✦ BLURB ✦
Tiffenie may be three hundred years old, but she’s still a hot mess. The vampire is tragically single, works a dead-end job at a blood bank, and spends her nights marathoning Hallmark Channel movies with her cat.When Tiffenie inherits a fixer-upper home in Valentine, Vermont, thanks to a case of mistaken (okay, stolen) identity, she seizes the chance to get her life back on track. With her newly undead neighbor (it was an accident!) in tow, Tiffenie is determined to live out her holiday rom-com dreams in this picture-perfect town.
But between the mystery of her stolen identity, small-town drama, and the arrival of her insufferable vampire ex-boyfriend Vlad, getting her happily ever after with a hot Christmas tree farmer won’t be easy. To uncover what she truly desires, Tiffenie must embark on a journey of self-acceptance for the first time in her immortal life. Luckily, it’s never too late to start therapy.
✶ PRE-READING ✶
I've read cosy fantasy. I've read cosy real life. But cosy horror? I couldn't picture how that would work, and I was eager to try it. Plus the mention of Hallmark movies - look, we all complain about them, but we all love them secretly, right?
✶ POST-READING ✶
As I thought... Take away the vampire-ness, and this is every Hallmark movie about a city girl determined to revitalise her childhood home. (Of course, in this instance it isn't her childhood home at all, but never mind about that!) Tiff's found family is amazing, one of the best examples I've seen recently, and Vlad? Hoo boy.
It surprised me by... The depth of the story. Sam has really thought out her vampire society, and she hasn't just slapped on a Hallmark coloured overview either; each trope here is chosen carefully and deliberately to add to the story.
✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦
Book Recommendation: Christmas People, featuring a main character who wakes up to find herself inside a Hallmark - whoops, I mean a Heartfelt movie, and must play along with the tropes and ideas in it to find her way out.
TV or Movie Recommendation: The Holiday Fix Up, a Hallmark movie centred around saving an inn from closing down.
✦ MUSIC PAIRING ✦
Because sometimes, the heart of a story plays out like a song.
🎵 Featured Song: Thriller – Michael Jackson, as performed by the cast of Glee. Playful horror energy, with a wink - just like Tiffenie navigating her undead life while trying to live a rom-com dream.
🎶 Vibe Album: Dawn FM – The Weeknd. Cheeky, slightly eerie, and very stylish - matches the vampire charm and quirky tone of the story.🎧 Artist Recommendation: Florence + The Machine. Dramatic, whimsical, with enough spookiness and grandeur for cosy horror.
✧ VIBE CHECK ✧
A colour palette: Autumnal orange, rusty red and faded green.
A soundtrack: cheerful background music with the occasional out of place screeching strings.
A season: Autumn shading towards winter.
A mood: Confused, determined and gradually warming friendship.
A scent: Fallen leaves and pumpkins.
★ TAROT CARD PULLED ★
The Fool (Cosy Witch Tarot) – This is Tiffenie at her core: starting fresh (well, undead-fresh) in a new place, embracing risks, fumbling through mistakes, and finding herself along the way. She’s jumping into the unknown with heart and determination, ready to discover what really matters.
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