#ageofvampires

Susanne Valenti & Caroline Peckham

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Despite the bevy of typos and errors in this second revised edition (literally one being a long sentence that was repeated), this sequel roared with action, yearning, and adventure.

The book continues as Callie works together with Magnar, ye olde slayer, to find her father and sister and take down the Blood Bank in Realm G. Their chemistry is a whole lot of fun, with Callie’s crass humor crackling against Magnar’s confident arrogance. Slowly she learns how to listen to her slayer blade, Fury, sense her surroundings, and gain stealth as she follows along in Magnar’s steps.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Montana faces the repercussions of her escape into the wilds of NYC from the first book, while Prince Erik’s attraction to her morphs into a dark obsession. Both sisters get one explicit intimate scene in this sequel, and they’re damn good. Montana has to navigate a complex vampire society while treading lightly, which is a hard task when her righteous rage consistently lends to copious sarcastic and vitriolic remarks. All the while, she’s battling her growing attraction to Erik and trying to remain self-aware enough to deeply hate him.

The authors handle the romance in this book very naturally—there is no instant attraction, and when the lust does take hold, both twins constantly question their judgment. Because of this, the intimacy feels quite heart-pounding when it does occur! This sequel also includes POVs for Erik and Magnar which fill in their character histories and accomplish much world-building. The lore is deepened and by the end of the book, Erik seems to be on the edge of an epiphany. Very excited to read the third book, as the plot slowly plummets towards devastating consequences.

Things I’m looking forward to in the third book: I NEED THIS GIRLS TO EAT PROPER