This book had a great premise and Chupeco is a good writer so I was looking forward to this one, but despite multiple attempts to read it, I just couldn't get into the story. I'm very surprised this happened because I've loved Chupeco's other works that I've read. Maybe this is one exception.

My first ever Rin Chupeco book and it did not disappoint. I was hooked from the very first page and I wish I could go back and read it for the first time all over again

I loved every single page and every single minute of this book! I loved the gore, I loved the setting, I loved the characters, I loved the plot...I loved it. A pretty much perfect vampire novel for me, with the right amount of fear mixed with a healthy dose of spice all wrapped up in a Gothic bow. Definitely my favourite Rin Chupeco book and I cannot wait for the follow up.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really wanted to love this one as I love Vampires but I just sadly couldn't get into this one.

This is definitely a 'me not you' situation as so many people love this book and because of that I tried multiple times to power through but it just wasn't for me.

I'm so sorry!

Would I read anything Rin Chupeco writes? Yes. It's a given. But this story was so special and unique! I adored the dark and gothic atmosphere, the polyamory relationship, and I cannot wait for the second book!

maybe it was just because i was brought up on Buffy that i had issues with this books
i found it so slow and i even put it down 7 times and read something else and then tried again with it, there is not much world build which was a shame and i found the plot holes annoying at times, the only good thing is the characters and so once i finally got in to the book those were the only thing that keep me reading this book as there was nothing else that would have kept me from DNF-ing other wise,

I don’t know why I waited so long to pick up this vampire epic. Reminiscent of Empire of the Vampire and Underworld I was drawn into this medieval world with reaper and a vampire mystery.

The battle scenes were dark and brutal, and the atmosphere in the first section of the book was eerie.

Remy, the reaper finds himself working alongside vampires to investigate a mutant vampire discovery. Remy was frustrating at times acting very childish but this did make for some funny dialogue. This book also has a polyamorous relationship and some spice.

Really looking forward to the next book!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I went to read this book and the download hadn’t worked for some reason so I am unable to review it. I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on this one so I will update my review once I get a copy!

Didn't finish this, not engaging and clunky writing. Wouldn't recommend, despite an interesting concept.

Preliminary 5-star review. Will post a full review and adjust the rating accordingly after I finish the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

I've read several books from Ron Chupeco in the past, and really enjoyed their writing style however I found myself really struggling with Silver Under Nightfall.

I think my main issue is the lack of world building. The reader is thrown into this medieval court setting with various different vampire factions. Except we don't see or hear much about the other courts besides the one our main characters are involved in There's also a mystery surrounding an infection turning vampires into something 'other' that never really grabbed me (and kind of fizzled into nothing). The romance takes centre stage, and although there's certainly some sexy vampire scenes and polyamory, beyond that it just a bit lacklustre and didn't hold my attention.

I think this one can definitely be chalked up to personal taste. I'm not a massive romance fantasy fan, and I'm very much a plot driven reader. This one will certainly appeal more to character driven, romance lovers.

Murder mystery + vampires = must-read! I raced through this atmospheric tale that puts a new spin on vampiric lore. It was action-packed and fun from beginning to end.

Whilst I felt this book was longer than I felt was necessary, I still loved it so much! I struggled to get through it because of how long it was but that didn't stop me reading it in a couple of sittings. I loved everything from the characters to the plot to the setting.

Five stars,
Absolutely loved the romance.
The pacing was well written and I felt the story progressed really well and as always with any Rin Chupeco book I loved the writing style and the way they write characters.
I really hope there is gonna be more books in this series cos the ending leaves you wanting more and I definitely want to read more from the trio in this one!!

A brilliant story about family, vampires and blood. I loved everything about this book, it was the perfect gothic story I was waiting for, with complex characters and intricate worldbuilding. Totally recommended it.

Vampires? Dark? Humorous? Threeway? Count me in!! I loved this book from the beginning to end, Rin is an amazing author and I cannot wait to read more from them

2.5 stars

Silver Under Nightfall follows Remy, a Reaper (vampire hunter) and a vampire couple, Zidan and Xiaodan, as they work together to investigate a new vampire breed set to unsettle the vampire courts. As the story progresses, Remy realises a lot of what he thought about vampires is wrong and he starts to fall in love with the enemy he has been raised to kill.

My main issue with this story is that Remy is unlikeable - he’s the character we follow and yet he’s the one hardest to root for. From the start we have him puffing his chest out and having a pissing contest with Zidan because he fancies his fiancé. He keeps goading and sizing up to Zidan and sulking when he sees him with HIS FIANCÉ because he has decided, from their first interaction, that he wants Xiaodan and she wants him. Zidan has actually done nothing wrong to Remy and yet he instantly dislikes him, whatever he says, whether he appears, we get some petty comment in the narrative from Remy, it’s tiresome and childish. Later it turns into sexual tension and more but it highlights the maturity imbalance (and age) between the 2 and why them being lovers is uncomfortable.

While we see that Remy is not accepted by his peers and superiors, that he was pushed into a sexual relationship with an older woman when he was 15 (which is wrong but only mentioned once that it’s wrong) and mostly off page he has done some nice things like save Elke, on the page I just found it difficult to see or understand why the book is such a Remy fan-book, why characters on the page are rushing to compliment him, defend him, elevate him, when on the page he is either shut off and difficult to ‘get’ or acting childish and entitled, stubborn, hotheaded and judgemental about vampires (while an outcast based on prejudice and having no issue with Xiaodan because he’s horny for her). In the partnership of Remy, Zidan and Xiaodan he is undeniably the weakest link, he’s not remotely as strong (without them), gifted or intelligent, when Zidan calls him a liability he’s affronted but literally how is he not and it’s ridiculous when he’s considered an equal later on. In comparison to the other 2, in age, experience and ability, he is effectively a child, so it’s an odd group, especially when romance and sex is involved. I just don’t understand what he offers to the arrangement or his purpose in the thruple or plot, or the attraction to him all while he’s actively protected and treated throughout the book as this shining star? Effectively you’re told Remy is this amazing, honourable, irresistible man but not really shown he is to decide for yourself. Why either members of this power couple desire him when they have each other, who are sexy and kind and clever and tolerable, it’s weird. They basically just feel sorry for him and he stomps his feet and says he doesn’t need looking after and doesn’t want to be left behind and he needs love but doesn’t deserve it and they can’t resist coddling him (or “tupping” him…)

The other 2 characters, Zidan and Xiaodan are pretty cliche, standard fantasy characters but nonetheless more interesting, likeable and sexy. Malekh is a 900 year old vampire with a tortured backstory and a brooding disposition. He supports Xiaodon, he clearly admires and respects her and has faith in her strength because he steps back and doesn’t challenge her voice, space or needs. He’s a man secure in who he is and who he loves. Likewise Xiaodan is a strong character, she’s a badass vampire who can create her own sunlight, she has 2 men wanting her and yet she’s not defined by or answering to either. Xiaodan does feel like a bit of a waste of a character in that we know so little about her, she’s more of a prop for the polyamorous theme, but as an idea I liked her.

The poly romance itself, I had issues with it. I hate a love triangle so an uncomplicated diversion of it is preferable. But as mentioned above, I just didn’t understand it. First there is the clear power imbalance, Malekh is 900, Remy is what, 25? Remy is also clearly written as a character with a lot of insecurities when it comes to love, sex and relationships, expecting to use sex to trade for information and not ever feeling loved - cue two literal predators wanting him. Likewise the way Remy behaves is often very immature, he’s petulant, he sulks, he goads and provokes to cause a reaction, while Malekh very clearly acts like a mature man, Remy often acts like a boy. Remy also wants Xiaodan, however to have her he must also have Malekh, who enjoys teasing him about having him, which clearly makes him uncomfortable. In fact several sexual encounters happen when he’s in a vulnerable state, physically or emotionally.

As a relationship it just doesn’t feel healthy at all. Remy is a contradictory character, he’s both put on a pedestal as a heroic saviour, come the end he’s holding his own against experienced vampires and the best, bravest human being in the whole world, and also very much framed as a victim, never knew he is mother (he was literally cut out of her dead body), social outcast, Dad abuses him, used for sexual favours, doesn’t think anyone would want or love him and reacts emotionally constantly. The dynamic is very childlike.

On top of that, there’s also the fact that Remy lusts the couple, but that’s all you get, you know how badly he wants to have sex with Xiaodan and how he’s curious about Zidan. Meanwhile the couple themself freely speak of love, have a history of commitment and tenderness with each other. I don’t get that Remy loves Xiaodan, he clings to her love, but in return he has lust and desperation and clings to her and thinks it’s love. For Zidan he has just lust, if that, and the desperation for Xiaodan meaning he must be open minded to Zidan to keep her, but it feels forced, when Zidan is actually a total babe. Meanwhile it just annoys me how he comes into a pre-established relationship and judges how Zidan treats his fiancée, starts off immediately trying to seduce Xiaodan while knowing she’s betrothed (and before knowing the arrangement), he literally knows nothing about them and is not involved in their past or intimacy but feels he can pass comment. I know I’m meant to feel sorry for him but I aggressively disliked him.
Personally this just read like an older, experienced couple using a 3rd person, younger and needy, like a toy, a pet. And what was most troubling was how it’s Remy’s vulnerability and need to be loved which was like glue that kept it going.
Zidan and Xiaodan as a couple i liked, they were the only dynamic in the thruple that worked, i actually hated how little you got of them without Remy included, he’s a third wheel, a brat and unnecessary when they’re sexy without him, literally the only sexy sex scene was just the 2 of them when she’s feeding off of him sat on his lap. Take Remy out of this book (or kill him) and this book would’ve been far, far better, he added nothing but issues and angst.

Now the writing. The women are invariably written as being beautiful, before anything else, or in exchange for anything else, we know Giselle takes Remy’s breath away, Elke is beautiful, Xiaodan with her legs out and the top of her breasts showing, Queen Ophelia is immediately described as “handsome not beautiful”…, Queen Yingyue “heartbreakingly beautiful” … immediately the author has a habit of going for a woman’s attractiveness when she’s introduced.
Also, in terms of the writing, I read Kristoff so the I’m not a prude when it comes to swearing, but it just seems forced, “c*ntsack”, “c*ntrabbit” etc, and some very cringe lines that feel like they don’t belong. This is a 500 page book but it doesn’t need to be, Remy’s insecurities are repeated more than they need to be as well as someone telling him how much he deserves to be loved and how special he is, the sex scenes aren’t sexy and are overdone, the twists are obvious, the weapon on the cover, ‘Breaker’, is hugely impractical and I couldn’t ever picture it being used and, likewise, I couldn’t get a picture of Remy in my head other than knowing he had dark skin.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2022, so you can imagine how excited I was to read it. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I was hoping to. A vampire story set in a fantasy setting inspired by the Regency Era and with a polyamorous relationship? It sounded very promising and I was quite intrigued at the beginning, but the insta-love and the lack of world-building made me lose interest as the book progressed.

Gothic Vampires.. sold! Doesn't take a lot to convince me when that's the topic at hand. Put it all in a fantasy setting and we have a winner.

Remy is a Reaper, a bounty hunter for Vampires but in light of some dubious concerns about his parentage, given his mother's association with Vampires when she was pregnant, he is an outcast in the very group he was raised to be a part of.

Remy takes a job which no one else wants and there meets a fierce vampire and a new type of vampiric enemy. Remy then decides to travel with Xiaodan and Malekh, the aforementioned fierce vampire, to get to the bottom of the new threat and is surprised with what he finds out about everything, including himself, along the way.

I loved this world, very medieval gothic feel and the dynamic between Remy, Xiaodan and Malekh was amazing, I loved seeing how that developed.

Great, loveable characters in a lush fantasy world, throughly enjoyed this one!

Another 2022 fave for me, Rin Chupeco is something else. Absolutely loved this one, they just get better!

I love vampires and I was intrigued by the romance prospects and it didn't disappoint. The characters were surprising cinnamon rolls and I just fell in love from the first chapter. The book is wonderfully sciencey and full of action to go alongside the beautiful character relationships and friendships. Honestly hope there is a sequel, it sure does seem like it.

I can't wait to follow Remy, Xiodan and Zidan on more adventures.