The Monster and the Last Blood Match

A young woman reluctantly takes a job working for a powerful vampire in Linde’s supernatural novel.

In a world where vampires rule and humans are barely able to make ends meet, Reyna Carpenter is desperate to find a job to ease the burden on her overworked brothers. She decides to apply at Visage, a vampire-run company specializing in “body employment services.” The company assigns humans (called “blood escorts”) to vampires with matching blood types, as “vampires who drank blood that matched the blood type they had when they were human functioned at higher cognitive levels.” Reyna is promptly assigned to Visage’s senior vice president, Beckham Anderson. Fighting their instant attraction to each other, Beckham quickly introduces her to the elite world of wealthy vampires. As he continually refuses to drink from her and rogue vampire attacks increase in frequency, Reyna senses there is something very wrong in Beckham’s world…and with Visage itself. As she delves into the dark underbelly of vampirism, Reyna discovers that there is something different about her that may threaten the fragile, decade-long peace between humans and vampires. In a somewhat saturated market of vampire fiction, the author manages to artfully dodge expectations while still occasionally indulging in the tropes of the genre. In particular, the economic disparity between humans and vampires is thoughtfully explored and adds relevance to an otherwise frothy thriller. When Reyna questions the vampire daughter of a local politician, for example, her frustrations sound eerily familiar: “Have you actually seen the streets?…Seen the people starving and dirty and poor? Seen the streets littered with filth and felt the utter despair?” The plot twists are genuinely surprising, and the story concludes with a deliciously foreboding cliffhanger. With realistic dialogue and a snappy pace, Linde has crafted a smart supernatural romance that isn’t afraid to tackle themes like abuse, greed, and social injustice.

A twisty thriller with superb worldbuilding and biting social commentary.