This novel is what vampire romances are supposed to be like -- set in the Victorian era and plagued with an inevitable threat, full of well developed side characters as well as excruciating yearning.

Poppy (and Roisin) were beautifully constructed. They are characters that will stay with me for a long time. They are vibrant and distinctive, making you want more and more of them. They are also flawed in a frustratingly realistic way, hardheaded and afraid. I enjoyed them immensely. There is also a beautiful found family aspect of this book; The Brood is developed and makes it easy to care for the characters fates, while also impacting the story. I especially loved Carmen. 

The romance is immaculate -- the type that surpasses time, the only type of love that has ever passed as "true love" to me. Meticulously constructed, spanning large amounts of time; it's indescribable and you will have to read the book to find out more. This book also has a fair amount of explicit scenes. 

The world constructed within this book was of particular interest to me as it is always fascinating to see what authors do with vampiric lore -- this novel draws in parts from Dracula but has it's own twist on it which adds a visceral, additionally horrifying element to the fate the characters have to deal with. 

The writing was great -- a lot of historically relevant language which adds to the immersion we experience. The only drawback is, well. I'm not quite sure how to put it but you know how when you're reading a book and you notice that the author describes a certain innocuous body part in more detail than necessary. Or more often than necessary. This issue arose here. But that's the only drawback. 

Overall, a beautiful piece of historical vampiric fiction that is definitely worth a read.