*I received a copy of this book from the author. This has not influenced my review.*

This was an interesting, different sort of vampire book. For me, at least, since most of the ones I read are the romance kind or at least the action-y urban fantasy kind.

This author has a skill for exploring the idea of what might happen if paranormals really existed and someone found them, in a way that feels very grounded and believable (but still hopeful). And that’s a neat thing to explore. It also makes the characters easy to root for or hate, because what they’re doing all feels like it could be really happening.

This was also a vampire story idea that I don’t think I’ve ever seen. A vampire who is getting sick from blood and unable to drink it, but he’ll die without it. It was fun seeing his more dangerous, vampirey side come out too though. Both the vampire and the story were a mix of science and paranormal.

It’s a pretty slow-paced book, by necessity. It’s about scientists in a lab, not a ton of action to be had there. It’s not bogged down in explanations, it’s more about the reactions of the humans involved, the ethical questions around saving a being who feeds on humans, the worry of not knowing if he could be saved, and the thoughts of an immortal being facing mortality. But it did start to pick up and develop more tension further in the book when certain things started happening. 

I was worried the medical stuff might be a problem for me, but it was never too graphic or anything. Trigger warning though for *SPOILER* some needles and IVs, one instance and maybe a couple vague mentions of vomiting, and forced drugging/sedation. *END SPOILER*

There were some nice friendships / found family, even if the book didn’t get too deep into them. 

This is sort of a spoiler since it’s about the ending, though I won’t give any specifics. *SPOILER* The ending was very fun. Both the sweet stuff and the scary vampire stuff. *END SPOILER*

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that made the paranormal feel grounded and had some interesting vampire ideas and sweet friendships!

*Rating: 3.5 Stars // Read Date: 2026 // Format: Ebook via TTS*