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A review by sunnylemonadereads
How to Flaunt Your Chains and Surrender a Vein by D.N. Bryn

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

How to Flaunt Your Chains and Surrender a Vein by D.N. Bryn
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars

📚 Book Four of Guides for Dating Vampires Series
👉 Can Be Read as a Standalone

⬆️ Ebook ARC

😏 Adult MM Paranormal Romance
📖 Deeply Emotional Story w/ Banter & Bondage
👆 Hurt/Comfort
🌈 Pan & Ace Rep
🔀 Dual POV, Third-Person Narrative

😏⛓️ Meet Cute... If Chain-Trapping a Vampire Counts 😉
🩸📱'Vampire Serial First-Date ("bleed em and leave em, baby! ")'
x
💔👻'Lonely Single Haunting the Dating Apps'
😈 Flamboyant Vampire x Protective Human 😇
🐈‍⬛ Black Cat Chaos Energy x Loyal Golden Retriever Dad Vibes 🐶
😁 Sunshine-Flirt x Brooding 😡
🗣 Extrovert x Quiet Stoic 😐
🧲 Opposites Attract

💘 Immediate Physical Attraction w/ Diverse Feelings About Sex
🥵 Slow Burn w/ Intense Chemistry
😉 Daddy x Good Boy
🧸 Soft Dom x Submissive Twink 😋
👄 Sexy Biting & Blood Play 👅
🚦 BDSM & Kink Exploration 🪢(bondage, praise, sensory play....)
🔥 Spicy Level: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

MCs:

🤨⚒️⚔️💍👉 Mercer 'Merc' Jacques Bloncourt (Human/Fae, 41yo):
🗡 Bisexual. Brown skin, dark curls, strong build.
🗡 A talented metalsmith, he crafts unique, custom kink jewelry and artistic BDSM objects.
🗡 Once forged deadly silver weapon (vampire-killing "holy silver") after his wife’s murder... something he now deeply regrets.
🗡 A single dad raising his chronically ill teenage daughter and Kat, their sweet dog.
🗡 Quiet and grounded, marked by loss, with a protective and deeply caring heart.
🗡 He believes there’s no space for romance in his life… but Rahil’s light is slowly breaking through his walls (or chains). 😏

😏🌃🧛🏻🕶💻👉 Rahil 'Ray' Zaman (Vampire, 65yo but looks 20s):
🩸 A pansexual vampiric twink with long, silky dark hair, long lashes, hazel eyes, and dusty brown skin from his Indian heritage.
🩸He loves wearing pirate shirts and high-heeled boots, and charm for days... and he knows it. 😏
🩸 He’s an out-of-work electrical engineer.
🩸 He lives in his own house, a crumbling, gothic three-story place.
🩸 His door is always open to anyone who needs shelter, especially young people who have nowhere else to go.
🩸 Rahil hides deep emotional trauma and survivor’s guilt behind his flirty, flamboyant attitude.
🩸 His heart is so big... It makes me want to hug him, to spoil him. He’s become my fav.
🩸 He feeds through hookup apps, a win-win for him (such a twink), but it’s getting riskier every time.

⚠️ Content Warnings:

👉 Angsty
⚠️ Alcohol Consumption
⚠️ Blood Consumption (w/ consent)
⚠️ Medication Use
⚠️ Migraine & Vomiting
⚠️ Short-Term Memory Issues (related to chronic anxiety)
⚠️ Insomnia
⚠️ Chronic Illness Rep
⚠️ On-Page Seizures (Human & Pet, no deaths)
⚠️ Grief, Loss & Trauma (includes past/implied deaths from cancer, homicide, and suicide)
⚠️ Physical Violence & Death (on page)
⚠️ Blood & Medical Exploitation
⚠️ Dog poisoning (Mc's pet, survives)
⚠️ Small Wild Animal Death
⚠️ Blackmail

👉 Found Family Vibes
👏 Superb Character Development
🥰 Love the Ending
😍 HEA (Yes, After All That!)

Cover: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars

💬 My Thoughts

🥰 If I thought the previous books were amazing, this one deserves six stars. I was completely immersed from the first page. The writing is so smooth and easy to read, with worldbuilding that feels both fun and meaningful.

👏 As always, Bryn writes about grief, chronic illness, and marginalization with incredible care and honesty. The emotions feel raw and real.

🥺😭 Merc and Rahil’s connection is slow, messy, and beautiful.
They carry so much grief, and instead of "fixing" each other, they learn to live, hope, and love despite the pain.
They may seem like opposites, but they see each other in a way no one else does.

🤌🥵 I loved their chemistry... from the delicious tension to the spicy scenes... but what really touched me was how much heart there was.
Their kinky dynamic was so fun and full of warmth. And honestly, who better for Rahil than someone who literally crafts kink gear?

😍 The way they support, tease, and heal one another had me falling for them completely.

🌈 I also really appreciated how the book explores pan, bi, and possibly ace identities without pressure or labels, just honest, heartfelt experiences.

💖 The secondary characters? I loved every one of them. The friendships, the return of familiar faces, the warmth of a true found family... it all made my heart full. The mix of humor, vulnerability, and spice took me on an emotional rollercoaster... in the best way.

🤣🤧🥰 I laughed. I cried. I swooned. I’m obsessed.

🐋▪︎FAV QUOTES▪︎🐋

■ 'Merc’s eyes narrowed. “I can make you regret that.”
“Please do.”'

■ 'Rahil held out both wrists expectantly. “Hurt me, daddy.”
Mercer wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. Or die, perhaps. What his mouth said was, “Not today,” followed by, “Your skin is giving me a headache.”
Rahil lifted a brow with a smirk.
“Not like that,” Mercer clarified, scowling at him. The expression only made his face hurt more. He sighed again instead and found himself patting Rahil’s still-outstretched wrists like he had to comfort the vampire.'

■ '“Fuck, you’re just as gorgeous without clothes.”
Mercer gave the chub on his thighs a little wobble. “It’s genetics?”
“Mm, no, it’s magic,” Rahil replied. “Definitely some fairy nonsense.” He ran his hand along Mercer’s knee as he sat down, touching him in such steady, smooth motions that it felt calming.
“And here I thought I was a bear.” Mercer gave the hair on his chest a ruffle as evidence. The way Rahil’s eyes dragged over him made his skin feel like fire.
“You can be everything. Infinite.”'■ 'Rahil’s nonchalant manner slid a little. “You’re not planning to gag me, right?”
“I think you might die if you can’t speak, so no.”
...
“And at no point have you refused,” Mercer reminded him, having far too much fun for his own good. If Rahil was going to taunt him so purposefully, it was only fair that he got the chance to retaliate.
“People pleaser, remember.”
“So you’d let anyone torment you like this?”
That made Rahil’s mouth shut entirely. He finally grumbled, “Only anyone with hands like yours.”'


■ 'He withdrew his finger from Rahil’s mouth and wiped the drop of blood from his fingertip onto his own lip, just to see what it would do to Rahil.
The vampire whimpered, watching him with the kind of pleading look that made him more puppy-dog than predator. “Fuuuuck,” he groaned.
“Not yet,” Mercer said. “Torture first.”'

👍I'm definitely going to read this again
🎧 Already excited to listen to the audiobook!

💯 I'm so excited to read the last book in this series... but I’m not ready to say goodbye. I need more stories with my vampires!

😉 Thanks for reading hope this helps you out!

I received this book as a gift from the author and am voluntarily leaving this review.