Half City by. Kate Golden | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Half City (Harker Academy, #1)

Author: Kate Golden

Format: hardcover and ebook

Pages: 496

Publication Date: 2/17/26

Categories: Urban Fantasy, Dark Academia, Series, Romance, Paranormal, Mystery

Welcome to Harker Academy for Deviant Defense. Keep your daggers sharp, and your wits even sharper.

Viv Abbot is an average twenty-one-year-old girl. She lives in an expensive city where the rent is too high, works long hours at a thankless job, and is dating a guy she doesn’t even like in the hopes of winning her prickly mother’s approval.

She also happens to be a demon hunter.

Ever since her father’s murder, she’s been forced to hunt deviants alone, meaning everyone, including her family, sees her as an outsider . . . until the day she crosses paths with a dangerously alluring demon, Reid Graveheart. The reformed deviant tells her of a school for people just like her: Harker Academy for Deviant Defense. If she enrolls, she’ll learn to hone her craft, work with other hunters, and never be alone again.

But Viv has a deadly secret. One that not even her new friends at Harker can know about, not if the school might hold the answers to untangling the mystery surrounding Viv’s father’s death. When strange occurrences begin to plague the students, Viv will have to figure out who she can trust, all while trying to ace her classes, avoid falling for a demon, and make it through her first year at Harker in one piece. How hard could that be?

Content Warning: violence, death

+ Set in an alternate Earth, Harker Academy is a place for demon hunters to learn and train to hone their skills. Viv trained since she was a child with her father, who was a hunter – but he never told her about this school. So when Viv gets an invitation to attend, she goes for the sole purpose of finding out more about her father. Being at Harker Academy open Viv to a whole new world and some secrets revealed leads to betrayal. I loved all the paranormal elements and the fights with different species and monsters. I also was invested in the mystery aspect of the story.

+ I like Viv but she definitely has her stubborn moments. She’s dealing with grief and guilt, but she also is the black sheep in the family. Her mom is running for mayor and it’s all about being proper and keeping up with appearances in her family but Viv is a hunter. And aeon hunter at that so the desire to hunt and kill is strong in her blood, not politics. At first she is someone who doesn’t want to get close to people, she has a best friend she loves dearly in the mortal plane, but at Harker she meets hunters like her and I loved how she grows. She is at times impulsively because of her aeon blood that is hyper-focused on stalking her prey, but she learns the longer she’s at Harker that maybe getting help is a good thing.

+ I loved the secondary characters like Sophia (her roommate), and her other new friends Peter and Eliot. I thought there was a good balance of academia and action in the book. I liked both the scenes of Viv learning in her classes and also being out in the streets hunting.

+ The romance is a slow burn between student and teacher but I really liked how it progressed. Reid is a demon but allowed to teach at Harker, even though he is the enemy. But throughout the story we get to know a little more about him each time and I love how eventually their attraction grows and they learn they work better together than separate – since Viv is stubborn enough to not listen to him. And the spice between them was nice!

~ There is a very abrupt cliffhanger ending! I’m so happy book two comes out this year as well.

~ Viv is leading a double life, she spends all her time at Harker, which is on another plane, and she’s lying to her family and best friend of where she is living. But I didn’t know how she could pull off not showing up to work for 3 weeks – it works out too conveniently for her.

Final Thoughts:

I loved this book, and can’t wait for book two which comes out this year. I’m so glad we don’t have to wait too long!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Midnight on the Celestial by. Julia Alexandra | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Midnight on the Celestial

Spice Rating:

Author: Julia Alexandra

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: 3/3/26

Publisher: St Martin’s Press

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery, Horror, Paranormal

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to St Martin’s Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Roe Damarcus has never been afraid of the dead. Her power to summon spirits has awed the guests of her esteemed family’s galas for as long as she can remember. Her future is certain, and her gift will be another shining jewel in the Damarcus legacy.

But when she fails her realm’s trial to keep her magic and is deemed too dangerous for society, she faces a harrowing choice: give up her gift or serve a punishment sentence aboard the Celestial, a luxurious magical cruise ship where staff members compete for guest votes to earn a coveted retrial.

As a concierge, Roe juggles the demands of affluent guests, cruel bosses, and the suspicion that an infuriatingly handsome silks performer, Ivander, is determined to keep her from a retrial.

But the true dangers surface after her shift ends when the Celestial transforms into halls of nightmares that kill staff members after dark. Faced with the reality of serving aboard, Roe begins to question the ship, trials, and the system that put her there. But the moment Roe sinks into the ship’s dark history, she’s wrongly framed for a guest’s murder. Vowing to conjure her own second chance, Roe will use whatever power she has to uncover the secrets of the ship, her family, and their entwined bloody past… before she becomes the Celestial’s next victim.

Content Warning: torture, death, gore

+ I didn’t know what to expect with this book but it was like horror and magic on the Titanic, which I thought was a very fascinating combination. It was more gory than I expected. I enjoyed the horror elements because it made things unpredictable on the ship.

+ I thought the magic system was very interesting. Some people are born with magic and they are called Morphics, but they have to show control of their magic. If they have no control and don’t pass their trial they can choose to have their magic extracted fully or they can serve time on the Celestial, which is an interesting cruise ship where non-Morphic tourists get to experience magic in a “safe” way. The Morphics serving time on the Celestial get a chance for a retrial, as long as they are on good behavior and people on the ship vote for them.

+ Rosaline/Roe’s magic is resurrection, which is very rare and dangerous. She ends up on the ship by choice, but finds out it’s hard work and they get tortured each night by the bosses who extract a tiny bit of magic from Morphics on the ship to keep it powered. Roe meets Ivander, who is supposed to show her the ropes on the ship, but they kind of have a little enemies to lovers relationship going on – barely enemies…more like dislike to like. It’s a slow and sweet romance though. Roe also meets all of Ivander’s friends, good kids, who all have a different story of why they ended up on the ship.

~ The pacing was a bit off. I was engaged for the first half, especially when learning about the ship and then the second half, I struggled to stay invested. Roe and her friends work on the ship and we get to see a lot of that happen, then they undergo this torture every night from the Bosses on the ship, it’s a bit repetitive. I wanted to know more about why the horror happens on the ship and why it’s contained to certain parts. Also wanted the story to lean more into the horror.

~ The ending feels rushed but it is a standalone, so I think that’s why things were wrapped up quickly.

Final Thoughts:

I thought the magic ship idea was really creative. I also found the magic interesting and I like the horror elements. I was invested in the first half of the story but I kind of struggled in the second half. The world-building on the ship was much stronger than when the story shifts to being on land, so the ending feels a bit rushed but overall, a good debut.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Fall of Iris Henley by. Jennifer Graham | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Fall of Iris Henley

Spice Rating:

Author: Jennifer Graham

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 2/24/26

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

For fans of Megan Lally and Kara Thomas, a twisty thriller about a Texas teen accused of murder who’s desperate to clear her name.

All it takes to ruin someone’s life is the stroke of a key. Just ask Iris Henley. Her life is destroyed when someone posts an anonymous message on her high school’s subreddit thread: “Iris Henley is a killer. I’ve been too scared to come forward until now, but I saw her murder Rocky and Lynette last summer.”

Just like that, Iris loses everything. Her reputation. Her friends. Her hope of getting into college on scholarship. Even, possibly, her freedom, once the police start to investigate. After all, she’s the perfect suspect: Rocky was her boyfriend, and Lynette was her ex-best friend—and the girl he was cheating on her with. But Iris didn’t do it, and now it’s up to her to clear her name by finding out who did—before it’s too late.

Propulsive, sharp, and absolutely twisty from the New York Times bestselling author who brought readers the Veronica Mars duology, Jennifer Graham’s YA thriller is unputdownable.

Content Warning: alcohol use, drug use, violence

Iris Henley is trying to move on after her boyfriend Rocky was found killed, along with her ex-best friend, Lynette. But someone has started a rumor that is was Iris who killed them. Now Iris is trying to find out who is spreading the rumors and who can trust around her.

Iris is a cheerleader, part of the in crowd, but she has her flaws. She was part of the reason her ex-bestie lost her spot on the cheer team, putting Iris in the top spot. But when everyone starts to turn on her, she kind of gets a taste of what Lynette went through.

I really like how twisty this got, and I didn’t predict some of the reveals at the end. There is betrayal, and sometimes Iris feels like an unreliable narrator because the night of the killings were fuzzy due to her being out of it, but eventually the truth is revealed and I was nicely surprised!

Final Thoughts:

This was a quick, twisty mystery thriller where one girl has to find out the truth about who killed her boyfriend and ex-bestie, and also find out who she can really trust around her.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart by. Emma Simmerman | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Title: Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart

Author: Emma Simmerman

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 2/3/26

Publisher: Avon a

Categories: New Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Avon a for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder meets Tell Me Lies in this binge-worthy debut murder mystery about a college student whose senior year takes a deadly turn when her exes start turning up dead…

Every time a guy breaks my heart, I write him a eulogy in my journal. It’s kind of my thing—closure through creative mourning. They don’t actually die… or, at least, they didn’t.

Now? These guys aren’t just dead to me, they’re dead to everyone. And I’m the prime suspect.

With my senior year at Pembroke College—and my entire future—on the line, I’ve got no choice but to play detective. Unfortunately, that means teaming up with my long-standing frenemy, Asher, who is insufferable and somehow always there when I need him the least. We bicker, we banter, we occasionally almost hook up, but with the body count rising and my name all over the suspect board, there’s no time to get distracted.

Between college parties, messy exes, suspicious deaths, and a murder investigation I never asked to be a part of—one thing’s for this is not how I thought my last year would go.

Here’s to hoping I can find out who the real killer is… before someone ends up writing my eulogy.,

Content Warning: alcohol use, drug use, violence, death, murder, cheating

I went into this book thinking this was young adult – I bumped it up to New Adult because there is spice in this one, which I didn’t mind at all. I actually want more New Adult mystery thrillers like this one!

Sloane is in her senior year of college but this girl is messy. She’s had a few scandals, and has a reputation but all she’s looking for is love – except the guys she picks aren’t the best. And it doesn’t stop her from writing a eulogy for each on in her journal, whenever things fizzle out. But now her journal is missing and the guys she writes about are ending up dead. But who is the killer?

This one kept me on my toes and I didn’t figure out who the killer was, which fun! There are a few suspects that could credibly be the killer, but it was twisty enough to make me not see the betrayals coming.

The messy romance kept me invested. Sloane wants Wes, her friend who she hooked up with and who is back with his girlfriend. Asher, Wes’ cousin, is a total a-hole, but he makes a deal with Sloane to keep her secret of hooking up with Wes, if she fake dates him to make Wes jealous and she can convince him to give up being owner their family resort (which Asher wants). Sloane and Asher are frenemies to lovers but can it last? And what about Wes? Does she still want him? Wes is the nice guy, but when Sloane is with Asher – fireworks, they are always fighting, but I loved it, and the banter was funny!

Sloane is NOT good at picking her men, plus she’s always drinking, always partying, and at times I was tired of her antics. But I found all this college partying so accurate, and them hooking up with whoever is just realistic, so I cut Sloane some slack.

I don’t know how I feel about the ending – there is closure, but also, it felt rushed and I wanted something more concrete!

Final Thoughts:

This one is a fun, twisty mystery thriller that kept me on my toes. The messy romance was keeping me invested along with the murder mystery. There is spice, a little cheating too, but it’s too be expected with Sloane and her friends I think. Would have loved the ending to have more closure but I guess I can imagine what happens next in my own way. Overall, I enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more books from this author!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Night Terror by. Vincent Ralph | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating:

Title: Night Terror (Bleak Haven, #2)

Author: Vincent Ralph

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 240

Publication Date: 1/20/26

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Categories: Young Adult, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Horror

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Who the hell holds up a bookstore? That’s what Noah asks when his favorite spot is suddenly targeted by masked attackers.

But these people don’t want a ransom. They are searching for Bleak Haven’s very own urban legend – The Burning Book.

When something with a thirst for flesh creeps from its pages, Noah must team up with the other hostages and try to escape the mall without turning their town into a bloodbath.

Content Warning: death, violence

I thought this book had much more action than book one, Dead Fake. I enjoyed that it was fast paced and had a zombie coming after a bunch of kids in a mall!

I still think I’m not the right audience for this series because I’m older and yes, it reminds me of R.L. Stine Goosebumps, but again, I have just grown out of it.

But I think teens would enjoy this series.

Final Thoughts:

I think teens and younger young adults who like YA Suspense/Horror would really enjoy this.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

Dead Fake by. Vincent Ralph ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dead Fake by. Vincent Ralph | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating:

Title: Dead Fake (Bleak Haven, #1)

Author: Vincent Ralph

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 256

Publication Date: 1/20/26

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Categories: Young Adult, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Horror

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Would you Swipe to Die?

When the new craze takes over Bleak Haven High, Ava Wilson refuses to join in. As the niece of an infamous murderer, it’s the last thing she needs.

The mysterious website allows people to view their own ‘death’ – an AI generated version of their final slasher-movie-moments. But, when some of her classmates’ deepfakes are replicated in real life, Ava can either catch the killer…or be the next victim.

Content Warning: death, murder

There’s been a trend at school called Swipe or Die, where there are AI produced videos of how someone will die. It’s been called a deep fake when someone finally does actually die, someone close to Ava. Ava is the niece of a murderer so she’s had an interesting life and family – and this cuts close to home.

I think teens and younger young adults will like this one. It has teenage friendship drama. There is mystery, suspense, horror, and a surprising twist.

For me it was an okay read but I kind of lost interest in the middle, only because I think I’m not the target audience. I think I would have enjoyed this when I was a teen though! I was always reading R.L. Stine in my younger years.

Final Thoughts:

I think teens and younger young adults who like YA Suspense/Horror would really enjoy this. I will be reading book two since I was gifted an arc so I look forward to reading that one.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Night Ship by. Alex Woodroe | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating:

Title: The Night Ship

Author: Alex Woodroe

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 224

Publication Date: 1/20/26

Publisher: Flame Tree Press

Categories: Horror, Thriller, Apocalyptic

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Flame Tree Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

An apocalyptic world turned into a pitch-black sea of nothingness, but smuggler Rosi and her crew of survivors aren’t alone. Something hungry lurks below…

Driving a logging truck through the Romanian mountains, smuggler Rosi and her crew come across a radio signal that hints at impending doom. As the world goes completely dark, their truck becomes a vessel sailing across a sea of nothingness.

But they’re not transmissions trickle in through the radio from similar isolated islands across the country, from amateur radio hobbyists and police cars and customs facilities.

Attempting to rescue survivors and find a way out, the group save more lives, but soon discover that something hungry lurks below, and it’s sending up agents – and transmissions – of its own.

Content Warning: death

I was asked to read and review this book and I took a chance on it even though it’s out of my comfort zone. I do read dystopia but not so much ones like this one.

It’s the end of the world, Rosi is with a few people and they are in a truck getting transmission radio signals and hearing people all over talk about being alone, that this is the end and they just want people to know they are out there.

How is the world ending? I’m not sure – something with vines? I was confused most of the time. They were running from something, but even they didn’t know what it was. I felt like this world-building was very vague. But I did feel the tension from beginning to the end of the story.

It’s also a short story, way under 300 pages, but I just felt like there wasn’t much there for me to feel invested in the characters or what was happening since I was confused. I did get that this took place in Eastern Europe, and I got a hit of some politics in the story, but again, not enough that I knew anything concrete.

Final Thoughts:

I think this was a well-written story but not something the kinds of stories I usually read, so I felt it was an okay read for me. But if you like apocalyptic stories, where you don’t get the answers right away – you might like this one.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Oxford Blood by. Rachael Davis-Featherstone | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating:

Title: Oxford Blood

Author:Rachael Davis Feathersone

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 1/13/26

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Dark Academia

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Love, Lies, Legacy…High-achieving state-school pupil Eva has one dream – reading English at Oxford. If she gets in, not only will she receive a world-class education at an elite university, but she will be fulfilling the dreams of her mother and gain some independence from her father, the overprotective Inspector Dawkins.

At the same school, Eva’s best-friend George is also hoping to go to Oxford. The attraction between him and Eva is undeniable, but they’ve agreed to put any romance on hold until their places at Oxford are secured. Eva cannot be distracted from her goal – although when they are both invited for interview week, their future together feels oh-so close.

Until George shows up dead.

The police rule his death an accident, but the behaviour of some of the other interview candidates has Eva suspecting foul play. When a shocking secret about George is revealed, Eva finds suspicion falling on her. What was meant to be one of the most important weeks of her life is fast turning into a nightmare.

All eyes are now on Eva, including the anonymous posters behind OxSlay, a gossipy social media forum exclusively for Oxford students. But amongst the conspiracy theories, lurk hidden clues. Could they help Eva clear her name – and catch the killer?

Content Warning: bullying, death, grief, murder

Set at Oxford this story has a murder mystery, secrets about bloodlines and a very determined FMC in Eva. Eva has a chance to get into Oxford but she needs to go through the daunting process of interviewing. There are a few kids who are there with her, along with her boyfriend, George, but the spots are coveted and very limited.

As the story goes on we learn more about secret societies, classism, racism, colorism, and sexism that takes place at this prestigious learning institution. Also, someone is killing people, and trying to frame Eva for it. But with her infamous detective father, and her new found friends, the clock is ticking to found out who is committing these murders.

I don’t think I was the right audience for this book even though I did enjoy the murder mystery. I do think young adults and teens would like this one though. But everything happens really fast, and I didn’t see how Eva could just jump right in trying to investigate these murders, one of them being someone close to her, plus try to focus on her interview without processing anything. I think things just happened way too fast that it didn’t feel believable. Also, because it’s happening so fast, she’s so stubborn in thinking she knows all the answers, even defying her dad’s advice. I wanted her to stop and breathe a little!

Final Thoughts:

I liked the setting of Oxford and learning so much about students trying to get into a place like that. There was great discussion about racism, and colorism, which is important for any reader. Also the murder mystery did move along quickly. This one was a quick read, and teens and young adults will probably enjoy it more than I did (the older adult).

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

An Arcane Inheritance by. Kamilah Cole | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Title: An Arcane Inheritance

Author: Kamilah Cole

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 432

Publication Date: 12/30/25

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Categories: New Adult, Dark Academia, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Magical Realism, LGBT+, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Sourcebooks for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A modern-day dark academia fantasy with a twist, perfect for fans of Babel and A Deadly Education.

Warren University has stood amongst the ivy elite for centuries, built on the bones―and forbidden magic―of its most prized BIPOC students…hiding the rot of a secret society that will do anything to keep their own powers burning bright. No matter who they must sacrifice along the way.

Ellory Morgan is determined to prove that she belongs at Warren University, an ivy league school whose history is deeply linked to occult rumors and dark secrets. But as she settles into her Freshman year, something about the ornate buildings and shadowy paths feels strangely…familiar. And, with every passing day, that sense of déjà vu grows increasingly sinister.

Despite all logic, despite all reason, despite all the rules of reality, Ellory knows one thing to be true: she has been here before. And if she can’t convince brooding legacy student Hudson Graves to help her remember a past that seems determined to slip through her fingers as if by some insidious magic…this time, she may lose herself for good.d

Content Warning: violence, racism, classism

+ I was intrigued with this story right away. Ellory is a Jamaican immigrant, who’s parents sent her to America to live with her Aunt, so she could get a better life and education. She’s studied so hard but even with good grades, money was never easy to come by so she worked – saved and now is a 21 year old freshman at Warren University. Ellory wants to be a lawyer to make her family proud. I found Ellory so relatable. Her immigrant story is like many in this country and her trying to get a good education is her ticket to success.

+ There are many issues that are brought up throughout the story from colonialism, elitism, racism, and classism. It’s interesting to see how Ellory tries to uncover secrets of Warren University’s past to expose how the wealthy and privilege get away with atrocities. A few elements are woven together in this story and I think it worked, at least for me! I loved the dark academia, and the creepy atmosphere of the library and some other parts of campus. There is a sinister feel that is there throughout the story as Ellory tries to figure out what is going on with missing memories she is experiencing and feelings of being in another space/time. There are mentions of magic and alchemy and maybe a secret society at work. It gave me Legendborn and Inception vibes.

+ I loved how realistic Ellory’s life as a college student was from the studying, going to parties, living off of coffee and trying to make new friends. Now as strange things happen to her on campus and she does more digging though, she comes off as an unreliable narrator – because what are these memories, or missing memories and dejavu she has been experiencing?

+ I did like the slow burn love story between Ellory and Hudson. Clearly there is something there, a sense of dejavu and we don’t know why until the end. But they are rivals in their constitutional law class and I thought their interactions, the bickering and arguing was fun. Also, the reveal at the end was devastating but made me love their romance more.

~ As much as I was hooked onto this book, I did have some issues. This story leads up to a very unexpected and surprising plot twist but I would have liked more information on the secret society, and the magic leading up to it. Things felt vague, maybe on purpose, but I wish we got a just a little more information just so when the plot twist happens it doesn’t feel confusing or weak. I had to sit with it for a moment just to make sure it made sense in my head.

~ I wanted more between Ellory and Hudson. I loved that they were rivals, and then he starts helping her with trying to find out what’s going but I wanted a few more kisses in there! But that’s a personal preference. They are rivals, but except for their first meeting and a few descriptions about why they are rivals, we don’t see it in action. I just wanted more interactions between them since it is very important to the twist.

Final Thoughts:

I could not put this book down because I needed to find out what was going on. I liked Ellory and Hudson and the whole atmosphere of Warren University with the gothic library, and dark secret past. I do wish we had more information about the magic since there is a huge plot twist in this story that involves magic. Also would have loved more interaction with Ellory and Hudson because their love story is wonderful, and one of the main reasons everything devastating happens in this story. Overall, even with the issues I had with it I was very entertained.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Last Vampire by. Romina Garber | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating:

Title: The Last Vampire

Author: Romina Garber

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 12/2/25

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Mystery, Dark Academia, Vampires

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Pride comes before the fall.

When a boarding school opens in a once-condemned Victorian manor buried in the woods of New Hampshire, Austen-loving Lorena Navarro enrolls in hopes of finding her own Mr. Darcy. Instead, she stumbles across a coffin and accidentally awakens the world’s last vampire.

After hibernating for nearly three centuries, William Pride is desperate to find his family—and clueless about the modern world. Relying on Lorena for more than just blood, he enrolls at the school to catch up on all he’s missed.

Soon, William uncovers a chilling truth: He is the last hope for his kind’s return to power. Torn between protecting the humans around him and fulfilling his fate, William must make a choice that could change everything. Will he sacrifice his species for love . . . or will he embrace his dark destiny at last?

Content Warning: violence

+ There were many things about the synopsis of the books I was intrigued by: vampires, a boarding school, an FMC looking for her Mr. Darcy, and for the beginning of this book I was enjoying it. I loved Lorena and Salma’s relationship as best friends. They are very tight and have gone through a few hard times especially with Salma losing her mother.

+ I like that the cast is diverse. I thought the setting of the boarding school was fun and broad the mysterious and academic vibes to the story.

~ I thought when William came along, I would be more invested in the story but I did not like him and also, it made me not care about his romance with Lorena. He was threatening her (which I expect a vampire to do), but he annoyed me.

~ I also thought the found family-friend group would appeal to me, but I didn’t care for them either, especially Tiffany, who was a snobby rich girl but tagged along with the group.

~ I felt this would appeal more to the younger young adults, because it read like that at times. The beginning started strong but then I got bored and lost interest. And then the ending felt rushed.

Final Thoughts:

This book was not for me even though it had all the things I thought I would love in a YA Dark Academia story with vampires. Not sure if I was in a mood reading funk or what but I still think young adults on the younger end would enjoy this one if you are into YA vampire stories.