I picked this one up because it was queer and had vampires, but the second part literally could have not happened. It was probably the least vampiric vampire novel I’ve ever read. It focuses more on Noelle’s emotional and religious trauma, which overall is fine! But don’t promise me a sexy queer vampire tale only to have them actually be disparate storylines and the most anticlimactic vampire you’ve ever met.

I did enjoy the setting and overall vibe of the book - Noelle takes herself off to a tiny Scottish isle to recuperate and work on her second book of poetry. Cue lots of sad girl vibes, heightened by Catholic guilt over queerness and a desperately troubled relationship with her mother. All of this is shit I’d usually eat up, and did for the most part, but I just have to agree with other reviewers pointing out that this isn’t what the book is marketed as. It’s not what I went in expecting, and so I ended up a teensy bit disappointed. 

The narration is wonderful, would recommend the audiobook and if you go in not expecting a gay af vampire novel then you’ll probably have a great time!