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.

I acquired a physical copy of book 1 and plan to come back to this one after reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga for the ARC.

I absolutely loved “Silver Under Nightfall” and jumped at the chance to read this sequel. It picks up with our dear Remy along with Zidan and Xiaodan on their continuing quest to deal with the Night Empress. Filled with lots of action and intrigue, this was a fantastic sequel! The author mixes the perfect blend of gothic horror, witty banter, and sexy heroes (as well as villains) to keep the pages turning. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read!

Great finish to this exciting, fun duology !
The story of Remy, Xiaodan and Malekh continues. The story not only focuses on the evolution of their relationship but also the battle to defeat the Night Empress.
The story is well written and has many interesting characters, both good and evil.
I enjoyed the descriptions of the mutated creatures. The author has quite a vivid imagination!
If you enjoy a good fantasy/vampire story then pick up the first book in the series! I think you’ll enjoy these two books. Happy reading!

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC!

When I first started this series, I had no clue what I was getting into. Now, thankfully, I know better.

In this follow up to Silver Under Nightfall, Chupeco continues to follow our favorite threesome (no pun intended) as they fight off rival clans of vamps who are all vying for power. While SUN was a pretty even split between political intrigue and toe curling fucking, CoW is actually mostly political intrigue. The romance and locked room murder mystery elements are more sprinkled on, if anything. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I expected that, because I don't tend to be a romance person, I would have liked this installment more than the first. Taking me but perhaps nobody else by surprise, I actually didn't like this as much as I did SUN. Maybe it was the fact that the romance in the first book took me completely by surprise that let me enjoy it more than I would have otherwise? But now that I was expecting romance and there wasn't anything nearly as wild as SUN, I was honestly a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong, there was some pretty wild stuff in there. The angst was certainly there and there was important character development for all three of the main protagonists. But as a whole, I was more tapped into the court politics than anything else. This did feel like connective tissue to where else the series is going, and you could certainly feel the scale and stakes expanding as the scope of the series gets larger.

Silver Under Nightfall is my favorite book I read in 2023, and I was waiting ever so patiently to read the sequel. A huge thank you to Saga Press for sending me this ARC to review.

4.5 stars, Rounded Up
Court of Wanderers starts off immediately after the very dramatic ending SUN left off on, and we waste no time resolving some of the conflicts set up at the end of that book, and also jumping into an all out war with the Night Court. The book moves very fast early on, but for the most part everything is perfectly paced, with us staying at each new location long enough to get a feel for its role in the story, collect the relevant info, and then move onto the next leg of the journey.
A weird request for this book is that I wished it included a map, since I tend to get lost with fantasy world location names, and early on it would’ve been helpful as a way to ground myself when reading.
This book overall is more focused on world-building and vampire court drama than the first book, which I think mainly dove into Remy’s character and established his dynamics with Xiaodan and Zidan. At the same time, this book does feel like it leans into the more “silly goofy” parts of Romantasy Worldbuilding that makes me take it a little less seriously than I did the first book, but I don’t come to fantasy for realism.
Even with the shifted focus, the characters are what I love and are the heart of this series. Remy feels more self-assured and has gone through a lot of character growth that we love to see. Xiaodan really stole the show for me; she’s my favorite character and brightens up any scene she’s in (really living up to her role as the sun incarnate XD).
Overall, I really enjoyed this entry in the series, and can’t wait until it comes out so I can enjoy it all over again. 🙂 I would do anything for another book… Xiaodan needs her own cover!

I enjoyed the book. However, I wish there had been a greater focus on the characters and character development. This book seemed to be heavily plot driven, but I didn’t get the same sense of attachment to the characters and their world in general in this book as I did with the first book.

Fantasy, fantasy romance, and genre fiction in general have peaked with Rin Chupeco's Reaper duology. It's what Mary Shelley would have wanted.

In the sequel to Silver Under Nightfall, we rejoin Remy, Xiaodan, and Zidan on their gory, gothic journey to Zidan's home, where they continue to contend with the bloodthirsty Night Empress and the other fearsome vampire courts.

Ominously witty and unrepentantly horny, the story is rife with court intrigue, breathtaking action scenes, and mysteries throughout. The plot moves at a breakneck pace yet indulges each of the beloved characters - old and new - in amusing and heartfelt scenes. Each word on the page is a delicious morsel of the narrator's distinct and pithy voice. The reader finds themself rooting for each and every character, villains included.

Chupeco has written the perfect sequel. A masterclass in modern gothic fantasy, Court of Wanderers is nothing but fun, adventure, and deadly sexy vampires.

3.5 rounded down. I absolutely loved the first book for the atmospheric vibes and of course the main throuple so I was suuuuper excited to see how the developments would go for book 2. While the continuation of the relationship was okay, it lacked the depth I was hoping we would get. The focus was way too much on the court politics in this book, and I didn't feel invested in basically any of the new characters. The atmospheric vibes that I loved in the first book didn't really continue here, imo, either.

There were definitely some nice moments between Remy, Xiaodan and Zidan, but especially with the continuation of the fade to black and lack of relationship building, I felt there were many missed opportunities as things just kind of felt a little too on the surface. I was hoping for more exploration of relationship dynamics and while the mystery of Remy and his mother was kind of compelling, it felt a little too drawn out and the mysteries of the murders wasn't as intriguing as the first book's questions. The ending was okay, but felt a little rushed due to the lack of more character-focused build-up. One thing that I really liked in the first book was that we did get to connect a little more with Remy and his point of view of things, and here it would've been nice to get more inner thoughts from the vampire or at least Remy navigating through the vampire courts. Instead, I felt the view was a little too zoomed out to connect with the events. I think the pacing of a duology could have worked if the plot was a little tightened up and we got more from the characters.

A brilliant conclusion to this duology, I’m sad to see these characters go but I’m so happy they got the ending they deserved! The poly romance in this is beautifully written, I love seeing more of these in books nowadays. The last 10% of this boom did feel slightly rushed and a bit clunky in places but overall highly recommend this if you’re looking for a gothic, vampire fantasy poly romance!

One of my most anticipated reads for 2024, I was so glad to receive this arc! I had so much fun being back with these characters, their dynamic is so adorable. I do wish this was a more character driven story because the political plot (which is usually just my type of thing) wasn't as intriguing as I had hoped and found myself continuously waiting for the characters to interact again. When they did interact however, it was so special and so cute!! these characters will definitely sick with me! (i do also wish there was going to be a third book so there could be a cover with Xiaodan to match the other two hehe)