Vampires at Sea answers the most burning question of our time: what would happen if you combined Only Lovers Left Alive and What We Do In the Shadows and that gave birth to two vampires who then went on a cruise with a non-binary influencer?

If that isn't a question you have ever asked yourself, well, I can't help you.

Vampires at Sea is an interesting short novel. Rebekah, our narrator and protagonist, is a fascinating and funny character. She is at turns immensely shallow and surprisingly deep. The book revolves around her coping with an unexpected change in her centuries-old relationship with her husband, Hugh. Saying much more gets into spoilerdom, so suffice it to say that things get weird.

There were some moments of true originality in this book. And some of the quiet scenes were remarkable. The ending, however, goes very big and feels the tiniest bit rushed. So, not a perfect book, but a very good book.

This book is the type that once you sit down and start it, you’ll find you suddenly devoured it all in one sitting! An extremely enjoyable read with very interesting characters. However, I do think the ending was a bit abrupt and confusing at times and that’s why I knocked a star off. All in all I had a great time reading this and enjoyed the unique take on vampires!

Vampires at Sea by Lindsay Merbaum is a short romantic horror novella, aka, right up my alley. At the time of writing this, I have not yet decided whether this is getting a four or a five. It was beautifully queer and the main character was out. of. this. world. She was amazingly built and solidly independent. It does not often happen that a main character is that good and also my favorite character. Stunning writing as well, very well-developed for a book thats not set to release for another whole year. I think I am talking myself into giving this five stars, I genuinely cannot think of anything negative to say. I will definitely be picking up more by this author in the future.

for lovers of what we do in the shadows and carnival cruises

this is so crass and upfront in the best way. I adored Rebekah’s character, what a cool bitch! I felt very little for Hugh and was frankly pleased with Rebekah’s choice to ditch him at the end. I found the backdrop of this mysterious war interesting and the fact none of the characters seemed at all fazed spoke to their ancient age and own self interest

Outrageous and funny, I am teetering on that 5th star.

I will definitely be checking out more from this author

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

What a little banger. Only Lovers Left Alive if they were the energy vampires from What We Do In The Shadows and on a queer cruise. This was such a great little read, it felt like a fun romp but also has some introspection about relationships, jealousy, privilege, and lowkey the toxicity of the art world.

Loved the writing, the unabashed horniness, and the plot and characters were incredibly fun.

Thank you NetGalley and Creature Publishing for the ARC.

This was such a great, weird little time! The cover drew me in, the plot got me interested, and Rebekah’s narrative voice kept me going to the end. I’ve never read anything written quite this way, and knowing the slight WWDITS inspiration makes a ton of sense to me. I always enjoy a stream-of-conscious style narration and this book did that really well for me.

There were some smaller things I didn’t love. Particularly, I found myself confused about the time period. I know our main characters have been around for a long time, and had assumed this took place in a modern day world, but the wartime references made me think maybe otherwise? Additionally, the war felt mostly unnecessary to me as a plot point at all. I don’t know if it was intended as a way to keep everyone tied to one setting or if I missed something, but it confused me.

Overall, I just had a fun time with this one. It was serious when it required it, and silly in all the other places. Do recommend and will be reading more from Lindsay!

(4.5 rounded up) Wow, this was a delightful surprise. It’s romantic and sexy and gothic and extremely queer. The plot is pretty simple - A vampire couple is on a cruise vacation and become entangled with other vacationers onboard. It’s a nice mix of horror and comedy and parts of it felt like the kind of silly that “What We Do In the Shadows” has perfected. Rebekah was my favorite and Heaven was a fun villain. Because of the short length, the world-building in this isn’t super well-developed, but I was not bothered by that at all. This is just a good time. The synopsis alone is great and if you read that & are further intrigued, definitely give the full novella a try.

This was everything that I wanted in this novel from the description and in the genre. I enjoyed the idea of vampires on a cruise and thought this had a great balance from a horror novel to the comedic elements. Lindsay Merbaum has a great writing style and am excited for more.

I had an absolute blast reading this. It’s that type of hilarious horror that just hits the spot. I’m obsessed with Hugh and that is all.

Cruises, queerness, jealousy, shapeshifting, vampires, and an awesome cover—how was this ever not going to be a great book? The balance of horror and comedy worked really well in my opinion, and honestly this was just so much fun to read.

The main couple were both really interesting characters, and the FMC especially was an entertaining and well-written character with all her toxicity and messiness. I liked her journey throughout the story and the way her character developed, and even though this book is so short I feel like she was characterised really well.

There are maybe some small criticisms that could be made about the world-building, and a few unanswered questions about how society as a whole works in this book, but I don't think this is much of an issue because it didn't impact how entertaining and fun the book was at all.

I had a great time reading this and if you like messy, queer, slutty vampires then you will too!

Thanks to NetGalley, Creature Publishing, and Lindsay Merbaum for providing me with an eArc of this book in return for an honest review.

This book had me hooked from the first page with its unique plot and amusing characters. Lindsay spins a delicious tale of all the debauchery our vampires get into on this ship. Loved this story.

A boring orgy is a painful affair.

if you took what we do in the shadows and threw them on a queer cruise. this was slightly less mayhem than what my favorite vampires would have caused, but it still gave some slight wwdits vibes which i loved. short and fun! while it is giving romantic gothic vampire vibes, this feels like a perfect short read for the summer. very funny and vibrant but still a lot of heart. campy, sexy, queer, and horny as HELL.

Thank you NetGalley and Creature Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own

Fun and rambunctious, this was a hell of a story. I really loved Rebekah, she was immovable and authentically herself. Hugh was also a great character, I see why the two of them have spent eternity together. Heaven on the other hand was incredibly annoying, however they made a perfect antagonist. While this is a short story, it was entertaining from the very start and was a nice break from some of the heavier books I’ve been reading. A great horror/comedy!