Vampires do not get sick.

Thirty years ago, that was the promise Dr. Victor Todd made when he gifted Isla Davis the antidote to mortality, trading her terminal human life for an undying eternity at his side. But when Isla wakes disoriented and bloody beside a corpse she doesn’t recognize, their Victorian home becomes the stage for a claustrophobic nightmare.

Isla’s preserved body is now wracked by the violent return of human frailty. Her mind, once a fortress, is crumbling—weeks as Victor’s patient and decades as his wife collapsing into a fractured, bleeding present. And for the first time in over a century, Dr. Victor Todd has become a patient too.

Trapped in the maze of their own unraveling, as their memories slip through their fingers and the clock they thought they’d conquered begins to tick once more, Isla and Victor are left to face a devastating truth:

Eternity is fading one agonizing heartbeat at a time.

The Unraveling is a standalone Gothic vampire horror and romantic tragedy featuring graphic depictions of body horror, medical distress, violence, death and dying, grief, terminal illness, and cancer.

Grief claws at my chest like a relentless monster, my tears wetting the soil.

A tragic gothic tale of love and suffering - prepare to have your heart ripped out from your chest.

Low-action character-focused books are a bit of a departure from my usual reads, and not having read any of Beronika’s past works, I went in with modest expecations. But I adored every single aspect of this book. It will likely remain one of my all time favorite vampire stories.

First and foremost, I loved the presentation. We are thrown into the disoriented mind of Isla with no hand-holding whatsoever. She wakes up after a dangerous accident with no memory of what happened, and from the perspective of her fractured mind, we discover both the events leading up to the accident, and her past - a moribund life transformed by the enigmatic Dr. Todd - her savior, then her lover.

I swallow a knot, not wanting to admit how the path of reality keeps morphing into a maze.

The author wonderfully captures the messiness of complicated medical conditions, the pervasive uncertainty, the pain of seeing your relished experiences growing distant with every passing breath, and the joy of brief moments of lucidity before the next inevitable lapse of mind. It was heartwarming to see that no matter how far their condition deteriorated, the affection between Isla and Dr. Todd never wavers. Even as their memories of key events and people in their life slowly slip away, they never leave each other’s side.

Dr. Todd, in the many dimensions of his character remains amazing throughout, esp. how the premise of how his strange affliction led to his lifelong pursuit of discovery. His choices, his compassion for the patients, how he always considered himself a doctor first and a vampire second, were all deeply touching. Beyond that the author’s rendering of the gothic ambiance was breathtaking, as was Daisy’s role.

A place like this needs vampires— so much so that becoming one feels like destiny.

Creative non-linear presentations have always been close to my heart, and this was no exception. In particular, the way the author contrasts the recollection of Isla’s first transformation as she lives through the second, was masterfully done.

If someone had just described or summarized the plot of this book to me, I’d have said with absolutely certainty that it isn’t for me. But I am glad to have discovered it through first-hand experience, for it surely has changed me as a reader.

The ending will likely leave you devastated, but the journey is absolutely worth it.

I throw my arms out to catch myself but only manage to grasp at the edge of reality.