Immortal Dark

July 23, 2024
Tigest Girma’s debut novel, Immortal Dark, is the book YA readers of dark academia and romantasy have been waiting for—something with the violence and passion of genre bestsellers such as Sarah J Maas and Rebecca Yarros, but suitable for a teenage audience or readers who aren’t interested in ‘spicy’ scenes. Orphan Kidan Adane inherits her family’s role in an ancient peace agreement that governs the world’s vampires. Rooted in a complex history dating back to humanity’s origins in Africa, her late parents tried to keep her and her sister, June, from the intrigues that claimed their lives, but their plans failed, and June was kidnapped. To find her sister, Kidan must venture into Uxlay University, where families train to rule their houses, where death is around every corner, and where the vampire she believes took her sister, Susenyos Sagad, lives. But neither Susenyos nor Uxlay are what they seem. Kidan is caught in a deadly web of secrets and lies, and before she’s done, she’ll love an enemy, betray a friend and face the truth of her own violent nature. Immortal Dark is the first book in a planned trilogy and explores themes including trauma, violence and the complex interplay between love and hate with unflinching depth. Drawing richly from African history and cultures, the book is dedicated to ‘the Black girls who’ve always marvelled at the dark beauty of vampires’, and Girma promises ‘the immortals look like us in this one’. Immortal Dark is a fresh and captivating addition to the genre.

August 1, 2024
Grades 10-12 Following the disappearance of her sister, Kidan is hurtling through life with the same energy as Lady Macbeth when she finds herself with an invitation to Uxlay Academy. Faced with a vampire nemesis, a sentient house skilled in psychological warfare, and a class about human-vampire partnerships with an almost nonexistent pass rate, Kidan has a single-minded focus on her sister's rescue that quickly lands her in the middle of seemingly every conspiracy in Uxlay. Uxlay itself is unique within the magical-school canon: the arcane lives through Amharic instead of Latin; Uxlay students study thinkers from East African tribes instead of Greek philosophers. The plot's pacing and the depth of lore established in this trilogy opener is closer to what can be expected from more mature fantasy than is typical for this audience, which works well with artfully executed character forays into deeply questionable morality. Committed fantasy readers will enjoy accompanying Kidan on her blood-soaked journey to rediscovering her own humanity against a background of pure dark academia.

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