GENERATION ANNIHILATION | Kirkus Reviews

In this vampire thriller set in Mahurin’s Serpent and Dove series, the darkness a young woman fears most is hungry for her blood.

Six months ago, Célie Tremblay helped kill a terrorizing sorceress after enduring unspeakable horrors at her hands. Scarred but not broken, she took the Chasseurs’ sacred vow to protect her world from evil magic. She is hell-bent on proving herself, but even bronze-skinned Jean Luc, her captain and fiance, acts like she’s fragile, and she cannot abide being treated like a doll. Striking off on her own, pale, green-eyed Célie is plunged into a world she thought only existed in fairy tales and nightmares. With unlikely allies by her side, she must confront an evil so strong that it’s sickening even the realms beyond life. Mahurin crafts a heady, convoluted tale that could have been several hundred pages shorter. The story walks a thin line between serious gothic horror and spoof. Though the plot leans heavily into its clichés, it delivers some genuinely shocking twists, and it’s all too easy to become invested in Célie’s plight. She is a willful, headstrong, and eminently relatable narrator whose emotional outbursts, impulsivity, and keen wit frustrate and delight in equal measure. The romance elements feel neither forced nor entirely natural, but regardless, they make for compelling drama. A colorful cast of supporting characters does much to enliven the richly vivid setting.

A story to sink one’s teeth into.

(Paranormal. 14-18)