The Book of Blood and Roses

A vampire hunter goes undercover at a vampire university that’s recently begun accepting humans in Summerlee’s sexy and exhilarating debut. After Rebecca Charity’s parents were killed by vampires, she was recruited by the shadowy anti-vampire organization Callisto. Four years later, they send Rebecca to Tynahine University, near Inverness, Scotland, to find the legendary Book of Blood and Roses, said to catalog every vampiric weakness. Filled with friendly vampires who drink synthetic blood, Tynahine is completely unlike anything Rebecca expected, however. Complicating matters further is her new vampire roommate, Aliz Astra, to whom she is inexplicably drawn. Turns out the vampire world—and Callisto’s place within it—is far more complicated than Rebecca had been led to believe, a realization she must internalize quickly after a crucial error bonds her and Aliz and forces her to put her trust in those she’s been trained to hate. Summerlee’s worldbuilding is skillful and immersive, taking the classic setup of a supernatural boarding school in exciting new directions, and the tension-filled relationship between the leads keeps the pages flying. The ending strikes a good balance between providing satisfying closure and leaving some tantalizing questions unanswered for book two. Readers will be eager for more. Agent: Kiya Evans, Paper Literary. (Jan.)