“Remy Pendergast and his royal vampire companions return to face an enemy that is terrifyingly close to home in Rin Chupeco’s queer, bloody Gothic epic fantasy series for fans of Samantha Shannon’s The Priory of the Orange Tree and the adult animated series Castlevania.
Remy Pendergast, the vampire hunter, and his unexpected companions, Lord Zidan Malekh and Lady Xiaodan Song, are on the road through the kingdom of Aluria again after a hard-won first battle against the formidable Night Empress, who threatens to undo a fragile peace between humans and vampires. Xiaodan, severely injured, has lost her powers to vanquish the enemy’s new super breed of vampire, but if the trio can make it to Fata Morgana, the seat of Malehk’s court—dubbed “the Court of Wanderers”—there is hope of nursing her and bringing them back.
En-route to the Third Court, Remy crosses paths with his father, the arrogant, oftentimes cruel Lord of Valenbonne. He also begins to suffer strange dreams of the Night Empress, whom he has long suspected to be Ligaya Pendergast, his own mother. As his family history unfolds during these episodes, which are too realistic to be coincidence, he realizes that she is no ordinary vampire—and that he may end up having to choose between the respective legacies of his parents.
Posing as Malek and Xiaodan’s human familiar, Remy contends with Aluria’s intimidating vampire courts and a series of gruesome murders with their help—and more, as the three navigate their relationship. But those feelings and even their extraordinary collective strength will be put to the test as each of them unleashes new powers in combat at what may be proven to be the ultimate cost.”
I got an ARC of this book.
I loved the first book. Then the publisher emailed me about the second. I was beside myself excited. I definitely freaked out and told everyone I knew that I had gotten the sequel of the queer polyam vampire wildness. No one was prepared for me to read the sequel, especially not my daughter.
My daughter has a wonderful/terrible sense of timing. Every single time there was a sex scene, she walked in. Every. Single. Time. There was a lot more sex in this one, but it was not overly graphic. I wish it was a bit more graphic, because hot damn. This triad is HOT. I need to know every detail. It is pretty rare when I want more details in sex scenes. But I NEED to know exactly how Malehk bottoms. I want to know exactly how Xiaodan tops. GIVE ME THE DETAILS.
This book was wild. There was so much happening. The world of the vampires was really fleshed out. There was less human political intrigue, which is a big bonus. Vampires have more drama and grudges. It felt like the natural evolution of this story. It really just grew and became even more fascinating. It felt like the perfect addition to the world. There was a higher focus on the interpersonal intrigue than in building up the world. So it felt like more happened, but it also felt a little bit less shocking.
I don’t even really know where to start with why I liked this book. It was perfect. It had so many intense characters. It really showed the growth of Remy. Remy feels more like an adult in this one. He was actually engaging in the world instead of raging against it. He was an equal to the vampires in his contributions. It just felt like the best character growth for him. There was still some rage, but it felt more like he was picking his battles and setting boundaries instead of being a mess.
I can see so many other places this story can go. Doing a prequel about Xiaodan would be perfect or Remy’s mother. I just need more of these characters. I feel satisfied with how everything happened and where things ended, but I don’t want to let go.
Things I told my partners out of context:
Well, the MC just learned what a dildo and yogurt were.
Grumpy man says he is a switch, bet he is a power bottom.
THE SUN IS GONE.
The sun is back?
Does his mom see his sex dreams?
Vampire nuns!!!!
5 out of 5 stars. I would recommend this book.
You can buy the book here.
~Isaiah
MI Book Reviews 