Immortal Dark Series: Immortal Dark #1 on September 3, 2024
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, Young Adult Fiction / People & Places / Africa, Young Adult Fiction / Vampires
Pages: 384
Find the Author: Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram
Goodreads
The Cruel Prince meets Ninth House in this dangerously romantic dark academia fantasy, where a lost heiress must infiltrate an arcane society and live with the vampire she suspects killed her family and kidnapped her sister.
It began long before my time, but something has always hunted our family.
Orphaned heiress Kidan Adane grew up far from the elusive society of vampires she was born into, where human bloodlines gain power through vampire companionship. She is obsessively protective, mildly nihilistic, and willing to do anything to save her loved ones. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—the same vampire bound to her family bloodline, the cruel yet captivating Susenyos Sagad.
To find June, Kidan must infiltrate the elite Uxlay University—where students study to inherit their family fortune and select vampire companions. Kidan must study an arcane philosophy, work with four enigmatic students, and survive living with Susenyos—even as he does everything to drive her away. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’s wickedness speaks to Kidan's own violent nature and tempts her to surrender to a life of darkness. She must find her sister and kill Susenyos at all costs.When a murder mirroring June’s disappearance shakes Uxlay, Kidan sinks further into the ruthless underworld of vampires, risking her very soul. There she discovers a centuries-old threat. And June could be at the center of it. To save her sister, Kidan must bring Uxlay to its knees and either break free from the horrors of her own actions or embrace the dark entanglements of love—and the blood it requires.
Review:
What I Liked: Immortal Dark is a fresh debut novel that uses morally grey characters, dark academia, secret societies, lovers-to-enemies romance, and restless strife to find the truth on the edge of your seat. Kidan has grown up far away from all that we soon learn about in this book. She knows nothing about vampires, the mysterious Uxlay University, and the inheritance she can gain by becoming a companion to a vampire. Kidan’s sister June has disappeared, and she will stop at nothing to prove to the world that she should be a heiress who has taken her.
What Worked: Tigest Girma has created a fascinating world where humans (acti) and vampires (brainiacs) are meant to live as companions in infamous houses. Each new concept about this world that Kidan has entered to find her sister had me on the edge of my seat. The dark academia is intriguing, Kidan’s lengths to see her sister are jaw-dropping, and the secret societies and houses these people live in are so creative.
Final Verdict: I have never read a story quite like this one. I can see how new adults and young adults can use this book. It has been toned down to be a young adult, but it still holds lots of situations that you should check out the trigger warnings for before reading this one. You will find a set of characters that does not hold back from going at each other’s throats; you may also want to read the book more than once before you read the next one when it’s released, as there is a lot of info to unpack in this book.
About Tigest Girma
Tigest Girma is an Ethiopian writer based in Melbourne, Australia. After graduating with a Bachelor of Education, she splits her time between writing and teaching. Passionate about exploring East African characters and myths, her work weaves Black stories with the dark and fantastical. In her free time, she can be found rewatching her comfort shows where the villain gets the girl.
Very cool cover on this one, and it sounds good! This is new to me, so I’ll have to go check out more info on it. Thanks for sharing, and great review!