Vow of Eternal Night is a Beauty and the Beast retelling with a vampire spin. It’s a standalone book which I always appreciate and the blending of elements inspired by the fairytale with a world in which vampires exist works really well. The book is set in Austria and though the time period is hard to discern it does feel historical in nature. 

Clara, the main character, is the 24 year old daughter of the mayor of a small impoverished village. Ten years after the death of her mother at the hands of Prince Raleigh, a vampire and the ruler of the larger territory encompassing her home, she is forced to agree to become Raleigh’s betrothed despite already being engaged to the local baker and her childhood sweetheart.

Raleigh takes Clara away from her father and fiancé to live in his mysterious castle containing labyrinthine hallways set on confounding Clara any time she tries to explore her new surroundings. The castle is protective of its master Raleigh and so anyone with ill intent towards him, which Clara definitely has at the start of the book, will find themselves wandering aimlessly for hours lost in hallways and passages that rearrange themselves and fill with cobwebs and dust out of spite.

Clara is given a chance to avoid her marriage and becoming a vampire herself by finding a cure for Raleigh’s condition. While Clara is smart, well read, and able to speak several languages, the logic of this bargain and Raleigh’s faith in her ability to find a cure strains credulity. This is the type of book that requires the reader to suspend disbelief on several occasions and I found it slightly outlandish that Clara of all people would be tasked with researching a cure after 300 years of Raleigh’s vampire existence. 

The questions surrounding Clara’s father and his suspicious behavior as well as Raleigh’s own enigmatic disposition kept me engaged despite these qualms and answers start falling into place around the halfway point. That’s when the plot really kicks into gear and pulled me fully into the story. The book does require some patience on the part of the reader, especially in the first half, and it is a little frustrating when an earnest conversation between Clara and Raleigh would solve a lot of their communication issues. Clara takes a good amount of time to really understand who is right and wrong in the dynamic between Raleigh and her father, and the motivations behind both of their actions.

The romance itself also began to work much better for me in the second half of the book and I came to really appreciate the bond between Raleigh and Clara. I love that this book contains a more traditional depiction of vampires who can’t tolerate silver or crosses, as well as the addition of a vampire court. The book is marketed as gothic and while I can see some elements I’m not sure I would classify it as such. I definitely recommend this as the perfect book to follow up a more heavy or somber read. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel by any means but it’s entertaining and at times humorous, with characters that really grew on me more and more as the story progressed. Vow of Eternal Night is out tomorrow August 4th.

4⭐️

{Vow of Eternal Night by Lily Crozier} 

ARC Review: Vow of Eternal Night by Lily Crozier