Reviews with content warning for Death - Silver Under Nightfall

5 ⭐ CW: Violence, blood, gore, self-harm, death, sexual content, abuse, sexual abuse

Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco is book one of the Reapers series. I have loved everything I've read by this author, and this book is no different. This one is more romance than Chupeco's other books, plus this one is adult, so plenty of spicy bits 🌶️🌶️.

We follow Remy, a Reaper (vampire slayer) in the kingdom of Aluria. He's not well liked by the other Reapers, because of rumors he's half vampire (a cambion), and his father is abusive. At a party, Remy runs into Lady Song Xiaodan and her fiancé Lord Zidan Malekh and builds a flirtatious rapport with them both. When people who have gone missing keep showing up being turned into vampires with something called The Rot, Remy, Xiaodan, and Zidan must work together to help protect Aluria, and figure out where the Rot is coming from to stop it.

Chupeco is a master of writing romances that start out with the characters hating each other, and ending them each of them willing to burn the world in order to save them. That is Remy and Zidan. Remy's relationship with Xiaodan is much easier, but he fights to understand his feelings for Zidan. I love this polycule! So much communication! I love that we get to see how Remy's relationship evolves with each of them. Remy is a poor abused boy that needs to learn he is deserving of love and kindness. Not to mention plenty of fantastic threesome scenes.

I thought the plot and world-building were great. They were a bit slower than their other books, but that usually means we are going to get a lot of amazing things to chew on. There are so many great discussions on consent, and Chupeco does a great job of tackling a situation where a man is being sexually abused and carrying trauma. Elke is the best, and I'm still rooting for her and Alegra.

I'm excited to read book 2!

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wilybooklover's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

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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bluejayreads's review against another edition

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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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ruthlessreads's review against another edition

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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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irisestacansado's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was not a fast read, but it was worth every second. While I found it dragged a little bit at some points, it maintained my interest throughout enough that it didn't particularly detract from my experience. The narrator for the audiobook took a bit of getting used to, but made some great sound effects, so that had more of an impact than the writing itself on the experience.

As for the writing and the contents, I loved the style. Chupeco's writing allows for a predictable but not too predictable ending, and has the kind of foreshadowing that helps the reader figure out the mysteries within alongside the characters. I enjoyed seeing the romance dynamics, which I find still relatively rare. This book used some classic tropes, but still felt unique. If you're looking for an interesting fantasy with court vampires, complicated family relationships, and a polyamorous relationship, I highly recommend this book!

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city_girl_writer's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes

4.0

I was surprised on how much I enjoyed this. This was really fun and loved our main characters. Remy, Xiaodan, and Zidan's relationship was definitely a highlight for me. There are a few world-building details I wasn't sure about or forgotten, which confused things for me. Nonetheless, I am excited to read Court of Wanderers (book 2).

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crinkledmochi's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

so much going on but in a good way, plus i wish there was a map for reference. i kept getting confused about all the different locations.

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