Review

In an African society where peace and a special relationship has been struck between humans and vampires, Kidan Adane and her twin sister June are from a bloodline that can feed vampires associated with the House of Adane. When June disappears, Kidan is furious. She has information that June was taken by a vampire called Susenyos, and she is determined to bring him to justice… or get her revenge in whatever way she can. But above all, she wants her sister back.

Then she’s offered a chance to gain access to the otherwise closed off human-Vampire university, Uxlay, where Susenyos lives. There are just two catches: she has to live in the Adane House with him, or the House will pass into Susenyos’s possession, and she has to study human-Vampire relations at the university. Kidan is desperate, and she takes the risk. But living with a handsome vampire who lusts after her blood, and negotiating the complex power relations of the different Houses is far from easy.

*

I nearly DNF’d this book at page 121 (out of 416 pp.) because my New Year’s resolution for 2025 is not to continue reading books I’m not enjoying, unless I have to for work. But then I woke up the next day and gave it another chance. So I did finish it. But…

I was excited to read this book — I loved the Black Pantheresque premise of African-heritage vampires in a Black dark academia world, and that the author (Ethiopian born) lived in Melbourne, and that it won the Kirkus YA Book of the Year — I even made a special trip to the library to borrow it. Cover — amazing! Endpapers — yes, please! Fantasy maps — be still my beating heart!

Unfortunately, in my opinion, the book itself is not that well written — lots of exposition (in dialogue, textbooks, ‘lessons’, diary entries, videos…); most characters are flat; plot is too convenient and too confusing; language is uneven. Some parts were entertaining, and it got a bit better after my nearly DNF point, but, overall, I was disappointed.

Your mileage may vary — it has nearly four stars on GoodReads.

Age: 17+ or potentially not suitable for your school. Read the content info and other reviews before stocking.

> Click here for content info. Mild spoilers.

According to the author’s note at the beginning of the book: “It features heavy elements such as parental abuse, blood drinking, death, gore, murder, sexual content, strong language, suicide ideation and violence.” That about sums it up. The sexual content is not explicit, but is very steamy, so I advise checking that in person. There’s a lot of violence. Among other things, the main (mlw) romance is very dark… we’re positioned to view it as equal and kind of admirable, but it mainly consists of behaviour one could describe as mutually abusive. I think the suicide ideation, which is experienced by the main character and continues almost all the way through the novel, would probably be the biggest deal breaker for most schools.

*

Girma, T. (2024). Immortal dark. Lothian Children’s Books.

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