Official Synopsis: No humans here. Just immortals: their politics, their feuds—and their long buried secrets.
For centuries, vampires freely roamed the land until the Grays came out of nowhere, wiping out half the population in a night. The survivors fled to the last vampire city of First Light, where the rules are simple. If you’re poor, you drink weak blood. If you’re nobility, you get the good stuff. And you can never, ever leave.
Palace maid Sam has had enough of these rules, and she’s definitely had enough of cleaning the bedpans of the lords who enforce them. When the son of the city’s ruler is murdered and she finds the only clue to his death, she seizes the chance to blackmail her way into a better class and better blood. She falls in with the Leeches, a group of rebel maids who rein in the worst of the Lords. Soon she’s in league with a sorcerer whose deductive skills make up for his lack of magic, a deadly werewolf assassin and a countess who knows a city’s worth of secrets.
There’s just one problem. What began as a murder investigation has uncovered a vast conspiracy by the ruling elite, and now Sam must find the truth before she becomes another victim. If she can avoid getting murdered, she might just live forever.
I'm very excited to see vampires are getting a comeback, especially the monster vampires that haunt a lot of mythology. This book definitely kept my post-Nosferatu vampire vibes going. There is a lot of politics within this book, and in the beginning I definitely had a time trying to figure it out. There are Lords, Midways and their servants, who are all able to get different levels of blood to keep certain powers in only the higher classes. We get a look into all of these classes, with Sam working for the Lord Azzurri family, and even seeing into Lord Azzurri's point of view. We are also introduced into other magical creatures, with werewolves and sorcerers being other main characters within the story. There are also the Grays, who are trying to kill pretty much everyone. I would love to know more about the Grays and how they play a role in everything going on.
One thing about this book is there is a lot happening, and as the start of a trilogy there are times where you feel like you are just being caught up to the centuries that lead up to this book instead of plot, but that makes sense at times. Sam, the main character, is trying to find a way to have a better life, and with the death of the youngest Azzurri, sees a chance to get away and join a group of rebels called the Leeches. At the same time, Lord Azzurri is trying to figure out what his youngest was up to, as well as including the Cult of Humanis, or the sorcerers, who believe that all of these things are connected and may hint at mortals being something that exist.
Overall, there is a lot happening within this book, and is definitely falls into a paranormal fantasy, with an overall lack of romance and a lot of moving parts in the rebel movement. There are a lot of monsters within the story too, with the other son of the Azzurri torturing people for fun instead of trying to figure out the secrets of what might have killed his bother. Because this book does have a lot happening, its definitely not a book you read with another, or even while doing other things. I felt a similar way with Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff. There are a lot of pieces, characters and just plot points happening that sometimes feel overwhelming but overall work really well. There is magic within this book too, that makes sense within the story and seems to have the rules I enjoy within magic-worlds.
A fun note, is I like how the naming of the characters works, with the main vampire family having 'red-blue' names. I enjoyed seeing the creative way that was used, while the Worns, or servants having 'normal' names and other creatures using completely different naming conventions overall.
As a debut, this book is well written, with a lot of creative energy put into it. I am excited to see where the rest of the trilogy goes, with a lot happening within and near the end of this book. I hope to see vampires, especially the monster kind, becoming more and more common in books and media again.
This book is definitely a killer of a debut and was a very fun read.
I rated it 4 out of 5 stars.
Lightfall is expected to be published January 14, 2025.
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