I was debugging a particularly nasty race condition at 11 PM last Tuesday—you know the kind where you're staring at logs and questioning every life choice—when I decided to put on something that required zero brain cells. Urban fantasy vampire romance seemed like the move. Eleven hours later (spread across four commutes and one very long debugging session), I have thoughts.
Bottom Line: Worth your commute if you're already invested in the Chicagoland Vampires universe. Skip if you're new here—you'll be lost and annoyed.
The Setup Is Basically Twilight But For Adults Who Read The Original Series
So Elisa Sullivan is the only vampire ever born (not turned), which is apparently a Big Deal in this world. She's got some dark magic secret she can't control, and the only person she trusts with it is Connor Keene, a shifter prince. They're from rival supernatural factions. Their families have history. You see where this is going.
The political intrigue kicks off when a diplomat gets assassinated, and suddenly everyone's old grudges come bubbling up. It's giving supernatural West Wing meets Romeo and Juliet, which honestly? Not a bad vibe for a train ride.
Here's the thing though—this is a spinoff set 20 years after the original Chicagoland Vampires series. The book assumes you know who Merit and Ethan are, why Cadogan House matters, and the general supernatural politics of Chicago. I'd read a couple of the original books years ago, so I could follow along, but if you're coming in cold? The ROI on this audiobook drops significantly.
Freeman's Pacing Is The Bug In An Otherwise Clean Build
Suzanne Elise Freeman does solid work differentiating the cast—her voice for characters from different supernatural origins actually helps you track who's talking in crowded scenes. She nails Elisa's humor too. There were a couple moments where her comedic timing got an actual laugh out of me on the train (yes, people stared).
But here's the problem: her pacing is leisurely. Like, Sunday-morning-coffee leisurely. Which works fine for the political scheming and the slow-burn romance stuff. But during action sequences? When vampires are literally fighting for their lives? Same. Measured. Pace. It's like watching an action movie at 0.75x speed.
I bumped it to 1.5x during combat scenes and that fixed most of my complaints. At normal speed, the action feels like it's happening underwater.
Elisa As A Protagonist: Your Mileage Will Vary
Look, I've read enough reviews to know this is polarizing. Some people find Elisa immature and frustrating. And yeah, she makes some choices that had me muttering "girl, why" into my coffee. But she's also funny in a self-aware way that I appreciated. Her internal narration has this dry humor that Freeman delivers really well.
The romance with Connor is... fine? It's slow-burn in that way where you know exactly where it's going but you're waiting for the characters to catch up. The tension between "we clearly want each other" and "our families would literally start a war" provides enough friction to keep things interesting. Lady of the Lake has that same forbidden-love-across-faction-lines setup, though it leans harder into the romance payoff. But I wouldn't call the chemistry electric. More like... warm? Comfortable?
If you're here for spicy romance, you'll get some, but it's not the main course.
Who Should Queue This Up (And Who Should git checkout)
Perfect for: Existing Chicagoland Vampires fans who want to see the next generation. Urban fantasy readers who like their supernatural politics with a side of slow-burn romance. Anyone who needs something engaging enough for a commute but won't fall apart if you zone out for five minutes. If you're craving that same political intrigue but with witches instead of vampires, Book of Life: A Novel delivers on the scheming without requiring you to remember 20 years of backstory.
Skip for: New readers (seriously, start with Some Girls Bite if you want into this world). Anyone who needs fast-paced action. Readers who get frustrated with protagonists who are still figuring themselves out.
Closing The Ticket
At 11.5 hours, this is a solid 3-4 commute investment. The narrator does good character work but needs a speed boost during action. The story delivers on political intrigue and supernatural worldbuilding, less so on romance chemistry. It's the kind of book that's perfectly enjoyable while you're listening but probably won't stick with you for months after.
I finished it. I don't regret it. I'll probably pick up the sequel next time I need something low-stakes. That's... honestly a decent recommendation for a spinoff novel. Not every book needs to be transcendent. Sometimes you just need vampires and shifters having dramatic feelings at each other while you try not to fall asleep on BART.
