(3.5 stars)

oh the second i heard sapphic vampire romance i was IN.

and that romance was good! but not the best. it developed at the rate of a teen fiction (in that it happened very quickly and all at once), and i don't think that suited the style of this book. i definitely do like that we're writing silly sapphic romances that don't take themselves too seriously, but this book is part of a duology (or a series?), meaning the author had ample time to flesh out this romance and instead chose to shove it all within the confines of a single book (which, bear in mind, only spans over the length of two months, one of which a character wasn't even there). i think i would've preferred to see them fall in love, and while i am not against the sensual tone of this book (with it being about vampires and all), i think the author may have had a hard time deciding between whether she, by the end of the book, wanted her characters to be in love or to be in lust. it's all a little messy and it really does feel more like they're thinking with their libidos rather than their hearts...

i did love the overall vibe of this book - definitely one of the better settings created within the dark academia subgenre! it really did feel like spending an autumn studying at an old boarding school, and i like that there was actual academia in my dark academia book. funnily enough, that's actually quite a rare find.

there is a lot of new vampire lore, but it never felt overwhelming to learn. everything made sense and only really came up when it was relevant to the plot. there was no irrelevant info-dumping that forced me to memorise all the rules and backstory just in case it came back up. annie summerlee thank you for holding my hand throughout this entire journey.

i can't say the mystery really excited me, but that might just be because we were working towards the next book. that said, while i understand it is part of a series, it didn't feel whole and complete as its own book. the big mystery subplot kinda fell flat and the actual resolution of the familiar plot felt more like a Thing That Happens rather than the big ending. but, again, that is probably because it was written as a series and wasn't given enough room to have its own story.

definitely will give the next book a chance! since my main grievance is that it felt incomplete and rushed, i'm pretty sure reading the two together will make for a much better reading experience.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this arc!

I appear to be in the minority here - as I really didn't enjoy this book at all.

I wanted to know more about Rebecca / Cassie's past. We were given some details of why she has become a vampire hunter, but it was lacking.

There was so much potential but I felt that there was a lot missing.

I throughly enjoyed the haunting feel of this book. I loved the academia world between humans and vampires. This was my first female and female read but I really loved it.

I really liked this book , The Scottish Highlands setting was atmospheric, and I liked the mix of vampire lore and dark academia it made the story feel mysterious and intriguing. Rebecca and Aliz’s slowburn romance was sweet and full of tension, and loved how their relationship developed alongside the plot.That said, the pacing felt a bit uneven at times, and some plot points could have been tighter. I also wanted a bit more depth in the supporting characters. But the story is engaging, with enough suspense and drama to keep me reading, and the paranormal romance aspect is definitely satisfying.
Overall, I’d give it around 3.8/5—a solid, enjoyable read, especially if you like gothic vibes and vampire stories with a touch of romance.

The overall pacing and storyline of the book was very good, I always love a vampire book. I felt that the relationship at the start between the FMCs are a bit random, and I was confused why the mutual hatred was there initially.

I love the roommate angle, forced proximity is always a winner for me.

I absolutely loved this book. It was everything I expected of it in the best way possible. Exactly what I needed right now. I apologise in advance if this review is incoherent because of how excited I am.

Every character was just recognisable enough as an archetype for me to know what to expect of them, but none of them fell into the overused stereotypes one so often finds in romantasy. Rebecca is a genuinely interesting protagonist who really didn’t come across as helpless, which would’ve been incredibly easy to do, given that she had literally no idea what was actually going on 90% of the time. I really admire the way the author could change my opinion about Elia as the book went on without her transition feeling forced. I have to say, though, my favourite was DEFINITELY Aliz. An unapologetically slutty vampire love interest that only wears three-piece suits? I’M SOLD. Her kindness and aversion to violence was so refreshing in a genre of ‘morally grey’ male interests who hate the mc for no apparent reason. Every character felt like they had a place; I like that I wasn’t being introduced to random friends and university students to pad the story out.

I’m not going to spoil the plot but let me just say that the suspense levels were perfect. By the end, I was panicking just as much as the characters were. No random plot twists came out of the blue without being hinted at beforehand, but they still shocked me. My only criticism is that that occasionally with the way that the prose/dialogue was phrased, I got a little confused as to what was going on, but, honestly, I find that to a certain extent with most books, it was just especially prevalent here—just stuff like I’d forget that someone was in a scene and then they’d speak out of nowhere, or I wouldn’t notice that one character was blindfolding the other and then I’d get confused when they couldn’t see etc. etc.

The romance didn’t make me cringe, which is quite a feat; I tend to think that the characters move too fast or make wild promises in the name of ‘true love’ but these two seemed perfectly reasonable to me and I’m very excited to see how their relationship develops in book two. The use of romance tropes like the whole enemies to lovers, forced proximity thing didn’t feel too forced, either. The smut was built up to perfection and neither that nor the gore felt gratuitous.

One of my biggest pet peeves for vampire stories is lore that makes no sense, and while this book added some more rules to the typical ones, all of them were understandable. The inclusion of synthetic blood and parched vampires particularly interested me.

Even as an ebook, everything was beautifully formatted, escpecially the typeface. I have a soft spot for books with the page numbers printed at the top. My only qualm was with the text messages being written in text bubbles, which just aggravates me, but that’s more of a me thing. It just feels disruptive. I’ll let it slide though because it would get annoying at parts when there’s both an aloud conversation and a text one having to specify which was which.

In conclusion, I LOVED IT. I will single-handedly market this book FOR FREE. BRING ON BOOK TWO!!! ‼️‼️‼️

Thank you to for NetGalley for the ARC!!!

Vampires
Love
Diverse representation

This book has it all and is such a good read. Highly recommend

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the dark academia vibes mixed with vampires! There were a few errors I noted that if I wasn't paying attention to the story, may have confused me but I know I have had the opportunity to read this as an ARC and it will likely be fixed for publishing. I really enjoyed following Rebecca AKA Cassie's story and the murder mystery element of this. I also enjoyed almost a fresh take on vampirism with the quirks like having traits depending on which country they were sired and the myths and folklore of that country! Some parts did feel a little rushed and clunky but overall the story was easy to follow and I didn't guess at some of the plot twists which really kept me engaged!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to this early. Review has been posted on Waterstones and Goodreads.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this arc.

Vampires. Sapphic vampires. Wow. This book was everything and more. I loved it. Devoured it in one sitting. A vampire university set in the Scottish highlands that is letting in students for the first time - what could possible go wrong?

Everything but it also goes so right and cannot recommend this book enough. It’s so digestible. I didn’t put it down. I couldn’t. I was compelled to read it until the very end!!

A massive 4.5 stars and I will be raving about this for the foreseeeable future!

Readers are devouring dark academia enemy to lovers novels right now, and those interested in a vampiric -and sapphic - twist will find a lot to enjoy here. The pace is extremely fast and I felt myself yearning for a bit more space and time, first to get to know Rebecca and the. for her romance with FMC2 to unfold. But the characters are likeable, the plot hangs together well enough, and the book is atmospheric.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 - 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘦 🧛‍♀️❤️‍🔥🗡

Rating
⭐⭐⭐.75/5

ARC Read, thankyou Netgalley, the author & publisher for this copy for an honest review.  This book's expected publication 13 January 2026.

Sapphic enemies to lovers with dark academia & gothic vibes 🖤

We follow a vampire hunter, Rebecca, who is on a path for revenge following the death of her parents. She is tasked to infiltrate a university where humans and vampires co-exist to retrieve 'The book of Blood and Roses'.  Things don't go to plan & she ends up having a vampire roommate, Aliz Astra, who is incredibly important as she is an heiress to a very influencal vampire lineage. Everything changes one night & Rebecca goes from not being able to STAND vampires to constantly thinking about one silver haired vampire.

The tension build up between our FMC's was a perfect balance of slow burn & enemies to lovers. The development of Rebecca's character is very poignant to the story. The environment the story was set in, dark gothic spooky vibes with mazes and hidden libraries was perfect.

The overall story I enjoyed, I did find it predicatable but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. I did feel like I was left wanting more, more backstory and about characters. I feel like we got nuggets of information to support the story but I wanted more development, especially over Julia and her murals.

If you like a vampire story I recommend picking this up when it is released

Wow, what a story. Thank you so much for letting me read this ARC. It combines some of my absolute favourite genres and tropes: dark academia, vampires, slow burn, enemies to lovers. The book gripped my attention within the first few pages, the pacing was absolutely perfect and the story wasn't at all predictable and kept me reading until the early hoirs of the night.

I can't wait for book 2 and to see where the story goes next!

The Book of Blood and Roses was such a fun, addictive read. A sapphic vampire hunter x vampire romance filled with yearning and tension? Yes, please!

The plot is full of secret societies, shifting allegiances, and the constant question of who’s truly good or bad. I really liked the way the world blurred the lines between humans and vampires. The lore, pulling from different mythologies, was creative, but it was the romance that completely hooked me. The slow-burn relationship between a vampire and the hunter sworn to kill her was delicious- angsty, forbidden, and handled with the perfect pacing. Watching their walls break down and their bond grow felt natural and believable, and the chemistry was perfect.

Perfect for anyone who loves queer vampire romance.

The Book of Blood and Roses — Annie Summerlee ★★★½☆
Dark, romantic, and laced with a little bit of danger — this one had a strong atmosphere right from the start. I liked the blend of magic, romance, and LGBTQ+ representation, and there were some beautifully written moments between the leads. I did find myself wanting a little more clarity in certain plot points, but overall it was still an enjoyable read with some striking imagery. Definitely one for those who like their romantasy with a shadowy edge.

What an ARC 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

“In the Scottish Highlands is a university where vampire students study alongside humans. Rebecca Charity is a vampire hunter undercover at the university, searching for the mysterious Book of Blood and Roses, a lost compendium of ways to kill vampires.

Her new roommate is an Astra, one of the most powerful vampire families...”

Okay guys I’ll be honest I didn’t know what to expect, vampires aren’t my favourite fantasy genre but this exceeded my expectations.

- Vampire X Vampire slayer ✔️
- Yearning ✔️
- Humour ✔️
- Enemies to lovers ✔️

I loved both our FMCs equally but I did find Aliz Astra just a tad funnier so she gets an extra point. I loved the storyline and the arc of the whole book, especially the internal back and forth Rebecca has about the whole relationship. I read this so quickly I’m kinda disappointed I now have to wait so long for book 2 🫣

This book blew me away I was hooked from the very start and was not disappointed. Concept and storyline well executed with good character portrayal and I found the whole story really immersive and engaging

This was a solid read for me but not enough tension/yearning to get me hooked. The plot is really good- set in an academia setting in rural Scotland, gothic architecture and intrigue set the scene for a vampire hunter/vampire forced to work together to solve the mystery in time. The writing is great and the pace is too, but I felt the main characters fell in love way too quick for it to be believable or enjoyable, and although their dynamic continued to entertain is didn't have the same pay off. I'm intrigued as to where book 2 will go, and I absolutely rate the vampire lore and doing something original with it!!

A story about a vampire hunter who falls in love with a vampire….sign me up!
From beginning to end, this book had me hooked.
Having to work together to break the curse, whilst also not knowing whether or not to trust the other.

Aliz and Rebecca were great MC’s. Although I will say that Aliz became my favourite towards the end.
Fantastic sapphic fantasy romance.

Wow my original review was shit! This book was unbelievable. It took me on such a rollercoaster of twists and turns, and I loved every single second of it.

I struggled to review it at first because it honestly took my breath away. Rebecca's character development is incredibly well written, and it moves so naturally. Her hatred of the vampires is understandable and easy to sympathise with because you see her pain from losing her parents so vividly. As the story moves and she integrates more solidly into Tynahine, you see her misconceptions and bigotry fall away, but it's so subtle that you don't see it straight away.

Annie handled it beautifully and skillfully. It's truly commendable.

The vampire lore was fucking excellent, too! I feel like it's hard to put new spins on ancient folklore, but Annie really managed to create a unique world and history for her vampires.

The questions and mystery were brilliantly paced with just enough detail to keep me hooked. I didn't feel frustrated by the gaps in Rebecca's understanding at any point, instead being hungry for more.

I'm so eager for book two, bring it on!