Title: Hot for Slayer
Author(s) Name(s): Ali Hazelwood
Published in: September, 2025
Why You Might Like This Book: Read this book if you enjoy
- quick, fast-paced reads,
- romantic comedy,
- romantic fantasy,
- short fiction,
- contemporary romance,
- paranormal romance,
- vampire stories, and
- enemies-to-lovers stories.
Who Should Avoid This Book: Avoid this book if you are triggered by or dislike
- NA.
Aethelthryth, also known as “Ethel”, is no ordinary woman; she is a pretty, blonde-haired vampire who has been alive and youthful for thousands of years now. And there is Lazlo Enyedi, a handsome vampire slayer whose sole purpose is to kill all those in Ethel’s bloodline. Several times in the past, Lazlo has chased and cornered Ethel, injured her with his daggers and weapons, and attempted to kill her, but each time Ethel managed to escape. Even though he is obligated to kill her, the two of them have developed some kind of intimacy over all this time. The last time they met, she was in Berlin. Now she is living, hiding in the middle of mortals, as vampires always have to do, in New York.
Ethel wishes she would be left alone to enjoy the simple joys of life, but unfortunately for her, a young vampire, a stranger occupies a house close to hers. For whatever reason, maybe out of their territorial nature, he wants her dead. She doesn’t take him seriously given how young he is, even though he attacks her a few times, but then unexpectedly one day, he attacks her and she gets injured. That moment, Ethel remembers Lazlo’s words, that he wouldn’t let anyone else kill her, that only he could do that, and strangely, as if she conjured it all up, Lazlo appears there. All three of them get into an ugly fight, and before she could realize what happens, Lazlo gets hit hard, as he tries to protect Ethel from the younger vampire.
When he opens his eyes and speaks to Ethel, she realizes that he does not remember who she is or who he is. Your handsome, hot vampire crush has amnesia? Only Hazelwood can come up with such ideas! He asks her several questions about who they are, what they are doing here, where they are, what they do for a living, and so on, and she realizes that he genuinely doesn’t remember anything about the past or their identities. She realizes that she could tell him anything, but telling him the truth would be self-sabotaging; the truth could get her killed. She could even utilize this opportunity and kill him with a dagger or take him under the sun, yet something stops her from doing so – she just doesn’t do that. And she makes up some lies about their identities. He doesn’t even realize that he is a vampire! This is the first time they are caught up in a situation like this. As Ethel is attracted to him, she notices that he is also attracted to her.
She can’t kill him, she can’t get rid of him, so when he looks confused and seeks her help, Ethel agrees that he can stay at his place for the night. This is when the story gets more comical. There’s a tall, grossly handome, heavily tattooed vampire slayer in her home, for whom she has to now cook, and because vampires don’t eat or drink anything other than blood, she doesn’t even remember how to boil water. This is also when the narrative becomes more seductive and intimate and the mutual attraction grows stronger. Lie after lie. The guest overstays his welcome. And they share their first kiss! Ethel experiences a mix of feelings, including fear and joy. As she pushes him away, he confesses that everything about her seems deeply familiar and that he has dreamt of this moment so many times.
“Hot for Slayer” is a quick-read, a romantasy novella about a vampire woman Aethelthryth running away and hiding for centuries from a vampire slayer Lazlo because it is his job to kill her. She puts up good fights and makes smart moves to escape, but this time when he meets her, it is different. Something unexpected happens: in an attempt to save Ethel from another vampire, Lazlo gets hurt and forgets everything. She risks her life to support him and let him stay with her, and the feelings these two arch rivals have had for each other all this time grow intense. Initially she lies to him but she can’t keep lying forever. They play cards and solve sudoku and spend Halloween together, and all seems to be well; in fact this is the first time they enjoy each other’s company so much, like they have never enjoyed being with anyone else this much. But the moment he regains his memory, she would be dead. What is going on?
