By Michelle M. Pillow | NYT & USA TODAY Bestselling Author
If you have been anywhere near the romantasy corner of the internet lately, you may have heard that I signed a seven-book deal with Pan Macmillan’s Tor Bramble. And if you missed it… Hi! I’m Michelle M. Pillow, NYT and USA Today bestselling author, and I have some very exciting news.
Tor Bramble acquired world all-language rights to two of my series, Realm Immortal and Tribes of the Vampire, covering print, audio, and translations. There will be new hardback editions, new audiobooks, and new readers discovering stories that have lived in my heart for a very long time. It is a whole moment, and I am not done squealing about it.
But rather than just tell you it’s exciting, I want to tell you why it might be exciting for you specifically. Because these two series are not the same book twice. They scratch very different itches.
If you love dark fantasy romance with morally gray kings, read Realm Immortal.
The best way I know to describe Realm Immortal is this: imagine you watched the movie Labyrinth, fell completely under the Goblin King’s spell, and spent the rest of your life asking why she didn’t just stay. That question is the entire soul of this series.
King of the Unblessed is the first book, and it follows Juliana, a woman pulled into a realm she doesn’t understand, and Merrick, a king who is dangerous and complicated and absolutely not someone you should trust. He is morally gray in the best possible way, not evil for the sake of it, but shaped by his world into something thorny and difficult and deeply compelling. You will want to fix him. You will wonder if he deserves it. That tension is everything.
The world itself is lush and immersive. Think epic scope in the tradition of Tolkien with elves, fairies, sprites, trolls, demons, creatures you haven’t imagined yet, all wrapped around a romance that is forbidden and fated and absolutely devastating in the best way.
Tropes to expect: enemies-to-lovers, kidnapped by the king, fated mates, beauty and the beast dynamic, trickster king, dark is not evil, love as redemption.
If you love A Court of Thorns and Roses, gothic romance, or any story where the dark king is the most interesting person in the room, this series was written for you.
If you love gothic vampire romance with antiheroes you shouldn’t root for, read Tribes of the Vampire.
Tribes of the Vampire is the darker, moodier companion to Realm Immortal. Where that series has the sweep and grandeur of high fantasy, this one pulls you into shadows. It is atmospheric and brooding and deeply romantic in that complicated, morally messy way that is genuinely hard to put down.
Think forbidden attraction. Think antiheroes who have done questionable things and will probably do more, and you are going to be right there with them. Think world-building in the tradition of Anne Rice that is layered and immersive, where the vampire world has its own rules and politics and history that make everything feel real.
Redeemer of Shadows is Book 1, and it sets the tone perfectly. Dark. Seductive. The kind of story where you stay up way too late because you have to know what happens next.
Tropes to expect: forbidden attraction, dark antihero, gothic romance, dangerous love interest, rich atmospheric world-building.
If you love vampire romance with actual stakes, morally complex heroes, and that delicious gothic atmosphere, start here.
So which series is for you?
If you want epic fantasy worlds, a goblin king energy hero, and enemies-to-lovers that burns slow and hot, start with Realm Immortal: King of the Unblessed.
If you want dark, moody, bitey gothic vampire romance with antiheroes and forbidden passion, start with Tribes of the Vampire: Redeemer of Shadows.
If you want both, I respect that enormously, and you are going to have a great time.
Where to find the books:
The books are at all major vendors. The audiobooks are available now. Tribes of the Vampire launched in February 2026, narrated by Natalie Naudus. The full Realm Immortal Books 1-3 audio collection launches May 14, 2026, narrated by Lauren Fortgang.
The hardbacks are coming fast. King of the Unblessed releases June 16, 2026, with Faery Queen following September 8, 2026. The rest will follow.
You can find order links, the full reading order, and everything else at MichellePillow.com. Come find me on social media, too. I am always happy to help readers figure out where to start.
Realm Immortal Series:
King of the Unblessed
Faery Queen
Stone Queen
Tribes of the Vampire Series:
Redeemer of Shadows
The Jaded Hunter
Eternally Bound
In Her Shadows
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Michelle M. Pillow is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of romance novels spanning romantasy, paranormal romance, sci-fi romance, and paranormal women’s fiction. Her Realm Immortal and Tribes of the Vampire series are coming in stunning new hardback and audio editions from Pan Macmillan’s Tor Bramble. Readers can find her at MichellePillow.com and MichellePillowBooks.com.