully gothic. Vampires are SO back! 10/10 no notes

[lauren g.✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received an e-ARC from the author, and so glad I was able to read it EARLY!!!

I absolutely DEVOURED this!! A beautifully crafted gothic fantasy with lovable characters, toe curling steamy romance, horrific eldritch creatures, and rich world building. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time as Thalia navigated both this dangerous world and her complicated feelings. If you’re looking for a stunning dark romantasy to devour in a weekend, this is the book for you.

[Megan Shunmugam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The gothic romantasy of my dreams. I loved every minute!

Official blurb:

With vivid worldbuilding and characters that leap off the pages, Morrow has woven a thrilling tale that is as dark and deadly as it is desirous. Filled with sizzling chemistry, bloody betrayal and danger at every turn, WE BECOME DARKNESS is sharp, smart and utterly sexy, sure to leave readers aching for more long after the final page.