Solena Wilshire’s memoir takes us from the fifth century to the twenty-first, and we’re in northern England, Greece, Egypt, Boston, New York—there’s even a character who shows up from Minnesota!

Between sundown and sunrise you learn about vampire customs, interactions with humans, relations between themselves—romantic, familial, strategic.

If you as a human live in fear of vampires, Solena reassures you that the only thing vampires want is to live worthwhile lives­—they are not out to kill you. But they are on guard against vampire hunters. Died by Blood, Born by Blood is many things. At its heart, it’s a love story.