Immortal dark by Tigest Girma

Things cannot get much worse for Kidan Adane. Besides the small issue of fighting the murder charge she has just been accused of, her sister June has been missing for more than a year and she has run out of leads in her search. Kidan is certain she knows who took June, but she has no way of finding either her sister or the perpetrator. But then Kidan is given an unexpected lifeline. Her estranged aunt has died and Kidan is now heir to a dangerous and powerful legacy: the ownership of one of the oldest and most powerful of the ruling houses that govern Uxlay University. Uxlay is a place that exists both within and separate to the rest of the world. It is a place of secrets, shadows and blood where vampires and humans learn to uneasily coexist. If Kidan wants any hope of finding June, she will need to enter Uxlay and claim her birthright, because that is where she will find the man – the vampire – that she is certain knows where June is. And Kidan will do anything – even murder – to find her sister.

Immortal Dark is a brilliant debut from Ethiopian-Australian author, Tigest Girma. The novel weaves East African history and mythology into a dark academia fantasy with a true enemies-to-lovers romance. Kidan is a complex heroine, at times both compelling and repelling but her deep love for her sister and her determination to seek truth and justice is clear on every page. Older readers who like their fantasy as dark as possible will enjoy this novel, the first in a planned trilogy.

Themes: Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Dark Academia, Vampires, Family, Sisters.

Rose Tabeni