I would like to forget I read this series to get to read it for the first time again. This wasn't as strong as Silver Under Nightfall, but it was still a wonderful and satisfying conclusion. The fantasy and romance both standalone as wonderful and put together they easily go into one of my top fantasy series. I loved Remy the whole time and really wished that I could punch his father in the face but aside from that I left this series feeling wonderful, satisfied with the conclusion without everything feeling too neat. I adored this series

You know a book is good when your brain blocks out the fact this is the second part of a duology, you're reminded of this in the author's acknowledgments, and your first reaction is devastation at not being able to go on more adventures with these characters.

This book was an utter delight. It was my most anticipated ARC of the year and did not disappoint in the slightest. My only critique was the foreshadowing felt like an ACME anvil at times, but I found myself not caring because the journey was such a joy to go on with these characters.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about the polyamory rep in this book. Take note publishers and editors alike - love triangles are out and healthy polyamory rep is in. Our three MCs are so loving, tender, and caring toward each other. The way imbalances of power, insecurities of being the new person in a polycule, and the importance of consent were handled with such care while never feeling cheesy.





****Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review. ****

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!

Wow, writing this review is such a bummer. I LOVED Silver Under Nightfall, it was one of my absolute favorite books I read last year and probably of all time. To go from that to this book is so underwhelming and disappointing. The tone of this sequel was just so different, and the things that I loved from SUN (namely, the characters and their relationships) felt very underdeveloped and pushed to the side in favor of an unnecessarily convoluted plot. This is book 2, why are we just suddenly introducing all these worldbuilding elements that weren't even hinted at in book 1? One of my biggest issues with book 1 was some of the worldbuilding and the way I felt that certain plot points needed to be developed. I was optimistic that that would happen in this book but unfortunately that wasn't the case. I didn't feel any attachment to the new characters that were introduced, and all the new elements of the world just felt clunky. I wish this book would have focused more on the already existing characters and deepening their relationships instead of being so focused on court politics. I know this book was already pushed back once, but I wish it could have been pushed back more; I really think it would have benefitted from another round of edits to make it seem less... meandering, plotwise, and to flesh out the character interactions a bit more.

I still would absolutely die for Remy, he was the single saving grace of this book. That boy is dumb as hell and so loving and devoted and I cherish him.

3.5/5 stars

I think that I went into this book with too many expectations. I loved the first book in this series and was wanting more of that. I was struggling to get through this book and I'm not sure if it was a case of right book wrong time or what. I know I am going to pick up the audiobook when it comes out and see if maybe the format was the problem. I will definitely be picking it up again and seeing if it was a case of right book wrong time.

This book picks up right where Silver Under Nighfall ends. If you have not read the first book, stop reading this review because spoilers obviously.

Xiaodan is recovering after her battle with the Night Empress, and she still can’t call the sun. Malekh is trying to help heal her while also finding out more about the mutations fighting with the Night Empress. And Remy is just happy to be here. Just kidding, Remy is dealing with the aftermath of finding out that the Night Empress is his mother somehow resurrected. He’s also falling more in love with both Xiaodan and Malekh. On top of all that, there is a meeting at the Allpriory, and representatives from all the vampire courts will be there.

First, I love the healthy depiction of a throuple. There is so much loving respect between all three main characters, and the communication is so good. In any relationship, trust and good communication have to be pillars, and Rin does such a stunning job of depicting the trust between Malekh, Xiaodan, and Remy. The love story is more of a b-plot, and the main plot focuses on the Night Empress and the threat she poses to humans and vampires alike.

This book deals a lot more with the horrors of war, and we learn more about both Remy and his mother’s heritage. We also see more of Remy’s father and how he came to be the man he is. I love a good well-rounded character, and I think Rin does such an excellent job of making even the people we would consider to be villains seem human. Except Quinten Yost, he can die in a fire.

The only big qualm I had with this book is that there was so much back and forth trying to figure out who the bad guy was. It was clear the Night Empress had help; she literally had thousands in her coven, but no one leaped to the obvious conclusion (no spoiler). I felt like the characters could have spent less time traveling and making pit stops on the way to the Allpriory and more time with the history/lore of vampires. The politics once we get to the Allpriory could have been fleshed out more, as well as the names of the courts and their leaders. I felt like that added history would have added an extra layer. I didn’t really care about the other courts because their characters just seemed to be hostile and conniving. I thought Rin did such a good job fleshing out side characters, except for here. The descriptions of the other courts and their grudges fell flat for me.

Overall, if you’re a fan of the first book, I think you’ll like this, and it does have a satisfying conclusion.

Thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I was so nervous about reading this and honestly, rightly so. I’m not good with duologies usually. I struggle with the second book so much. This one is no different. I loved Silver Under Nightfall when I read it. I can acknowledge that it isn’t a book for everyone, but it was a book for me. However, Court of Wanderers was not the sequel I was thinking it was going to be. Whether that’s good or bad, I’m still trying to decide.

The first one didn’t have the fastest pace, but I found the second half more enjoyable than the first. This one was the opposite, I enjoyed the first half more than the second. As soon as the vampire politics really vamped up my interest waned. It’s strange to me because I usually enjoy books with a lot of political intrigue, but there was a lot going on during this section and a lot of information and world-building to set up for the ultimate reveals at the end. However, after slogging through the 50-75% bit I didn’t really care about the ending reveals as much as I should have.

This being said, I really love seeing Malekh, Xiaodan, and Remy again. I really enjoy their dynamics and seeing them relatively happy was a joy. Also, they’re super horny in this book, but the spice level is about the same as the first one with most of the action being implied rather than explicitly shown. I also quite liked being reunited with some of our side characters like Elke and being introduced to some new ones. However, character-wise my favorite thing is probably that we got to see more of the relationship between Remy’s parents and their backstory. It fleshed out their characters more and made both of them seem less terrible.

I liked seeing the shift in the relationships the most in this book. Our main trio had some shifts in their relationship, mostly in coming closer, but they did address the mortality question. No, I’m not going to tell you what happened. However, like I said my favorite relationship developments had to be between those of Remy and his parents. The shift in his relationship with his father probably being most drastic. I have a bit of a new found appreciation for Edgar Pendergast now. Ligaya was also an interesting character, but I sort of feel like the twist at the end did her a little dirty.

The strengthening of the relationship between Remy and his parents was also the thing that probably made the plot of this book the biggest downfall for me. I was sort of hoping that Ligaya was going on a rampage because Edgar was such a terrible father/person. I was looking forward to the conclusion of any drama between her and Malekh. However, by softening not only Ligaya’s edges, but Edgar’s as well, it made it so that the conflict I was hoping for couldn’t happen. So, am I disappointed, yes. Is it my problem? Yes. I can’t blame the author for having a different vision than I did for the conclusion of this story.

I’m gong to say something that I rarely do after I read a duology, but I almost wonder if this would have been better as a trilogy. I feel taking a bit longer to establish the other vampire courts with the reader, the other factions, ramp of some of the mystery and Ligaya’s backstory may have benefited the conclusion ultimately. I can’t decide. Very rarely do I think adding another book would have been the solution, but with this one maybe. And then we could have had a cover with Xiaodan on it.

Overall, I can’t say whether or not people who loved the first book will love this one equally. It has a very different vibe and trajectory than the first. If you loved the characters more than the plot of the first one, I think you stand a better chance. If you were really invested in the Gothic vibes and the infestation/science bits, I think you’ll be a bit let down by this one. If you’re into political intrigue, this may also work for you. I have a few other books by Rin Chupeco on my TBR and I still look forward to reading them.

Oh my precious little cinnamon roll himbo Remy; I love him even more.
I loved Silver Under Nightfall and I loved this book just as much. It's hilarious, heartfelt, a little crazy, and a lot steamy. I loved the continuation of the relationship development between Remy, Xiaodan, and Zidan. They are just the perfect throuple and they balance each other so well. Plus they're really hot (*coughs* throneroomscene *coughs*).
The plot gets more intricate with the addition of the other courts, Remy's father, and The Night Empress. I personally love political intrigues and mysteries and plots, so I ate all of this up. There were still plenty of battles and action scenes, so I never felt like things slowed down. I mean, my reading speed had to slow down at points for my poor brain to try to process the complexities of the reveals and machinations, especially towards the end, but that in no way took away from my enjoyment.
I love this world and I love these characters. I definitely got emotional at times, but I thought the ending was great.

Would definitely recommend, especially if you loved the first book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview. All opinions are my own.

I love this highly character driven series and the sequel did not disappoint, I'm a (blood) sucker for vampires and this had all the familiar tropes found in vampire fiction but with a lot of heart, this was slower paced than the first book but I still enjoyed it!

A Court of Wanderers (Silver Under Nightfall, #2)
Rin Chupeco
448 pages, ARC
Queer, Bloody Epic Fantasy

PUB DATE: APRIL 2, 2024
Thank you Netgalley and @SagaPressBooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.


Amidst a civil war in the kingdom of Aluria, vampire hunter Remy and his royal vampire companions—Lord Zidan Malekh and Xiodan Song—strive to reunite the remaining courts. Their mission: safeguard peace between humans and vampires while navigating the complexities of their own relationships.

I did not care for the overcomplicated storyline, but I was once again drawn into the vampire debauchery in this mystifying gothic world. I just love Remy's hunger for Malekh and Xiodan's sweet love for Remy. They are just a very cool, laid-back triad living a comfortable royal life full of battlefields, wine, and blood which is exciting for those who like the gory, vampire fantasy trope. Although some aspects of romance were enjoyable, some dialogue felt superficial and I wished the polyamory aspect had been explored more deeply. I also enjoyed the small instances of character development moments but they were too spaced out, akin to loading screens in a video game. Despite this, the vampire courts, passionate throuple love, well-executed battle scenes, and darkly gothic world kept me engaged. I mean, a world of silk nightgowns, taverns, carriages, poly vampires into Edwardian regalia ... it can be a girl's daydream. However, I craved more depth in character development and world-building. Overall, I recommend this book to those who enjoy slow-paced, vampire fantasy in a very Castlevania world with triads into public displays of heavy affection!

Rating: 3.75/5

Boy this was SO hard to rate. 3.5 read rounded down for reasons I'll get into soon. But honestly this was sort of a hot mess that really needed to be edited more tightly. Yes it's been a year and a half since I read book one but I shouldn't have felt a desperate need to reread it to make sense of this. I think that's a problem with the whole duology. It's very character driven, nothing wrong with that but it wants to be plot driven.

And the plot is murky at best and that's where it trips itself up and falls flat several times. The whole court system and who wants to kill who and why isn't as well defined as it needed to be, especially since the whole plot of this is the courts want to install Malekh in a place of even more power. The betrayals that come later in the book don't hit nearly as hard as they should because it's so convoluted and unclear it's hard to figure out why I should care about this other than it nearly takes out Remy, Malekh and Xiaodan.

And as much as I still like our trio there isn't much growth for them in this. The biggest question is will Remy eventually allow himself to be turned (more on that later)

For me the biggest issue was the editing. That above mentioned question about Remy is asked multiple times. Sometimes the trio said nearly identical stuff to what they said two chapters ago. It's like 'this again?' I swear sometimes authors/editors run up against deadlines, book one was hot so they don't take the time needed to fix problems. For me there were several repetitive things in it (this being one of the most egregious) that could have been tightened up. The author

Speaking of tightening, this is where someone should have stepped in and said enough is enough. The sex scenes made this feel like bad fanfic. Seriously put me in mind of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer hey days when you'd get 50 page stories with 10 pages of plot and 40 pages of people rolling around in bed. I got SO bored with the sex in this. That's all Remy/Malekh/Xiaodan do! If I sliced out the sex scenes I think this would be a third of the book would be gone. It felt far too much like was overly enamored of watching their lovelies screw that we needed to see this once a chapter.

And some of these scenes were pretty gross and I say that as someone who likes a little bondage, polyamory and dominant female scenarios. None of them were very explicit. On the other hand a very lengthy scene of human familiars servicing their vampires (Remy now included) during court while they're trying to do business as a show of I don't know? Dominance? wasn't sexy, just boring and uncomfortable. Another entire chapter was them fighting while screwing to the point I forgot they were actually having sex since the three of them were talking non stop. Does anyone actually do this?

Had some of the extraneous sex been chopped out (along with the repetition) the pacing issues could have been fixed because seriously I almost DNFed this in the boggy middle. I did very much like the ending even though it was seriously weird and I wished more time was spent on what Malekh and Xiaodan went through at the Allpriory because that should have been a BIG thing but it wasn't.

Not saying I disliked it. I am saying I didn't like it nearly as much as book one. That said, the ending is open and if the author came back to this world down the road I'd read it.

Respectfully, what the heck was that? If I hadn't been reading this as an ARC, I would've called it quits around the 60% mark. There's no way this was written by the same author as the first book. I am shocked at how truly bad it was. Like... wow, what a massive disappointment.

If you enjoyed the first book, or are interested in any of the below, and are up for potentially torturing yourself, give this a try! 🙃

• Single POV
• Political machinations; lots of courts, lots of secondary characters
• Old castles with hidden passageways and secret laboratories
• Frankenstein'd, necromantic creatures
• Vampiric wildlife (trees, flowers, birds, reptiles, etc)
• Battle scenes with aforementioned creatures and wildlife
• Poly relationship between the three main characters
• (Mostly) fade-to-black sex scenes with some light puppy play

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press - Simon & Schuster for the e-ARC. 💌

Thank you to the publisher - Saga Press - and NetGalley for this eARC!

3 stars

This is an unfortunate turn of events. Book 1 was an enjoyable popcorn read that came at the perfect time. This book however was difficult to even get through.

The book’s prose would pull me out of the story. I would have to stop, go back and work out what was actually meant.

Overall, the pace was positively glacial, whereas the exposition of the eight courts and wider world-building was entirely too fast. The majority of this book was exposition for a final battle that was maybe 30 pages. And then we had another smaller, final battle. And then we had the MC dealing with the ramifications. And then he has to get his happily ever after.

There wasn’t enough development taken with the many side characters each with centuries of history in their respective courts. No less than 12 new characters were introduced in a confined setting all of whom were referred to by different names or titles making it difficult to keep track of who was who.

The point is that this book felt like two books compressed into one. I really wish I had found it to be a more satisfying conclusion.

It’s rare that I like a sequel better than book 1, but I think that Court of Wanderers beats Silver Under Nightfall! We get more worldbuilding, more vampire politics, more and bigger battles, and (my personal favorite) more of Remy’s family.

My complaint from book 1 still stands - I don’t feel like we know anything substantial about either Malekh or Xiaodan, and I feel like the romance is very contrived. I just don’t believe anyone is in love! This bothered me a fair amount, as I think the romance is a major selling point of this series, and it especially felt weird because I think the other relationships in this book are absolutely fantastic. Elke and Remy’s friendship is so well written, and the relationships within the Pendergast family were so incredibly raw and tangible. I think my thoughts on the romance in these books are pretty unpopular, so don’t let it dissuade anyone from trying these out! I think this is a case of ‘this didn’t work for me personally’ and not ‘this is just plain bad’.

Another unpopular opinion, given the other early reviews I’ve seen - I LOVED the vampolitics (new word I’m coining for vampire politics). The scenes at the Allpriory really felt like a group of people who had been bickering for hundreds of years. It was a little complicated and hard to follow, sure, but that made it all the more enticing. I do wish that maybe we had a map of Aluria and the surrounding lands - I have the paperback of book 1 so maybe this was a feature in the hardcover? - but I had a bit of a hard time discerning where all of the different events were taking place during the war.

Despite my difficulties placing the many locations, I loved the continued worldbuilding in this book. The bloodwoods were fantastic, a little bit reminiscent of George RR Martin’s weirwood groves, and the lore surrounding the Godsflame made a few bits from book 1 make more sense. The revelations about Wikaan kindred added a distinct tang of grief to the fight against the Night Empress that I think made the story even richer.

Rin Chupeco does minor characters so well. Even characters we just get a little glimpse of feel so real. In particular I’m thinking of Lorien, Alegra, Riones, Isabella, and Trin, but this is true of pretty much all of them.

I won’t say much about this for fear of spoiling anything, but Remy’s relationship with his parents was my favorite part of this series. Both Ligaya and Edgar Pendergast are complicated, flawed people and they both failed Remy as parents despite loving him deeply. For circumstances both within and beyond their control, they would never be the happy family unit that Remy wanted so badly, and the tiniest glimpses we got of that made it even more painful that it could never truly happen.

TLDR: Court of Wanderers broadens the world of Silver Under Nightfall and expands upon themes of belonging, kinship, choice, and inheritance in the violent, volatile world its characters inhabit. If you enjoyed the political and worldbuilding aspects of Silver Under Nightfall, I think you will like its sequel even more!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

I really enjoyed Silver Under Nightfall, so my hopes were high for Court of Wanderers! Overall it was very similarly paced and structured as book one, but can definitely say I liked the first one more.

I liked how Remy’s relationship with Xiaodan and Malekh grew and didn’t find anything odd with their “puppy” treatment given the context,

—-lots of spoilers!—-

However, the end felt very anticlimactic. I couldn’t tell what was going on or where the characters were or even who the characters were. The betrayal of the Antecedents fell flat, the Godsflame didn’t turn out to be as important as we thought it would and the Night King/Night Empress switching minds back and forth really threw me. And then suddenly we’re on a beach? Making dinner?

Overall, kind of disappointed. I still think this series is great and that poly relationships should definitely have a space in books and could absolutely be written about more.

Thank you Net galley for this E-ARC. the first book was amazing but sadly this book was not what I was expecting. I was glad to see all my favorite characters again, yet it felt like they were written so differently in this book which really pulled me out of the story. I am super sad this was not what I wanted it to be but I look forward to reading Rin's other work!

An excellent sequel! The first book in the series had me wanting to know more about the world that the author was building, and this sequel did not disappoint in delivering that.

I was interested to see how Mx. Chupeco would wrap this, and frankly, this is a great way to do it. We have a triad finding their footing and their security with each other, while also dealing with the whole threat from last book and vampire courts. The vibes are great, and it’s good to see this wrapped in a way that Mx. Chupeco could continue if they so choose, but leaves things well enough for now. Definitely pick this up when it comes out in April!

Court of Wanderers picks up where Silver Under Nightfall ends. Reading them back to back was a great choice, as it made falling back into this world effortless. I'm not going to recap, as to avoid spoilers, but this book is made up of attempts to heal and solve problems with all of it being incredibly difficult.

Remy, Malekh, and Xiaodan are all dealing with their own internal turmoil over the events of book one. They also now are struggling to deal with all of the new challenges being thrown at them. Throughout this book their relationship continues to grow and develop. I love watching Remy settle into his relationship with them and be able to understand their emotions and decisions. They are all so cute and I adore them! Definitely one of my favorite polyam reps in books that I've ever read.

Remy getting to develop his relationship with his father and mother was another great element. I appreciate when there are lots of different relationships represented. In this one both romantic and familial are highlighted.

Throughout there is plenty of action and the plot moves pretty quickly, but still leaves time for slow, tender moments as well. I thought the balance was great. The end ripped my heart out, but I feel like it was the right decision.

Overall, a fabulous sequel! I am so glad I got to delve deeper into this universe and these characters. Highly recommend to any romantasy fans.

Silver Under Nightfall was a great read when released, so I've looked forward to the sequel. Sold as queer, bloody Gothic epic fantasy series, vampires, political intrigue.... Yep. Must read. As always, Rin delivers.

I looooooooooove how this ended! Thank you Rin for now cliffhangers 😂 I think this one is even better than book 1! The moments with Remy’s mom and dad had me tearing up 🥹🥹