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city_girl_writer's review
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Sexual content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
crinkledmochi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism
wardenred's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
There are many things we suffer through that we never deserve, and that is true whether you are dead or living.
Well, this is the first book by Rin Chupeco that I didn't DNF, so there's that. Still, I clearly need to stop succumbing to the peer pressure and the lure of awesome concepts and admit they're simply not the author for me. It's a pity, though, because this novel sounded right up my alley. Castlevania vibe! Vampires! Poly relationship! What's not to love? Eh...
I did enjoy what I've grasped about the lore, but the way it was delivered left something to be desired. The plot felt like, idk, just a string of things that kept happening at breakneck speed while simultaneously every scene feeling too long. I don't even know. Maybe this is the kind of story that would work better on screen than as a novel. I think my favorite parts were all those badass action scenes, but I would have preferred watching them to reading about them. I found it very hard to care about any of the characters because none of them felt properly developed, and Remy in particular annoyed me despite having exactly the kind of backstory and struggles I'm usually a sucker for. But he was just so flat, and so, so slow on the uptake. And while this book's marketed as an adult novel, the feel is just so YA, except with gorey "adult" things thrown in.
I really wanted to like this book, and I still like the idea of it. But, alas, not the execution.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gore, and Violence
thelostartofsecretkeeping's review
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
mar's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Vomit and Death of parent
lanid's review
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Violence
fifteenthjessica's review
- 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
4.0
Rin Chupeco definitely knows how to craft an intriguing fantasy novel with complex characters that mix in the most interesting ways, but I'm still not sold on her skill at describing what is going on. Like the huas in The Bone Witch, the Breaker, Remy's main weapon, is hard for me to picture. It's called a scythe often, so I assume it has a more polearm like handle, but the way he's described as moving with it makes it hard for me to picture him doing it with a long handle. A picture on a variant cover suggests it is in fact a short handle and heavily inspired by real world weapons like Kusarigama, but it's never outright stated, probably because pre-modern Japanese weaponry is an obscure area of knowledge for most Western readers. Also, like when I read the Bone Witch, I found myself sitting there wondering "Wait, how'd that happen?" as a main character is described as having a serious injury.
Fair warning to anyone looking into book who are younger fans of Chupeco's YA novels, things get steamy. Most is completely consensual, but an important subplot is about Remy's affair with an older woman (possibly multiple) that is less due to any attraction Remy's feels for her and more because it's the only way to get information about vampire movement in Aluria that everyone admits should be given to him because he's a vampire hunter, but the woman's husband is a giant asshole. Nothing graphic, but characters definitely bang, and I know I would not have enjoyed that type of content when I was in my young teens.
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Classism
lbelow's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault
A disabled characterlilifane's review
- 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
4.0
I had a lot of fun, mostly because of the characters, their dynamics and the writing style. I liked the main characters a lot and the way they interacted with each other. They seemed kind of one dimensional on their own, but I loved all the messy and complicated relationships and character dynamics they had between each other and the ones around them. There was my favorite love triangle trope, where all three of them are equally into each other. And although I'm not the biggest fan of NSFW scenes, they fit the vibe. I'm also glad they were short and mostly faded to black. I just wish this relationship was explored in a more nuanced way rather than concentrating on the desire and sex aspect of it. I still don't know how and why Xiaodan and Zidan fell in love with Remy this quickly. I definitely prefer a subtler development with slow burn. What I really loved were the discussions about consent and abuse, about trauma and self-worth, though. And I feel like these were in the center of the story more than the plot itself.
The plot was probably the weakest part for me. I was in the mood for a vampire story and liked these aspects a lot. I even liked there was a vampire zombie pandemic. I liked that there was a murder mystery and other mysteries as well. I just don't think they were presented well. There was a lot of telling instead of showing. Most of the reveals were pretty predictable. There were repetitions and things happening off page. Things only being hinted at. I wish we got more of those instead of the action/fighting scenes because these were my least favorite part.
The world building is interesting, it just wasn't explored enough for my taste. I'm definitely interested in more stories from this world because there is a lot of potential.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
beepsies's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
However, this book took me ages to get through because I just didn't gel with the MC. I felt really good about him in the beginning -- he's been through a Lot, so it makes a lot of sense that he's deeply mistrustful. It makes a lot of sense that he doesn't know how to work in a team, that he doubts peoples intentions, that when a beautiful woman is sincere and kind to him that he latches onto her, and that he has a "one step forward, two steps back" kind of progression from time to time. He is, however, very stupid (bless him).
I got frustrated with him failing over and over to put two and two together, to the point where I wondered how he managed to survive for so long in such a precarious environment. He seemed so capable when he was introduced -- damaged, sure, but skilled at his craft. As the story went on, though, I felt like he got more and more out of his depth to the point where when he's able to hold his own in a fight it came as a surprise to me.
That's a matter of personal taste, though, and I'd still recommend it to anybody hankering for a vampire story.
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Xenophobia