Book Review: The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood & Boyfriends by Jamie D'amato

GOODREAD SUMMARY:

Heartstopper meets Buffy in this queer paranormal rom-com where a college sophomore must survive becoming a vampire—and the cute boy who discovers his secret.

It’s only natural nineteen-year-old Brennan’s life would be upended by something as ridiculous and unexpected as turning into a vampire. But if there’s one thing Brennan can do, it’s pretend everything’s fine when he’s close to losing his mind. Brennan is nineteen and just clawed his way back to Sturbridge University after recovering from a suicide attempt, and this is not the new life he was hoping for.

Brennan’s newly bloodthirsty existence gets way more complicated when Cole, the super cute librarian and everyone’s campus crush, stumbles on Brennan drinking from a stolen blood bag. Luckily, adorable Cole is happy to keep Brennan’s secret, and even seems to maybe like him? Navigating a new relationship is hard enough without the added struggles of vampire puberty, an eclectic clan of self-proclaimed “good” vampires, and growing feelings for the one person who makes Brennan feel normal. With swirling rumors of a missing student and a rise in strange “animal attacks” near campus, Brennan must uncover the secrets of the clan and figure out how to balance vampirism and humanity, or risk losing the first real friends he’s ever had.

TEE'S THOUGHTS

Sweet. Cute. Fun. That is just a few words I would use to describe Jamie D'Amato's book The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood & Boyfriends. 

Brennen has only been a vampire for a year and it along with college, has caused hin to be stressed and depressed. Add in the fact that he was just caught sucking blood from a blood bag by cute librarian Cole. 

I love the characters, Brennen is both awkward and relatable, I mean as relatable as you can be when being a vampire. He does have his set of unusual problems with that, but he also struggles with a very human side. College , lovelife, and just the in and outs of a normal teenagers life. He als struggles with depression, and because of that there are several triggering moments that deal with suicide. While there are those moments, this book and the characters are lighthearted and fun.

Cole, the cute librarian is also Southern. I am somewhat Southern so I enjoyed him, he was the quintessential Southern gay boy, loveable, proper and perfection. He had the usual struggles also, a bit different than Brennen, but equally as tragic. His overbearing parents wanted him to follow in his fathers footsteps, a very Southern thing, yet Cole preferred to carve his own path, in something that they would likely think was unacceptable, the struggle was acceptane and disappointing your parents, again, very Southern,

There is also a bit of vampire mystery in the book, it rather felt like an after thought to me, the point of the book felt more about Brennen and Cole and their relationship. So go into this book expecting a cute rom- com about two college boys, if you do that you will enjoy it.