A thoroughly enjoyable fun, gruesome, gritty read!

Emily Weedon turns vampire mythology on its head with strong, fierce feminist vampires with their subservient male minions. Throw in a little anthropoology and you have the foundation for a new species -- the Hemo Sapien.

Fast paced with both a likeable protagonist and unlikeable yet still likeable antagonists.

Strong sense of place as there is no doubt that this is very much a book set in Toronto, both its gritty underside and posh upperside.

In addition to a compulsive plot-driven story, Hemo Sapiens is an insightful commentary on the current wellness industry.

Really loved the vibe of this excellent take on the vampire mythos through a feminist and Canadian lens. Weedon creates some incredibly memorable characters here and I love the way they are grounded in such an "ordinary" world. Her sad sack investigator, a staple of the noir genre, hits all the right notes as he's pulled deeper and deeper into this bizarre, grostesque world of vampirism disguised as wellness. Really enjoyed this and looking forward to seeing what the author writes next!

It’s spooky season at Kindig Blog and I love a good vampire tale - Hemo Sapiens, with it’s feminine and up to date spin seemed perfect for my October reading list!

Detective Luke is expecting his first child with wife Beatrice, whilst trying to solve a case of men killed by exsanguination. The new MedSpa his wife wants to use initially seems harmless but there’s something strange lurking just below the surface…

Although not necessarily a short book, Hemo Sapiens was a read I devoured in a few sittings. It’s sometimes hard to create worldbuilding for a standalone novel, but Emily Weedon manages to introduce strong main characters, create an intriguing crime spree with victims you sympathise with and expand on Vampire lore and traditions to create a compelling read.

The chapters alternate perspectives throughout – mainly between Luke and Heloise, but Laura, Tomas and other characters are also used as the book goes on. Laura’s perspective offered some essential backstory with her ‘research’ of what these strong women could be. I also loved the imagery used in Heloise’s chapters – the writing is so evocative and uses themes of hunting, predators and hunger in such a powerful way. Luke is grounded – the central point through which we find out information, although he is also flawed in places which made his story feel realistic. The only odd thing is that he is referred to as a ‘Trainee Detective’ at various points, which is taken to mean he trains other detectives, not that he is a trainee, which I don’t think is the correct terminology.

The pacing of the plot never lets up – from the explosive first chapter, the stakes build and build to the blood-stained climax. Emily Weedon is also not afraid to pull punches and kill seemingly important characters off throughout as well, which keeps the reader off balance throughout. Although the main story is wrapped up, there is perhaps space left for a spiritual successor of a sequel if so desired. The ending twist I did see coming, but I enjoyed none the less.

Overall, this Halloween season, if it’s vampires you’re after, you’ll love this feminine and modern take on a traditional spooky tale. Thank you to NetGalley & Dundurn Press for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 rounded down

I loved this - it felt like a gritty detective novel from the 40's rather than modern day at times and I thought that the mix of vampires and mystery/crime worked really well.

The men in this were almost all awful though I can imagine reading this from a male perspective would be a very different experience.

I absolutely loved this novel! A blend of horror, mystery, suspense, literary fiction makes it absolutely unputdownabble!

4 stars – Lyrical, haunting, and quietly powerful Hemo Sapiens surprised me. It’s one of those books that sneaks up on you—not loud or flashy, but full of quiet intensity. Emily A. Weedon’s writing is gorgeous, almost poetic at times. There’s a rhythm to her words that makes even the darkest moments feel strangely beautiful.

The story itself is layered and emotional. It explores identity, pain, and transformation in a way that feels raw but never hopeless. I didn’t always know where it was going, but I trusted it—and I’m glad I did. It left me thinking, and feeling, long after I turned the last page.

Thank you, NetGalley and Dundurn Press, for the eARC of Hemo Sapiens! 🩸🧬💉💆🏻‍♀️

I love “artsy” book covers so when I saw the cover to this, I was instantly interested! The premise was exciting to me as well.

This novel was well written and gracefully crafted, which was so refreshing for me! I was immediately immersed in learning more about the characters and how the story would play out. Everyone in this novel has their own flaws, which made it feel a bit more realistic, which I appreciated. Although, I do wish there was more information of the history of said Hemo sapiens. I wouldn’t mind reading more about them. 👀

This story gripped me more and more as I read further. It was compelling, seductive, and suspenseful all at once!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and if you also enjoy books where there’s a detective involved, and/or sophisticated blood-sucking women, then I definitely recommend this one to you! 🙂‍↕️

This book is cutting, beautiful, unsettling, and leaves you slightly off balance and thinking long after it ends. Weedon uses vampirism as a feral and deliberately discomforting metaphor for feminine power. Pregnancy is portrayed not as vulnerability, but as a mark of strength and status, granting mothers the same reverence once given to warriors.

There are no heroes in this story. Everyone is flawed, from the vampires to the women to the men, including Luke, the detective whose perspective is the primary POV, and who serves as a symbol of patriarchal limitation in a case that defies his narrow understanding.

Unnerving and thought-provoking, Hemo Sapiens is a bold, intelligent book that might seem almost unsatisfying in its moral ambiguity at first, but rewards further reflection on its themes. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to review this book as an ARC reader.

Such a nice fairy tale horror. It's a great mindbender with the different genres and a writing style that aligns with the plot very well. I also loved the characters. This book is a must-read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

An audacious and bloodthirsty fairy tale, pitting one man against a community beyond good and evil in a modern tale. A perplexing killer, a shadowy world of wealth and subterfuge. All leading to a courting with danger, increasingly strange behaviours and irresistible desires fill this story with intrigue and malice.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐦𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐀. 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐧

I really enjoyed the genre bending in this novel. It was feminist horror with some detective noir. The vampire lore was done right. The mystery and suspense of this book was written so well. Overall, I think it was a good read and well written.

This book is more of a 2.5 for me.

The mystery/suspense of this book is well done. And the concept of the vampire twist and prose are very interesting!

My issue lies in main character. According to the authors note, Luke Stockton is supposed to be a bumbling, but ultimately “good guy”. I did not find this to be the case.

Within the first few chapters Luke:
- complains about his pregnant wife not being as nice as she was before pregnancy
-complains about his pregnant wife not giving him enough sex
-complains that his younger, female, co-worker isn’t happy enough at her job (despite being good at it) and resents the thought of her surpassing him
- complains about his pregnant wife not giving him enough sex to his best friend and then openly resents said best friend for having a successful career

He does not get much better from there.

I understand this is the point of the character. Luke Stockton is a metaphor. But he is such an unlikable metaphor that it makes it feel like a slog to get to the actually good parts of this book. And there are very good parts!

The good parts of this book, by miles, are the vampire parts. These parts are creative, mysterious, and alluring in all the ways a vampire book should be. It is very clear from the way everything is written that the author truly loved these vampire chapters the most, as they should. It’s good writing!

My ideal version of this book would have much fewer (ideally zero) chapters from Luke’s perspective and just have him be an antagonist/tool/whatever from the other characters point of view. I feel that would allow Luke to still be a metaphor without forcing me to feel like I am supposed to like (or at least have some sympathy for) this utterly unlikable man.

Overall an interesting read, but I am unsure if I will ever re-read it again.

I will just say I finished it. Not spectacular but an intriguing premise. An interesting take on the Vampire angle. But it did not really get me excited.

"But she was acting entirely on old instinct. The instinct of a hunter."

ˋ° *⁀➷ Rating: 3.5/5 ✰

As a huge fan of vampires and morally gray feminist women, this was definitely right up my alley. I wish I had realized a bit sooner that this is meant to feel like more of a detective novel instead of a vampire novel though, since it would've helped me manage expectations a bit. I think if this was written mostly from the POV of Heloise or Beatrice or Lauren or whatever instead of Luke I would've liked this so much more. He was just sooo insufferable, and I can recognize that as being a part of the point, but I already struggle reading about normal men who don't have obnoxious personality flaws so even though it was a good book this was still a bit of a rough one for me.

Everything happening in the background was amazing: these femme fatale-type vampires have incredibly long lives and such rich cultural and physiological lore, and they've been blending in with and hunting humans for millennia. The fact that their hunting is connected to pregnancy was also super fascinating - I mean come on, vampire women with brutal blood cravings that are also physically necessary for the babies and their superhuman growth? That's so insanely cool. I would have loved more of the chapters to be focused on those details since they were my favorite by far. Unfortunately, the story was mostly about Luke.

Luke is an old fashioned detective who is trying to unravel the mystery of the messy murder case he's working on and it's possible weird connection to a local med spa. In this, he's meant to exemplify the idea of all the men (and humans in general) being bumbling idiots with lesser reasoning skills and how they're hopelessly fighting against the hemo sapiens with their superior intellect and insane physical prowess. I understand his purpose, but still. Making fun of his pregnant wife and all her legitimate concerns and questions about the future baby was painful to read. I just did not care to read about all the mundane details of his life and his self-inflicted relationship issues.

Closing thoughts:
Even though I have some complaints about the pacing and main character, it was still a decently enjoyable read. Would recommend for fans of detective novels with background feminist themes. In general it had some really fascinating ideas around pregnancy and what defines humanity that I think a lot of people would find pretty interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own and not sponsored in any way

This book is a bold one involving power, a cult, vampires, and where humans are on the food chain. This is a very interesting and thought-provoking read that will have you staring into a corner for an hour upon completion.

This book got under my skin in the best way. Hemo Sapiens is a haunting, razor-sharp exploration of identity, power, and the bodies we inhabit—how they're policed, desired, exploited, and sometimes weaponized. From the first few pages, I knew I wasn’t just reading a speculative story—I was stepping into a world that felt disturbingly close to our own.

What struck me most was how intimately this novel tackles big themes without ever losing its emotional pulse. The characters feel raw and real, even when the world around them veers into dystopia. There’s a kind of defiant tenderness at the core of the book that caught me off guard—grief, love, resistance, survival. It’s a story that confronts injustice head-on but doesn’t abandon hope entirely.

The writing is bold, visceral, and poetic without being overwrought. I found myself pausing often—not because I was lost, but because I needed a breath. The emotional weight builds slowly, and when the book finally delivers its full impact, it lands hard.

This isn’t a comfortable read, but it’s a necessary one. Hemo Sapiens challenges, provokes, and lingers. It’s the kind of story that leaves a mark and asks you to carry it with you for a while. I won’t be forgetting it anytime soon.

Clever and kinda gory take on vampires, old religion and superstitions, sisterhood, and cults. Is it a cult if the belief system is real rather than fabricated? Interesting question. And how can we know humans are indeed the top of the food chain? A fun read, especially for vampire fans.