The Age of Blood and Magic: A Dark Fantasy Debut of a Vampire-Ruled Empire and the Fight for Its Throne

by Hannah Mathewson

Magic built their empire. Blood will decide who rules it next. When a CEO falls, one family’s battle for control becomes a brutal game of betrayal, desire, and power in this sharp, seductive debut for fans of Succession—with fangs.

A hundred years ago, magic ran wild—belonging only to the fae, the witches, the vampires. Then the mortal Martin Maddock stole its secret. With it, he forged Mythos, a company that bottles spells for humankind. Now his descendants rule a trillion-dollar empire—and Valentina Maddock is determined to inherit its throne.

The world’s wealthiest elites descend on the Maddock estate for a lavish, ultra-exclusive weekend to unveil Mythos’s latest magical breakthrough. But when Valentina’s CEO father suddenly collapses, the race for his heir begins—and the claws come out. Valentina is pitted against her playboy brother, her brilliant scientist mother, and her father’s long-time CFO. Even the guests and staff are choosing sides—and someone intends to eliminate Valentina entirely.

Then an unexpected guest arrives: a vampire. Luc Sayle has no known ties to Mythos, yet he carries a private invitation from the CEO himself. Drawn to the enigmatic and dangerously handsome stranger, Valentina senses Luc may be her only ally. But his polished words hide a bite, forcing her to question who the true monster really is.

Set in a world of dark enchantments, glittering wealth, and cutthroat ambition, The Age of Blood and Magic blends paranormal fantasy, locked-room mystery, and romantic suspense into a razor-sharp, intoxicating tale where magic is power—and everyone’s out for blood.

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal

432 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication September 15, 2026

About the author

Hannah Mathewson is the author of two YA fantasy novels, Witherward and Wayward. She was born in Cambridge and graduated from the University of East Anglia with a BA in Film and Television. She lives in Oxfordshire. The Age of Blood and Magic is her adult debut.

Reviews

[Dadreadsanreviews (james) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks net galley for the review copy! This is a story of succession falling into twilight! The story follows a murder mystery where the victim is trying to find her killer before she dies as well as wrest control of her father’s company from her half brother and ambitious mother. All the while, she contends with the ultra wealthy, intrigue, and vampires. It’s a wild story with deeply resonant social commentary on the power of wealth, greed, and lack of moral focus in modern society. I could not put it down. The pacing pulled me through like a thriller but with overlays of magic and fantasy elements, and the character stories continued to unfold with greater depth in each beat. I wanted to feel for these databases but they were all so deeply flawed that I found it hard to want good things for them. That made this such an interesting and intriguing story.

[Kristina Nichole]

Going to be on our September fantasy book poll

[Nicole Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

“The Age of Blood and Magic” by Hannah Mathewson feels like someone took Succession, added vampires, curses, fae magic, corporate warfare, and a locked-room murder mystery, then threw it all into a glittering mansion full of rich people who absolutely cannot be trusted. And honestly? I had a great time with it.

The setup is immediately addictive. A century ago, magic belonged only to supernatural creatures until the Maddock family figured out how to commercialize it through their trillion-dollar company, Mythos. Now magic is basically a luxury product for the elite, and the Maddocks are sitting at the center of all that wealth and power. During a lavish weekend event unveiling a new magical breakthrough tied to immortality, Valentina’s father suddenly collapses, Valentina is poisoned with a deadly blood curse, and suddenly everyone in the family is fighting for control of the empire. It’s messy, dramatic, and full of backstabbing in the best way.

Valentina absolutely carries this book. She’s ambitious, stubborn, morally gray, and honestly not always likable, which made me like her even more. The book never tries to soften her sharp edges or turn her into some perfect fantasy heroine. She wants power, believes she deserves it, and makes questionable decisions constantly. But underneath all of that arrogance there’s still vulnerability, especially as the blood curse slowly starts killing her while her entire family circles around the CEO position like vultures.

The family dynamics were honestly one of my favorite parts. The tension between Valentina and her brother Jude is so well done. At first it feels like pure resentment and rivalry, but the deeper the story goes, the more complicated and emotional their relationship becomes. You slowly start realizing there’s a lot more underneath all their fighting, and I really loved where that storyline ended up.

And then there’s Luc, the mysterious vampire guest who may or may not be helping Valentina for reasons of his own. I really liked that he wasn’t just there to be a hot vampire love interest. He actually adds to the mystery and constantly keeps you questioning everyone’s motives. The vampire lore in general was fantastic; it was seductive, dangerous, powerful, and refreshingly original without feeling like recycled paranormal romance tropes.

The writing itself is really lush and atmospheric too. Mathewson leans hard into the decadence of wealth, magic, and immortality, and the entire book feels glamorous but rotten underneath. There’s this constant sense that everyone is hiding secrets and waiting for someone else to slip first.

That said, the book does occasionally get a little tangled in its own complexity. Some of the magical politics and flashbacks could get confusing, and there were moments where Valentina’s long reflections slowed the pacing down enough that I forgot what was actively happening in the present timeline. Luc also felt a little underdeveloped for parts of the story until much later on.

Still, those were pretty minor issues compared to how much fun I had overall. “The Age of Blood and Magic” is dramatic, sharp, stylish, and full of messy rich people behaving terribly while supernatural chaos explodes around them. If you like morally gray characters, family power struggles, corporate fantasy worlds, vampires with actual personality, and fantasy mysteries with a darker edge, this one is absolutely worth picking up.

[Jasmine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I picked this up because I thought there was potential with the premise - magic, vampires, a succession war, a murder mystery - all seem like ingredients to create a fast-paced, intriguing story. Unfortunately, the characters are one-dimensional and they don’t act consistently. The magic system and world-building is not fully thought out. There was too much telling and exposition, and not enough showing.

One of my biggest gripes with the story is the main protagonist. Valentina is arrogant, entitled, and incompetent. She has a host of daddy and mommy issues that she constantly whines about and has the charisma of a cardboard box. Because the story is written as a first person POV from her point of view, it became absolutely unbearable to read. It felt like watching a headless chicken running in circles, pretending to be a top apex predator. For a murder mystery to work properly, the person solving it should be somewhat competent or at least be charismatic or entertaining. Unfortunately, Valentina has none of these characteristics. She also annoyingly sounds like a teenager even though she is supposed to be 23. This is largely exacerbated by the fact that she refers to her father as “Daddy.” Furthermore, she is so ignorant of everything that I struggled to believe that she was ready to be the CEO of a monopoly that controls the world. She doesn’t have the technical knowledge of the magical products of the company (she herself states that she isn’t interested in the research or technical side of the magic), nor does she have the charisma to be leading the business arm of the company. She also has no knowledge of the other magical creatures that are supposedly in conflict with humanity. So what makes her worthy or ready to be the heir? I have no clue. And finally, she has no backbone to take a real stance on things.

My second biggest complaint with the story is that the magic, worldbuilding, and logic of the story is not properly thought out, nor is it particularly imaginative. Here is a line explaining how the magic works: “The spell programs uploaded to the production lab hardware for manufacturing to begin, and it was imbued into tonics and vapors and what have you.” Excuse me, what do you mean by “what have you?” Furthermore, why is this powerful magic system controlled by an app? I think if we have this powerful magic that has transformed the world, we can be a little more imaginative than having a mobile app control it. Finally, why did we not get anything about the other magical creatures other than the barest, surface level information on them? There are many more details of the story that did not make sense to me, but to get into them would require spoiling the story, so I shall refrain from doing so.

All in all, this story was really messy and just felt like a combination of tropes mashed together.

[Annie Pickford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved The Age of Blood and Magic. Hannah Mathewson’s writing is the kind that really lingers with you after each page. It is beautifully lyrical and demands to be savoured - perfect for a book about the decadence of wealth and vampirism.

Valentina is such a fascinating character and masterfully written. Here is a character who is truly morally grey, who makes questionable choices and holds stubborn beliefs and thinks unkind things. She felt incredibly real, and I really admired how the author didn’t ever stray into the realm of watering her down.

I was particularly drawn in by her complex relationship with Jude, and by Jude himself. It is a credit to Mathewson’s writing that even as Valentina despises and resents her brother, as the reader you start to see through the cracks in that sibling dynamic - and in Valentina's own beliefs - and realise that there’s something deeper there. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say that where the story took Valentina and Jude felt very satisfying.

And the vampires! Oh, the vampires. I loved their lore, and they felt incredibly seductive and powerful yet deeply original throughout.

I will definitely be recommending this book to a lot of people - it’s a much deserved five stars from me.

[Raven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy.

The Age of Blood and Magic follows Valentina Maddock as she tries to solve the mystery behind who poisoned her and killed her comatose father during a swanky weekend at the launch of her family company’s greatest achievement.

The whodunnit plot immerses itself in a world full of vampires, fairies, and human greed. Valentina—at first unlikable—grew on me as the story progressed and the character development of the cast was well done.

My gripes were that occasionally the story got confusing and Luc’s character felt extremely flat until the very end. Additionally, Valentina would often reflect on something in the past for so long that I forgot what was happening in the present.

That said, the book is well written, thought provoking, and unique in concept. A fantastic debut into the adult category for the author.

[Katie Cammarata · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I did not like any of the characters (and actually rooted for the “villain” for most of the book), they had depth. Each character had their own reasons for acting the way they did, be it a loveless relationship or generational trauma.
The descriptions of Fable were gorgeous, and I felt that I was living in a (Grimm’s) fairytale the night of the masquerade.
The pacing was a little slow at times, but it felt intentional. We were luxuriating just like the characters. Valentina was anxious, so we had to be too.
I do feel like I need to reread this book to really appreciate the set up from the very beginning.

[JulieChristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corporate magic! Gotta give props for originality to this standalone novel that brilliantly weaves together family dysfunction, corporate espionage and fantastical, elitist greed. Join the Maddock family for a weekend retreat of not-so-quiet debauchery as they launch the new family product line - a spell that can change someone's life... forever. It's a high-stakes mystery with more than a few secrets to unravel, and with vampires, curses, and the haughtiest of the wealthy class involved, the characters may just learn some dark truths of their own too.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins Publishing for this ARC.

[Debbie Ballard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading the exciting and engaging paranormal story. When Valentina's dad has a stroke and is dying, Valentina is devastated, has to attend her mom's party of selling immortality to the rich, wants to become the CEO, doesn't get along with her brother, Jude, and when Valentina is given a deadly blood curse and dying, Luc, a vampire, tries to help Valentina. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written full of mystery and suspense, and a must read riveting story.

[Charisa Flaherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. This book had me from the very beginning, a man trading his kid for magic? And there’s vampires too? Yes please! And it just got better from there. I liked the character of Valentina. She fwlt rwal and had flaws. She had all these preconcieved notiond about her family that slowly unravelled rheough rhe book. The mystery that was the main plot kept me interested til the end. I will definitley recommend this book to others.