A well paced and exciting story, with our ingenue Morgane snatched from her life of piracy into the decadent world of French nobility…

The series name “Vampires of Dumas” might raise your expectations to a supernatural retelling of the Musketeers. However, if you’re looking for this, you may be disappointed- Morgane certainly echoes D’Artagnan as the brash newcomer, eager to prove herself but comically out of place and down-to-earth, and you may see other characters reflected - a touch of Milady in one of the nobles - but it’s really not a retelling. Neither does it lean heavily into the vampire element for much of the story, although it’s certainly present. Instead, read this for an action-packed adventure of a girl trying to find her way and uncover the mystery both of her heritage and the mysterious politics of the castle, with a delightful sapphic romance to boot. I really did enjoy the character work and the pacing was rapid. Swashes shall be buckled.

First, the advertising of this book as a vampire book is misleading. Vampires (and werewolves) ARE present for less than 5% of the book. The rest of the time, it literally doesn’t matter that they are supernatural.

That said, I do think many people will enjoy the adventure portions of the novel. There’s a bit of piracy, a bit of fish-out-of-water-in-continental-Europe novel, and those elements are done well. I also like Morgan, our primary character, and felt she was well-rendered. Unfortunately, I found the pacing far too slow and felt the romance could have been done better.

I really enjoyed reading ‘The Vengeance’ by Emma Newman. There were parts of this book that I found fabulous and then a couple of aspects that left me with mixed feelings. I really enjoyed the beginning of this novel. We meet the main character, Morgane, out on the seven seas, where she has spent her whole life living aboard a pirate ship with her mother, who is a fearsome and well-respected pirate. On her mother's deathbed, she reveals information to her daughter that upheaves Morgane's life, setting her on a quest for the truth and vengeance. The middle part of this book is when the story turns into a type of quest, and we begin to meet other characters and see relationships develop. This book does have LGBTQ+ representation, and I enjoyed the relationship between Morgane and Lisette; however, I personally felt as if it came out of nowhere, and I would have liked to have seen it develop and flourish more. The ending of the book is where the fantasy element is introduced and where my mixed feelings come into play. Because the book is introduced as book one of The Vampires of Dumas series, I went into this book anticipating a supernatural storyline and was quite puzzled when the majority of this book passes by without any reference or hint to supernatural beings. I think that fantasy lovers would find this read quite tedious, but lovers of historical fiction/general fiction would enjoy it. The ending of this book does tie the supernatural element into the storyline well, but I found it to be quite rushed. The conclusion of this book is well done, and I would be very interested to see where the next book in the series will pick up. Other aspects of this book that I would like to comment on are the writer's style. Emma Newman has a great writing style and includes a lot of detail in her words. I really enjoyed reading her book and will definitely look out for more of her work in the future. I also liked the character that Emma has created in Morgane. She was brave, staunch and extremely witty and funny. Thank you to NetGallery for sending me a copy of this ARC.

First, thank you NetGalley for providing me with this eARC!

I'm not entirely sure how to feel about this book. I enjoyed the first part about pirates. It seemed well-researched and was fun and interesting to read. However, after that it felt a bit messy and slow. Not that much was happening and it was mostly just the characters travelling. Though the ending then felt quite rushed. I think more could have been written about the last part in the castle. The relationship also felt rushed. I liked them both and liked their relationship, but it could have been more fleshed out. And where were the supernatural beings for the first 70% of the book? Don't get me wrong, I liked the pirates, but if it's gonna be called 'Vampires of Dumas', I would have expected them a bit earlier in the book.

Also, I'm not entirely sure how it's gonna be turned into a series, if it is, which the 'Vampires of Dumas' seems to suggest. The ending felt so neatly wrapped up <spoiler> (in a good way, the ending was sweet) </spoiler> that I'm just not sure what else could happen to these characters.

The beginning was fabulous! I loved the pirate aspect and the vibes it was giving. Because of that, I kept reading. I‘m not sure I would‘ve otherwise… The middle part of the story felt quite lost, as if the author herself didn’t know where it would go. The plot was all over the place at times and all of the characters that were introduced seemed as if they weren’t meant to stay so I didn’t feel any attachment to them whatsoever. Speaking of characters: I absolutely did not expect the sapphic love story but it was a pleasant surprise. The execution was lacking however. It felt very rushed and unemotional. The relationship was not explored at all and Morgane’s feelings were not hinted at throughout the book. That way no tension (much less of romantic kind) could build up to that point. So the romance felt a little random.
Also, the plot is unbalanced what with the vampires coming in after 80% of the book even though it‘s advertised as a book about vampires - it‘s not at all.
I‘m not sure if this is supposed to be a series. The ending left no questions open and I wouldn’t have any curiosity to read a second part. As a standalone it would be quite adequate.
Ultimately, the pirate section of the book was the best and it seemed as if the author enjoyed writing those above all else.

The Vengeance by Emma Newman is a thrilling blend of swashbuckling adventure and dark fantasy, set against a backdrop inspired by Alexandre Dumas’s world, now teeming with vampires. Morgane, a fiery pirate raised aboard the Vengeance, faces an identity-shattering revelation when her dying mother confesses she is not her biological parent. This revelation launches Morgane into a journey of self-discovery, vengeance, and intrigue, as she delves into a realm where monsters manipulate royal courts and powerful secrets lie hidden in the shadows. Newman crafts a richly atmospheric narrative with high-stakes action, lush settings, and complex characters. With LGBTQIAP+ representation and a unique twist on historical fantasy, this first installment in The Vampires of Dumas promises a gripping tale of blood, betrayal, and resilience that fans of gothic fantasy and seafaring sagas will devour.

Wow, what a fun and slightly surprising read. I went in blind with just the idea of it being about pirates but the mystical and magical creators added such a happy surprise

Feels like a long intro to a good book that doesn’t exist yet. The presence of vampires (right at the end) was spoiled by the trilogy title and this might have been more enjoyable if I hadn’t known that her mum was going to turn out to be a vampire.

Pros:
It’s short so the plot is fast paced (when it’s not just endless exposition).
The last 10% (the bit with vampires) was actually fun.

Cons:
Foreshadowing was often clunky and felt like bad writing.
If everyone is speaking French shouldn’t the ship be called ‘la vengeance’.
Romance sub plot goes from ‘zero feelings’ to ‘I love you’ in a few pages.
Everyone lies in their first exposition dump, so then we need more exposition to explain why we needed all the lies.

I reviewed this novel on F(r)iction Log! Here is the link to my full review: https://frictionlit.org/a-review-of-the-vengeance-by-emma-newman/

I was delighted to read a new Emma Newman book! She's one of my favourite authors, and this was yet another great read. It toches on themes as classism, feminism, gender, and colonialism!

Am planning on making aproper review on my own platform closer to publishing date.

Thank you Netgalley and Emma Newman for the arc.

I honestly thought this was a unique book. Pirates and Vampires? I mean come on. No brainer there. I do think it could be polished a bit more. The ending is a lot of chaos and would loved more Vampire aspect sooner. The Pirate parts were awesome but the Vampires needed to come in earlier to balance the book out better with it's plotlines.

All in all very enjoyable read. Will read book 2 for sure. If only to find out more of the Vampire lore.

DNF 5% - the author's style simply doesn't agree with me. Characters actions feel floaty, not quite grounded, and lacking cause and effect.

Thankyou to Rebellion Publishing for this gift.

Suitable for YA and adults alike, what started as an intriguing historical fantasy, ended as a plot twist filled supernatural action novel...and I was pleasantly surprised!

Morgan was born into being a pirate, having no knowledge of life outside this. But after a wicked scheme to bring her captain and mother, Anna Marie, into the clutches of death is uncovered too late, Morgan is on a mission to bring her justice along with the chance to search for her family.
After docking on land, Morgan is immediately in danger with no way of knowing who to actually trust.

As I read alot of books, I felt this was a lovely short palate cleanser. There wasn't really any lead up into a sequel which unfortunately made the novel seem too short for the storyline, but it was well executed and I found myself hanging on every word.

3 stars.

Interesting premise but the prose style doesn’t work for me- too much exposition and repetition.. I keep wanting to skip ahead because I already know what’s coming.

I was so excited for this to be fully about pirates and vampires, so I felt quite disappointed when it wasn’t. I think because of those feelings I didn’t enjoy this as much as I could have.

I also had some issues with the pacing and found myself getting quite frustrated in the middle.

I do think the world-building was very effective though, and I’d like to read more of Emma Newman’s work.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the arc. 🫶🏻

I received an advance reader copy of this book through Netgalley, and I'm grateful to the author for the opportunity. As a huge fan of pirate stories with a paranormal twist, I was excited by the premise of a female pirate searching for her family in a world plagued by vampires and conspiracies.

Unfortunately, while the beginning and end were fast-paced and action-packed, the middle dragged considerably. Despite the promise of a paranormal world, the first werewolf doesn't appear until 65% of the book!

Many of the events that occurred felt either inconsequential or confusing. The romance felt rushed and underdeveloped, especially considering it was a female-female relationship. I wanted to see more depth and exploration of that aspect.

Morgan, our protagonist, felt somewhat underdeveloped. Given her life on a pirate ship surrounded by cunning individuals, I expected her to be more wary and less easily manipulated.

Overall, while the book had potential, the slow pacing and lack of focus on the key elements ultimately hindered my enjoyment.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for access to an e-arc of this title for review.
Two of my favourite things in books are vampires and witches... check and check! However, don't expect the vampires to appear until late in the book. This was an intriguing but slow start but is a good solid read once it gets into the flow. There's several twists that are sometimes a little confusing to keep track of but overall this was a great time. There was a lot of "what is justice" and " what makes gender" that was really well done. I am looking forward to the next book to find out what happens next. The writing is good, but could do with a good audiobook to accompany and maybe even another round of editing to iron out the couple of little inconsistencies.

Loved the world-building and characters at the start, however I did struggle a little with the pace of the book. The beginning was great, really had me intrigued however I did feel it fell off a little after that and started to become a bit uneven. I also think from going off the cover you think this is a pirate book but (without giving away too many spoilers) it wasn’t really…..Either way I do think this is a book that many will enjoy and should give a read!

I actually hoped It had a focus on pirate but I was wrong. The story Is not so bad, simple but I've ready It with pleasure. Altough the party with vampire for me It Is a non sense, they appear only in the last part. If that Is a book about vampires, why they aren't characters for all the book?
Lynette maybe Is the only character well constructed.
The waiting style Is not bad, thank tò that I finish ed the book.

** I received an ARC copy in return for an honest review **
This is exactly what you would think it is. It has pirates, vengeance, a hunt for family, and a spattering of LGBT rep. However, if you are going into this expecting vampires, you will be disappointed to find that they are only vaguely mentioned near the end. After all, it is inspired by the writer Alexandre Dumas' worlds incorporating vampires into France, not a book about vampires. I do feel that clarification is needed even if it is setting up for a series with vampires.