I really had no idea what to expect from The Vampire Lestat, but it turned out to be everything I wanted and more than I'd dared to hope for. The prose wasn't quite as striking as Louis' but that's a high bar, it was still gorgeously atmospheric (apart from the wonderfully silly prologue and some of the epilogue), and of course the voice was simply perfectly Lestat. The story was gripping and immersive, but as always for me it was the characters and their relationships that had me on the edge of my seat. It was such a treat getting to know new characters like Nicki and Gabrielle, as well as diving deeper into ones we already knew from Interview with the Vampire. Gabrielle especially is a new favourite, and Armand is always endlessly fascinating to me. I'm obsessed with the way Anne Rice writes vampire psychology and relationships to be something so genuinely alien and indefinable by human standards.

But of course the real standout is none other than Lestat, who set out to manipulate me with this book and thoroughly succeeded. Every page I turned was another braincell lost until I was well and truly converted into a Lestat girlie. Whoops!

Seriously, though, regardless of how much I trust Lestat's version of events/himself (about as much as I ever trusted Louis') I was simply thrilled to see this side of him. The stubborn boy, the renegade, the idealist, the artist, the fame whore - the hopeless romantic. A deeply flawed individual to say the least and yet I can't help but feel such deep affection for him. I might actually love him as much as I love Louis now, which is saying a lot. I've also been brainwashed into believing they belong together now too, but we won't go down that rabbithole!!!

Queen of the Damned, my life is in your hands.