wilybooklover's review against another edition
5.0
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.
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
lilifane's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gore, Blood, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Child death, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
mandkips's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Sexual content, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy, Animal death, and Adult/minor relationship
pvbobrien's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Bullying, Medical content, Sexual content, Hate crime, and Child abuse
Minor: Cursing, Pregnancy, Child death, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, and Animal death
zarhara's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, War, Death of parent, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Cursing, Animal death, Medical content, Alcohol, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Child death, Child abuse, and Gaslighting
ashlikes's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Death, Gore, Violence, War, Alcohol, Grief, Blood, Body horror, and Cursing
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Chronic illness, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Medical content
Minor: Pregnancy, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Police brutality, Vomit, and Pedophilia
takarakei's review against another edition
- 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
Remy Pendergast comes from a long line of prominent vampire hunters, but doesn't fit in with the other Reapers. He discovers a new mutation of vampire/monster and becomes involved in a plot to discover their origin and how to put a stop before they overrun the humans. Remy encounters the vampire heiress Xiaodan Song, and her arrogant fiancé vampire lord Zidan Malekh, who unfortunately hold the key to the Rot causing these mutations. Remy begrudgingly agrees to return to their land to further the investigation, and he slowly begins to develop complicated feelings for them. He must decide whom he can trust, and whether he wants to open his heart to the vampires he's been told his whole life are the true monsters.
As someone who doesn't read a lot of horror, I'm not sure if this book is very indicative of the genre or not. Personally I didn't find it to be very "scary," although there is a lot of gore/blood (full TW included below). I thought it fell in line with a lot of general fantasy books with vampires/monsters etc. Silver Under Nightfall does a great job of blending fantasy with court politics, mystery, and romance. The worldbuilding is extremely lush and descriptive (my only critique was it was a bit hard to keep track of each vampire court and what their deal was towards the beginning). I honestly wasn't expecting the romance going into this book, but I really enjoyed the throuple dynamics. There is great tension build up with the romance between Remy and Xiaodan, and even more so between Remy and Zidan (I would call theirs enemies to lovers for sure). I do think those roles are written as fairly gender typical, and I look forward to seeing the men really break down those masculinity barriers in future books.
Every time Remy, Xiodan and Zidan face off against these armies of mutated vampires or their enemy throughout the book, it seems to end a little too easily. I mean literally at once point the Vasiilik guy just literally walks away and I was like "what?". So I think in that way it made the main storyline drag a bit. I was surprised by the twist towards the end
Spoiler
Remy's momOverall this was a really fun, steamy, adventurous read and I definitely look forward to the continuation of this series!
Spice: 4/5 🌶️
Graphic: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Infidelity, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, War, Adult/minor relationship, and Medical content
Minor: Pregnancy and Religious bigotry
Emotional Abuse: Abusive parent (MC's father) Adult/minor relationship: MC is involved with an older woman at age 15 (told as flashbacks)