Book Review: The Nightlife New York by Travis Luedke

The Nightlife: New York, by Travis Luedke, is actually pretty good. I say “actually” because I wasn’t really sure what kind of book I was getting into. It warns of graphic sex scenes and I think violence in the beginning, so I wasn’t sure if this was going to just be sex, sex, sex, and basically an erotica novel. Not that I read that many of those. I feel like romance and erotic novels are always blurring the line anyway. Some romance novels I’ve read, like Outlander, can get quite graphic in their sex scenes. Some of the sex scenes in the Nightlife are indeed graphic, but they are usually fleeting. They don’t take up pages and pages, and there is definitely more to the book than just sex. That being said, the book does primarily focus on Michelle and Aaron.

Michelle is a vampire, which I kind of like. It’s not the typical Twilight kind of vampire. It’s a different take on vampirism. When a vampire of her kind turns someone, that person becomes their slave, and bound to them by blood. They can literally make that person do anything they want. There’s also blood slaves and stuff, so they have to be careful feeding on humans (I’m being vague on purpose so as not to ruin the novel). But it’s not so much the vampire stuff being different that I like (although it is intriguing) but the fact that we have a human boy and a vampire girl and not the other way around. It’s nice to see a change to the normal vampire scene.

I found both characters (Michelle and Aaron) to be well developed, and I liked looking into both of their lives. The point of view floats around between the two of them, so we know what each of them is thinking at certain times. Aaron is a bit of a lovesick puppy, and Michelle is a mysterious and sometimes ruthless person, but they still are inextricably drawn to each other, and have a very interesting dynamic. The only thing I wish there was more of in this book was Michelle’s past. I really would have like to know a certain something about her past, but perhaps that will be expanded on in later novels.

All in all, I enjoyed reading this book, and you should definitely check it out if you’re looking for a spin on vampires, or want a bit of romance with a dash of the seedy underbelly of nightlife thrown in. Because, you know, vampires only come out at night, right?