Danger and desire clash in a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in modern-day Oxford, with enemy vampires on opposite sides of a brutal power struggle forced to choose between their families, or each other.
Centuries ago, Tobias Osian had his mortality stolen from him when he was unwillingly turned into a vampire. Ever since, he’s been consumed by the need for revenge against the monster who took his humanity - Vladimir Damianos, the head of Britain’s most powerful vampire clan.
Now, Tobias is finally ready to enact his plan for vengeance, using Vladimir’s son Alexander to infiltrate the family and bring down the entire clan. But what he doesn’t expect is that Alexander has rebelled against his bloodthirsty father by protecting mortals instead of hunting them. When the two meet, Alexander is instantly enamoured with Tobias. And as a string of attacks rocks the city of Oxford, Alexander proves himself committed to protecting Tobias, not knowing that Tobias is just as much of a monster as he is.
With his attraction to Alexander growing, Tobias must decide what means more to him: vengeance, or a love growing from the most tragic of places.
Perfect for fans of Interview With the Vampire and Saltburn, this high-heat paranormal romance brings together blood and lust in an intoxicating combination.
"The Darkness Bites Back has everything I love to read in a vampire romantasy. Deliciously dark, sexy, and full of immersive language and relatable characters, this modern Romeo and Juliet retelling drew me in from the first to page to the last. This should be on all vampire lovers’ TBR." – Elayna R. Gallea, author of Tethered
Laura R. Samotin has a PhD in international relations and enjoys using her academic background on military tactics, power politics, and leadership to enliven and inform her creative writing. Her works of adult fiction are grounded in Jewish myth, mysticism, and her Eastern European Jewish heritage.
She served as a 2021 #DVMentor mentor and a 2021-2022 WriteMentor Summer Program mentor, and also runs the website Query101 to help authors on their writing journey. She lives with her spouse, and when she’s not researching or writing, she relishes her role as a full-time cat servant.
Ben Alderson is a #1 Amazon bestselling author and former BookTuber. In 2023, he was nominated for TikTok Author of the Year, and in 2024 for BookTok Breakthrough Author of the Year. A social media darling, Ben is on TikTok (153k), Instagram (65.6k followers), and Twitter (17.4k followers). He has self-published a number of M/M romantic fantasy novels, and his series A Realm of Fey is published by Angry Robot Books and A Court of Broken Bounds is published with Second Sky (Hachette UK). Ben lives in Oxfordshire and, when not writing, can be found reading, taking Winston—his Labrador—out for long walks, or obsessing over Marvel’s The Scarlet Witch.
Danger and desire clash in a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in modern-day Oxford, with enemy vampires on opposite sides of a brutal power struggle forced to choose between their families, or each other.
Centuries ago, Tobias Osian had his mortality stolen from him when he was unwillingly turned into a vampire. Ever since, he’s been consumed by the need for revenge against the monster who took his humanity - Vladimir Damianos, the head of Britain’s most powerful vampire clan.
Now, Tobias is finally ready to enact his plan for vengeance, using Vladimir’s son Alexander to infiltrate the family and bring down the entire clan. But what he doesn’t expect is that Alexander has rebelled against his bloodthirsty father by protecting mortals instead of hunting them. When the two meet, Alexander is instantly enamoured with Tobias. And as a string of attacks rocks the city of Oxford, Alexander proves himself committed to protecting Tobias, not knowing that Tobias is just as much of a monster as he is.
With his attraction to Alexander growing, Tobias must decide what means more to him: vengeance, or a love growing from the most tragic of places.
Perfect for fans of Interview With the Vampire and Saltburn, this high-heat paranormal romance brings together blood and lust in an intoxicating combination.
Reviews
"The Darkness Bites Back has everything I love to read in a vampire romantasy. Deliciously dark, sexy, and full of immersive language and relatable characters, this modern Romeo and Juliet retelling drew me in from the first to page to the last. This should be on all vampire lovers’ TBR." – Elayna R. Gallea, author of Tethered
Author
Laura R. Samotin has a PhD in international relations and enjoys using her academic background on military tactics, power politics, and leadership to enliven and inform her creative writing. Her works of adult fiction are grounded in Jewish myth, mysticism, and her Eastern European Jewish heritage.
She served as a 2021 #DVMentor mentor and a 2021-2022 WriteMentor Summer Program mentor, and also runs the website Query101 to help authors on their writing journey. She lives with her spouse, and when she’s not researching or writing, she relishes her role as a full-time cat servant.
Ben Alderson is a #1 Amazon bestselling author and former BookTuber. In 2023, he was nominated for TikTok Author of the Year, and in 2024 for BookTok Breakthrough Author of the Year. A social media darling, Ben is on TikTok (153k), Instagram (65.6k followers), and Twitter (17.4k followers). He has self-published a number of M/M romantic fantasy novels, and his series A Realm of Fey is published by Angry Robot Books and A Court of Broken Bounds is published with Second Sky (Hachette UK). Ben lives in Oxfordshire and, when not writing, can be found reading, taking Winston—his Labrador—out for long walks, or obsessing over Marvel’s The Scarlet Witch.
