I AM NOT A VAMPIRE (ANYMORE)

Becoming human again was supposed to be a fresh start, but even the Florida sunshine can’t keep Lily’s dark past away.

It’s senior year, prom is approaching, and Lily gets to celebrate with her charming boyfriend, Max, and supportive friend Sarita. But when Max’s brooding best friend, Ezra, gets turned into a vampire, white-presenting Lily is the only one who can help. After all, until less than a year ago she was a working-class girl from Victorian-era England—where she was a vampire, too. As she teaches Ezra how to navigate his new condition, attraction between them grows. Complicating matters further, Cassius, Lily’s undead ex-boyfriend, shows up, bringing chaos and mayhem with him. Throw in a coven of witches, and this prom will definitely be one to remember. With short chapters and a fast-paced plot, Miller’s YA debut is an accessible paranormal story with action and romance, but some of the worldbuilding doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Additionally, while the story plays with concepts of good-versus-evil, the characters are all firmly rooted in one or the other, making them feel somewhat flat and undercutting the moral ambiguity that appeals to many fans of vampire narratives. The reveals about the magic system and the introduction of an additional Big Bad in the later part of the book are exciting but would have been more effective if woven in earlier. Contextual clues indicate some ethnic diversity among Lily’s friend group.

Fun but flawed in execution.