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rellimreads's review
5.0
Audible.
I don’t actively seek out horror books (well, not since I was on a Stephen King kick in middle school), but I’m thrilled to have found this audiobook. I think it technically qualifies as a romance too, but this will be best enjoyed by folks who are OK with that being a small part of the story.
Chris Calaway is 22, dying of leukemia, obsessed with vampires and I immediately fell in love with him as a character. If fatal optimism is possible, that’s Chris. He’s really so excited to be free of his disease and becoming a part of a world he has fantasized about his whole life that I couldn’t help but jump into the world with him.
Cooke has a unique take of vampires and does a fantastic job on world building. He also spends time on the history of certain characters that entertains and it’s not until later that you realize what parts are relevant to current day. 1991 current. Perhaps it’s because I was not much younger than Chris in the early 90’s, but the book felt nostalgic instead of outdated. There is quite a bit of well crafted mystery and suspense going on, punctuated by enough humor to keep the nightmares at bay. I was enthralled from beginning to end and finished it in 2 days.
My only complaint, and I admit it’s unfounded other than I really like a good romance, would be to have heard more about Chris and his beau. Is it possible to demand a sequel 30 years later?
Narration:
Sean Duregger did a fantastic job with the narration. This was a huge cast of characters and Duregger gave each of them their own unique sound as well as skillfully expressing various emotions. I look forward to more of his work.
Trigger Warnings (possible spoilers):
It’s Vampires. There’s blood sucking and a few murders. While somewhat detailed, I didn’t find it overly gory.
I received a free copy of this audiobook from Audiobooks Unleashed and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
I don’t actively seek out horror books (well, not since I was on a Stephen King kick in middle school), but I’m thrilled to have found this audiobook. I think it technically qualifies as a romance too, but this will be best enjoyed by folks who are OK with that being a small part of the story.
Chris Calaway is 22, dying of leukemia, obsessed with vampires and I immediately fell in love with him as a character. If fatal optimism is possible, that’s Chris. He’s really so excited to be free of his disease and becoming a part of a world he has fantasized about his whole life that I couldn’t help but jump into the world with him.
Cooke has a unique take of vampires and does a fantastic job on world building. He also spends time on the history of certain characters that entertains and it’s not until later that you realize what parts are relevant to current day. 1991 current. Perhaps it’s because I was not much younger than Chris in the early 90’s, but the book felt nostalgic instead of outdated. There is quite a bit of well crafted mystery and suspense going on, punctuated by enough humor to keep the nightmares at bay. I was enthralled from beginning to end and finished it in 2 days.
My only complaint, and I admit it’s unfounded other than I really like a good romance, would be to have heard more about Chris and his beau. Is it possible to demand a sequel 30 years later?
Narration:
Sean Duregger did a fantastic job with the narration. This was a huge cast of characters and Duregger gave each of them their own unique sound as well as skillfully expressing various emotions. I look forward to more of his work.
Trigger Warnings (possible spoilers):
It’s Vampires. There’s blood sucking and a few murders. While somewhat detailed, I didn’t find it overly gory.
I received a free copy of this audiobook from Audiobooks Unleashed and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
puck1008's review against another edition
3.0
This book is very much the 1980's, with some antisemitic tropes and the self absorption of the main characters.
wannabekingpin's review against another edition
4.0
all reviews in one place:
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: Chris was going to die. No chance to survive his illness, no future to hope for. So when a lovely vampire showed up on his doorstep, he gave his consent near immediately. Not realizing that what seems to be too good to be true, might, at the very least, have extra clauses he should’ve asked about… But then again, what could be worse than the fate he was destined to?
My Opinion: A slow-paced tale of vampires and their issues, with story-time retelling of events that lead to present. Felt like Anne Rice if Anne Rice was classic Russian author. Whether that’s good or bad is a matter of taste though. Characters are okay, with Chris being exceptionally lacking in personality. Story wasn’t mind blowing, but not all books have to be. Overall, I enjoyed it.
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: Chris was going to die. No chance to survive his illness, no future to hope for. So when a lovely vampire showed up on his doorstep, he gave his consent near immediately. Not realizing that what seems to be too good to be true, might, at the very least, have extra clauses he should’ve asked about… But then again, what could be worse than the fate he was destined to?
My Opinion: A slow-paced tale of vampires and their issues, with story-time retelling of events that lead to present. Felt like Anne Rice if Anne Rice was classic Russian author. Whether that’s good or bad is a matter of taste though. Characters are okay, with Chris being exceptionally lacking in personality. Story wasn’t mind blowing, but not all books have to be. Overall, I enjoyed it.
zeecorster's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
All in all, this was a fun book to read, especially in June, as the majority of its cast is queer in some capacity and queerness is essential to its plot, yet never explained away or presented inappropriately. I liked the vampire mythos the author created, and I was very charmed by Temsik as a character, though I found the protag, Chris, to be just a little bit of an idiot. It’s not necessarily a great work of literature, but it’s a fun lark and presents a nice spin on the traditional vampire story.
I would have liked to see a bit more done with the emotional fallout of the Sheridan incident where a simple hookup turns into creating a vampire who was immediately kidnapped by the villain and tortured/imprisoned, as well as with the character of Tim Duffy, a kind gay man who cares for Chris when he’s still suffering from leukemia. Sheridan survives until the end as a vampire, but Tim is only briefly seen again on a missing-person TV show in a bar, which causes Chris to have to scramble away. Both were pleasant enough characters who went through sone rough stuff that is never explored.
bookish_bry's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25
I didn't particularly enjoy this book. The plot was a bit meh and none of the characters had any depth. The main character seemed to have no character other than gay and likes vampires. The end game relationship wasn't developed at all and the 60 pages of the main character reading memories really messed up the pacing and made the ending rushed. I respect this book for being a book about a gay man in the 90s and letting him enjoy sex, but actual plot wise, I can't give this even a 2 star rating. I simply could not enjoy reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Confinement, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Cancer, Chronic illness, Sexual violence, Stalking, Hate crime, Self harm, Violence, Body horror, Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Homophobia
emmawight's review
DNF - The racist language might've been tolerated in '91, but miss me with this BS in 2020.
anth's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
This book was an experience. I had a lot of fun! But there was so much I found annoying, excessive or boring and the romance was so rushed...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Torture, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Gun violence
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