I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Clara loves rules. Rules are what have kept her and her sister, Molly, alive—or, rather, undead—for over a century. Work their historic movie theater by day. Shift into an owl under the cover of night. Feed on men in secret. And never fall in love.

Molly is in love. And she’s tired of keeping her girlfriend, Anat, a secret. If Clara won’t agree to bend their rules a little, then she will bend them herself.

Boaz is cursed. He can’t walk two city blocks without being cornered by something undead. At least at work at the theater, he gets to flirt with Clara, wishing she would like him back.

When Anat vanishes and New York’s monstrous underworld emerges from the shadows, Clara suspects Boaz, their annoyingly cute box office attendant, might be behind it all.

But if they are to find Anat, they will need to work together to face demons and the hungers they would sooner bury. Clara will have to break all her rules—of love, of life, and of death itself—before her rules break everyone she loves.

Short and Sweet Review

Clara and her sister Molly are Estries. An Estrie is a vampire and Clara and Molly have been undead for over a century and Clara would like to keep it that way, which is why she has rules and a lot of them. The sisters also run a historic movie theater. One of Clara’s rules is not to fall in love but Molly tosses that rule to the side and continues her relationship with her girlfriend Anat. Boaz works at the theater and he’s able to see the undead. When Anat goes missing and Molly is determined to find her, Clara knows she has no choice but to help, Clara also thinks Boaz might have something to do with Anat’s disappearance so she keeps him close.

In this book we get the POV of Clara, Molly, and Boaz, but I want to say there’s more of Clara and Boaz. Clara gives off big sister energy, she feels the need to have these rules and look out for Molly, so when she finds out Molly is breaking one of her rules she’s upset but there’s really not much she can do about it, because she knows if she pushes too much she’ll lose Molly. When we follow Clara throughout the book we see her as strict but she eventually loosens up within reason and she begins to learn there’s a balance in life. Molly was an actress once upon a time and now she kind of lays low. Molly has the kind of presence that makes you know she’s in the room. When Anat goes missing, Molly becomes distressed but also ready to do anything to get her back. Boaz is able to see the dead and he’s been working at the theater for a bit but the only reason he learns something is different about Clara and Molly is when he gets a warning from a ghost. The characters each have their own voice and stories and we see a lot of growth from them but mainly Clara. We see a bit of Molly and Anat’s relationship but I think the big focus was the relationship between Clara and Boaz. Boaz likes to flirt with Clara but seeing as Clara has rules she doesn’t let herself be pulled in by him. After Anat’s disappearance, we see Clara and Boaz work together and we see Clara let her guard down and allow herself to have those feelings towards Boaz. The story had a great pace and I liked seeing how there were other paranormal creatures involved, and how Clara and Boaz navigated roadblocks to try to help Molly and Anat. Night Owls is set in New York and I loved it, the ambiance of it just felt cozy but also modern. We weren’t dealing with a book set in Times Square but a much smaller community. I enjoyed reading about the Jewish folklore and myths.

Overall, I thought this was a great debut. It was captivating and it will have you wanting more. If you’re looking for your next read and you’re interested in Jewish Folklore or learning about it, pick this book up!