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regulusreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
⭐️ | 4.5 stars
uhm WHAT. the ending of this book left me shattered, it was over before i was ready to depart from this world and im anxiously anticipating the sequel (and looking forward to reading Forever Red).
but going back to the beginning, this book follows Arlo. Arlo is a sweet but deeply anxious young man who’s at the beginning of his journey and just as he begins to think he understands what his life will be, everything changes. however, this change lights the path to a whole new understanding of himself and the parts of himself that had been obscured.
I also really enjoyed this take on . I haven’t read a lot of vampire-centric fiction but I liked that this was different and almost veering into sci-fi territory in how it works.
while I was unsure of the writing style at first it began to make sense due to it following Arlo and the way he thought. I relate to Arlo, not fully, but especially in regards to him being aroace and seemingly neurodivergent (at least to me). pages 269-272 made me cry, I felt so seen. while my heart experiences of being aroace are different to Arlo’s, his struggle with his identity is familiar. I’m still struggling with my identity and reading books like this are so healing. Arlo is not broken and neither am I.
the book had its slower moments and faster moments but I think it works. after the first couple chapters the book flew by and I finished it far quicker than I thought I would because I couldn’t put it down. the stakes hit you like a brick. i was devastated at the end and yet, it felt necessary.
ANYWAYS GOOD BOOK, GOING TO CRY NOW 👍
uhm WHAT. the ending of this book left me shattered, it was over before i was ready to depart from this world and im anxiously anticipating the sequel (and looking forward to reading Forever Red).
but going back to the beginning, this book follows Arlo. Arlo is a sweet but deeply anxious young man who’s at the beginning of his journey and just as he begins to think he understands what his life will be, everything changes. however, this change lights the path to a whole new understanding of himself and the parts of himself that had been obscured.
I also really enjoyed this take on . I haven’t read a lot of vampire-centric fiction but I liked that this was different and almost veering into sci-fi territory in how it works.
while I was unsure of the writing style at first it began to make sense due to it following Arlo and the way he thought. I relate to Arlo, not fully, but especially in regards to him being aroace and seemingly neurodivergent (at least to me). pages 269-272 made me cry, I felt so seen. while my heart experiences of being aroace are different to Arlo’s, his struggle with his identity is familiar. I’m still struggling with my identity and reading books like this are so healing. Arlo is not broken and neither am I.
the book had its slower moments and faster moments but I think it works. after the first couple chapters the book flew by and I finished it far quicker than I thought I would because I couldn’t put it down. the stakes hit you like a brick. i was devastated at the end and yet, it felt necessary.
ANYWAYS GOOD BOOK, GOING TO CRY NOW 👍
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Excrement, and Kidnapping
juan_adhd_reading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a very cute book! Despite the inherently dark fact that it is about a boy being killed and becoming a vampire, this was actually a really lighthearted coming of age story. I found it a bit cheesy at times, but in the way that receiving a bunch of compliments at once can sometimes feel cringy (is that just me 😅). Anyway, this book also has a very emphatic arc of the main character, Arlo, discovering his asexuality which is one of the strongest points of this book. I could relate to Arlo in a lot of ways which was one of the reasons why I really enjoyed this book. The other one being that all the characters genuinely love Arlo, and care for each other very deeply. If you’re a fan of the found family trope, I highly recommend this book. Also, one of the biggest highlights of this book is the character art scattered all throughout. It is gorgeous! I really wish more books included illustrations like this.
My main complaint would be the pacing. Given that most of the book is set on finding the person that killed Arlo, I would expect more tension, action and a bit more mystery. I took longer than expected to finish this book because of the pacing. However, the last 50 -ish pages where extremely action packed and much more violent and dark that the rest of the book. I think I would have rather more of the book to be written this way.During one of the last chapters there’s the death of a character that carries a strong emotional sucker punch. Personally, I think this could’ve been done better if we had explored more of this character, but it was still incredibly sad. Still, I am very excited for the continuation of this story, and also the prequel coming out soon about the supporting characters Ben and Casper (loved them!)
My main complaint would be the pacing. Given that most of the book is set on finding the person that killed Arlo, I would expect more tension, action and a bit more mystery. I took longer than expected to finish this book because of the pacing. However, the last 50 -ish pages where extremely action packed and much more violent and dark that the rest of the book. I think I would have rather more of the book to be written this way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Addiction, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment