Was this cliché? Yes. Was it contrived? Yes. Was it cheesy? Yes, and I enjoyed every slice of cheese this book had to offer. It's like a Disney Channel Original Movie that's aged 20+ years and includes a spicy scene. There is minimal angst, the smallest of stakes, several worldbuilding questions left unanswered, and just a dab of spookiness. The author clearly likes their vampires as clean and bloodless as possible, and loves Chicago. The audiobook narrator did a good job, a middle area between reading totally flatly and injecting personality to the text.