Title: Immortal Dark
Author: Tigest Girma
Release Date: Sept. 3, 2024
Format: Hardcover
Where to Buy: Amazon | Bookshop
My Rating: 4.75/5

Synopsis

Orphaned heiress Kidan Adane grew up far from the arcane society she was born into, where human bloodlines gain power through vampire companionship. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—the very vampire bound to their family, the cruel yet captivating Susenyos Sagad.

To find June, Kidan must infiltrate the elite Uxlay University—where students study to ensure peaceful coexistence between humans and vampires and inherit their family legacies. Kidan must survive living with Susenyos—even as he does everything he can to drive her away. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’s wickedness speaks to Kidan’s own violent nature and tempts her to surrender to a life of darkness. She must find her sister and kill Susenyos at all costs.

When a murder mirroring June’s disappearance shakes Uxlay, Kidan sinks further into the ruthless underworld of vampires, risking her very soul. There she discovers a centuries-old threat—and June could be at the center of it. To save her sister, Kidan must bring Uxlay to its knees and either break free from the horrors of her own actions or embrace the dark entanglements of love—and the blood it requires.

My Review

I was not expecting all of the feelings that came with Immortal Dark. The comps said Ninth House meets Cruel Prince and I thought to myself, “Well, it won’t live up to that but it will be entertaining.” It lived up to that and so much more.

The characters did remind me a bit of Cruel Prince in that the two leads were not necessarily people that I liked. They were both anti-heroes. Kidan has a lot of faults. Despite her desperation to find her sister, which is noble, she is willing to effectively harm every other person she comes in contact with and herself to do just that. Susenyos is just as selfish, self centered, and cruel as Cardan.

The map of the school included in the book gave me the vibes of Ninth House but frankly Girma went so much further than Bardugo. The story creates a deep mythology of African vampires–dranaic–and their relationship with 88 families–the acti. The dranaic and the acti are tied together through three “bonds” which protect the acti (and other humans) from being killed by the dranaics while also ensuring that the dranaics are able to continue to feed.

All of this beauty and mythology are wrapped in a tale about a very depressed young woman, who goes to college and for the first time begins to meet people that she actually connects with. She builds relationships with four acti from other families. As she does this, she begins to realize that they all have darkness inside themselves. She also starts to learn that they have all been raised in a cutthroat world.

As the story progresses, we learn more about the other families and we learn more about Susenyos. He and Kidan begin to realize that they need one another to continue to survive. However, it becomes more and more clear that the brutal world of the Uxlay University may not be safe.

I was so in awe of this book. Girma captured what depression and grief can feel like, especially while dealing with the pressure of school. She did an even better job of capturing the guilt as you begin to find joy again on the other side.

I like a lot of books but its been since Legendborn that I fell so in love with a mythology and world. I cannot wait for the next book in the Immortal Dark series to be released.