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Book: “The Darkness Bites Back” by Laura R. Samotin & Ben Alderson
Publishing Info: Angry Robot Books, September 2026
Where Did I Get This Book: I received and eARC from NetGalley
Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound
Book Description: Centuries ago, Tobias Osian had his mortality stolen from him when he was unwillingly turned into a vampire. Ever since, he’s been consumed by the need for revenge against the monster who took his humanity – Vladimir Damianos, the head of Britain’s most powerful vampire clan.
Now, Tobias is finally ready to enact his plan for vengeance, using Vladimir’s son Alexander to infiltrate the family and bring down the entire clan. But what he doesn’t expect is that Alexander has rebelled against his bloodthirsty father by protecting mortals instead of hunting them. When the two meet, Alexander is instantly enamoured with Tobias. And as a string of attacks rocks the city of Oxford, Alexander proves himself committed to protecting Tobias, not knowing that Tobias is just as much of a monster as he is.
With his attraction to Alexander growing, Tobias must decide what means more to him: vengeance, or a love growing from the most tragic of places.
Perfect for fans of Interview With the Vampire and Saltburn, this high-heat paranormal romance brings together blood and lust in an intoxicating combination.
Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel!
We are about halfway through Horrorpalooza (more even!), and while I’ve really been enjoying the all horror all the time thing I have going on with it, it is known that I also like to throw in a couple ‘horror adjacent’ reads during this time period. Things that may not be PURE horror, but could pass when it comes to themes. Usually this comes out in the form of romances, and that is true for how it shook out this year, as I decided to take on “The Darkness Bites Back” by Laura R. Samotin and Ben Alderson. This was in part due to the fact that even though it ended back in July, I’m still fully fixated on “Interview With the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat” and my favorite ship of the moment Lestat and Louis (this ship has been part of my collection since I was a teen but REALLY ramped back up thanks to the show). I’ve been feeling incredible withdrawals now that the show is done, and while I do/can rewatch it is a REALLY rough show at times and it takes a lot out of me. I’ve thought about finding some good Loustat fan fics, but parsing through seems daunting and I STILL REMEMBER when Anne Rice would get REALLY grumpy about people writing fan fiction with her characters, so I’ve held off. When I saw that this book was about two vampires, it was MLM, and it seemed to have smut AND angst, AND it had comparisons to “Interview with the Vampire” I was like ‘LET’S DO IT’ and hopped on board.
In terms of giving me a sweet sweet Loustat-esque dopamine shot right to my veins, “The Darkness Bites Back” absolutely has the vibes and elements that I have been surely missing since the show ended back in July. Our MLM romance involves two vampires. The first is Tobin, a vampire who was forced to become a vampire centuries in the past when he was turned by the ruthless and infamous Vladamir Damianos, who is the head of one of the most dangerous vampire clans in all of Europe. The second is Alexander, who teaches at Oxford passing as a human, who also happens to be Vladamir’s son, and whom Tobin wants to target and seduce only to kill him in revenge. But of course, his plan is a bit thrown for a loop when, pretending to be someone he is not, he actually falls for the charming and secretly noble Alexander. Forbidden romance, enemies to lovers, dark academia, it certainly has a lot of things that I like, trope wise. It also has some pretty steamy romance scenes, and I did find myself hoping that Tobin and Alexander would be able to figure out a way to be together (aka that Tobin would realize that Alexander is not responsible for her father’s terribleness and is not a carbon copy of him, come ON Tobin!). The emotional moments were there, as was the banter, and I enjoyed their romance journey.
All that said, I think that in general this book is pretty middle of the road. I liked Alexander and Tobin, but I’m sure that was in part due to the fact I was looking for an outlet for a ship that I am really missing at the moment (they are enjoyable, don’t get me wrong). Some of the vampire lore was confusing, a lot of the secondary characters weren’t terribly interesting, and the ending felt pretty abrupt. It also didn’t really go outside of the tropes that I listed in ways that were interesting or unique. I was entertained, but after I was done it wasn’t really leaving much of an impression. I went into it with the express purpose of trying to chase the Loustat high I had been missing, and it provided that, but that was about it.
So all in all, “The Darkness Bites Back” was fun in the moment, but it wasn’t reinventing any wheels or lingering long after I was finished. I’m not mad I read it. But I think I probably just need to sit down and find some well done Loustat fan fics on AO3 to tide me over (I’m so sorry, Anne).
Rating 6: Steamy and fun, though not really moving outside the expected tropes, “The Darkness Bites Back” gave me a Loustat hit, but was fairly middle of the road.
Reader’s Advisory:
“The Darkness Bites Back” is included on the Goodreads list “Adult Queer Romances of 2026”.
