In a world where the sun has died and vampires rule, the last of a holy order recounts his brutal war against the dark.
- Score
- 83.6
- Spice
- 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️Mild
- POV
- first
- Ending
- HEA / HFN
Tropes
Content warnings
Curated signals, not an exhaustive guarantee.
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What readers think
Readers are near-unanimous in praising Gabriel de León as one of the most compelling anti-heroes in recent dark fantasy — bitter, witty, sweary, and world-weary in a way that earns genuine emotional investment. The illustrated edition (artwork by Bon Orthwick) receives consistent acclaim, and the slow-burn forbidden romance between Gabriel and Astrid is widely described as heartbreaking. The most common criticism is a slow, almost YA-feeling first half that tests patience before the novel fully ignites around its midpoint; some readers also find the artificial Francophone naming convention jarring. A minority flag the explicit scenes involving teenage characters. The Goodreads average sits at approximately 4.3 stars across more than 50,000 ratings, and it debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
Read it if
- · Readers who want grimdark vampire fantasy with a morally complex, genuinely funny anti-hero narrator and serious emotional stakes
- · Fans of frame narratives (Interview with the Vampire, Name of the Wind) who enjoy unreliable storytelling across multiple timelines
- · Adults seeking dark fantasy that pairs savage violence with a slow-burn forbidden romance and found-family warmth
Skip it if
- · You struggle with slow-burn openings — the first 300-400 pages are a significant patience investment before the payoff
- · Graphic gore, torture, religious trauma, and on-page sexual assault are hard limits for you
- · You prefer your romantasy light on violence and heavy on guaranteed happy endings
If you liked this
- · For fans of Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice — captive narrator recounting a life defined by blood, loss, and impossible love
- · For fans of The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss — legendary hero tells his own story in a richly layered frame narrative
- · For fans of Nevernight by Jay Kristoff — same author's acerbic voice, dark world-building, and morally grey protagonist in a brutal magic system
- · For fans of A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (tone only) — emotionally devastating, long, and relentlessly committed to its characters' suffering
Which dark romantasy heroine are you? Five choices in a forest that wants you dead.
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