Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco

26 reviews

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

bluejayreads's review

adventurous dark

5.0

I'm not really sure why I picked this up, but I'm so glad I did. It's heavily Castlevania-inspired (obvious even to me, who knows next to nothing about Castlevania). The world-building is a bit confusing in places, but probably less so if you're familiar with Castlevania, and it's great all the same. The societies and the country itself and how everything works is a fantastic blend of 1800s Europe, dawn-of-science a la Frankenstein, and a world where vampires are normal. I'm normally not much for romance, but this one is deliciously angsty, slightly forbidden, frequently steamy, and polyamorous. And of course the whole book features Remy, who is so good at what he does and also so broken and full of pain and angst and self-sacrifice. He gets an amazing healing arc and he so much deserves it. He's achingly relatable and so easy to root for and the angst is on point. I love him and I love the vampire couple and this entire book is fantastic. There's going to be a sequel, and you'd better believe I'm reading it as soon as possible. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Death of parent, and Murder

Trauma/trauma reactions, mind control, sexual content (dubious consent)

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

thelostartofsecretkeeping's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

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Content Warnings

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

dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

sickos haha yes

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Content Warnings

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

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

lilifane's review

adventurous 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

4.0

There were things I loved about this book, there were things I didn't like. I could have given this 2 stars, and it probably would have been justified, but I decided to concentrate on the positive things. Mainly my enjoyment reading it. 

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

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.

pvbobrien's review

adventurous 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Sexual content, Medical content, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Sexual violence, Dementia, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy