Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco

17 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

its_vendetta's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

AFBSBFSHBF God when is it my turn to fall in love with a vampire couple???? But seriously Remy could never catch a break in this book. The plot was very compelling. 
Contrary to other reviewsm I understood the worldbuilding pretty easily. Not sure why that's a problem for others, but its a cool world I enjoyed the book a lot!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Medical trauma, and Stalking

adult/minor and sexual harassment is not between main pairings and is mostly past and just referenced

camo_mila's review

funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I'm kind of disappointed. I really liked the first half of this book, but the second half was a letdown for me. I think the author was too ambitious and, at the same time, not ambitious enough. They wanted to do too much, but I felt that the story lacked depth, with many pages of nothing that added to it. I feel that the book had little plot to hold it together; the villains, etc, and it would have been better if it was one bigger book or at least the first one could have been shorter.

I have to say that I liked the romance, but I also feel that it wasn't explored well enough. In the first part, I could feel more tension between the three characters than later. Also, Zidan and Remy felt a little off compared to Remy and Xiaodan, as the two didn't have as many fully romantic moments as Remy and Xiaodan did.

Furthermore, I think the author could have leaned more into the adult aspects of it, with more gore, more danger, and even sex. I have to say, sex is not something I look for in books, but I feel that the way it was written didn't do any favors for building the romance and tension between the three. 

Also, I get it that Remy is insecure, and he has reasons for it, don't get me wrong, but it gets tiring to read he being insecure over and over again.

Lastly, I was quite uncomfortable with the fact that Remy's father "sold" his own son with sexual favors for information and status, and Giselle, the woman that abused him, was treated as just his past lover at the end. I get that it's Remy's point of view, and maybe he has to come to terms with the fact that he was a victim, but I still felt that this was only mentioned once and then ignored.

I don't know if I make sense, but I still had a good time, and I will read the second book, and hopefully, some things I pointed out are more explored. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, and Gore

nekoshka's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Violence, Blood, and Alcohol

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Sexual content

Minor: Animal death and Domestic abuse

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

banannafox's review

adventurous medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Miscarriage, Vomit, Grief, and Classism

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

analenegrace's review against another edition

adventurous funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Vampires are not a genre I usually read, and I was intrigued to read this as I haven't read many polyam books. I liked the characters' relationship in this more than other polyam books I've read recently, and I look forward to the sequel. The world-building and action were fun, although at times, I got bogged down by the sheer amount of information being told to the reader. I saw the twist coming, and I have to admit, I was hoping I was wrong, but I'm still interested in seeing where the story is going to go. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Classism

ruthlessreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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

4.0

Did you love the Netflix Castlevania show and wish for more between Alucard, Trevor, and Sophia? Do you hate “love triangles” that aren’t true triangles? Do you also love bloody, brilliant fight scenes? Then you’re in luck! This novel will for sure satisfy that itch. I loved every moment of this fantasy adventure and would read a whole series about the 3 main characters—I hope there’s more coming! Some of the writing was a bit clunky but I chalk that up to English not being Chupeco’s native language, paired with a potentially inexperienced editor. Those instance did pull me out of the narrative a bit but, as a whole, it didn’t affect how much I enjoyed the story & characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Biphobia, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: War

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