Name: stephanie 's review of Youngblood by Sasha Laurens
Item: Youngblood
Rating: 5
Author: stephanie

Sasha Laurens

For fans of Vampire Diaries and dark academia, two queer teen bloodsuckers at an elite vampire-only boarding school must go up against all of Vampirdom when they uncover a frightening conspiracy on campus. Kat Finn and her mother can barely make ends meet living among humans. Like all vampires, they must drink Hema, an expensive synthetic blood substitute, to survive, as nearly all of humanity has been infected by a virus that's fatal to vampires. Kat isn't looking forward to an immortal life of barely scraping by, but when she learns she's been accepted to the Harcote School, a prestigious prep school that's secretly vampires-only, she knows her fortune is about to change. Taylor Sanger has grown up in the wealthy vampire world, but she's tired of its backward, conservative values--especially when it comes to sexuality, since she's an out-and-proud lesbian. She only has to suffer through a two more years of Harcote before she's free. But when she discovers her new roommate is Kat Finn, she's horrified. Because she and Kat used to be best friends, a long time ago, and it didn't end well. When Taylor stumbles upon the dead body of a vampire, and Kat makes a shocking discovery in the school's archives, the two realize that there are deep secrets at Harcote--secrets that link them to the most powerful figures in Vampirdom and to the synthetic blood they all rely on.

Youngblood

Francesca 

For fans of Vampire Diaries and dark academia, two queer teen bloodsuckers at an elite vampire-only boarding school must go up against all of Vampirdom when they uncover a frightening conspiracy on campus. Kat Finn and her mother can barely make ends meet living among humans. Like all vampires, they must drink Hema, an expensive synthetic blood substitute, to survive, as nearly all of humanity has been infected by a virus that’s fatal to vampires. Kat isn’t looking forward to an immortal life of barely scraping by, but when she learns she’s been accepted to the Harcote School, a prestigious prep school that’s secretly vampires-only, she knows her fortune is about to change. Taylor Sanger has grown up in the wealthy vampire world, but she’s tired of its backward, conservative values—especially when it comes to sexuality, since she’s an out-and-proud lesbian. She only has to suffer through a two more years of Harcote before she’s free. But when she discovers her new roommate is Kat Finn, she’s horrified. Because she and Kat used to be best friends, a long time ago, and it didn’t end well. When Taylor stumbles upon the dead body of a vampire, and Kat makes a shocking discovery in the school’s archives, the two realize that there are deep secrets at Harcote—secrets that link them to the most powerful figures in Vampirdom and to the synthetic blood they all rely on.

stephanie 

First for foremost I want to thank Penguin Teen for an ARC of this book. 

Okay, I was only 12% into Youngblood when I knew that I was going to LOVE it (and I was correct)!! This book was my first fantasy read of 2022 and fully resparked my love for vampire books all over again! I absolutely loved the writing style, character growth as well as ALL the characters. Yes, there were very annoying characters that I wanted to slap but that just makes it more real. I enjoyed all the side characters as well and fell absolutely in love with Kat, Taylor and Galen! 

I do not want to spoil anything for Youngblood and I do recommend going into this book pretty blind. But here's what you need to know(read if you like): Vampires, boarding school, sapphic novels, making fun of Twilight, plot twists, cool and quirky teachers (I pictured Sikowitz from Victorious), bully trope (not entirely bully romance).

This was dramatic, and messy, and angsty and just all found great fun! It had the right amount of romance vs mystery plot and I had a lot of fun with it. The lore was unique and nothing like I’ve ever read before…and you can’t go wrong with gay vampires! 

It’s not the best lgbt vampire book I’ve read but I really enjoyed it and had a great time! I enjoyed the mc’s and their dynamic and honestly the murder mystery plot was a great addition, something fun to try work out alongside screaming about the angsty romance! Just kiss already!

Carrington Kinslow

1 star. Racism, a queer character who tries to police queer identities, pro-colonization, and just shit writing.

Francesca &
Youngblood by Sasha Laurens

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Francesca &Youngblood by Sasha Laurens

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Francesca &
Youngblood by Sasha Laurens