Thank you NetGalley and Jamie Dalton for the ARC!

100% Gives me early vampire craze days! I loved everything about it and it felt like I sped through it! The wording and language in this book was so smooth and not disjointed at all which made for a great reading experience. The slow build was so tastefully done and well crafted you could sink your teeth into it (ha, pun!) The chemistry was so tasteful and almost velvet, I was always anticipating and reveling in the moments.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

When I saw this book was great for fans of Anne Rice, I just had to read it! I’ve always loved vampire stories.

I really the book a lot. Erin, the main character, was interesting, but I wanted to understand more about why she really wanted to be a hunter, not just because of her powers. I really liked Nicolas from the start—he was kind, charming, and easy to like!

I also really enjoyed seeing Erin work together with the vampire team. That part was alot of fun. The only thing I didn’t like was Erin’s best friend. He just annoyed me a bit and truly became a thorn in my eye haha.

The writing was smooth and easy to follow. It was a fun read overall! Also that ending? Give me more right now please!🙏🏻

I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys vampire stories! 🌹

Overall: 3.5⭐️

The Gloaming by Jamie Dalton is an enemies to lovers, vampire hunter dark romantasy. It’s reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and reminds me Buffy and Spike’s relationship.

Erin is a vigilante vampire hunter trying to “clean up” her home town of the vampires running amuck. When one of her best friend’s dies, little does she know vampires are more than willing to help.

This is a mystery thriller mixed with romance. Someone is hunting / killing those in Erin’s life. The pacing is fast and the writing is dark, broody, and atmospheric. Jamie Dalton writes beautiful, moody scenery.

The romance has a lot of angst and pining but unfortunately, they lust for each other a little too early for my taste.

Tropes:
✅ Urban Fantasy
✅ Enemies to Lovers
✅ Hunter versus Prey

You’ll enjoy this is if you like Mystery Thrillers similar to Buddy the Vampire Slayer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Jamie Dalton for this eARC. All thoughts are my own.

I thought I'd like this book because it says you'll like it if you're a Deborah Harkness fan. And I like urban fantasy. But I read three chapters and felt like nothing was happening. There was nothing to grab my attention. The first scene was a bit of a let down, you think it's going to be an action scene but it turns out they're hunting for a mouse. Then it got confusing. The police arrive and it cuts to her leaving the house and hunting some vampires. She's hunting and thinking about what happened before she left the house. The timeline and scene felt very clunky. I just didn't feel hooked by the first three chapters. Maybe the story begun wrong but it was really off putting. I also didn't enjoy the parts where the main character was talking to the reader, I felt at a distance from the story. I just couldn't get into it. I felt like the main character was trying to be too much like Buffy at one point.
Very odd and slow beginning with nothing really happening: a scene in the shower, a scene in work, she says "the afternoon dragged on" if the character's afternoon is dragging on and I'm reading about it, then the book is definitely dragging on too. The fake action scene was really off putting and although I tried to give this book a chance I won't be continuing this story. It didn't hook me.

The Gloaming is a lovely debut that features paranormal suspense and supernatural intrigue. The intricate world-building and beautiful character development that the author has created will immediately draw you into her richly imagined universe. The gripping storyline and complex characters are a perfect blend of gritty realism and supernatural elements. Anyone who loves dark fantasy and supernatural romance will find this book completely captivating. As the first book in the Blood of the Revenants series, The Gloaming sets a high bar for its successors!

Thank you so much to the author for providing an advance copy to me. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it lived up to expectations.

This was a big 4.5, which I've rounded up to a 5. I loved this! This is exactly what I needed. An vampire urban fantasy with all the 00s vibes. Why aren't there more books about vampires set in the real world? Just give me Angel and Buffy vibes, that's all I need.

Erin is a vampire hunter in the UK, and she finds out one of her best friends has died. She and her friend, Tom, investigate into what happened as there are more that seems to meet the eye. They get tangled up in a world of ancient immortals on a quest to find out who the killer is.

I loved that it was set if Sheffield of all places. I love it when a book is set in a city that isn't London, Cambridge, Oxford or Edinburgh. I could feel the realism, I could imagine being there and that's what's great about an urban fantasy book set in an average city.

Adam was my favourite character, there's one particular scene with Erin and Adam that I particularly loved. He's a great idea for a character and I want to see more of him. Nicholas kind of gave me this Angel vibe, but if Angel was Scottish. Dark and broody with past baggage.

I really liked one of Tom's developments towards the end of the book. I wish I could talk in detail about some of my favourite scenes but I want to keep this a spoiler free review so I'm not going into detail but there's some really satisfying scenes.

The dynamic between the mortals and immortals was great. I've always found that dynamic interesting, like Giles and Spike, or David and Lestat, or Daniel and Louis. Immortal/mortal dynamics are my fave.

The pacing was great, there wasn't a massive lull at any point, something was constantly kicking off or moving the story forward.

There were just some little tiny things that stopped it being a full five for me. There were parts where I struggled with Nicholas' romantic dialogue. Maybe I don't read enough romance, but boy did he come on strong. Tom and Jon's names had me a tad confused at the start, but I got over it. I also wish Cole had continued being called Cole, even if they had another name. Those are my only quibbles, it was great, so many great scenes in this book.

If you like a vampire story where vampires walk among us in every day life, then you're going very much enjoy this book. I cannot wait for the next one.

The Gloaming by Jamie Dalton is such a good book. I loved every single second of this story. The characters are fantastic and the story is immaculate.

3.25⭐️

Thank you to the author, Victory Editing and NetGalley for the eARC <3

•vampires
•vampire hunter
•Murder mystery
•romance

Murders, loss, secrets, love and something lurking in the dark.

The book takes us through the streets of Sheffield, where Erin, a vampire hunter, finds her life turned upside down by the murders of people close to her.

One of the book’s strongest aspects is the vampire murder mystery. It is well plotted, with the right amount of enigma to keep the reader engaged. We discover clues at the same time as the characters. The murderer remains hidden until the end, maintaining the suspens and creating a real page-turner. I was really in and couldn’t put the book down!

The writing is very smooth and addictive! The only problem was the descriptions. The book sometimes linger on mundane details such as the movements and the actions of the characters. Some scenes are also redundant like when the FMC wants to get her mind off, she will always take a walk or she’ll go to work at the coffee shop, etc.

Another thing that didn’t work for me was the romance. The attraction between the two main characters is instant. Their relationship evolves too quickly to the point where it feels unnatural.

The pacing was a bit uneven. While the main plot is compelling, the middle of the book begins to slow down but the ending makes up for it.

Despite some flaws, the book was enjoyable and I am very curious to what is going to happen in the next book!

I absolutely loved "The Gloaming." Jamie Dalton's writing is fantastic. And as someone who knows Sheffield, the setting felt incredibly real and added so much.

The characters are deep and well-rounded, and watching Erin's friendships grow gradually was beautiful. Beyond that, the mystery element of the story was brilliant! I loved the murder mystery vibe I was getting and was desperately trying to guess who the real bad but was throughout.

And that ending? Wow! Absolutely stunning and leaves you desperate for the next book. Highly recommend this captivating read, especially if you enjoy a great vampire fantasy book with a beautiful romance included.

Awesome, highly recommended. Vampires, modern day story. Packed with strong female characters, action and plot twists. Thank you to the author and looking forward to the sequel. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

3.75 🌟 - Thank you to Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book. I found Erin to be really fascinating & I enjoyed her badassness as a Vampire Hunter. Her and Nicholas were very cute together. I liked how dark and mysterious the setting was, but I was confused on the time period. It was like a Victorian style storyline set in the modern day and in Sheffield, which I personally didn't like the unrealisticness of it. I would have preferred for it to have been set in a fictional place

Really enjoyable slow paced book, if not for the overall theme you could almost describe as a cosy read. Really enjoyed the authors writing.
Interesting characters, good mystery to the plot and it felt like the mail female lead Erin was able to think past her preconceived notions.

Author creates a great atmosphere at the start of the book and the ongoing murders leave a few breadcrumbs when combined with Tom's research. Like other have mentioned would have loved more of Jon, in order to feel the loss - even if this had been flashbacks or shared memories discussed with others, due to his murder happening at the start of the book without knowing him it didn't hit super hard. Would say the same for a certain redhead that also ends up as a victim.

The romance was quite interesting, I wouldn't describe it as cookie cutter but I struggle to define it. In my opinion it worked, Nicolas was a good lead with quite a challenging past.

Was slightly disappointed with the very end. But would still be keen to see where this goes.

3.5

Erin is a vampire hunter whose friends start to turn up dead. This leads to strange connections with two very old vampires, and a mystery that looks to the past.

Okay I did genuinely enjoy this book. Started off a lil bit slow but once I was in, it zoomed past, I couldn’t put it down. Erin is a likeable character, Tom is okay enough, I wish we go to know Jon (he sounded great). I know I’ve seen people not be too keen on the “insta-love”, and while they do fall for each other pretty quick the actual movement of their relationship is slow enough that I don’t think I was like “wow slow down you’ve known each other a week” . I actually really liked them together. Nicholas gave me good vibes and a burr is always good.

When it comes to my issues with this book there’s a few. Firstly I was very confused at the start. I feel like it jumped so quickly between Tom and Erin discussing Jon in Edinburgh to him being dead that I actually went back to see if I’d missed where that had happened. I also feel like for a decades long vampire hunter she wasn’t very observant. She keeps having questions or being unsure if something was right and then just go “but I put it out of my mind”, like why. And finally, something that I hate in a lot of books, is the whole situation of “oh we have been threatened, kidnapped, friends murdered, but I want to go a walk myself in the dark”. WHY DID THEY KEEP LEAVING EACH OTHER ALONE WITH A MURDERER AFTER THEM.

Anyway, I will definitely be reading the next one. I am very curious to what is going to happen and if there’s a bigger plot at play. Also there’s some not so good-uns that I want to see harmed. I would say a good start to a series, but I do hope it picks up in characters depth.

🩷 Book Review 🩷
📚 The Gloaming
💫💫💫

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a different take on the usual vampire romances I read and I actually enjoyed it. The author made it clear from the beginning that this not your usual romance as well and I enjoyed the dynamic of our FMC and MMC.

I did have an issue with some aspects of the plot, mainly that there was holes and revelations that did not hit the mark.

Overall, I liked the book and will be reading the next.

I felt a bit misguided by the recommended similarities of Anne Rice and Leigh Bardugo as this didn't stand out to me in The Gloaming (apart from having similar vampire plotlines). The first half felt quite slow but the plot picks up speed in the murder mystery vibe as the story progresses. I enjoyed Erin's perspective but didn't feel much of anything towards Adam.

There’s no shortage of vampire stories out there—but The Gloaming earns its place with characters you’ll keep thinking about long after you close the book. It blends supernatural mystery with emotional depth, delivering a story that feels both fast-paced and emotionally grounded. If you're a fan of The Vampire Chronicles or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this one's for you.

At the heart of the story is Erin, a vampire hunter who’s reeling from the loss of her best friend under suspicious circumstances. Her search for answers leads her to cross paths with ancient vampires Nicholas and Izzie, and the brooding but intriguing Adam. What follows is a murder investigation tangled up in forbidden attraction, long-held secrets, and plenty of tension—especially between Erin and Nicholas, whose connection is immediate and complex.

Erin shines as a lead character. She's strong and skilled, but also compassionate—someone who’s clearly fighting not just the enemy, but her own internal conflicts. I appreciated her vulnerability just as much as her determination. Nicholas, on the other hand, adds an interesting layer with his quiet protectiveness and complicated loyalties. Their chemistry never felt forced, which made their dynamic all the more compelling.

One of the things I loved most about The Gloaming is how it balances action and emotion. There’s plenty of suspense, and yet the book never loses sight of its characters’ emotional arcs. That said, I did feel the villain’s reveal was a bit rushed, and some side characters—like Tom and Jon—could’ve used a bit more backstory to really flesh out their role in Erin’s life. A few scenes left me wondering if I’d missed a previous book.

Still, these are small bumps in an otherwise gripping story. The ending had just enough payoff while still leaving me hungry for more. I’ll definitely be picking up the sequel.

Final Thoughts:
The Gloaming is a strong start to a series with a lot of promise—romantic, mysterious, and just the right amount of dark. It’s a great read for fans of supernatural thrillers with emotionally rich characters. Don’t be surprised if you finish it in one sitting.

The Gloaming is an enthralling story that will capture and enrapture you from start to finish. A twisting gothic romance with vampire lore and fantasy woven together to set your heart racing, Erin and Dalton are end-game superb. The chemistry between these two is a slow-burn build-up that rises throughout the story in the most enticing way. A fascinating must-read for all in search of a deeply-moving romantasy.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and Jamie Dalton for the ARC of The Gloaming.

I appreciate the chance to give an honest review. This book honestly had a strong start with such a dreamy, weirdly eerie feel. Right away it felt like slipping into a half-forgotten memory or one of those dreams that lingers a little too long. It’s about grief 😞 and longing and holding on to something that's fading, and I really liked the way the characters reflected that emotionally. There’s a softness to the way things unfold here, but also some really sharp edges you don’t always see coming.The characters were interesting and layered, especially the main one ( I try not to name drop to much) , I found myself liking them even when I didn’t fully understand them, which is rare for me. there’s a kind of sadness wrapped in every choice they make. And the world building? lowkey stunning. It’s subtle but rich, like it was painted with shadows instead of bold lines. I liked how it didn’t rush to explain every detail but still felt complete. The magic felt more emotional than technical, and it worked for this type of story which tells alot about the Jamie Dalton, they know how to write ❤️❤️❤️
If I had to take off a star for anything, I’d say it’s that some parts felt a little too floaty. I love a lyrical vibe but sometimes it leaned so heavily into being poetic that it got a little muddy, if that makes sense? Like I wanted more solid ground in a few spots. Just something to hold on to while everything else swirled around. I def reread a few parts just to catch what was being said beneath the flowy language.BUT BECAUSE IT WAS SUCH AN AMAZING READ IT STILL STANDS AT 5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
So 5 stars from me. The Gloaming felt like it was written with a quiet ache that sticks around after you finish. It’s haunting but soft. Not a fast-paced fantasy, but something deeper and more personal. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants a story that feels more like a slow dive into a memory than a plot-driven race. Emotional, atmospheric, and beautifully sad.I WANT MOREEEEEE 😭😭

✨ARC Review✨

The Gloaming by Jamie Dalton

What’s not to like about vampire stories?

After finishing The Gloaming, I am still thinking about it. Erin, Nicholas, Izzie, Adam, and Tom will be my companions as I silently wonder when I will get to read the sequel. This book is a fun read! If you like The Vampire Chronicles or Buffy - I highly recommend The Gloaming.

Erin - a vampire hunter - lost one of her best friends under suspicious circumstances. It is up to her and her other friend Tom to discover what happened. During the investigation, they meet Nicholas and Izzie, two ancient vampires. They also meet Adam, a mutual acquaintance of Nick and Izzie. Tension arise between Nick and Erin as they’re attracted to each other from the start. How will their bond affect the murder investigation? Who is perpetrating all the killings?

I loved Erin as the FMC. She is strong, loyal, and dedicated to her mission. However, her dedication does not make her less empathetic towards others even her sworn enemies. Throughout the story, we see her vulnerability and development. I like reading about flawed MCs and their ability to overcome obstacles.

Nicholas as the MMC is interesting. He has an undeniable bond with Erin, and a strange friendship with Izzie. His overprotectiveness gave softness to Erin’s character.

If anything, I wish we had more time getting to know the villain in the story. The introduction of the villain seemed rushed and the resolution a little anticlimactic. Still, I was guessing majority of the book who the murdered was. I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong.

I also wished that some of the other characters were developed more in terms of the backstory. There were instances when I wondered if the book is a sequel because it seemed that characters like Jon and Tom did not have enough backstory. The narrative that focused on them did not explain a lot their closeness to Erin.

Overall, the story was great. It’s a great combination of suspense, thriller, action, and romance. I can’t wait to read the sequel which will be released next year.

this book surprised me quite a lot! initially i thought i wasn’t going to like it, but it ended up being a super fun murder mystery type vibe with some really cool lore and character relationships!

- the pacing was really slow at first, i felt, but the gradual build up and hints dotted here and there led way to actually quite a fast paced ending which i really enjoyed.
- i loved the setting of this book, took me right back to home in the uk & i really loved how the accents in the characters were written.
- i really enjoyed the relationships between side characters, ie izzy/nicholas/sdam, and how the dynamic worked and changed over the books. i also loved tom, and how his depiction of grief and struggles felt authentic

- i would have liked the fmc & mmc to have developed their relationship further instead of the “insta love” trope, but im hoping that’s going to be explained WHY it happened in the second book? it does feel like there’s more to the story. similarly, the fmc’s ability isn’t really consistent throughout the book & not explained super well. again, hoping that will be elaborated on in the second book


overall a fun blend between gothic & urban fantasy, i really enjoyed!