Deadly Dealings and Dangerous Desires in YA Vampire Fantasy

Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

A great read for fans of "The Cruel Prince" looking for a darker, vampiric twist.

Immortal Dark (Little, Brown and Company) is a fresh, decadent and deliciously seductive return to the world of vampires. Just in time for the first hints of fall, the highly anticipated YA debut from Tigest Girma fulfills all your darkest desires.

Set at Uxlay University, a hidden campus where humans and vampires coexist and are bound by intricate and firm laws, Kidan Adane finds herself with a choice. Surrender her House to the dangerous yet intriguing vampire Susenyos Sagad, or learn what it is to take a vampire companion and inherit the power of Adane House. Against the backdrop of dark academia, we are invited into a world of power struggles and bloodshed, sensuality and passion, life and death.

As Kidan delves deeper into the secrets and shadows of Uxlay, hiding her own haunted past and searching for a sister thought to have been stolen away by vampires, she must wrestle with the darkness of her own mind and soul. Who is she, compared to the monstrous creatures around her? They must be worse than she… or is it actually she who is the monster? Featuring stunning immortals, an all-Black cast and a twisted enemies-to-lovers romance, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Unique New Take on Vampires

Girma has crafted a fascinating new world in Immortal Dark. The lives and rules of what it means to be a vampire in this world are unique and different from other vampire media I’ve experienced, and it makes for an intriguing new spin on a classic character. Vampires are restricted by the Three Binds, all-consuming laws set in place which curb a vampire’s power and limit what they can do, particularly when it comes to humans. These restrictions create vampires with higher stakes – they can’t just turn humans into vampires, they can’t drink from just any human – and as a result, I found myself leaning into the world, needing to know more, learn more about who these creatures are.

In addition to this exciting new take on vampires, Girma has also created a wondrous new magic system in Immortal Dark. The families of Uxlay are connected to the physical Houses in which they reside, and their Houses can grant them immense power. Each House has a rule within them, a rule that can be wielded as a weapon, as a shield, and so much more. It is the rule of her House that Kidan seeks to discover and that same rule that Susenyos seeks to change for much of the book. The magic of the Houses is incredibly interesting and something that I haven’t seen before, helping to add a layer of suspense to the story as I waited for the magic to be revealed more and more as the plot progressed.

A Mind Consumed by Shadows

I haven’t encountered a protagonist quite like Kidan before, and I was transfixed, to say the least. She is formidable, she is volatile and she gives manifest to so many of the dark thoughts that permeate the mind. Kidan is a woman who has known trauma, and as a result, her mind is constantly consumed by the shadows of it. In a world where the magic of your House reflects back your innermost thoughts and emotions, this poses quite the challenge as she struggles to master her House.

However, it also creates a really interesting internal conflict for Kidan. She is constantly fighting herself, and asking those questions that haunt so many; Am I a good person? Do I deserve this life? Who am I compared to those whose souls are purer? Her internal struggle is enticing, as we can see ourselves in so many facets of her life, despite the much darker and extreme proportions of her situation. Add in the striking vampire Susenyos to the already explosive mix that is Kidan and it creates for a fascinating pairing.

Susenyos is ancient and regal, proud and vicious. The pair can’t help but hurl insults at each other and spar, even in their best moments. I never knew what would happen when those two entered the same room, and I absolutely loved it. Top it all off with the found families that Kidan and Susenyos each surround themselves with, people who understand their pain, who have seen similar trials to their own, and the end result is an absolutely perfect cast of characters that I so loved going on a journey with.

Immortal Dark hadn’t been on my radar until now, but I need the rest of the trilogy published yesterday. I was hanging on every word, so much so that I read almost the entire book in one sitting because I had to know what came next. If you love a book with morally grey protagonists, new and rich magic systems and world building, sexy vampires and found family, then Immortal Dark is for you. A great read for fans of The Cruel Prince looking for a darker, vampiric twist.