Vampires fighting in the Civil War? A strong female lead on a quest to avenge her family? Sign me up! The premise of this book was right up my alley, Vampires fighting in the Civil War? A strong female lead on a quest to avenge her family? Sign me up! The premise of this book was right up my alley, but I spent a good portion of it rolling my eyes at the romance.
One of the main issues for me was the love interest who is an obsessed centuries old vampire.. He’s hundreds of years old, but the justification for the romance is that he’s “biologically” and mentally just 18? Meanwhile, the main character is barely 18 herself (if that). The romance felt forced—he’s infatuated with her, and she spends most of the time openly hating him, only to eventually decide she likes him? The dynamic left me confused and uninterested. IDK if I was the YA age range the book is intended for I probably would have ate that up.
Another challenge was the plot, or rather, the lack of clarity around it. I spent over half the book unsure of the story's actual objective, which made the pacing feel aimless. I kept looking back thinking "whats the point?" The characters themselves and the glimpses of vampire lore were what kept me reading. The synopsis might have provided more context, but within the book, the direction only became clear about 60% of the way through.
I also found the writing style and language off-putting at times—it felt too modern for the historical setting. However, this could work to the book’s advantage for younger readers, making it more accessible. Despite these issues, the characters were a standout feature for me. Each had depth and complexity, with rich backstories of trauma and grief. The dimensionality extended to the side characters, which was refreshing and added substance to the narrative.
While there was a lot I didn’t love, I did enjoy the story overall and the layered characters and unique ideas. ...more