I am a frequent fan of gothic horror, and I am always up for anything that involves vampires and is part of the LGBTQIA+ community. I met Nicole Eigener through Instagram a few months ago, and I was excited to learn about their queer vampire novel, Beguiled by Night. Upon reading it, I felt like I had found an important and delicious new voice in the gothic horror genre. Eigener’s vampire, Vauquelin, is classic and groundbreaking in all of the right ways, and their inclusion of French culture and language is utterly tantalizing. While the horror aspects are light, the story is disturbing, painful, and erotic. It is a must-read for fans of classic gothic horror, and I can’t praise it enough.

Today, Eigener released their follow-up to Beguiled by Night, and it is just as delicious, horrific, romantic, and all-consuming as its predecessor. Both books are some of the most beautiful tomes of gothic horror that I have read, and I cannot recommend them enough. Be sure to check them out!

A chance to live life over, to correct one’s mistakes — is it a blessing or a curse? In Beguiled by Night, Vauquelin, an ancient, queer vampire living in present-day Los Angeles, finds his time unwinding like a spool of dirty thread til he’s re-deposited into seventeenth century France: he seizes the chance for redemption. In Citizens of Shadow, he clings frightfully to his aim — until he learns the hidden costs of tampering with fate. Centuries of self-exile and isolation claim their due. What glory might unfold when you open your heart to what else is to come … and what rewards will you reap when you embrace your authentic self?

Lush, gothic horror unfolds in Citizens of Shadow, a queer dark fantasy of vampires, time travel, and sinister secrets threatening to unravel an eternal existence.

Goodreads Synopsis

About the Author

Nicole Eigener is the author of Beguiled by Night: A Vampire Tale (Polidori Press, 2020) and CITIZENS OF SHADOW: Beguiled by Night Book Two, in which Vauquelin’s story continues. They are also co-author, with Beverley Lee, of Crimson is the Night: A Vampire Novelette featuring a meeting of characters from Lee’s Gabriel Davenport series and Beguiled By Night. Nicole is a lifelong student of French history and the macabre. Their love for haemovores became a beautiful marriage to their obsession with French culture, specifically of the seventeenth-century, which features prominently in their work. Nicole lives in Southern California. Visit their website for book extras including French pronunciations and a soundtrack.

Visit: https://thevampire.org/