4.5/5. 5/16/2023.

For when you're vibing with... Victorian vampires, good ol' sapphic love triangle drama, romance over decades, and a shock of humor that's practically whimsical.

Twenty-year-old Poppy is a sex worker in Victorian England when she wakes up to the discovery that she's been transformed into a vampire. Shepherding through her new existence is Roisin, an older, cooler vampire--whose complex relationship with her predatory sire is the reason why Poppy was turned in the first place. Despite her attempts to remain remote, Roisin is drawn to headstrong, wild Poppy--but their simmering attraction to each other could spell their doom.

I just loved this book. It's not a take on Carmilla--it's its own thing, equal parts romantic and tragic and funny.

Quick Takes:
--I am very much a sucker for "uptight meets wild" romances. The person with the biggest stick up their ass gets bowled over by a whirlwind of an individual? You can't go wrong with it. Poppy is a true whirling dervish of a heroine, funny and irreverent and seductive and both a bit childish and quite emotionally wise. Roisin has--by nature and through awful experience--become this removed, distant creature who's lost touch with her humanity in an effort to keep from robbing others of their own. I wouldn't say Poppy saves her, because their relationship is quite layered and the book makes a point of both of them having to do personal work... But Poppy does make her want to live again, and their interplay is hilarious and sexy and extremely touching.

--This book... is quite angsty. These are vampires, after all. Roisin in particular is defined by guilt and shame and a desperate wish to go back in time and right her (perceived) wrongs. But there's a lady of the Gothic and shadows across the entire story. What keeps it from being maudlin and depressing, aside from the passion between Poppy and Roisin (make no mistake, this is a true romance) is the humor. The voice of the novel is comedic, Poppy is a riot, you get a lot of "but why" over the various quirks and oddities of vampirism. One particularly pointed question had me laughing within the first chapter or two, and that doesn't happen to me easily.

--I was kind of skeptical as to how potent the romance would be compared to the vampire's story. I saw this compared to Interview with the Vampire a lot, and while that's an interesting vampire story with a romantic throughline (more so... later) it's not a romance by any means. Here, the vampirism isn't skipped over or downplayed, but nor is the love story. Roisin wants Poppy, Poppy wants Roisin, but there are very serious issues that keep them apart... to a point. Don't worry, not for too long; there's a bit of a slow burn, but it's not sloooow, it's compelling, and the payoff isn't too late in the story at all. Plus, the issues between them? Are serious ones, and there isn't a single character in this book that makes the right call every single time. They're vampires! They're messy!

--The queer found family among these vampires... Obviously, queerness is an inherent part of the vampire mythos, but often we see it danced around, not referred to explicitly. It is explicit in this novel, in terms of actions and words. Poppy is also a sex worker when she becomes a vampire, and she actually like.... enjoys sex, and doesn't hate her work. There is trans rep in a strong supporting character (and a refreshingly frank scene in which that character's sexuality is discussed). Poppy is not expected to sit there and wait for Roisin to make it happen; she has sex with someone who isn't her one true love before they get together. I really liked that. I'm so tired of characters--heroines especially--just sitting there and letting cobwebs collect while they wait for their one true love to get their shit together and make it happen. Plus, the sex scene is used to illustrate Poppy's love for and obsession with Roisin in a really interesting (hot) way.

The Sex Stuff:
Segueing from that... the sex is really good in this one. Here's the thing--the sex scenes are poetic, and they could've been more explicit, but they really didn't need to be. And you get everything. There's some praise kink stuff, there's some domming, there's a very very good strap-on scene. And what I liked most was the way these characters acted during sex. You may have an idea of roles and what they like... but the way a person lives their everyday life doesn't necessarily reflect their preferences in the bedrooms and that's illustrated so well here.

I enjoyed this vampire romance so much. You really get this sense of the Victorian era, while at the same time time luxuriating in a very classical sort of vampirism--and all through it, you're rooting for Poppy and Roisin to just get their shit together and work it out. So glad I read it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Samara Breger for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.