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Only One Coffin

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I’m stuck sharing a coffin with the world’s perkiest vampire. This vacation is going to suck.

After centuries of eternal existence, and still mourning the loss of my lover to vicious slayers, I needed a few days of peaceful solitude at the Hotel Draugr.

But thanks to a double-booking mishap, I’m forced to share my coffin with Kilroy, a freshly bitten vampire who loves his new afterlife as much as he loves hanging ten. My unexpected roommate is determined to show me how “totally awesome� being a vampire can be.

Doesn’t he know vampires don’t do sunshine of any kind?

Through epic snowball fights and midnight meetups at vampire speakeasies, the ice around my not-technically-beating heart begins to melt. And during days sharing our too-small coffin, one part of me has trouble staying dead.

Maybe this budding relationship has teeth…that is, if we can evade the slayers closing in on the hotel.

Only One Coffin is a grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, paranormal MM romcom featuring a 300-year age gap, coffin cuddling, and a vampire bro who wears flip flops no matter how cold it is outside.

listening length: 4 hours and 42 minutes

5 pages, Audiobook

First published December 24, 2022

188 people are currently reading
1785 people want to read

About the author

A.J. Truman

30books923followers
Welcome! I’m a gay male author who writes MM romance filled with humor, heart, and hot guys. My characters fall into bed and fall in love, usually in that order. Think LOL meets DTF.

I live in central Indiana, surrounded by churches and Olive Gardens, with my husband, kids, and cats. When I’m not writing, I’m chasing around a toddler or sneaking off to a movie.

Make sure to sign up for my newsletter The Outsiders to get the latest updates on my books and to start reading free stories.

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5 stars
444 (22%)
4 stars
743 (37%)
3 stars
625 (31%)
2 stars
151 (7%)
1 star
40 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 397 reviews
Profile Image for Warda.
1,282 reviews22.8k followers
November 19, 2023
How was a story about two vampires so relatable to me?

This was adorable and sweet and wholesome and made me laugh.

Definitely recommend if you’re looking for something soft and light, funny, queer loving, with Christmas vibes, a grumpy and sunshine pairing that are vampires with a forced proximity element in the name of a damn coffin.

*Trigger warning for loss of a loved one.*
Profile Image for ☆ Todd.
1,419 reviews1,577 followers
January 10, 2023

A fun and flirty "grumpy-meets-sunshiny" story with tons of fluff and a few feels.



It was mostly surface-level stuff and I wished the serious parts had been delved into a bit deeper, but I still found it enjoyable and would rate it at around 3.5 stars.

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This book is *FREE* with Kindle Unlimited membership.

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Profile Image for Ben Howard.
1,420 reviews210 followers
October 18, 2023
Only One Coffin is 's first foray into paranormal and I can't wait until his next because I loved this novella. I would love for this to become a series so we could get to see Magnus and Kilroy again as secondary character's in someone else's romance!

A double booking at a vampire hotel in the remote part of Iceland, finds a grumpy jaded vamp and a recently-turned sunshine vamp sharing a coffin.

Magnus and Kilroy's interactions were so fun. I loved the dynamic and their relationship development, helped along by the forced proximity.

Something I didn't expect but was pleasantly surprised by was how emotional this novella got at points, I even teared up a few times. The lives of vampires aren't perfect in this world. The author delves into the reality of living a long life; loss of loved ones, memories of when you were human fading, and even simple things like not being able to look in a mirror or not appearing in photos so you start to forget what you look like. It grounded the story and made the highs higher.
Profile Image for Iman (hiatus).
726 reviews235 followers
January 29, 2023
Well, this was giddy. Not so much of depth since it’s short and it was fast paced, but I could see they both actually shared some kind of connection. Some scenes were vivid and I love the snowball fight it was sweet ahah.

It’s romcom, but probably my humor was different. Nothing much to say, I liked it :) And I think Kilroy is such a handsome name <3
Profile Image for ~Nicole~.
850 reviews382 followers
January 1, 2023
Lovely lovely lovely!! I officially ended my holiday reads with this absolutely lovely book by AJ Truman and since Spain has already welcomed the new year I’m happy to start 2023 with a 4 ⭐️ review. I said it before and I repeat it : this author writes REALLY good and I particularly like their humor and with the risk of repeating myself over and over again,I’m still waiting for that epic book that will blow my mind .
Regarding this book, I had so much fun with it . Magnus and Kilroy were so freaking adorable and I confess, the ceiling sex was a first for me 🤣🤣
Loved it !
Profile Image for julia.
1,104 reviews145 followers
January 10, 2023
“The guy can be a little uptight.�
“I’m not uptight. I’m fastidious and particular.�



Petition for AJ Truman to write more paranormal romances, please and thank you <3
~ preferably simon and alvin's story lol
Profile Image for Enay QueerBooklover.
434 reviews238 followers
December 28, 2022
4.25 stars for a fun, funny paranormal holiday short book, with forced proximity/bisexual awakening tropes.

Swoon /5 🥰🥰🥰🥰
Angst /5 🥺🥺🥺
Steam /5 ♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️
Plot /5 🧐🧐🧐🧐
LOLs /5 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

A.J Truman can always be guaranteed to bring the laughs, and he does again with this story about Magnus, an older, “seasoned� vampire being forced to share a room in a vampire holiday resort with Kilroy, a brand new, surfer-dude, “baby vampire�. As they share a room, and a coffin, their connection grows, and the world-building of their paranormal holiday is excellent, particularly the creative & athletic ways they pop Kilroy’s bisexual vampire cherry! The last quarter gives a bit of angst which I think adds to their characters, rather than just being all about the laughs. I always come away from A.Js books with that warm, happy feeling, and this is no different.

Check out my reviews and MM content on Instagram, Facebook, & Bookbub, all under the same name! I gratefully received an advance copy and this is my honest review.

Profile Image for Rae (semi-hiatus).
519 reviews151 followers
March 11, 2023
Ridiculously cute and funny

Besides the cover being absolutely adorable, this book was actually so good! I think our MCs Magnus and Kilroy were the ultimate grumpy/sunshine trope.

The witty humor and banter was great and the way it was written made this paranormal story seem so real, which is wild because it was kinda out there with vampire stereotypes 😂.

There was just the right amount of steamy scenes, they didn’t dominate the book any. The pacing was great and honestly this was just an all around wholesome and feel good story that I recommend to everyone wanting a mood-booster.

I wish there was more.
Profile Image for Megan [Semi-Hiatus].
991 reviews345 followers
dnf-audiobook
March 20, 2025
MM Romance
Vampires
DNF

🎵Narrated by Nick J Russo🎵 I usually like this narrator but the voices he did for these characters annoyed me.

I’m definitely the problem here. I usually like this author but this didn’t work for me. The grumpy/sunshine felt forced and the surfer dude bro vampire was annoying. Just not for me. No rating under 50%.
Profile Image for Evelyn Bella (there WILL be spoilers) .
717 reviews85 followers
December 6, 2024
This was meant to be grumpy x sunshine but the grump was way too willing to come to the sunny side, imo.

"I have an idea for an evening activity for me and Kilroy. But I'll need your help setting it up."
"Like....a date?"
"What? No. An evening activity."

The evening activity in question? A night at the theatre, followed by a cozy candlelit dinner for two.

Guess what(whom) dessert ended up being.

Loved Kilroy. Too upbeat that at some point I felt a little sorry for Magnus. But not TOO sorry. That guy gave him a whole new lease on life.
Profile Image for Aimee Nicole Walker.
Author84 books1,961 followers
January 8, 2023
I really enjoyed this vampire rom com. So much so that I’m smiling as I type. I don’t read a lot of paranormal books so I am by no means an expert on the genre. It just made my heart happy and was exactly what I needed to start my new year. Only One Coffin was funny, sweet, and romantic. A rom com with vamps but without slapstick humor. There were great action-y type scenes with wonderful descriptions. I’m so glad I stepped outside my comfort zone and read this book.
Profile Image for Natalie.
545 reviews102 followers
January 3, 2025
Magnus & Kilroy
Rating: 4.0�

- Grumpy/Sunshine
- Forced Proximity
- Paranormal
- Age Gap (300yrs)
- Coffin Cuddling
- Vampires (All Bi)
- Iceland Vacation

Well, this was fun and I loved their banter throughout. Magnus is ready for his annual solitary vacation up in the mountains when he gets a surprise coffin mate due to a double booking. The joyful young dude bro vampire is grating on Magnus' nerves but they have no choice but to share during their stay. Kilroy manages to bring back some of Magnus' youthful joy and Magnus' helps Kilroy see the seriousness of his new situation. These two have some sweet and spicy moments together. Their vacation has the lingering threat of vampire slayers and Kilroy's secrets to contend with.

The more serious parts and the world building could've delved deeper but I enjoyed myself regardless.

Content Warnings (may contain spoilers):
- Graphic sexual content between consenting adults
- Explicit language
- Mentions of death to former lover by slayers (past; off-page)
- Near death encounter with slayers (on-page)

Verse: Yes
HEA: Yes
POV: Dual
Breakup: No
Cheat: No
OM/OW Drama: No
Ages: Over 300 & 25
Profile Image for Steven.
734 reviews45 followers
May 28, 2025
3.5 stars. Is it just me or is this a "Hotel Transylvania" fanfic romance between Count Drac and Jonathan!? If you're looking for short and sweet rom-com vibes with little drama or angst, you've come to the right place. Cute, cozy, and entertaining!
Profile Image for Bekka.
1,216 reviews154 followers
January 17, 2023
4.25
This was so much fun! You could tell the author had had a ridiculous brainstorming session beforehand and really enjoyed writing this! :)

Grumpy old vampire meets happy-go-lucky vampire who’s freshly turned. He meets him when he goes to lie down in his coffin - which he has to share for his holiday now?

Some quotes
“Vampires are not supposed to be this chipper. We loathe sunshine of all kinds.� (P. 17)

“I can’t help it that I’m a vampire. I was killed this way.� (P. 98)

“Groak was at one time a legitimate English word. That's more than I can say for your word." Alvin pointed to Kilroy's last play: BLOG. Thus the problem of playing Scrabble with vampires who'd been around for centuries: nobody could agree on which version of English to use. (P. 157)

“i had reduced my grumpy vampire to putty.� (P. 164)



NSFW infos:
Old bisexual vampire with a bit of a gut and “middle-aged heft� <3
One new vampire with the included bisexual awakening with turning into a vampire (25 and blonde)
Vers
Human vampire strength furniture-needs-to-be-bolted down sex
Profile Image for dodi.
132 reviews18 followers
November 28, 2023
oh boy. this book started off so nicely, and then everything went to hell. i read this in one sitting as it is super short, and during the first 60% i was so entertained. the story was super sweet, the world building was kind of cool, and progression between magnus and kilroy’s relationship was wholesome but the last 40% was just god awfully cringe. it feels like someone else wrote the sex scene or that the author just wrote it without ever working through it because how did it end up so bad? i think this has to be the worst sex scene i’ve ever read and i have read wattpad books when i was younger.

yeah no i’m super disappointed.
Profile Image for ܻ徱ˡ.
684 reviews67 followers
April 14, 2024
My cheeks hurt from cheesin!! It's funny, and gave me all the warm fuzzies.
Surfing on the volcano, midnight snowball fights, THE MOVIE THEATER. Ugh, I WAS GOO! 🥹 It's such a fun lil read.

“You know what they say. When the coffin’s a rockin�, don’t come a knockin�.�

"I was a little blood-drunk and a little bisexual"

Magus explains to Kilroy that his lover was killed by vampire slayers..
Kilroy- I will NOT be watching Buffy the vampire slayer anymore 😂
Profile Image for b.andherbooks.
2,305 reviews1,237 followers
October 24, 2024
Silly and cute, but also a little alarmingly traumatic (for me) PNR romance set mostly in Iceland. Two vampires have to share "one coffin" after the vampire inn overbooks the joint in the week between Christmas and Iceland. I loved the grumpy // sunshine and age-gap pairing between the newbie vamp golden boy surfer himbo and the starchy, so old he's forgotten his human days vampire elder. with a slight paunch.

i will say this felt like it could have been a shorter novella for me; the big 'break' comes during Kilroy's attempt to reconnect with his "cho-bros" (his human friends) and it was truly so sad to see how afraid they were of him (despite the warning and fear from Magnus).

Honestly this would have stood being a fluffy fun time instead of the pretty surface level examination of how difficult it could be for a new vampire to realize their old life is completely lost to them. the ending saved this a little, but honestly how awful that was felt a little swept under the rug.

Also i had a few issues with the vampire lore building; ie they do eat, but also blood. do they have blood? they still need to shave? their muscles and bodies still change? but also no? a little inconsistent too many times that it took me out of the fun..

that said, i did laugh a lot and this was otherwise fun.

read for Bang in the Night bingo.
Profile Image for Monica.
496 reviews30 followers
October 31, 2023
A.J. Truman never disappoints, but this book was hilarious, sweet and a great read.
Kilroy is a brand new turned vampire, he decides to go on holidays to Iceland to a special hotel that is only for vampires. Magnus is a 300 year old vampire who goes to that same hotel every year. There is a mix up with their bookings and they end up sharing the same room... and the same coffin.
I enjoyed this book so much. Magnus was so formal, dull and boring that when Kilory entered his life like a hurricane to sweep Magnus off his feet and the older vampire couldn't help to get hooked on the younger vampire's lively personality. They were fun to watch together, but also beautiful. Magnus was going through his (dead)life without really enjoying it and Kilroy had just become a vampire and was trying to get used to it. Magnus needed Kilroy to find something to live (or die) for and Kilory needed Magnus to fully understand what being a vampire was like.
The attraction and chemistry between them was high, and the sexy times were so hot, after all they were vampires and quite strong criatures. Also, there were many sweet moments and it was lovely to see them falling for each other. This story is insta-love, which I didn't mind at all because it made sense with Magnus and Kilroy.
The coffin situation made me laugh and their conversations warmed my heart because they were perfect for each other. Also, the secondary characters were great, especially the receptionist of the hotel.
Another great book by this author. No surprise there as I enjoy everything he writes.
Profile Image for Jenny (Nyxie).
869 reviews62 followers
January 21, 2023
Tags: surfer dude MC, both vampires, only one coffin (lol), rom com

This was fun and sweet. My biggest complaint was the worldbuilding, which didn’t make sense in a lot of spots. Some things seemed to be added just for the sake of making a joke which isn’t my favorite. If you enjoy rom coms I’d recommend.
Profile Image for Jess.
696 reviews15 followers
January 22, 2023
This was awful. Sorry not sorry!

Self-lubricating vampire bumholes. Every vampire suddenly turns bi as soon as they’re no longer human. Characters named after Alvin and the Chipmunks. Give me strength!!

I picked this up because I love vampires, even though I usually prefer a human/vampire pairing. And although it was pretty short I skimmed most of it.

The characters are basically the same guy. Magnus is supposed to be centuries old but talks like a teenager. They both kept giving each other double thumbs up. Then they’re hanging from the ceilings and jumping up to volcanoes.

Also, the human thing didn’t make sense to me. But I’m not thinking about it anymore because nothing in this book did!!
Profile Image for Tony.
170 reviews7 followers
March 1, 2024
I absolutely loved this grumpy/sunshine vampire romcom book. I had a smile on my face the whole time reading it. Kilroy and Magnus has such great banter and chemistry. It was a bit rushed given the length of the book but it didn’t take anything away from it either. I’m such a fan of this couple and they will stay with me for ages after this review.
Profile Image for Em.
206 reviews5 followers
February 22, 2023
DNF'd at 70%, unfortunately I just couldn't stick with the writing style
Profile Image for thosemeddlingkids.
692 reviews70 followers
February 26, 2023
This was the final book I needed to finish book bingo, for a New Years Day romance. This was grumpy + sunshine vampires who had to share only one coffin. Cute premise, and a pretty quick read!
Profile Image for Ian.
524 reviews6 followers
October 30, 2024
So cute!

This was my first AJ Truman book and it did not disappoint! I thought this book was so cute and the perfect book to end October on! Vampire x vampire, grumpy x sunshine, spicy? Sign me up!
Profile Image for peach.
552 reviews39 followers
January 8, 2023
This was such a lovely book! The grumpy, older vampire Magnus and the newly turned, sunny, surfer dude Kilroy balanced each other out so well, I loved seeing the relationship between them develop. Even though the book took place over a short period of time it didn't feel too instalovey, which I liked. I also appreciated that while the book had a lot of humor and lighthearted moments, it was balanced out with more serious discussions and plot events relating to their existence as vampires. It made for a nicely balanced, heartfelt romance that I really enjoyed reading.
Profile Image for Jen (Fae_Princess_in_Space).
687 reviews32 followers
July 11, 2024
This was an incredibly sweet little novella about newly-turned surfer vampire Kilroy and ancient world-weary introvert vampire Magnus. Both have checked into an exclusive vampire-only hotel in Iceland, but due to a room bookish mix up, they have ended up booked into the same room and (you guessed it!) there is only one coffin!

Magnus has lost all the joy in his enteral life. After the death of his vampire mate, Gunnar, Magnus has resigned himself to an eternity of quiet loneliness� That is until the equivalent of vampire sunshine is booked into the same room as him, and suddenly the world doesn’t seem so bleak after all! Kilroy is young, beautiful and newly bisexual (all vamps are queer, they just are, it’s a thing) and seems absolutely determined to bring Magnus out of his shell and show him that being a vampire isn’t all doom and gloom!

I just loved how sweet this book was! Kilroy is just a vampire golden retriever who wants to do everything, meet everyone and just make Magnus happy. Magnus is heartbroken and terrified to form bonds with anyone again, but cannot seem to keep Kilroy out of his heart, no matter how tough his grumpy exterior! The threat was very minor and the angst very low, so if you need a sweet, sexy quick read I absolutely recommend this!


Read Only One Coffin for:
� Grumpy x Sunshine
� New himbo vamp x older experienced vamp
� Only one coffin
� Love after loss
� Extreme vampire sports
� Low angst; useless vampire hunters
� Lots of snuggling and cuddling
� Upside down smushing 😏
Displaying 1 - 30 of 397 reviews

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