The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood and Boyfriends
Jamie D'Amato
Heartstopper meets Buffy in this queer paranormal rom-com where a college freshman must navigate suddenly becoming a vampire, the underground society he's now part of, and the cute boy who discovers his secret. It’s only natural nineteen-year-old Brennan’s life would be upended by something as ridiculous and unexpected as turning into a vampire. But if there’s one thing Brennan can do, it’s pretend everything’s fine when he’s close to losing his mind. Brennan is nineteen and just clawed his way back to Sturbridge University after recovering from a suicide attempt, and this is not the new life he was hoping for. Brennan’s newly bloodthirsty existence gets way more complicated when Cole, the super cute librarian and everyone’s campus crush, stumbles on Brennan drinking from a stolen blood bag. Luckily, adorable Cole is happy to keep Brennan’s secret, and even seems to maybe like him? Navigating a new relationship is hard enough without the added struggles of vampire puberty, an eclectic clan of self-proclaimed “good” vampires, and growing feelings for the one person who makes Brennan feel normal. With swirling rumors of a missing student and a rise in strange “animal attacks” near campus, Brennan must uncover the secrets of the clan and figure out how to balance vampirism and humanity, or risk losing the first real friends he’s ever had. Filled with humor and heart, The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood and Boyfriends has a gentle bite.
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Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC!
I really adored this book. It’s sweet, lighthearted, and funny, and just overall enjoyable. Honestly, more than anything, it reminds me of queer fanfics I read as a teen (I’m cultured) but done well and with good character development. It’s great that we now have this kind of rep in traditionally published books.
The premise is simple: Brennan, a college kid struggling with anxiety and depression, has recently been turned into a vampire and is trying to balance his new thirst for blood with his thirst (hah) for the cute librarian he has a giant crush on. These two are compelling right from the start. Brennan’s depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation are done really well (I would know, this is my wheelhouse) and Cole is very believable as a young southern gay man with difficult parents. I also really liked that Brennan is clearly stated to be bisexual; always nice to see.
Their relationship is really the point here. There’s some other plot going on with evil vampire shenanigans, which is all quite predictable and uninteresting, but it’s in the background and I don’t think people are picking this book up for the vampire mystery. This is a YA romance at its core. There are a few rushed scenes and realistically, the supporting characters could freak out a little more at finding out vampires are real, but otherwise you’re getting exactly what you signed up for here: cute queer boys falling in love.
The one real complaint I have is the constant references to pop culture items, for two reasons. Firstly, yes, we know Stephenie Meyer and Rupi Kaur are not good writers — they’re popular for their accessibility, not their literary talent. But it feels a bit much for an author to just have their characters talk trash about another contemporary author’s books. Secondly, do teens these days even read Twilight?? I wonder how relevant some of these references are, because they talk a lot about the high school Twilight craze, but that craze was when I (a millennial) was in high school. It made this feel dated, so I wonder how younger readers will find it.
But overall, if you’re in the mood for a sweet, quick-paced, queer college romance, you’re gonna enjoy this!
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