Quick Synopsis – Once long ago, a girl named Favre sacrificed her wings for love. Thana, the young goddess she so willingly gave them up for, sacrificed that same love for power. But everything has a cost.

Now, a thousand years later, Leyla, the crown princess of a vampire nation, must travel to Nekros, the island of the dead, when her best friend is captured during an attack on her nation’s capital. But nothing is as it seems. The closer she gets to her goal, the more her body seems to work against her, and the more she risks awakening an ancient evil and destroying everything she holds dear.

Song This Reminds Me Of – Girl by Donna Missal

Publication Date – April 1, 2025

Bookshop Link – Order Here (Disclosure – I receive a percentage if you order through that link)

Content Notes – This is a young adult novel meant for I’d say like 15 and up. This is also a vampire novel, there is a lot of blood and mention of blood. There is a character that has self-harmed in the past, but no self-harming on page. There is death of a parent, suicidal thoughts, patricide, and some scenes with drowning.

Steamy Rating – 🌶️

Overall Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Review – I thought this was a fun queer vampire novel where everyone is gay and hardly anyone dies. Ahh the perfect world.

Where Shadows Meet is a multi-POV book that is also told between present day and about a thousand years ago. Part of the story is told from Favre’s point of view and how the vampires came to be and how the first vampire Queen, Thana fell. The other part of the story focuses on Leyla a descendent of Thana and a seer Najji. Leyla and Najji are traveling to Nekros to rescue Leyla’s best friend.

I liked this book; it was a simple fun plot. The lore of the vampires was also well built and easy to understand. Also, there was enough plot leftover for a second book to be super interesting. The only thing that I felt could have used a little more building up, was the gods. In the beginning of the book the Gods/Goddesses in this world are very present, but when we are in present day there is no mention of them. There is a little cursory praying by the main characters, but no interference or mention of the pantheon. I just felt like it would have been easy to add more to the magic of the world by including the Gods/Goddesses throughout the story and not just as they relate to the creation of vampires.

Overall, this is a fun fantasy novel, and I will be picking up the second one for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press – Wednesday Books for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.