Halloween House Party Book Review: Reaper Duology by Rin Chupeco
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Age: Adult
Format: audiobook & ebook
Having read and enjoyed Rin Chupeco’s previous YA books, I’m sorry it took me this long to pick up her adult vampire duology, Reaper (Silver Under Nightfall and The Court of Wanderers). This pair of books tell a highly political dark fantasy story about complex vampire courts at war with each other as well as the humans they share the world with. Caught between the humans and vampires is Remington, aka Remi, a highly skilled Reaper trained to kill vampires, who comes from a family harboring some truly terrible secrets.
I read the first book in the duology as an audiobook and adored the narration, not least of all because the writing is full of dry humor and banter between Remi and the pair of vampire lords, Xioadan and Zidan, who quickly become a lot more than merely intriguing courtiers to the young armiger.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book, not only because the author effortlessly weaves some of their Chinese-Filipino heritage into the worldbuilding but because I was not expecting this to be so wonderfully queer, with a polyamorous relationship front and center! The non-Western elements in combination with the positive polyamorous rep was delightfully refreshing, especially within the context of a queernormative world where open discussions of how non-monogamy works emotionally, socially, and even legally happens on the page with mature, kind, and considerate characters.
The depiction of vampirism here is relatively traditional (think Anne Rice) but again the author keeps things fresh with a unique mythology readers only fully come to understand in book 2. While I did enjoy the political intrigue of the plot in both books, the characters truly stole the show and kept me invested, especially in book 2 where the plot became a little drawn out. The main trio are all lovable in their own way and I especially appreciated seeing not only how their relationship developed, but how they grew and changed as people because of their love for each other.
Book 1 was a solid 5 star for me and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on book 2. I immediately bought the ebook (since the audiobook sadly wasn’t available in my region) and while I did enjoy the sequel, I think I would’ve loved so much more had I again been listening to it and hearing all that snarky banter out loud. That said, book 2 served up some seriously spicy romance, incredible action scenes, significant character development, and lots of political intrigue, all while revealing Remi’s family secrets and a near-forgotten mythology. I thoroughly enjoyed book 2 even if it did drag just a touch too long through the climax for me.
Suffice it to say, this duology is fantastic and I highly recommend Rin Chupeco’s books whether or not you’re a fan of vampires! But if you, you’re in for a bloody good time.
Review By Xan van Rooyen
