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erintempleton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
three words i would use to describe this book, in no particular order: trauma, tension, and soup. there is an abundance of all three, which i will discuss below.
Trauma - these characters, especially our dear sweet Remington, have massive amounts of unresolved trauma, and it was a rollercoaster ride the whole time, albeit a pretty carefully realistic one. it never felt like Remy's experiences were shallow or trivial, and i really appreciated the way that Zidan and Xiaodan help him unlearn some of the harmful messages he was taught from childhood. A++ for that.
Tension - i mean this not only as sexual tension but also just plain suspense and court intrigue. there is so much to be drawn in by, and the narration really hooked me from the beginning. i'm a huge sucker for an outsider MC who uses humor as a coping mechanism, as it always lends itself to learning about the 'inside' world in non-obvious/cheesy ways. With the introduction of Zidan and Xiaodan, Remy's whole outsider bit gets flipped on its head, and it was really enjoyable to watch him struggle with that intimacy by fighting it the whole time.
the sexual tension was GREAT too, i just wish that their first time together would have been different:/ the way it was all wrapped up inRemy's immediate need for healing and the weird connection between ingesting vampire blood, healing, and horniness kinda spoiled the momentum for me. Just left a weird taste in my mouth, that's all, especially considering Remy's understandable wariness with manipulation and sex.
Soup - this might seem odd, but i noticed that 'soup-like' was an unusually common description here. in chapter six, specifically, it's used like three times in the span of ten or so pages?? so i just kept tracking it, and it came up a couple other times too. idk, it just struck me as a weird thing to say about fog or a dead monster. maybe Remy just really likes soup.
Ultimately, i'm giving this a 3.5 rating. It was really well done and exciting, but i don't think i'll read it again, as it was (imo) a bit too painful at times to read Remy's inner monologue about not being worthy of love. fans of Gideon the Ninth would probably really love this book, if that helps, and i would recommend it to anyone who can get on board with the content warnings! there are a lot of them, or there should be, so just be aware.
Trauma - these characters, especially our dear sweet Remington, have massive amounts of unresolved trauma, and it was a rollercoaster ride the whole time, albeit a pretty carefully realistic one. it never felt like Remy's experiences were shallow or trivial, and i really appreciated the way that Zidan and Xiaodan help him unlearn some of the harmful messages he was taught from childhood. A++ for that.
Tension - i mean this not only as sexual tension but also just plain suspense and court intrigue. there is so much to be drawn in by, and the narration really hooked me from the beginning. i'm a huge sucker for an outsider MC who uses humor as a coping mechanism, as it always lends itself to learning about the 'inside' world in non-obvious/cheesy ways. With the introduction of Zidan and Xiaodan, Remy's whole outsider bit gets flipped on its head, and it was really enjoyable to watch him struggle with that intimacy by fighting it the whole time.
the sexual tension was GREAT too, i just wish that their first time together would have been different:/ the way it was all wrapped up in
Soup - this might seem odd, but i noticed that 'soup-like' was an unusually common description here. in chapter six, specifically, it's used like three times in the span of ten or so pages?? so i just kept tracking it, and it came up a couple other times too. idk, it just struck me as a weird thing to say about fog or a dead monster. maybe Remy just really likes soup.
Ultimately, i'm giving this a 3.5 rating. It was really well done and exciting, but i don't think i'll read it again, as it was (imo) a bit too painful at times to read Remy's inner monologue about not being worthy of love. fans of Gideon the Ninth would probably really love this book, if that helps, and i would recommend it to anyone who can get on board with the content warnings! there are a lot of them, or there should be, so just be aware.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Murder, Death of parent, Mental illness, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, War, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Toxic relationship
jordannnciara_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
emoceans's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
ryanslibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
4.25
mycupoftealcsw's review against another edition
The book starts out interesting enough but quickly loses its charm.
This book was in desperate need of editing - especially when it came to the dialogue. It was often difficult to tell who was speaking and who was responding to whom. Pretty much every character interaction was wooden, and none of the characters have any real personality - they have archetypal traits, but no actual personality. The story also lacked focus, and the pacing always felt a bit off.
Remy had potential as a character but fell flat in a lot of ways. For one, it’s really hard to tell how old he is. The way he talks about his past, it makes it sound like he should be in his late-ish 20s maybe, but his internal dialogue and some of his behaviors make him seem like he is in his teens. He has extensive fighting skills and has established a life for himself in some ways, but he is also really impulsive, often pouty, and emotionally stunted. He is supposedly this amazing Reaper with unmatched skill but is generally treated like an idiot or an object by everyone. His tragic backstory often felt like it only existed to make him sympathetic, but ultimately just made him generic and annoying.
I'm also unclear on the world. Is it the Regency era with vampires? But also with some modern medical advances? Something else entirely? I couldn't tell. And the amount of areas, courts, rulers, etc. was just way too much.
This book was in desperate need of editing - especially when it came to the dialogue. It was often difficult to tell who was speaking and who was responding to whom. Pretty much every character interaction was wooden, and none of the characters have any real personality - they have archetypal traits, but no actual personality. The story also lacked focus, and the pacing always felt a bit off.
Remy had potential as a character but fell flat in a lot of ways. For one, it’s really hard to tell how old he is. The way he talks about his past, it makes it sound like he should be in his late-ish 20s maybe, but his internal dialogue and some of his behaviors make him seem like he is in his teens. He has extensive fighting skills and has established a life for himself in some ways, but he is also really impulsive, often pouty, and emotionally stunted. He is supposedly this amazing Reaper with unmatched skill but is generally treated like an idiot or an object by everyone. His tragic backstory often felt like it only existed to make him sympathetic, but ultimately just made him generic and annoying.
I'm also unclear on the world. Is it the Regency era with vampires? But also with some modern medical advances? Something else entirely? I couldn't tell. And the amount of areas, courts, rulers, etc. was just way too much.
brittknee52'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
4.0
jinro's review against another edition
DNF @ 66%
I tried to be open minded and ventured away from my typical reading genres but this book wasn't it. I'm going back to my normal stuff.
The reason for the DNF
The main character was in a dire situation and you know what saved his life? Having a threesome with his vampire lovers in a cave. That's just fucking stupid.
I tried to be open minded and ventured away from my typical reading genres but this book wasn't it. I'm going back to my normal stuff.
The reason for the DNF
evthodo's review against another edition
dark
funny
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? Yes
3.0