beccamw11's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, War, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse
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
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Infidelity, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Bullying, Body horror, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, War, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
alicelalicon's review against another edition
adventurous
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Body horror, Toxic relationship, and Death
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: War, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Vomit, Sexism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Misogyny, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Grief, Confinement, Classism, Drug use, Dementia, Cursing, and Child death
Minor: Sexual assault and Slavery
snaileton's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.25
When the author mentioned in the acknowledgments that they used to write fanfiction I was not surprised in the slightest (affectionate).
This book is an absolute joy to read - Remy is a fun and incredibly endearing MC to follow on this crazy ride. The humans and the vampires have been at odds for centuries, and when an uneasy alliance finally begins to form, a vampire mutation causes the newly turned undead to become near-unkillable zombies and threatens the agreement. Remy must work with Lord Malekh and Lady Song - engaged vampire royals - to find the origin of the mutation, and resist falling into their bed in the process.
Loved the concept, very quick read despite the page count because I couldn't put it down, truly such a gem. I could nitpick story elements, but I had so much fun that it was easy to breeze past and just enjoy the ride. Poly couple where the vampires find this himbo vampire hunter and decide that he belongs to them now. Our pure of heart, dumb of ass Remy is living the dream.
There are two elements that I would offer as points to consider before reading. For one, this story's setting is at odds with its language and technology. The environment, weaponry, and everyday items make it feel like it is early 1800s at the ABSOLUTE latest, but the colloquial language and medical tech give it a more modern feel. You're telling me you have to use carrier pigeons for messaging and horse-drawn carriages for travel, but have ABO +/- blood typing and a blood-processing machine that provides the identity of whoever you take a sample from? I guess a society with vampires would prioritize tech involving blood, but you'd think they'd have phones as well at that rate. I'm not a stickler for time-appropriate details, especially since this isn't set in our world, so it didn't really bother me, but I know this can be a dealbreaker for others.
The other issue I had was the passage of time. Maybe I read the book too quickly and missed some key words, but I felt like we were jumping around at light speed. A ball is held in one of the first chapters and is initially described as being in a few days time, but then we are immediately at the ball. No page break, no acknowledgment that the days had passed, we are just at the ball. It made the reading experience a bit jarring and made the ability to estimate how much time had passed between plot points difficult. The events of this story take place over a month or two (?) and two weeks of that is a time jump. You could have told me it was five days, you could have told me five months, I would have believed either one.
Neither of these points detracted too much from the story personally, but felt important to mention for potential readers. Overall, the most fun I've had with a book in a hot minute and am eagerly anticipating the sequel!
(Side note: it feels like a crime to have Malekh call Remy "my pet" in the very first chapter and then literally never use it again like what the fuck you literally bring him in to be the sub in ur hot vampire relationship KEEP CALLING HIM YOUR PET)
This book is an absolute joy to read - Remy is a fun and incredibly endearing MC to follow on this crazy ride. The humans and the vampires have been at odds for centuries, and when an uneasy alliance finally begins to form, a vampire mutation causes the newly turned undead to become near-unkillable zombies and threatens the agreement. Remy must work with Lord Malekh and Lady Song - engaged vampire royals - to find the origin of the mutation, and resist falling into their bed in the process.
Loved the concept, very quick read despite the page count because I couldn't put it down, truly such a gem. I could nitpick story elements, but I had so much fun that it was easy to breeze past and just enjoy the ride. Poly couple where the vampires find this himbo vampire hunter and decide that he belongs to them now. Our pure of heart, dumb of ass Remy is living the dream.
There are two elements that I would offer as points to consider before reading. For one, this story's setting is at odds with its language and technology. The environment, weaponry, and everyday items make it feel like it is early 1800s at the ABSOLUTE latest, but the colloquial language and medical tech give it a more modern feel. You're telling me you have to use carrier pigeons for messaging and horse-drawn carriages for travel, but have ABO +/- blood typing and a blood-processing machine that provides the identity of whoever you take a sample from? I guess a society with vampires would prioritize tech involving blood, but you'd think they'd have phones as well at that rate. I'm not a stickler for time-appropriate details, especially since this isn't set in our world, so it didn't really bother me, but I know this can be a dealbreaker for others.
The other issue I had was the passage of time. Maybe I read the book too quickly and missed some key words, but I felt like we were jumping around at light speed. A ball is held in one of the first chapters and is initially described as being in a few days time, but then we are immediately at the ball. No page break, no acknowledgment that the days had passed, we are just at the ball. It made the reading experience a bit jarring and made the ability to estimate how much time had passed between plot points difficult. The events of this story take place over a month or two (?) and two weeks of that is a time jump. You could have told me it was five days, you could have told me five months, I would have believed either one.
Neither of these points detracted too much from the story personally, but felt important to mention for potential readers. Overall, the most fun I've had with a book in a hot minute and am eagerly anticipating the sequel!
(Side note: it feels like a crime to have Malekh call Remy "my pet" in the very first chapter and then literally never use it again like what the fuck you literally bring him in to be the sub in ur hot vampire relationship KEEP CALLING HIM YOUR PET)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse
lunemaline's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Body horror, War, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Vomit
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-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? No
5.0
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Gore, Blood, Self harm, Death, Violence, and Emotional abuse
wilybooklover's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Blood, Death, Drug use, Gore, and Sexual content
Moderate: Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Confinement, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Bullying, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Infidelity, Animal death, Classism, Pregnancy, and Adult/minor relationship
achay91's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
bluejayreads's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Blood, Death, Child death, Gore, and Body horror
Moderate: Murder, Child abuse, Medical content, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Trauma/trauma reactions, mind control, sexual content (dubious consent)