Is anybody doing it like V. E. Schwab right now? With hit books like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Vicious, A Darker Shade of Magic, Gallant, and more under her belt, this author has the kind of backlist most YA and fantasy authors dream of.
So, it was really only a matter of time before Netflix came calling.
First Kill is a new series from the streaming giant based on a short story by Schwab, featured in the YA anthology Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite. It’s a sapphic romance drama that stars Sarah Catherine Hook and Imani Lewis as a vampire and monster hunter, who fall in love despite the longstanding animosity between their ancient families (think Romeo and Juliet meets True Blood).
Once you’ve sunk your teeth into First Kill on Netflix, give these YA, fantasy and horror books a try …
Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite
by Zoraida Cordova and Natalie C. Parker (Editors)
In this delicious new collection, you’ll find stories about lurking vampires of social media, rebellious vampires hungry for more than just blood, eager vampires coming out and going out for their first kill and other bold, breath-taking, dangerous, dreamy, eerie, iconic, powerful creatures of the night. Welcome to the evolution of the vampire and a revolution on the page.
Includes stories by Samira Ahmed, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Cordova and Natalie C. Parker, Tessa Gratton, Heidi Heilig, Julie Murphy, Mark Oshiro, Rebecca Roanhorse, Laura Ruby, Victoria “V. E.” Schwab, and Kayla Whaley.
Buy it here
The Lost Girls
by Sonia Hartl
Holly Liddell has been stuck with crimped hair since 1987 when she agreed to let her boyfriend, Elton, turn her into a vampire. But when he ditches her at a gas station a few decades into their eternity together, she realizes that being young forever actually means working graveyard shifts at Taco Bell, sleeping in seedy motels, and being supernaturally compelled to follow your ex from town to town—at least until Holly meets Elton’s other exes.
It seems that Holly isn’t the only girl Elton seduced into this wretched existence. He turned Ida in 1921, then Rose in 1954, and he abandoned them both before Holly was even born. Now Rose and Ida want to kill him before he can trick another girl into eternal adolescence, and they’ll need Holly’s help to do it. And once Holly starts falling for Elton’s vulnerable new conquest, Parker, she’ll do anything to save her.
Buy it here
Blood Countess
by Lana Popović
In 17th century Hungary, Anna Darvulia has just begun working as a scullery maid for the young and glamorous Countess Elizabeth Bathory. When Elizabeth takes a liking to Anna, she’s vaulted to the dream role of chambermaid, a far cry from the filthy servants’ quarters below. It’s not long before Anna falls completely under the Countess’s spell—and the Countess takes full advantage.
Isolated from her former friends, family, and fiancé, Anna realises she’s not a friend but a prisoner of the increasingly cruel Elizabeth. Then come the murders, and Anna knows it’s only a matter of time before the Blood Countess turns on her, too.
Buy it here
Carmilla
by Sheridan Le Fanu
In a lonely castle deep in the Styrian forest, Laura leads a solitary life with only her elderly father for company – until a moonlit night brings an unexpected guest to the schloss.
At first Laura is glad to finally have a female companion of her own age, but her new friend’s strange habits and eerie nocturnal wanderings quickly become unsettling, and soon a ghastly truth is revealed. Suffused with gothic horror and sexual tension, Carmilla predated Dracula by 26 years, has inspired generations of writers and is the foundation of the lesbian vampire myth.
Buy it here
The Deathless Girls
by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
On the eve of her divining, the day she’ll discover her fate, seventeen-year-old Lil and her twin sister Kizzy are captured and enslaved by the cruel Boyar Valcar, taken far away from their beloved traveller community.
Forced to work in the harsh and unwelcoming castle kitchens, Lil is comforted when she meets Mira, a fellow slave who she feels drawn to in a way she doesn’t understand. But she also learns about the Dragon, a mysterious and terrifying figure of myth and legend who takes girls as gifts.
They may not have had their divining day, but the girls will still discover their fate …
Buy it here
What Big Teeth
by Rose Szabo
Eleanor Zarrin has been distanced from her family for years. When she returns home after a violent incident at boarding school, trying to fit back into the space she left becomes even more difficult when their headstrong matriarch unexpectedly dies. Eleanor’s bloodthirsty family is left unchecked for the first time in decades, and when her Grandmere arrives to help the family adjust, it’s clear that something dark is lurking beneath her genteel exterior.
Eleanor learns that she has inherited her Grandmere’s terrifying gift, which allows her to control people by devouring them whole. Now she must make a choice between following in her Grandmere’s footsteps, or taking a stand, and saving her family from the monster she invited into their home.
Buy it here
Only a Monster
by Vanessa Len
Every family has its secrets, but the summer Joan Chang-Hunt goes to stay with her Gran in London, she learns hers is bigger than most. The Hunts are one of twelve families in London with terrifying, hidden powers. Joan is half-monster. And what’s more, her summer crush Nick isn’t just a cute boy – he’s hiding a secret as well; a secret that places Joan in terrible danger.
When the monsters of London are attacked, Joan is forced on the run with the ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family who are sworn enemies of her own.
Buy it here
—First Kill is streaming now on Netflix.
About the Contributor
Olivia Fricot
Olivia Fricot (she/her) is Booktopia's Senior Content Producer and editor of the Booktopian blog. She has too many plants and not enough bookshelves, and you can usually find her reading, baking, or talking to said plants. She is pro-Oxford comma.
Follow Olivia: Twitter
Comments
November 11, 2022 at 10:00 am
yes