Nathaniel James Northland – Nathan to his friends – is a former army captain recently discharged after injuries received in battle left him permanently disabled. He also happens to be a werewolf.

Viscount Uladzimir Blutstein – Vlad to his friends – runs the Isle of Eyrie and sits on the local Parliment when his father the Count is absent, which is most of the time. He happens to be a 400+ year-old vampire.

They meet when Nathan takes a job as Captain of the Guard on Eyrie and the attraction is immediate.

I originally bought this book because I follow the author on tumblr, where she talks about chronic illness and disability activism. I had no idea what I was getting but I was delighted to find out that I really enjoyed the story. It’s cute and humourous and full of characters and Easter eggs from other books. The main characters are adorable and awkward and spend the first third of the book pining after each other.

I also ended up being really invested in the world-building – the peasants are rioting over food prices and demanding unions, refugees from remote wars are flooding the empire, and prejudice against supernatural citizens is on the rise. The conservative forces in Parliament are voting to put down dissent by force and both The Count and the Wolf Lord are hatching schemes of their own. Then Ursula enters the picture, a mysterious woman with news of a pending environmental catastrophe that makes all the war and civil unrest look like weaksauce.

There are two versions of the book, depending on whether or not you want the smut. Personally I didn’t find there was a lot of smut in the book anyway, although there is some mild d/s – all very consensual and negotiated, thank you.

This is intended to be the first of a series and book #2 is still in the works. I believe Demorra said there will be five books in total when the complete arc is done.