Move over, brooding immortals—there’s a new vampire in town, and she’s more interested in fixing up a bed-and-breakfast than unleashing ancient curses. Meet Tiffenie, the 300-year-old hot mess at the heart of Undead and Unwed, a genre-blending new novel by Sam Tschida (Siri, Who Am I?, Errands and Espionage), hitting shelves just in time for Halloween on October 28.
If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if a vampire stumbled into a Hallmark Channel movie—yes, Christmas trees, small-town charm, and all—this is your answer.
The Premise: Bridget Jones with Fangs
Tiffenie is not your average undead heroine. She drinks blood, yes—but she also drinks tequila at noon, lands herself in emotionally messy entanglements and is doing her best (barely) to figure out who she is. When she unexpectedly inherits a bed-and-breakfast in Vermont, she decides to live out her Hallmark fantasies. Of course, it’s not that simple.
Between a newly turned undead neighbor, a suspiciously attractive Christmas tree farmer and the reappearance of her overbearing vampire ex, Tiffenie finds herself caught between what she thinks she should want and who she actually is. And for once in her immortal life, she might just need therapy to sort it all out.
The Author’s Bite
In press materials and a People interview, Sam Tschida said she wanted to dedicate the book to “all the unlikable women.” Her heroine, she explains, breaks the mold—embracing messiness, moral ambiguity, and emotional realism in a world that still expects women (even undead ones) to smile, behave, and always be likable.
“It’s exhausting being a woman,” she notes, “partially because of the dudes and partially because of all the unwritten rules of likability. It’s even exhausting writing a woman.”
That’s the bite beneath the rom-com sugar. Undead and Unwed promises humor, bloodlust, emotional messiness—and a refreshing take on the modern vampire heroine.
Other Vampire Rom-Coms (and Near-Misses) That Bite with Heart and Humor
What We Do in the Shadows (2014 film & FX series)
The gold standard for comedic vampires, Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s mockumentary turned fang tropes into pure absurdist gold. The FX series takes the awkward vampire roommate premise even further, complete with awkward seductions, centuries-old beefs and surprising emotional depth (looking at you, Guillermo). Like Undead and Unwed, it relishes in making vampires delightfully dysfunctional.
Enchanted, Inc. meets True Blood: Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs by Molly Harper
This first book in Harper’s Half-Moon Hollow series starts with a librarian-turned-vampire named Jane who’s unceremoniously fired, turned undead and dumped—all in the same week. It’s cozy, sarcastic, and very much in the spirit of Undead and Unwed: romantic hijinks, personal growth and vampires with very little chill.
Love at First Bite (1979)
This campy George Hamilton film pairs Dracula with disco-era New York and a romance plot involving a fashion model. While tonally broader and more slapstick, it laid early groundwork for the idea that vampires could be funny and fall in love without all the tragic gloom.
Being Human (UK & US versions)
Less rom-com, more dramedy, but it has moments of brilliant awkward romance—particularly the kind where supernatural beings try (and usually fail) to maintain relationships and jobs. It’s the emotional messiness and self-loathing that gives it rom-com-adjacent weight.
A Girl’s Guide to Vampires by Katie MacAlister
A very meta, tongue-in-cheek paranormal romance in which the heroine stumbles into the world of dark, brooding vamps and immediately starts poking holes in the genre’s overwrought rules. A great spiritual cousin to Undead and Unwed in terms of tone and pacing.
Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020)
While not a rom-com, this Netflix film does take a comedic and community-based approach to vampire invasion, emphasizing unlikely heroes and neighborhood bonding over doom-and-gloom. Think of it as Attack the Block meets Buffy, with a Gen Z twist.
Why Vampire Rom-Coms Just… Work
There’s something irresistible about taking bloodthirsty immortals and dropping them into painfully mundane or wildly romantic situations. Whether it’s navigating awkward crushes, keeping a centuries-old ex at bay or trying to survive modern dating apps without draining your date, these stories humanize vampires in hilarious, heartfelt ways.
At their core, vampire rom-coms like Undead and Unwed work because they tackle the same themes as traditional vampire fiction—identity, control, desire, alienation—but do it with a wink and a shot of humor. They let their undead characters be messy, lovable disasters instead of tragic marble statues. And honestly? That might be the most relatable kind of monster of all.
So if you’re craving something with a little blood, a little love and a lot of laughs, Undead and Unwed is shaping up to be your next Halloween-season comfort read. Fangs, flings, and therapy—what more could a modern vampire want?