jillkaarlela's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Taylor Swift songs: “lover”, “sparks fly (tv)”
-there’s a Taylor Swift and 1989 reference!!! We love to see it!
Age rating: 16+ (1 spicy scene, 0.5/5🌶️)
This book was just such a great time!! I don’t think I’ve read a physical book this fast in a long time! If you are looking for a fun, quick read that is good vibes only, with spooky vibes this is the book for you!! I have absolutely zero complaints, it was great!! The romance was amazing, the plot was super quirky and funny and just as enjoyable as it sounds.
Also Frederick is literally the ideal man??? He is so funny and caring and OBSESSED with her and I love it so much!! He is literally so freaking adorable and sweet, love him.
A customer at the bookstore I work at, who has become a friend, recommended this to me and my coworkers and she was so right!!
-there’s a Taylor Swift and 1989 reference!!! We love to see it!
Age rating: 16+ (1 spicy scene, 0.5/5🌶️)
This book was just such a great time!! I don’t think I’ve read a physical book this fast in a long time! If you are looking for a fun, quick read that is good vibes only, with spooky vibes this is the book for you!! I have absolutely zero complaints, it was great!! The romance was amazing, the plot was super quirky and funny and just as enjoyable as it sounds.
Also Frederick is literally the ideal man??? He is so funny and caring and OBSESSED with her and I love it so much!! He is literally so freaking adorable and sweet, love him.
A customer at the bookstore I work at, who has become a friend, recommended this to me and my coworkers and she was so right!!
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
kaziaroo's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This was a light, fun book, so long as you don't think about it too hard (which I'm not very good at). The characters were adorable and the romance was lovely. I got quite tired of the over-the-top physical attraction between the main couple. The writing was good on the whole, if a bit repetitive – characters were constantly staring at the floor or their shoes. I didn't really find the humour that funny (apart from "the Tiktoks") and kept forgetting it was a romcom rather than romance, but that's just me. The juxtaposition of quirky romcom with actual vampires was jarring but in a fun way.
The title is quite confusing for a British audience – I'd assumed they actually shared a room, but actually they're more flatmates than roommates.
Two things that did really irritate me:
1. The texts and letters were completely unbelievable throughout; they read like spoken dialogue and were never convincing for written language. For example, near the beginning Frederick writes in a handwritten letter "Not... Exactly" – who writes with ellipses like that on paper?! Let alone someone from his period, who's trying not to act suspicious. This kind of thing ruined my immersion in the story whenever there was a letter involved.
2. Following on from that, the author clearly did not research the historical period Frederick is from. She keeps saying he looks like he's stepped out of a Jane Austen novel, but the way she describes his clothes (suits and wingtip shoes) is more like early 1900s fashions, i.e. a century after Austen's time. His speech and style of letter writing also didn't feel convincing enough for the time.
I was also a bit disappointed that there was never a solution to the whole stealing from bloodbanks thing. I know the author didn't want Frederick preying on people, but that still seems like a pretty big ethical issue. Cassie also was just way too comfortable and accepting of the fact that vampires were real and she was living with one.
The title is quite confusing for a British audience – I'd assumed they actually shared a room, but actually they're more flatmates than roommates.
Two things that did really irritate me:
1. The texts and letters were completely unbelievable throughout; they read like spoken dialogue and were never convincing for written language. For example, near the beginning Frederick writes in a handwritten letter "Not... Exactly" – who writes with ellipses like that on paper?! Let alone someone from his period, who's trying not to act suspicious. This kind of thing ruined my immersion in the story whenever there was a letter involved.
2. Following on from that, the author clearly did not research the historical period Frederick is from. She keeps saying he looks like he's stepped out of a Jane Austen novel, but the way she describes his clothes (suits and wingtip shoes) is more like early 1900s fashions, i.e. a century after Austen's time. His speech and style of letter writing also didn't feel convincing enough for the time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Blood, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death and Alcohol
carlyjoann's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
wilybooklover's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5
This was really fun! It's so nice to read a romcom that's actually funny and light in tone. I really enjoyed how most of the book was just Cassie and Frederick having conversations and getting to know each other, especially the epistolary element with all of their notes and letters (reminded me a bit of The Flatshare in that way). Their romance was really cute and I loved how low-conflict it was. Frederick trying to adjust to the modern world was hilarious.
It went a bit downhill at the end for me. AlthoughI appreciated how Cassie and Frederick didn’t break up, the third act conflict fell flat and felt a bit underwhelming. I think it would have been better if it had been more of a surprise to the reader and had more urgency to it. The resolution was honestly ridiculous.
It went a bit downhill at the end for me. Although
I also wish the worldbuilding was a little stronger. It felt more like a contemporary in which one of the characters happened to be a vampire than a paranormal. I wanted to know more about vampire society, their rules, how they’re governed. There’s no apparent concern when Cassie unexpectedly finds out Frederick is a vampire and runs off, even though he later says humans finding out can be dangerous. It’s never really explained why Frederick moved to the US or how he became wealthy. Some of the editing in regards to timelines was a bit off as well.
Overall though, this was a cute, entertaining romcom and I had fun reading it!
Overall though, this was a cute, entertaining romcom and I had fun reading it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Kidnapping, Confinement, and Blood
Minor: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Misogyny
karapillar's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Kidnapping, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Outing, Sexism, Confinement, and Stalking
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