What do you think?
Rate this book
Honeyblood
Fern is barely living. Vaughn is going to die.
Close friends for years, both have reasons for never admitting to their feelings for one another. Fern can't fathom a world where someone so intelligent, charming, and well-connected would want a timid, boring woman. Vaughn isn't willing to drag her down his steepening decline.
As one of many vampires living in Seaside in secret, Vaughn is beholden to the laws of moderation imposed by their human Administrators. But he's the only vampire who can't tolerate the blood substitutes produced by Dayro General Hospital. Even with vampire specialists on his case, his prognosis is grim-- intelligence, wealth, and legacy can't save him from the ban on live feeding, which is his only remaining avenue for survival.
Fern has lived in stasis ever since graduating college. She tells herself she is satisfied with her job, her hobbies, and her non-existent love life, but her diary is filled with yearning for more. Plagued by anxiety, she's too afraid to act on these dreams until Vaughn collapses in front of her, and she realizes she has had exactly what he's needed all along.
Vaughn will be killed if anyone finds out he fed on a human, but he's dying anyway. Left with no alternative, he takes Fern's offer. The results are immediate, and staggering. A last-ditch treatment by his doctor provides the perfect excuse for his physical transformation, and so long as he and Fern keep their connection a secret, they both have a chance at the life, and love, they always wanted.
But Vaughn's changes are getting harder to ignore. He's becoming stronger, and faster-- and sensitive to sunlight. When Fern's blood turns gold, they realize they are witnessing a phenomena that hasn't been seen in centuries. Modern vampires are little more than human, but with Fern's blood, Vaughn is becoming something more.
Vampire-human tensions are at a fever pitch as conclave approaches. What is Vaughn willing to do to keep their shared dream alive? How much can Fern let him take from her? And when their backs are against the wall-- how many bridges are they willing to burn?
The Spicy Version include explicit intimate scenes. For closed-door or non-explicit scenes, purchase the Sweet Version.
Author's Secondary Edit 9/7/25. This is not a professionally-edited novel.
Close friends for years, both have reasons for never admitting to their feelings for one another. Fern can't fathom a world where someone so intelligent, charming, and well-connected would want a timid, boring woman. Vaughn isn't willing to drag her down his steepening decline.
As one of many vampires living in Seaside in secret, Vaughn is beholden to the laws of moderation imposed by their human Administrators. But he's the only vampire who can't tolerate the blood substitutes produced by Dayro General Hospital. Even with vampire specialists on his case, his prognosis is grim-- intelligence, wealth, and legacy can't save him from the ban on live feeding, which is his only remaining avenue for survival.
Fern has lived in stasis ever since graduating college. She tells herself she is satisfied with her job, her hobbies, and her non-existent love life, but her diary is filled with yearning for more. Plagued by anxiety, she's too afraid to act on these dreams until Vaughn collapses in front of her, and she realizes she has had exactly what he's needed all along.
Vaughn will be killed if anyone finds out he fed on a human, but he's dying anyway. Left with no alternative, he takes Fern's offer. The results are immediate, and staggering. A last-ditch treatment by his doctor provides the perfect excuse for his physical transformation, and so long as he and Fern keep their connection a secret, they both have a chance at the life, and love, they always wanted.
But Vaughn's changes are getting harder to ignore. He's becoming stronger, and faster-- and sensitive to sunlight. When Fern's blood turns gold, they realize they are witnessing a phenomena that hasn't been seen in centuries. Modern vampires are little more than human, but with Fern's blood, Vaughn is becoming something more.
Vampire-human tensions are at a fever pitch as conclave approaches. What is Vaughn willing to do to keep their shared dream alive? How much can Fern let him take from her? And when their backs are against the wall-- how many bridges are they willing to burn?
The Spicy Version include explicit intimate scenes. For closed-door or non-explicit scenes, purchase the Sweet Version.
Author's Secondary Edit 9/7/25. This is not a professionally-edited novel.
393 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 21, 2025
14 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 30, 2025
Not me reading this in a single night bc I couldn’t put it down 💀
Dudes, this fucking rocks. I love vampire stories, especially ones that adapt or expand on vamp mythology, and “Honeyblood” does so in ways that are SO. FUN. I really love the world building in this, it felt like a fresh take on secret vampire society while still leaning into very beloved and classic tropes.
I also ADORED all these characters so much, and I admire how the author pulled off the previously established feelings of the main characters. Friends to lovers can be hard to pull off when readers are introduced so “late” in the friendship, but the yearning in this was top notch and there was some really good subtle lines that helped establish Vaughn and Fern’s bond and *why* they mattered so much to each other. I will add that Mav being a POV character added some good tension in there as well, because their misunderstandings and biases made me and Fern question Vaughn’s intentions — and then the next Vaughn POV would IMMEDIATELY reassure me again haha. But I really loved that when I read a certain POV, the writing was so grounded in their thoughts that I immediately felt all the things the character was feeling. Mav in general is a delight and I loved the nonbinary rep, but between the two of them, Layla took the attitude crown for me. Fern, sweet Fern, whose nervous need to please was just right for me (sometimes people pleasing characters can get really annoying, but Fern’s flaws felt very grounded and worked well for me.) Also Vaughn was giving me Vampire Gansey vibes in the best way lol. Like, you do you, nerdy rich white boy. I’m a huge sucker for friends to lovers when it’s done well and I cannot state enough how much this story worked for me!!!
There’s a really special voice to this writing that was addictive and so so enjoyable, and I’m so excited to explore this authors other titles!!
I will add that in the last 20% or so, the pacing did feel a little wonky. This was both a good and a bad thing. I was really glad that the story wasn’t lingering too long on the misunderstandings, because that can feel like torture when authors draw it out too long in books. The resolutions felt solid and earned for the most part, and I was really glad for that. BUT (and this is really just a nitpick) towards the end everything was happening so fast, I almost wish that we had lingered a touch more. Given the length of the books, I think another 10-20 pages would’ve given just enough space to really sit with what’s happening. That being said, this is a very small qualm and not one that is affecting my rating at all.
This is a new favorite of mine, I will DEFINITELY be recommending. I am really looking forward to seeing growth and popularity for this, bc it deserves so much love 😭😭 I’m hoping someday it will draw enough reads for physical copies bc I would LOVE to have this a shelf trophy 💜
Time to go blab about this GEM to all my friends. 🥰
Dudes, this fucking rocks. I love vampire stories, especially ones that adapt or expand on vamp mythology, and “Honeyblood” does so in ways that are SO. FUN. I really love the world building in this, it felt like a fresh take on secret vampire society while still leaning into very beloved and classic tropes.
I also ADORED all these characters so much, and I admire how the author pulled off the previously established feelings of the main characters. Friends to lovers can be hard to pull off when readers are introduced so “late” in the friendship, but the yearning in this was top notch and there was some really good subtle lines that helped establish Vaughn and Fern’s bond and *why* they mattered so much to each other. I will add that Mav being a POV character added some good tension in there as well, because their misunderstandings and biases made me and Fern question Vaughn’s intentions — and then the next Vaughn POV would IMMEDIATELY reassure me again haha. But I really loved that when I read a certain POV, the writing was so grounded in their thoughts that I immediately felt all the things the character was feeling. Mav in general is a delight and I loved the nonbinary rep, but between the two of them, Layla took the attitude crown for me. Fern, sweet Fern, whose nervous need to please was just right for me (sometimes people pleasing characters can get really annoying, but Fern’s flaws felt very grounded and worked well for me.) Also Vaughn was giving me Vampire Gansey vibes in the best way lol. Like, you do you, nerdy rich white boy. I’m a huge sucker for friends to lovers when it’s done well and I cannot state enough how much this story worked for me!!!
There’s a really special voice to this writing that was addictive and so so enjoyable, and I’m so excited to explore this authors other titles!!
I will add that in the last 20% or so, the pacing did feel a little wonky. This was both a good and a bad thing. I was really glad that the story wasn’t lingering too long on the misunderstandings, because that can feel like torture when authors draw it out too long in books. The resolutions felt solid and earned for the most part, and I was really glad for that. BUT (and this is really just a nitpick) towards the end everything was happening so fast, I almost wish that we had lingered a touch more. Given the length of the books, I think another 10-20 pages would’ve given just enough space to really sit with what’s happening. That being said, this is a very small qualm and not one that is affecting my rating at all.
This is a new favorite of mine, I will DEFINITELY be recommending. I am really looking forward to seeing growth and popularity for this, bc it deserves so much love 😭😭 I’m hoping someday it will draw enough reads for physical copies bc I would LOVE to have this a shelf trophy 💜
Time to go blab about this GEM to all my friends. 🥰
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2025
☆ 2.75
I am… dissapointed. The premise was so intriguing, I was immediately hooked for the first 20% of the story and then it all kind of fizzled. There were so many plot points that didn’t fit well together and unfortunately the characters really suffered because of this. I felt like no one had their chance to shine because the focus was on how to tie in all of these random plot points together in a way that made sense in the end. Fern and Vaughn felt like complete strangers instead of best friends and all of this back and forth between them got very annoying. The entire concept of honeybloods felt like an afterthought and a lot of the big secrets these charatcers were keeping felt like they didn’t hold any weight to them. I did really like how vampires lived and worked in this story, this started off at an angle I’ve never read about and I really enjoyed. Honestly, if this would have been broken up into two parts as a duology, Fern, Vaughn, Mav, and Layla would have had the chance to breathe and grow. I do think this author has great potential. I’d love to see how their writing grows because they had all the right ideas just excecuted poorly.
I am… dissapointed. The premise was so intriguing, I was immediately hooked for the first 20% of the story and then it all kind of fizzled. There were so many plot points that didn’t fit well together and unfortunately the characters really suffered because of this. I felt like no one had their chance to shine because the focus was on how to tie in all of these random plot points together in a way that made sense in the end. Fern and Vaughn felt like complete strangers instead of best friends and all of this back and forth between them got very annoying. The entire concept of honeybloods felt like an afterthought and a lot of the big secrets these charatcers were keeping felt like they didn’t hold any weight to them. I did really like how vampires lived and worked in this story, this started off at an angle I’ve never read about and I really enjoyed. Honestly, if this would have been broken up into two parts as a duology, Fern, Vaughn, Mav, and Layla would have had the chance to breathe and grow. I do think this author has great potential. I’d love to see how their writing grows because they had all the right ideas just excecuted poorly.
August 31, 2025
i loved the idea of this book and the overall plot, but definitely could have used a professional editor.
including a nonbinary character is great but there were many pronoun slip ups for them that were distracting
the ending also felt abrupt and not really a HEA that the characters so clearly deserved.
including a nonbinary character is great but there were many pronoun slip ups for them that were distracting
the ending also felt abrupt and not really a HEA that the characters so clearly deserved.
August 7, 2025
This one was so much fun. The world building of the secret vampire society was so fresh and original with so many fascinating ideas. I loved how vampires come in many forms and value the lives of the humans they live alongside, rather than looking down on them as an inferior species. The chemistry between Vaughn and Fern was so sweet and I rooted for them the whole time. Do yourself a favor and check this one out!
August 6, 2025
This author has a lot of potential to be good. This book feels like a first draft and needs a lot of editing. There’s too many plot lines. There’s some good stuff in there. I read 80% through and skimmed the rest. I feel like it could’ve been a hundred pages shorter personally or maybe two different books.
March 13, 2026
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up
there was alot of inferencing i feel like i had to do at the beginning of the book and it kind of dragged on towards the end.
but the spice was solid and i enjoyed the differing types of vampires in this world!
there was alot of inferencing i feel like i had to do at the beginning of the book and it kind of dragged on towards the end.
but the spice was solid and i enjoyed the differing types of vampires in this world!
Read
August 27, 2025Not giving a rating, as I didn’t get very far and that would be unfair but this needs some serious editing.
November 23, 2025
Love the idea, love the characters, but this book needs some SERIOUS editing. Once that is done, it will be lovely 💜
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews