[Book Review] In Every Generation by Kendare Blake & Jim’s Organic Coffee Witches Brew

Title: In Every Generation
Series: Buffy: The Next Generation, Book 1
Author: Kendare Blake
Publication date: January 4th 2022
Page Count: 388 pages
Age Range: YA (death, blood, gore, violence)
How I got my hot little hands on it: with money
Publisher’s page: In Every Generation

The first in an all-new series by New York Times best-selling author Kendare Blake continues the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer featuring the next generation of Scoobies and Slayers who must defeat a powerful new evil.

A new Slayer for a new generation…

Frankie Rosenberg is passionate about the environment, a sophomore at New Sunnydale High School, and the daughter of the most powerful witch in Sunnydale history. Her mom, Willow, is slowly teaching her magic on the condition that she use it to better the world. But Frankie’s happily quiet life is upended when new girl Hailey shows up with news that the annual Slayer convention has been the target of an attack, and all the Slayers—including Buffy, Faith, and Hailey’s older sister Vi—might be dead. That means it’s time for this generation’s Slayer to be born.

But being the first ever Slayer-Witch means learning how to wield a stake while trying to control her budding powers. With the help of Hailey, a werewolf named Jake, and a hot but nerdy sage demon, Frankie must become the Slayer, prevent the Hellmouth from opening again, and find out what happened to her Aunt Buffy, before she’s next.

Get ready for a whole new story within the world of Buffy!

My Review

When I first heard about In Every Generation, the first book in the new Buffy: The Next Generation series, I was a little wary. I love Buffy so much that I wasn’t sure there was room in my heart for a new slayer, luckily Kendare Blake proved me wrong.

“In every generation, there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the slayer.” 

When one slayer dies, another is called to take her place. And that’s how it was, until Willow tapped into the magic of the first slayer, causing every potential slayer to be simultaneously called. Together this army of slayers and their allies, led by Buffy, defeated the First Evil, closed the Hellmouth, and left Sunnydale a smoldering hole in the ground. (This is how the tv show ends, the book is set after the events of the show, so no worries if you never caught up with the comic book series, like me 😉)

Frankie Rosenberg is Willow’s daughter, a budding eco-witch and sophomore at New Sunnydale High (that’s right, they filled in the sinkhole left by the *Spikesplosion* and rebuilt Sunnydale all shiny and new). Her best friend is lacrosse-playing werewolf Jake Osbourne, nephew of Oz who also now lives in New Sunnydale. It’s a pretty normal life on top of the dormant Hellmouth – until an explosion at the annual slayers’ meeting results in every known slayer going MIA. With all the current slayers unavailable, a new slayer is called – and to no one’s greater shock than her own, it’s Frankie.

In Every Generation feels like the perfect continuation of the Buffyverse. All the old favorites are there: Xander & Dawn are at ground zero of the explosion trying to figure out what happened to the slayers. Willow & Oz are the new parental figures. Spike is the new Giles (Watcher/school librarian – I KNOW! I LOVE IT TOO). And Buffy, while not there physically, is there in spirit and mentioned quite often. There’s also a new crop of Scoobies to help Frankie The Vampire Slayer: Jake (the teen wolf), Hailey (the younger sister of missing slayer Vi), and Sigmond (a half-demon whose mother sent him to Sunnydale to help).

The vibe feels exactly the same as the show. The characters, the banter, the method of having an overarching storyline (wtf happened to Buffy and the other slayers) plus a monster of the week (the Hellmouth is not as inactive as one might wish and the nasties are crawling back). It all feels very “Buffy” but also fresh and new. Frankie is not Buffy, she makes that very clear, and we wouldn’t want her to be. There’s only one Buffy. But the essence is still there, subverting the stereotypical type of girl that you would think to be the damsel in distress, not the hero – for Buffy, it was the silly little popular blonde who wanders into dark alleys, for Frankie, it’s the skinny, nervous environmentally active nerdy girl who you wouldn’t think would (or could) hurt a fly.

As a huge Buffy fan, In Every Generation is everything I could have wanted in a new addition to the Buffy universe (with the exception of Buffy actually being in it, but she’s not dead, so I’m holding out hope for her safe return and reunion with Spike…I mean her loved ones. And Spike. #SpuffyForever). The writer does an amazing job of recreating that perfect “Buffy” mix of humor, horror, badass fights, pop culture camp, and emotional charge. I’m so glad I took that chance on it and can’t wait to read the next book in the series (it’s already in my hands, I’ll post the review here when it’s up) and I’m already clambering for the third. This book has relit the fire of my Buffy obsession and I definitely rank it as a must-read for any Buffy fan.

In honor of our new eco-witch turned eco-slayer-witch, I recommend Jim’s Organic Coffee Witches Brew. Organically grown and ethically sourced, this blend is as deep and dark as a moonless night and as bold as a newly risen vampire.