This was my first V.E. Schwab book, and I picked it up solely because she described it as “toxic lesbian vampires.” Luckily, it lived up to that promise, and it’s a welcome addition to my collection of favourite sapphic vampire novels.
I appreciate a vampire novel that really digs into what it would feel like to be functionally immortal. We follow a character over many centuries as she lives many lives. It can be a little meandering, but it’s not slow. Instead, it’s unexpected: she reinvents herself and finds new ways to be in the world—as you would, if you lived many hundreds of years.
I’m also always interested in how authors interpret vampire lore. Schwab borrows some familiar elements while also making them her own. We also get to meet many different vampires—some in depth and some in passing—that show that they vary as much as humans do. Their personalities before they were turned have a big influence on who they are afterwards. They all drink blood, but some are cautious or live by a moral code. Others are debaucherous and risk-taking, finding pleasure in the danger of almost getting caught.
We get the point of view of three women who become vampires. Each is living in a different century and sees this change differently. For one, her hunger as a mortal only amplifies as a vampire, and the longer she lives, the more it consumes her. For Alice, waking up a vampire is shocking, and she’s just trying to understand what happened to her and what to do next.
For me, Charlotte was the most interesting point of view character. She offers a different approach to being a vampire: she is sympathetic to humans and wants to find a way to help them. She develops her own moral code, both in how she decides who to feed from and when it’s acceptable to create new vampires. But as we get the perspectives of other characters, we begin to see the cracks in this moral code, seeding doubt.
Early on, I thought this was going to be a straightforwardly feminist interpretation of the female vampire; several times, there’s reference to men believing they are the predator when they’re really the prey. Schwab also introduces these characters completely restrained by misogyny: two of the women (both lesbians) are forced to choose between an unhappy marriage to a man where they’re expected to produce as many babies as possible… or becoming a vampire. Who can blame them for choosing the latter?
But it’s not quite that simple. While they do feed on predatorial men and have some righteous revenge moments, they’re just as likely to murder an innocent woman. They do live up to the “toxic lesbian vampires” description: these are complex, flawed characters. If you’re an “I support women’s wrongs” reader, you should definitely bump this up your TBR list.
There are a few really powerful scenes that had me staring at the ceiling for a moment. V.E. Schwab has a great way of finding a single line that punches you in the stomach. (“I hope you found someone brave enough to love you.”)
As is the case in several queer vampire books I’ve read, this includes an abusive relationship. While there are fantastical elements, of course, there are also some very grounded, relatable moments, so keep that in mind if that’s a trigger for you.
“Why does Charlotte stay? That is like asking—why stay inside a house on fire? Easy to say when you are standing on the street, a safe distance from the flames. Harder when you are still inside, convinced you can douse the blaze before it spreads, or rushing room to room, trying to save what you love before it burns.”
This is a story that shifts and changes shape throughout, and I found that it ended up being about something very different than I originally thought. As you’d expect with a vampire novel, ultimately, it’s a story about death, mortality, and grief. It’s about loving someone who can’t stop running towards their own grave. In retrospect, about 80% of this 544-page book is prologue—and yet, it works. The set up didn’t drag, and it came together in a satisfying way.
If you like gothics, morally grey (or straight-up villainous) main characters, or toxic lesbian vampires, I highly recommend this one.
