She was lying in the shadows….

PLOT SUMMARY:

It is the twilight of Europe’s bloody bacchanals, of murder and feasting without end. In the nineteenth century, a vampire arrives from Europe to the coast of Buenos Aires and, for the second time in her life, watches as villages transform into a cosmopolitan city, one that will soon be ravaged by yellow fever. She must adapt, intermingle with humans, and be discreet.

In present-day Buenos Aires, a woman finds herself at an impasse as she grapples with her mother’s terminal illness and her own relationship with motherhood. When she first encounters the vampire in a cemetery, something ignites within the two women—and they cross a threshold from which there’s no turning back.

GRADE: A-

REVIEW:

This novel is set up in two portions. In the first half, we follow a vampire (whose name we truly never know, apart from the one she uses for a brief while – Maria) and see her journey from the old world to the new (specifically Buenos Aires). I enjoyed reading about the vampire and how she tried to survive in an ever-changing and evolving world, one that she didn’t really understand or get accustomed to.

The second half of the novel takes place in present time Buenos Aires and it’s about a woman, Alma, who has to deal with the grief of her mother’s sickness and the dissolution of her marriage. Obviously, at one point the protagonist of the second portion of the book comes in contact with the vampire from the first half of the novel.

This novel was well written but it was marketed as a literary vampire romance, and well, I’m not sure if that’s entirely accurate because the romance part comes so very late in the novel, and when it does it rushes full speed. I guess I was expecting more of a slow burn (or at least it occurred earlier in the book).

Overall, I did enjoy the book and enjoyed the vampire character a lot. But if you’re looking for a romantic vampire book I’m not sure if this one exactly fits the bill as one might expect. If you wish to read a character study about a vampire and a woman dealing with grief, then this will be up your alley.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Dutton (Penguin Books) for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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