One thing that you need to know about me is that I love vampires! Whether it's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twilight, Interview with the Vampire, or What We Do in the Shadows, if a piece of media has vampires in it, then I want to consume it. Because of this, I figured that discussing some of the sapphic vampire books I've read, as well as some that are on my TBR, would be a great (and very on brand) way to introduce myself to the Lesbrary community!
My Favorite Sapphic Vampire Books
In Sasha Lauren's Youngblood, vampires like main characters Kat and Taylor are threatened by a virus that makes human blood fatal to them. Kat and her mother live among humans and struggle to afford the expensive blood substitute Hema, while Taylor lives in the world of wealthy noble vampires and attends the prestigious Harcote Academy. When Kat shows up at Harcote, the estranged childhood best friends are forced to work together to solve the murder of one of their favorite professors.
The idea of a vampire boarding school drew me in, but the murder mystery and secrets uncovered throughout the novel is what kept me going. Of course I also loved the relationship that formed between Kat and Taylor. If you're a fan of childhood best friends to lovers (or in this case, childhood best friends to enemies to lovers) like I am, then you will definitely enjoy their romance! In terms of the vampires in this novel, I did like the amount of lore that Sasha Laurens developed for the vampires, but I was missing some of the campiness that I thought would come with a vampire boarding school.
Isabel Sterling's The Coldest Touch follows a high school girl, Elise, who can see how people are going to die when she touches them. This ability is slowly ruining Elise's life, and she is determined to get rid of it however she can. When Elise meets new girl and secret vampire, Claire, she can't see her death because Claire is already dead and has been sent to help Elise master her abilities. Elise is initially hesitant, but she agrees to work with Claire after predicting the murder of one of their teachers.
I really enjoyed The Coldest Touch! It gave me major Buffy the Vampire Slayer vibes and I appreciated all the lore that Isabel Sterling was able to build for her paranormal world. Of course, I also loved the romance between Elise and Claire! I would definitely recommend this book as a standalone for Spooky Season!
In Sonia Hartl's The Lost Girls, vampires Holly, Ida, and Rose, are determined to track down and get revenge on their mutual ex-boyfriend/maker, Elton. The only problem is that Holly is starting to fall for Elton's newest conquest, Parker.
I read The Lost Girls two years ago, so I have to admit that my memory of it is a bit foggy. However, I definitely remember enjoying this book! How could I not enjoy a book about a bunch of sapphic vampires trying to take down their horrible ex-boyfriend?
"First Kill" by V.E. Schwab
V.E. Schwab is one of my all time favorite authors, so I can't believe it took me until this year to read her sapphic vampire short story, "First Kill". "First Kill"is part of a larger short story collection, Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with a Fresh Bite, which was put together by Zoraida Cordova and Natalie C. Parker. First Kill is about a vampire, Julliette, and a monster hunter, Calliope, who are both trying to get their first kill (hence the name of the story). That's all I'm going to say, since I don't want to give away too much.
I'm absolutely obsessed with this short story! V.E. Schwab's writing is amazing as always, and I loved the way Juliette and Calliope's stories paralleled each other. The story left off on such a big cliffhanger, which makes me want to go watch the Netflix show, since it expands on the story more. Reading this also made me even more excited for V.E. Schwab's upcoming sapphic vampire book, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil (which I will mention again later).
Alex Henderson's House of Hunger follows a young woman, Marion, who applies to be a bloodmaid for a wealthy countess in order to escape her life in the slums. Marion is immediately drawn to the Countess Lisavet, but the House of Hunger holds many secrets that are haunting the bloodmaids within its walls.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, but in my humble lesbian opinion, it needed more vampires! That being said, I really liked Alexis Henderson's writing style and the gothic vibes of the book so I would definitely love to read more from her!
Sapphic Vampire Books on my TBR...
Thank you for reading my first post for the Lesbrary! I am so excited to be a part of this amazing team and find out about so many amazing new sapphic books. Feel free to message me on Instagram @wonderland.reading to let me know what some of your favorite sapphic vampire books are!
Alice (she/her) is a biracial Korean American acespec lesbian who is currently studying early childhood education at a college in the Midwest. Besides reading, Alice loves listening to music, coloring, playing Dungeons & Dragons with her friends, thrifting, and hanging out with her girlfriend, Julia. You can connect with Alice more on her bookstagram, @wonderland.reading!