Romance - Feathered Quill

The Awakening: Or The Plight of Vampire Christian Du Mauré

By: Denise K. Rago
Publication Date: October 13, 2026
ISBN: N/A
Reviewed by: Lily Andrews
Review Date: August 14, 2026

The Awakening: Or The Plight of Vampire Christian Du Mauré by Denise K. Rago wastes no time in letting readers know that they are about to inhabit the mind of a tortured man who begins by declaring that he wasn't always a bloodthirsty monster.

Christian was once a regular human who ended up making some terrible choices amidst his desperate love for a woman he couldn't have. Rago pulls you into a wild, unhinged ride through the eyes of a narrator who admits he is "both mad and full of hate and chaos," priming the reader for a story that is not just messy, but one that is also an absolute train wreck of epic proportions.

The early chapters introduce our future vampire, Christian, and his friend Michel, both of whom are in Meudon, France. They are struggling with memories of Michel's sister Leila, who was also Christian's lover long before she was given away in marriage to Louis of Burgundy. But her father didn't just hand her over because she had found her true mate elsewhere, but rather because she would fetch him "a few coins." For the longest time, Christian dreamed of revenge against Leila's father, the man who had destroyed Christian's future with his daughter. But the very thought of leaving Michel a total orphan slowed his hand. However, the burning urge in his soul for retribution would become too bright to ignore, making him later cross a line in a moment that would crack open something dark in him, and one that would set Michel on a collision course with someone who was far more ancient and dangerous, a woman who would condemn him and Christian to a life of blood and guilt, and a hunger that would never be satisfied.

This book gives us a narrator who doesn't try to make himself look good but rather, chooses to tell it as it is: the good, the bad and the ugly, after which he leaves the reader to decide what to make of him. That is what makes the narrator so compelling. His growth is messy, a chaotic journey of two steps forward, then three steps back. But eventually, he grows, not becoming perfect, but becoming self-aware. And that is perhaps the only redemption a man like him who has done the things he has done will ever know. The novel weaves in the kind of romantic story that leaves the reader agonizing with questions that don't have easy answers. They include the questions of what if Leila hadn't been married off, and what if Christian had received her letters? The romance arc refuses to play by the rules. Its heroine doesn't save the vampire, which is practically the backbone of the genre; instead, she is a victim and the basis of his tragedy. And that is precisely why the novel stands head and shoulders above its peers: by rewriting the conventional romance rules, not by following them.

Quill says: The Awakening: Or The Plight of Vampire Christian Du Mauré by Denise K. Rago rides on the kind of tension that comes from the crushing realization that a lot is going to fall apart and there is nothing one can do about it. You know the ending, but how you get there is what makes it especially compelling. The story is a masterclass in slow burn. It takes time and doesn't rush. Readers looking for a feel-good romance will be disappointed, but those willing to explore the weight of loss, regret and tragedy will find themselves utterly spellbound.

For more information about The Awakening: Or The Plight of Vampire Christian Du Mauré, please visit the author's website at: denisekrago.com/

The Awakening: Or The Plight of the Vampire Christian Du Mauré