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karambit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Definitely a different feel from the first book + not as much focus on the action or intrigue, though I guess most of the people who love these books care more about the throuple than anything else. Don’t think the rules of the world were established very well + kept having to go back and reread to find out where they mentioned things.
Apparently every vampire in the castle could hear them smash through the stone walls but also all of their secret conspiracy talk was in the same room…and the courts are in different wings, but also they can all hear each other?? 😭 There’s a scene where Elke takes Remy to a loud place so no one can hear them speak, but then a minute later they just go back to the room and say everything they discussed in private where everyone can overhear them…So inconsequential but it was so distarcting every time it happened. Also Remy and Elke whispering in the cafeteria where presumably everyone would be able to hear them…?
The third “twist” villain just seemed like a hasty attempt to tie together the two books and was honestly not needed. I was almost moved by Remy’s relationship w/ his dad + the family scenes at the end, but it’s strange that he was even given a “redemption” in the first place when there’s a scene early on where Remy talks about how his dad is largely responsible for his sexual abuse??
I remember seeing a lot of comments talking about how Remy and Malekh don’t have a lot of connection between just the two of them, and I feel like that’d probably carry over into this. It just seems like a really wide jump from “I watched you kill my brother” to “Actually I was just horny the whole time 😋” like ?.,l,/..;’.’; Xiaodan was unconscious for so long I thought they’d bond more on their own. A lot of the foundations of their relationship in this seems to be Remy is insecure>Xiaodan/Malekh comfort Remy>they all have sex>Remy is insecure again. The focus on sex was a little funny though b/c usually idc about sex scenes but something about the way they’d go, “Omg these vampire court customs are so predatory! Btw did you know Xiaodan has a strap 🙀” made me laugh.
Wish the author had explored the themes of colonization more, b/c I think Ligaya’s story was definitely the most interesting, even if the vampires’ part in it had me a little confused.
The fanfiction vibes were about the same in this one (you could definitely see the remnants of internet speak), but it’s a fun book I guess if you don’t take it too seriously. Ending felt a little open, almost like there was going to be an epilogue and there just wasn’t. Also completely random, but I thought it was funny how there were almost no physical character descriptions for the majority of the book like what do they even look like 😭
Overall fine, thought it’d be a lot worse based on reviews. I was entertained reading it so that’s all that matters ig.
The third “twist” villain just seemed like a hasty attempt to tie together the two books and was honestly not needed. I was almost moved by Remy’s relationship w/ his dad + the family scenes at the end, but it’s strange that he was even given a “redemption” in the first place when there’s a scene early on where Remy talks about how his dad is largely responsible for his sexual abuse??
I remember seeing a lot of comments talking about how Remy and Malekh don’t have a lot of connection between just the two of them, and I feel like that’d probably carry over into this. It just seems like a really wide jump from “I watched you kill my brother” to “Actually I was just horny the whole time 😋” like ?.,l,/..;’.’; Xiaodan was unconscious for so long I thought they’d bond more on their own. A lot of the foundations of their relationship in this seems to be Remy is insecure>Xiaodan/Malekh comfort Remy>they all have sex>Remy is insecure again. The focus on sex was a little funny though b/c usually idc about sex scenes but something about the way they’d go, “Omg these vampire court customs are so predatory! Btw did you know Xiaodan has a strap 🙀” made me laugh.
Wish the author had explored the themes of colonization more, b/c I think Ligaya’s story was definitely the most interesting, even if the vampires’ part in it had me a little confused.
The fanfiction vibes were about the same in this one (you could definitely see the remnants of internet speak), but it’s a fun book I guess if you don’t take it too seriously. Ending felt a little open, almost like there was going to be an epilogue and there just wasn’t. Also completely random, but I thought it was funny how there were almost no physical character descriptions for the majority of the book like what do they even look like 😭
Overall fine, thought it’d be a lot worse based on reviews. I was entertained reading it so that’s all that matters ig.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, and Gore
Moderate: War, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
thetaoakdown's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Medical content, Alcoholism, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
mar's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I hate to say this, as I honestly loved the first book, but Court of Wanderers did not live up to my expectations :(
The ending of Silver Under Nightfall is a great cliffhanger, leaving you with so many questions, so much tension between Remy, Xiaodan and Malekh - only for most of it to be easily resolved at the very beginning of this book, giving you little incentive to read onwards.
There isn't much of the mystery of book 1, with the focus instead placed more firmly on steamy romance and courtly intrigue - except the intrigue was rarely intriguing, and the romance lost a lot of its appeal to me when I realized the characters have become flat, predictable cutouts, any and all character development seemingly one and done after SuN. (If you're expecting some interesting, messy conflicts and friction between the trio, some further fleshing out of their flaws - not a wild hope to have in a "dark fantasy" book, I think - then bad luck.)
The very uneven pacing also made it a slog to get through, and the fight scenes that could've breathed some much-needed life into the plot felt bland and repetitive, especially in comparison to how incredibly memorable and hair-raising the fights in SuN were.
Overall, I'm afraid Court of Wanderers just lacks the charm of the first book - it felt more like reading mediocre fanfiction than a published sequel.
(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!)
The ending of Silver Under Nightfall is a great cliffhanger, leaving you with so many questions, so much tension between Remy, Xiaodan and Malekh - only for most of it to be easily resolved at the very beginning of this book, giving you little incentive to read onwards.
There isn't much of the mystery of book 1, with the focus instead placed more firmly on steamy romance and courtly intrigue - except the intrigue was rarely intriguing, and the romance lost a lot of its appeal to me when I realized the characters have become flat, predictable cutouts, any and all character development seemingly one and done after SuN. (If you're expecting some interesting, messy conflicts and friction between the trio, some further fleshing out of their flaws - not a wild hope to have in a "dark fantasy" book, I think - then bad luck.)
The very uneven pacing also made it a slog to get through, and the fight scenes that could've breathed some much-needed life into the plot felt bland and repetitive, especially in comparison to how incredibly memorable and hair-raising the fights in SuN were.
Overall, I'm afraid Court of Wanderers just lacks the charm of the first book - it felt more like reading mediocre fanfiction than a published sequel.
(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror and Gore
tifftastic87's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I received an ARC of Court of Wanderers from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.
Court of Wanderers wrapped up the threads of Silver Under Nightfall perfectly for a duology. The story started right where the last ended with Remy traveling to the Third Court with Xiaodan and Malekh. As the story unfolds we learn more about the Night Empress and the politics of the vampire courts. Other mysteries are introduced along the way with a bit of a locked room murder and people not being who they seem. As a whole it was a really enjoyable series to read and I liked the interpretations of vampires in Rin Chupeco's world.
Remy's character arc was nice to read as he increased in confidence in both himself as a person and in his relationship with Xiaodan and Malekh. The character of the Night Empress is also flushed out a bit more and we learn of her backstory and how she came to be. However, I felt Xiaodan and Malekh kind of faded a bit more into the background in this book and wished they had a bit more of their own storyline.
Overall, the pacing was sometimes difficult with many pages of worldbuilding after an intense action seen. The pace was never slow or fast but more of a stop and start, where I would have preferred a steady increase. I think that is the aspects of the romance plot coming through that while I enjoyed, seemed to somewhat slow the plot.
That being said I like how the romance unfolded and Remy, Xiaodan and Malekh all had things that they gained through their relationship in terms of character growth.
Lastly, I really enjoyed the horror elements of this duology. The creatures created were ghastly and their deaths gruesome and that kept me coming back for more.
Court of Wanderers wrapped up the threads of Silver Under Nightfall perfectly for a duology. The story started right where the last ended with Remy traveling to the Third Court with Xiaodan and Malekh. As the story unfolds we learn more about the Night Empress and the politics of the vampire courts. Other mysteries are introduced along the way with a bit of a locked room murder and people not being who they seem. As a whole it was a really enjoyable series to read and I liked the interpretations of vampires in Rin Chupeco's world.
Remy's character arc was nice to read as he increased in confidence in both himself as a person and in his relationship with Xiaodan and Malekh. The character of the Night Empress is also flushed out a bit more and we learn of her backstory and how she came to be. However, I felt Xiaodan and Malekh kind of faded a bit more into the background in this book and wished they had a bit more of their own storyline.
Overall, the pacing was sometimes difficult with many pages of worldbuilding after an intense action seen. The pace was never slow or fast but more of a stop and start, where I would have preferred a steady increase. I think that is the aspects of the romance plot coming through that while I enjoyed, seemed to somewhat slow the plot.
That being said I like how the romance unfolded and Remy, Xiaodan and Malekh all had things that they gained through their relationship in terms of character growth.
Lastly, I really enjoyed the horror elements of this duology. The creatures created were ghastly and their deaths gruesome and that kept me coming back for more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Self harm, Death, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Sexual content, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Terminal illness
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