A Bleak Remedy by D.S. LaLonde is a gripping exploration of immortality, morality, and the horrifying price of survival. At its core, it’s a vampire tale, but not the kind you’re used to! And it’s not just the creatures that lurk in the shadows; it’s the secrets of those who know they exist…
Content Warnings: miscarriage, pregnancy, cancer, hospice, dementia, chronic pain, mentions of suicide, testing on animals, and more.
Let’s dive in!
My Thoughts on A Bleak Remedy by D.S. LaLonde –
From the beginning, we’re drawn into the lives of each of the many characters—flawed, burdened, and shaped by the roles they’ve been forced to play, all of which are stuck in this twisted web. Every one of them carries their own shadows: vices they can’t shake, choices that haunt them. As the story unfolds, their pasts are revealed in fragments and we watch as they confront the present with those ghosts that still cling to them.
The story takes a chilling turn when one of their own begins to slip into dementia. The slow erosion of her mind isn’t just a tragedy; it’s a threat. In their greed, the humans begin experimenting on one of their own, driven not by care or concern, but by the ruthless ambition to turn vampire venom into profit.
The horror here isn’t just in the blood—it’s in the choices they make, the ethics they abandon, and the humanity they’ve long since twisted.
It’s the character arcs that drive this story, pulling you deeper with every chapter. SO many of them, each with incredibly high stakes! You follow multiple perspectives, but rather than feeling disjointed, each one deepens the story’s emotional impact. The way the narrative jumps between these lives adds to the tension.
My Favorite Passages from A Bleak Remedy –
Pete was starting to hope that the creature had fled when the shadows in front of him slowly coalesced into a fur-coated nightmare, its face a hideous amalgam of human and bat, large fangs somehow glistening even in the minimal light.
But that wasn’t unusual, the chief scientist often got off to a syrupy slow start in the morning, spending the first hour or two stumbling around like a dehydrated zombie, clutching his coffee as if it was an especially delectable human brain.
She would have been very content as a lighthouse keeper or perhaps a forest ranger in a secluded area, since her happiest days were the ones with the least face-to-face interactions.
She’d had to skip volunteering at the hospital because of an epic migraine. It cut through the right side of her head and throbbed, as though her skull were expanding and contracting. She almost suspected that people could see its rhythmic movement through her hair, like some beast gnawing away at her head from the inside out.
Cheese always improved his mood, although it would be better if it was melted on something.
Even though the cake was a ray of sunshine, it had been a rough day. The analysis of the data for a recent set of experiments had been concluded, revealing them to be a monumental failure, although Wil preferred the kinder term inconclusive.
Ava wasn’t sure if money bought happiness, but she was damn sure it bought choices.
My Final Thoughts on A Bleak Remedy –
I had such a blast reading this book! Despite its length, this is a book you’ll want to devour in as few sittings as possible. Every chapter ends with a new revelation or a gut punch that leaves you needing to know what happens next. It’s intense, emotional, and terrifying in ways that linger long after you turn the final page.
Thanks for reading!
And a major thanks to D.S. for sending me a copy ages ago! Thank you for your patience while I navigated some major life changes before I was able to finally sit back and read this work!
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