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fanboyriot'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
5.0
I really enjoyed vampire books where the vamps live along with the humans, it's always interesting to see how the worldbuilding will play into that. The setting was nice too, it really helped with the overall vibe from the book.
While it was fast-paced the romance was a slow burn. Wesley and Vincent were really cute together and I really liked the idiots in love, friends to lovers, awkward gay panic they had.
Slow Burn
Idiots in Love
Hurt/Comfort
Vampire x Human
Angst with a Happy Ending
Graphic: Violence, Cursing, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Sexual content
Minor: Confinement, Homophobia, Self harm, Alcohol, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
dorianatgan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia
tinyelfarcanist's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Hate crime, Grief, Ableism, Drug use, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Outing, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Kidnapping, Torture, Self harm, Confinement, Abandonment, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing
Minor: Homophobia, Stalking, Gun violence, Addiction, and Drug abuse
things100'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
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, and Self harm
dusksolace'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
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Confinement
Moderate: Sexual content and Grief
Minor: Homophobia, Self harm, and Torture
lennie_reads'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
5.0
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.
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, and Self harm
thenerdybookwitch's review against another edition
- 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
CWs not included in the options: Non-consensual biting, and breaking and entering
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Medical trauma, Confinement, Medical content, Blood, Cursing, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Death, Sexual content, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Biphobia, Homophobia, Abandonment, Self harm, and Vomit