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Youngblood
High school sucks. Especially for the undead.When Kat Finn arrives at Harcote, a prestigious vampire-only boarding school, she's in unchartered territory. After living amongst humans and struggling to make ends meet, she's suddenly thrust into the alluring world of elite vampires - and her fortune is about to change.Taylor Sanger is tired of the vampire world's out-of-touch views, especially as an out-and-proud lesbian. She's willing to fly under the radar for two more years at Harcote before she's free, but Kat's arrival changes everything.Kat and Taylor were once best friends. It didn't end well.A horrifying discovery means they have to set their differences aside and investigate the deep secrets at Harcote and the conspiracy underpinning all of Vampiredom.As they investigate, will their old friendship be rekindled into something more?Sink your teeth into this sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance and the glamorous world of the vampire elite, perfect for fans of First Kill and Vampire Academy ."This is the lesbian vampire boarding school story I've always needed, but it's smarter, nastier, and more fun than I ever could have dreamed." - Kylie Schachte, author of You're Next
320 pages, Paperback
First published July 19, 2022
263 people are currently reading
20371 people want to read
About the author
Sasha Laurens
4 books237 followersSasha Laurens is the author of the adult romance When I Picture You and the young adult novels A Wicked Magic and Youngblood. She spends her time doing research on authoritarianism, training for powerlifting competitions, and hanging out with her mini dachshund, Kiki.
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July 24, 2022
I also have a booktube channel where i do more in-depth reviews of books — and will be posting a video format of my thoughts on this book if anyone is interested: https://youtube.com/c/TheresesNook
My review for the book is up: https://youtu.be/VO1QP-qIVFM
1/5 stars
I was not a fan of this book.
I was really excited to pick up this book — queer, vampires, boarding school, and friends to enemies to lovers — it was everything I wanted. And unfortunately, the only thing I really enjoyed was just the world and the concept of the vampires and the disease. Sadly, it’s all where it kind of stopped.
There were unnecessary racist and homophobic remarks — all to prove the point that the main character, Kat, is a woke white person. She was the only one who cared that there were 7 black people in the school only to be responded with something along the lines of “why would any black kids come here when there are people like so and so talking about how much they lost during the civil war?”, she was the only one who cared when the LI was teased for being gay, the only one who cared about social justice clubs, about how the main bad boy’s mom was from pre-colonial India and his dad was from the British trading company — with said main guy stating “it wasn’t like that.” It was all made to make it look like Kat was this amazing and good person because she got to hang out around humans growing up.
I’m not a fan of revised history fantasy books where vampires are around for centuries and there are a myriad of other ways to show how good a character can be — and the author uses racism and homophobia as a medium. It’s unnecessary and far too white savior.
There’s a scene where Kat is trying to figure out if she’s gay and recalls her two human friends. She states that she was always the token straight ally, and the one time she asked her gay friend how he knew how he was gay and his response was “you just know you’re gay, you don’t find out.”
The main disease had similarities to HIV/AIDs, it came about 50-60 years ago, no one really has a cure, people are still looking for a cure (but not really), and because of this disease, the population for older vampires had died out. But there was nothing expanded on regarding this.
The romance wasn’t really there. The two girls didn’t interact a lot, so there wasn’t a lot of chemistry, and it didn’t really go from there. They were somehow all of a sudden in love with each other after one weekend where they spent most of the time watching Twilight.
The wrap up to the big problem was rushed and not developed at all. Everyone believed a group of teenagers during a school performance and that’s how they fixed it.
Overall — worldbuilding and the concept was a good idea. But everything else was poorly executed and not thought out, at all.
My review for the book is up: https://youtu.be/VO1QP-qIVFM
1/5 stars
I was not a fan of this book.
I was really excited to pick up this book — queer, vampires, boarding school, and friends to enemies to lovers — it was everything I wanted. And unfortunately, the only thing I really enjoyed was just the world and the concept of the vampires and the disease. Sadly, it’s all where it kind of stopped.
There were unnecessary racist and homophobic remarks — all to prove the point that the main character, Kat, is a woke white person. She was the only one who cared that there were 7 black people in the school only to be responded with something along the lines of “why would any black kids come here when there are people like so and so talking about how much they lost during the civil war?”, she was the only one who cared when the LI was teased for being gay, the only one who cared about social justice clubs, about how the main bad boy’s mom was from pre-colonial India and his dad was from the British trading company — with said main guy stating “it wasn’t like that.” It was all made to make it look like Kat was this amazing and good person because she got to hang out around humans growing up.
I’m not a fan of revised history fantasy books where vampires are around for centuries and there are a myriad of other ways to show how good a character can be — and the author uses racism and homophobia as a medium. It’s unnecessary and far too white savior.
There’s a scene where Kat is trying to figure out if she’s gay and recalls her two human friends. She states that she was always the token straight ally, and the one time she asked her gay friend how he knew how he was gay and his response was “you just know you’re gay, you don’t find out.”
The main disease had similarities to HIV/AIDs, it came about 50-60 years ago, no one really has a cure, people are still looking for a cure (but not really), and because of this disease, the population for older vampires had died out. But there was nothing expanded on regarding this.
The romance wasn’t really there. The two girls didn’t interact a lot, so there wasn’t a lot of chemistry, and it didn’t really go from there. They were somehow all of a sudden in love with each other after one weekend where they spent most of the time watching Twilight.
The wrap up to the big problem was rushed and not developed at all. Everyone believed a group of teenagers during a school performance and that’s how they fixed it.
Overall — worldbuilding and the concept was a good idea. But everything else was poorly executed and not thought out, at all.
July 18, 2022
if there's one thing that I hate it's poc and gay people being used as props so that the white mcs look like #activists. one of the biggest example is the mc complaining about the lack of diversit. my sister in christ you wrote the book. simply make it diverse and stop using us and our pain to make yall look good.
and that little pro colonization paragrah wasn't eating. I could've lived a long life without seeing it
and that little pro colonization paragrah wasn't eating. I could've lived a long life without seeing it
July 22, 2022
There's a lot of 1 star ratings for this book, which is understandable, but these elder vampires are over hundreds of years old, and they're mostly White... there will definitely be racism, elitists and homophobia that will play a huge part in the book. I think that was the point. That these young White mains in Taylor and Kat, being able to learn and seeing beyond what they were told, to question the older generation and call them out for their atrocious behaviour and actions.
Laurens covered that turn around in the end, through Radtke an alleged trav (traditionalist vampire) taking over the boarding school and telling the parents to enrol their kids into human high schools. It was covered when Kat called out the elitist bigotry of only including certain vampires into the school… pointing out that BIPOC and queer students were blatantly excluded from enrolment because the headmaster was a racist, homophobic and misogynistic arsehole.
The blase attitude about colonisation, racism and homophobia is off-putting for sure, but shouldn't it be for these characters? They were told they’re better, the best of the best, and had tutors growing up before they attended the boarding school. I doubt that Laurens was promoting the prejudice or glamourising it. I think the point was the students like Galen, and Evangeline and even the older generations themselves - opening their eyes and looking beyond their own muddled views of bigotry to be better people.
Anyway... that's my take on this book, and I really, really liked it.
Laurens covered that turn around in the end, through Radtke an alleged trav (traditionalist vampire) taking over the boarding school and telling the parents to enrol their kids into human high schools. It was covered when Kat called out the elitist bigotry of only including certain vampires into the school… pointing out that BIPOC and queer students were blatantly excluded from enrolment because the headmaster was a racist, homophobic and misogynistic arsehole.
The blase attitude about colonisation, racism and homophobia is off-putting for sure, but shouldn't it be for these characters? They were told they’re better, the best of the best, and had tutors growing up before they attended the boarding school. I doubt that Laurens was promoting the prejudice or glamourising it. I think the point was the students like Galen, and Evangeline and even the older generations themselves - opening their eyes and looking beyond their own muddled views of bigotry to be better people.
Anyway... that's my take on this book, and I really, really liked it.
July 14, 2022
Thank you Penguin Teen for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
1/5 stars
I’ll be taking down my review of Youngblood for a myriad of issues that have recently come to my attention. At the time of reading, I hadn’t realized these tropes were problematic and that’s completely my fault. These are the bullet points of the issues and I encourage you to check out @bookstagramrepresents on Instagram and StoryGraph if you want a more in-depth review.
-Kat is pretty much a woke white girl. She mentions it a lot in the book whilst only doing the bare minimum.
-Kat asks why there aren’t more students of color and the other mc says why would they want to go to Harcote when it’s filled with racist elitist vampires.
-A Chinese side character holds a vamp party where violence ensues.
-Racist apologist white colonizer passage.
-HP references. (Though the author did say they’d be removed.)
-Ableist language and things related to the disease mishandled.
-Jewish coded villain wanting to take over the world.
When I first read this book I missed most of these things and I shouldn’t have. I apologize to everyone I promoted this to and I will do better.
1/5 stars
I’ll be taking down my review of Youngblood for a myriad of issues that have recently come to my attention. At the time of reading, I hadn’t realized these tropes were problematic and that’s completely my fault. These are the bullet points of the issues and I encourage you to check out @bookstagramrepresents on Instagram and StoryGraph if you want a more in-depth review.
-Kat is pretty much a woke white girl. She mentions it a lot in the book whilst only doing the bare minimum.
-Kat asks why there aren’t more students of color and the other mc says why would they want to go to Harcote when it’s filled with racist elitist vampires.
-A Chinese side character holds a vamp party where violence ensues.
-Racist apologist white colonizer passage.
-HP references. (Though the author did say they’d be removed.)
-Ableist language and things related to the disease mishandled.
-Jewish coded villain wanting to take over the world.
When I first read this book I missed most of these things and I shouldn’t have. I apologize to everyone I promoted this to and I will do better.
July 19, 2022
Romanticizing colonial India and sexual harassment/coercion 🤢🤢🤢
And the anti-semitism???? Girl, bye.
Better off as TP, not a published book.
And the anti-semitism???? Girl, bye.
Better off as TP, not a published book.
September 13, 2022
3.5 stars
Kat Finn is a teen vampire living with her single mother, struggling to make ends meet. All vampires drink Hema, a blood substitute, to survive ever since humanity has become infected with a virus that kills vampires. When Kat is accepted into a private vampire high school on financial aid, her mother isn’t happy about it, but doesn’t stop her from going. There Kat runs into an ex-friend from her childhood, Taylor, and they find they are new roommates.
I listened to the audiobook version of this and enjoyed it, mostly. I do think it was a tad bit longer than it needed to be and near the end I kind of wanted the author to get to the point. I will say the worldbuilding was excellent, there’s something about a vampire boarding school for young vampire teens that is just so cool in concept, I want to see it on tv or in a movie. I really liked the character of Kat and her journey, Taylor wasn’t really my favorite but she grew on me after a while. Mostly I am glad we are able to get a fun lesbian vampire boarding school teen novel and I can’t wait to recommend it to readers who I think would enjoy it.
Kat Finn is a teen vampire living with her single mother, struggling to make ends meet. All vampires drink Hema, a blood substitute, to survive ever since humanity has become infected with a virus that kills vampires. When Kat is accepted into a private vampire high school on financial aid, her mother isn’t happy about it, but doesn’t stop her from going. There Kat runs into an ex-friend from her childhood, Taylor, and they find they are new roommates.
I listened to the audiobook version of this and enjoyed it, mostly. I do think it was a tad bit longer than it needed to be and near the end I kind of wanted the author to get to the point. I will say the worldbuilding was excellent, there’s something about a vampire boarding school for young vampire teens that is just so cool in concept, I want to see it on tv or in a movie. I really liked the character of Kat and her journey, Taylor wasn’t really my favorite but she grew on me after a while. Mostly I am glad we are able to get a fun lesbian vampire boarding school teen novel and I can’t wait to recommend it to readers who I think would enjoy it.
July 14, 2022
I was really excited for a queer vampire story set at a gothic boarding school. What I got was racism, weird homophobia, trying to explain away colonization and so much more (all of it bad)
First of all these characters were not very likeable (which is the least of their offenses) They had very little character arc and suffered from a mega dose of the misscommunication trope that made this book hard to read. On top of that this book is far too long and the story just kept going in circles and getting nowhere until the last 100ish pages.
Now, onto the problematic bits (most of the book):
Kat has this holier than thou attitude because she grew up with humans, asks people's pronouns and does the bare minimum. She has all these grandious thoughts about equal rights yet ignores those ideas to try to fit in with the people who make her feel icky for what reason exactly??
Galen, one of the main charcaters is biracial but not really? I think his nonwhiteness was maybe mentioned once and in a weird "looking for sympathy because there is so much pressure on me" type of way and then never again.
Taylor and her "relationship" with Evageline made me uncomfy, she'd go from making out with a girl one chapter to using lesbian as an insult the next and while it was adressed that it wasn't okay, she never changed and she herself did not see a problem with it? Yet she then ends up being friends with the girl she was insulting??? Make it make sense
HP references
There was a whole pasaage in here trying to explain away white colonization and it was icky and I'm not sure how it made it in the book in the first place (I read an arc so maybe it got fixed (taken out) in the final copy?
Not to mention the ONE asian charcter in the book was a plot device for the white main chacter to see more problems with the vampire world and was reduced to violence.
@bookstagramrepresent has a much better breakdown of all the problems over on instagram and storygraph
I was incredibly disapointed with this book and it makes me angry that such a great concept became so riddled with problems.
First of all these characters were not very likeable (which is the least of their offenses) They had very little character arc and suffered from a mega dose of the misscommunication trope that made this book hard to read. On top of that this book is far too long and the story just kept going in circles and getting nowhere until the last 100ish pages.
Now, onto the problematic bits (most of the book):
Kat has this holier than thou attitude because she grew up with humans, asks people's pronouns and does the bare minimum. She has all these grandious thoughts about equal rights yet ignores those ideas to try to fit in with the people who make her feel icky for what reason exactly??
Galen, one of the main charcaters is biracial but not really? I think his nonwhiteness was maybe mentioned once and in a weird "looking for sympathy because there is so much pressure on me" type of way and then never again.
Taylor and her "relationship" with Evageline made me uncomfy, she'd go from making out with a girl one chapter to using lesbian as an insult the next and while it was adressed that it wasn't okay, she never changed and she herself did not see a problem with it? Yet she then ends up being friends with the girl she was insulting??? Make it make sense
HP references
There was a whole pasaage in here trying to explain away white colonization and it was icky and I'm not sure how it made it in the book in the first place (I read an arc so maybe it got fixed (taken out) in the final copy?
Not to mention the ONE asian charcter in the book was a plot device for the white main chacter to see more problems with the vampire world and was reduced to violence.
@bookstagramrepresent has a much better breakdown of all the problems over on instagram and storygraph
I was incredibly disapointed with this book and it makes me angry that such a great concept became so riddled with problems.
Want to read
November 27, 2021so just to be clear, we're talking about vampire childhood bestfriends-to enemies-to unwilling partners in solving a mystery that will alter their world-to lovers, right? because i am: frothing at the mouth. i am so excited!!
no
July 18, 2022ARC/ sensitivity readers found racist tropes and antisemitism in this book.
July 19, 2022
Meh.
Upon further contemplation, I'm dropping my rating to a 2 because I just really didn't like this and also have some concerns about it falling into some antisemitic tropes. I'm not Jewish, and I don't have the knowledge or awareness to definitively say this does or doesn't fall into those tropes, but there were some things about the vampires that seemed concerning. Namely, that they're this secret group, one of the leaders of which wanted to control the world and subjugate the humans, and this description of another vampire who also was on the side of that leader: "[His] tongue darted out to moisten his lips, like an eager little lizard." Which might be innocuous but does I think evoke the concept of lizard people, and in conjunction with the aforementioned secret government wanting to control the world.... Anyways, would love to see a review from someone who knows more/better than I do.
On further further thought: there's a Chinese vampire who is one of only a few people of color at the vampire school, and she's on the cover but rlly doesn't have any sort of role in the story beyond being the Mean GirlTM's friend and hosting a party for the vampire students to suck the blood of humans.
And that's not even all of the problems in this book.
Frankly, I don't think people should be recommending this book.
Upon further contemplation, I'm dropping my rating to a 2 because I just really didn't like this and also have some concerns about it falling into some antisemitic tropes. I'm not Jewish, and I don't have the knowledge or awareness to definitively say this does or doesn't fall into those tropes, but there were some things about the vampires that seemed concerning. Namely, that they're this secret group, one of the leaders of which wanted to control the world and subjugate the humans, and this description of another vampire who also was on the side of that leader: "[His] tongue darted out to moisten his lips, like an eager little lizard." Which might be innocuous but does I think evoke the concept of lizard people, and in conjunction with the aforementioned secret government wanting to control the world.... Anyways, would love to see a review from someone who knows more/better than I do.
On further further thought: there's a Chinese vampire who is one of only a few people of color at the vampire school, and she's on the cover but rlly doesn't have any sort of role in the story beyond being the Mean GirlTM's friend and hosting a party for the vampire students to suck the blood of humans.
And that's not even all of the problems in this book.
Frankly, I don't think people should be recommending this book.
July 25, 2022
I am become the Blinking White Guy gif. I'm not quite sure what I just read. Perhaps the messiest book I've read in 2022 (so far, haha...) Youngblood tells the story of Kat, a vampire from a low income single parent family, who sees a better immortality ahead once she is accepted into an elite vampire-only boarding school. There, she reconnects with Taylor, her best friend-turned-enemy, and together they discover a conspiracy at the heart of vampire culture.
So. Lots of reviewers have done a better job than me at explaining the exact nature of the problems with Youngblood, but here's my two cents.
1. For a book that's marketed as Sapphic vampire enemies-to-lovers, it felt incredibly queerphobic. On the one hand, Kat (who identifies as straight for most of the book) makes a point of being A Good Ally: offering and asking for pronouns; criticising 'lesbian' being used as an insult; trying to be thoughtful of non-binary students. On the other, she makes sweeping assumptions about Taylor's sexuality and snidely calls things 'gay' as an insult. As she begins questioning her own sexuality, she spirals into a deeply uncomfortable 'I can't be queer, I can't be queer, I can't I can't I CAN'T be queer' self-hatred shame pit. Which I found very odd, considering both her best friends are queer. I also found it deeply uncomfortable that a character who identifies as straight is using queer in a derogatory sense through this clumsy mess. Kat seems to be dealing with a lot of internalised queerphobia, which is never addressed, because nothing in this novel is ever addressed.
2. The worldbuilding of Youngblood sets up vampires as needing to drink Hema, a blood substitute, because half the human population has been infected with a virus that kills vampires if they drink their blood. Infection through blood in general I feel like has potentially uncomfortable parallels with contemporary issues, especially in a queer book, and obviously this is never addressed in the text, so it adds to the general anti-queer/queer fear vibes. Beyond that, though, it's the blatant COVID conspiracy parallels that made me cringe. So apparently this virus was manufactured in a lab, purposefully, so the cure could be made to make money, and the virus passes from bats to humans. I mean. Are you serious?! Frankly I think it's dangerous to feed into conspiracy theories in this manner. It's well-documented that simply spreading information about conspiracy theories is enough for people to start believing them, because psychologically we're inclined to believe what we read, and then it's harder to refute. So with all of that together, I think it was the wrong decision to use this plotline with the world as it is in 2022.
3. The racism. I can't speak much about this personally, but here's my feelings as a reader. There are a number of characters who are white and- in this book. There's nothing wrong with that in itself, obviously. What I find uncomfortable is that each of these white and- characters make the point that they are considered 'white' by their peers, and none of them have any interest in their heritage. Even when asked outright, the characters will say 'it's not for them' or 'they don't care'. Which, just feels incredibly convenient from an authorial perspective. I think if there was a variety of attitudes, it would feel less obviously 'diversity checkbox', but I don't think it's good enough for a white author to be writing about racial issues and have all their BIPOC characters say 'Yeah, but don't worry, white MC, I really don't mind! :)' as if that's good representation. Same for Galen, the white British-Indian vampire whose white father turned his Indian mother during British colonial rule while he worked for the British East India Trade Company, and Galen is all 'It's not as bad as it sounds'. Um........ I'm not sure a white author should be putting those words in their character's mouth? I don't understand how this got through to publication and no one though to question any of this content? It feels so tone deaf, and it feels like a white author steamrollering the words of actual BIPOC authors and their experiences. Honestly I don't think this is acceptable.
4. Finally, and least importantly, I just didn't feel like this book offered much of a plot or an interesting story. It felt very dated, like 20 years or more dated. You've got your classic beautiful MC who's always been told she's pretty, but she feels so terribly awkward in her skin, because it's so hard being conventionally attractive. Then she goes to a special school where everyone is special and she is actually the most special of them all, and everyone is beautiful and perfect and stunning and gorgeous and everyone's main characteristic is how they flip their hair or arch their eyebrows. It felt like a young YA cliché from the 00s.
I'm sure this review reads as harsh but I think points 1-3 at least deserve acknowledgement and I can't sit back and pretend it wasn't a deeply uncomfortable read.
So. Lots of reviewers have done a better job than me at explaining the exact nature of the problems with Youngblood, but here's my two cents.
1. For a book that's marketed as Sapphic vampire enemies-to-lovers, it felt incredibly queerphobic. On the one hand, Kat (who identifies as straight for most of the book) makes a point of being A Good Ally: offering and asking for pronouns; criticising 'lesbian' being used as an insult; trying to be thoughtful of non-binary students. On the other, she makes sweeping assumptions about Taylor's sexuality and snidely calls things 'gay' as an insult. As she begins questioning her own sexuality, she spirals into a deeply uncomfortable 'I can't be queer, I can't be queer, I can't I can't I CAN'T be queer' self-hatred shame pit. Which I found very odd, considering both her best friends are queer. I also found it deeply uncomfortable that a character who identifies as straight is using queer in a derogatory sense through this clumsy mess. Kat seems to be dealing with a lot of internalised queerphobia, which is never addressed, because nothing in this novel is ever addressed.
2. The worldbuilding of Youngblood sets up vampires as needing to drink Hema, a blood substitute, because half the human population has been infected with a virus that kills vampires if they drink their blood. Infection through blood in general I feel like has potentially uncomfortable parallels with contemporary issues, especially in a queer book, and obviously this is never addressed in the text, so it adds to the general anti-queer/queer fear vibes. Beyond that, though, it's the blatant COVID conspiracy parallels that made me cringe. So apparently this virus was manufactured in a lab, purposefully, so the cure could be made to make money, and the virus passes from bats to humans. I mean. Are you serious?! Frankly I think it's dangerous to feed into conspiracy theories in this manner. It's well-documented that simply spreading information about conspiracy theories is enough for people to start believing them, because psychologically we're inclined to believe what we read, and then it's harder to refute. So with all of that together, I think it was the wrong decision to use this plotline with the world as it is in 2022.
3. The racism. I can't speak much about this personally, but here's my feelings as a reader. There are a number of characters who are white and- in this book. There's nothing wrong with that in itself, obviously. What I find uncomfortable is that each of these white and- characters make the point that they are considered 'white' by their peers, and none of them have any interest in their heritage. Even when asked outright, the characters will say 'it's not for them' or 'they don't care'. Which, just feels incredibly convenient from an authorial perspective. I think if there was a variety of attitudes, it would feel less obviously 'diversity checkbox', but I don't think it's good enough for a white author to be writing about racial issues and have all their BIPOC characters say 'Yeah, but don't worry, white MC, I really don't mind! :)' as if that's good representation. Same for Galen, the white British-Indian vampire whose white father turned his Indian mother during British colonial rule while he worked for the British East India Trade Company, and Galen is all 'It's not as bad as it sounds'. Um........ I'm not sure a white author should be putting those words in their character's mouth? I don't understand how this got through to publication and no one though to question any of this content? It feels so tone deaf, and it feels like a white author steamrollering the words of actual BIPOC authors and their experiences. Honestly I don't think this is acceptable.
4. Finally, and least importantly, I just didn't feel like this book offered much of a plot or an interesting story. It felt very dated, like 20 years or more dated. You've got your classic beautiful MC who's always been told she's pretty, but she feels so terribly awkward in her skin, because it's so hard being conventionally attractive. Then she goes to a special school where everyone is special and she is actually the most special of them all, and everyone is beautiful and perfect and stunning and gorgeous and everyone's main characteristic is how they flip their hair or arch their eyebrows. It felt like a young YA cliché from the 00s.
I'm sure this review reads as harsh but I think points 1-3 at least deserve acknowledgement and I can't sit back and pretend it wasn't a deeply uncomfortable read.
July 28, 2022
things this book needed:
-better editor (how tf did that many typos get by?? also do we know what grammar is?? I don’t think so)
-advice from sensitivity readers applied- so much to unpack, but downplaying colonization, using racism/homophobia/etc. to move the plot- all unnecessary
-characters that don’t go in CIRCLES and make the same dumb mistakes again and again and again
-chemistry between love interests- I get that it’s enemies to lovers, but they spent majority of the book hardcore fighting, then went “poof I am in love w/ you!!”
-better planned/less obvious plot twists, idk with that many characters it didn’t take a genius to figure out who Kat’s fangmaker was
-pacing/character objectives that made sense cause idk what was happening tbh
I liked the CFad concept, worldbuilding, Mr. Kontos, and Ms. Radtke, but that is truly it.
Overall, idk wtf I just binge-read for the sheer drama of it all but there you go my small small goodreads audience!!!!
-better editor (how tf did that many typos get by?? also do we know what grammar is?? I don’t think so)
-advice from sensitivity readers applied- so much to unpack, but downplaying colonization, using racism/homophobia/etc. to move the plot- all unnecessary
-characters that don’t go in CIRCLES and make the same dumb mistakes again and again and again
-chemistry between love interests- I get that it’s enemies to lovers, but they spent majority of the book hardcore fighting, then went “poof I am in love w/ you!!”
-better planned/less obvious plot twists, idk with that many characters it didn’t take a genius to figure out who Kat’s fangmaker was
-pacing/character objectives that made sense cause idk what was happening tbh
I liked the CFad concept, worldbuilding, Mr. Kontos, and Ms. Radtke, but that is truly it.
Overall, idk wtf I just binge-read for the sheer drama of it all but there you go my small small goodreads audience!!!!
July 19, 2022
"My dad was involved with the British East India Company back in the
day, so that's where they (his mom and dad) met."
"You mean the British East India Company that colonised India?"
"He winced. "It's not as messed up as it sounds." My mom doesn't talk
about it much, but she's from a wealthy merchant family in Gujarat, and
he spent years pursuing her until she agreed. He didn't just make off
with a helpless girl from some village. Anyway, it was a long time ago."
Do I even need to say anything else? Way to go white authors, diminishing POC’s experience to a mere nothing. It was very messed up, and bloody and ripped apart families. It wasn’t that long ago.
Do better.
day, so that's where they (his mom and dad) met."
"You mean the British East India Company that colonised India?"
"He winced. "It's not as messed up as it sounds." My mom doesn't talk
about it much, but she's from a wealthy merchant family in Gujarat, and
he spent years pursuing her until she agreed. He didn't just make off
with a helpless girl from some village. Anyway, it was a long time ago."
Do I even need to say anything else? Way to go white authors, diminishing POC’s experience to a mere nothing. It was very messed up, and bloody and ripped apart families. It wasn’t that long ago.
Do better.
March 14, 2022
Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
(14-March edit: Author has confirmed the reference will be removed! Am very excited!)
I really enjoyed this one, but the HP reference at 93% was really unnecessary. WHY!? Especially in a queer book. WHY!?
Youngblood follows estranged best friends Kat Finn and Taylor Sanger. As vampires, both of them are dependent on Hema, a blood substitute. But their access to Hema is very different. Kat and her mother live in poverty and can barely afford Hema and their rent. When Kat is offered a full ride scholarship and all other expenses paid to Harcote School, a private academy, for young vampires, she jumps at the chance to lift a burden from her mother.
When Kat and Taylor become roommates, they decide to be civil with each other. When Taylor finds the body of her vampire teacher and Kat unearths secrets in the school archive, the two realize much more is happening at Harcote than any of the other students realize. Taylor has always been an out and proud lesbian, and Kat has always thought she was straight, but she comes to think that she might have feelings for her roommate after all.
I really enjoyed this one. I love boarding school stories. I was so excited to see one about queer vampires finally. Gave me so many Vampire Academy vibes, but even better! I loved both Kat and Taylor as characters. The chemistry between these two was almost unbearable. I swear I spent most of this book going "Kiss Already!". It was such a great slow burn, and I really appreciated seeing Kat's questioning journey on page, I think a lot of sapphic queer people will relate.
One thing that did bug me was that Kat is all for social justice activism, but refers to multiple people as "guys". She disparages the Headmaster for using "ladies and gentleman" as a non-inclusive phrase (and she's right), but she also doesn't use gender neutral language. Guys is not a gender neutral term, but some that are: y'all, people, everyone, friends, cowards etc. Making an inherently masculine term the default is the opposite of being gender neutral. It really bugs me that she seemed to be so progressive on similar issues, but not this one? Made me sad.
Rep: white questioning-sapphic female MC, white lesbian female MC, white queer nonbinary side character, Salvadorian gay male side character, Chinese female side character, biracial white-Indian male side character, Black side character (briefly mentioned).
CWs: Lesbophobia/lesbomisia, blood, murder, violence, panic attack. Moderate: general queerphobia/queermisia, racism, ableist language, biological warfare, death, medical content.
(14-March edit: Author has confirmed the reference will be removed! Am very excited!)
Youngblood follows estranged best friends Kat Finn and Taylor Sanger. As vampires, both of them are dependent on Hema, a blood substitute. But their access to Hema is very different. Kat and her mother live in poverty and can barely afford Hema and their rent. When Kat is offered a full ride scholarship and all other expenses paid to Harcote School, a private academy, for young vampires, she jumps at the chance to lift a burden from her mother.
When Kat and Taylor become roommates, they decide to be civil with each other. When Taylor finds the body of her vampire teacher and Kat unearths secrets in the school archive, the two realize much more is happening at Harcote than any of the other students realize. Taylor has always been an out and proud lesbian, and Kat has always thought she was straight, but she comes to think that she might have feelings for her roommate after all.
I really enjoyed this one. I love boarding school stories. I was so excited to see one about queer vampires finally. Gave me so many Vampire Academy vibes, but even better! I loved both Kat and Taylor as characters. The chemistry between these two was almost unbearable. I swear I spent most of this book going "Kiss Already!". It was such a great slow burn, and I really appreciated seeing Kat's questioning journey on page, I think a lot of sapphic queer people will relate.
One thing that did bug me was that Kat is all for social justice activism, but refers to multiple people as "guys". She disparages the Headmaster for using "ladies and gentleman" as a non-inclusive phrase (and she's right), but she also doesn't use gender neutral language. Guys is not a gender neutral term, but some that are: y'all, people, everyone, friends, cowards etc. Making an inherently masculine term the default is the opposite of being gender neutral. It really bugs me that she seemed to be so progressive on similar issues, but not this one? Made me sad.
Rep: white questioning-sapphic female MC, white lesbian female MC, white queer nonbinary side character, Salvadorian gay male side character, Chinese female side character, biracial white-Indian male side character, Black side character (briefly mentioned).
CWs: Lesbophobia/lesbomisia, blood, murder, violence, panic attack. Moderate: general queerphobia/queermisia, racism, ableist language, biological warfare, death, medical content.
July 14, 2022
Youngblood is an angsty sapphic paranormal YA— It’s Vampire Diaries meets Vampire Academy with all the drama and intrigue of Gossip Girl.
It follows teen vampire Kat who transfers into the elite vampires-only boarding school, Harcote after living amongst humans her entire life. She unexpectedly finds herself roommates with her former friend (and fellow vampire) Taylor who she hasn’t spoken to in years. Reconnecting and working through past events that drove them apart, the pair soon find themselves embroiled in a dark conspiracy affecting all of Vampirdom.
They’ve stumbled upon a coverup involving the most powerful of their kind—and the truth behind the synthetic blood their species have come to rely on which might just change the lives of humans and vampires forever…
This was such an enjoyable read! I loved how well developed and flesh out our protagonists were and really liked the juxtaposition between their lives at opposite ends of the Vampire spectrum. Kat grew up barely able to afford Hema, an expensive blood substitute that keeps them safe from the deadly virus fatal to vampires that most humans are infected with.
Taylor has been a Harcote for years and is disenchanted with its small minded inhabitants and conservative values. As the only out lesbian and the only person on campus willing to speak her mind— she’s not exactly popular especially to Kat who she has a lot of history with. It’s told in dual POVs and I really enjoyed getting to see Kat and Taylor interact after years of not speaking to one another.
Their friendship is pretty electric from the start, and even when glaring daggers at one another you can feel the intensity of it. I also liked how their bond wavers between enemies and friends to something more as they work through their issues..
The pacing was fairly good, the first half gave me vampire boarding school slice of life vibes and, though the ending did feel a little rushed I did enjoyed it, however on reflection the inclusion of racist and homophobic situations as a plot device to portray certain characters in a more positive light for simply noticing it is very problematic and harmful.
The social commentary Laurens explores (reference to classism,racism, homophobia, poverty and food access) definitely sheds a light on how flawed and unsustainable a predominantly capitalistic system really is or how exploitative and harmful it can be for those on the lowest rung of the social-economic ladder. There was soo much potential I just feel certain aspects could’ve been handled differently.
It follows teen vampire Kat who transfers into the elite vampires-only boarding school, Harcote after living amongst humans her entire life. She unexpectedly finds herself roommates with her former friend (and fellow vampire) Taylor who she hasn’t spoken to in years. Reconnecting and working through past events that drove them apart, the pair soon find themselves embroiled in a dark conspiracy affecting all of Vampirdom.
They’ve stumbled upon a coverup involving the most powerful of their kind—and the truth behind the synthetic blood their species have come to rely on which might just change the lives of humans and vampires forever…
This was such an enjoyable read! I loved how well developed and flesh out our protagonists were and really liked the juxtaposition between their lives at opposite ends of the Vampire spectrum. Kat grew up barely able to afford Hema, an expensive blood substitute that keeps them safe from the deadly virus fatal to vampires that most humans are infected with.
Taylor has been a Harcote for years and is disenchanted with its small minded inhabitants and conservative values. As the only out lesbian and the only person on campus willing to speak her mind— she’s not exactly popular especially to Kat who she has a lot of history with. It’s told in dual POVs and I really enjoyed getting to see Kat and Taylor interact after years of not speaking to one another.
Their friendship is pretty electric from the start, and even when glaring daggers at one another you can feel the intensity of it. I also liked how their bond wavers between enemies and friends to something more as they work through their issues..
The pacing was fairly good, the first half gave me vampire boarding school slice of life vibes and, though the ending did feel a little rushed I did enjoyed it, however on reflection the inclusion of racist and homophobic situations as a plot device to portray certain characters in a more positive light for simply noticing it is very problematic and harmful.
The social commentary Laurens explores (reference to classism,racism, homophobia, poverty and food access) definitely sheds a light on how flawed and unsustainable a predominantly capitalistic system really is or how exploitative and harmful it can be for those on the lowest rung of the social-economic ladder. There was soo much potential I just feel certain aspects could’ve been handled differently.
October 21, 2022
read this in protest of First Kill being cancelled
July 15, 2022
1 star. Racism, a queer character who tries to police queer identities, pro-colonization, and just shit writing.
August 10, 2023
Este libro lo compré por dos razones:
1. Es de Vampiras
2. ¿Ya vieron la portada?
Literalmente lo compré por eso y solamente eso me generó expectativas, pero me choqué contra una pared. No me gustó casi nada la historia y el mundo paranormal que se inventó la autora estuvo horrible, literalmente 0 creíble todo.
La relación de las protagonistas es como lo más pasable de la historia, pero de igual forma no quedé super enamorada como esperaba estarlo. De las dos Taylor es mi favorita, a ella la tqm y Kat lograba desesperarme, pero bueno la entendía y comprendía por lo que estaba pasando. Repito su historia fue de lo más pasable, pero igual no me encantó como se desarrolló su historia de amor. Y tampoco muchos personajes secundarios, solo me daban ganas de que no hablaran.
Hay dos cosas que me molestaron demasiado de este libro, y estas dos son:
1. El final.
2. Los agradecimientos.
Si leyeron muy bien.
1. Me molestó que todo se resolviera así, fue tan fácil que dije no manches. Quedé con cara de incredulidad de no puede ser. Pero no puedo contarlo por temas de spoilers, pero el gran problema se resolvió tan fácil que al villano lo hicieron quedar como payaso. Y ese no es el chiste, al menos no en lo paranormal. En mi opinión no fui nada fan del final.
2. Los agradamientos, sí, leyeron bien. La autora dijo literalmente algo así: “estaba aburrida en Rusia y quería escribir de vampiras, pero con algo que no pudieran tomar sangre humana porque me da asco”. LIKE BRO WTF? SON VAMPIROS. Pues no escribas de vampiros entonces, hazlas sirenas o yo que se.
En fin, todo eso me dio mucho coraje, porque los vampiros son de mis clichés favoritos. Amo a los vampiros, así que, si quieren leer uno, no lean este, hay muchos otros mejores. Hay muchas cosas muy mal contadas y desarrolladas en esta historia. Siento que hubiera estado mejor si hubiera sido un romance universitario, porque lo de escribir en paranormal en este libro estuvo HORRIBLE.
*Inserto audio está horrible y me voy jajaja.
Si no me creen léanlo ustedes y díganme sus opiniones, me encantaría poder debatir este libro en especial.
PD: Lo único por lo que no le doy 1 estrella, es que el final me gustó mucho y eso sí, siento que empieza muy bien la historia, pero después empieza a caer y nunca se levanta.
1. Es de Vampiras
2. ¿Ya vieron la portada?
Literalmente lo compré por eso y solamente eso me generó expectativas, pero me choqué contra una pared. No me gustó casi nada la historia y el mundo paranormal que se inventó la autora estuvo horrible, literalmente 0 creíble todo.
La relación de las protagonistas es como lo más pasable de la historia, pero de igual forma no quedé super enamorada como esperaba estarlo. De las dos Taylor es mi favorita, a ella la tqm y Kat lograba desesperarme, pero bueno la entendía y comprendía por lo que estaba pasando. Repito su historia fue de lo más pasable, pero igual no me encantó como se desarrolló su historia de amor. Y tampoco muchos personajes secundarios, solo me daban ganas de que no hablaran.
Hay dos cosas que me molestaron demasiado de este libro, y estas dos son:
1. El final.
2. Los agradecimientos.
Si leyeron muy bien.
1. Me molestó que todo se resolviera así, fue tan fácil que dije no manches. Quedé con cara de incredulidad de no puede ser. Pero no puedo contarlo por temas de spoilers, pero el gran problema se resolvió tan fácil que al villano lo hicieron quedar como payaso. Y ese no es el chiste, al menos no en lo paranormal. En mi opinión no fui nada fan del final.
2. Los agradamientos, sí, leyeron bien. La autora dijo literalmente algo así: “estaba aburrida en Rusia y quería escribir de vampiras, pero con algo que no pudieran tomar sangre humana porque me da asco”. LIKE BRO WTF? SON VAMPIROS. Pues no escribas de vampiros entonces, hazlas sirenas o yo que se.
En fin, todo eso me dio mucho coraje, porque los vampiros son de mis clichés favoritos. Amo a los vampiros, así que, si quieren leer uno, no lean este, hay muchos otros mejores. Hay muchas cosas muy mal contadas y desarrolladas en esta historia. Siento que hubiera estado mejor si hubiera sido un romance universitario, porque lo de escribir en paranormal en este libro estuvo HORRIBLE.
*Inserto audio está horrible y me voy jajaja.
Si no me creen léanlo ustedes y díganme sus opiniones, me encantaría poder debatir este libro en especial.
PD: Lo único por lo que no le doy 1 estrella, es que el final me gustó mucho y eso sí, siento que empieza muy bien la historia, pero después empieza a caer y nunca se levanta.
June 27, 2022
3.5 stars rounded up
Vampire Academy but make it queer and more socially conscious? Yes, please! I was immediately sold by this premise and Youngblood has a lot going for it. But what could have been a 5 star read was dragged down by the uneven pacing, too-slow romance, and too-many plot threads tied up in a rush at the end.
Kat lives among humans with her mom, hiding her vampiric identity and struggling to make ends meet. When she gets offered an all-expenses paid scholarship to an elite vampire-only academy, her mom doesn't want her to go but she wants more for herself and is determined to go anyway. But Harcote is filled with elite, mostly white, homophobic vampires and Kat will have to change who she is to fit in.
But her roommate turns out to be the childhood best friend who betrayed her....
Taylor has a devil may care attitude and is the one openly queer vampire in school. And she's been in love with Kat for as long as she can remember. A secret conspiracy affecting all of vampirdom might be the thing that brings them together, but Kat's need to belong and succeed at any cost could push them apart.
The world set up for the vampires in the story is great. In some ways reminiscent of Trueblood, there is a synthetic blood substitute known as Hema, developed to save vampires after a virus that kills them spread rampantly among humans and was carried in their blood. Thematically this book deals with class divisions, the greed of pharmaceutical companies, medical ethics, and privilege. It's got a lot of pieces that could have made it a home run, but it's bogged down in a boring middle and too-quick resolution at the end. And the romance is SO slow burn, you don't get time for it to breathe. I wanted more longing and build-up on both ends, which would have really improved this.
That said, I still think a lot of people will enjoy this and I want it to do well because we could use more queer vampire books! Note a content warning for non-consensual blood drinking, medical experimentation, and mind control of humans. I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
Vampire Academy but make it queer and more socially conscious? Yes, please! I was immediately sold by this premise and Youngblood has a lot going for it. But what could have been a 5 star read was dragged down by the uneven pacing, too-slow romance, and too-many plot threads tied up in a rush at the end.
Kat lives among humans with her mom, hiding her vampiric identity and struggling to make ends meet. When she gets offered an all-expenses paid scholarship to an elite vampire-only academy, her mom doesn't want her to go but she wants more for herself and is determined to go anyway. But Harcote is filled with elite, mostly white, homophobic vampires and Kat will have to change who she is to fit in.
But her roommate turns out to be the childhood best friend who betrayed her....
Taylor has a devil may care attitude and is the one openly queer vampire in school. And she's been in love with Kat for as long as she can remember. A secret conspiracy affecting all of vampirdom might be the thing that brings them together, but Kat's need to belong and succeed at any cost could push them apart.
The world set up for the vampires in the story is great. In some ways reminiscent of Trueblood, there is a synthetic blood substitute known as Hema, developed to save vampires after a virus that kills them spread rampantly among humans and was carried in their blood. Thematically this book deals with class divisions, the greed of pharmaceutical companies, medical ethics, and privilege. It's got a lot of pieces that could have made it a home run, but it's bogged down in a boring middle and too-quick resolution at the end. And the romance is SO slow burn, you don't get time for it to breathe. I wanted more longing and build-up on both ends, which would have really improved this.
That said, I still think a lot of people will enjoy this and I want it to do well because we could use more queer vampire books! Note a content warning for non-consensual blood drinking, medical experimentation, and mind control of humans. I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
August 17, 2022
Our July Fantasy Frenemies book club pick!
*Thanks to Penguin Teen for the complimentary copy!
*Thanks to Penguin Teen for the complimentary copy!
May 16, 2023
(3.5) pensé que iba a centrarse en el romance pero se centró en la fantasía estoy satisfecha
May 18, 2023
2.5/5 stars, lots of potential but ultimately a let down
Thank you to Penguin Teen and Razorbill for the arc through netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
When I initially requested an arc of this book it was the cover that caught my attention, I loved the red and how the characters were centered. On top of that, the synopsis sounded really interesting, modern-day vampires and boarding schools. However, I was unable to read the book until now and I read this while reading other reviews for this book, and I wanted to contribute my own opinions. I ended up being really disappointed with this book because of how much I was anticipating it.
Just as sensitivity and other arc readers noticed the poor attempt to handle too many topics at once, I also noticed this. This book is supposed to be a romance in a sense, but it also tried to tackle and discuss so many problems that exist in the world today. These included things like racism, bullying, ethics, poverty, elitism, homophobia, and more. However, because this book tried to focus on all of these subjects it frankly failed in discussing them in a non-performative way and led many of these topics to not be focused on enough, falling instead to the wayside. Many were glanced over and never discussed again, which did make me uncomfortable at times, especially when so many POC characters felt like they were just used as props. Many of their stories were just used (including other diverse characters like those in the LGBTQ+ community) to uplift and influence the main character's story who appeared as a performative activist.
The main character, Kat, was not just a white performative activist, she was also honestly just annoying sometimes. I understood her position suddenly coming from the world of humans into this school for all vampires, things were bound to be awkward. I say that she was a performative activist because it felt like she never took time to actually talk to the people of color and what they wanted. On one hand, I believe that there is room in literature and the world for the discussion of how Caucasian people should aid and lead discussions about such topics listed above, I don't believe the discussions should be dominated by them. This was what this book seemed to imply, it felt a bit like it was taking over the discussion of the individuals who are POC to give this image of a perfect white girl.
I felt that Taylor was more of a secondary main character, even though there were many chapters from her perspective within the book. While I understood sometimes why she acted the way she did because of her past, but also sometimes she was just really mean for no reason. Also, did she really need to be friends/hooking up with a character who acts homophobic all the time? I'm just not sure her character was used in the right way.
One thing that I did really enjoy about this book was the atmosphere, especially at a prestigious and private vampire academy. Vampires are not usually my first choice of supernatural creatures, I prefer Fae, but this book made me really interested to read more from this area of books. However, I didn't completely love that the entire Vampiredom was racist, homophobic, etc. I do understand though that they've been around for hundreds of years and have their ways, but that also could've been flipped and seen them accept everything as they've lived so long.
The plot was just okay, there were times that it really seemed to drag in the beginning, though it did pick up a bit more in the second half. But I didn't totally connect on every level, the mystery was pretty good but I felt like it needed something more. As well, the ending wrapped up way too nicely for my tastes, everyone was suddenly happy and the bad things were gone. Unfortunately, it didn't really take into account the complexities of all the topics it was trying to tackle.
Finally, this book was supposed to be a romance and in the beginning, I was very excited to see how the romance was going to play out because it seemed like childhood friends to strangers/enemies to lovers (which I've found I love lately). But I didn't see the chemistry between Kat and Taylor at all, both treated each other not amazingly and I didn't see why they liked each other. It was very complicated, as many teenage romances are, but I just couldn't get myself to ship them.
[TW: knife cut, blood, fictional clinical disease, death of a parent, racism, homophobia, bullying, alcohol, underage drinking, dead bodies, death of a loved one, homelessness]
Thank you to Penguin Teen and Razorbill for the arc through netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
When I initially requested an arc of this book it was the cover that caught my attention, I loved the red and how the characters were centered. On top of that, the synopsis sounded really interesting, modern-day vampires and boarding schools. However, I was unable to read the book until now and I read this while reading other reviews for this book, and I wanted to contribute my own opinions. I ended up being really disappointed with this book because of how much I was anticipating it.
Just as sensitivity and other arc readers noticed the poor attempt to handle too many topics at once, I also noticed this. This book is supposed to be a romance in a sense, but it also tried to tackle and discuss so many problems that exist in the world today. These included things like racism, bullying, ethics, poverty, elitism, homophobia, and more. However, because this book tried to focus on all of these subjects it frankly failed in discussing them in a non-performative way and led many of these topics to not be focused on enough, falling instead to the wayside. Many were glanced over and never discussed again, which did make me uncomfortable at times, especially when so many POC characters felt like they were just used as props. Many of their stories were just used (including other diverse characters like those in the LGBTQ+ community) to uplift and influence the main character's story who appeared as a performative activist.
The main character, Kat, was not just a white performative activist, she was also honestly just annoying sometimes. I understood her position suddenly coming from the world of humans into this school for all vampires, things were bound to be awkward. I say that she was a performative activist because it felt like she never took time to actually talk to the people of color and what they wanted. On one hand, I believe that there is room in literature and the world for the discussion of how Caucasian people should aid and lead discussions about such topics listed above, I don't believe the discussions should be dominated by them. This was what this book seemed to imply, it felt a bit like it was taking over the discussion of the individuals who are POC to give this image of a perfect white girl.
I felt that Taylor was more of a secondary main character, even though there were many chapters from her perspective within the book. While I understood sometimes why she acted the way she did because of her past, but also sometimes she was just really mean for no reason. Also, did she really need to be friends/hooking up with a character who acts homophobic all the time? I'm just not sure her character was used in the right way.
One thing that I did really enjoy about this book was the atmosphere, especially at a prestigious and private vampire academy. Vampires are not usually my first choice of supernatural creatures, I prefer Fae, but this book made me really interested to read more from this area of books. However, I didn't completely love that the entire Vampiredom was racist, homophobic, etc. I do understand though that they've been around for hundreds of years and have their ways, but that also could've been flipped and seen them accept everything as they've lived so long.
The plot was just okay, there were times that it really seemed to drag in the beginning, though it did pick up a bit more in the second half. But I didn't totally connect on every level, the mystery was pretty good but I felt like it needed something more. As well, the ending wrapped up way too nicely for my tastes, everyone was suddenly happy and the bad things were gone. Unfortunately, it didn't really take into account the complexities of all the topics it was trying to tackle.
Finally, this book was supposed to be a romance and in the beginning, I was very excited to see how the romance was going to play out because it seemed like childhood friends to strangers/enemies to lovers (which I've found I love lately). But I didn't see the chemistry between Kat and Taylor at all, both treated each other not amazingly and I didn't see why they liked each other. It was very complicated, as many teenage romances are, but I just couldn't get myself to ship them.
[TW: knife cut, blood, fictional clinical disease, death of a parent, racism, homophobia, bullying, alcohol, underage drinking, dead bodies, death of a loved one, homelessness]
Read
July 21, 2022DNF @ 30-40%?
I went into this book really really hopeful. I want vampire boarding schools, I want nuanced discussions on immortality and the like, I want sapphic best friends to enemies to lovers, but this was such a let down. I'm not gonna lie, before I get into what really made me DNF, this was a slog to get through. I don't know if it was the writing style or the overall lack of plot but it took me So Long to get to the 30 or 40% at which I DNFed. The constant white saviour antics from the main character were painful to get through but the passing off British colonialism as being "not that bad" plus describing who (from what I have seen from other reviewers who have actually finished the book) turns out to be the bad guy's mannerisms as 'lizard-like' in the context of vampires and the ethics of drinking human blood, etc....yikes! There is no way to justify carrying on reading once that happens and I was hugely disgusted when I found out about the other horrible things that the author has included in this book. Just really disappointing.
Thanks to TBR & Beyond Tours, Penguin, and Netgalley for an eARC in return for an honest review!
I went into this book really really hopeful. I want vampire boarding schools, I want nuanced discussions on immortality and the like, I want sapphic best friends to enemies to lovers, but this was such a let down. I'm not gonna lie, before I get into what really made me DNF, this was a slog to get through. I don't know if it was the writing style or the overall lack of plot but it took me So Long to get to the 30 or 40% at which I DNFed. The constant white saviour antics from the main character were painful to get through but the passing off British colonialism as being "not that bad" plus describing who (from what I have seen from other reviewers who have actually finished the book) turns out to be the bad guy's mannerisms as 'lizard-like' in the context of vampires and the ethics of drinking human blood, etc....yikes! There is no way to justify carrying on reading once that happens and I was hugely disgusted when I found out about the other horrible things that the author has included in this book. Just really disappointing.
Thanks to TBR & Beyond Tours, Penguin, and Netgalley for an eARC in return for an honest review!
October 24, 2022
DNF 10%
Наслушавшись отзывов, я ждала упоительного треша, а в итоге это просто очередная бедная девочка поступает в очередную школу для богатеньких.
Скучно. Катать простыни про вампиров и при этом умудриться написать шаблонную до зубовного скрежета школоту - это надо уметь.
До лесбийства я не дошла.
Наслушавшись отзывов, я ждала упоительного треша, а в итоге это просто очередная бедная девочка поступает в очередную школу для богатеньких.
Скучно. Катать простыни про вампиров и при этом умудриться написать шаблонную до зубовного скрежета школоту - это надо уметь.
До лесбийства я не дошла.
July 16, 2022
⭐️⭐️ /2 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review
Youngblood is a story about Youngblood Vampires, especially Kat, who goes behind her mom’s back to get enrolled in an elite boarding school for vampires, where she becomes roommates with Taylor, her ex-best friend.
I’ve been having a very hard time trying to write this review and it mostly has to do with the very mixed feelings this book gave me. While I wasn’t very overwhelmed or moved by this story, I did enjoy it. There was just this nagging feeling I kept having while reading it. Something was really bugging me and I just couldn’t put my finger on what was causing this feeling, but I knew it wasn’t something good. It was like having eaten something you don't like and having this nasty aftertaste that just won't go away. After putting it to rest for a few days it finally clicked. I was actually really disappointed by the racism and blatant disrespect in this book.
While I liked the plot itself, the execution was poorly done. I understand that Kat grew up with humans and thus has other views, but the contrast was just made way to big. As if she was better than everybody else, because she did ask for pronouns etc. It became a bit annoying actually how much it was emphasized that she did ask and the rest ignored it. It made Kat annoying and repetitive and it made all the other elite vampire seem more racist.
I found it also rather disrespectful how the only Asian character, from who it is specifically mentioned she is Chinese, is sort of painted as this bad person, because she ensues violence and has this “We elite are better than all other and thus why should we care about those beneath us” attitude, which is really harmful. It became uncomfortable to read the scenes such as the penthouse party due to this.
Another reason I found this book disrespectful and racist is a passage said by a character (honestly, I already forgot his name). His mother is from colonized India and brought to England(?) by his father. Him saying “It wasn’t like that” really turned my stomach. HOW can you put something like that in a book? It should never be even mentioned like that. It really felt like the author just made a character biracial, to just ignore the non-white half of this character and disrespect that.
The disease as well really reminded me of AIDS/HIV as I kept thinking about it. Something that was first discovered in the 60s, uncurable and people who are trying to find a cure for it. While that doesn’t have to be a problem necessarily, it is just another drop in the bucket for this book. it felt way too much like our real-world was added in a fantasy book.
The romance part of this book, which was quite a focal point of this story, it was also poorly executed. The build-up felt forced and a bit weird. Kat suddenly asking if she was gay and her “realization” were weirdly done and not believable to be honest, which made the relationship fickle.
The ending was also something which seemed unbelievable. A bunch of teenagers letting everyone hear the truth and suddenly they are believed and all is good. It seemed like a rushed and not thought-out ending.
Overall, the concept and plot were a good idea, but it was just executed really poorly and the racism and disrespect added to that made it a book I wouldn’t recommend.
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review
Youngblood is a story about Youngblood Vampires, especially Kat, who goes behind her mom’s back to get enrolled in an elite boarding school for vampires, where she becomes roommates with Taylor, her ex-best friend.
I’ve been having a very hard time trying to write this review and it mostly has to do with the very mixed feelings this book gave me. While I wasn’t very overwhelmed or moved by this story, I did enjoy it. There was just this nagging feeling I kept having while reading it. Something was really bugging me and I just couldn’t put my finger on what was causing this feeling, but I knew it wasn’t something good. It was like having eaten something you don't like and having this nasty aftertaste that just won't go away. After putting it to rest for a few days it finally clicked. I was actually really disappointed by the racism and blatant disrespect in this book.
While I liked the plot itself, the execution was poorly done. I understand that Kat grew up with humans and thus has other views, but the contrast was just made way to big. As if she was better than everybody else, because she did ask for pronouns etc. It became a bit annoying actually how much it was emphasized that she did ask and the rest ignored it. It made Kat annoying and repetitive and it made all the other elite vampire seem more racist.
I found it also rather disrespectful how the only Asian character, from who it is specifically mentioned she is Chinese, is sort of painted as this bad person, because she ensues violence and has this “We elite are better than all other and thus why should we care about those beneath us” attitude, which is really harmful. It became uncomfortable to read the scenes such as the penthouse party due to this.
Another reason I found this book disrespectful and racist is a passage said by a character (honestly, I already forgot his name). His mother is from colonized India and brought to England(?) by his father. Him saying “It wasn’t like that” really turned my stomach. HOW can you put something like that in a book? It should never be even mentioned like that. It really felt like the author just made a character biracial, to just ignore the non-white half of this character and disrespect that.
The disease as well really reminded me of AIDS/HIV as I kept thinking about it. Something that was first discovered in the 60s, uncurable and people who are trying to find a cure for it. While that doesn’t have to be a problem necessarily, it is just another drop in the bucket for this book. it felt way too much like our real-world was added in a fantasy book.
The romance part of this book, which was quite a focal point of this story, it was also poorly executed. The build-up felt forced and a bit weird. Kat suddenly asking if she was gay and her “realization” were weirdly done and not believable to be honest, which made the relationship fickle.
The ending was also something which seemed unbelievable. A bunch of teenagers letting everyone hear the truth and suddenly they are believed and all is good. It seemed like a rushed and not thought-out ending.
Overall, the concept and plot were a good idea, but it was just executed really poorly and the racism and disrespect added to that made it a book I wouldn’t recommend.
January 6, 2023
DNF 28%
Я больше не выдержу. Героиня, та которая Кэт настолько неприятная лицемерка, что каждое её слово и действие воспринимается мною в штыки. К примеру, она знала, что мама категорически против поступления в школу для богатеньких, но всё равно пришла к той, сообщила, что поступила и долго ныла на тему непринятия (девочка, ты нормальная?) Позже она возмущалась из-за того, что в школе темнокожих слишком мало (ещё одна белая, поднимающая тему расизма и меня разорвёт нафиг). А самое прекрасное случилось, когда одна из вампирок оскорбила Тэйлор тем, что та лесбиянка. О, как героиню понесло. И вроде классно, нужно ставить таких на место, но спустя главу эта лицемерка уже подлизывается к ней же. А почему? Правильно, девчушка-то богатенькая и популярная, а наша героиня этой, ой как, ценит.
Мне обидно, ведь от книги многое ожидалось и в целом пары, где всё началось с дружбы, привлекают внимание, но это невыносимо. Конфликт, кстати, построен на недопонимании (или на том, что Кэт тупица).
Я больше не выдержу. Героиня, та которая Кэт настолько неприятная лицемерка, что каждое её слово и действие воспринимается мною в штыки. К примеру, она знала, что мама категорически против поступления в школу для богатеньких, но всё равно пришла к той, сообщила, что поступила и долго ныла на тему непринятия (девочка, ты нормальная?) Позже она возмущалась из-за того, что в школе темнокожих слишком мало (ещё одна белая, поднимающая тему расизма и меня разорвёт нафиг). А самое прекрасное случилось, когда одна из вампирок оскорбила Тэйлор тем, что та лесбиянка. О, как героиню понесло. И вроде классно, нужно ставить таких на место, но спустя главу эта лицемерка уже подлизывается к ней же. А почему? Правильно, девчушка-то богатенькая и популярная, а наша героиня этой, ой как, ценит.
Мне обидно, ведь от книги многое ожидалось и в целом пары, где всё началось с дружбы, привлекают внимание, но это невыносимо. Конфликт, кстати, построен на недопонимании (или на том, что Кэт тупица).
August 14, 2022
This was dramatic, and messy, and angsty and just all found great fun! It had the right amount of romance vs mystery plot and I had a lot of fun with it. The lore was unique and nothing like I’ve ever read before…and you can’t go wrong with gay vampires!
It’s not the best lgbt vampire book I’ve read but I really enjoyed it and had a great time! I enjoyed the mc’s and their dynamic and honestly the murder mystery plot was a great addition, something fun to try work out alongside screaming about the angsty romance! Just kiss already!
It’s not the best lgbt vampire book I’ve read but I really enjoyed it and had a great time! I enjoyed the mc’s and their dynamic and honestly the murder mystery plot was a great addition, something fun to try work out alongside screaming about the angsty romance! Just kiss already!
June 16, 2022
I received an ARC from Edelweiss
TW: homophobia, classism, references to racism, bloodborne virus, adjacent to drugging
4.6
Kat is a vampire among humans. With just her mother around to connect her to the community they left behind, and the rising cost of the blood replacement Hema, a full ride acceptance to the prestigious, vampire-only Harcote Academy should be the obvious answer, even if her mother is determined to keep her away. But a school full of vampires who only views humans as food feels more like a different world than she expected, though one she's determined to fit herself into. The only real bump is her roommate- Taylor Singer. Ex-best friend and the reason she and her mother had to move away from the vampire community.
Taylor didn't expect to see Kat ever again either. For her, Kat is the best friend who ghosted her with a single angry text she never found out the reason for. She's also Kat's first crush. Being forced to share a room with the first girl that ever broke her heart is bad enough, and seeing Kat go along with the exact people who want to corrupt her, but something weird is happening at the school too... And the only way to figure out how the ominous whispers, Kat's mysterious benefactor, and a dead body are related, are for the girls to unite, whether they want to or not.
This book was so much fun to read! It's brimming with energy, love, and vampires- what more could you want?
I don't think this book was attempting to reinvent the wheel- and I'm glad it didn't spend its focus on that- but this book definitely felt fresh! The community at large plays off of the known and the expected in terms of vampires and the upper class, but it also felt unique and the details that come into play for the worldbuilding fit in perfectly with the general vampire canon while also making it totally its own.
The characters are also great! I have strong feelings about every single character in this book- an honest to God feat. Laurens writes these characters so well, making them effortlessly into real, varied people. It would have been easy to make Kat and Taylor fit into molds, or have their backgrounds become their entire personality, but instead they have flaws and strengths and desires that don't always perfectly line up, and are full fledged personalities.
Which is a huge reason the romance works so well! You know these girls as individuals, so getting to see them interact and who they are in those situations has so much more weight as well as nuance. The other big reason is because Laurens just completely understands the walls crumbling, yearning, not-sure-if-I'm-allowed-to-want-this vibe that makes most of us want to shake a book while either crying or screaming. There are so many tender, emotive lines in this book, and so many cute scenes between two girls trying to understand how to fit themselves into the world or into each other's worlds, I had to stop myself from flying right through this book just so I could better appreciate them.
And, finally, I love the messiness of this book! It's definitely there in the romance, but it's also in the morality, the manipulation, the fact that "new girl heroine here to save us from our ways" archetype is also allowed to want revenge and use people to win power struggles. I said this book is full of love, but it's also full of anger and that is wonderful.
I only really had three complaints in this whole book. The first was that the traditionalism/racism of the community felt more sidelined than such an important issue should have been. It wasn't prevalent in the story throughout, it was more of an extra grievance pulled out to stack the deck, which came off feeling much cheaper than it could have.
The other issues are general pacing which just felt a bit off at times, and a wish that the major miscommunication in this story be more realistic. In fact, the miscommunication was the only thing that felt overwritten.
I loved this book! I had so much fun reading this, I love the characters, and I cannot wait for more people to read it.
TW: homophobia, classism, references to racism, bloodborne virus, adjacent to drugging
4.6
Kat is a vampire among humans. With just her mother around to connect her to the community they left behind, and the rising cost of the blood replacement Hema, a full ride acceptance to the prestigious, vampire-only Harcote Academy should be the obvious answer, even if her mother is determined to keep her away. But a school full of vampires who only views humans as food feels more like a different world than she expected, though one she's determined to fit herself into. The only real bump is her roommate- Taylor Singer. Ex-best friend and the reason she and her mother had to move away from the vampire community.
Taylor didn't expect to see Kat ever again either. For her, Kat is the best friend who ghosted her with a single angry text she never found out the reason for. She's also Kat's first crush. Being forced to share a room with the first girl that ever broke her heart is bad enough, and seeing Kat go along with the exact people who want to corrupt her, but something weird is happening at the school too... And the only way to figure out how the ominous whispers, Kat's mysterious benefactor, and a dead body are related, are for the girls to unite, whether they want to or not.
This book was so much fun to read! It's brimming with energy, love, and vampires- what more could you want?
I don't think this book was attempting to reinvent the wheel- and I'm glad it didn't spend its focus on that- but this book definitely felt fresh! The community at large plays off of the known and the expected in terms of vampires and the upper class, but it also felt unique and the details that come into play for the worldbuilding fit in perfectly with the general vampire canon while also making it totally its own.
The characters are also great! I have strong feelings about every single character in this book- an honest to God feat. Laurens writes these characters so well, making them effortlessly into real, varied people. It would have been easy to make Kat and Taylor fit into molds, or have their backgrounds become their entire personality, but instead they have flaws and strengths and desires that don't always perfectly line up, and are full fledged personalities.
Which is a huge reason the romance works so well! You know these girls as individuals, so getting to see them interact and who they are in those situations has so much more weight as well as nuance. The other big reason is because Laurens just completely understands the walls crumbling, yearning, not-sure-if-I'm-allowed-to-want-this vibe that makes most of us want to shake a book while either crying or screaming. There are so many tender, emotive lines in this book, and so many cute scenes between two girls trying to understand how to fit themselves into the world or into each other's worlds, I had to stop myself from flying right through this book just so I could better appreciate them.
And, finally, I love the messiness of this book! It's definitely there in the romance, but it's also in the morality, the manipulation, the fact that "new girl heroine here to save us from our ways" archetype is also allowed to want revenge and use people to win power struggles. I said this book is full of love, but it's also full of anger and that is wonderful.
I only really had three complaints in this whole book. The first was that the traditionalism/racism of the community felt more sidelined than such an important issue should have been. It wasn't prevalent in the story throughout, it was more of an extra grievance pulled out to stack the deck, which came off feeling much cheaper than it could have.
The other issues are general pacing which just felt a bit off at times, and a wish that the major miscommunication in this story be more realistic. In fact, the miscommunication was the only thing that felt overwritten.
I loved this book! I had so much fun reading this, I love the characters, and I cannot wait for more people to read it.
July 6, 2022
Everything I could have asked for from a boarding school lesbian vampire romance, and more, holy cow.
I cannot exaggerate how much of an absolute delight this book was. It was tropey and messy and mysterious and dramatic in all of the best ways. Our POV characters Taylor and Kat are a perfectly imperfect pair. Baby Butch Taylor, out and not-quite-proud, and "I didn't know I was a lesbian" Katherine have their own personal stories to sort out, yet they orbit around each other as ex-best-friends to rivals to roommates (oh my god, they were roommates) all while nefarious deeds dare to interrupt their classic high school cliches.
Laurens doesn't shy away from using the historical tropes and adages about vampires and melding them into a 2022 contemporary, complete with acknowledging the over abundant whiteness and heterosexuality that tends to persist. Coming from white protagonist Kat, it often feels just the tiniest bit white-savior-y, but nevertheless I'm glad it was included as more than a throw away line trying to insist that the main characters were "woke" enough.
I'm also just glad that young lesbians are allowed to be messy, make mistakes, date the wrong people, argue and bicker and fight, and still be all around good people. Side characters who I never expected to feel a shred of sympathy for grew on me. The plot, while predictable at times, was still gripping. The pieces fell into place at the exact right pacing and it was fantastic.
I adored so much about this book. It seems like the subgenre of lesbian vampires can simply do no wrong.
I cannot exaggerate how much of an absolute delight this book was. It was tropey and messy and mysterious and dramatic in all of the best ways. Our POV characters Taylor and Kat are a perfectly imperfect pair. Baby Butch Taylor, out and not-quite-proud, and "I didn't know I was a lesbian" Katherine have their own personal stories to sort out, yet they orbit around each other as ex-best-friends to rivals to roommates (oh my god, they were roommates) all while nefarious deeds dare to interrupt their classic high school cliches.
Laurens doesn't shy away from using the historical tropes and adages about vampires and melding them into a 2022 contemporary, complete with acknowledging the over abundant whiteness and heterosexuality that tends to persist. Coming from white protagonist Kat, it often feels just the tiniest bit white-savior-y, but nevertheless I'm glad it was included as more than a throw away line trying to insist that the main characters were "woke" enough.
I'm also just glad that young lesbians are allowed to be messy, make mistakes, date the wrong people, argue and bicker and fight, and still be all around good people. Side characters who I never expected to feel a shred of sympathy for grew on me. The plot, while predictable at times, was still gripping. The pieces fell into place at the exact right pacing and it was fantastic.
I adored so much about this book. It seems like the subgenre of lesbian vampires can simply do no wrong.
Want to read
May 29, 2022This cover is SO GOOD 😍
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