Night's Edge

Some spoilers

Omg this book is jam packed with emotions. I found myself moved to tears at a few parts because many of the events in this book hit close to home with my own relationships.

I would definitely say this book falls into the sub-genre of familial horror.

Night's Edge focuses on Mia and her mother Izzy. When Mia is only 10 years old, her mom is infected with a vampiric disease. They call the infected people Saras. Mia's mom had her own insecurities which often leads her to hook up with toxic men who manipulate and abuse her. Enter Devon, a Sara on a mission to turn and recruit as many people as he can for his own pleasure and agenda. Devon bites and turns Mia's mom forever altering her life. Mia and her mother must adapt to a new dangerous lifestyle. But will Mia sacrifice everything, including herself to keep her mom comfortable and protected?

This novel is absolutely gripping. It invokes so many emotions that I often had to put it down for a few minutes to let everything sink in. Codependency is a huge theme for the entirety of the book and it showcases how intense and toxic those relationships tend to become. The book also showcases how serious addiction can be as well as domestic abuse. Mia's mom assaults her several times and literally feeds by Mia draining her own blood. She also acts as if Mia is not allowed to be her own person or have her own life.


I felt so terrible for Mia the entire time I was reading this. It's almost as if you want to shout at her through the pages. It's easier to be the one on the outside looking in. There's more clarity.

Honestly this book felt too real but I sort of needed it to recognize some of my own issues with my parents.

I also really enjoyed how the author wrote this story with its own pandemic, including blood scanners that paid ode to temperature checks during Covid-19. We all went through a rough few years (and still going through it) so reading about something so similar adds extra tension and anxiety. It's too familiar. It's perfect.


I like how the book focused in on a mother-daughter relationship. Often times it felt like the roles of caregiver were reversed. It's sad because Mia's relationship with her mother should be different. You expect different from a mother and daughter. A lot of us experience similar situations where sometimes parents are not mature enough to make the right decisions. (Or they are going through some serious mental battles and demons of their own.) still, children are never to blame and that's a lesson a lot of adults need to learn.

I felt heavily for Mia when she had to grow up and grow up fast because I've been through that situation myself. No time to be a child, no time to live a carefree life. And remember, just because someone is family, doesn't mean you must put up with their constant abuse and toxicity.

Often times we forget that horror doesn't mean gruesome monsters or boogeymen lurking in the closet. Horror is human and very real.

Everyone needs to read this book.

I like to explore all the different versions of the vampire trope and Liz Kerin gave us a really cool one in Night’s Edge. Mia’s mom Izzy isn’t exactly a vampire though, she’s a sara. Exploring the similarities and differences between saras and vampires and learning about Saratov Syndrome was really cool, but I didn’t expect all the heartbreak that came with everything else.

Izzy became a sara when Mia was just 10 years old, which left Mia beyond traumatized, but she had no time to deal with it as she was immediately thrust into adulthood long before her time. My heart absolutely ached for Mia, and for my own younger self, as I deeply related to her severe parentification. I felt so much anger on Mia’s behalf every time she had to make a sacrifice, keep another secret, hold herself back, pretend everything was okay. Man… yeah… this book gave me a lot of feelings and they were definitely not about the things I was expecting 😅 I can’t wait to dive into the sequel and feel the feelings that one gives me.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by actor Chase Sui Wonders. I didn’t know it was Wonders until after I finished the book but I thought it was pretty cool. I really liked her in HBO’s Genera+ion. She did an excellent job, the narration was full of emotion. I’d recommend the audio over other formats for sure. But… the book is on Kindle Unlimited!