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Lore & Lust #1
Lore & Lust
The slow burn vampire romance you didn't know you needed...
Haruka Hirano is alive, but not quite living. Surviving but not thriving. As an elite purebred vampire in the twenty-first century, he is broken. Content in his subpar existence.
He is done with life. But life is not finished with him.
When he receives a formal request to oversee an antiquated vampire ritual at Hertsmonceux Castle, Haruka grudgingly leaves his home to meet another purebred. The vampire is not what he expects. Truly, he is unlike any vampire Haruka has ever encountered: cautious, innocent and with the warmth and gravitational pull of the sun.
Lore and Lust is an exploration of cultures, contemporary society and romance. It puts a whimsical spin on traditional vampire lore, while also creating a vivid new world where love is love. No questions asked.
Mature sexual content.
Haruka Hirano is alive, but not quite living. Surviving but not thriving. As an elite purebred vampire in the twenty-first century, he is broken. Content in his subpar existence.
He is done with life. But life is not finished with him.
When he receives a formal request to oversee an antiquated vampire ritual at Hertsmonceux Castle, Haruka grudgingly leaves his home to meet another purebred. The vampire is not what he expects. Truly, he is unlike any vampire Haruka has ever encountered: cautious, innocent and with the warmth and gravitational pull of the sun.
Lore and Lust is an exploration of cultures, contemporary society and romance. It puts a whimsical spin on traditional vampire lore, while also creating a vivid new world where love is love. No questions asked.
Mature sexual content.
266 pages, ebook
First published October 1, 2020
394 people are currently reading
11342 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 932 reviews
June 11, 2022
I have DNF’d better books than this. This read like poorly written fan fiction, honestly. Beyond the bad world building, it’s all written in present tense for some reason. Which I get isn’t objectively wrong, but it’s almost always used in exclusively first novels and by writing students. It screams inexperienced author and was wildly uncomfortable to read. I never got used to it.
Getting to the actual plot itself, we follow a pure blooded vampire who has to do a bunch of political work he doesn’t like doing because of… reasons. Pure bloods have to cater to the minute needs and wants of lesser ranked vampires. This is never explained.
In this book, vampires have learned to feed on each other instead of humans because human blood make them weaker and dumber, so pure bloods are vampires who come from a long line of other vampires who didn’t feed on humans. Apparently if pure bloods die out, the entire vampire species dies out. This is also never explained. (Or maybe it was, I started skimming at the 70% mark because I was over this shit show.)
Because of all the holes in the world building and the, in my opinion, poor writing style, I couldn’t really connect with the characters. So when they finally get together, I realized I didn’t care either way. I wasn’t invested. And considering that at its core this is a romance novel, it’s entire job is to ensure you’re invested in the romantic relationship.
That said, the two main characters are the best part of this book and I can see how someone could overlook the many issues because they were fond of them. It just wasn’t enough for me.
Getting to the actual plot itself, we follow a pure blooded vampire who has to do a bunch of political work he doesn’t like doing because of… reasons. Pure bloods have to cater to the minute needs and wants of lesser ranked vampires. This is never explained.
In this book, vampires have learned to feed on each other instead of humans because human blood make them weaker and dumber, so pure bloods are vampires who come from a long line of other vampires who didn’t feed on humans. Apparently if pure bloods die out, the entire vampire species dies out. This is also never explained. (Or maybe it was, I started skimming at the 70% mark because I was over this shit show.)
Because of all the holes in the world building and the, in my opinion, poor writing style, I couldn’t really connect with the characters. So when they finally get together, I realized I didn’t care either way. I wasn’t invested. And considering that at its core this is a romance novel, it’s entire job is to ensure you’re invested in the romantic relationship.
That said, the two main characters are the best part of this book and I can see how someone could overlook the many issues because they were fond of them. It just wasn’t enough for me.
June 8, 2021
An Italian vampire and a Japanese vampire travel the world whilst falling in love? Say no more. This was such a wonderfully executed romance, featuring heartwarming protagonists and really lovely writing! The beautiful descriptions of different countries and cultures made for some top tier escapism.
~★~ What is this book about? ~★~
As part of the dwindling population of purebloods—vampires who maintain strong bloodlines by feeding solely off of other vampires—Haruka Hirano has been living in isolation for years. His aura tends to draw loads of unwanted attention, so he chooses to reside far from the general population. This all changes when Haruka is summoned to oversee a sacred vampiric ritual accompanied by the only other pureblood left in the UK: a less-than-eager barkeep named Nino. As the two get to know each other through ceremonial preparations, their connection flourishes into something neither believed they would ever experience.
~★~
Lore & Lust was absolutely unputdownable; I flew through it in nothing short of a day. Karla Nicole possesses a truly entrancing writing style that kept me hooked from start to finish, it’s hard to believe this is her debut!
Haruka and Nino were brilliant protagonists, both of which I came to love profusely. Their overall dynamic made this book so great; Haruka’s sophisticated manner paired with Nino’s more impulsive demeanor meshed to create a remarkable pairing I couldn’t get enough of. This is marketed as a “queer vampire slowburn romance”, and thankfully, the slowburn wasn’t so bad—the romance was perfectly paced with just the right amount of angst.
Another positive aspect of this delightfully entertaining novel was the atmosphere. It was a joy to follow Haruka and Nino through Japan, Italy and the UK, especially due to Karla Nicole’s lovely way of describing surroundings. It was so easy to get lost in this story, which is all a reader can ask for when picking up a fantasy tale.
Lore & Lust exceeded my expectations; I’m so eager for the sequel! :D
“Life handed him lemons. Instead of making lemonade, he packed his suitcase and left the fruit rotting on the counter.”
~★~ What is this book about? ~★~
As part of the dwindling population of purebloods—vampires who maintain strong bloodlines by feeding solely off of other vampires—Haruka Hirano has been living in isolation for years. His aura tends to draw loads of unwanted attention, so he chooses to reside far from the general population. This all changes when Haruka is summoned to oversee a sacred vampiric ritual accompanied by the only other pureblood left in the UK: a less-than-eager barkeep named Nino. As the two get to know each other through ceremonial preparations, their connection flourishes into something neither believed they would ever experience.
~★~
Lore & Lust was absolutely unputdownable; I flew through it in nothing short of a day. Karla Nicole possesses a truly entrancing writing style that kept me hooked from start to finish, it’s hard to believe this is her debut!
Haruka and Nino were brilliant protagonists, both of which I came to love profusely. Their overall dynamic made this book so great; Haruka’s sophisticated manner paired with Nino’s more impulsive demeanor meshed to create a remarkable pairing I couldn’t get enough of. This is marketed as a “queer vampire slowburn romance”, and thankfully, the slowburn wasn’t so bad—the romance was perfectly paced with just the right amount of angst.
Another positive aspect of this delightfully entertaining novel was the atmosphere. It was a joy to follow Haruka and Nino through Japan, Italy and the UK, especially due to Karla Nicole’s lovely way of describing surroundings. It was so easy to get lost in this story, which is all a reader can ask for when picking up a fantasy tale.
Lore & Lust exceeded my expectations; I’m so eager for the sequel! :D
June 6, 2024
I loved everything about this book!! It certainly lives up to its stunning cover. I personally thought the world building was on point! I could understand everything, which is not always the case with some books I read. And the characters have my heart!! Naruka was living his life with these constant protective walls until he met Nino who he gradually grew comfortable with. The way they constantly looked out for each other was just 🫶🫶. I have to say the slow burn killed me but was also one of the main reasons why I ended up loving this book so much. That and the biting/drinking scenes, I live for those. But this book is an absolute gem with a cover I want to frame and a couple that fits perfectly together.
December 21, 2022
I’m on BookTube now! =)
”Life handed him lemons. Instead of making lemonade, he packed his suitcase and left the fruit rotting on the counter.”
It’s been a while I read “Lore & Lust” but I still wanted to add my two cents, because this was one of those books that came exactly at the right time. I wanted to read an m/m vampire slow burn romance in which I could get lost for a little while and that’s exactly what I got. Haruka and Nino were such an amazing couple and I absolutely adored how their relationship went from reluctant acquaintances to friends, best friends and ultimately caused them to end up as lovers. What I really enjoyed in here was the slow burn because right from their first meeting it was pretty obvious that they were both dawn towards each other.
Nino reaches out, his hand firmly resting over Haruka’s fingers. The physical contact abruptly shifts Haruka’s knotted aura again and he inhales sharply. Startled, he snatches his hand away from Nino’s grasp.”
Instead of giving into their nature, they both did their best to hold back though and we slowly but steadily find out the reasons for their restraint. There’s a lot of attraction between those two, yet neither of them wants to give in. It takes a while for the reader to find out why both of them aren’t inclined to go for a relationship and actually would rather prefer to ignore their feelings instead of giving in. Both, Haruka as well as Nino, have been hurt in the past and it’s not easy to get over a severe trauma like that. Honestly, my heart broke when I heard about little Nino’s ordeal and boy, did it break for Haru too. What he survived. Phew! I’m not surprised he tried to steer clear of any sort of romance and would have preferred not to be mated to anyone for the rest of his existence. His special powers made it very hard to avoid other vampire’s advances though and I felt really sorry for him.
”You don’t always need to be perfectly composed and polite,” Nino assures him. “I hope... that after all this is over, you would consider me as a friend? With friends, you can let your guard down.”
What I really loved about this book wasn’t just their close friendship and how they slowly let their guard down around each other, but also how they always spoke about everything. Their communication was amazing and I honestly wish more couples would address their thoughts, feelings and problems as directly as them. They were an excellent example of how important it is to talk when you’re in a relationship and I adored them for it!
Nino sits up straight, focused. “Haru, how ... do we feel about sex?”
“Considering my behaviour this morning, I think my feelings should be obvious –“
And most of all what I absolutely loved and appreciated about their relationship was the CONSENT! The freaking consent!!! I mean they both knew about each other’s trauma and they were so very careful with their feelings. No matter what happened between them they always spoke about it and asked if it was okay to take that next step. You have no idea how awesome it was to see a relationship like this on page. They both have been through so much but both of them made an effort to make this work as well. They talked things through; let each other know what worked and what didn’t work for them. Spoke about what was allowed when they were intimate with each other and what wasn’t and they always made it very clear what would be considered to be a red flag. CONSENT. I loved it! Can we have more books like that?
”Haruka gently pulls to feed from him, and in exchange, Nino clearly senses his mind. Warm, quiet thoughts of gratitude and affection are being poured into him. The tenderness of it floods his body, making his breath short. It’s wonderful and singularly the most intimate thing Nino has ever experienced.”
”But he resists. Strictly suppressing the urge each time. Haruka prides himself on his ability to control his nature, and he and Nino are friends. He deeply values their relationship and would never jeopardize it. Haruka has never known anything like it.
It was really nice to read both of their POVs and to see what was going on in their minds while they were together. It helped to understand their feelings and motives and showed how much they truly cared about each other. The book was mostly focused on the development of their slow burn though and if you expect a lot of plot or world building you’ll probably end up being disappointed. Since this is the first book in a series I’m pretty certain that some of the things that were mentioned in here and happened along the way will turn out to be more important in the second book, though. Also I’m convinced that we’ll get to know more about Cellina and Nino’s brother. The chemistry between those two was NICE and I’m sure they’ll end up together as well. Plus I’d really love to hear more about Asao! He was such a cool character and very loyal to Haru which immediately caused me to like him. Yuna however can go to hell! I hate that woman for what she did to Haru and for all I know she can burn in the fierce pits and never return.
”I don’t want us to be apart,” Nino lowers his head, staring down at his thighs. “Is there any way for us to stay together? Would you want that?”
Haruka swallows, his throat tight. “I do want that. But Nino, I would never ask you to uproot your life and established business for me, especially considering... I cannot promise you that we would form a bond.”
Conclusion:
“Lore & Lust” might not have had the best world building or storyline but boy, did it deliver on the slow burn front. I really enjoyed this so much and I honestly cared more about Nino’s and Haru’s relationship development than about the rest of the story, which is probably the reason why this worked out so well for me. *lol* If you want to go for a quick and pleasant read that won’t force you to overthinking things too much I can totally recommend to go for this book. Also the slow burn and consent in this book are impeccable and if you love tropes like that you should definitely pick it up. ;-)
Happy reading!
________________________________
At this moment all I can say is:
I’m OBSESSED with this!!! I loved Haru and Nino so damn much!!! <333
This was exactly the kind of slow burn LGBTQ+ vampire story I needed!
Thank you, Karla Nikole!
Full RTC soon! XD
_________________________________
As some of you might already know I’m hosting a readathon named "Rainboween" aka “Rainboweenathon” on my Instagram and BookTube this year!
Well, and this is the first book I’m going to read in order to tick off some of my bingo board prompts!
Two male vampires that fall in love? I’m so here for it and can’t wait to dive into this world! =)
Has anyone of you read this already? The ratings are pretty good so I’m looking forward to read it.
Info for everyone who takes part in Rainboween:
You can tick off the categories “vampires”, “paranormal” and “fantasy”! ;-)
Find me on:
My Blog
Instagram
”Life handed him lemons. Instead of making lemonade, he packed his suitcase and left the fruit rotting on the counter.”
It’s been a while I read “Lore & Lust” but I still wanted to add my two cents, because this was one of those books that came exactly at the right time. I wanted to read an m/m vampire slow burn romance in which I could get lost for a little while and that’s exactly what I got. Haruka and Nino were such an amazing couple and I absolutely adored how their relationship went from reluctant acquaintances to friends, best friends and ultimately caused them to end up as lovers. What I really enjoyed in here was the slow burn because right from their first meeting it was pretty obvious that they were both dawn towards each other.
Nino reaches out, his hand firmly resting over Haruka’s fingers. The physical contact abruptly shifts Haruka’s knotted aura again and he inhales sharply. Startled, he snatches his hand away from Nino’s grasp.”
Instead of giving into their nature, they both did their best to hold back though and we slowly but steadily find out the reasons for their restraint. There’s a lot of attraction between those two, yet neither of them wants to give in. It takes a while for the reader to find out why both of them aren’t inclined to go for a relationship and actually would rather prefer to ignore their feelings instead of giving in. Both, Haruka as well as Nino, have been hurt in the past and it’s not easy to get over a severe trauma like that. Honestly, my heart broke when I heard about little Nino’s ordeal and boy, did it break for Haru too. What he survived. Phew! I’m not surprised he tried to steer clear of any sort of romance and would have preferred not to be mated to anyone for the rest of his existence. His special powers made it very hard to avoid other vampire’s advances though and I felt really sorry for him.
”You don’t always need to be perfectly composed and polite,” Nino assures him. “I hope... that after all this is over, you would consider me as a friend? With friends, you can let your guard down.”
What I really loved about this book wasn’t just their close friendship and how they slowly let their guard down around each other, but also how they always spoke about everything. Their communication was amazing and I honestly wish more couples would address their thoughts, feelings and problems as directly as them. They were an excellent example of how important it is to talk when you’re in a relationship and I adored them for it!
Nino sits up straight, focused. “Haru, how ... do we feel about sex?”
“Considering my behaviour this morning, I think my feelings should be obvious –“
And most of all what I absolutely loved and appreciated about their relationship was the CONSENT! The freaking consent!!! I mean they both knew about each other’s trauma and they were so very careful with their feelings. No matter what happened between them they always spoke about it and asked if it was okay to take that next step. You have no idea how awesome it was to see a relationship like this on page. They both have been through so much but both of them made an effort to make this work as well. They talked things through; let each other know what worked and what didn’t work for them. Spoke about what was allowed when they were intimate with each other and what wasn’t and they always made it very clear what would be considered to be a red flag. CONSENT. I loved it! Can we have more books like that?
”Haruka gently pulls to feed from him, and in exchange, Nino clearly senses his mind. Warm, quiet thoughts of gratitude and affection are being poured into him. The tenderness of it floods his body, making his breath short. It’s wonderful and singularly the most intimate thing Nino has ever experienced.”
”But he resists. Strictly suppressing the urge each time. Haruka prides himself on his ability to control his nature, and he and Nino are friends. He deeply values their relationship and would never jeopardize it. Haruka has never known anything like it.
It was really nice to read both of their POVs and to see what was going on in their minds while they were together. It helped to understand their feelings and motives and showed how much they truly cared about each other. The book was mostly focused on the development of their slow burn though and if you expect a lot of plot or world building you’ll probably end up being disappointed. Since this is the first book in a series I’m pretty certain that some of the things that were mentioned in here and happened along the way will turn out to be more important in the second book, though. Also I’m convinced that we’ll get to know more about Cellina and Nino’s brother. The chemistry between those two was NICE and I’m sure they’ll end up together as well. Plus I’d really love to hear more about Asao! He was such a cool character and very loyal to Haru which immediately caused me to like him. Yuna however can go to hell! I hate that woman for what she did to Haru and for all I know she can burn in the fierce pits and never return.
”I don’t want us to be apart,” Nino lowers his head, staring down at his thighs. “Is there any way for us to stay together? Would you want that?”
Haruka swallows, his throat tight. “I do want that. But Nino, I would never ask you to uproot your life and established business for me, especially considering... I cannot promise you that we would form a bond.”
Conclusion:
“Lore & Lust” might not have had the best world building or storyline but boy, did it deliver on the slow burn front. I really enjoyed this so much and I honestly cared more about Nino’s and Haru’s relationship development than about the rest of the story, which is probably the reason why this worked out so well for me. *lol* If you want to go for a quick and pleasant read that won’t force you to overthinking things too much I can totally recommend to go for this book. Also the slow burn and consent in this book are impeccable and if you love tropes like that you should definitely pick it up. ;-)
Happy reading!
________________________________
At this moment all I can say is:
I’m OBSESSED with this!!! I loved Haru and Nino so damn much!!! <333
This was exactly the kind of slow burn LGBTQ+ vampire story I needed!
Thank you, Karla Nikole!
Full RTC soon! XD
_________________________________
As some of you might already know I’m hosting a readathon named "Rainboween" aka “Rainboweenathon” on my Instagram and BookTube this year!
Well, and this is the first book I’m going to read in order to tick off some of my bingo board prompts!
Two male vampires that fall in love? I’m so here for it and can’t wait to dive into this world! =)
Has anyone of you read this already? The ratings are pretty good so I’m looking forward to read it.
Info for everyone who takes part in Rainboween:
You can tick off the categories “vampires”, “paranormal” and “fantasy”! ;-)
Find me on:
My Blog
April 13, 2021
this looks like twilight but gay and honestly i’m so here for it (rtc)
November 20, 2020
QUEER👏ASIAN👏VAMPIRE👏SLOW-BURN👏ROMANCE👏
Lore and Lust starts off with Haruka meeting Nino, another purebred vampire in London, in order to officiate a ancient vampire ceremony. They form a friendship as they research about the bonding ritual in this vampiric society.
I felt the progression of strangers to friends to lovers was done SO WELL. It all felt very natural to me and flowed really well. As the synopsis states, “The slow burn vampire romance you didn't know you needed…” Uh, yeah! You definitely need this in your life, because these two are so damn cute together!!!
A lot of the book, in fact, was focused on the romance. So if you are looking for something that IS heavy on romance, and done well—slowburn is king!—than this book definitely fits the bill. Through the romance, you also start to understand more of Haruka, who is a purebred vampire that is kind of just floating through his immortal life and has a lot of guards up. In contrast to Nino, a purebred vampire who is more naïve to the nuance, politics, and hierarchies within the vampiric society—a cinnamon roll.
The book alternates between Nino and Haruka in third person POV present tense. It was easy to read Karla Nikole’s straightforward writing. I think her writing lent to a very breezy romance read and I flew through the novel.
However, there were a lot of plot holes in this book. The biggest reason I can’t give this a five is because I kept wanting more. Nikole builds this world where vampires and humans coexist. She also touches on it internationally as we follow Nino and Haruka to Italy and then to Japan, so we get different senses of how everything works. BUT I wanted more explanations. The book does jump months quickly, not abruptly, but I would have liked less time skips in order to help add more information and slow down the pacing.
In the beginning, I was gushing a lot with the romance and shipping these two, but you get peeks of the world and history. There is this event called “The Vanishing” that basically had a large number of purebred vampires just disappearing without reason. I’m thinking this will be explored more in book two…
There is also vampire politics of realm leaders. Purebreds are given this title and basically oversee the vampires in the area. Briefly, we see turmoil in Brazil and that somehow factors into Haruka returning back to Japan, where he is technically the realm leader but left. I would have liked to have seen it more especially because Haruka and Nino ARE ranked so highly as purebreds.
Lastly, there is the title, which is a book researching bonding ritual that Haruka’s family has conducted. I am not sure if there is more to go off of that as I’m not buying into why these vampires want to get their hands on it so badly. As you can see, aside from the romance, there isn't much of a plot, but I had no problem with that. It's overall solid!
All in all, as a romance, Nikole did a great job. I had feels for these two! But the extra stuff she threw in, although not distracting, leaves you missing vital information and lacking worldbuilding both setting-wise and vampiric society that could have added another layer to this book. Still, it was entertaining. I had a lot of fun reading Lore and Lust and definitely recommend!!!
Lore and Lust starts off with Haruka meeting Nino, another purebred vampire in London, in order to officiate a ancient vampire ceremony. They form a friendship as they research about the bonding ritual in this vampiric society.
I felt the progression of strangers to friends to lovers was done SO WELL. It all felt very natural to me and flowed really well. As the synopsis states, “The slow burn vampire romance you didn't know you needed…” Uh, yeah! You definitely need this in your life, because these two are so damn cute together!!!
A lot of the book, in fact, was focused on the romance. So if you are looking for something that IS heavy on romance, and done well—slowburn is king!—than this book definitely fits the bill. Through the romance, you also start to understand more of Haruka, who is a purebred vampire that is kind of just floating through his immortal life and has a lot of guards up. In contrast to Nino, a purebred vampire who is more naïve to the nuance, politics, and hierarchies within the vampiric society—a cinnamon roll.
The book alternates between Nino and Haruka in third person POV present tense. It was easy to read Karla Nikole’s straightforward writing. I think her writing lent to a very breezy romance read and I flew through the novel.
However, there were a lot of plot holes in this book. The biggest reason I can’t give this a five is because I kept wanting more. Nikole builds this world where vampires and humans coexist. She also touches on it internationally as we follow Nino and Haruka to Italy and then to Japan, so we get different senses of how everything works. BUT I wanted more explanations. The book does jump months quickly, not abruptly, but I would have liked less time skips in order to help add more information and slow down the pacing.
In the beginning, I was gushing a lot with the romance and shipping these two, but you get peeks of the world and history. There is this event called “The Vanishing” that basically had a large number of purebred vampires just disappearing without reason. I’m thinking this will be explored more in book two…
There is also vampire politics of realm leaders. Purebreds are given this title and basically oversee the vampires in the area. Briefly, we see turmoil in Brazil and that somehow factors into Haruka returning back to Japan, where he is technically the realm leader but left. I would have liked to have seen it more especially because Haruka and Nino ARE ranked so highly as purebreds.
Lastly, there is the title, which is a book researching bonding ritual that Haruka’s family has conducted. I am not sure if there is more to go off of that as I’m not buying into why these vampires want to get their hands on it so badly. As you can see, aside from the romance, there isn't much of a plot, but I had no problem with that. It's overall solid!
All in all, as a romance, Nikole did a great job. I had feels for these two! But the extra stuff she threw in, although not distracting, leaves you missing vital information and lacking worldbuilding both setting-wise and vampiric society that could have added another layer to this book. Still, it was entertaining. I had a lot of fun reading Lore and Lust and definitely recommend!!!
November 27, 2021
The slow-burn gay vampire romance you didn't know you needed even though a captivating plotline is basically non-existent.
Read
November 10, 2024what is plot i'm just here for the vibes and queer horny vampires i guess
June 22, 2022
Calling all gay vampire fans, you must read the Lore & Lust series!
Vampires were my favourite when I was younger, and it warms my heart to see so many queer options emerging in recent years.
Nino and Haru were the most gorgeous couple. Their chemistry was somehow both soft and wild. Haru’s troubled life has turned him distant and solitary, emotionally unavailable to any lover. Nino’s past trauma quietly creeps behind a mask of playful innocence. Both boys suffered through so much pain, and it was wonderful to see how together, they slowly healed and truly blossomed. Their romance was enthrallingly slow. They begin as reluctant allies who, as they learn and enjoy the other’s company, become gentle friends, before a beautiful romance begins. I loved watching Haru fight against his feelings for Nino until he loved him too much not to embrace them. This book was full of silent, hidden glances, gentle caresses, and tender moments of sharing vulnerability. They really needed each other, and the yearning was far too intense for my heart to handle.
Loving yourself is important, but this book is a reminder of just how empowering being loved and supported by another can feel.
The intricacy of the vampire world really surprised me. It was incredibly intriguing how a vampire’s rank could be determined by the pureness of their blood. The vampire world felt dangerous, and the way those below Haru’s rank tried to manipulate him to their advantage was a great introduction to the internal politics. The ceremonies and lore, particularly how one vampire can mate another, seemed inspired by religion and ancient cultures. I enjoyed how aspects of our modern world were distorted to shape the captivating vampire hierarchy.
This series is the perfect balance of interesting fantasy and pure romance joy!
You can follow me on: Instagram Twitter TikTok
Vampires were my favourite when I was younger, and it warms my heart to see so many queer options emerging in recent years.
Nino and Haru were the most gorgeous couple. Their chemistry was somehow both soft and wild. Haru’s troubled life has turned him distant and solitary, emotionally unavailable to any lover. Nino’s past trauma quietly creeps behind a mask of playful innocence. Both boys suffered through so much pain, and it was wonderful to see how together, they slowly healed and truly blossomed. Their romance was enthrallingly slow. They begin as reluctant allies who, as they learn and enjoy the other’s company, become gentle friends, before a beautiful romance begins. I loved watching Haru fight against his feelings for Nino until he loved him too much not to embrace them. This book was full of silent, hidden glances, gentle caresses, and tender moments of sharing vulnerability. They really needed each other, and the yearning was far too intense for my heart to handle.
Loving yourself is important, but this book is a reminder of just how empowering being loved and supported by another can feel.
The intricacy of the vampire world really surprised me. It was incredibly intriguing how a vampire’s rank could be determined by the pureness of their blood. The vampire world felt dangerous, and the way those below Haru’s rank tried to manipulate him to their advantage was a great introduction to the internal politics. The ceremonies and lore, particularly how one vampire can mate another, seemed inspired by religion and ancient cultures. I enjoyed how aspects of our modern world were distorted to shape the captivating vampire hierarchy.
This series is the perfect balance of interesting fantasy and pure romance joy!
You can follow me on: Instagram Twitter TikTok
August 16, 2021
“You two are gorgeous together, like perfect bookends. Sunlight and moonlight. Jupiter and Mars… Mercutio and Romeo.”
I'll be honest, this cover totally sold it for me, it's absolutely stunning and the cover for book 2, The Vanishing is even better. But once I started reading, I totally fell in love with Haruka and Nino and their story 🖤❤️. This is (I believe) Karla Nikole's debut novel and it's divine.
Lore & Lust is a m/m PNR, specifically pureblood vampires, and is essentially a love story between two men from different cultures, in a contemporary setting where human and vampires live together side by side. It's a slow burn, friends to lovers, with some low key steamy scenes 🔥. But it's a love story with a twist.
Many pureblood vampires went missing years before our story takes place, in a phenomenon known as 'the Vanishing'. And it seems to be happening again, right under Haruka's nose......
It took me a while to settle into the story because it's written in third person, which I struggle with. But once I fully engaged with Haruka's 'voice' on the page (which is somewhat stilted and 'olde worlde') and the somewhat whimsical way Nikole has of writing (which I loved), I was totally invested in the story.
I have downloaded The Vanishing already 🥰.
Recommended.
4 ✨✨✨✨
I'll be honest, this cover totally sold it for me, it's absolutely stunning and the cover for book 2, The Vanishing is even better. But once I started reading, I totally fell in love with Haruka and Nino and their story 🖤❤️. This is (I believe) Karla Nikole's debut novel and it's divine.
Lore & Lust is a m/m PNR, specifically pureblood vampires, and is essentially a love story between two men from different cultures, in a contemporary setting where human and vampires live together side by side. It's a slow burn, friends to lovers, with some low key steamy scenes 🔥. But it's a love story with a twist.
Many pureblood vampires went missing years before our story takes place, in a phenomenon known as 'the Vanishing'. And it seems to be happening again, right under Haruka's nose......
It took me a while to settle into the story because it's written in third person, which I struggle with. But once I fully engaged with Haruka's 'voice' on the page (which is somewhat stilted and 'olde worlde') and the somewhat whimsical way Nikole has of writing (which I loved), I was totally invested in the story.
I have downloaded The Vanishing already 🥰.
Recommended.
4 ✨✨✨✨
May 9, 2024
Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.
This is heaven. He has never given heaven much thought. Never questioned whether or not it exists, but this is it. Here, in the warm firelight of this bedroom and kissing Haruka, is absolute paradise.
With a cover this freaking beautiful and a blurb that speaks to me like this one did, actually feeling like the content lives up to the expectations is rare, but this turned out to be even better than I hoped. Without a doubt my new favorite vampire romance, and I haven’t even read book 2 yet. The characters were both complicated and felt like complete, complex people. The development of their relationship was so gosh darn charming and believable. Their chemistry was off the charts, and every kiss and touch between them gave me butterflies and had me kicking my feet with giddiness.
Nearly every book I read is spicy, but this one was full of intimacy and sensuality. It just brought a completely different level to the sex, and it was a real treat to read.
I would have loved to learn more about the vampire species in general, just the general lore, you know? But even with not knowing everything, it was brilliant. What a talented writer, and I can’t wait to read more. So happy I discovered these!
Haruka rests his body down against him, exhaling a muffled moan from the satisfaction of his own arousal being pressed into Nino’s naked warmth. They slow the rhythm of the kiss, the affection turning more playful as they lie together against the cool sheets.
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Urban fantasy
Vampires
Cultural diversity
Strangers to friends to lovers
Aristocracy
Magical powers
Slow burn
Book 1 of 2
⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Blood consumption
Explicit sexual content
Social class differences
Death of parents (off page, past)
MC’s family member force feeding on him as a child (past, off page)
MC sexually harassed
Attempted assault on MC by SC
Graphic violence
MC cheated on in the past (not by other MC)
Alcohol consumption
⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 3rd person, dual
Genre: Paranormal/urban fantasy romance
Pairing: M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Versatile
Main characters’ age: 101 and 112
Series: Duology
Kindle Unlimited: No
Pages: 284
(Haruka doesn’t exercise at all though. He hates it. Especially running. He told Nino that running should be strictly reserved for emergencies.).
“Please do not try so hard to alter yourself,” Haruka says. As he speaks, Nino lifts his head and opens his vivid eyes. “I feel that you are lovely now. Just as you are.”
Happiness feels so foreign to him. Awkward—as if he’s suddenly wearing his shoes on the wrong feet. He doesn’t know how to settle into this feeling.
What is he supposed to do? How can he stop this feeling from consuming him? He knew it was there from the moment he first met Haruka—like the tiniest ember glowing deep within him. Now, the ember is a full-grown flame and he doesn’t know how to snuff it out.
Everything about Haruka registers as cool and refreshing. As if nature has uniquely cultivated him from its most beautiful elements—spring rain, the starry midnight skies and roses in full bloom.
You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?...
This is heaven. He has never given heaven much thought. Never questioned whether or not it exists, but this is it. Here, in the warm firelight of this bedroom and kissing Haruka, is absolute paradise.
With a cover this freaking beautiful and a blurb that speaks to me like this one did, actually feeling like the content lives up to the expectations is rare, but this turned out to be even better than I hoped. Without a doubt my new favorite vampire romance, and I haven’t even read book 2 yet. The characters were both complicated and felt like complete, complex people. The development of their relationship was so gosh darn charming and believable. Their chemistry was off the charts, and every kiss and touch between them gave me butterflies and had me kicking my feet with giddiness.
Nearly every book I read is spicy, but this one was full of intimacy and sensuality. It just brought a completely different level to the sex, and it was a real treat to read.
I would have loved to learn more about the vampire species in general, just the general lore, you know? But even with not knowing everything, it was brilliant. What a talented writer, and I can’t wait to read more. So happy I discovered these!
Haruka rests his body down against him, exhaling a muffled moan from the satisfaction of his own arousal being pressed into Nino’s naked warmth. They slow the rhythm of the kiss, the affection turning more playful as they lie together against the cool sheets.
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Urban fantasy
Vampires
Cultural diversity
Strangers to friends to lovers
Aristocracy
Magical powers
Slow burn
Book 1 of 2
⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Blood consumption
Explicit sexual content
Social class differences
Death of parents (off page, past)
MC’s family member force feeding on him as a child (past, off page)
MC sexually harassed
Attempted assault on MC by SC
Graphic violence
MC cheated on in the past (not by other MC)
Alcohol consumption
⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 3rd person, dual
Genre: Paranormal/urban fantasy romance
Pairing: M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Versatile
Main characters’ age: 101 and 112
Series: Duology
Kindle Unlimited: No
Pages: 284
(Haruka doesn’t exercise at all though. He hates it. Especially running. He told Nino that running should be strictly reserved for emergencies.).
“Please do not try so hard to alter yourself,” Haruka says. As he speaks, Nino lifts his head and opens his vivid eyes. “I feel that you are lovely now. Just as you are.”
Happiness feels so foreign to him. Awkward—as if he’s suddenly wearing his shoes on the wrong feet. He doesn’t know how to settle into this feeling.
What is he supposed to do? How can he stop this feeling from consuming him? He knew it was there from the moment he first met Haruka—like the tiniest ember glowing deep within him. Now, the ember is a full-grown flame and he doesn’t know how to snuff it out.
Everything about Haruka registers as cool and refreshing. As if nature has uniquely cultivated him from its most beautiful elements—spring rain, the starry midnight skies and roses in full bloom.
You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?...
July 27, 2021
Surprising no one, I have disappointed buddies once again by not being able to love a non-recommendation (they don't recommend books to me anymore, this is my fault, not theirs). To be fair, I think I expected something very different from this because despite of the title, and because of what many of us have grown accustomed to with vampires/paranormal plots. So, heads up : this is very slow moving and more sweet than angsty and violent or dark.
This actually gave me some All Souls series vibes as one of the plot points surrounds this document one of the main characters has in his possession which details accounts and records of vampires who have bonded (mated, for context) and the circumstances around that. And some random vampire suddenly seems really keen to get his hands on it. But that's likely where the comparison stops. However it also gave me Mortal & Divine series vibes with some of the formality in both customs and speech, not to mention the fact that there's aristocracy and clans with these particular vampires, but, again, that's where that comparison stops, too.
It's definitely a unique take on vampires as a culture, sort've in line with Regency era behaviours, except also.. not. Because these vampires are almost all exhaustingly useless and rude and entitled but simultaneously thirsty (and not just literally) AF. And I found most of them hard to endure. Some of which, in a different sense, spilled over onto one of the main characters, Haruka. I could sorta feel bad for what he had gone through, how insufferably he was constantly treated by others (which I mean.. I still feel like I didn't get a good handle on the why behind this? was it just snowflake syndrome and he was just All That? still not clear). But the only character I actually liked was our other lead, Nino.
Aspects of this world was interesting, how the vampires mingled (or didn't) with humans, how apparently they are not apart but worked into knowledge and existence (again, not a hundred percent clear on this, either), and the whole bloodline thing. But was I liking anything? Not really. Did anything really happen? Also not really. This was pretty slow, both in plot -- of which there is no action only weird discussions about art and politics? these vampires are so weird -- and also in romance, but we do at least get some satisfaction on the latter before the end of this instalment.
I struggled a bit with the writing, too, and how descriptors were constantly repeated and used as reference to people; male, dark, male, dark, etc. In addition the tense this was written in (third person present) just kept throwing me out of the story; and considering I struggled to connect to begin with, and then stay connected, it just all added to being checked out.
Overall, though? This just wasn't what I thought it was and while the second half was easier to chew through than the first, I can't claim to be a fan. But once my fellow buddy reader (hi buddy!) catches up, I'll be reading on. Hopefully book two offers something more exciting; but if not at least I'm prepared for it.
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
This actually gave me some All Souls series vibes as one of the plot points surrounds this document one of the main characters has in his possession which details accounts and records of vampires who have bonded (mated, for context) and the circumstances around that. And some random vampire suddenly seems really keen to get his hands on it. But that's likely where the comparison stops. However it also gave me Mortal & Divine series vibes with some of the formality in both customs and speech, not to mention the fact that there's aristocracy and clans with these particular vampires, but, again, that's where that comparison stops, too.
It's definitely a unique take on vampires as a culture, sort've in line with Regency era behaviours, except also.. not. Because these vampires are almost all exhaustingly useless and rude and entitled but simultaneously thirsty (and not just literally) AF. And I found most of them hard to endure. Some of which, in a different sense, spilled over onto one of the main characters, Haruka. I could sorta feel bad for what he had gone through, how insufferably he was constantly treated by others (which I mean.. I still feel like I didn't get a good handle on the why behind this? was it just snowflake syndrome and he was just All That? still not clear). But the only character I actually liked was our other lead, Nino.
Aspects of this world was interesting, how the vampires mingled (or didn't) with humans, how apparently they are not apart but worked into knowledge and existence (again, not a hundred percent clear on this, either), and the whole bloodline thing. But was I liking anything? Not really. Did anything really happen? Also not really. This was pretty slow, both in plot -- of which there is no action only weird discussions about art and politics? these vampires are so weird -- and also in romance, but we do at least get some satisfaction on the latter before the end of this instalment.
I struggled a bit with the writing, too, and how descriptors were constantly repeated and used as reference to people; male, dark, male, dark, etc. In addition the tense this was written in (third person present) just kept throwing me out of the story; and considering I struggled to connect to begin with, and then stay connected, it just all added to being checked out.
Overall, though? This just wasn't what I thought it was and while the second half was easier to chew through than the first, I can't claim to be a fan. But once my fellow buddy reader (hi buddy!) catches up, I'll be reading on. Hopefully book two offers something more exciting; but if not at least I'm prepared for it.
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
November 9, 2020
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Lore and Lust is one of those books that suffers from a lack of focus and from a less than coherent blending of its peculiar world-building and the real world. Add to this vampire mechanics that I found utterly illogical, a romance full of cloying sweetness and the lenses of extreme privilege through which all this is filtered and the result is unsatisfying. There are bits and pieces that work and readers who can take very sweet romance seriously are more likely to find this a hit than I did.
One of the biggest problems is that the book is self-described as 'an exploration of cultures, contemporary society and romance' when in fact there is precious little of contemporary or any other kind of society involved and only occasional cultural references here and there. The world of the novel is only thinly sketched upon reality, connecting with it only on a few points but never even remotely becoming layered. As a result there is a feeling of disconnect.
There are many factors that go into this disconnect. For starters, the reader is so limited in what they get to apprehend about this fictional universe that it becomes very difficult to get a handle on it. Virtually every scene takes place on the many estates the mains own and/or in dull social events with the dullest vampires I have ever encountered. We are told that they talk on many topics but never actually see that.
One of the most interesting elements to vampire literature is the moral ambiguity that it entails. How far an author chooses to push the envelope in this regard is a choice that colors much of the book. This particular book has nice vampires or at least it tries very hard to present us the leads as about as endearing as possible. Humans are excluded from relevance so the predatory factor to vampirism is entirely missing. With it goes much of what is at the core of vampire fiction. While I did find it interesting how feeding from humans is identified with what caused many of characteristics we associate with vampires- being nocturnal, unable to cope with the sun, looking corpse-like when underfed- and how feeding from vampires for generations gives rise to the 'purebred' fronting the narrative, vampires who are immune to the sun and so forth, it unfortunately ends up closes in the scope of the story to 'vampires interacting with vampires'.
As mentioned before, these vampires all own estates and are absurdly rich. At one point it is pointed out what less ranked vampires often struggle and very obviously do not swim in wealth but no conclusion is drawn from this disparity.
The novel wants to have the cake and eat it, too: Our heroes are supposed to be outsiders and not to care much for privilege and status yet they are the 0.1%. Nino may run a bar in London but even then we are told he makes plenty of money and at any rate he can default back to the massive estate his family has had for who knows how long. We get minor characters going on against how 'classist' this society is when they too are perfectly at home in this world of absurd riches.
This made me consider something that had never occurred to me before. In a world when inherited capital is a greater source of wealth than income ever will, vampires who live for centuries on end have an advantage that can easily lead to uprisings and tensions with humans. This is never as much as hinted at, though.
The vampires here are supposed to be powerful but one never quite believes it. Their power and sway seems to be almost exclusively sexual as all they seem to do is host parties and talk about how hot Haruka is. Nor do purebred vampires come across as that powerful, if anything, they seem sabotaged by their very own biology as they cannot function properly without feeding from others of their kind. Once they become an absolute minority, they would be likely to be selected out of existence. The novel pushes for purebreds having this innate attraction that affects lower ranking members but still. If you can only feed from such limited sources, you cannot replace them in case something goes wrong and become extremely vulnerable. Natural selection would very likely have wiped them out a long time ago.
The other source of disconnect may be even starker and it pertains to how history never fully interacts with any of the plot. This is a piece of unintentional irony as Haruka is supposed to be an Historian and is deeply involved in historical research. But this never intersects with what the novel actually is. There also seems to be some confusion in how Haruka does his research, dates to the translated opus he helped compile are simply, well, wrong: In an attempt to combine the Japanese calendar year and the more typical dating system used worldwide, we get such gems as 'Shōwa 1973', which means, '1973' or 'Shōwa 48'. This weird hybridization happens every single time a date is brought up so it is not even a typo. There is a proper way of dating events and this isn't it. Haruka ought to know this, even I know it and I am not historian.
To get a better idea of how history fails to truly interact with the story, I need only mention that Haruka is Japanese and Nino is Italian; they are a bit over a hundred years old. Right away one wonders, 'so what were they doing during World War Two?', but the novel itself never bothers with it. More, it goes to the effort of letting us know that Haruka left Japan seventy years prior which would put him right in the WWII but it does not connect the two.
The global scope of WWII means that virtually anyone would have been affected by it but Japan and Italy were two of the greatest epicenters of the conflict. All that is missing is a German vampire who is their age to join the gang and be equally clueless. I was hoping a Chinese vampire would appear and have some pointed words with Haruka. It obviously never happens.
Nor is this alternate history since WWI is mentioned. There is no reason to think WWII never happened within the book's continuity.
This disregard for humanity at large could, again, be fully justified if these were vampires who are simply not caring. But the novel goes out of its way to present them as otherwise. More than anything, it seems as if their age and the implications that derive from being around the '40s in Japan never fully coalesced.
Perhaps this is connected with the way in which Haruka and Nino never come across as being over a hundred years old. If anything they behave as teenagers and seem to actually become more and more immature as the story progresses. There is so much gushing and terms of endearment bantered back and forth that I cannot possibly buy that the characters are vampires that have been around for such a long time.
Which brings me back to the specific ways in which the novel addresses its romance. It is here that most effort was invested in, after all.
I have hardly touched upon it because the novel itself cannot seem to keep it properly in focus, there is a plot going on.
Part of it is the way the book is structured as being part of a series but it does feel jarring.
I had issues with the writing as well, it calls back to fanfic tropes like using 'male' as opposed to 'man'; calling a Brazilian, 'exotic, long-haired and chiseled male'; referring to Haruka as 'dark vampire' every other paragraph.
If you are really into sweet romance then you might love this one. After all, I am in the minority in not enjoying it so do take my input with a grain of salt.
Lore and Lust is one of those books that suffers from a lack of focus and from a less than coherent blending of its peculiar world-building and the real world. Add to this vampire mechanics that I found utterly illogical, a romance full of cloying sweetness and the lenses of extreme privilege through which all this is filtered and the result is unsatisfying. There are bits and pieces that work and readers who can take very sweet romance seriously are more likely to find this a hit than I did.
One of the biggest problems is that the book is self-described as 'an exploration of cultures, contemporary society and romance' when in fact there is precious little of contemporary or any other kind of society involved and only occasional cultural references here and there. The world of the novel is only thinly sketched upon reality, connecting with it only on a few points but never even remotely becoming layered. As a result there is a feeling of disconnect.
There are many factors that go into this disconnect. For starters, the reader is so limited in what they get to apprehend about this fictional universe that it becomes very difficult to get a handle on it. Virtually every scene takes place on the many estates the mains own and/or in dull social events with the dullest vampires I have ever encountered. We are told that they talk on many topics but never actually see that.
One of the most interesting elements to vampire literature is the moral ambiguity that it entails. How far an author chooses to push the envelope in this regard is a choice that colors much of the book. This particular book has nice vampires or at least it tries very hard to present us the leads as about as endearing as possible. Humans are excluded from relevance so the predatory factor to vampirism is entirely missing. With it goes much of what is at the core of vampire fiction. While I did find it interesting how feeding from humans is identified with what caused many of characteristics we associate with vampires- being nocturnal, unable to cope with the sun, looking corpse-like when underfed- and how feeding from vampires for generations gives rise to the 'purebred' fronting the narrative, vampires who are immune to the sun and so forth, it unfortunately ends up closes in the scope of the story to 'vampires interacting with vampires'.
As mentioned before, these vampires all own estates and are absurdly rich. At one point it is pointed out what less ranked vampires often struggle and very obviously do not swim in wealth but no conclusion is drawn from this disparity.
The novel wants to have the cake and eat it, too: Our heroes are supposed to be outsiders and not to care much for privilege and status yet they are the 0.1%. Nino may run a bar in London but even then we are told he makes plenty of money and at any rate he can default back to the massive estate his family has had for who knows how long. We get minor characters going on against how 'classist' this society is when they too are perfectly at home in this world of absurd riches.
This made me consider something that had never occurred to me before. In a world when inherited capital is a greater source of wealth than income ever will, vampires who live for centuries on end have an advantage that can easily lead to uprisings and tensions with humans. This is never as much as hinted at, though.
The vampires here are supposed to be powerful but one never quite believes it. Their power and sway seems to be almost exclusively sexual as all they seem to do is host parties and talk about how hot Haruka is. Nor do purebred vampires come across as that powerful, if anything, they seem sabotaged by their very own biology as they cannot function properly without feeding from others of their kind. Once they become an absolute minority, they would be likely to be selected out of existence. The novel pushes for purebreds having this innate attraction that affects lower ranking members but still. If you can only feed from such limited sources, you cannot replace them in case something goes wrong and become extremely vulnerable. Natural selection would very likely have wiped them out a long time ago.
The other source of disconnect may be even starker and it pertains to how history never fully interacts with any of the plot. This is a piece of unintentional irony as Haruka is supposed to be an Historian and is deeply involved in historical research. But this never intersects with what the novel actually is. There also seems to be some confusion in how Haruka does his research, dates to the translated opus he helped compile are simply, well, wrong: In an attempt to combine the Japanese calendar year and the more typical dating system used worldwide, we get such gems as 'Shōwa 1973', which means, '1973' or 'Shōwa 48'. This weird hybridization happens every single time a date is brought up so it is not even a typo. There is a proper way of dating events and this isn't it. Haruka ought to know this, even I know it and I am not historian.
To get a better idea of how history fails to truly interact with the story, I need only mention that Haruka is Japanese and Nino is Italian; they are a bit over a hundred years old. Right away one wonders, 'so what were they doing during World War Two?', but the novel itself never bothers with it. More, it goes to the effort of letting us know that Haruka left Japan seventy years prior which would put him right in the WWII but it does not connect the two.
The global scope of WWII means that virtually anyone would have been affected by it but Japan and Italy were two of the greatest epicenters of the conflict. All that is missing is a German vampire who is their age to join the gang and be equally clueless. I was hoping a Chinese vampire would appear and have some pointed words with Haruka. It obviously never happens.
Nor is this alternate history since WWI is mentioned. There is no reason to think WWII never happened within the book's continuity.
This disregard for humanity at large could, again, be fully justified if these were vampires who are simply not caring. But the novel goes out of its way to present them as otherwise. More than anything, it seems as if their age and the implications that derive from being around the '40s in Japan never fully coalesced.
Perhaps this is connected with the way in which Haruka and Nino never come across as being over a hundred years old. If anything they behave as teenagers and seem to actually become more and more immature as the story progresses. There is so much gushing and terms of endearment bantered back and forth that I cannot possibly buy that the characters are vampires that have been around for such a long time.
Which brings me back to the specific ways in which the novel addresses its romance. It is here that most effort was invested in, after all.
I have hardly touched upon it because the novel itself cannot seem to keep it properly in focus, there is a plot going on.
Part of it is the way the book is structured as being part of a series but it does feel jarring.
I had issues with the writing as well, it calls back to fanfic tropes like using 'male' as opposed to 'man'; calling a Brazilian, 'exotic, long-haired and chiseled male'; referring to Haruka as 'dark vampire' every other paragraph.
If you are really into sweet romance then you might love this one. After all, I am in the minority in not enjoying it so do take my input with a grain of salt.
November 22, 2021
Okay.... Woah.
I am not typically a romance reader, but this book really appealed to me on so many levels. At first I thought it was going to be corny, but the way the romance is written is actually really beautiful.
As a gay man in a loving and committed relationship, I found a lot of the descriptions of love, vampiric bonding, and the idea of soul mates to be epically close to my own feelings. It was like all the things I've felt about my boyfriend were written down and transformed into a really amazing story about vampires.
I found this take on vampires to be really unique and intriguing. I also loved the scenery. I love to travel and I got to go to England, Italy, and Japan in this book and Nikole did an amazing job at writing the scene and setting without over bloating it and bogging it down with unnecessary details.
The story feels lacking, but honestly I think the story IS the romance, at least in this first book. The whole plot of Lore and Lust is rooted in Haruka and Nino discovering their love for each other, growing as individuals, and evolving. While this is going on, there is some groundwork being laid out for a larger plot, but for me it was done so well because I was totally invested in the relationship between the main characters.
I also love that these characters never really struggling in their feelings FOR EACH OTHER, rather much of their struggle is internal and I loved it. It wasn't cheapened by annoying arguments and miscommunication.
If there are more supernatural, gay romance books our there like Lore and Lust then I think I have discovered a whole new genre of books to explore.... Maybe even write?!
I am not typically a romance reader, but this book really appealed to me on so many levels. At first I thought it was going to be corny, but the way the romance is written is actually really beautiful.
As a gay man in a loving and committed relationship, I found a lot of the descriptions of love, vampiric bonding, and the idea of soul mates to be epically close to my own feelings. It was like all the things I've felt about my boyfriend were written down and transformed into a really amazing story about vampires.
I found this take on vampires to be really unique and intriguing. I also loved the scenery. I love to travel and I got to go to England, Italy, and Japan in this book and Nikole did an amazing job at writing the scene and setting without over bloating it and bogging it down with unnecessary details.
The story feels lacking, but honestly I think the story IS the romance, at least in this first book. The whole plot of Lore and Lust is rooted in Haruka and Nino discovering their love for each other, growing as individuals, and evolving. While this is going on, there is some groundwork being laid out for a larger plot, but for me it was done so well because I was totally invested in the relationship between the main characters.
I also love that these characters never really struggling in their feelings FOR EACH OTHER, rather much of their struggle is internal and I loved it. It wasn't cheapened by annoying arguments and miscommunication.
If there are more supernatural, gay romance books our there like Lore and Lust then I think I have discovered a whole new genre of books to explore.... Maybe even write?!
December 6, 2024
3.5 stars.
While this was a cute and comforting read, I didn't enjoy it as much as I anticipated. Given my love for the author's previous series, I expected a similar experience, but it fell short. Although the characters were likable and their relationship was healthy, it ultimately did not fulfill my expectations for this book.
Haruka's character struggled to resonate with me, even from his point of view, which made it difficult to fully appreciate him. In contrast, Nino was the standout character for me. While their relationship had a good start, I increasingly felt that Nino made far greater sacrifices for Haruka than vice versa, which left a lingering dissatisfaction.
Moreover, the worldbuilding was severely lacking. There wasn't enough detail or depth to create an immersive setting, which further detracted from the overall experience.
In summary, while this book had its enjoyable moments, I was left wishing for something deeper and more compelling.
While this was a cute and comforting read, I didn't enjoy it as much as I anticipated. Given my love for the author's previous series, I expected a similar experience, but it fell short. Although the characters were likable and their relationship was healthy, it ultimately did not fulfill my expectations for this book.
Haruka's character struggled to resonate with me, even from his point of view, which made it difficult to fully appreciate him. In contrast, Nino was the standout character for me. While their relationship had a good start, I increasingly felt that Nino made far greater sacrifices for Haruka than vice versa, which left a lingering dissatisfaction.
Moreover, the worldbuilding was severely lacking. There wasn't enough detail or depth to create an immersive setting, which further detracted from the overall experience.
In summary, while this book had its enjoyable moments, I was left wishing for something deeper and more compelling.
Want to read
December 11, 2021OMG that cover 😍😍😍
April 27, 2021
"It’s a distinct feeling. A hollow discontent. As if he has quietly been considering himself the knight on a chess board, but in reality, he is just a rook."
The queer, slowburn vampire romance I didn't know I needed in my life.
REVIEW
I picked this book up after coming across the author on Instagram and seeing how gorgeous the covers were. Luckily, this book did not disappoint!
It is a sweet vampire romance between these two purebred vampires. I loved learning about Nikole's take on vampires and how her world worked. I am not going to go into detail on the vampire lore of this world because it is more fun to learn it for yourself--but I will say that it was all easy to understand and very well explained. Additionally, a lot of the vampires in this world are queer, and bonds between same-sex couples and interracial couples are accepted without question. There is a lot of commentary about how the human race is archaic in their thinking--which was unique because we normally view vampires as traditional and old-school creatures, but in this world they are the driving force of development and equality.
We follow Haruka and Nino, two purebred vampires. Haruka is from a Japanese clan while Nino is from an Italian clan. They are both residing in England for their own reasons and cross paths when Haruka has to track Nino down for a ceremony they are asked to attend.
There was so much angst and pent up sexual tension between Nino and Haruka. I loved their slowburn romance and watching them come to terms with their feelings for one another. Nino falls for Haruka first and worries that it is one-sided; Haruka knows he is attracted to Nino but is afraid to fall for anyone because of past betrayals. Seeing Haruka let down his walls and bring bright, sunny Nino into his world was beautiful. I loved how descriptive Nikole's writing is because it adds an extra oomph to the atmosphere. If you are looking for a romance that will have you smiling so hard it hurts, this is it. I found myself squealing at their interactions and loved them so much.
(BTW Nino is an absolute cinnamon roll.)
While being fun and light hearted, there are moments of trauma and darkness. I have listed the content warnings below but I really appreciated how Nino and Haruka opened up to one another about their old scars and how, despite these things happening centuries ago, they are still affected by them. Nino and Haruka truly are a new OTP on my list.
I do want to say this is ADULT. There are detailed sex scenes between our two characters so please know that going in. I personally thought they were very well written and I have read a fair amount of smut in my life.
Normally I dislike too many modern references in my books, but I loved them in this story. Haruka has been very closed off from society over the last 90 years, and Nino makes all these references that Haruka is totally lost on. It was really cute.
While I cannot speak on the racial accuracies, the author is own voices for the black representation and did live in Japan and Milan for a few years. I am Italian myself and loved the representation in Nino! All the little Italian sayings and food had me smiling and missing my time spent in Italy.
Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone in search of a new vampire romance. It will get you out of any reading slump and will have you smiling like an idiot at 3AM.
CW: blood, child abuse, blood purity ideology, cheating (past relationship)
The queer, slowburn vampire romance I didn't know I needed in my life.
REVIEW
I picked this book up after coming across the author on Instagram and seeing how gorgeous the covers were. Luckily, this book did not disappoint!
It is a sweet vampire romance between these two purebred vampires. I loved learning about Nikole's take on vampires and how her world worked. I am not going to go into detail on the vampire lore of this world because it is more fun to learn it for yourself--but I will say that it was all easy to understand and very well explained. Additionally, a lot of the vampires in this world are queer, and bonds between same-sex couples and interracial couples are accepted without question. There is a lot of commentary about how the human race is archaic in their thinking--which was unique because we normally view vampires as traditional and old-school creatures, but in this world they are the driving force of development and equality.
We follow Haruka and Nino, two purebred vampires. Haruka is from a Japanese clan while Nino is from an Italian clan. They are both residing in England for their own reasons and cross paths when Haruka has to track Nino down for a ceremony they are asked to attend.
There was so much angst and pent up sexual tension between Nino and Haruka. I loved their slowburn romance and watching them come to terms with their feelings for one another. Nino falls for Haruka first and worries that it is one-sided; Haruka knows he is attracted to Nino but is afraid to fall for anyone because of past betrayals. Seeing Haruka let down his walls and bring bright, sunny Nino into his world was beautiful. I loved how descriptive Nikole's writing is because it adds an extra oomph to the atmosphere. If you are looking for a romance that will have you smiling so hard it hurts, this is it. I found myself squealing at their interactions and loved them so much.
(BTW Nino is an absolute cinnamon roll.)
While being fun and light hearted, there are moments of trauma and darkness. I have listed the content warnings below but I really appreciated how Nino and Haruka opened up to one another about their old scars and how, despite these things happening centuries ago, they are still affected by them. Nino and Haruka truly are a new OTP on my list.
I do want to say this is ADULT. There are detailed sex scenes between our two characters so please know that going in. I personally thought they were very well written and I have read a fair amount of smut in my life.
Normally I dislike too many modern references in my books, but I loved them in this story. Haruka has been very closed off from society over the last 90 years, and Nino makes all these references that Haruka is totally lost on. It was really cute.
While I cannot speak on the racial accuracies, the author is own voices for the black representation and did live in Japan and Milan for a few years. I am Italian myself and loved the representation in Nino! All the little Italian sayings and food had me smiling and missing my time spent in Italy.
Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone in search of a new vampire romance. It will get you out of any reading slump and will have you smiling like an idiot at 3AM.
CW: blood, child abuse, blood purity ideology, cheating (past relationship)
October 21, 2020
Truthfully I wasn’t sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t this..
Being Karla’s debut series, I guess I wasn’t expecting this level of writing, character depth and intriguing storyline. I was hooked from the very beginning and I am soooooo looking forward not only to the sequel but to whatever else the future holds for this brilliant woman. She might have become an insta-buy for me.
Can we also talk about this GORGEOUS cover because wow
5 out of 5 for this incredibly wholesome piece.
Being Karla’s debut series, I guess I wasn’t expecting this level of writing, character depth and intriguing storyline. I was hooked from the very beginning and I am soooooo looking forward not only to the sequel but to whatever else the future holds for this brilliant woman. She might have become an insta-buy for me.
Can we also talk about this GORGEOUS cover because wow
5 out of 5 for this incredibly wholesome piece.
July 27, 2021
I, in fact, did not need this book.
I just didn't like this.. I found the plot boring and the characters unremarkable.
I just didn't like this.. I found the plot boring and the characters unremarkable.
November 15, 2022
+3
“-You don’t believe in soulmates?
-I believe in making a thoughtfull, intentional choice. Not being forced into something significant as a result of mystical, unseen ideals beyond my control”.
Esta novela me la he leído en inglés. El nivel de idioma oscila entre un B1-B2 (Intermedio). Tampoco utiliza un vocabulario muy complicado o especifico porque se trata de fantasía urbana está ambientado en nuestra actualidad.
“Everything about you makes me want to be better. Just being around you…I know I can do better” .
Se trata de la primera parte de una trilogía llamada como el mismo titulo de la novela, Lore and Lust. Me ha gustado mucho leerlo y me ha mantenido entretenida la mayor parte del tiempo. Además, se lee en poco tiempo debido a su poca complejidad.
Tengo que hacer mención especial a los protagonistas, me han gustado desde el principio y cómo van conociéndose el uno al otro. Los secundarios también me han llamado bastante la atención, hasta el punto de conocer querer conocer más sus historias que la de los propios protagonistas.
Sin embargo, a este libro no le puedo poner más puntuación porque desde un punto de vista objetivo me han faltado dos cosas: por un lado, que la relación de los protagonistas se hubiese desarrollado un poco más, es decir, me faltaron dos o tres capítulos donde se conociesen un poco más y en segundo lugar me faltó trasfondo general tanto en el wordbuilding como el argumento.
“I feel that perhaps you are oversymplifying. Some individuals think that they love or are in love, but their actions cause pain. Theirs harsh expectations and corrupt behaviors are justified in their minds, sometimes under the guise and misrepresentation of love. It does not always mean the same thing to all beings”
Leeré los siguientes, pero no de seguido porque temo que me canse de ellos. Los retomaré cuando me vea con ganas porque me han parecido demasiado adorables como para dejarlo pasar.
“I feel that you are lovely now. Just as you are”
“-You don’t believe in soulmates?
-I believe in making a thoughtfull, intentional choice. Not being forced into something significant as a result of mystical, unseen ideals beyond my control”.
Esta novela me la he leído en inglés. El nivel de idioma oscila entre un B1-B2 (Intermedio). Tampoco utiliza un vocabulario muy complicado o especifico porque se trata de fantasía urbana está ambientado en nuestra actualidad.
“Everything about you makes me want to be better. Just being around you…I know I can do better” .
Se trata de la primera parte de una trilogía llamada como el mismo titulo de la novela, Lore and Lust. Me ha gustado mucho leerlo y me ha mantenido entretenida la mayor parte del tiempo. Además, se lee en poco tiempo debido a su poca complejidad.
Tengo que hacer mención especial a los protagonistas, me han gustado desde el principio y cómo van conociéndose el uno al otro. Los secundarios también me han llamado bastante la atención, hasta el punto de conocer querer conocer más sus historias que la de los propios protagonistas.
Sin embargo, a este libro no le puedo poner más puntuación porque desde un punto de vista objetivo me han faltado dos cosas: por un lado, que la relación de los protagonistas se hubiese desarrollado un poco más, es decir, me faltaron dos o tres capítulos donde se conociesen un poco más y en segundo lugar me faltó trasfondo general tanto en el wordbuilding como el argumento.
“I feel that perhaps you are oversymplifying. Some individuals think that they love or are in love, but their actions cause pain. Theirs harsh expectations and corrupt behaviors are justified in their minds, sometimes under the guise and misrepresentation of love. It does not always mean the same thing to all beings”
Leeré los siguientes, pero no de seguido porque temo que me canse de ellos. Los retomaré cuando me vea con ganas porque me han parecido demasiado adorables como para dejarlo pasar.
“I feel that you are lovely now. Just as you are”
July 12, 2021
This is one of the most unique vampire stories I’ve read. In this book, there are different rankings for vampires as well as ceremonies they go through. The worldbuilding was incredible and I only wish this book had been longer so I could have savored it more (but hey, that’s what sequels are for!). Besides the worldbuilding, the characters and the romance between them was so lovely, and I really could not get enough.
March 18, 2022
Interesting take on vampires trope . I enjoyed it quite a lot and I think I will go on with the next one. It’s well written and the characters were simply adorable. It would be 3 stars but how can you not add a star for that cover?!! 😍
November 7, 2020
A fluffy, sexy and romantic read. Thoughtfully created to help spread a little love. xo
June 18, 2021
"You are exquisite to my nature. In every way."
"Lore and Lust" was an absolute pleasure to read. There are many, many aspects of it that have me swooning and quietly sobbing in the middle of the night for Haru and Nino!
Something that should be mentioned more often when talking about "Lore&Lust" (why the HELL is almost everyone in this reviews section ignoring this?!?!?) is how healthy the relationship between Haruka and Nino is. Consent, earnest communication, and sincerity regarding their boundaries and feelings are all constants throughout the book. You can look for a scene in which the boys forget to check whether the other is okay with what's going on, or whether they are feeling alright with whatever the situation unfolding is... Sorry to break it to you, but you won't find it! In stark contrast to many YA/NA romances in which there are very toxic dynamics and behaviours, and are still praised by the reading community, "Lore&Lust" delivers an actual slow-burn romance built upon trust, communication, and mutual understanding. Nino and Haruka's bond comes to be over the course of long afternoons spent together researching, talking, and getting to know each other in depth. Although both men carry upon their shoulders a heavy emotional baggage from their difficult pasts, they always find it in themselves to help the other through the roughest patches. The way they're able to slowly heal from their respective traumas thanks, partly, to the other's support, patience, and understanding is simply beautiful, and I'll never get tired of tearing up over the absolute couple goals that are Nino and Haruka.
“Simple words are inadequate—useless in painting the exquisite masterpiece that is Nino’s essence. Maybe if he tried in Latin, or arranged a new language entirely?”
Another thing I thoroughly enjoyed was the worldbuilding. Told through the alternating third-person perspectives of both Haruka and Nino, the reader gets two different insights into the vampiric society. Haruka has been engaging in the purebred aristocracy's world for the most part of his 101 years of age, and knows his way around; whereas Nino has been busying himself with integrating in the human society and doesn't really enjoy mingling with the stuck-up vampire elite that look down on him for not being "noble" and "cultured" enough for their stale taste. Their very different ways to see the purebred and first-generation community (akin to nobility, in terms of Karla Nikole's vampiric hierarchy) were quite interesting, and I particularly enjoyed the way Haruka's development was partially motivated by his desire to snap out of it and stop tolerating unwanted attentions and advances that forced him to repress his own aura and persona to try to protect himself from unrequited advances and lowey stalking.
"Life handed him lemons. Instead of making lemonade, he packed his suitcase and left the fruit rotting on the counter."
Character development is, in fact, one of my favourite things about "Lore&Lust"! Nino and Haruka have, each in their own way and under their own circumstances, been really lonely for a long time. With an immortal existence and traumatic pasts comes the looming threat of solitude and existential ennui, and both men have been up to their necks in both until their paths cross. As they build their friendship, which slowly blossoms into romance, Haruka helps Nino build his self-esteem through patience and lack of crude judgement regarding what Nino "should have" accomplished at 117 years old. Nino slowly matures thanks to Haru. In turn, Haruka slowly comes out of his self-imposed ostracism thanks to Nino's contagious energy and respect for him, and learns to drop his guard a little to show his true self thanks to the way Nino doesn't come onto him strong the way other vampires, thirsty for a taste of Haruka's old blood allure, do. Throughout the scond half of the book, Haruka slowly allows himself to show Nino a type of affection he hasn't been able nor willing to show anyone since what happened to him seventy years ago, and very nearly destroyed him. The way both characters heal, and help each other heal, is simply beautiful, and I'm ready to fight anyone who dares argue otherwise!
"He has never given heaven much thought. Never questioned whether or not it exists, but this is it. Here, in the warm firelight of this bedroom and kissing Haruka, is absolute paradise."
All in all, "Lore&Lust" is so, SO much more than just a M/M vampire romance. It's a story about healing, about trusting, about re-learning how to be okay, about support and trust, about open communication. It's also a story about second chances, about self-forgiveness, about healthy love. (There is, of course, some vampiric stuff as well, and hella sexy at that! Nino's flushes every time he allows Haruka to feed from him? Unmatched) It's a book I will never be able to recommend enough for the aforementioned reasons, as well as for how easy to read it is and how lovely Karla Nikole's prose is. Come for the gay vampires, and stay for everything else!
Diversify Yo Bookshelf bingo 2021, 3/35! Asian MC
January 12, 2022
Это было очень плохо. И вовсе не потому, что это, по сути, это просто банальная история о любви (сексе) двух мужчин с вампирскими финтифлюшками…
Дело в том, что автор совсем не умеет писать. Раньше подобное называли низкопробными слеш-фанфиками, которые писали 12-летки на форумах (описывая свои влажные фантазии), а теперь это почему-то считается литературой и издается/продается за деньги. Повествование идет в настоящем времени, что очень сильно мешает читать . Этот факт и общий стиль написания прямо-таки кричит о том, что данная книга для автора дебютная, и писать (во всяком случае, пока) она совершенно не умеет. В совокупности с абсолютно «никаким» сюжетом и плохо прописанными героями и миром – это просто нечитаемо.
Собственно, книга небольшая, и примерно 70% - это описания траха, а остальные 30 – нытье двух столетних вампиров о том, как все те же сто лет назад с ними произошла какая-то фигня, из-за которой они до сих пор не могут жить нормально и страдают. Естественно, пока не находят друг друга и не начинают трахаться. Всем сюжетам сюжет!
В книге нет нормального построения мира. Автор толком не описывает, что вообще значит быть чистокровным вампиром. Почему чистокровные вампиры удовлетворяют запросы вампиров более низких рангов? Непонятно. Почему все вампиры вымрут, если чистокровных больше не будет? Неясно…
Хотелось бы верить, что в следующих книгах автор лучше раскроет эту тему. Но я в этом, если честно, сильно сомневаюсь. Потому что, по сути, это просто порно с элементами нытья и вампиризма. Кому вообще интересен и нужен этот мир?
Я уже очень давно не читала книги, в которых не происходит ничего… Вот просто вообще ничего. То есть обычно к такой гейской порнушке подпускают, например, незатейливый детективчик, ну или хоть какую-то более-менее серьезную драму. А тут… абсолютно нелепые травмы прошлого и исцеление сексом (плюсом к нытью), которые автор почему-то зовет любовью. Все…
Неинтересные персонажи, нелепый способ повествования (в настоящем времени), нулевая логика и абсолютно никакого сюжета. Вот и вся книга. Не хватало тут только «дарка» для полного комплекта.
За все время, пока я читала, я выписала только следующие свои мысли:
«О чем эта книга?»
«Тут же вообще ничего не происходит!»
«Где сюжет?»
«О чем эта книга?!»
«В этой книге ничего не происходит. Вообще. Просто два столетних мужика постоянно ноют и трахаются, трахаются и ноют. Все. И автор почему-то это траханье и нытье называет любовью».
Ко всему прочему, книга о современном мире, а мне все время казалось, что она про Англию XIX века. Любят вот такие бессюжетные книги про двух геев авторы именно в том времени описывать.
В общем, это низкопробный фанфик с красивой обложкой. Отлично подходит к иллюстрации метафоры «Не судите книгу по обложке». В обратном смысле…
Как правильно сказала читательница с одним из наиболее популярных отзывов к этой книге на Goodreads: «Я бросала читать книги и в разы лучше этой».
Раньше за такое хоть деньги не надо было платить. Зашел на любой форум и читай всю эту слеш-порнуху бесплатно (ну, может, только карточки для интернета приходилось покупать). И про Гарри/Драко там вам пожалуйста, и про Леголаса/Фродо… Да что угодно. А теперь это, оказывается, издаваемая «литература». Мама родная!
P.S. И о чем вообще могут быть следующие книги, если даже в первой нет вообще никакого сюжета? Хотя… Это риторический вопрос. Ясно же о чем.
Итоговая оценка: 3/10
Дело в том, что автор совсем не умеет писать. Раньше подобное называли низкопробными слеш-фанфиками, которые писали 12-летки на форумах (описывая свои влажные фантазии), а теперь это почему-то считается литературой и издается/продается за деньги. Повествование идет в настоящем времени, что очень сильно мешает читать . Этот факт и общий стиль написания прямо-таки кричит о том, что данная книга для автора дебютная, и писать (во всяком случае, пока) она совершенно не умеет. В совокупности с абсолютно «никаким» сюжетом и плохо прописанными героями и миром – это просто нечитаемо.
Собственно, книга небольшая, и примерно 70% - это описания траха, а остальные 30 – нытье двух столетних вампиров о том, как все те же сто лет назад с ними произошла какая-то фигня, из-за которой они до сих пор не могут жить нормально и страдают. Естественно, пока не находят друг друга и не начинают трахаться. Всем сюжетам сюжет!
В книге нет нормального построения мира. Автор толком не описывает, что вообще значит быть чистокровным вампиром. Почему чистокровные вампиры удовлетворяют запросы вампиров более низких рангов? Непонятно. Почему все вампиры вымрут, если чистокровных больше не будет? Неясно…
Хотелось бы верить, что в следующих книгах автор лучше раскроет эту тему. Но я в этом, если честно, сильно сомневаюсь. Потому что, по сути, это просто порно с элементами нытья и вампиризма. Кому вообще интересен и нужен этот мир?
Я уже очень давно не читала книги, в которых не происходит ничего… Вот просто вообще ничего. То есть обычно к такой гейской порнушке подпускают, например, незатейливый детективчик, ну или хоть какую-то более-менее серьезную драму. А тут… абсолютно нелепые травмы прошлого и исцеление сексом (плюсом к нытью), которые автор почему-то зовет любовью. Все…
Неинтересные персонажи, нелепый способ повествования (в настоящем времени), нулевая логика и абсолютно никакого сюжета. Вот и вся книга. Не хватало тут только «дарка» для полного комплекта.
За все время, пока я читала, я выписала только следующие свои мысли:
«О чем эта книга?»
«Тут же вообще ничего не происходит!»
«Где сюжет?»
«О чем эта книга?!»
«В этой книге ничего не происходит. Вообще. Просто два столетних мужика постоянно ноют и трахаются, трахаются и ноют. Все. И автор почему-то это траханье и нытье называет любовью».
Ко всему прочему, книга о современном мире, а мне все время казалось, что она про Англию XIX века. Любят вот такие бессюжетные книги про двух геев авторы именно в том времени описывать.
В общем, это низкопробный фанфик с красивой обложкой. Отлично подходит к иллюстрации метафоры «Не судите книгу по обложке». В обратном смысле…
Как правильно сказала читательница с одним из наиболее популярных отзывов к этой книге на Goodreads: «Я бросала читать книги и в разы лучше этой».
Раньше за такое хоть деньги не надо было платить. Зашел на любой форум и читай всю эту слеш-порнуху бесплатно (ну, может, только карточки для интернета приходилось покупать). И про Гарри/Драко там вам пожалуйста, и про Леголаса/Фродо… Да что угодно. А теперь это, оказывается, издаваемая «литература». Мама родная!
P.S. И о чем вообще могут быть следующие книги, если даже в первой нет вообще никакого сюжета? Хотя… Это риторический вопрос. Ясно же о чем.
Итоговая оценка: 3/10
September 7, 2021
I never thought that in the year 2021 I would be interested in vampires again, but here I am, strongly recommending that you read this book.
The beautiful cover made me pick this one up and I’m happy to say that it was surprisingly addictive. It is fast paced, with an interesting and unique world building, very character development focused (my favourite).
Haruka is a purebreed vampire, which puts him at the mercy of vampires that rank below him (as a sort of political servant of sorts) and makes him incredibly attractive for his blood (yes, in Lore & Lust it's frowned upon to feed from humans because apparently, we taste like dirt lol). So he decides to lead a solitary existence, to avoid being treated like a trophy. This makes him distant, emotionally impaired and very prim and proper.
“Everything about Haruka registers as cool and refreshing. As if nature has uniquely cultivated him from its most beautiful elements—spring rain, the starry midnight skies and roses in full bloom.”
Then there is Nino, a vampire who suffered a childhood trauma that scarred him and precipitated a life far removed from politics and his family's expectations. Nino is playful, innocent, somewhat shy and a totally adorable cinnamon roll.
“Simple words are inadequate—useless in painting the exquisite masterpiece that is Nino’s essence. Maybe if he tried in Latin, or arranged a new language entirely?”
Nino and Haruka meet by chance and form an alliance that develops into a deliciously slow burn romance. Both Haruka and Nino have very distinctive voices and personalities, which made me enjoy their interactions very much. I could always tell who was speaking by the way they expressed themselves, which I thought was impressive.
The only drawback was the present third person singular in which the story is told and that took me very long to grow used to and that irked me.
The beautiful cover made me pick this one up and I’m happy to say that it was surprisingly addictive. It is fast paced, with an interesting and unique world building, very character development focused (my favourite).
Haruka is a purebreed vampire, which puts him at the mercy of vampires that rank below him (as a sort of political servant of sorts) and makes him incredibly attractive for his blood (yes, in Lore & Lust it's frowned upon to feed from humans because apparently, we taste like dirt lol). So he decides to lead a solitary existence, to avoid being treated like a trophy. This makes him distant, emotionally impaired and very prim and proper.
“Everything about Haruka registers as cool and refreshing. As if nature has uniquely cultivated him from its most beautiful elements—spring rain, the starry midnight skies and roses in full bloom.”
Then there is Nino, a vampire who suffered a childhood trauma that scarred him and precipitated a life far removed from politics and his family's expectations. Nino is playful, innocent, somewhat shy and a totally adorable cinnamon roll.
“Simple words are inadequate—useless in painting the exquisite masterpiece that is Nino’s essence. Maybe if he tried in Latin, or arranged a new language entirely?”
Nino and Haruka meet by chance and form an alliance that develops into a deliciously slow burn romance. Both Haruka and Nino have very distinctive voices and personalities, which made me enjoy their interactions very much. I could always tell who was speaking by the way they expressed themselves, which I thought was impressive.
The only drawback was the present third person singular in which the story is told and that took me very long to grow used to and that irked me.
October 19, 2020
Lovely, creative, low-angst slow burn romance. An atmospheric pleasure to read, and maybe the most beautiful cover I've ever seen!
Want to read
June 1, 2021this song was written for my tendencies to chase after pretty vampire books:
May 1, 2023
5/5stars
This was the cozy, friends to lovers, semi slow burn, queer, mlm, vampire fantasy with academia-vibes story of my fucking DREAMS. I loved this and Haruka and Nino 💛💛
This was the cozy, friends to lovers, semi slow burn, queer, mlm, vampire fantasy with academia-vibes story of my fucking DREAMS. I loved this and Haruka and Nino 💛💛
September 25, 2021
09/24/21 - 5 ⭐️ on the re-read.
Enjoyed this even more the second time around! Visually stunning and very sensual. Long slow burn but the pay off is so worth it. Really appreciate that the steamy scenes are original and not at all predictable. Already ordered book 2!
10/10/20 - 4.5 Don’t sleep on this one! 🔥🧛 Loved everything about it. Devoured in one sitting
Enjoyed this even more the second time around! Visually stunning and very sensual. Long slow burn but the pay off is so worth it. Really appreciate that the steamy scenes are original and not at all predictable. Already ordered book 2!
10/10/20 - 4.5 Don’t sleep on this one! 🔥🧛 Loved everything about it. Devoured in one sitting
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