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book_gremlin42's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
cheye13's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I loved this book. I loved being back with our trio, and getting more history about them and our side-characters, and more lore from the world in general. My main complaint is that I simply want more. I wanted a whole third book, and instead the second installment is half the length of the first. The whole back third of this second book read as if it were supposed to be the finale to a trilogy. The relationship with Remy's parents is healed ridiculously fast and completely skimmed through, much like the hinting of the colonization plotline. I thought that was so excellently set up in the first book only to become so hamfisted and blunt in this one – without any exploration or resolution.
Of course I'll dive further into Chupeco's backlist, but I adore their adult style, and I hope they have more in the works.
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, and War
Moderate: Grief and Colonisation
Minor: Chronic illness
brief scene involving under-negotiated (though consensual) kink regarding voyeurismkarambit's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The third “twist” villain just seemed like a hasty attempt to tie together the two books and was honestly not needed. I was almost moved by Remy’s relationship w/ his dad + the family scenes at the end, but it’s strange that he was even given a “redemption” in the first place when there’s a scene early on where Remy talks about how his dad is largely responsible for his sexual abuse??
I remember seeing a lot of comments talking about how Remy and Malekh don’t have a lot of connection between just the two of them, and I feel like that’d probably carry over into this. It just seems like a really wide jump from “I watched you kill my brother” to “Actually I was just horny the whole time 😋” like ?.,l,/..;’.’; Xiaodan was unconscious for so long I thought they’d bond more on their own. A lot of the foundations of their relationship in this seems to be Remy is insecure>Xiaodan/Malekh comfort Remy>they all have sex>Remy is insecure again. The focus on sex was a little funny though b/c usually idc about sex scenes but something about the way they’d go, “Omg these vampire court customs are so predatory! Btw did you know Xiaodan has a strap 🙀” made me laugh.
Wish the author had explored the themes of colonization more, b/c I think Ligaya’s story was definitely the most interesting, even if the vampires’ part in it had me a little confused.
The fanfiction vibes were about the same in this one (you could definitely see the remnants of internet speak), but it’s a fun book I guess if you don’t take it too seriously. Ending felt a little open, almost like there was going to be an epilogue and there just wasn’t. Also completely random, but I thought it was funny how there were almost no physical character descriptions for the majority of the book like what do they even look like 😭
Overall fine, thought it’d be a lot worse based on reviews. I was entertained reading it so that’s all that matters ig.
Graphic: Death, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, and Gore
Moderate: War, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
thetaoakdown's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Medical content, Alcoholism, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
tifftastic87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Court of Wanderers wrapped up the threads of Silver Under Nightfall perfectly for a duology. The story started right where the last ended with Remy traveling to the Third Court with Xiaodan and Malekh. As the story unfolds we learn more about the Night Empress and the politics of the vampire courts. Other mysteries are introduced along the way with a bit of a locked room murder and people not being who they seem. As a whole it was a really enjoyable series to read and I liked the interpretations of vampires in Rin Chupeco's world.
Remy's character arc was nice to read as he increased in confidence in both himself as a person and in his relationship with Xiaodan and Malekh. The character of the Night Empress is also flushed out a bit more and we learn of her backstory and how she came to be. However, I felt Xiaodan and Malekh kind of faded a bit more into the background in this book and wished they had a bit more of their own storyline.
Overall, the pacing was sometimes difficult with many pages of worldbuilding after an intense action seen. The pace was never slow or fast but more of a stop and start, where I would have preferred a steady increase. I think that is the aspects of the romance plot coming through that while I enjoyed, seemed to somewhat slow the plot.
That being said I like how the romance unfolded and Remy, Xiaodan and Malekh all had things that they gained through their relationship in terms of character growth.
Lastly, I really enjoyed the horror elements of this duology. The creatures created were ghastly and their deaths gruesome and that kept me coming back for more.
Graphic: Body horror, Self harm, Death, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Sexual content, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Terminal illness