Thank you to Karina Halle and the Reckless Reader’s Society for the ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.
This is the conclusion to the Dracula Duet, and I was very happy with the conclusion. I know this is in the same universe as some of Karina’s other books, and while I haven’t read those yet, it didn’t feel like a hindrance to my reading. You absolutely do need to read Blood Orange before reading this one though, as the information in that book is pivotal for understanding this book.
This book is dark, devastating, romantic, and spicy. It is a different kind of dark than the first one, with the first one being dark in a lot of the spicy ways and some of the death, while this one is dark in a lot of death and sadness. It is not nearly as kinky – or at least kinky in the same way – as the first one; still very spicy but slightly tamer you could say. My heart was breaking at the then and now comparisons between Rose and Valtu, and how different Valtu was in this book compared to the first book. I super appreciated the big boss battle and how it played out as well – no spoilers because I think it will make for a more satisfying read if I don’t mention anything.
While I think I enjoyed Blood Orange a bit more overall than this book, I think that for me personally, this one has a bit more re-reading capabilities. I think they can be read together as a duet over and over pretty easily, as they are addicting and hard to put down, but I liked the pace of this one, and I was in the mood for a sadder story right now, which probably influenced this feeling. I really appreciated the opportunity to read this book and I can’t wait to have the chance to read the next book by Karina!