The Night Library of Sternendach
A Vampire Opera in Verse
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
“A stunning achievement in storytelling and the poetic form.”—Emily Leverett, co-editor of Predators in Petticoats
In starry Sternendach, as long as
The vampire Graf has ruled this land
The Heller clan, with weapons strong as
Their wills, have killed his kindred and
Been killed in turn. The two sides nearly
Destroyed themselves. The Graf saw clearly
The need to make the killing cease,
And forced a pact to keep the peace.
The youngest of the Heller faction
Is Kunigunde. Trained to fight
It never suited her aright.
She can’t deny her soul’s attraction
For books and poetry, and for
The Graf, who gave her these and more.
Kunigunde is destined to become the next in a long line of Heller clan vampire hunters—but her soul is drawn to books, poetry, and the vampire Graf. Set in 1960s Europe, The Night Library of Sternendach is an unabashedly melodramatic opera-in-sonnets that weaves a sweeping, suspenseful tale readers won't be able to put down.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lévai debuts with a lush, modern take on the trope of supernaturally star-crossed lovers, told entirely through sonnets. When Kunigunde "Kinge" Heller's mother takes Kinge, as a child, to meet the vampire Graf of Sternendach, Kinge is immediately struck by his countenance and the elaborate library in his castle. The Graf gives Kinge a book of fairy tales and she grows up thinking fondly of him. By the time she's 19, that fondness becomes something more. But Kinge is heir to a line of vampire hunters, and though the Graf and Kinge's family have agreed to a fragile truce, the love that grows between Kinge and the Graf is still forbidden—and even more so as the Graf is already married to another vampire, the Gräfin. This operatic love story caters to many beloved tropes while providing a fresh perspective and building toward an unusual, bittersweet ending that explores "how love costs more than it seems." Readers looking for something different among the crowded field of vampire love stories will appreciate the poetry and language of this brief tale as much as the sweet romance.
