Review – Vow of Eternal Night

Item: Vow of Eternal Night
Rating: 3
Author: Emily

Posted October 6, 2026 by Emily in review / 0 Comments

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

TITLE: Vow of Eternal Night
AUTHOR: Lily Crozier
PUBLICATION DATE: August 4, 2026
Source: NetGalley
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RATING:

Clara Wagner has always known that monsters are real, and the worst of them is Prince Raleigh of Rostenburg. But when he decides it’s time to marry, Clara inadvertently finds herself at the center of his attention.

Forced to accept Raleigh’s proposal, Clara would do anything to escape her fate. So when the prince provides an ultimatum—lift his vampiric curse before the end of the year, or become his bride for eternity—Clara knows what she must do.

Heal the prince. Stay alive. Try not to fall in love.

Vow of Eternal Night is a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers, gothic romantasy about the lengths people will go to for love, and the many faces monsters can wear.

Setting the Scene

Review in 10 Words (or Less)

Meh, but was in a slump.

Mood Before Reading

Might have been in a bit of a reading slump.

Dates Read

August 12 – September 30, 2026

Review

Vow of Eternal Night tells the story of Clara, a woman who coerced into agreeing to marry Raleigh, a prince with a vampiric curse. They ultimately reach a deal – she has a year to earn her freedom by breaking his curse, or else she is stuck being his bride forever.

On paper, it should be an intriguing story with all the fun tropes and elements. I mean, relutant marraige, vampires, princes, curses? It sounds like a recipe for an interesting story.

But in reality, I wasn’t captivated at all.

It was just so boring that I thought about DNFing a couple of times. Granted, I was in a reading slump while I was reading this. But I am still undecided about which came first. The chicken or the egg? Was I already in a reading slump before I started reading Vow of Eternal Night and that negatively impacted my thoughts on it? Or was I so unimpressed that it started the slump?

I just didn’t find the story to be all that interesting. The plot didn’t really go anywhere until the last third. So it relied on the characters to carry the story in the beginning, but neither were strong or compelling. The whole plot hinges on the unwilling marriage – there is no story without it. I still don’t understand why Raleigh would seek out Clara to be his bride. She disrespects him one time and that’s enough to draw his attention? I’m sorry, but he had to have had better options.

The book banks on us being invested in these characters, but I just wasn’t. They both felt pretty flat to me and that made their romance even harder to sell. Raleigh is supposed to be this tortured Prince, who was forced to do terrible things against his will and because of his past trauma. He was set up to be a great morally gray character, but fails to inspire the interest those characters typically receive. On one hand, I do feel like his trauma was nicely written and portrayed, and I get his desperation. But on the other, his decision making and rationale is so questionable that he’s as interesting as a cardboard cutout. He’s a Prince Charming wannabe. Sure, he was moments where he’s endearing, but at the end of the day, he comes across more of Prince Mild.

The female main character Clara isn’t much better. She’s presented as a strong and intelligent woman. But as much as the book emphasizes those qualities in her, she continues to make dumb and dumber decisions. She thinks she’s much smarter than she is. Not going to lie, that aspect of her personality kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I was prepared to let out a huge sigh every time she finished one of her inner monologues because I just knew she was about to come to some stupid conclusion and do something even stupider. Reading from her point of view often felt like watching a car crash in slow motion. I knew it wasn’t likely to end well, but was kind of curious of the consequences of her actions. The thing is, despite all those mistakes, she rarely faced a setback that raised the stakes of her deal with Raleigh. Without that, there’s not enough tension to drive the plot and make it feel meaningful.

It’s hard to be invested in Clara and Raleigh because they both come across as one dimensional. The second half of the plot is faster than the first half, and is much risker for both characters. Still, but I couldn’t bring myself to care too much about their wellbeing. I was way more concerned about the side characters than I was with them.

Since I wasn’t very interested in their survival, I was naturally equally uninterested in their romance. It’s just so unconvincing. There just isn’t nearly enough development for me to buy into it. Which is problematic, since basically the whole plot is driven by their perceived love for one another. Their actions don’t make any sense if they don’t care for one other. But I’m confused about why they do. Which is kind of my main issue with the whole story. The plot is like a set of dominoes but the beginning pieces just randomly fell without any wind or force. And so instead of sitting there entranced by their story, I basically had to force myself to finish reading this book.

In conclusion…

Overall, I though Vow of Eternal Night was just okay. I just wasn’t invested in the plot, the characters, or their romance. There isn’t really much else to say.