The Night Library of Sternendach: A Vampire Opera in Verse

A bittersweet story in sonnets

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.

★★★★★
Wow I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.

goodreads review

★★★★★
I saw the subtitle “A Vampire Opera in Verse” and said “Yes please,” and I wasn’t disappointed. The verse is beautiful and evocative (and I’m so impressed at how well Lévai carried this form off) and I was drawn into the love story between Kinge and the Graf.

goodreads review

★★★★★
I mean it when I say I’ve truly never read anything like it. This vampire novella written in poetic verse seems to blend Shakespearean dramatics with a fantasy-infused contemporary vampiric mythos.

goodreads review