⭐️⭐️ /2 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review

Youngblood is a story about Youngblood Vampires, especially Kat, who goes behind her mom’s back to get enrolled in an elite boarding school for vampires, where she becomes roommates with Taylor, her ex-best friend.

I’ve been having a very hard time trying to write this review and it mostly has to do with the very mixed feelings this book gave me. While I wasn’t very overwhelmed or moved by this story, I did enjoy it. There was just this nagging feeling I kept having while reading it. Something was really bugging me and I just couldn’t put my finger on what was causing this feeling, but I knew it wasn’t something good. It was like having eaten something you don't like and having this nasty aftertaste that just won't go away. After putting it to rest for a few days it finally clicked. I was actually really disappointed by the racism and blatant disrespect in this book.

While I liked the plot itself, the execution was poorly done. I understand that Kat grew up with humans and thus has other views, but the contrast was just made way to big. As if she was better than everybody else, because she did ask for pronouns etc. It became a bit annoying actually how much it was emphasized that she did ask and the rest ignored it. It made Kat annoying and repetitive and it made all the other elite vampire seem more racist.

I found it also rather disrespectful how the only Asian character, from who it is specifically mentioned she is Chinese, is sort of painted as this bad person, because she ensues violence and has this “We elite are better than all other and thus why should we care about those beneath us” attitude, which is really harmful. It became uncomfortable to read the scenes such as the penthouse party due to this.

Another reason I found this book disrespectful and racist is a passage said by a character (honestly, I already forgot his name). His mother is from colonized India and brought to England(?) by his father. Him saying “It wasn’t like that” really turned my stomach. HOW can you put something like that in a book? It should never be even mentioned like that. It really felt like the author just made a character biracial, to just ignore the non-white half of this character and disrespect that.

The disease as well really reminded me of AIDS/HIV as I kept thinking about it. Something that was first discovered in the 60s, uncurable and people who are trying to find a cure for it. While that doesn’t have to be a problem necessarily, it is just another drop in the bucket for this book. it felt way too much like our real-world was added in a fantasy book.

The romance part of this book, which was quite a focal point of this story, it was also poorly executed. The build-up felt forced and a bit weird. Kat suddenly asking if she was gay and her “realization” were weirdly done and not believable to be honest, which made the relationship fickle.

The ending was also something which seemed unbelievable. A bunch of teenagers letting everyone hear the truth and suddenly they are believed and all is good. It seemed like a rushed and not thought-out ending.

Overall, the concept and plot were a good idea, but it was just executed really poorly and the racism and disrespect added to that made it a book I wouldn’t recommend.