I can definitely see the vast majority of readers not gelling with this novella but I kinda had a ball. It's a exceedingly silly, a study in narcissism, gluttony and companionship. It merges several things I enjoy, gay people, troubled relationships and violent supernatural beings. The humor is a tough one, it's so subjective, for me Rebekah's continuous self aggrandizing vacuous commentary ranged from deeply grating to utterly hilarious. I enjoyed her more than I expected to. A fun stream of consciousness odyssey through the mind of a self involved vamp as her relationship falls apart. Not life changing but certainly a decent way to spend an afternoon reading.

4 stars!!

I had a blast reading Vampires at Sea by Lindsay Merbaum. Toxic, spicy vampires on a cruise? What’s not to love? The story centers on Rebekah and Hugh, a couple who’ve been together forever. But when Hugh becomes captivated by another passenger, Rebekah’s radar goes off. Is it just jealousy, or is there something more sinister about Hugh’s mysterious new companion?

The book is fast-paced, wildly entertaining, and perfectly balances toxicity, spice, and humor. It leans into its drama in the best way possible.

If you’re a fan of vampire stories, this one is a must-read. Both Rebekah and Hugh are flawed in compelling ways, and their layered personalities keep you turning the pages. Highly recommend!

Vampires, sex, drama... and not much else 🩸⚓

Vampires at Sea by Lindsay Merbaum had so much potential: queer vampires, a cruise, emotional feasting, and a mysterious influencer named Heaven? I was ready for a wild, seductive, hilarious ride. And... well, I got some of that. Just not enough to fully love it.

Let’s start with the good: this book is funny! Genuinely made me giggle out loud a few times. The humor is sharp and weird in the best way, and the premise? Absolute chaos in a great way.

But Rebekah... oh Rebekah. She’s obsessed with Hugh, obsessed with herself, obsessed with sex… and not much else. We never get to see who she was before this cruise or before Hugh. She doesn’t remember her past, and honestly? That made it hard to care about her present.
And Heaven? I don’t even know what to say. Their whole presence felt like one big WTF moment after another. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I kept waiting for the plot (or any deeper meaning) to kick in, and it just... didn’t.

Still, it was fun at times. The vibe is sexy and unhinged, and if you’re in the mood for something totally off the rails and not too deep, it might be your thing. For me, it was a mixed bag. A fun idea with great chaotic energy, but a bit too self-absorbed for my taste.

🦇 Vampires on vacation? Iconic. Self-discovery? We tried. Nymphomaniac melodrama with no real direction? Unfortunately, yes.

📚 *Vampires at Sea* by Lindsay Merbaum
📖 Format: eARC via NetGalley
⭐️✧✧✧✧

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC — this is my honest review.

This one was, unfortunately, a huge miss for me. The concept had promise — queer vampires on a shipwrecked journey across love, memory, and magic — but what I hoped would be bold, fresh queer rep turned into something that felt deeply off.

As someone who is bi and polyam, I was especially excited for a polyamorous love triangle that respected the complexity and joy of that experience. What I got instead was a bitter, toxic mess that read less like a queer poly dynamic and more like a jealous, revenge-obsessed straight couple with an extra partner thrown in for plot chaos.

The relationships felt performative and punishing, with emotional abuse brushed aside or even romanticized. There was a lack of emotional safety, no communication or consent cues, and certainly no modeling of healthy queer connection — which is exactly what makes polyam rep so powerful when done well. Instead, it felt like it was written without a deep understanding of what real polyamorous or queer relationships can be.

This desperately needed a sensitivity reader — someone to call out the harmful dynamics and help shape these relationships into something authentic, nuanced, and safe.

I rarely rate this low, but I felt alienated by the narrative choices and disappointed in a book that claimed to be for readers like me.

—

⚠️ **Content Warnings (for this reader):**
• Misrepresentation of polyamorous relationships
• Emotional manipulation framed as romance
• Bi/pan/poly rep that felt surface-level and damaging

#VampiresAtSea #LindsayMerbaum #ARCReview #NetGalleyReviewer #bookstagram #QueerBooks #PolyamorousRep #BiRepresentation #booktok #ReadWithCare

Vampires at Sea-they’re on a boat. That was probably my favorite part of this book. They’re on a queer cruise and all the cruise ship stuff is hilarious, and true. I had a really fun time with that. The FMC was snarky and witty, another plus. And the gender fluidity encompassing the entire story was really great. But as for the vampire aspect of it, it was closer to a dowry of blood, which didn’t work for me. It was more relationship drama than vamp issues. I can’t even recall any blood really in it. And the smut, there was a lot but it was all very unsexy. And no horror at all. It was short, witty, and entertaining, more about a jilted lover finding their own independence than what is was expecting from vampires at sea.

Vampires at Sea was like if What We Do In The Shadows (TV Version) met Triangle of Sadness.

A quick synopsis the book follows Rebekah and Hugh, immortal vampire companions (lovers? Spouses? Something worse?) who have been together for centuries. They're "emotional vampires" who feed on people's desires and sorrows rather than blood (hence the WWDITS reference). The couple embarks on a queer Black Sea cruise to relax and indulge in orgies while feeding on their fellow passengers' emotions. The central conflict arises when Hugh becomes enchanted (possibly under a spell) by Heaven, a non-binary social media influencer (hence Triangle of Sadness reference) who turns out to be a shapeshifter.

And this is where I get a bit conflicted because the idea behind the book had the potential to be something really interesting but the execution fell a bit flat. And that’s nothing really against the author.

Here are my highlights:
The writing style and prose was fun and clever. The author can be incredibly witty and funny.
I really kind of love the idea of emotional vampires. I think that’s an area of mythology that should be explored more and I was really excited that this book was diving into that.

Some criticisms I had:
The story felt incomplete. There were quite a few plot points that just felt not tied up. As well as the conclusion just felt a bit rushed and choppy. In a way, concluding because the story needed to end and not giving a satisfying culmination of events.
Both main characters were just a bit off putting to me. Rebekah is literally just the final boss of a “I hate my husband” competition. While also maintaining this sense of possession over him. Like they went on this trip to go wild and engage in promiscuous activities, which she does, but GOD FORBID Hugh enjoys himself as well. Even though they themselves describe their marriage as OPEN. Hugh on the other hand, while he did have hobbies and interests, he still felt lacking. He also felt very “following like a puppy dog in love” after Heaven.
Also the random addition of some war happening felt a bit, I don’t know, redundant. It didn’t add anything to the plot line. It wasn’t elaborated on. We had no idea what the reason behind the war was. Was it meant to highlight how rich people could escape the sufferings of normal people in times of global trial? The world may never know.
And in a book described to be a horror comedy there was very little horror (apart from mild gore and them being vampires), some comedy, and like more sex than you actually probably signed up for. And I love a smutty little book but I was expecting a lot more horror and a lot more comedy with a sprinkling of horny. What I got was the opposite. I just don’t think this book was for me. 

Thank you Netgalley and Creature Publishing for the ARC.

Publishing date: 07.10.2025 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Thank you to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

TLDR: Queer vampires going through relationship struggles on a cruise. 3 stars

Now that I have finished this book I feel like I must have overlooked or completely forgotten the synopsis given to me. My original expectation was a "horror on a boat with vampires", but instead I got "polyamorous queer vampires on a cruise". This is entirely my own fault.

Characters are mostly dislikeable. They are arrogant, greedy, jealous, and entitled. I wasn't rooting for anyone. The entire time I was reading I hoped some of them would see the light and abandon the petty/dangerous path they were on. Of course, they kept digging their own graves and committing to their path. The endings for each character is deserved in my opinion.

The story itself is highly character driven, obviously ... They have their wants, chase that want, and then we reflect upon what they did. Then we have some suspicion of each other, a little regret, and dealing with it in problematic ways. As with the characters, I wasn't rooting for any certain ending to the story itself. I simply wanted to see what kind of trouble they would all end up in,

Now, the book states that it is very spicy, and it is. Not in a very "sexy" or "pleasurable" way. All the scenes were very ... uncomfortable. No one seemed to be enjoying themselves. Everyone wanted to impress each other. And yes there are scenes with more than two people. If you don't like this kind of intimacy, don't read this.

Overall, I found this book very weird, somewhat annoying, and reinforced my own decision to be monogamous even more. No offense to the polygamous people, just not a life for me.

Would recommend to the queers looking for silly or annoying relationship drama. For those looking for horror, you won't find it here. This is only uncanny in an uncomfortable way.

Giving this book 3 stars. It was fine, definitely felt something (not sure if positive or negative), and it was entertaining while it lasted. Short read, finished in a single sitting.

This book is a wild, genre-bending voyage that blends queer horror, satire, and emotional vampirism aboard a decadent Black Sea cruise. Rebekah and Hugh—centuries-old vampires—set sail for pleasure and escape, but their open relationship is tested when a seductive influencer named Heaven stirs up desire and chaos.

Told through Rebekah’s biting, introspective narration, the novella explores identity, longing, and the absurdity of modern hedonism. With lush prose and campy flair, Merbaum delivers a story that’s equal parts erotic, eerie, and existential. It’s not your typical vampire tale—a fever dream of lust, loneliness, and self-discovery.

Perfect for fans of Interview with the Vampire meets White Lotus, this novella is a bold, unapologetically queer cruise into the dark heart of desire.


Thank you to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for this ARC!

I don't really know what I was expecting from this book, but it was certainly surprising. It was kind of a fun read, in that I've never really read anything like it. It's queer and a little sext and very weird (in a good way), but I'm not sure if I would have kept reading it if it wasn't so short. I wanted to know where it was going and I knew it wouldn't take that long to get there. It was certainly memorable.

[3.5 stars] I enjoyed this novella. It was funny; it was horny. Rebekah is the perfect amount dramatic to keep me intrigued because “We’re on vacation!”

I love the concept of vampires being on a queer cruise, but I found both of those ideas to be lacking a little bit. There are talks about feeding and a little bit of persuasion. Merbaum doesn’t go into much more detail other than a mention here and there. The same applies to the cruise being queer. There are orgies and rainbow drinks, the antagonist, Heaven, is non-binary (if I remember correctly), but, overall, it felt as though it could be a regular cruise.

This book is not for the easily offended, but being centuries old, Rebekah has many humorous quips - some of them being religion based such as “Fucking masochist. He's always harbored Catholic tendencies.” (Pg 52) I’ve included more of my favorite lines below.

Thank you to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for the ARC of this book.

“I like sex with someone you don't trust. It's thrilling, not just the hate fucking, but the rush from the risk: you might get fucked and stabbed. I'm immediately wet.” Pg 49

“How embarrassing, to get caught out caring so fucking much, debasing myself.” Pg 69

I wanted to DNF this very early on, but I figured it was short so I thought I'd stick it out…yeah no I can't do it. It feels very shallow and I did not like the main character. I only got 37% in, but there were several moments where she felt homophobic (including casually using the f word as a negative descriptor, which initially made me consider DNFing 12% in) and her POV in general was just incredibly obnoxious to me. It didn't do anything to make me invested in her and Hugh’s relationship in the first place, so I don't particularly care enough to see how it seemingly falls apart. I genuinely think I might've spent more time writing this review than it took me to read that 37%, so I'm gonna finish here so I can stop thinking about it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for a digital ARC, all opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Creature Publishing for this ARC

Vampires at Sea, by Lindsay Merbaum, is a smutty, horror novella about immortals Rebekah and Hugh (or Hugo), a couple who embark on a queer cruise through Europe. First things first, I feel very lukewarm about this one; on one hand we had a deliciously original premise, on the other, we have a main character who, to me, is a bit unlikeable. I totally get that Rebekah is a flawed character, that was what made her more real, bu she was flawed in a way that I disliked a bit, if that makes sense?

Overall, it is a novella that’s worth your time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ebook copy.

I love vampire stories, always have, always will, but I found myself uninterested in the MCs of the story. You can read in the afterword that What We Do in the Shadows was of inspiration to the author and I could notice immediately in which ways, but I was not really a fan of how they were executed. I liked the idea, but I think the fact that they were in an enclosed space could've been more explored. The male main lead was not appealing, and the female lead was interesting at the start but fell flat as the mystery unveiled. It was funny, though, but in a strange way, and the prose is pretty unconventional. This worked well and badly: I could get on the mc's perspective, but I also found myself lost for paragraphs when she entered her paranoic cycles, which may be more to other readers' liking.

I am willing to give the author another chance with the next book published, since I get that this sound more like a "me" problem more than anything else.

This was a fun book, I enjoyed the characters, and the writing style was really good. The premise was well delivered, and I enjoyed reading about Rebekah and Hugh. I did feel like it leaned more to the comedy than the horror aspects, but it was a really fun read.

What a wild little book. I love the cover art; it was what initially drew me in. Vampire stories are fun but this one is completely different from others I've read over the years. I liked reading the story of emotional vampires and it was fun to see them in such a normal setting. The antagonist wasn't my favorite part and I thought that was tied up very quickly and neatly, but overall, the story was fun and I liked the ending.

I must admit I am someone to judge a book by the cover. I assumed this was going to be set long ago, on a pirate style boat with secret vampires. Boy I couldn’t have been more wrong! Vampires At Sea is set modern day, aboard an all inclusive LGBTQ+ cruise as we follow a vampire couple looking for their next meal (in more way than one). From the first few pages I was hooked, what a unique concept. I loved this until about halfway when it started to feel a bit repetitive and I could guess what was coming. Nevertheless this is a very niche concept that will fill a spot in the market.

This is a book I desperately wanted to be for me but it’s so NOT for me. Big disappointment.

It was a confusing mess and the whole time I was wondering where the vampires were until I realised it’s “vampires” in the abstract sense. Our two vampires barely did any vampiring. It was just vague sex and other meandering plot points I didn’t really care about. Everyone was unlikeable and the sort of interesting backdrop of war and chaos of the outside world was just hinted at instead of explored.

In hindsight, I should have known based on the abstract but I saw vampires and had to read it and ignored the description. It could have been something I would be interested in, but it needs to go back into the oven and be reworked. The soul is missing in my opinion.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Creature Publishing for the Arc.

I'm honestly really disappointed because I wanted to like this one sooo much, but it came up short for me. There were definitely a handful of moments I enjoyed, but for the most part it was quite meh..

I'm of two minds on this one. I liked it but also I did not? I can't really decide one way or another. I liked the atmospheric writing and some of the takes on vampires/vampirism, but in the end wasn't feeling the characters as deeply I was expecting to or really even cared much for the drama. I kinda smiled a few times, but I didn't find anything overly comedic.

I dunno. It's what I was expecting based on the blurb but in a really shallow way. I'm undecided.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The author said in her afterword that she was inspired by What We Do in the Shadows and this is very obvious. Unfortunately, this novella carries none of the horror comedy and spunky charm that I love about the show.

Our main characters, Rebeka and Hugh, do not seem in love in the slightest. They just have sex and get jealous of each others' flings even though they're supposedly poly. Hugh has an affair <spoiler> with a fucking shapeshifter that ends up destroying their centuries long relationship </spoiler> and then that's literally it.

The promise of a campy queer horror novel is severely let down by the fact that there is no horror because they're all energy vampires instead of actual vampires, there is little campiness and queer joy because the plot is mostly Rebekah sneaking around being jealous about Hugh's lover.