A review by floralvarezr
Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite by Natalie C. Parker, Zoraida Córdova

medium-paced

2.5

This was amazingly inclusive and super gay which I loved.
I wish the stories were a little bit longer. It's clearly personal preference but I much prefer to have a smaller amount of longer stories than many many short stories.
Also, I wish the commentary from the editors had been more academic, they delve a bit into the vampiric tropes and mention how the plot of the story that had just taken place gives a different take than expected, but I wanted more depth, maybe a small essay.
That said, this is a fun YA book about vampires, it's my fault if my expectations aren't met.

Seven Nights for Dying: fun if in my mind I pretend the protagonist wasn't a minor. Lovely levels of gayness.

The Boys from Blood River: creepy. The writing was atmospheric and the lore was fun. I really enjoyed it.

Senior Year Sucks: fun, cool, great writing, great MC voice, great work with the setting and the lore, atmospheric, tense, just great and gay.

The Boy and the Bell: not my favourite writing but fun premise.

A Guidebook for the Newly Sired Desi Vampire: really hated the funny cheeky writing, it's totally not my style. The metaphor was laid on too thick.

In Kind: horrifying, truly scary in the way that only human beings can actually be. I loved it. Very cool to see a disabled vampire.

Vampires Never Say Die: if this one had a point, I didn't get it.

Bestiary: fun, weird depiction of a vampire. Love the relationships with the animals.

Mirrors, Windows and Selfies: I just couldn't get into it.

The House of Black Sapphires: the lore and setting were a bit confusing tbh. I liked the prose but found the protagonist's inner mind a bit childish for an ancient being.

First Kill: gay and hot and shorter than I would have liked.