Be Still My Unbeating Heart gives me Interview with a Vampire vibes. It has plenty of humor and heart and is such a great addition to the vampire canon. Keep reading this book review of Be Still My Unbeating Heart for my full thoughts.
Summary
Bastian may be a vampire, but he doesn’t bite.
Not anymore, at least.
These days, Bastian just wants to live his best undead life: visit charming Italian villages, maybe dance in the square with a cute boy, all with Whitby, his best friend (and magical talking cat) by his side. What he doesn’t want? To stumble across a dead body on the beach, a girl who appears to have been killed by a vampire.
It wasn’t Bastian. He swears—on his own grave.
But the local police chief doesn’t trust Bastian, or any vampire, for that matter, so he assigns detective Nico De Luca to keep an eye on him until his trial. And while Bastian normally wouldn’t complain about having a gorgeous, mysterious man by his side, he has more important things to worry about, because the police chief has called the Vampire Council, and if the real killer is still at large when they arrive, the whole town could be in danger. As more bodies begin to pile up, Bastian, Whitby, and De Luca must get to the bottom of who in Vernazza is framing vampires, before it’s too late.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I adored the cover the first moment I saw it. Be Still My Unbeating Heart is an upbeat humorous paranormal romance. My favorite element had to be the side character and Bastian’s relationship with Whitby. It gives his character not only a unique backstory, but also a motive for wanting to live without human blood. Their interactions are precious and I loved every scene with Whitby in it. The actual mystery elements were a bit rushed towards the end. I wanted the build up to match the conclusion, but the amount of false starts and pacing of the ending felt so hasty. It didn’t feel like the earned conclusion we want considering the premise and it caused me to keep flip flopping on some major characters.
I did appreciate how Winning explores the historical immortal history of vampires, especially queer ones. How it feels as an intersectional identity being immortal and experiencing the prejudices, the ways that queer people have not been safe throughout history. As a whole, thematically Be Still My Unbeating Heart examines not monsters, but monstrous choices. The things we do, vampire or not, which make us into monsters, which betray our morals, and hurt those around us. I just feel like the last 15% needed to be stretched a little to sink better into the ending and especially the wrap up of the actual crime!
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