Cover of Wanderers was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024. After reading, silver under nightfall, I knew that this book had to be amazing. And it would have been if it hadn't been for the pacing for me. I felt there was just too many downtimes where all they did is sit around and talk politics. Which I absolutely love court politics, especially when it comes to vampires. But also, it was just so slow and there wasn't enough action in between the politicking to keep me in thralled the way I was with the first book. I did not get as much of the conflict between Remy and his father that I wanted throughout the book. The relationship between the three main characters was still excellent. I found it to be so tender and loving. And a really great contrast to the violence that was inherently throughout the first book. I was looking for some more of that same feel from the second book and I just didn't get it.


That being said, it's not like I did not enjoy this book at all. It was a very middle of the road average Book for me and I would still recommend it. But I would only recommend it to those who are OK with a slower pace, more heavy on the court politics, kind of reader I would not recommend it to the same type of reader I would recommend the first book too, which would make it overall a harder ideology to recommend.

Okay, listen. If you read and adored the first book, you will read and adore this book, even though they are both quite different. Book one was quite action packed, while this is much slower and more mystery-based as opposed to fighting action (though there are several action scenes, don't get me wrong! Just not as many as book one). The thing about this sequel is the /tenderness/ of the relationship between our main three. Chapter one resolves the conflict of book one's ending, and then the whole rest of the book is just them learning how to love each other more deeply and beautifully, taking care of each other and knowing each other and what the others need. And it is so. fucking. beautiful.

Remy is leaning into his confidence, learning that it's okay to be loved and to love in return, and that he IS worthy of good things, of gentleness and care and adoration. He's dealing with his own anxieties and griefs through the whole book, but Malekh and Xiaodan are right there with him for every step of the way, comforting him through nightmares and supporting him through everything. And he, in turn, is there for them as Xiaodan wrestles with understanding who she is without her sun, and Malekh as he takes on the first court's memory. They are all so tender and gentle with each other, giving endless support through everything and being so fucking /good/. If romance was like this in other books, I wouldn't read anything else.

The relationship is definitely the best part of this book, though I really do wish we'd had some more of them at the end, but oh well. I really liked Remy's journey with the Night Empress too though, and all that was revealed through that. It was heart breaking but beautiful and brought a much richer depth to the story. His resolution with his father was good as well, though complicated given their history.

The writing was beautiful, as always, the mystery heart-stopping and intriguing. Lots more spice here, though once again so touching and beautiful because of how richly emotional this book is. Easy 5 stars again. My only regret is that I've started 2024 with reading this duology because it has completely ruined me for any other books! Would that there were a thousand books like these that could touch my heart so deeply and make me so irrevocably in love with fictional characters. I'm not being dramatic when I say that I will spend the rest of my life trying to find books like these.

I had zero expectations going into Silver Under Nightfall, and that book absolutely blew me out of the water, so I was beyond thrilled to receive an ARC of its sequel. That said, I had much higher expectations for this one—which, admittedly, is my fault—so I'm not surprised I was a teensy bit let down.

I want to start on a positive note which is that, my god, their relationship is SO. GOOD. Every time Remy, Xiodan, Malekh were alone together, I just couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. Their chemistry is absolutely unmatched; like, the sexual tension is through the roof EVEN THOUGH they have sex CONSTANTLY. HOW!!! I am losing my mind. And when they aren't having sex (rarely) (I'm not kidding, probably a solid half of this book is sex or talking about sex. I am not complaining), the three of them are so sweet and wonderful together in their own different ways. Their personalities are expanded upon from SUN, which I do feel was much needed in the case of Xiaodan, especially, and it's great to have all these tender, loving moments together. (And the ending. AHHHHHHHH. Rin Chupeco I owe you my life.)

Okay, I'm normal now. Onto the part I didn't like as much.

My god, the pacing. This book has so many scenes of characters sitting in rooms and talking about stuff, and while this is not usually an issue for me (I LOVE some good fantasy politicking), the first book was much more action-packed in comparison, which I found myself missing. Don't get me wrong; the action is still there, and it's really good; it's just not as much of a focus this time. And while I, personally, don't have an issue with this book having so much sex in it, I know some people will. If that's not your thing, I get it! It's mine, apparently, but definitely not for everyone. There's a plot here, absolutely, and stakes and tension, but it's not as much of a focus in this one as it was the first.

Do I recommend this book (and this duology in general)? Absolutely. I think Court of Wanderers has a satisfying, if a bit rushed, conclusion and ties up most of the threads from Silver Under Nightfall with a neat-ish little bow; if you're in it for plot, I think you'll have an alright time, especially if you were interested in the Night Empress and her backstory. If you didn't care about (or actively disliked) the romance in book one, maybe skip the sequel and thank me later. If you, like me, are here for a good time and not a long time and just want to see some polyamorous bisexual vampire lovin', read on and enjoy the fun!

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.

Thank you Rin Chupeco for giving the gays everything they've ever wanted. (I'm gays.)

This one was definitely slower than Silver Under Nightfall. There's a lot of characters talking politics for chapters on end that definitely drags the pacing down for most of the book. However, Remy, Xiaodan, and Malehk are absolutely perfect. I love them whole-heartedly and I'm glad that the vibe from the end of book one was swiftly taken care of. Remy remains THE character of all time.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc! I must say, it was a pleasant surprise to receive the approval email. I should start by saying I adore silver under nightfall, it was an endearing fantasy and plus VAMPIRES.
In all honesty, I struggled here. As a follow up to Nightfall, I guess I expected that same feeling of excitement to read and escape but it never came. Reading this inevitably felt like a chore, and for that reason, I had to rate it as I did. Not quite 3 stars but, not as low as a 2. I love the world and the writer but this installment didn’t hit As hard as I hoped.

A most anticipated return back to the world of Silver Under Nightfall! In this sequel we see the return of our main trio of Remy, Zidan, and Xioadan with a few other familiar faces along with some new ones. I liked learning more about court life, especially finally getting to visit the Third Court, and vampire political intrigue. I must be honest and say that our main trio really make this series and any interaction with the 3 of them shines in this book. Overall I can say that this book was fun, while not perfect … I think there was some weird pacing choices throughout, I enjoyed it a lot and kept picking it back up. If you enjoyed SUN l think you would also enjoy the sequel.

My rating: 4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press!

I had such high high hopes for this book after how much I loved the first one. Court of Wanderers focuses much more on the politics of the vampire courts and the relationship between the 3 main characters. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I missed some of the action of the first book. There were parts where it just read more like a history book than what I expected. I did still love this book, but the ending also felt rushed for this to also be the end of the series, I want to know so much more.

I read Silver Under Nightfall in January of this year (2023) and was so excited to read Court of Wanderers as soon as it came out so I was so excited that I was approved for an eARC by Saga Press and NetGalley.

Court of Wanderers expands so much on the world of the vampire courts and I loved learning more about them. I also thought the ending to the main plot in the two books was handled really well. I was anxious about the ending of the romance but I wasn’t disappointed!

I really love Rin Chupeco and I can’t wait to read more from them.

I’m going to start this off by saying. Book 1 (silver under nightfall) was my favorite book in 2023. And court of wanderers became my most anticipated read. I preordered a physical copy ($30). I could not stop thinking about book 1 so I tried to re read it. And then I found out NetGalley was offering this as an arc. I jumped at the opportunity to get this book. So imagine my disappointment when this was one of the worst books I have ever read. I loved these characters but they were not enough to push me through this book. Reading is subjective I know that but I canceled my preorder and will never read another series by this author. This book was drastically different from book 1. Everything you love in book 1 was taken out of this. My favorite part was the characters. They have no development whatsoever in this book and that’s what I wanted to see. They were still in the awkward stage of their relationship where they can’t even talk to each other. And Remy is still questioning whether or not they want him. But their sex life is perfect. I saw a review that said you can sum up all these characters in 2 words on good reads and they were not lying. Xiodan (kind and horny), Remy (talkative and horny) and Zidan ( smart and horny). Their whole relationship is built off sex. In the first book it was more of a slow burn and tons of tension and in this book I was hoping that it would progress and have some spice sprinkled throughout the book. But all we got was non stop arguing scenes between the characters. And then badly written smut scenes in every chapter and not only that but it was halfway fade to black. So it wasnt even worth it. What’s the point of writing spice in every chapter if it’s basically fade to black? And then when they weren’t having sex they were talking about it!!! And the vampire court politics involves sex. How am I supposed to take them seriously if they are having Remy and Xiaodan perform sexual acts in front of all of the vampire court nobles. Not to mention the human pet sex slaves?!? This book was creepy and weird. I like smut just like the next girl but this was horrible. And where tf was the plot?!? If you liked book 1 you might like this. But if you wanted development, plot, and amazing tension between the characters like you got in the first book then skip this and pretend book 1 was a standalone. I feel horrible if the author sees this review. But if they do I hope next time they decide to build off of what they already have written rather then whatever this was. I’ve heard some people actually like this so still give it a shot. But I’m just so grateful I was able to read this book here for free rather than the $30 hardcover. Because $30 for this disastrous book would have sent me over the edge. That’s all. Ima give it 2 stars on here but tbh it’s like 1.5 stars. And I rated book 1 six stars.
(Sorry for any grammatical errors. I won’t be editing this review)

Court of Wanderers was going to be one of my most anticipated books of 2024, but I got to read an ARC in October!!! And since this is only a duology, I was able to finish this amazing series in less than one year! It's such a bittersweet moment, and I'm going to miss Remy, Zidan, and Xiaodan. Ugh. That's the sad part about duologies and bingeing series, the magic is over too quickly. But, these books have captured my vampire-loving, fantasy-obsessed heart, so a reread may come in the very near future.

The three main characters are all back for this sequel, and they're trying to navigate their new relationship while dealing with bad vampires and undead monsters. Remy, as always, is a cinnamon roll in knight form, and I LOVE that his is the only POV we get. Too often authors use dual POV and it takes away from the mystery of the other characters, especially when it comes to romantic tension. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a romance. It's a fantasy similar in vibes to The Witcher, Empire of the Vampire, and even Van Helsing, the Hugh Jackman gothic paranormal film (not the original Dracula character). But all of those also have some interesting romances within the overarching storyline, and there's plenty of action, politics, and scheming to keep everyone entertained.

As for our other two characters, Zidan and Xiaodan, they're trying to figure things out. Zidan with leadership thrust upon him, and Xiaodan with her unreliable powers. I just adore these three characters' dynamics. One kind-of human, two vampires, and a lot of trouble.

With the plot, everything was so fast-paced, in a great way. I devoured it all. And even though I did forget a few details between reading book one and book two, it was very easy to get back into the world and story. It's a digestible fantasy. I will say that the ending was a little crazy and convoluted. Nothing terrible per se, but I would have preferred a little less chaos in that last 10%, or at least another chapter or two to settle things down after the craziness. There were also a few too many villain monologues, which made those last chapters a bit cheesy. Still loved the book, however.

All in all, I read Silver Under Nightfall in August of 2023 and got to read Court of Wanderers in late October, and now I feel like no other book will live up to this story. I want more! Ugh! Just give me domestic Remy, Zidan, and Xiaodan scenes, Rin Chupeco. Please! But anyway... Trust me, if you're a fan of The Witcher, Empire of the Vampre, Van Helsing, From Blood and Ash, or any other vampire paranormal story, this duology should be your next read.

4.5 stars

*Note: I received a copy of this book to review via NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

I read Silver Under Nightfall and immediately requested this ARC. I was so thrilled to be approved to read this early. I absolutely love this world. It is such an interesting take on vampire lore. I really enjoyed the added political and court intrigue in this book. I was so happy to have Remy, Xiaodan, and Zidan back in my life. One of the hottest and loveliest relationships out there. I know this is a duology but I would happily read more books in this world. I can't wait to see what Rin does next!

Massive thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press

Unfortunately, this book just didn’t capture my attention as well as book one did. I found Remy to be more whiny (maybe that’s the point but I found it annoying).

I wish the world building was more creative as well. I usually dislike world building that relies on dialogue as it does not feel natural.

I just felt like the pacing was off and I felt myself not being motivated to finish it. Unfortunately, this is my first DNF and I usually pride myself on pushing through.

Though I didn’t like this book, if you like political fantasy, if you liked the romance in book 1, if you like fade to black smut, this book might be for you.

Let me just say that I love Remy and Xiaodan and Malekh with all my heart and I was so excited to read this. I love their relationship and I love how Remy eventually comes into his own and learns to accept that he's more than what others think of him; that he's a person worth loving and living. That being said, this was honestly quite disappointing. It had its good moments (the triad's relationship expanding; the banter; the little moments with side characters; I did like Remy's expanded relationship with his parents--even though I think it could have been done a little better). Unfortunately, this book, despite being the last book (the author's note said this was a duology, which is just so disappointing), feels like a middle book. The ending was rushed to hell and the bulk of the book, despite moments of action was muddled down with a lot of expository conversation and not a lot of character-driven moments, which it sorely needed. This really should have been a trilogy, imo, because what the author was trying to accomplish didn't seem like it could be done in a satisfactory way (especially if, like me, you enjoy those more introspective, character-driven moments) in just two books. I really wanted to love this, but I'm left feeling kind of cold and I don't know if it's worth buying the book at release when all I'm left with in the end is the desire for so, so much more than I was given. Again, I still do love the world and the characters a lot. Just not quite enough to make me rate this any higher.

Reading the first few pages of this sequel was like a breath of fresh air. I loved the first book so much that getting the chance to read the sequel before a lot of other people was just amazing. I loved this so much and I can't wait until more from this author. Rin Chupeco is such a talented author and I appreciate their work so much. Do I wish that they had released the sequel sooner? Yes. But would I also rather have a good sequel released later than a bad sequel released sooner? Also yes.

So in other words, I love this series so much and I need more instantly.

A solid continuation to Silver Under Nightfall. I still really enjoy the worldbuilding and characters; however, the plot felt rushed and less organized than that of the first book. Even so, I would recommend the series overall for those looking for a queer vampire story.

I…do not know what to say. But to get the main point out of the way quickly, I don't know that I've ever experienced such a steep decline in quality from a first book to its sequel.

If you follow me anywhere you'll know that when I read Silver Under Nightfall I went FERAL. I was OBSESSED with that book it was so good. Five stars and of the 100 books I've currently read in 2023 it's easily in my Top 5. I cannot adequately describe how much I love that book and when I got the notification that I'd been approved for the ARC of this sequel I lost my mind.

So what happened!?

If I had to say just two words about this book, they would be: messy and rushed. This book is a mess. The plot is messy, the writing is messy, and the whole thing feels like it was rushed out which is bizarre for a book that was pushed back five or six months from its original release date.

Honestly, it feels like this book needs to go totally back to the drawing board. The pacing is terrible, the plot is overly convoluted and yet largely stagnant (as someone who typically loves Political Fantasy, the plot of this book is almost entirely politics and it just didn't work), characters are not consistent with the first book, the action is sub-par and always rushed, there’s an overreliance on sex to simulate character development and fill empty air time, and worst of all I was often just bored.

Almost everything that was great about Silver Under Nightfall is bad in this book, or non-existent at best.
- The action? Poorly writtten.
- The tension? What tension?
- The monsters? Rarely seen.
- The worldbuilding? boring and there's so much of it for the second book in a duology. Why are we introducing so many brand new world concepts that don't seem to mesh with the first book?
- The pacing? A whole entire mess. It jumps from agonizingly slow to outrageously rushed and back again.

And not to mention that there are some things that just fundamentally do not make sense in this book. There are leaps of logic in expository dialogue that I simply couldn't follow, would assume I'd misread something, re-read the preceding paragraphs, and realize that no I think the A to B connection they just made really just didn't make any sense.
At least one massive plot thread is completely dropped in such a way that I actually do think it needs to be fixed before this book is released in April, and I typically never expect changes beyond copy editing between ARCs and final publication.
One big character from SUN has a completely different personality for no reason. Not a redemption/fall arc because there is no arc, they've just done a total 180 from who they were in that book to this one for no dicsernible reason and Chupeco never addresses it. It's like they forgot the character they wrote in the first book.

What I did like about this book comes down to individual scenes and never the book or plot as a whole, and those scenes are always with Remy/Malekh/Xiaodan. Even with them though, I feel that this book so heavily relies on far too much sex to fill pages and pass time between scenes where it's not needed. "Too much sex" is another critique about this book I never would have believed if you told me before I read it, but it just feels like it's masking a lack of any real character growth or development from anyone and like it's being dangled in front of me like a shiny set of keys to distract from the everything else about the book being a mess.

Y'all. I am DEVASTATED. I will still be shouting my love for Silver Under Nightfall from the rooftops until my dying day, but I think I'll be recommending it as a standalone.

Amazing continuation of Silver Under Nightfall. I love a good queer story AND a good vampire story. My one complaint is that the plot, while insanely fascinating, also moves too fast at times. I kept losing track of what was happening.

I enjoyed "Silver Under Moonlight", the first book of the series, although I left with a few frustrations. They weren't enough to keep me from wanting to read "Court of Wanderers", and for the most part, I got the same fun out of the sequel as I did the first book: "Court" is a Castlevania-inspired vampiric tale featuring bloody action on the battlefield and blood action in the bedroom.

The good: one of my main complaints of book one was resolved: Lady Song finally has a solid personality! Her main character trait previously appeared to be "nice", but she got to do a lot more this time around and I found myself quite liking her. It was also nice seeing Remy come into his own after witnessing a lot of his self-doubt in book one.

The meh: This book was much more court/manners focused than book one, and honestly, the pacing suffered for it. The plot had a tendency toward info dumping and even though this one was shorter, it felt longer somehow. The air was a little out of the tires with regard to the poly romance as well; it just didn't receive the attention it needed to flourish this time around.

Overall: I'd recommend this to anyone who liked the first book. If you weren't sold on book one, I don't think book two would do it for you either. Still I had a good time with this series even if it didn't change my life.

A fantastic conclusion to this duology. This is pretty much exactly what I want from vampire media. Still dislike this cover though.