A Long Time Dead by Samara Breger

Description Somewhere foggy, 1837 . . . Poppy had always loved the night, so it wasn’t too much of a bother to wake one evening in an unfamiliar home far from London, weak and confused and plagued with a terrible thirst for blood, to learn that she could no longer step out into the day. And while vampirism presented several disadvantages, it more than made up for those in its benefits: immortality, a body that could run at speed for hours without tiring, the thrill of becoming a predator, the thing that pulls rabbits from bushes and tears through their fur and flesh with the sharp point of a white fang. And, of course, Roisin. The mysterious woman who has lived for centuries, who held Poppy through her painful transformation, and who, for some reason, is now teaching her how to adjust to her new, endless life. A tight, lonely, buttoned-up woman, with kindness and care pressed up behind her teeth. The time they spend together is as transformative to Poppy as the changes in her body, and soon, she finds herself hopelessly, overwhelmingly attached. But Roisin has secrets of her own, and can’t make any promises; not when vengeance must be served. Soon, their little world explodes. Together and apart, they encounter scores of vampires, shifty pirates, conniving opera singers, ancient nobles, glamorous French women, and a found family that throws a very particular sort of party. But overhead, a threat looms—one woman capable of destroying everything Poppy and Roisin hold dear. “A quicksilver voice and a balance of humor and brutality keep Samara Breger’s vampire historical A LONG TIME DEAD (Bywater Books, 412 pp., paperback, $23.95) perpetually on my mind. The new vampire Poppy’s essentially buoyant nature makes her occasional descent into blood lust all the more horrifying and gives her ingenuity and ultimate triumph an especially gratifying charge. This has become the No. 1 book I recommend to readers new to the genre.” —Olivia Waite, The Best Romance Books of 2023 – The New York Times “A gorgeously written lesbian vampire story that’s as sexy as scary. Samara Breger has taken a familiar narrative of bloodlust and immortality and made it wholly her own. I inhaled it.” — Gabrielle Korn, author of Yours for the Taking “Lush and evocative prose makes A Long Time Dead come to life.” —Cat Sebastian, author of The Queer Principles of Kit Webb Samara Breger is a writer and performer from New York City. In her previous life, she was an Emmy-nominated journalist, covering sexual and reproductive health. Now, she writes queer books about magic and feelings—and she has a crush on every character.