Book Review: Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

  Spooky Season is in full swing at my house!  I'm so pleased to have finished Immortal Dark! 

This novel has been on my radar since it came out in 2024. It made a big splash across "Booktok"  and I thought this was going to be sort of a Book Tok fluffy vampire book with some nods to Ethiopian culture,  and boy was I wrong. I honestly am left wondering if I read the same book as the bubbly enthusiastic reviewers did. 

   Not that it isn't good.  It IS very very GOOD.  It just pretty much transcends the usual Book Tok tropes and has a lot more depth than what is normally on offer. (and yes, we do all create our own algorithims) ...

   Our protagonist, Kidan is one tough woman. She and her sister were raised outside of the Vampire/Human society they were born to. In order to protect herself and her sister, Kidan has done some unspeakable things. When we meet Kidan, June (the sister) has disappeared and Kidan is searching frantically for her. Kidan is given an opportunity to locate her sister, while reclaiming her familial house on the famed Uxlay campus. The house (which indeed is sentient!) is occupied by Susenyos- a Vampire with a checkered past. The two are instant enemies, and like all good romances, the enemies soon find they have more in common than they have differences. 

   We have all likely read our share of vampire novels. Immortal Dark is a bit of a new take on the well worn vampire tropes. Her novel brings in pieces of various African cultures, entwining this with classic vampire stories. For me, the balance between familiar vampire themes and the African highlights was perfect, each augmenting the other and fitting together seamlessly. 

   What struck me about this novel is that none of the characters are particularly likeable. I intermittently found myself cheering for Susenyos and in the next minute deciding that I was more for Kidan, and often deciding that I really didn't like either's scheming, difficult personalities. This leaves all sorts of space for discussion of morality, loyalty, the cost of deception. I was compelled to find out what happens and read for 4 hours straight to get to the end.  I'm lining up for book two now. Will Kidan and Susenyos reject their prior bad acts or will they choose to fall deeper into the dark? I can't wait to find out. 

   Great read for Spooky Season! 

First Published : 2024

Pages: 448

Available as an Audio Book :YES

Trigger Warnings: parental death, SI, violence, strong language, blood drinking, death, murder, parental abuse,  

Not a full TW list, please read responsibly. 

Book Review: Sargassa by Sophie Burnham

   I'm starting this post off with a huge thank you to DAW books  for sending me a copy of Sargassa in it's new cover!  This is an exclusive edition which will go with the second book- Bloodtide- which is due out in October 2025. 

I was OVER THE MOON  when this arrived.  

The old cover was fine:

But I have to admit the new cover has a finesse and luxe appearance that the first one is missing.  

 That said, I really had not picked up this novel before.  The Roman Empire- is not my Roman Empire- if you will!  but of course, I pulled out the trusty audiobook,  and started on an immersive reading journey. 

This book grew and grew on me.  Initially, I was overwhelmed by the moving time line, and multiple multiple characters.  I admit, I also started reading at a time which for me, personally- has been pretty bleak, which made it a bit hard to concentrate. That said,  I was able to stay on track with the audiobook- which would be fantastic as a multi-cast production! All of a sudden, I was immersed in a society that grew up as the Roman Empire never fell- adventure, high- and low- society, action, complicated messy relationships that we all love, powerful semi-magical kind of weapons and more. This is an adventure to savor. My absolute favorite character is Theo Nix.  The ending is a gentle cliff- hanger with a promise of more to come, without the dreaded jolt that many cliff hangers give. 

The only thing missing - and I can't believe I'm writing this- is a map.  I desperately need a map for this one. 

I will be picking up the next book Blood Tide as soon as it's out!  I'm excited to see what happens to all the characters, but especially Theo Nix! 

 

First Published : 10/2024 

Pages: 416

Available as an Audio Book :YES

Trigger Warnings: death, parent death, drug use, blood, medical situations, violence, murder, mental health situations. 

Not a full TW list, please read responsibly. 

Book Review Waterline by Aram Mrjoian

 

Obviously, it is still 2025 and I am still reading on the theme of Water.  I'm not sure where this is getting me, the theme, that is, but I am definitely picking up books I might have otherwise ignored.  This one was difficult to ignore because of the bright colors used on the cover. 

Secondarily, I wanted to read this because I had a good friend in my first two years of college who was Armenian.  Her mother often discussed this genocide which, of course, I had not heard about. Her mother always reminded us that "You can't give up because you don't know what will happen tomorrow"  this is in very stark contrast to my Mom who would wonder and worry incessantly about what could happen tomorrow. So, it's stuck with me. 

The novel, however... 

Has nothing to do with my college friend beyond the fact that both my friend and the novel characters were both affected by the Armenian genocide. Or maybe, if I spoke with her today I'd find out it had EVERYTHING to do with her, who knows.  

     

    For me this is an astounding work of fiction, that I think, is advertised as something that is maybe isn't. 

What I thought I was going to get- a deep look at the generational trauma of the Armenian genocide and how it affects persons today. 

What I feel I got?- A deep look at grief  and the effects of suicide within a close knit family, with a nod to generational trauma related in this case to the Armenian genocide. 

    Both of these are things worth writing about, but as I read through this book, I definitely felt that they were two different things  and that reviewers were leaning into the historical aspect very heavily, when the book just touches on it as part of the family lore. Mrjoian says that he intended that less than 10% of the novel be focused on the genocide - which I believe he achieved. The genocide itself was like a ghostly spectre sort of hovering about throughout all of the characters we are introduced to- in one way or another.  Reviewers, however, really pushed the genocide connection which lead me to think that I would be getting chunks and chunks of history. 

For me, this was a novel of a portrait of deep grief and the way a family processed this grief in the modern era. The author explores different ways to process (or not process) grief and loss and leaves space for readers to recognize themselves in characters and processes. Some characters drink, others find release in movement (hiking, swimming, sex, exercise classes) while others power forward and only melt down when it all becomes too much. The knowledge of the genocide seeps in at the corners of their minds, and affects the choices they make in grief, but a glaring direct connection isn't present- which is likely the point. Perhaps, generational trauma isn't a sledgehammer exactly, but more of an insidious process that finds us and creates core expectations and beliefs that we'd be hard pressed to explain. 

   This is a worthy read, but I can't say it would be one if you wanted to learn exact details of the Armenian Genocide. The writing is gorgeous and to the point and I'd gladly read another work by Mrjoian any time- but I might check into the topic a wee bit more deeply before diving in!

STATS

First Published : June 3, 2025 

Pages: 288

Available as an Audio Book : yes

Trigger Warnings: suicide, generational trauma, genocide, alcohol and drug use, revenge porn, infidelity, as always this is likely not a complete list, so please read responsibly. 

 

Book Review: Cowboy It's Cold Outside by Maisey Yates 3/5 stars

 Every year in July, I like to read at least one Christmas novel.  It's hot, everything here is miserably humid and just reading about colder weather is very very welcome. 

So when I saw this very cute cover over at NetGalley,  I decided to request it! 

  I'll just say - there is nothing new under the sun in this romance.  That said, it delivers exactly what the cover promises! Generally when I read romance, I'm not looking for a stunning new life revelation, so this was perfect!  We have a FMC, Sheena  who is tough as nails, but also smart, sassy and sexy.  our MMC is Denver, and he's really been living lately mostly to make amends for his Father's mistakes- some of which directly affected Sheena and her family. 

  Sheena decides it's time to call in the favor that he's promised quite some time ago. She wants help starting up a business. Despite skepticism from his family, Denver knows he's going to offer that help.  What he doesn't know is that he's going to fall for Sheena as the season gets chillier! Sheena is just as caught off guard when she realizes she doesn't like seeing Denver with anyone but her! Yates digs into themes of family trauma, guilt, forgiveness and trust. All these complex emotions are of course resolved with a little bit of love, because this is a Happy Ever After ending book!  One kind of disappointment for me is that there isn't a whole lot of ranching being done at Four Corners Ranch, but that also gives the novel a very contemporary feel as there are fewer working ranches these days and more folks in that area branching out into viable business ventures, just like Sheena and Denver are doing.  I admit, I had real expectations of branding cattle, inspecting fence posts on horseback and other "ranchy" activities.  Despite the Holiday cover, I did kind of feel like the Holiday wasn't really the emphasis of the novel and so I did not get my usual Warm fuzzy Jingle Bell feeling from this one, which detracted from my joy, but might be just exactly what someone else wants, less holiday hoopla and more healing and growth! 

This is the ending of the Four Corners Ranch series, and as a newcomer to the series, I can attest that it isn't necessary to have read the other books in order. This comes out in October, and would make a good gift for the romance reader in your life, even if, of course, that romance reader is you! This looks like a perfect gift to top off a stocking! 

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press and Maisey Yates for this ARC.

STATS

First Published : Coming October 2025

Pages: 320

Available as an Audio Book :YES planned release on same day at the print novel. 

Trigger Warnings: parental death, drug use (not on page) alcohol,   As always this is likely not a complete list, so please read responsibly.