“Bury my bones in the midnight soil. Plant them shallow and water them deep. And in my place will grow a feral rose.”

This book is told from the perspectives of María in 1532, Charlotte in 1827, and Alice in a much more familiar 2019. All three are swept away from their mundane lives by equally enigmatic women, and find themselves with no pulse, an unquenchable thirst, and remarkably less patience with the ways of men. Three feral roses with rather sharp thorns.

We see the most of María through the years, learning how to be a vampire without any form of instruction, and constantly reinventing herself as she travels across the world and the centuries. Some of her victims deserve it. Some. Alice at least has the benefit of already knowing what a vampire is from pop culture, as well as having ready access to the internet, but even she is entirely unprepared for what is happening to her.

As the reader, we become increasingly complicit in the crimes of our vampire trio, urging them on at first, until we realise perhaps too late that things are getting a bit out of hand. Even Alice, who is the closest to still being a good person here, is still ripping out throats with gay abandon. So, varying degrees of villainy all round, but they are always entertaining. Eventually, the stories begin to overlap, and there is a very satisfying payoff for all the backstory.

This is a wonderfully written modern take on the vampire genre, and along with “Hungerstone” by Kat Dunn, we’re definitely having a great year for sapphic exsanguination.

Highly recommended for all blood types!

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