Official Synopsis: Rowan Young knew where his life was heading.
The headmaster’s son and golden boy of elite Vermont boarding school Mockingbird Prep, Rowan was set to inherit a legacy passed down through generations of forefathers.
Until a strange new student arrives to derail those plans.
Casper Belamy didn’t ask to be a vampire.
But now that he is one, all he wants is to travel the world looking for more of his kind.
Before he can do that, he must accomplish an impossible task set forth by his adoptive family of vampiric royals: prove he can keep their kind safe and finish high school without being discovered.
If controlling his thirst wasn’t hard enough, he is forced to share a dorm with the headmaster’s son. And despite their instant dislike for one another, Casper can’t ignore the mouth-wateringly delicious scent of Rowan’s blood.
When bitter fights become late night rendez-vous, forbidden romance blossoms in the shadows. Facing a fearful world that would rather they stay hidden, Rowan and Casper contend with an onslaught of troubles: Rowan’s father is breathing down his neck, the safety of Casper’s new-found family is on his shoulders, and a secret society of slayers threatens to destroy everything.
I am all about vampires making a comeback in the world of books, especially if we are going to add queer vampires into the mix. Overall, this story had a lot of tension, from the two main characters not liking each other in the beginning to learning they were pretty much born to enemies. Rowan is definitely kind of an asshole at the beginning of the book but ends up having his world turned upside down a few times within the story. By the end, he is struggling to figure out who he is within this new world that has been opened for him.
Casper is struggling to remember himself, and honestly I wish the 'before' with him was a bit more explored. He started to remember himself and it felt like he wanted more from that then was given. Casper also is trying to find his place in the 'mortal' world as a vampire prince, between struggling with control and knowing there are people out there who hate them.
As Casper and Rowan's relationship becomes more involved, the more in danger both of them are. There are a lot of moments throughout the text that I really enjoyed, but others that I wish were expanded on. The ending of the book felt rushed at times, especially knowing a 'war' or battle between slayers and vampires might happen. I felt like everything happened really fast and I could have used a few more pages for things to play out, or for the fencing team to make a choice on who they wanted to be in this whole thing.
I will warn, there are a lot of moments of homophobia in this book, so if that would bother you, this might be one to avoid or proceed with caution when you are reading it. Rowan's dad definitely isn't super accepting during parts of the book.
I am glad I received an early copy of this book, as I'm not sure I would have heard about it otherwise! The book was gifted to me by Tiny Ghost Press! Which looks to publish a lot of queer horror!
I rated this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars!
Keep It In the Dark is scheduled to be published December 3, 2024!
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