the_storycorner's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
andri0s's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
rach_eb's review against another edition
3.0
Tried a BookTok rec because I want to support indie queer authors, but this didn't really do it for me. Perhaps this just isn't my genre
alioliver's review against another edition
5.0
There was something so amazingly satisfying about this book. From the imagery, to the lust for both blood and love…it was truly an exhilarating ride.
I truly loved the ending. Whereas I believed that Jak would be gone for good, and instead, being turned into a vampire to live the rest of eternity with Marius was certainly the much preferred ending.
Alderson sure knows how to give a guy a heart attack.
I truly loved the ending. Whereas I believed that Jak would be gone for good, and instead, being turned into a vampire to live the rest of eternity with Marius was certainly the much preferred ending.
Alderson sure knows how to give a guy a heart attack.
queenbee_of_hearts's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
browndingdong's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.0
I have followed this book on TikTok and was excited to read it. The story was alright. It wasn't anything new or attention-grabbing. I did stick with completing the book because I owed it that much. Will I read it again, probably not. Will I read other stories by the author, perhaps?
phenomenonof99's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
notpresent22's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I loved this book. A really fun read that brought me out of a reading slump. The characters are fun and lovable even though they’re a little bit messed up. They are also sexy (which is great in this kind of book). The plot is good and engaging throughout, though I will say some of the world building and magic was a little bit shallow in places - however I don’t think it needed to be overly complex for this kind of book.
The sex scenes were sexy and fun and definitely evoked the correct kind of response in me. I will say however they were extremely idealistic and there were some moments I wished were described in more details (it felt in a couple places like the author had finished and wanted to move on). But I thoroughly enjoyed them overall.
My biggest qualm with this book is not getting to see the feast at the end, it took away some of the catharsis (also wouldn’t have minded seeing the fuckfest that would have followed).
Did I enjoy this book? Hell Yes I did.
Will I be reading the sequel? I am aware that the sequels to this book don’t follow Jak and Marius however I enjoyed the writing and world enough that yes I do think I will be picking up the next book.
The sex scenes were sexy and fun and definitely evoked the correct kind of response in me. I will say however they were extremely idealistic and there were some moments I wished were described in more details (it felt in a couple places like the author had finished and wanted to move on). But I thoroughly enjoyed them overall.
My biggest qualm with this book is not getting to see the feast at the end, it took away some of the catharsis (also wouldn’t have minded seeing the fuckfest that would have followed).
Did I enjoy this book? Hell Yes I did.
Will I be reading the sequel? I am aware that the sequels to this book don’t follow Jak and Marius however I enjoyed the writing and world enough that yes I do think I will be picking up the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Kidnapping, Body horror, and Cursing
Minor: Abandonment
emmaskies's review against another edition
1.5
1.5 stars but don't ask me where the .5 is coming from because I don't know, it just doesn't quite feel like a full blown 1 star read, but it's very close.
This book is desperately in need of editing at every level: line editing, copy editing, developmental editing. Misspellings, incorrect word usage, incorrect grammar and punctuation, sentence structure errors, and a writing style that's trying so overly hard to come off has High Fantasy™ but ends up just uncomfortable and stilted.
As a vampire novel, this fails at fundamentally setting up the lore. The book says he doesn't sleep, but then shows the vampire sleeping multiple times. It says he's never found a way to die, but then decides at the end that actually something as simple as walking out in daylight could kill him. It just never really decides what kind of vampire he is and throws things in or out of the way it works whenever something is convenient.
Not to mention that the entire premise of the novel is based on a yearly sacrifice that is never explained and actually makes no sense in the text.
Unfortunately, this book reads as a first draft that needs a lot of editorial help.
This book is desperately in need of editing at every level: line editing, copy editing, developmental editing. Misspellings, incorrect word usage, incorrect grammar and punctuation, sentence structure errors, and a writing style that's trying so overly hard to come off has High Fantasy™ but ends up just uncomfortable and stilted.
As a vampire novel, this fails at fundamentally setting up the lore. The book says he doesn't sleep, but then shows the vampire sleeping multiple times. It says he's never found a way to die, but then decides at the end that actually something as simple as walking out in daylight could kill him. It just never really decides what kind of vampire he is and throws things in or out of the way it works whenever something is convenient.
Not to mention that the entire premise of the novel is based on a yearly sacrifice that is never explained and actually makes no sense in the text.
Unfortunately, this book reads as a first draft that needs a lot of editorial help.