#surface scratch

2:24 AM EDT May 17, 2026:

Calla - "Surface Scratch" From the album Televise (January 28, 2003)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

3:57 AM EST January 13, 2025:

Calla - "Surface Scratch" From the album Televise (January 28, 2003)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

4:40 AM EDT October 29, 2024:

Calla - "Surface Scratch" From the album Televise (January 28, 2003)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

Rating: 3/5

Surface Scratch is the first book in the Neon Scars series and I have to say, it is really refreshing to read a LGBTQ+ love story where the main trial isnt about homophobia. Whether thats in the main character feeling conflicted about his sexuality, or his peers attacking him for it, the trials in this book are based on the animosity between vampire and vampire hunters and not on whether being gay or not should cause a moral dilemma. The Daylight Society (the vampire hunters) are a very classic villain group with their corupt morals and violence, which gives the reader a clear idea of who the "bad guys" are, even with the morally grey vampires being some of the main cast.

The love story in this book is a classic: attraction at first sight with an age gap to boot. Marcus is Calebs new boss. He is kind and caring, and he acts 10 years younger than his "human" age of 32. Caleb is instantly attracted and falls hard and fast, even after finding out that Marcus is a 200 year old vampire.

Speaking of, I really enjoyed the visuals of the vampires in this book. The eyes that turn black like ink dropped in milk, the 8 pointed canines, and the voice that sounds like two people talking at once to show the juxtaposition of man and beast. It's a wonderfully different and darker image of vampires to other books that I've read.

Surface Scratch deals with the tough realities of grief and how it keeps coming back and hitting you at random times. Also the realities of being a 20yo caring for a family member and putting your life, your development, on hold, which really resonated with me as a reader.

There are, however, a few issues I found whilst reading. In some of the sentences, the words were slightly out of order, making me double take to make sure I understood what was being said. There was also some spelling errors, an example of this being a reference to Calebs "public" bone instead of his pubic bone during a passionate scene. Additional editing may be benificial for these reasons, but also to help with repeated words and to make a more cohesive story line. At the moment it feels very much like bullet points: this happens, then this happens, then this happens. Rather than it flow naturally.

11:29 PM EDT October 10, 2023:

Calla - "Surface Scratch" From the album Televise (January 28, 2003)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

7:21 PM EDT April 13, 2023:

Calla - “Surface Scratch” From the album Televise (January 28, 2003)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

12:57 AM EDT May 17, 2021:

Calla - "Surface Scratch" From the album Televise (January 28, 2003)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

9:44 PM EDT May 13, 2021:

Calla - "Surface Scratch" From the album Televise (January 28, 2003)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm