Do you like sizzling vampire romances, neurodivergent protagonists, and reading about two idiots who just need to admit that they are in love already? Then How to Sell Your Blood and Fall in Love by DN Bryn will be your new addiction.
I received an ARC of this book from the author. Thank you, DN Bryn, for sending me such a wonderful book to review!
How to Sell Your Blood and Fall in Love is the second book in the Guides for Dating Vampires series, though it can be read as a standalone. Any references to the first book simply whet your appetite without spoiling that storyline. This second story follows Clementine, a newly converted vampire who is still adjusting to his new status, and Justin, a mostly-human protector of the streets with a chronic health condition. These two opposites not only attract; they spark, but it takes them a while to figure out that their feelings are mutual. The romance is therefore a slowburn, but it’s not coy once it gets where it is going.
I absolutely loved this book. In particular, the character of Clementine was so very recognisable and real to me. I don’t come from the same kind of background as he does, but who he was on the inside was more like me than any characters I have read for a long time. Clementine is both demisexual and autistic, and I keenly appreciated seeing that particular combination on the page.
Throughout the book, Clementine and Justin together navigate overlapping situations and pressures: a pressing mystery, family issues, social issues, their developing romance, their inner demons. These different threads of the story overlap well and inform each other in a satisfying way.
There are no miraculous resolutions that seem to come out of nowhere; all the stories tie up in a way that is a bit messier than that, but in a way that is more real and recognisable than miracles would be.
I highly recommend checking out this book, and the rest of the series too.
Trigger warnings: violence, sexual content, drug use, emotionally manipulative family members, dark pasts
No romantic story has ever lived up to Dr. Clementine Hughes’ reality but at least he has his steamy two-million-word fanfic and a prestigious research position at Vitalis-Barron Pharmaceuticals, where their benefits are superb and their experimentation on vampires highly unethical. When a mysterious accident turns Clementine into a vampire, discovery would demote him to lab rat and his growing thirst for his coworker’s veins forces him to the streets to hunt.
Justin Yu is usually the one attacking villains in alleys, not the other way around. After the tragedy he brought upon his local vampiric community in his youth, he’s struggled tirelessly to keep their vampires safe. So when a panicking Clementine botches a bite attempt, Justin takes pity—and advantage—and offers the vampire a trade: his blood in exchange for an exorbitant fee.
In desperation, Clementine accepts.
Justin’s blood is bland and unappealing, but the more Clementine learns to appreciate the man’s sharp humor and persistent compassion, the more he acquires a taste for Justin. Justin is determined not to let Clementine’s good looks and thoughtful intellect distract him as hunters from Vitalis-Barron close in on Justin’s neighborhood, and it turns out someone there knows Clementine’s vampiric secret…
