Tag Archives: vampires

Review: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

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Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a complicated story of three women from different eras. First, you have Sabine, who we first meet in Spain in 1532. She is a woman who craves independence, living in a time when that wasn’t really an option for them. She gets out of our small town by marrying up, only to find she has less freedom than before. Lottie, in London, 1827. Lottie, growing up in the Regency era, is being forced to marry and is desperate to get out, and finally, Alice in Boston in 2019. Alice is trying to make a new life after a tragedy. We go back and forth between their POV’s as we try to discover how they are all connected. Through their narratives, we see how they navigate their societies as women as they try to live life on their own terms. The thread begins with Sabine, who is turned into a Vampire because she is desperate to escape an unhappy marriage. She starts to travel as a widow because, in her time, it was considered appropriate for women to live alone. Lottie is also turned into a vampire because she sees it as a way to live the life she wants to live and love the woman she wants to love. The saddest of them is Alice, who is turned without her consent. Unlike Sabine and Lottie, who chose to be turned, Alice did not. Alice goes to a party, has a one-night stand with a girl, and wakes up a vampire. She doesn’t know how this happened or why, and is caught in a centuries-long battle that has nothing to do with her. This book is a good examination on historical struggles of women and the violence they have to endure. I do like the ending. It is not at all a happy ending but kind of a bit hopeful for Alice to exert her own authority as she now will move through the world on her own journey.

Review: The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

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I do love a vampire book that takes place in New Orleans. I know Ann Rice is the gold standard but I would add this to the list of should read. Celine arrives in New Orleans after leaving Paris with a big secret. She is immediately drawn into the world the Cours De Lions and Bastien Sainte Germain. There is a bit of enemies to lovers as their first interaction is definitely antagonistic. However the attraction is there from the very beginning. Not that long after she arrives, a series of murders start to occur. First one near the port, a second at the Cours de Lions while Celine is there and a third in the Convent, Celine is staying in. All pointing to the intended victim is Celine herself but is she? The POV chapters of Celine and Bastien are interrupted by the murderer themselves as we get an insight as to why they are doing what they are doing but more a picture of the history. I must admit, I was a off on who the murder was. In retrospect, I should have been a little bit more suspicious at how often a certain off book character was mentioned but it was still a nice surprise. I do love Celine and Bastien’s relationship and the back and forth between them. I also like the friendship between Celine and Poppy and Odette. I do hope that we get more interactions in the next book. I am also pretty excited about the potential love triangle brewing between, Celine, Bastien and Michael. Michael, is the detective looking into the murders and of course has a history with Bastien. The ending definitely sets up a change in dynamics between all three of them. I look forward to reading how that will all turn out.

Weekend Reads: Gross Vampires

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Beth and I recently saw Nosferatu, and it got me thinking about vampire media. I’ve noticed three distinct types of vampire offerings: campy vamps, sexy, vamps, and seriously disgusting vamps. Nosferatu, I think, straddles the line a bit between disgusting and sexy? He’s got that vampy charisma, but he also has somehow both dry and gushy corpse vibes. With that in mind, here are some recommendations of gross vampires you can check out if you’re looking for a new book to dive into this weeked.

The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

The Strain follows the story of Ephraim Goodweather, Abraham Setrakian, and others as they battle a plague of vampires that begins with an airplane landing mysteriously at JFK with no damage but also almost no survivors. The vampires cannot be mistaken for your sexy True Blood or Twilight Vamps. It is the first in a trilogy that is intense, heart-pounding, and an interesting take on vampire mythology. It is also a TV series, if you’re not looking for a book, but would like some vampire content.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Sunshine is a favorite here at Stacks Exceed Life Expectancy. I think both of us have read it multiple times. Set in a world of magic, it follows the story of Rae “Sunshine” Seddon and her unlikely compatriot, the vampire Constantine as they join forces to fight other vampires. These vampires aren’t gross in the way that Del Toro and Hogan’s vampires are, but they are decidedly more dangerous and less fun than other modern takes on vampires. This one is so good, y’all.

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

They come at night.They are shrouded in mist. They leave you with a fever that portends death. This one is set in Texas before Texas was a U.S. state. It has cowboys. it has Anglos coming in and making trouble. It is historical fiction as well as a vampire novel and it was so good. Oh, and it has a love story. So, even if you still want that bit of romance with your gross vamps, you get it. I really enjoyed this one and the audiobook has a solid narration.

Do you have a favorite unsexy vampire novel? Sound off in the comments!

Review: The Damned by Renée Ahdieh

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The Damned is the second book in The Beautiful series and it continues some weeks after the end of the first book, so spoilers for The Beautiful ahead.

Celine finds herself in the hospital, Michael Grimaldi by her side, unable to remember how she came to be in the hospital. All anyone would tell her is that there had been a murderer stalking the streets of New Orleans and he would have taken her life if Michael hadn’t saved her. But, all her memories of the incident and some from the time before are just gone. Her doctor says that it isn’t uncommon for people with head injuries to forget things, and her memory may return in some time. Of course, we know where her memories have gone and have no expectation that she will ever get them back.

Bastien wakes above the restaurant Jacques’, surrounded by the other members of the Court of Lions, a vampire. And he is angry about it. He is made even angrier to find out that Celine has traded her memories and possible future with him to save him. Bastien hears of someone who may be able to unmake him and he becomes obsessed with the possibility of not being a vampire again.

Émilie, still consumed by rage, waits for any sign that she has succeeded in killing her brother and ending Nicodemus’s bloodline. Obviously, that would be delightful, but there is a possibility, she knows, that Nicodemus would have turned his nephew. And if he did, that is also to her advantage because she can use it to stoke the war between the Fallen and the Brotherhood.

So, we have Celine, trying to recall everything she has lost, Bastien struggling to come to grips with his new life, Michael Grimaldi, still in love with Celine and fawning over her in Bastien’s absence, a scheming werewolf still on the prowl, and to that we add newly engaged Pippa, and a whole bunch of scheming fey, just waiting to cause chaos. And chaos there is. This was also a quick read, even at 401 pages. Can Bastien come to accept himself? Can Celine recall her lost past? What other secrets will be exposed? This book was a good time. We learn more about the fey Otherworld in this book and we continue to watch our main characters grow and change. We learn more about the other members of the court, getting some more backstory on Madeleine, Hortense, Jae, Odette, and Arjun.

The end was a bit abrupt, but there are two more books left in the series so I don’t mind a cliffhanger (especially since those books are already out). We do get some resolution, with some storylines tying up so that we can move on. This was a fun read, so I am definitely going to pick up the next one.

I got this one from my local library and that is where I’ll be going for the next one!

Review: The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh

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Celine Rosseau has fled Paris for New Orleans, in hopes of starting a new life. She’s running from a secret that weighs heavy on her. She begins her life in New Orleans at the Ursuline convent with her new friend Pippa, who has also left things in Europe in hopes of finding a new life.

Unlike some of the other girls who came over on the ship with them, Celine and Pippa don’t have what you might call practical skills. They weren’t governesses, so they aren’t meant for the classroom. They can’t cook or garden. Pippa is a painter and Celine was apprenticed at one of the best ateliers in Paris. So, they are relegated to making little baubles and selling them outside the church to raise money for the orphanage. They hear rumors about a violent murder that has taken place in the city. It must have something to do with the court, the gossipers say.

While selling her handstitched handkerchiefs, Celine meets Odette Valmont. One of the upper echelons of society, money is no object for Odette. It is carnival season in New Orleans and she needs something absolutely smashing for the masquerade ball. She asks Celine to design a costume for her. Celine, of course, agrees. She has mad fashion skills and it would raise a lot of money for the orphanage. How could she say no?

Celine meets the most beautiful man she has ever seen, Bastien, on the way to take Odette’s measurements. She finds out Bastien and Odette are both members of this mysterious court. And then, of course, there are more murders. Can Celine solve the murders before she becomes a victim? Is Bastien a jerk in a nice suit, or is there something special underneath his gilded exterior.

This was a fun and fast read. Celine is a great main character. She has good energy. She grows through the story. Bastien is good, too. There’s an excellent cast of character surrounding them. The plot is intriguing and includes a mysterious villain who is planning these murders with an ulterior motive. The villain’s chapters are in first person while Celine and Bastien, who both of chapters from their perspective, are written in third person. It was really interesting to see the narrative arc unfold from Celine and Bastien’s point of view and to then get explanations and little details here and there from the villain in the shadows.

There’s a bit of a twist at the end that sets up the second book in the series. I’ve already picked it up from the library, so you know I enjoyed this one.

So, if you like historical fantasy and/or vampires, smart leading ladies, and you’d like to see an interesting twist on New Orleans vampire lore, I’d say check this one out.

A Quick Review: Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness

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This one was fine. It didn’t pack the same punch as the previous books in the series as it didn’t have quite as high of stakes. To be honest I’m not sure if it’s a standalone novel set after the events of the All Souls Trilogy or the beginning of a new series. As a Standalone it’s good. It showed us the aftermath of the last book and what happened to Diana, Matthew and their twins but it mainly focuses on Marcus and Phoebe. They have been separated as Phoebe goes through the transmission from human to Vampire. It gives Marcus time to look back at his life and work through his feelings. We finally get to know how Matthew met Marcus and how he was made to a vampire and more importantly what happened between the two of them in New Orleans. It also interesting to see the process it takes to become a vampire. It doesn’t end with being bitten by a vampire. You have a lot to learn to be a vampire and a lot to give up. It seems to have ended on a happy note. So if it is a standalone it was fine but there is still the issue of Gerbert punishment and other issues with the congregation left open. Matthew hasn’t cured his blood rage yet and one of the twins is a weaver and has a Griffin for a familiar. There are so many left open questions to answer but there really wasn’t a lot of set up to what is to come. Sure there were hints of problems brewing in the congregation and Clairmont-Bishop family. I’m curious as to what is going on in Romania between the warring vampire clans. It feels important because why else mention it? So there has to be more books to come, right? It can’t just end here with Marcus and Phoebe being together as vampires and Diana and Matthew going back to teaching? There just has to be more.