The Darkness Bites Back

by Laura R. Samotin, Ben Alderson

Centuries ago, Tobias Osian had his mortality stolen from him when he was unwillingly turned into a vampire. Ever since, he’s been consumed by the need for revenge against the monster who took his humanity - Vladimir Damianos, the head of Britain’s most powerful vampire clan.

Now, Tobias is finally ready to enact his plan for vengeance, using Vladimir’s son Alexander to infiltrate the family and bring down the entire clan. But what he doesn’t expect is that Alexander has rebelled against his bloodthirsty father by protecting mortals instead of hunting them. When the two meet, Alexander is instantly enamoured with Tobias. And as a string of attacks rocks the city of Oxford, Alexander proves himself committed to protecting Tobias, not knowing that Tobias is just as much of a monster as he is.

With his attraction to Alexander growing, Tobias must decide what means more to him: vengeance, or a love growing from the most tragic of places.

Perfect for fans of Interview With the Vampire and Saltburn, this high-heat paranormal romance brings together blood and lust in an intoxicating combination.

Genres: Fantasy, Vampires, Romance, Paranormal, M M Romance, Adult, LGBT

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 2026

About the author

LAURA R. SAMOTIN and her spouse live with two enormously large felines. When she’s not pursuing her academic research on military tactics, power politics, and leadership, she relishes her role as a full-time cat servant.

Reviews

[rosie (jason todd's version)]

ʚɞ the darkness bites back by laura r. samotin, ben alderson ⋆.˚

⋆.˚ 10/8/26 — 14/8/26

⊱ ۫ ׅ book no. 86 of 2026 ── .✦

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

𑣲 ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ɪᴍᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴꜱ/ᴘʀᴇ-ʀᴇᴀᴅ:

gay vampires who work at oxford university and are secretly trying to kill each other? i’m DOWN. 👅👅👅

thank you so much to angry robot books, netgalley and the authors for the e-arc! so excited to start this ehehe 🤭🤍

the darkness bites back will be released on september 29, 2026!

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

╰› (⭐4.5)

❝ sleeping with the enemy wasn’t so bad when the enemy looked that good. ❞

⋆.˚ ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:

── .✦ 𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒕

this was fabulous 😭🫶🏻

i absolutely adored this story so so much despite having read another story about tragic gay vampires literally last week. maybe i’ve found my niche 🤔

for some reason it slipped my mind that this was a romeo and juliet retelling until the very end. OMG when i tell you the last 15% had me SWEATING with nerves for both tobias and alexander 😓💘

── .✦ 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔

alexander was THE CUTEST little dude (full grown man) ever. 🥹🤍 i just have, um… one little, eensy weensy, itty bitty issue with him… his foot fetish 😬 i’m not gonna shame anyone for what they like, but GOOD LORD it was uncomfortable to read about. i have a sneaking suspicion that without the feet thing, this would’ve been a 5 star 😭🙏

tobias was adorable too. i adored his backstory and his motivation, and i desperately wanted him to both enact his revenge AND be with alexander, even though both were impossible 😭💔 my hearttttt oh my goodness he was such a sweet boy, and the way alex cared for him was just so heartwarming 🥹🫶🏻

i never doubted maria for a SECOND. i knew she’d pull through 🙂‍↕️💗 she was SO fine omdsss i need to see fanart of her rn (speaking of which, the cover is SPECTACULAR?? can we have a moment of stunned silence for it pls. 🥹🩷)

── .✦ 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈

the writing was fantastic! i noted several passages where metaphors were used phenomenally, and the language was incredible. no notes 🤭💓

・・・・・

𑣲 ᴅᴏ ɪ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ?

YES! if you’re happy to skim past some FREAKY stuff in spice scenes 😭🙏

[Megan [Jaded AF]]

MM Romance
Vampires
1.5 Stars ⭐️

Disclaimer: I wrote this review right after I finished it and added to it about a week later. I purposely waited to post this arc until the book came out as to not be a total asshole. I know there’s different types of vampire lore but the plot is built on this lore and it was repeated the entire book until it went POOF! At 95%. This review has MAJOR SPOILERS.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I screamed when I was given the arc. It’s a Romeo & Juliet Vampire retelling but with a HEA and once I got into this book I couldn’t put it down. It’s fucking 3am and I just finished it. I thought I’d be 5 starring this book but after the way this ended, I am speechless.

I’m doing the #The52BookClub 2026 Challenge and one of the prompts is “Deux Es Machina” which has alluded me. I’d practically given up finding something partly because I didn’t really understand exactly what it meant or how to apply it. Like wdym something happens that is so improbable it wraps up the story in a way that makes no sense? Well I found it 🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️ It snuck up on me and knocked me over the head because WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. And I can’t even properly rant because it’s an arc but I waited until release day to post this because I can’t hold back. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Sorry. I tried to restrain myself but it was futile.

The ending is making me reconsider this entire book because it basically cancels out the lore that was constantly repeated throughout it. It also ended without wrapping up some major storylines. It mentioned they’d be dealt with but no, that makes no sense and WTF do I rate a book like this that I couldn’t put down but at 95% took a flying leap off a bridge killing any good feelings I had towards it. It’s making me think more about this couple and how fucking dumb they actually are and how implausible everything was, not just the way this ended. So let’s talk about it. I’m calmer now, maybe I’ll make more sense 😂

The vampire lore in this book is that all vampires are sired by Vladimir and they are ALL linked. If Vladimir dies, the entire bloodline and anyone he turned will die too. There are born vampires like his children and made ones like our MC Tobias. Vladimir came across Tobias in the 1500s and drained him in his yard. Tobias didn’t die but woke up starving outside his family’s farm. He didn’t know what he was or why he was so hungry but he ended up taking out his whole family and from that point on, he has had one goal. Killing Vladimir. He wants to take out his entire lineage including himself. It’s been fueling him for over 500 years and to do this he has stalked Vladimir’s son Alexander for centuries learning everything he can in order to seduce him and get invited to a yearly vampire ball where he can stake Vladimir, forever ending this horrible nightmare. This is the plot of the whole book. Revenge, hatred, death.

HOWEVER, when they meet in person through a ridiculous plan Tobias put together (it was soooo dumb for how many years he had to plan it lol), all the anger and hatred was nowhere to be found. Tobias literally drained the bodies of all the people working closest to Alexander in order to take their positions so he could work with Alexander at the university. Tobias feels like a monster having to drain the bodies of these people but he leaves them alive because he’s not a killer like Vladimir. His words. 👀 Sure ok. It’s the perfect set up except they meet face to face and it’s INSTA-LUST. All Tobias’ planning and he didn’t account to be so hot for Alexander which is odd because he legit stalked him for years and knows everything about him but whatever. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Alexander thinks Tobias is human and this is never really explained. Tobias has a heartbeat and appears to be human but Alexander doesn’t have a heartbeat. I actually didn’t question this as I read it and it wasn’t until finishing the book that I looked back and said WTF. It doesn’t make sense. Alexander is the son of the biggest, baddest vampire and he can’t tell Tobias isn’t human? These vampires use scent to determine who’s who in the world and you’re telling me the heir of an ancient vampire wouldn’t have known he was with a vampire?? Makes no sense but welcome to the book and one of the many reasons I hate it.

So these two meet, sparks fly, Tobias tries to be strong because his revenge plan!! But ultimately they date and start fucking. Alexander has the power of persuasion which has no effect on Tobias but he pretends it does so he can hide who he is a bit longer. Alexander has never felt this way before about a human! He wants to protect Tobias, care for him, love him. All the things. Their romance is derailed by the rise of rogue vampires and it’s Alexander’s job to figure out what’s going on. This part made me laugh because Alexander is going back to all the places where Tobias’ victims were found not knowing Tobias was behind it but also trying to scent the area to figure out what happened. All he can smell is Tobias but he thinks it’s because they’ve been together 24/7, not that he’s responsible for the carnage. 😂 Idiots. It’s become too dangerous to stay in the city with these rogue vamps so Alexander takes Tobias to his childhood home in the country. It should be noted that Alexander has never told Tobias he’s a vampire so he thinks he’s taking a vulnerable human to his family’s vampire estate. Not the best plan when your dad hates mortals but it’s just another thing that makes no sense. And this is where the book took a turn for me that changed everything. Yes, I hated the insta-lust, the revenge plan going out the window but until this point I couldn’t put the book down. There was something addictive about it and they were both such idiots that I was having a good time. Thought I’d probably 4 star it for vibes and my enjoyment. HAHAHAHAH I shoulda known better.

So we go to the estate. Tobias brings his stake just in case he gets an opportunity because he still has revenge on the brain despite loving Alexander. 🙄 Alexander’s sister is wary of Tobias though and she finds out the truth. Confronts him. It’s 85% and A LOT of stuff happens from this point forward. All the drama is why I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning reading this. I’m not going to go into most of it except that Vladimir regularly drinks from his son to make himself stronger and this year he did too much in hopes he’d take out Tobias with his bloodlust. Tobias feeds Alexander instead and he gets all of Tobias’ memories and learns the truth. Alexander forgives him but they get separated in the estate and Tobias starts getting tortured by Vladimir. The sister intervenes to finish him off but she’s there to give Tobias an out because she has her own master plan. She fakes Tobias’ death and gets him out of the estate. The plan is for her to go back for Alexander and reunite them however Tobias starts freaking out in the car that if Alexander thinks he’s dead, he’ll kill Vladimir and they’ll all die!! So they rush back.

We’re now at 95% and Alexander finds what he thinks is Tobias’ body and all hell breaks loose. He’s strong from drinking from Tobias and he goes after his dad with a stake. I had forgotten this was a Romeo and Juliet retelling at this point and was like omg surely Alexander won’t kill his dad, surely they will get back in time. 😂 They get back but Vladimir dies as does his entire lineage including the sister and some other characters that had been in the book the whole time. The sister had actually been a huge part of the book so it was a bit shocking. BUT Alexander and Tobias don’t die. They are holding hands ready to turn to ash and nothing happens.

And enter Deux es Machina
*Drumroll Please*

-They didn’t die because when Tobias accidentally made vampires, it created a new bloodline and when Alexander drank from him, it also changed his. Say what?? WDYM? The entire book has beat into my head this vampire lore about bloodlines and sires and Vladimir being the key to taking out everyone. It literally makes no sense that Tobias making vamps somehow changed his and even if it did, Alexander is the direct son of Vladimir. He was a born vampire, not a made one like Tobias so he has more of his lineage right? And then they look at each other dumbfounded, say they need to go find the new vamps and guide them and the book ends. No epilogue just ended.

WHAT?? This was a 400+ page book, WDYM that’s the end? What kind of half baked book is this? The amount of rage and discontent I felt when finishing it should be studied. And part of me feels like I’m overreacting because there was a HEA but I’m so disappointed in how dumb this ending was. It was so dumb that it made me think about the other inconsistencies and then nothing in the book made sense and that made me madder. What a waste of time from a book that had such high stakes, forbidden love and action that it had me sat waiting for what was going to happen but with such a lackluster WTF ending that wasn’t even plausible? It angered me and cheapened the book. And I’m still mad. Obviously they needed to live, it’s a HEA but between the villain speech from his dad at the end and the half baked plan his sister came up with, I wasn’t feeling this at all. The authors made this book so interesting only to drive it into the ground in the last 10%. And I’m so disappointed 😭😭😭😭😭😭

Yes this feels like a 1 star kind of review but I liked this book and I don’t know what to do about that so 2 stars it is. 🙄🙄🙄 (butttt with the new star system I’m lowering this to 1.5)

Thank you netgalley for the arc. It obviously didn’t go well. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

#The52BookClub-Deux Es Machina

[Ben Alderson]

The news is OUT.
It isn't every day you get to write a book with your best-friend. This time last year, me and Laura had an idea for a Gay Romeo and Juliet retelling set in modern day Oxford, about vengeful vampires. One made, one born. This is an enemies to lovers (and i mean ENEMIES), dark academia vibes where one is an Oxford professor, and the other is pretending to be a Librarian, but also super SUPER smutty!

It is out 2026, and we can't wait to share more news!
Add to your Want-To-Read lists now <3

[Gaby | read.onrepeat]

Revenge is hard when the enemy’s son is boyfriend shaped

This was delicious! Gime me vampires and family drama and I’ll be in the first row. But also, look at this cover!

Ok so, Tobias is a vampire who has spent half a century plotting vengeance and then got distracted by a pretty man.
It is a little dark, but it managed to be romantic and sweet as well. Oh, and hot 👌🏼

If “Romeo and Juliet vibes but with gay vampires” doesn’t convince you to read this, then nothing I say will.
One thing I must add, though: Alexander spent the entire book being catastrophically down bad for our homeboy Tobias and, understandable, I can relate.

“How strange, that so much love could spring from such deep hate.”

Your honor, please consider:
- graveyard spice
- picking him up bridal style
- “I’d burn the world down for him” energy
- Oxford setting

**Thank you NetGalley and AgryRobot for the ARC. All opinions are my own.



———
Pre-read
1. Vampires, because I never recovered from my Twilight era (sorry, I was a teen and didn’t know better)
2. LOOK AT THAT COVER OMG SO GOOD
3. Gay Romeo & Juliet retelling 👌🏼

Need I say more?

NetGalley ARC

[Rachel Emily]

I want to start with saying that I love both of these authors - loved Laura since I read her first book a couple years back, and I have been loving everything I've read from Ben recently. They're both wonderful people and I'm definitely a fan of both!

The Darkness Bites Back is a fast-paced queer vampire romance - there is a revenge plot that goes off the rails, steamy romance between two vampires who shouldn't be together, a hidden identity element in Tobias hiding his vampiric nature, and a bit of Romeo and Juliet vibes (you'll understand when it hits LOL).

The romance between Tobias and Alexander is a fast-paced insta-lust to lovers, and this was definitely my favorite part of the book. I kinda loved them NGL lol. Alexander totally fell hard and stupid for Tobias haha, so much that he was very much overlooking all the signs that pointed to who and what Tobias was. I loved their moments together, especially when Tobias gets to see the softer side of Alexander and that he is nothing like his cruel father.

However, aside from the romance....overall this one felt....I don't know - for the most part, just OK? for me, to be honest. It felt like there wasn't enough world building and vampire lore, and what lore there was felt inconsistent and not fully established (their powers, making a new vampire, born vampires. Heck, their sense of smell ability seemed to change). I definitely wish we were given more history of vampires because it just didn't feel like enough to me to make it feel grounded. (It also really bugged me that no one could tell that Tobias was a vampire - like, they really can't tell a vampire from a human? LOL. Also how does he NOT know how to create vampires?!).

Also, Tobias is driven by his need for revenge and yet it's taken 500 years to get here? It's not like Alexander is 30 human years old, he's an established born vampire too, so he had to wait til now? BUT he's willing to give it up in a couple weeks. AND - again it goes back to the vampire lore, the solution is just separate Alexander from his father and his father will whither away?? I don't know....just needed a bit more something to give a bit more depth and urgency to things in this, especially Tobias' actions.

I think the world of these two authors and would definitely read another co-write from them!

I received an arc from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[❁lilith❁]

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.
________________

I love when a book can make me look back at the % read and go, "Woah, have I really read that much?" That's exactly what The Darkness Bites Back did for me while reading; all of a sudden I was at the 50% mark and having a great time. The dual POV really worked for me here because of the character's keeping secrets from each other, which led to great dramatic irony as we knew both sides of the story. The pacing was quick and engaging, and I wouldn't even have minded a bit of a longer book, even though this was a good length, to stay with these interesting characters and their crazy relationship. I love a vampire book and this brings a lot of what I love into it: toxic love and dependency on each other; lies and seemingly betrayals everywhere; and the line between vampire and human being so blurred.
I can say I would've enjoyed the fleshing out of a few side characters a bit more, and there was a slight problem with the female characters being sidelined, but there was a definite focus on our two leads that made me feel very invested and tuned in to their story.

PUBLICATION DATE: SEPTEMBER 29 2026

[Dani]

This is my first time reading these authors, and it was...ok?

Alexander was incredibly dense for someone with endless degrees, and he was totally blind to the truth as soon as his penis got involved... Pretty accurate depiction of a man?! 😂 Literally all of the clues were right there but his arrogance prevented him from seeing the truth.

Tobias was ridiculous too! He's got a revenge plan centuries in the making, but he gives it all up after two weeks of lust with Alexander!? Bruh... You were avenging your family and got distracted by orgasms. If it had played out over a longer period of time then it could be more believable, but giving up on 500 years of wanting revenge after just two weeks of knowing Alexander just made him feel like such a fake, and I stopped caring about him getting vengeance because he didn't care either.

The whole revenge plot was a little off actually. Why could it only be done at the ball? It wasn't explained. Neither was the process of making a vampire. Did Vladdy pass on any DNA to Tobias? Because if so, Tobias and Alexander were technically brothers... It wasn't clear enough how it worked. Also, why would killing one vamp kill all? There wasn't enough information or lore and it made the ending feel like it was just an option that got thrown at the wall and stuck.

Also, wtf happened to the new vampires Tobias made? Do they meet? Are Alexander and Tobias staying in Oxford after all of that, or going somewhere without horrific memories?

It felt unfinished and Maria totally deserved better than that ending too.

*****

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley / Angry Robot, and this is my honest review   

[Jamie Feuerman]

I am disappointed to say this was 2.5 stars.

I was excited to read this book ever since I read The Sins on Their bones almost a year ago, and I’m so sad to say that it came nowhere close to my expectations.

I spent the whole book waiting for an explanation about why Tobias waited hundreds of years to take his revenge on Vladimir and it was never given. Of all of the nonsensical parts about the romance, characters, and plot, I think that was the most egregious. The ending was completely nonsensical as well and seriously bothered me, but no major spoilers since this is an ARC.

I’m being told that Tobias has this clever, long term revenge plan that he’s been working on for hundreds of years. But what I’m actually seeing happen is him becoming infatuated with Alexander and making a bunch of decisions that fly in the face of that. There were definitely ways the authors could’ve shown him taking advantage of Alexander while still falling in love with him, but it felt like the revenge plan was falling into his lap. For example, there are two instances in the first half of the book where Alexander is looking for the scent of the murderer vampire after just spending time with Tobias, and thinks his sense of smell just happens to still clouded with Tobias’s scent and therefore does not realize Tobias is behind the murder. It would’ve been a much better way to show Tobias is a cunning character hellbent in revenge if he knew Alexander was about to go to the crime scenes and purposely started seducing him right before, rather than Tobias being the one hopelessly being seduced by Alexander right before Alexander happened to go investigate.

This has insane levels of insta-love. Alexander went from “mortals are just my playthings and not worthy of my regard” to “I’m in love with a (man who as of now I believe to be) mortal and would give up my entire family for him” (yes the word love was used) in TWO. WEEKS. Tobias also went from “I have been dedicated to avenging my families’ deaths for centuries and Alexander is a pawn in my plan” to “let me throw it all away for a man” in TWO. GODDAMN. WEEKS. Do not piss me off.

Maria was a much better character than both Tobias and Alexander. Those two were absolute idiots about each other and in general. Just completely oblivious and not good at making plans at all. Maria was so much more interesting to read about every time she appeared and actually knew how to get the job done. Tobias and Alexander deserved each other and Maria deserved way better.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

[Julia (bookish.jka)]

“You care for me even though I’m a monster?” The question came out rough, desperate.
“We’re all monsters here, love.” Tobias sighed. “Some of us are just more obvious about that than others.”

The Darkness Bites Back is set up as an MM vampire romance re-telling of Romeo and Juliet and I can see the bare bones of that, but this was definitely its own story too.

This is Tobias and Alexander's story and whilst there is some ritualistic vampire death and destruction and a strong revenge theme, I wouldn't call this a dark romance, although it has some darkish themes.

What To Expect:

🩸MM vampire romance
🩸Hidden identity
🩸Dark academia vibes/Oxford setting
🩸Enemies to lovers (but only one of them knows that)
🩸Revenge
🩸Murder and mayhem
🩸Some low key spicy scenes
🩸Some angsty scenes

3.75 stars

[Kay✨&#x1fa75;]

I received and ARC from the publisher and all reviews are my own!!

I absolutely DEVOURED this story!!! I have read a lot of MM romances but I don’t think any of them have been vampire ones and this was my first!! I throughly enjoyed it!!! This was written by two different authors but I couldn’t even tell you who wrote what because of how seamlessly it was written. The writing was amazing I felt like I was at Oxford myself with all of the details thrown in. This is an insta lust/love situation and I find myself not generally going toward those kinds of books HOWEVER this one was very well written and done!!! I think it changed my mind a bit on revisiting that trope!! I just wanted to give Tobias a hug during this whole book I felt so bad for him and what his family went through!!! I also wanted to unalive Alexander’s own father FOR HIM!!!!!! I couldn’t STAND that vampire omg!!!! Also I didn’t think I would like his sister but she grew on me and I was very proud of her in the end!!! If you love romance and steamy reads you are going to LOVE The Darkness Bites Back!!! The authors ALMOST GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK with that ending as well!!! I was STRESSED but overall I throughly enjoyed reading this and I will absolutely be picking up more books by Ben and Laura!!

[FranTargaryen]

Having a book about two gay vampires who detonates themselves was my dream since I fell in love with Edward Cullen when I was 13, so the hormonal teenager I was enjoyed this book a lot. But myself right now too. I read Ben before and it was my first time with Laura, but I knew I was the target of this story. So what happened? I enjoyed this book from the beggining to the end.

So to give some context, in The Darkness Bites Back we meet Tobias, a not so Young vampire who wants vengeance aginst the vampire who created him: Vladimir Damianos. So he has been working his ass off for so many years to get what he wants, and what is the perfect way? Seducing Alexander Damianos. But this game is more dangerous than Tobias thought because the attraction and the fire he’s starting to feel is something he didn’t expected.

I really enjoyed the plot. The book is a double pov and we have the vision of the two main characters: Tobias and Alexander. Through Tobias we see the hate he has for the Damianos Clan, but also the way the plan is growing. But with Alexander we have some kind of thrillerish thing because he has to investigate the assaults Tobias is taking part of in Oxford, without know the rogue vampire is the one who will visit him at night.
Honestly, having two povs was amazing cause I was enjoying the way everything was working. I loved how different they were but also the fire growing in between. I will never ever forget the scene in the Street. Oh that image, thanks for that –I’m laughing writing this.

About the book itself, we don’t get a lot of turns and surprise until one point of no return, but it’s because of the on goings of the characters the book is enjoyable. I loved how you can read Alexander mind because he doesn’t understand how the hell Tobias got under his skin, but also I went crazy on Tobias figuring out revenge may affect the man he’s starting to fall for.

At the end, do I recommend this book? HELL YES. Definetly. In fact, I need more about them. I need EVERYTHING about them.


----

Tener un libro de vampiros gays que se dan como cajón que no cierra es mi sueño desde que con 13 años me enamoré de Edward Cullen, así que mi adolescente hormonal se lo ha gozado como él solo. También es cierto que ya había leído anteriormente a Ben, y aunque ha sido mi primera vez con Laura, sabía que yo era el público objetivo de este libro. ¿Y qué ha ocurrido? Que efectivamente, me lo he gozado de principio a fin.

Para poner un poco en contexto, en The Darkness Bites Back conocemos a Tobias, un no tan joven vampiro que juró vengarse del que lo creó, Vladimir Damianos, y ha estado trabajando durante años hasta que ha podido encontrar el momento exacto en el que acercarse a él. Y la mejor forma de hacerlo es a través de su hijo, Alexander. Pero, lo que parecía ser un plan perfecto en el que seducir al heredero del clan Damianos sería un mero juego, se convierte en algo más peligroso. Porque… ¿qué hay más poderoso que la atracción?

La verdad es que la trama me ha gustado muchísimo. Escrita en doble pov, tenemos la historia desde la visión de los dos personajes principales: Tobias y Alexander. Con Tobias vemos el odio que siente hacia el clan Damianos, pero también la forma en la que su plan se va desarrollando. Por la parte de Alexander, tenemos algo de investigación que me ha molado ya que él es quien busca al vampiro que está atacando a personas en Oxford, sin saber que es el joven que lo espera para cenar. Y creo que ha sido eso lo que me ha gustado, que aunque los dos puntos de vista eran distintos, ambos coincidían en esa atracción que se va desarrollando casi desde el primer momento. Hay quien puede decir que se considera insta-lust, pero creo que en el fondo esa atracción visceral que se siente hacia alguien que acabas de conocer existe de verdad, así que yo me he gozado el fuego que surgía entre los dos personajes.

Respecto a la trama, la verdad es que no presenta grandes giros hasta determinado momento en el que todo estalla por completo. Sin embargo, creo que es en ese tira y afloja que se genera por los dos puntos de vista lo que consigue mantener al libro: me encanta ver el lado más protector de Alexander, que no entiende cómo Tobias ha conseguido meterse bajo su piel con tanta facilidad, pero también he disfrutado de cómo este último se plantea que tal vez la venganza no sea el camino cuando para conseguirla podría hacer daño a alguien que está empezando a querer.

Ha sido un libro que me ha dejado con ganas de más. De mucho más. Y, desde luego, yo lo recomendaría sin pensarlo dos veces. Si quieres algo queer, con fuego y que enganche, The Darkness Bites Back es para ti.

[Alyssa]

ARC Read
I loved The Darkness Bites Back! Queer vampires are my favorite, and this one delivered.
Tobias and Alexander have incredible chemistry. The tension between them kept me hooked, especially knowing Tobias has his own vengeful reasons for getting close to Alexander. Watching their relationship grow more complicated as real feelings get in the way of Tobias’ plans was my favorite part.
The vampire world was so fun to read too. The dark atmosphere, the family drama, the secrets, and the twists kept me turning pages. There's a great mix of romance, angst, danger, and spice. I really appreciated the great world building!
Overall, this is a fun, dark, and steamy vampire romance with plenty of drama. If you love MM paranormal romance, morally grey characters, forbidden romance, and vampires with a healthy dose of angst, give this one a try!

[lorenzodulac]

I found this so addicting, I binged it, I couldn’t help myself. It was so quick to read, with it also being moderately short, I had no problem starting and finishing it in a day. Really, a blink and it was gone, I was left wanting more.
The characters were just so charming, Alexander for more obvious reasons, as he’s there to be the charming one. But Tobias was also incredibly fascinating to follow. It’s dual POV, third person, so you do get into the mind of both of them. I don’t usually care if a book is in third, first, even second person, and this proved no different. It made it even better, less confusing. Not that my mind ever wandered off, this book had my undivided attention from start to finish. Back to the couple, though.
Their romance was believable, even if the actual time they knew each other was really quite short. And they did acknowledge that, multiple times. Love that they’re self aware, at least. They’re completely obsessed with each other, Alexander in particular needs to stand up. Who am I kidding, Tobias is worse. You know what, we have a tie, they both need to stand up.
Which inevitably leads me to the spicy scenes/moments. I understand that in a vampire book there needs to be some spice, it’s almost a given, but that was really a lot. Not all of it was necessary. We could’ve done without at least some of it.
I did appreciate the lack of outwardly straight vampires (because never was there ever a straight vampire, no source needed to support this claim) even with the few we were introduced to. Because we were mostly focused on the couple, what we know about the side characters (there were two, max, in fact I’d say one is the only one that counts) was very much just surface level, we don’t know much.
There’s also the autumnal atmosphere that was very well executed, perfect for these upcoming months. Very fitting to be reading this book when I did.
Most of this book was engaging, well written, overall an amazing experience. However, that ending? It was just (and I’m so sorry) stupid. I don’t know how I wanted it to end, and I (maybe) understand why it had to be like this, but it was just so silly. I can’t spoil anything nor do I want to, but I expected more. It just made no sense. Yeah, there’s a kind of twist, and it sort of surprised me, but that didn’t stop me from mentally rolling my eyes at it. It’s such a shame the ending had to be the way it is (and also the very many spice scenes), because otherwise this book could’ve been even a five star.
I understand this is supposed to be like a kind of Romeo & Juliet retelling. I also wanted to pick it up because of that because I always love to read more Shakespeare retellings, but I just don’t see it at all, I’m sorry. The general story has absolutely nothing to do with it? Maybe I’m missing something but it felt so fundamentally different, I just ended up reading it as if it wasn’t and it was just a normal book. And again, even the ending, which is one the of the things the original play is most famous for, was barely reminiscent of it. Maybe it’s me, I don’t know. Maybe it was more just the concept of it, and not an actual retelling. In fact, that’s most likely the case.
But really, I did love my time in it, it was enjoyable, it was quick and fun. It’s not quite a five star, just because of those few little complaints I have, but I’d still give this a 4.5/5⭐️ I liked this one a lot.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[lindsey]

2.5 stars

thank you to Angry Robot for the e-arc on NetGalley! all thoughts and opinions are my own.

i had actually wished for this on NetGalley and was pretty excited for it to be granted at the time. unfortunately, my excitement died down every time i tried to pick this up. i decided i needed to just sit and read it all so i could give it the full review that it deserves. i'm now wishing that i never asked for it as this book wasn't as great as the premise.

this book promises to be really fun with tobias seeking revenge on the vampire that turned him by getting close to his son, alexander. i think it's a great set up and i will say that the Oxford setting was the perfect vibe for it. even without the vampire plot of it all, this is a romance that could not make up for the plot's disappointments. i did not buy into their chemistry at all honestly. tobias's immediate attraction is somewhat understandable given that he has his underlying motivations, but alexander's forwardness and insta-lust is not what i enjoy in terms of romantic development. i also think when you are trying to set up a deeply romantic, star-crossed lovers dynamic with a high stakes plot, you need to make sure that i'm buying into that love. i did not believe the declarations of love and how fast their relationship seemed to progress. their interactions gave me the bare minimum and their flirtations lacked the buzz i was looking for. the sex scenes were also not giving much, especially in terms of true emotional vulnerability and connection. it felt very surface level only for these big feelings to be felt by both characters that just ended up not being very believable.

i think in general i actually enjoyed the prose and it's decently written. some references came across as too on the nose, but i still appreciated them in a general sense. the plot itself felt a bit melodramatic and came off more corny than actually dire. i really think it all kind of fell apart with that ending. it was superrrr abrupt and wrapped up too nicely, which made it feel almost juvenile in terms of execution.

the vibes and writing are the stronger points, but it lacked actual romance for me. if you’re looking for a gay vampire story to pick up this fall, you may enjoy this. ultimately, it was just okay to me.

[Ben]

3/10

Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for providing me with an eARC for this book.

I think the less I say about this book the better, because I don’t really have anything good to say and honestly just want to move on from this. Where to start, honestly, this book felt extremely under-edited or in fact just outright poorly written. The characters fall extremely flat, seeming to form new character traits and outlooks as and when the book needs them to act a certain way. The plot requires that all of its characters are stupid despite their established backgrounds. New concepts come out of nowhere with no set up whenever needed and overall the book just lacks any sense of internal consistency. At points it outright contradicts itself or just forgets to address certain details and at no point is there any really building progression of the plot, things just happen in a way that is jarring, unsatisfying and detaches you from the story.

At first a lot of this was bearable because the book was such a quick read. But the lengthy and superfluous descriptions are a slog to read and are only worsened by the painfully serious and melodramatic tone of the second half meaning you can’t even have fun with some of the ridiculous and comical writing choices. Genuinely, I did have some wonderful times doing dramatic readings of the sex scenes in the first half because of just how comically cringy and sometimes outright off putting the dialogue is. But, I fear the drama of this relationship was just so painfully dull that outside of the incredibly short sex scenes (I’m honestly worried for the stamina of both MCs) there was just nothing here for me.

The only thing saving this from a 1 star is the fact that there’s not actually anything abhorrent in terms of content. Perhaps someone could enjoy this, especially if obsessive and possessive melodramatic romances are your thing, but for me I simply cannot look beyond the extremely poor writing here. Actually just hours of my life I’ll never get back.

[Kai]

The concept for the book is good. Vampire guy pretending to be human and seducing a different vampire to try and kill yet another vampire for a 500 year old revenge plot was an interesting premise that if nothing else held my attention long enough to lead me to a disappointing ending. That and the sex were good.
But the rest of it....
My first and biggest problem is that it did not feel like these guys had any chemistry. It felt like I was supposed to believe these guys were in love because they're hot and in the same room with each other sometimes, which just did not work for me. Then so much of the plot relies on me thinking these two care about each other that the last like half of the book is just infuriating to read.
I also think it wanted me to think Alexander's possessiveness was hot when it wasn't. At first I thought we were going to do something thematically with how he's treating Tobias like an object and constantly trying to mind control him "for his own good" all the time but nope. Did nothing with that.
And then the women in the story. Both Kate and Maria exist to die so the men in the story can lose someone. Maria specifically had so much potential. We set up our characters learning that the only reason she isn't running things is because their dad is misogynistic and that Alexander doesn't want to run the family, so you'd think "oh, we're gonna solve this problem where she can be in charge and we take out the evil guy" but no! She puts so much effort and planning into keeping our two main characters safe and then gets to just die while Alexander survives his only-here-for-a-plot-twist suicide attempt using plot armor that only vaguely got alluded to for one paragraph.
Overall I wasn't happy with this. The story felt weak, the romance wasn't believable, and it felt like we were strategically avoiding having literally any theme throughout the work.
(I received a free copy for review)

[jay]

1.5 | medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The Darkness Bites Back promises a decadent dive into a world where the evil we know and hate are pulled along by the denizens of an ancient power. At its core, it mirrors Shakespeare's tragedy, following two young vampires who find themselves caught between duty to family, and duty to themselves.

With that, I went into this with sky-high expectations. After all, how often do you have Shakespeare with vampires and the cutthroat undercurrent of vengeance and the promise of drama and betrayal? Unfortunately, however, that promised tension was almost immediately derailed. The writing started off with what I expected the modern dark academia works would be, eloquent and waxing poetic even at times when it's definitely not necessary. However, that writing is then wholly abandoned about a third into the story, and in its place is a more modern voice. I'm not opposed to either, but pick one to tell your story or if both are used, utilize it properly, instead of trying to cram two characters throwing soliloquies at each other then immediately referencing Netflix and chill (but brand-friendly and not actually saying netflix).

It doesn't help that the promised electric tension and cat-and-mouse game was abandoned in favor of insta-lust. Which, to the authors' credit, is haphazardly tampered with endless near-miss moments of intimacy.

The utilization of a dual POV was a mixed bag for me. On one hand, a genuinely compelling narrative, the perfect meticulous setup for the betrayal of a lifetime (which shouldn't be taken lightly considering these guys live hundred of years and can hold grudges for even longer). But then you get the other POV of a frustratingly whiny protagonist who gets every opportunity handed to him on a platter, landing sweetly on his lap, and yet spends fuckall doing anything about it. You keep telling me you want vengeance, you keep telling me you want justice - then take it. Do something about it! At every turn, there is the guilt and the self pity, and not nearly enough of the vitriol and thirst that I was promised I would read about.

You simply cannot promise a "dark, delicious, and deadly" retelling and then give us Mr. Goody Two Shoes 1 and Mr. Goody Two Shoes 2 frantically scrambling to out-good each other.

A lot of this frustration stems from the writing itself, which relies entirely too much on telling rather than showing. There is a staggering amount of exposition padding out this 400-page book, yet despite all those words, it severely lacks the emotional depth required to make any of the narrative beats actually resonate. It is genuinely baffling how a book can manage to hit every single necessary trope and target scene for a dark academia-adjacent supernatural thriller romance, and yet still end up feeling so incredibly tedious to read.

To be fair, the book absolutely has its merits. If you look past the marketing's darker, deadlier promises, it actually shines as a sweet, highly entertaining romance. Had I gone into it expecting less of a gritty retelling and more of a character-driven love story, I think I would have fully enjoyed it for what it is: a fun, engaging romp where the tragic elements are tied up nicely with a satisfying bow.

I'd happily recommend this to readers who are in the mood for an entertaining, romance-forward vampire story and want to have a good time with the characters. Despite the initial hesitance with the insta-love, they do have a rather fulfilling time with each other, and I do appreciate that, even at the height of it all, they chose each other - and they continued to.

Big thanks to the author and publisher for providing me this ARC via NetGalley. All quotes are taken from the uncorrected proof. This does not in any shape or form influence my review on this book .

[Lisa]

The Darkness Bites back is a queer Romeo and Juliet retelling, vampire style, that puts a fresh, interesting spin on the well-known play.

Our main characters are Tobias and Alexander, both vampires. Tobias has a grudge against Alexander’s father, the head of the Damianos clan. He’s been plotting to use Alexander to exact his vengeance for hundreds of years.

Both Tobias and Alexander are well written. I had a good mental picture of both of them, they are well described without being too detailed. I could visualize Tobias in his jeans and doc martens, and Alexander in his suits. With the dual POV, we get to know both characters quite well.

The supporting cast are not so well developed. The two female characters in the book, Tobias’ coworker Kate and Alexander’s sister Maria, are very interesting, but do not have enough page time for us to learn much about them, or care about their part in the story or their outcomes. Unfortunately the big baddie of the story, Vladimir, came off as cartoon-villianish. I never really had the sense of dread I should have experienced reading this story.

I’ve seen this book described as enemies to lovers, and I guess that’s true in theory, but the enemy part is mostly off page, in the 500 years leading up to the story. There is insta-lust to insta-love very quickly, which fits with a Romeo and Juliet retelling. Just don’t expect too much dramatic buildup in the relationship.

Which leads me to a probably controversial opinion - I think this book would have been better from Tobias’ POV only. There would be much more tension between the two MCs if we didn’t know Alexander’s thoughts and motivations. I never felt that Tobias was truly in any danger, because I knew more than he did. This also caused some repetition that didn’t help with the flow of the story.

Overall, I love the concept of this book. There were a few things that let me down, but I had a very enjoyable time reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for providing the ARC of this book. This review is my honest and voluntary opinion.

[Chelsie]

This was a wish on Netgalley and I'm so so so grateful to have been granted it so thank you 💖

As we know I and if you didn't know I LOVE Ben's horror/gothic romance writing so I knew this was going to be right up my street but this is the first time I've read anything from Laura and it did NOT disappoint!

The Darkness bites back gives you dark and gothic academia vibes instantly and pulls into darkness and danger.

Full of uncertainty, power struggles and characters who keep questioning their motives. The character dynamics give a sense that no one is completely trustworthy!

I loved the world building in this story and as I said before the dark and gothic academia vibes are absolutely immaculate and the writing style makes it easy to visualise.

Again another set of characters who I absolutely love. Full of tension and a magnetic pull towards each other which you notice the moment the two male leads meet and carry's on throughout the story!

I honestly can't recommend this story enough!

[Nina van der Kooij]

Thanks Netgalley & Angry Robot for the ARC

Unfortunately, this didn't work for me. While the concept was interesting and could have worked really well, as it was it was really underdeveloped.

The main premise was that Tobias, who was turned into a vampire against his will, wants revenge on the vampire who turned him and plans to kill him. And he intends to ingratiate himself with this vampire's son to get close enough, only to fall in love with him.

Unfortunately, nothing about this really convinced me. I wasn't fully convinced of Tobias' revenge motives, nor his planning to pull it off. Why wait this long? There were a few interesting moments here and there where he did come up with some good plans to manipulate Alexander (the son), but a lot relied on conveniences.

I was even less convinced about the romance. We're told Alexander uses mortals primarily for sex and to feed during sex, and refuses to get close to anyone because that'll give his father something to use against him. Despite this, Alexander is in love with Tobias within a week of meeting him. The only reason we're given is that Tobias looks sad and has a tragic backstory. But you'd think during those centuries Alexander met more mortals who look sad and have a tragic backstory?

On Tobias' end, the conflict really wasn't drawn out enough. A really interesting premise was that if Tobias succeeds in killing Alexander's father, then his entire lineage, Alexander included also died. I'm not sure why Tobias would be spared as he was made a vampire by the same guy but possibly it only goes for born vampires (this is a world building aspect I'd have loved to see explained more too, what the differences are between born and made vampires). Unfortunately, this cost to Tobias's revenge was a bit vague to the point where in the first half or so I wasn't sure if this was a thing (as it didn't seem to be in Alexander's POV, who did also contemplate killing his father I think), but once I was sure this was how it worked, it still wasn't used as it could have been. This could have been a much greater conflict for Tobias as he starts falling for Alexander (which as it is I also didn't find convincing).

At the end I thought the author might actually make a really interesting choice, but ultimately it didn't entirely go that way.

With some more revision, I think this could have been a very good book, but as it stands I would not recommend it.

[Michelle (Bamamele.reads)]

Thanks to both Angry Robot and the authors for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

On one hand this is steamy Romeo and Juliet inspired vampire romance set in modern day Oxford. On the other hand it’s a frustrating novel that could have been a lot better.

Read this if you love MM romance, vampires, revenge, star-crossed lovers, daddy issues, and some spice. Don’t read it if you get hung up on small details and inconsistencies. It was definitely a quick and entertaining read, but I absolutely got frustrated by certain things. Would recommend to the right audience.

ETA:
Actually I’m lowering my rating because a couple of things bothered me so much. The entire book hinges on a vampire not ever being able to tell another person is a vampire. Despite their elevated senses. I can’t get past it.

[Valerie Washburn]

Read like a Romeo and Romeo fan fiction with vampires.
I thought about it more and the ending was funny though it wasn’t supposed to be.
The vampires weren’t really giving vampire.
The only thing that was kind of fun for me is that Alex - the brooding top - believed that Tobias - his lanky bottom - is a human and it was interesting because, surprise, they’re both actually super strong and controlling vampires.
Not smutty enough to be smut. Not vampire enough to be vampire. Not romance enough to be romance. Overall just not enough.

[Lily]

While I struggled to enjoy Tobias as a character and felt like his undead mission was flawed I did very much like Alexander. There was a lot of repetitiveness from Tobias and back and forth with him. I also struggled to find the Romeo and Juliet aspects until 85%-90%ish.

I was glad that I did find the emotional connection to the story towards the was I will missing throughout the build up, the ending was absolute but left a lot of questions. An epilog would have been immensely appreciated.

The spice was good, and placed well in the story.

**Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review**

[Maé]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this arc.

I knew, when I saw this gorgeous cover, that this book would be perfect for me. I love horror stories that mix with romance, so I knew gay vampires seeking revenge would be everything. This book is told from two POVs: one is Tobias, a turned vampire that has been planning to get revenge from the vampire lord that made him. The other POV is Alexander’s, said vampire son, who Tobias will seduce in order to get to his father’s palace and be able to kill him. Of course, the feelings they caught for each other weren’t a part of that plan?

“You care for me even though I’m a monster?” The question came out rough, desperate.
“We’re all monsters here, love.” Tobias sighed. “Some of us are just more obvious about that than others.”

Honestly, the plot was very entertaining. I liked how high the stakes were from the get-go, especially with how more and more horrifying it became once the two of them starting falling with each other. We know that this story can only end with heartache, because the only way Tobias can get the revenge he needs for his peace of mind would mean also killing Alexander. The fast pacing truly helped in setting up this effect of an hourglass, each piece of sand more precious than the previous one, as the two were slowly running out of time together.

Sadly, there were a lot of plot holes. First of all, Tobias kept telling about this grand plan he’s been making for hundreds of years—actually putting it into place 100 years ago. Yet, his only step in this plan is “get close to Alexander”, and then do absolutely nothing else. It felt a bit lacking of actual devotion to his revenge. It didn’t help that the romance was very much insta-love, so everything felt too easy in order to accomodate the plot instead of the author actually setting up important plot points.

Something that would have made the book A THOUSAND TIMES better was if we didn’t have Tobias’s POV at all. From Alexander’s eyes, I kept thinking that Tobias hid his game well, and I wanted to be surprised just as much as Alexander. It would have been so interesting to slowly pick up the hints of Tobias’ lack of humanity, and then that he was the serial killer and that it was all a plan to get closer to Alexander. The reveal would have actually been devastating. Instead, since it’s set up in the very first pages, it just felt like I was waiting for the endgame to unravel, and I kept thinking I wished I didn’t know that much.

The worldbuilding felt very lacking. The vampire lore wasn’t explained at all, and every fact about it felt too easy. For example, vampires aren’t alive (just like our actual lore), but they have blood pumping in their veins from drinking from mortals—hence Tobias actually having a heartbeat and Alexander being easily fooled. So tell me why, even after not feeding for several days, Alexander didn’t notice that Tobias’ “blood” wasn’t pumping as strong as it should have been? Honestly, it bugged me for the entire book, and I wished more care was given to the actual power system.

Alexander dipped in close, kissing Tobias differently than before. He had always been soft, but this was easy and natural, like breathing, like Tobias was deserving. And maybe he would have been, if he weren’t a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Tobias could have been a really interesting character—if we didn’t know that much about him. In the beginning, he felt very cunning and intelligent, but it honestly faded away the more I read. It felt like he was just letting things happen. For example, after a few centuries of thinking about this grand plan, he didn’t think once that the victims he left on the bring of consciousness could eventually turn to vampires ? I honestly convinced myself someone else was involved because he couldn’t be That dumb. Once again, the story would have benefited immensely if we didn’t have his point of view: the meek human would have turned out to be a very cunning vampire who happened to fall in love when he shouldn’t have—instead of a smart vampire turning really dumb because he developed a crush.

Alexander is a character I easily fell in love with. I did think he had a bit of switch-up in his personality in the beginning (from “humans are playthings to me” to “I’m irrevocably in love with this man and would kill for him” WAY TOO FAST). But, during the rest of the novel, he proved to be no more than a traumatised man, who only wanted to get out of his father’s joug. He was ready to do anything for Tobias.

As he brought his lips to Tobias’s, he whispered a single word. “Home.”
Tobias smiled against Alexander’s mouth, releasing a sigh he felt he’d been holding for hundreds of years. “Home,” he agreed.

The romance itself felt too instantaneous in the beginning for me. I wish the authors had taken more time to explain why Alexander crushed so hard on Tobias so fast (especially since he seemed so much like every other human he dated), or how Tobias so easily forgot the plan he set up. But, after their feelings for each other were set, their romance actually had me invested. They truly loved each other through it, and each declaration was cemented by the absolute despair of the situation. It was genuinely beautiful how much they worked for their relationship.

Overall, it was a really entertaining read, and the intensity of the plot and the tragic romance really made it a page-turner. Sadly, it does have flaws I can’t really look past. It had a lot of potential, and only some of it was truly achieved. Though I will say my interest is still peeked, and I will be looking out for the authors’ other releases.

[Micronova]

The Darkness Bites Back by Laura R. Samotin & Ben Alderson
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4 stars

Gay vampires. Oxford. Revenge. Murder. Family drama. And two men who really have no business getting involved with each other but apparently common sense has never been particularly popular with vampires. The Darkness Bites Back pretty much had me with the premise alone. Tobias has been holding one hell of a grudge for a very, VERY long time and Alexander ends up smack in the middle of it. There’s history here. There are secrets. There are some truly terrible ideas being put into action. Naturally, feelings decide to show up and make everything worse.🤦🏻‍♀️🤣

Tobias was definitely the one who grabbed my attention first. He’s angry, stubborn and has been hanging onto revenge like it’s his favorite emotional support hobby. Then there’s Alexander, who is charming, arrogant, protective and makes it increasingly difficult for Tobias to stick to the damn plan. I liked them together and the chemistry was definitely chemistry-ing BUT things moved a little quicker between them than I normally prefer. You know me. Give me the longing. Give me the denial. Make these people suffer for a while before they start catching feelings. 😂

I really liked the darker vampire world and the Oxford setting. There’s enough going on outside the romance to keep things moving with murders, secrets, family bullshit and plenty of reasons to side eye damn near everyone. The pacing was quick, maybe a little too quick in places because there were a few things I would’ve happily spent more time on. I also liked the supporting characters, especially Maria, and would’ve taken more of her. Really, several parts of this world could’ve used more room to breathe. I had questions. Some were eventually answered. Others were apparently told to mind their business.

This one scratched that dark vampire romance itch nicely. Messy characters? Yep. Morally flexible behavior? Obviously. Terrible decisions made because feelings have entered the chat? Naturally. I would’ve liked a little more depth in a few places and a slower build between Tobias and Alexander but I was invested and kept turning pages. And apparently watching centuries old vampires completely screw up their own plans because they caught feelings is exactly the kind of nonsense I want in my books. Who knew?


Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the digital AND physical advance reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Expected publication date: September 29, 2026

[East of Reality]

This book had a lot of things I didn’t like. For one, Alexander using compulsion on Tobias again and again was fine (well, for a measure of fine) if the book is going down a darker route. But of course, this is a vampire story and it’s mean to be romantic for one partner to lie to the other for most of the book, and the other partner to forcibly control the other. And maybe it could have worked if I’d cared about the characters.

I’m going to be honest, instalust is a very hard sell for me. I get tired of people falling in love because someone’s hot — because one it proves ugly people don’t deserve love, and two, that love in the book is shallow and pointless. If all you want is a sex doll, get one; you don’t have to feed those. So when Alexander and Tobias are both thinking about how they’ve never felt like this about anyone else ever in the hundreds and thousands of years they’ve been alive … well, let’s just say the book didn’t sell it.

You can argue that, being vampires, they’re reacting to someone finally being an equal, but the book doesn’t go down that path. I also find it hard to take Alexander for granted when, in their first date, he tells Tobias — who he thinks is a young twink he gnats to fuck — that he’s dealing with “daddy issues”.

I didn’t buy these two as ancient vampires. I didn’t buy them as falling in love with one another. And I didn’t and don’t buy them as a couple. I barely buy them as characters. That’s not to say other people won’t enjoy this. And there was one moment that made me chuckle. Vladimir — Alexander’s “daddy” — doesn’t like texting. He uses hand written notes he has delivers to his children, instead.

If there’d been more of that in this book, the story of an ancient vampire refusing to deal with smart phones, smart TVs, and technology … I think that could have been fun. But that’s not what this book is, and … this just isn’t a book I enjoyed. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

[Sandra]

After being violently and unwillingly turned into a vampire by the head of a powerful vampire family, Tobias has spent many years planning out how to get his revenge against Vladimir Damianos, He believes the door into the Damianos world is through his son, Alexander, and Tobias schemes his way into working closing with Alexander.

But uh oh, not only is Alexander hot but he's also kind, flirty, generous, seems to also not like his own father and Tobias may have bitten off more than he can chew.

I'd like to start first by giving praise to this book's cover. Because the art is beautiful and it draws you right in. I also feel it gives a subtle nod to Alexander being so trusting to Tobias, while Tobias is using him.

I enjoy a story where everyone is a little grey and a little awful and all these characters are lying to each other for their own reasons. Then those pesky feelings get in the way and Tobias and Alexander begin to fall for each other more and more. The spice is plentiful and good, these two are VERY hot for each other and it shows.

I enjoyed the vampire lore of the story and some of the delicious twists that it provided. I do feel how things went down with Tobias' scheme we are left with a very open ending and a possible future story? I hope so because I'd to delve more into their world.

I've seen a few complaints about these two falling in insta-love/lust. These are vampires who've been alive for hundreds of years. I would never expect them to act the same as humans and I feel like they know what they want when they see it. They've both been around enough other people to recognize their perfect match, so this did not bother me at all! Plus, I love a little possessive streak in my main characters.

This was a fun, messy, spicy read!

Thank you NetGalley and Angry Robot for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Mylz Belanger]

What happens when you fall in love with the person you’ve spent years plotting to kill because of what their family did to yours? Well… things get complicated.

This book was a fun time and the perfect read for spooky season! We get vampires, a university setting, a cold and atmospheric Oxford in October, murders, a centuries-old vampire coven, revenge, and plenty of spicy spice.

Tobias’s revenge plan was interesting enough to keep me entertained throughout the book, and I enjoyed watching everything unfold as he got closer to Alexander. That said, I felt like the romance progressed way too quickly. They didn’t really get the chance to connect on a deeper level beyond the physical before they were both completely infatuated with each other. I wanted a little more emotional development and build-up before they went all in.

I think what really saved this book for me was the dual POV. Even though it’s written in third person, we get chapters from both Tobias and Alexander’s perspectives. It made me much more attached to both characters and helped me understand their motivations and feelings in a way I don’t think I would have if we’d only gotten one POV.

Overall, this was an entertaining, atmospheric vampire romance with enough murder, revenge, and spice to make it a fun spooky-season read, even if I wanted the romance to bite a little slower.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

[izzy ˚₊‧]

**thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC! 💓**

3.75⭐️

the tagline for this book is a queer vampire romeo and juliet retelling, so of course i requested it. the retelling aspect is quite loose, though the story does follow a few of the classic shakespearean plot points which make for a lot of suspense and anticipation when reading the book

this was really fast-paced, and i basically read it in two sittings. the writing is really easy to read, and there’s a lot of action which kept me hooked. i did think that the pacing was a bit off, as the third act conflict felt a bit rushed and so did the ending. i didn’t love the ending, but it was a nice conclusion for the story!

tobias and alexander gave everything they needed to give: sassy, queer vampires who work at oxford university. their banter was great, and it was very entertaining to read about them and their relationship. the romance was pretty insta-love/lust, but that comes with the nature of a romeo and juliet retelling, and the fact that this book was/felt pretty short.

overall, i really liked this and was thoroughly entertained the whole way through. i would have liked a bit more exploration into the vampires and their lore, as well as the side characters, but the main characters were fun to read about and had well-developed motivations that kept the story going!

[Phoe]

Spicy, bloody, queer: a romantic vampiric dark academia set in Oxford, full of yearning and murder and secrets.

The comparison to Romeo and Juliet isn’t quite right. In the former, the family rivalry is right in the open. The premise here is that Tobias is an assassin, determined to seduce and murder his way into vengeance against the vampire clan that has destroyed his own family: and the target he has his eyes set on is the charming heir.

For a standalone it felt well paced and with some good twists combined with the predictability of a storyline that’s giving you what’s on the tin: gay vampire smut, basically. Some of the plot lines do depend on various characters being incredibly blind and/or fortunate and there’s less delving into vampire morality and lore than there could be - there’s teasing of a huge vampire mafia clan which is mostly offscreen - but it’s a lively, enjoyable self-contained piece of work.