It's near impossible to ignore my vampire neighbor, Bran Duval, when he has a habit of shucking off his clothes while the blinds are up. He's playing games with me, but I don't mind a challenge. Only problem is, I'm supposed to pledge myself to a rival vampire family and now all I can think about is Bran Duval, black sheep of the Duval vampire family, and the wicked things he's promising to do to me in the dark.
Severity reflects intensity, not value — “central theme” means a warning is a core part of the book, not that the book is bad.