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whatkireads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This was pretty amazing to read! I love the polyamorous coupling in this and the way both Zidan and Xiaodan made sure to always keep Remy comfortable and never do anything he didn't want to, and I couldn't stop laughing at how hilarious and out of pocket both Remy and Xiaodan are, where they just start swearing in the middle of battle (the cào ni má made me LAUGH SO HARD) It's like these two are rabid chihuahuas and Zidan is the tired owner holding them on a leash. I also adored the duality of Zidan, him appearing calm and stoic but is actually more passionate than Xiaodan in terms of his feelings towards Remy, I just love these three so so much.
My only qualm with this book was that the second half of the book, where theyreturn to Elouve was pretty redundant? I dont understand why they went back and the reason why the Night Court attempts to attack the kingdom, and the sudden twist in mood between Zidan, Xiaodan and Remy. It makes sense plotwise but was there a need for it? I dont feel too inclined to read the second book because of it and also, Remy's father is REAL FUCKED UP like what??? Hes giving me whiplash from praising his son to insulting him and then using his blood ?? Like what is literally going on here just die already arent you a crusty old man at this point why you wanna live so badly
My only qualm with this book was that the second half of the book, where they
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
zghutcheson01's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Some of the major plot points were pretty predictable but I really enjoyed the characters and their relationships. I'm excited to read the next one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
lepetiterik's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
trying_ceratops's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Loved this book! Definitely a romantasy book but the plot was what really drove the book, while the romance was also an integral part to how the story moved forward. I’m giving it 4 🌶️ for spice still as the scenes are very detailed but not the majority of the book.
The lgbtq+ representation was well done, especially as one character discovers part of themself in that community.
The story has political intrigue but there’s a ton of action to balance that out. There are lots of twists and foreshadowing that you don’t see coming until revealed.
The best part was how the author handled situations that are often tropes. I would expect a scene to go one direction because of that but the writing would handle it in a way that shows the characters maturing and opening up to each other.
The lgbtq+ representation was well done, especially as one character discovers part of themself in that community.
The story has political intrigue but there’s a ton of action to balance that out. There are lots of twists and foreshadowing that you don’t see coming until revealed.
The best part was how the author handled situations that are often tropes. I would expect a scene to go one direction because of that but the writing would handle it in a way that shows the characters maturing and opening up to each other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, War, and Classism
kelsokake's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
When I first started reading this, I wasn't entirely sure that I was actually going to enjoy it. Actually, I almost DNF-ed it in the first 25%, but I'm so glad that I actually stuck with it!
It's an incredibly rich world with an obvious history and different cultures, but I do feel like it could have been explained a bit differently. I often found myself a bit confused about locations, titles, and characters. I really and truly feel like this book would have benefited from providing a reference point - a list of important characters and their titles and/or at the very least a map would have helped to alleviate a lot of my confusion. With how much time was spent naming specific cities and their distance from each other, a map would have really helped to put things into perspective.
The characters were my favorite part of this. Even though I hated him in the beginning, I grew to love Remy. He's hilarious, incredibly thoughtful and giving, and has the lowest sense of self-esteem I've seen in a long time. Watching his character grow and develop more confidence and self-worth was so rewarding.
Xiodan and Malekh's dynamic is so perfect too, especially when you add in Remy. Malekh is so sweet to Xiodan and has the perfect asshole/love dynamic with Remy that I absolutely love.
The plot was interesting and definitely kept me reading. I was actually surprised by the reveal at the end; I was thinking something completely different throughout the book. I won't say that this lived up to the high expectations I gave it in my mind, but I definitely enjoyed reading it and I've already placed a hold on the sequel in Libby!
It's an incredibly rich world with an obvious history and different cultures, but I do feel like it could have been explained a bit differently. I often found myself a bit confused about locations, titles, and characters. I really and truly feel like this book would have benefited from providing a reference point - a list of important characters and their titles and/or at the very least a map would have helped to alleviate a lot of my confusion. With how much time was spent naming specific cities and their distance from each other, a map would have really helped to put things into perspective.
The characters were my favorite part of this. Even though I hated him in the beginning, I grew to love Remy. He's hilarious, incredibly thoughtful and giving, and has the lowest sense of self-esteem I've seen in a long time. Watching his character grow and develop more confidence and self-worth was so rewarding.
Xiodan and Malekh's dynamic is so perfect too, especially when you add in Remy. Malekh is so sweet to Xiodan and has the perfect asshole/love dynamic with Remy that I absolutely love.
The plot was interesting and definitely kept me reading. I was actually surprised by the reveal at the end; I was thinking something completely different throughout the book. I won't say that this lived up to the high expectations I gave it in my mind, but I definitely enjoyed reading it and I've already placed a hold on the sequel in Libby!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Dementia, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction and Alcohol
erintempleton's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
three words i would use to describe this book, in no particular order: trauma, tension, and soup. there is an abundance of all three, which i will discuss below.
Trauma - these characters, especially our dear sweet Remington, have massive amounts of unresolved trauma, and it was a rollercoaster ride the whole time, albeit a pretty carefully realistic one. it never felt like Remy's experiences were shallow or trivial, and i really appreciated the way that Zidan and Xiaodan help him unlearn some of the harmful messages he was taught from childhood. A++ for that.
Tension - i mean this not only as sexual tension but also just plain suspense and court intrigue. there is so much to be drawn in by, and the narration really hooked me from the beginning. i'm a huge sucker for an outsider MC who uses humor as a coping mechanism, as it always lends itself to learning about the 'inside' world in non-obvious/cheesy ways. With the introduction of Zidan and Xiaodan, Remy's whole outsider bit gets flipped on its head, and it was really enjoyable to watch him struggle with that intimacy by fighting it the whole time.
the sexual tension was GREAT too, i just wish that their first time together would have been different:/ the way it was all wrapped up inRemy's immediate need for healing and the weird connection between ingesting vampire blood, healing, and horniness kinda spoiled the momentum for me. Just left a weird taste in my mouth, that's all, especially considering Remy's understandable wariness with manipulation and sex.
Soup - this might seem odd, but i noticed that 'soup-like' was an unusually common description here. in chapter six, specifically, it's used like three times in the span of ten or so pages?? so i just kept tracking it, and it came up a couple other times too. idk, it just struck me as a weird thing to say about fog or a dead monster. maybe Remy just really likes soup.
Ultimately, i'm giving this a 3.5 rating. It was really well done and exciting, but i don't think i'll read it again, as it was (imo) a bit too painful at times to read Remy's inner monologue about not being worthy of love. fans of Gideon the Ninth would probably really love this book, if that helps, and i would recommend it to anyone who can get on board with the content warnings! there are a lot of them, or there should be, so just be aware.
Trauma - these characters, especially our dear sweet Remington, have massive amounts of unresolved trauma, and it was a rollercoaster ride the whole time, albeit a pretty carefully realistic one. it never felt like Remy's experiences were shallow or trivial, and i really appreciated the way that Zidan and Xiaodan help him unlearn some of the harmful messages he was taught from childhood. A++ for that.
Tension - i mean this not only as sexual tension but also just plain suspense and court intrigue. there is so much to be drawn in by, and the narration really hooked me from the beginning. i'm a huge sucker for an outsider MC who uses humor as a coping mechanism, as it always lends itself to learning about the 'inside' world in non-obvious/cheesy ways. With the introduction of Zidan and Xiaodan, Remy's whole outsider bit gets flipped on its head, and it was really enjoyable to watch him struggle with that intimacy by fighting it the whole time.
the sexual tension was GREAT too, i just wish that their first time together would have been different:/ the way it was all wrapped up in
Soup - this might seem odd, but i noticed that 'soup-like' was an unusually common description here. in chapter six, specifically, it's used like three times in the span of ten or so pages?? so i just kept tracking it, and it came up a couple other times too. idk, it just struck me as a weird thing to say about fog or a dead monster. maybe Remy just really likes soup.
Ultimately, i'm giving this a 3.5 rating. It was really well done and exciting, but i don't think i'll read it again, as it was (imo) a bit too painful at times to read Remy's inner monologue about not being worthy of love. fans of Gideon the Ninth would probably really love this book, if that helps, and i would recommend it to anyone who can get on board with the content warnings! there are a lot of them, or there should be, so just be aware.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
sample_text's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
i loved readong this book, i found myself not wanting to put it down. However, i wish we saw more of the development of remy's feelings, and the relationship between him and xiaodan, and especially between him and zidan
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gaslighting
casey05's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol
thysparklyreads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
People say not to judge a book by its cover but one look at that gorgeous colorful art and I just had to give it a go. Incredibly glad I made that call. I'd been on the lookout for a good queer vampire story to sink my teeth into (haha!) and here it was.
This was a great read. It was full of action, lore, intense characters and mystery. There weren't any dull moments and I'm excited to read the second book soon.
This was a great read. It was full of action, lore, intense characters and mystery. There weren't any dull moments and I'm excited to read the second book soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
kitkatkatdog's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
A few parts I got one of confused, but overall very enjoyable. Whole thing reads like a movie, there’s a montage scene that I could visualize so nice as a movie montage, very fun!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse and Toxic relationship