It’s the season of love and this year I was set on preparing a recommendation list to mark the occasion for Reader Voracious. Unfortunately, the version of myself who writes the blog schedule and writes the content are different people separated by 3 weeks of chaos and disillusionment that even I didn’t believe possible. Not to mention the fact that I’ve not read many books in the last two years and didn’t want to generate list with similar books from the past. Topics fluttered in and out of my mind until the colorful spines of recent-ish vampire releases on my eye, and I got an idea: Twisted Love & Vampires.
Vampires are finally having a bit of a renaissance in publishing and deserve their time in the spotlight. But more than that, vampires are a powerful symbols in storytelling to explore power, exploitation, and forbidden desire. Love and lust are often at the fore of these stories, but it is a twisted love that lacks consent and is rife with the exploitation of the human characters. It seems only fitting for this season of love and disillusionment to share a list of vampire short stories, novellas, and novels!
7 Books with Vampires (that aren’t Twilight)
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
A lyrical and dreamy reimagining of Dracula’s brides, A DOWRY OF BLOOD is a story of desire, obsession, and emancipation.
Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things. Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband’s dark secrets.
With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.
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A Dowry of Blood is hands-down one of the most beautifully written pieces of fiction that I’ve ever read. I hear queer polyam romance with vampires and pick up a copy of the book. I don’t make the rules. It is lyrical perfection and I loved every word of this queer reimagining of Dracula’s brides and it has stayed with me long after reading.
“You did not let me keep my name, so I will strip you of yours.”
A Dowry of Blood is perfect for fans of Gothic fiction and epistolary narratives, with themes of exploitation at the fore.
Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste
For fans of Mexican Gothic, from three-time Bram Stoker Award–winning author Gwendolyn Kiste comes a novel inspired by the untold stories of forgotten women in classic literature—from Lucy Westnera, a victim of Stoker’s Dracula, and Bertha Mason, Mr. Rochester’s attic-bound wife in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre—as they band together to combat the toxic men bent on destroying their lives, set against the backdrop of the Summer of Love, Haight-Ashbury, 1967.
Reluctant Immortals is a historical horror novel that looks at two men of classic literature, Dracula and Mr. Rochester, and the two women who survived them, Bertha and Lucy, who are now undead immortals residing in Los Angeles in 1967 when Dracula and Rochester make a shocking return in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco.
Combining elements of historical and gothic fiction with a modern perspective, in a tale of love and betrayal and coercion, Reluctant Immortals is the lyrical and harrowing journey of two women from classic literature as they bravely claim their own destiny in a man’s world.
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Gritty & dark, RELUCTANT IMMORTALS consumed me from the first page to the very last. The horrors of being irrevocably changed by someone without your consent. Of trying to regain a sense of agency and make our own choices free from what was done to us. It asks: are we doomed to be monsters if we come from one?
“This is a glittering city haunted by the ghosts of dead girls and dead dreams.”
Reluctant Immortals is perfect readers who enjoy fast-paced fiction that centers female friendship and gothic explorations of power and trauma.
Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen
Being a vampire is far from glamorous…but it can be pretty punk rock.
Everything you’ve heard about vampires is a lie. They can’t fly. No murders allowed (the community hates that). And turning into a bat? Completely ridiculous. In fact, vampire life is really just a lot of blood bags and night jobs. For Louise Chao, it’s also lonely, since she swore off family ages ago.
At least she’s gone to decades of punk rock shows. And if she can join a band of her own (while keeping her…situation under wraps), maybe she’ll finally feel like she belongs, too.
Then a long-lost teenage relative shows up at her door. Whether it’s Ian’s love of music or his bad attitude, for the first time in ages, Louise feels a connection.
But as Ian uncovers Louise’s true identity, things get dangerous—especially when he asks her for the ultimate favor. One that goes beyond just family…one that might just change everything vampires know about life and death forever.
I loved Mike Chen’s Here and Now and Then and this book did NOT disappoint! A love letter to the punk rock scene, VAMPIRE WEEKEND is about family and connections, but also living a life worth living.
“Maybe it’s time for you to start thinking about what you’d like to do with your life.”
Vampire Weekend is perfect for fans of social commentary, especially class systems, and stories where music is intensely important to the characters..
Night’s Edge (Duology) by Liz Kerin
Liz Kerin’s Night’s Edge is a sun-drenched novel about how monstrous we can be to the ones we love most.
Moms can really suck.
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NIGHT’S EDGE is powerfully evocative, lyrically written, and gritty with a story that you won’t be able to put down. First in a duology, Night’s Edge is redefining vampire fiction. It’s sequel, First Light, is available now (and on my TBR)!
“I wonder what that’s like, to know someone can’t fight back. To take their silence as concession.”
Night’s Edge is a dark coming of age novel about toxic and codependent relationships told through the lens of vampires, so be sure you’re in the right headspace before picking it up.
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
From Silvia Moreno-Garcia, the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic, comes Certain Dark Things, a pulse-pounding neo-noir that reimagines vampire lore.
This is a gritty novella which masterfully blends horror and noir elements, while also addressing the impacts of colonialism and is as much about gentrification and white settlers as it is about vampires. Set in alternate-history Mexico City, Certain Dark Things takes the best elements of vampire literature and combines it with issues of drug cartels and violence – making two sets of monsters preying on the people.
“Everything was too dangerous in this city. She missed the nor and the desert with its endless dark skies, the coldness of its nights against her skin.”
Certain Dark Things is perfect for fans of adult horror and neo-noir, especially fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
The Beautiful (Quartet) by Renée Ahdieh
Instant New York Times and Indie Bestseller!
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THE BEAUTIFUL was one of my favorite books in 2019. I was swept away by the beautiful writing and transported 150 years into the past. I dreamed of beignets. But it’s more than just a paranormal romance with vampires; it’s a coming of age story and love letter to the city of New Orleans. Celine, like the city, is biracial and this is a book where it pays to just be drawn into the narrative and just let it flow around you, answers do come at the end of the book. I’ve read The Damned but haven’t gotten around to finishing the last two books in the quartet (thanks, slumps).
“You’re nothing like them. They’re leeches. You’re a lion.”
The Beautiful is perfect for fans of character-driven stories that take their time to build a vivacious world that comes alive on the page.
An Education in Malice
Sumptuous and addictive, An Education in Malice is a dark academia tale of blood, secrets and insatiable hungers from S.T. Gibson, author of the cult hit A Dowry of Blood.
Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua’s College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold.
On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.
But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and dark magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.
This is the only title on the list that as of writing I haven’t read yet, but given how much I enjoy Saint’s writing I feel comfortable and confident including this on the list since I know there are vampires.
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Let’s Discuss!
Thank you so much for reading. What books would you recommend with vampires? Have you read any of the books I recommended here?
Let’s chat in the comments below!
Eyeing An Education in Malice!
I’m going to read Night’s Edge duology this year, I promise! Or at least I hope I can haha. I immediately added it to my tbr because you talked about it so much!
Certain Dark Things and Vampire Weekend are both books that I’ve got on my TBR. I’ve enjoyed work by both authors before, so I’m hoping that these will be fun reads for me, too!
I can’t really think of any recent vampire stories that I’ve read. My favorites, though, are Tanya Huff’s Smoke series, originally published in the early 2000’s. Oh, or Terry Pratchett’s Carpe Jugulum. That was a fun (semi-)recent read, too.
I confess that I’m usually allergic to vampires stories, although there are a couple that I’ve really enjoyed recently… In no particular order: Vampires Of El Norte by Isabel Cañas, The Gathering by CJ Tudor and Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville.
I’ve had The Beautiful on my shelf for so long, I need to read it soon!
What a fun list😁 The Liz Kerin series is so good! I can’t wait to see what she writes next.
This is just the post that I was looking for!! I’m always in a big vampire mood, especially if there’s a little bit of a romantic site to it. I’ve already read a good chunk of the titles you’ve mentioned here, but the ones I haven’t read will definitely be going onto my TBR. Thank you 🙂
I loved Certain Dark Things and A Dowry of Blood. I’ll have to add Night’s Edge, Vampire Weekend, and Reluctant Immortals to my list because I plan to read a bunch of vampire books this year. Also, another good vampire duology is the Silver Under Nightfall duology by Rin Chupeco.