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    The Darkness Bites Back

    Author Laura R. Samotin, Ben Alderson
    Paperback
    $19.99 US
    Watkins Media | Angry Robot
    5-1/8"W x 7-3/4"H (13.0 x 19.7 cm) | 20 oz (567 g) | 12 per carton
    On sale Sep 29, 2026 | 320 Pages | 9781836730057
    Sales rights: World except UK/Ireland
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    Danger and desire clash in a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in modern-day Oxford, with enemy vampires on opposite sides of a brutal power struggle forced to choose between their families, or each other.

    Centuries ago, Tobias Osian had his mortality stolen from him when he was unwillingly turned into a vampire. Ever since, he’s been consumed by the need for revenge against the monster who took his humanity – Vladimir Damianos, the head of Britain’s most powerful vampire clan.

    Now, Tobias is finally ready to enact his plan for vengeance, using Vladimir’s son Alexander to infiltrate the family and bring down the entire clan. But what he doesn’t expect is that Alexander has rebelled against his bloodthirsty father by protecting mortals instead of hunting them. When the two meet, Alexander is instantly enamoured with Tobias. And as a string of attacks rocks the city of Oxford, Alexander proves himself committed to protecting Tobias, unaware that Tobias is just as much of a monster as he is.

    With his attraction to Alexander growing, Tobias must decide what means more to him: vengeance, or a love growing from the most unexpected of places.
    "The Darkness Bites Back has everything I love to read in a vampire romantasy. Deliciously dark, sexy, and full of immersive language and relatable characters, this modern Romeo and Juliet retelling drew me in from the first to page to the last. This should be on all vampire lovers’ TBR."
    – Elayna R. Gallea, author of Tethered

    "Revenge and desire war in this darkly delicious tale from Alderson and Samotin. Filled with electric chemistry, bruising tenderness and heartwrenching loss, The Darkness Bites Back is a decadent feast of a book and a reminder of the enduring power of love and the lengths we go to protect it."
    – Megan Shunmugam, author of The Mortal Trials

    "A tightrope walk of seduction and secrets, there’s nothing more scintillating than a character hellbent on revenge falling for the son of his enemy. The Darkness Bites Back is a deliciously fun romance filled with biting banter and brilliant chemistry that’ll make you hungry for more."
    – A.K. Mulford, bestselling author of The High Mountain Court

    "Samotin and Alderson have crafted the deliciously, gloriously queer vampire romance I've been waiting for, and what a feast it is."
    – S.E. Kiser, author of Hunt the Ever Wild

    "The Darkness Bites Back sinks its teeth into you from the very first page. A captivating, sexy read that's impossible to put down. Ben Alderson and Laura R. Samotin have outdone themselves!"
    – Kellyn Archambeau, author of The Starving Dark

    "A blood-pounding dark academia dream with delicious bite."
    – S.T. Gibson, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Dowry of Blood
    Laura R. Samotin has a PhD in international relations and enjoys using her academic background on military tactics, power politics, and leadership to enliven and inform her creative writing. Her works of adult fiction are grounded in Jewish myth, mysticism, and her Eastern European Jewish heritage.

    She served as a 2021 #DVMentor mentor and a 2021-2022 WriteMentor Summer Program mentor, and also runs the website Query101 to help authors on their writing journey. She lives with her spouse, and when she’s not researching or writing, she relishes her role as a full-time cat servant.

    Ben Alderson is a #1 Amazon bestselling author and former BookTuber. In 2023, he was nominated for TikTok Author of the Year, and in 2024 for BookTok Breakthrough Author of the Year. A social media darling, Ben is on TikTok (153k), Instagram (65.6k followers), and Twitter (17.4k followers). He has self-published a number of M/M romantic fantasy novels, and his series A Realm of Fey is published by Angry Robot Books and A Court of Broken Bounds is published with Second Sky (Hachette UK). Ben lives in Oxfordshire and, when not writing, can be found reading, taking Winston—his Labrador—out for long walks, or obsessing over Marvel’s The Scarlet Witch.
    Laura R. Samotin View titles by Laura R. Samotin
    Ben Alderson View titles by Ben Alderson
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    •     United Kingdom

    About

    Danger and desire clash in a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in modern-day Oxford, with enemy vampires on opposite sides of a brutal power struggle forced to choose between their families, or each other.

    Centuries ago, Tobias Osian had his mortality stolen from him when he was unwillingly turned into a vampire. Ever since, he’s been consumed by the need for revenge against the monster who took his humanity – Vladimir Damianos, the head of Britain’s most powerful vampire clan.

    Now, Tobias is finally ready to enact his plan for vengeance, using Vladimir’s son Alexander to infiltrate the family and bring down the entire clan. But what he doesn’t expect is that Alexander has rebelled against his bloodthirsty father by protecting mortals instead of hunting them. When the two meet, Alexander is instantly enamoured with Tobias. And as a string of attacks rocks the city of Oxford, Alexander proves himself committed to protecting Tobias, unaware that Tobias is just as much of a monster as he is.

    With his attraction to Alexander growing, Tobias must decide what means more to him: vengeance, or a love growing from the most unexpected of places.

    Praise

    "The Darkness Bites Back has everything I love to read in a vampire romantasy. Deliciously dark, sexy, and full of immersive language and relatable characters, this modern Romeo and Juliet retelling drew me in from the first to page to the last. This should be on all vampire lovers’ TBR."
    – Elayna R. Gallea, author of Tethered

    "Revenge and desire war in this darkly delicious tale from Alderson and Samotin. Filled with electric chemistry, bruising tenderness and heartwrenching loss, The Darkness Bites Back is a decadent feast of a book and a reminder of the enduring power of love and the lengths we go to protect it."
    – Megan Shunmugam, author of The Mortal Trials

    "A tightrope walk of seduction and secrets, there’s nothing more scintillating than a character hellbent on revenge falling for the son of his enemy. The Darkness Bites Back is a deliciously fun romance filled with biting banter and brilliant chemistry that’ll make you hungry for more."
    – A.K. Mulford, bestselling author of The High Mountain Court

    "Samotin and Alderson have crafted the deliciously, gloriously queer vampire romance I've been waiting for, and what a feast it is."
    – S.E. Kiser, author of Hunt the Ever Wild

    "The Darkness Bites Back sinks its teeth into you from the very first page. A captivating, sexy read that's impossible to put down. Ben Alderson and Laura R. Samotin have outdone themselves!"
    – Kellyn Archambeau, author of The Starving Dark

    "A blood-pounding dark academia dream with delicious bite."
    – S.T. Gibson, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Dowry of Blood

    Author

    Laura R. Samotin has a PhD in international relations and enjoys using her academic background on military tactics, power politics, and leadership to enliven and inform her creative writing. Her works of adult fiction are grounded in Jewish myth, mysticism, and her Eastern European Jewish heritage.

    She served as a 2021 #DVMentor mentor and a 2021-2022 WriteMentor Summer Program mentor, and also runs the website Query101 to help authors on their writing journey. She lives with her spouse, and when she’s not researching or writing, she relishes her role as a full-time cat servant.

    Ben Alderson is a #1 Amazon bestselling author and former BookTuber. In 2023, he was nominated for TikTok Author of the Year, and in 2024 for BookTok Breakthrough Author of the Year. A social media darling, Ben is on TikTok (153k), Instagram (65.6k followers), and Twitter (17.4k followers). He has self-published a number of M/M romantic fantasy novels, and his series A Realm of Fey is published by Angry Robot Books and A Court of Broken Bounds is published with Second Sky (Hachette UK). Ben lives in Oxfordshire and, when not writing, can be found reading, taking Winston—his Labrador—out for long walks, or obsessing over Marvel’s The Scarlet Witch.
    Laura R. Samotin View titles by Laura R. Samotin
    Ben Alderson View titles by Ben Alderson

    Rights

    Available for sale exclusive:
    •     Afghanistan
    •     Aland Islands
    •     Albania
    •     Algeria
    •     Andorra
    •     Angola
    •     Anguilla
    •     Antarctica
    •     Antigua/Barbuda
    •     Argentina
    •     Armenia
    •     Aruba
    •     Australia
    •     Austria
    •     Azerbaijan
    •     Bahamas
    •     Bahrain
    •     Bangladesh
    •     Barbados
    •     Belarus
    •     Belgium
    •     Belize
    •     Benin
    •     Bermuda
    •     Bhutan
    •     Bolivia
    •     Bonaire, Saba
    •     Bosnia Herzeg.
    •     Botswana
    •     Bouvet Island
    •     Brazil
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    •     Brit.Virgin Is.
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    •     Burundi
    •     Cambodia
    •     Cameroon
    •     Canada
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    •     Cayman Islands
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    •     Chad
    •     Chile
    •     China
    •     Christmas Islnd
    •     Cocos Islands
    •     Colombia
    •     Comoro Is.
    •     Congo
    •     Cook Islands
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    •     Denmark
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    •     Mauritius
    •     Mayotte
    •     Mexico
    •     Micronesia
    •     Minor Outl.Ins.
    •     Moldavia
    •     Monaco
    •     Mongolia
    •     Montenegro
    •     Montserrat
    •     Morocco
    •     Mozambique
    •     Myanmar
    •     Namibia
    •     Nauru
    •     Nepal
    •     Netherlands
    •     New Caledonia
    •     New Zealand
    •     Nicaragua
    •     Niger
    •     Nigeria
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    •     Norfolk Island
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    •     Portugal
    •     Puerto Rico
    •     Qatar
    •     Reunion Island
    •     Romania
    •     Russian Fed.
    •     Rwanda
    •     S. Sandwich Ins
    •     Saint Martin
    •     Samoa,American
    •     San Marino
    •     SaoTome Princip
    •     Saudi Arabia
    •     Senegal
    •     Serbia
    •     Seychelles
    •     Sierra Leone
    •     Singapore
    •     Sint Maarten
    •     Slovakia
    •     Slovenia
    •     Solomon Islands
    •     Somalia
    •     South Africa
    •     South Korea
    •     South Sudan
    •     Spain
    •     Sri Lanka
    •     St Barthelemy
    •     St. Helena
    •     St. Lucia
    •     St. Vincent
    •     St.Chr.,Nevis
    •     St.Pier,Miquel.
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    •     Trinidad,Tobago
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    •     Turkmenistan
    •     Turks&Caicos Is
    •     Tuvalu
    •     US Virgin Is.
    •     USA
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    •     Vietnam
    •     Wallis,Futuna
    •     West Saharan
    •     Western Samoa
    •     Yemen
    •     Zambia
    •     Zimbabwe
    Not available for sale:
    •     Guernsey
    •     Ireland
    •     Isle of Man
    •     Jersey
    •     United Kingdom

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