Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco

13 reviews

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 they

return 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

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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

ahtoasty's review

adventurous funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Infidelity, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Minor: Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

grets_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Torture, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

karambit's review

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Medical content

nefariousbee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

i really needed a three way romance actually. didn't even know I had
the world was easy to fall into, the characters and relationships make you squirm inside in a good way, and even tho I found the plot lacking, I'm not a plot person anyway.
Im gonna come back to the series and we better get a lot more Zidan/Remy content. or else

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

alphabetmafiamember's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Xenophobia, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Sexual assault and Slavery

wilybooklover's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

This is not a perfect book by any means — the first third is a bit slow, a few words are misused, some of the twists were predictable and easy to guess, the ending was a little weak and rushed — but it was the perfect book for *me* and my reading mood when I picked it up. Violent, sexy, and a whole lot of fun, it felt like the perfect blend of fantasy and romance with both horror and historical elements. The take on vampires is refreshing without straying too far from tradition, and there's enough mystery, political intrigue, and suitably creepy monsters to keep things interesting. Remy could be a frustratingly oblivious protagonist at times, but he's such a dramatic disaster bi. I really loved reading the dynamics of this bisexual throuple; the romance is surprisingly soft and warm (maybe a bit instalove-y, but I don't even care). 

I am in DIRE need of the sequel though after that ending!! Also I wish we had the US cover in the UK, it's so much prettier. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Classism

fifteenthjessica's review

dark emotional 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

4.0

Between his father's rivalry with the current leader of the vampire hunters and the rumors that his mother was turned by a vampire lover while pregnant with him, Remington Pendergast is not the most well-liked Reaper, even if he is now one of the most effective. Soon a job only he was willing to take brings him into the sights of Zidan Malekh and Xiaodon Song, the leader of the Third Court of vampires and the heiress of the Fourth Court, who are hoping to form an alliance between their courts and the human kingdom of Aluria that Remy hails from. And Aluria will need all the help it can get when a strange plague is turning its citizens into a horrifying variation of vampires. Will Remy's trip East with the alluring vampire couple stop this plague, reveal the truth about his mother, and help Remy get over his belief that he is unworthy of love?

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.

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Content Warnings

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

beepsies's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

First off, I loved the premise of this book! I'm here for vampires, for intrigue, for monsters, and science, and for a juicy bisexual triad! To say nothing of my penchant for a brooding hero learning what it's like to be Liked and Valued as a person! I found the plot entertaining and the writing to be enjoyable. 

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.

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Content Warnings

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

The main character's father starts pimping him out against his will when he's very young in order to obtain information/maneuver politically around his personal nemesis. (I don't think an express age is given, but it's established that he was underage/too young to be in that situation.) It's not a /huge/ part of the book, and the acts are not explicit, but it, and the trauma around it, are discussed at some length, so that's something to be aware of if you are sensitive to that sort of content.

cheye13's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An excellent series opener! A wonderful standalone story that still has me clawing for the next installment. This world is exciting and vibrant, and I find the politics enthralling. The characters and other moving pieces are fascinating. The romance was my perfect level of closed vs open door and still much steamier than I expected.

It's everything I loved from The Bone Witch trilogy, but stepped up just a little for an adult audience and it sure hits the spot. Can't wait to see what Chupeco does with this series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Grief, Murder, and War

Minor: Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Dementia, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

Also moderate warnings for mind control and loss of autonomy, and general warning for content that typically comes with both zombies (flesh) and vampires (blood). The most graphic child death occurs in the first chapter, and the parental grief is contained to early chapters. The emotional abuse is parental and more of a background element.