Lucy, a paramedic unsatisfied by the direction of her life, finds herself dropped into the world of vampires. Despite her pop culture knowledge of the creatures and their world, she’s woefully unprepared for what it will take for her to survive.

When this book came out, I read the first two pages and knew I was going to love the story. It hits all the right beats mixing a world mostly unseen by humans, magic, and horror. The vibes is that of a 90s vampire movie.

I’ve seen others compare the book to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I can see why. Lucy doesn’t spend a great deal of her time quipping in the middle of a battle, but she thinks quickly in high stress situations (as one would want from a paramedic!) and is resourceful.

There is of course the forbidden lust between Lucy and a vampire, but the rest of the vampires? They are perfect monsters designed to make you fear the setting sun.

What I enjoyed most about the book was how I thought I knew every twist, but was so deeply wrong. As someone who loves vampire fiction whether that be books, TV shows, or movies, this was fun.

I want to emphasise that I still would have had fun if I had guessed the twists. There’s a great feeling when one is genre savvy and you get what’s going. However, Stephenson is clearly genre savvy, too, and it shows in the way he plays with the tropes.

Definitely check this book out asap!