This is a haiku book review. It's my new thing.

New author for me
Vampire human abusers
Will read more of her

A vampire tale but in this book vampires aren't the monsters here, that goes to Michael Reese's boyfriend who is abusive to her. A Hard read but an excellent story that will keep you reading till the early hours. I would have no trouble recommending this book. Thanks to Brigid Gate Press and Netgalley for this review ARC.

Yes, this book had vampires and gore and all the scary things. Yes, there were parts that made me cringe. But the true horror for me was Reese and the abuse she withstood. My heart broke for her. The vampires gave it a nice edge, and it definitely swayed the power balance even more in Michael's favor. I wanted so bad to reach into the book and help Reese escape.

The book had a great flow to it, with very few moments that felt unnecessary. Red Lagoe is an author to watch out for!

Thank you to Netgalley, Red Lagoe and Brigid's Gate for a change to read this ARC! My review is left voluntarily. I can't wait to see what Lagoe has upcoming!

This was a heavy one, but so good and so important. Yes, it is a vampire book, but the main horror was in telling the story of a woman trapped in an abusive relationship, and the psychological and physical toll it has.

The writing was great and I had an extremely hard time putting it down (currently staring at the unwashed dishes in my sink).

Readers should be aware of all of the trigger warnings: Intimate Partner Violence, child abuse, animal abuse, sexual assault, PTSD.

A modern vampire story which also touches on domestic violence. Reads like YA but is also well written. I feel for Reese in terms of trying to survive an abusive relationship and extreme gaslighting and trying to get out from that situation. It is never easy and only some are lucky to escape.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the arc.

There were parts I enjoyed and parts I didn’t. I love how different this book is on vampirism. But I wish there was more showing than telling. The execution just wasn’t done very well for me. The writing also could have been better and more interesting.

🩸 Book Review: Bloodstains by Gaslight by Red Lagoe

This book is a scream muffled behind lipstick and lace. It hurts in ways you don’t see coming—and bleeds in all the places love turns to rot.

Lagoe draws you into a modern vampire tale that drips with metaphor: domestic abuse and bloodlust entwined so tightly they’re indistinguishable. Reese, our protagonist, is gaslit, isolated, and slowly unmade by a man who doesn’t need fangs to be a monster. It’s a quiet horror, the kind that lives behind closed doors—and Lagoe opens every one.

If you’re drawn to:
📍Psychological horror rooted in real-world trauma
📍Vampires as metaphors for emotional and physical abuse
📍Characters you ache for, even when they frustrate you
📍Stories where escape isn’t just physical, but psychic

This book will wreck you—in the best way.

🩶 What worked: Lagoe’s raw, intimate prose. The realism of Reese’s emotional entrapment. The devastating parallel between vampirism and abuse. Every scene hits with surgical precision. No moment feels wasted.

🩸 What didn’t: The bleakness may overwhelm some readers—this isn’t horror with catharsis, but horror that lingers like bruises. If you’re looking for redemption or hope, this story offers only flickers.

🌑 5/5 – Feels like reading a diary left behind in blood. Unflinching, personal, and disturbingly powerful.

Bloodstains by Gaslight is a terrifying look into domestic violence with a dark twist. What would happen when the person who is trying to control your life becomes a powerful, if unstable, vampire. It’s hard to say I adored this without that sounding weird but what I mean is I loved how Lagoe uses the monster of the vampire, a creature often shown to have a lust for blood and form unhealthy obsessions with their prey and use this to explore arguably a worse monster, humans themselves. Michael was the perfect example of this. Did the vampirism make him the monster or did it only enable his abuse further? This is all explored in a dark and twisting tale that is not afraid to lay bare the darker side of humanity (or lack thereof).

I loved Reese who was seemingly trapped in something she couldn’t escape through no real fault of her own. Just as she gets the courage to leave Michael he gets a power he can abuse to keep her just were he wants her, under his control. I had really hoped that she would find her happy ending but I understand that Lagoe wanted to explore the real outcomes of domestic violence both mentally and physically.

In all I did adore this one but I have to say that it is dark and might not be for everyone. It does not hold back and shows us the darker side of humanity but it is most definitely worth a read.

As always thank you to Brigid’s Gate Press for the advanced copy to review, my reviews are always honest and freely given.

One of the most compelling vampiric novels I’ve read! It is emotionally brutal and I was invested from the first page.

I loved this novel, even if and probably because of how domestic violence and abusive relationships are so well described. I felt so much for Reese, trapped in a toxic relationship with Michael, trying to break free and pursue her dreams, only to see them shatter over and over.

I found the parallelism between vampires and abusive relationships so apt that I can’t believe no one ever thought of it. The vivid imagery of how literally and figuratively vampires suck the life out of you was eye opening. The character dynamics were very on point and I found myself eager to read page after page, just waiting for some resolution.

Red Lagoe toys with the reader’s emotions throughout the book, often offering a lifeline, only to take it away soon after! That ending.. I still think about it.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy and this is my honest opinion.

Solid vampire story. Did not grasp me the way other similar books have. Took longer than usual to finish reading.

BLOODSTAINS BY GASLIGHT – by Red Lagoe

Message From The Author —

‘This is the story of one girl and her fight against intimate partner violence. Every person who has experienced domestic violence has a different story, a different reason for staying, a different path of escape (if they’re lucky), and different thoughts, emotions, and reactions to their individual situations. Everyone has a unique story, and this is just one of them.’

‘It's 1997, senior year, and aspiring astronomy student, Reese, has her eyes set on the stars. The only thing holding her back is her jealous boyfriend, Michael, whose increasingly manipulative and abusive behavior cannot be tolerated any longer. However, moments before Reese gathers the courage to break up with him, Michael is in a tragic accident.’

In a word, WOW!

Also, MY HEART!

And—Vampires? Yes, Please, and Thank You!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Thank you, NetGalley and Brigids Gate Press, for providing me with an eBook of BLOODSTAINS BY GASLIGHT at the request of an honest review.

I could not get into this book. The writing wasn't great and made it so I DNF-ed the book. I kept picking it up to try again and finally gave up.

Thanks to NetGalley and Brigids Gate Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very heavy with themes of an abusive, toxic relationship (and -spoiler- an animal death, which broke my heart, but the author didn't go into the gory details which I was grateful for). I really appreciate the author telling this story, it was definitely hard to read at times. One thing I have to say about Red Lagoe's books is that they really make an impact, especially when they are based around trauma and abuse. I felt like sobbing after finishing this one, and even after sleeping on it before writing this review, my heart still feels heavy.

I found it extremely clever to tell a story of abuse (emotional and physical) by using a vampire, and to NOT glamorize it, the way they usually are in literature. Michael was absolutely diabolical, and he was only vaguely aware of the extent of his nastiness. By having the abuser also be a vampire, it really made it clear how difficult it can be for someone in an abusive, dangerous relationship have the courage to leave. People might find Reese's decisions frustrating at times, but I felt that her thought processes really helped me understand why she struggled. I felt terrified for her, hopeless and trapped. I think this book was absolutely phenomenal in conveying this story and message.

Obviously, if you're triggered by these themes, proceed with caution. I wasn't expecting to feel such an emotional response to a vampire story, and yet here we are. Red Lagoe is definitely one of my go-to authors when I need an emotional punch to the gut.

After years of being isolated in an abusive relationship with Michael, Reese has decided to finally call things off for good so she can focus on her future. She dreams of escaping the small world he has curated for her by going away to college to study astronomy.
Michael can sense her pulling away and will do whatever he can to make sure she never leaves him. The night that she finally works up the courage to break it off, Michael is in a terrible car accident. He is left directionless with newfound inhuman abilities that cause him to become even more unpredictable and violent.
Overcome by guilt and codependency, Reese goes back to Michael with the intention to help him get better before she leaves. Seeing what he’s become,she quickly realizes her mistake. Still, she feels an obligation to save Michael from himself, even if she needs to sacrifice her well being to do so.

In some situations, victims of abuse become conditioned to make excuses for their oppressor, and in turn normalize problematic behaviors as a way to cope. We see this struggle with Reese trying to wrap her head around the actual monster Michael has become and the monster he has been for their entire relationship. The focus on the violence of vampirism as opposed to the heavily romanticized version pairs seamlessly when applied to domestic violence, and the author managed to blend real life horror in such an unflinching way it was a little difficult at times and I needed to pace myself. That said, the narrative is heavy and you should definitely check TW and CW before reading.

Thanks to NetGalley Red Lagoe and Brigids Gate Press LLC for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

#brigidsgatepressllc
#brigidsgatepress #netgalley
#bloodstainsbygaslight #redlagoe

I truly did enjoy reading this book. It was hard at times, because the abusive relationship is very realistic and not sugarcoated. I could relate well with Reese and all the excuses she makes to stay, even though she's well aware that she shouldn't. Michael is exactly the kind of villain I expected him to be, given the description of the book. I don't recommend it for someone who has lived through an abusive relationship, but for anyone who enjoys dark romance or psychological thrillers, this would be the perfect read.

I'm looking forward to reading other books by this author!

I’m not really into the whole vampire thing especially with modern retellings. I prefer to see the lore in more gothic settings, but the author did something really creative here and used vampires to compare domestic violence. When you think about it, the similarities are all there: they drain us of energy, friends, family, emotional support, they’re manipulative, impulsive, unapologetic, etc. I was very surprised I hadn’t read something with this comparison before because it really worked. The characters were mostly well-defined, sometimes I felt they could’ve been a bit more well-rounded in the beginning instead of putting us straight into the vampire-ness of the story. But I will say the commotion of the beginning kept me engaged and reading. However, in the long run I would like to feel like the characters were, as I said, more three-dimensional and easy to tell apart. But this author definitely has a future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brigid's Gate Press for providing a review copy.

Reading the synopsis of Bloodstains by Gaslight, I found the concept of vampires against the backdrop of an abusive relationship very intriguing. Vampires lend themselves very well to abuse allegories. The book is made even more tragic by the fact that the main characters are teenagers. Older teens, yes, but someone should have protected Reese. A very personal story, Red Lagoe explains perfectly the myriad of emotions someone leaving an abusive relationship goes through. This is a rough read, with some heavy-hitting triggers, so tread lightly. 4.5 stars

What an interesting read! I thought the plot was straightforward but had enough to keep you hooked and keep reading. One thing in particular that was nice was the authentic vibe and writing of taking place in the 90s. Also, the way the main character’s abusive and toxic boyfriend was written was on point.

Red Lagoe will appeal to a lot of readers with this book. Bloodstains by Gaslight delves into the dangers women can experience in abusive relationships. When the boyfriend has an accident and something unhuman and powerful takes him over, we see how much further that control can go.
The story line is heart breaking and tragic. So many lives can be made or broken by just one person.

“Reese was a nebula. The remnant of what used to be a star, her matter far too scattered and disorganized to regroup. She’d be forever adrift in the vast emptiness of space. A ghost of a star with no future to coalesce and shine bright again . “ I totally related to Reese and her emotional and physical trauma in this amazing vampire horror/fantasy novel. Never a dull moment moment, Red did an amazing job building up to the climax and kept it rolling!! Four stars for me and I’ve been recommending this book to all my horror girlies🖤 I look forward to reading more of her work. Thanks for writing this amazing story that reminded me there’s tons of other women out there who know what we go through