Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco

20 reviews

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

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.

mandkips's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Death of parent

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

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

zarhara's review

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? It's complicated

4.5

Reads like fanfiction. And yes, that's a compliment

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Vomit, Medical content, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

vigil's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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

4.25

note: all my ratings are subjective but this one especially so. my personal enjoyment pushed it to a four-ish, but in technical quality i think it settles around a 3.5.

i have my fair share of issues about this book, but everytime i wasn't reading it, i was thinking about reading it. i never had a bad moment with this book, despite many warning that it starts to hit it's stride 20% into it. i was invested from page one essentially. 

for my critiques, i'll say there is the issue with repetitive word choice, (there's only so many times i can read the word attractive) prose that definitely has it roots in YA despite being an adult book, and too much telling rather than showing in the romance. i think was written for zidan and remy, along with what has been set up for them is great, both individually and character wise. the same unfortunately cannot quite be said for xiaodan, who i feel got the short end of the stick. i know that she likes remy, and her fiance, i know several objective facts about her, but very little beyond that. that lack of interiority unfortunately spread to the relationship somewhat, leaving me fine with her interactions with her love interests, but never truly satisfied in the same way remy and malekh's do. however, this is the first book in what i presume to be a series, and that i expect that there will be more on xiaodan, especially with the events of the ending, a part of the book that really stood out for me. 

that's not to say i didn't enjoy the relationship, because i absolutely did. they were always engaging to have on page, and i don't have any specific complaints about them (aside from the issue with xiaodan above). more fantasy authors should include sex scenes in their books. 

plotwise, i had a fun time. i think this book would work excellent in a graphic novel or animation format because of how high-action it was. the rot plotline was a good opener for the series,

but i wasn't sad to read the offhanded mention of it being neutralized in the ending. it's a perfect book one plot, but i think i'd be annoyed seeing it be carried into book two, as all the threads and theories surrounding it were solved, or deliberately and explicitly shelved for the sequel.

the book achieved what it set out to accomplish and didn't overwhelm me with side-plots. the high-action makes the pacing seem faster than it was, but the plot unfolded at a steady medium pace that worked just right for the book in my opinion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

ridesthesun's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

4.5

GODDDD I did not know I needed this book in my life but Let Me Tell You i needed this book in my life. vampire royal couple adopts local vampire hunter himbo in an effort to get him to have some self-worth. and also to fuck him. flawless iconic no notes 👌👌 The character work was so beautifully intentional, and I really appreciate how complex all the characters are; no one is ever doing anything for one simple reason, and they're all bringing their own private motivations and histories to the table. It makes for a really well rounded cast of characters.

I'm a weenie so I skimmed some of the more gory sections, but this was such a fun story, and I'm really looking forward to the sequel!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol

ashlikes's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Vomit, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Abandonment