The Gravewood by Kelly Andrew

Shea is desperate. Since the Rot took over, supplies are getting more and more difficult to obtain. She’s particularly concerned with finding batteries for her hearing aids, and decides the only way to make sure she has them is to make a deal with the devil in the forest. His name is Oliver Lysander, but she knows him as Lys, the vampire who owns the Gravewood, a dark forest that captures the lost and vulnerable every year. When her best friend disappears in the dark wood, she turns to Lys for help. He promises to help her if she promises to Turn. Vampirism can be a curse or a cure, and those who don’t Turn well are eliminated. Knowing she has no choice, they embark on a journey to find a friend, end an enemy, and discover if there’s more to their story.

Told in alternating points of view, The Gravewood is Andrew’s best book to date. There are echoes of Twilight but this one is not so campy and the love triangle not so cringey. There’s gore and terror and the sexual tension is tangible. The sequel cannot get here fast enough. It’s delicious. It’s dark. It’s dreamy.