Vampires and a murder mystery in a fantasy setting should have been an easy like for me, but this fell flat in multiple ways.

While I do like the take on various types of animal blood give different powers, that is also really the only way you remember they're vampires. Drinking blood or what power it gives is mentioned on nearly every page. Without that, this is just another castle politics and intrigue book. It has the servants, the oppressed people, the spymaster, corrupt lords, the slightly oblivious ruler, the horrible oldest son, and of course, the special snowflake girl that will save everything.

Said girl is Sam and she's 30, but with the way she acts and how everyone (werewolf and mages included) is at least 150 years old, she's definitely viewed as 16-19.

There is a good base here for a story, but it's also the usual plotline with maybe a surprise or two along the way. But a lot needed to be trimmed out as most scenes felt they went on too long and some became repetitive.

The characters were all rather flat as well. You were given just enough to get the basic role they would play, but nothing to really drive their actions or make me root for them. Unfortunately, the most interesting character was likely the one that died in the first chapter and we're trying to find out the why and who of it all.