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harveyjoy53's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
anniereads221's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Medical experimentation Non consensual blood sucking (addressed) Manipulationtinyelfarcanist's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The language, pace, and plot have the feel of a YA novel, but the characters are in their 20s and the story turns darker near the end.
I didn't feel particularly connected to the characters. The romance felt a little bit too insta-love for me after they had just spent an evening together. There's talk about the need for therapy, but I believe it comes a little too late when things have already escalated.
I like Bryn's recurring theme of tearing down big corporations. That and fishnet gloves have made an appearance in both books I've read by the author. (If I had a nickel for every time I've found fishnet gloves in their books, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.)
In this book's world, there's blatant discrimination against vampires and they are treated as sub-human. There are clear parallels between those and real-life marginalized groups like immigrants, queer and disabled people.
There's an extra scene teasing what's to come for book 2, which sounds promising.
I didn't feel particularly connected to the characters. The romance felt a little bit too insta-love for me after they had just spent an evening together. There's talk about the need for therapy, but I believe it comes a little too late when things have already escalated.
I like Bryn's recurring theme of tearing down big corporations. That and fishnet gloves have made an appearance in both books I've read by the author. (If I had a nickel for every time I've found fishnet gloves in their books, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.)
In this book's world, there's blatant discrimination against vampires and they are treated as sub-human. There are clear parallels between those and real-life marginalized groups like immigrants, queer and disabled people.
There's an extra scene teasing what's to come for book 2, which sounds promising.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Outing
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Stalking
things100's review
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.5
A great read, very enjoyable not as much spice as I’m used to but still a little bit and the plot is amazing can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
lennie_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
5.0
I received this arc in exchange for an honest review.
I'm *always* here for angsty self depricating queer vampires & after all the snippets of this story on Bryn's insta, I was soo excited to read this!
Vincent is a shy, awkward, lonely, gay vampire who has no friends or family and, due to the prejudices against vampires in this world, he struggles to find work. This also means that he lives inside a mausoleum which I found equally funny & upsetting.
Vincent is a precious baby who needs to be protected at all costs. I've only read one other book by Bryn (Odder Still) so far but I love how they write their tragically troubled & backed-into-a-corner protagonists, who always seem to have fingerless gloves 👀
Vincent can't go out on the pull for blood because he's a shy awkward baby (with no access to a regular shower) and he can't get steady work due to the aforementioned vamp prejudices meaning he can't afford black market blood bags. This leads to him desperately sneaking into people's houses to feed from people whilst they sleep.
Obviously this isn't ok but the issues of consent & lack of options in the book are discussed and dealt with very well imo.
Wes is one of the people Vincent happens to feed from. Wes is a seemingly happy-go-lucky bisexual disaster with no job who loves gaming. However, he is also lonely and grieving the sudden loss of his mum under what he feels are suspicious circumstances.
To uncover the mystery, Wes has to get a job at a secretive pharmaceutical company but to do so, he needs to prove he can 'recruit' vampires by bringing one in. When Wes finds Vincent in his room he decides to befriend him to take him to the company.
I really appreciated how these characters were very nuanced & not portrayed as 100% good. They are people with flaws who just want to be loved & allowed to live their lives.
I loved Wes & Vincent sooo much. Their romance was very up & down but I was 100% here for it. I love me some mutual pining! And, considering this book is fade to black, they had some intense chemistry & the sexual tension was 🔥🔥🔥
I especially loved the soft D/S aspect of their relationship.
Whilst Wes & Vincent's story is fairly wrapped up by the end, the situation with the vampires in San Salud and the big pharma company is still very open ended so I'm looking forward to that being explored a bit a more in the sequels.
Especially after reading the short story, Glorious Monsters, (loved Andres' lil cameo btw) and the snippet for the next book at the end of this one.
This is a dual pov, mlm, soft queer slowburn vampire x human romance with a slight mystery / thriller (?) aspect.
CW: blood, murder, past homophobia from both of theirs families, forced imprisonment, homelessness, self harm, mental health issues and grief.
I'm *always* here for angsty self depricating queer vampires & after all the snippets of this story on Bryn's insta, I was soo excited to read this!
Vincent is a shy, awkward, lonely, gay vampire who has no friends or family and, due to the prejudices against vampires in this world, he struggles to find work. This also means that he lives inside a mausoleum which I found equally funny & upsetting.
Vincent is a precious baby who needs to be protected at all costs. I've only read one other book by Bryn (Odder Still) so far but I love how they write their tragically troubled & backed-into-a-corner protagonists, who always seem to have fingerless gloves 👀
Vincent can't go out on the pull for blood because he's a shy awkward baby (with no access to a regular shower) and he can't get steady work due to the aforementioned vamp prejudices meaning he can't afford black market blood bags. This leads to him desperately sneaking into people's houses to feed from people whilst they sleep.
Obviously this isn't ok but the issues of consent & lack of options in the book are discussed and dealt with very well imo.
Wes is one of the people Vincent happens to feed from. Wes is a seemingly happy-go-lucky bisexual disaster with no job who loves gaming. However, he is also lonely and grieving the sudden loss of his mum under what he feels are suspicious circumstances.
To uncover the mystery, Wes has to get a job at a secretive pharmaceutical company but to do so, he needs to prove he can 'recruit' vampires by bringing one in. When Wes finds Vincent in his room he decides to befriend him to take him to the company.
I really appreciated how these characters were very nuanced & not portrayed as 100% good. They are people with flaws who just want to be loved & allowed to live their lives.
I loved Wes & Vincent sooo much. Their romance was very up & down but I was 100% here for it. I love me some mutual pining! And, considering this book is fade to black, they had some intense chemistry & the sexual tension was 🔥🔥🔥
I especially loved the soft D/S aspect of their relationship.
Whilst Wes & Vincent's story is fairly wrapped up by the end, the situation with the vampires in San Salud and the big pharma company is still very open ended so I'm looking forward to that being explored a bit a more in the sequels.
Especially after reading the short story, Glorious Monsters, (loved Andres' lil cameo btw) and the snippet for the next book at the end of this one.
This is a dual pov, mlm, soft queer slowburn vampire x human romance with a slight mystery / thriller (?) aspect.
CW: blood, murder, past homophobia from both of theirs families, forced imprisonment, homelessness, self harm, mental health issues and grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Self harm, and Grief
thenerdybookwitch's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Read the ARC of this and I enjoyed myself! These characters are so adorable and I liked seeing their relationship bloom in the weirdest way. It was a bit repetitive at times but other than that it’s great! Definitely want to see where this series goes.
CWs not included in the options: Non-consensual biting, and breaking and entering
CWs not included in the options: Non-consensual biting, and breaking and entering
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Stalking, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Biphobia, Homophobia, Self harm, Vomit, and Abandonment