Blood rituals and vampires: Vo, Summerlee headline 3 fantasy books to finish this weekend, Oct. 31-Nov. 1

A Gothic New York mystery

Nghi Vo, a USA Today best-selling author, gained acclaim for her 2020 novella The Empress of Salt and Fortune, which won the Hugo Award for Best Novella. Her new book, The Scarlet Ball, is a Gothic tale set in Gilded Age New York.

Judith Ban, a former convent girl and courtesan, agrees to impersonate a missing debutante. Magic changes her face to match the absent woman’s, drawing Judith into a society of debutantes, demons and blood rituals.

The story blends wealth and decadence with a dark, visceral mood. Its horror turns the dangers of high society into something literal, while examining the cost of trying to belong.

Vampires and forbidden romance

Annie Summerlee’s The Book of Blood and Roses takes place in the Scottish Highlands, where a university lets vampires study alongside humans. Its human protagonist, Rebecca Charity, seeks revenge for her parents’ deaths and searches for the legendary book in the title.

Her plans change when she accidentally becomes Familiar to her roommate, Aliz. The novel draws on enemies-to-lovers romance and vampire horror, using fantasy worldbuilding and the misty Highlands to shape its supernatural setting.

The book’s central appeal is the chemistry between its leads and a slow-burning romantic approach. Readers seeking a spicier romance may find something missing, while fans of a gradual love story may be satisfied.

Other worlds and big ambitions

The text also turns to Middle-earth, where doing what is right can mean facing a long struggle without seeing its end. It describes a world of ancient mountains, white cities and deep forges, and refers to The Rings of Power as taking place in a last good age before events go wrong.

Another passage introduces the Grand Line as a place for people drawn to the sea, a crew and the freedom to explore. It describes One Piece as following a group whose members pursue impossible goals together. These passages shift away from the two featured novels and offer broad reflections on different fantasy worlds and the lives they represent.