Book Review: “Till Death (Fear)” by Kellan McDaniel

“Till Death (Fear)” by Kellan McDaniel (2025)

Genre: Fantasy, YA, LGBT, Fiction

Page Length: 304 pages (hardcover edition)

Synopsis:

Howard is biding his time until he can finally leave for college, where he has been promised it gets better. The last thing he expected was to meet a boy. But George reminds Howard of the movie stars from the 1960s he’s obsessed with. Plus, George is endearingly formal and well-read, and his grandpa fashion is super authentic.

After over twenty years together, George is about to lose his life partner. He met James when they were teenagers then lost track of him until they reconnected in their early sixties. Now, James is going somewhere beyond George’s reach—because George is a vampire, forever trapped in the body of a nineteen-year-old.

As the two grow closer, George begins to see a future beyond losing his first love, and Howard stops imagining himself always being alone…even if companionship comes at the cost of his mortality. When the discrimination the men have suffered their whole lives rears its ugly head to take away their happy ending, they finally strike back at the world that’s done its best to subdue them their entire lives.

Review:

Till Death is an emotional angst-ridden book of grief, acceptance, and moving forward. I do enjoy a good vampire novel every now and then and while many of the YA vampires I’ve read in the past glamorize the life of vampire, this story felt grounded in humanity and social justice. Most paranormal stories focus on the cool aspects of vampires; superhuman strength and otherworldly powers. This story focuses on vampire’s dangerous instincts while also showing it how incredibly lonely it is to lose everything you love while time seems never ending for them. Through this lens it gave George additional depth to his character as he grieves he lingers in the past and tries to grapple with the modern world he’s living in.

As for the romance it seems believable (even with the large age gap) by Howard being an old soul. His connection to older media and volunteering with senior makes him more appreciative and have respect for the past. This factor instantly connects the two, kickstarting their relationship, but you can definitely tell there is still a difference to their maturity level throughout the characters as readers see through deeper conversations between the two. The romance is fast moving, and feels intense at times especially when it shifts towards the latter part of the book. The first part of the novel seems slow-moving while the second part of the novel seems to speed by. It felt a bit jarring and because of this I felt the book could be longer and split into three parts instead.

What I liked most about this novel is that all of the characters felt relatable and the plot twist in the second half that threw me for a loop! My only critique is that parts of the narrative had information dumps that stood out among the story rather than blending into the plot. I do think readers of supernatural stories should seek out this novel if they are looking for a different niche in vampire stories.

Final Verdict: