Read A Duel with the Vampire Lord

I liked this retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I did find the heroine frustrating towards the start. I know it was needed to set up her arc, but it was still like can we stop with the mental stabbing already 😂 I liked her journey of learning to make her own choices, and their mutual recognition that they wouldn’t overcome lifetimes of prejudice instantly. Her expertise in smithing is cool, and I appreciated that she’s constantly like “I’m so glad I’m strong” and doesn’t second-guess her appearance.

The worldbuilding was interesting, especially the idea of the Long Sleep. There were some things left unexplored I would have liked to dig into more.

I didn’t love the resolution to the mystery. I guessed a different villain and a different anchor for the curse, both of which I think would have worked better 😉🤷‍♀️ I understand why it was spelled out for us in visions, but I would have preferred she figure it out on her own instead of being gifted the truth of the past.