About this book

1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada. A young girl grows up wild and wily―her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets. 1827. London. A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow―but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined. 2019. Boston. College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge. This is a story about life―how it ends, and how it starts.

Publication Details

Publisher
Pan Macmillan
Published
2025
Pages
544
ISBN
9781250320520
Language
en
Editions
19

Community Reviews

bookwrmblondie★★★☆☆5/18/2026

I went into this blind and had no idea it was about vampires, so that was a pleasant surprise! It reminded me of Interview with a Vampire, as it’s highly character-driven and focuses mainly on chronicling their lives before and after becoming vampires rather than any big plot. It held my interest and the characters were engaging- at no point did I want to DNF- but I did get to the point of just wanting to 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝 it. I feel like the story could have had the same impact with 200 fewer pages.

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rektifi3r★★★☆☆3/14/2026

A younger me would have appreciated the coming of age aspects of this more but the older me appreciated the history. Both the younger and older me’s would have and did enjoy the quirkiness of and take on the vampire abilities and vulnerabilities. Got my family to read a lesbian vampire book so that was fun too! Also in spite of the plot not pulling me in especially for the female of the current age, I always find myself in awe of Schwab’s writing style - the fluidity and train of thought is so riveting to read.

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