Thank-you to NetGalley for the eARC of ‘Vampires at sea’ in exchange for an honest review.
‘Vampires at Sea’ is a story that follows vampires Rebekah and Hugh, a married couple that have been together as long as they can remember. They are in need of a vacation and have decided on a queer cruise. While on vacation they meet Heaven, who has a secret and is disrupting Rebekah’s plan for a fun holiday.

The ideas and premise are fun and exciting but the execution was lacking. The vampiric lore was similar to the concept of energy vampires in ‘What we do in the shadows’. Rather than consuming blood they consume emotions/energy from humans and have a particular flavour they feed on. Unlike WWDITS, it was missing the quick wit and hilarious but meaningful character interactions.

I enjoyed the gender neutrality and fluidity of sexuality in the novel. This felt refreshing and exciting. Where I struggled was the fact that there was limited character development and growth. I didn’t connect with Rebekah or any of the characters in the story. The main point of view is Rebekah who is obsessed with herself and sex. Her internal monologue feels frantic and chaotic and is highly repetitive. The author kept teasing a back story and history to her character but it led to a dead end, which left me feeling unsatisfied. Rebekah is jealous, contradictory, narcissistic and possessive and lacked emotion other than lust and jealousy. This made her mostly unlikeable as the humour didn’t make up for her vapid personality. Hugh, her partner, is described as her love and twin but this was never apparent and he is an extremely boring character.

Unfortunately, this novella wasn’t for me.

“Vampires at Sea” follows two energy vampires as they take a queer cruise to try and break from the monotony of their lives. Although we largely follow our narrator, Rebekah, who is potentially the meanest and most narcissistic character I’ve ever read. “Their eyes light up at the sight of me because I’m hot as fuck.”
She’s peak unreliable narrator. To the point I still read through some lines like and wonder if it is true and the seemingly impossible work of vampiric powers, or her own overblown ego making it up.

The action largely follows her sexcapades aboard, although things take a turn when they meet Heaven, who provides more than the unicorn they bargained for.

I enjoyed parts of this book, Rebekah is a terrible person and there’s a few funny moments from her highly skewed view of things. The descriptions are often short and punchy. And the language used is very colloquial and easy to read, and I think you could easily read this book within a day.

But I felt as though the plot was quite thin, and resolved very quickly, before being thrown onto a cliffhanger that only seemed alluded to from a line in the penultimate chapter. (Although I may have missed a dropped promise earlier in the book, as I read this quite slowly.) Even the nondescript “war” that threatens the cruise is never elaborated on.

Overall it’s an easy read, with an interesting and unique narrator (even if one I love to hate!) But it did leave me with a sense of wanting more, but not from a desire to have a second helping. (Unlike Rebekah.)

Really liked this one. I probably needed a palate cleanser and this was exactly it for me, I read it in an afternoon. I wouldn’t know how to classify it and I wasn’t even particularly interested in the plot of the novel. What really drew me in was the voice of the narrator: she was mean, she was nasty and I loved every second of it. This is how I want my vampire novels, this is how I want my gross female main characters to be like.

Were some parts of it slightly underdeveloped? Yes
Were some of the secondary character slightly one-dimensional? Sure
Do I care? Nah. Give me more Rebekah.

***Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A vampire couple board a queer cruise and fall in love with the same person? Sign me up. I had high hopes but sadly this didn’t work out for me. I couldn’t connect with the characters and found it all just a bit flat. The plot relied on a combination of barely sketched out orgies and narcissism. Really, not a lot happens and the characters are so surface level that it was hard for me to care about the outcome either way.

There was a moment about halfway through when Rebekah starts questioning Heaven’s identity that I thought things were going to get interesting, but then it didn’t. I appreciated the inclusivity and queer representation, but it felt like the outline of a story rather than the finished thing.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc.

This was a fun and undeniably unique read, though not without its flaws. Vampires at Sea follows two posh, soulmate vampires on a queer Black Sea cruise, where things take a turn when one falls under the spell of someone new. The premise is delightfully weird, and the tone shifts between emotional sincerity and over-the-top camp in a way that mostly works. Some parts had me laughing out loud; others felt like they were reaching for depth that didn’t quite land. The ending came abruptly and leaned hard into a cliffhanger—frustrating if you’re looking for a more complete story. Still, it’s a fresh take on vampire lore, and worth a try if you’re in the mood for something offbeat and theatrical.

Thanks to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for the free ARC in exchange for this honest review.

This was a fun little read but there seemed to be less vampire action than I was anticipating and just constant cruise sexcapades. I felt sympathetic to Rebekah's character. I'm not sure I really understood the ending.

"We're on vacation!" is used both enthusiastically and, eventually, as a curse.

Vampires At Sea seems like its almost written as a journal. There's some fourth wall breaks and set in the present.

Two enegery vampires go on a cruise out of boredom and encounter a being that entrances them both. Yet one of them, Rebekah, isn't fully fooled by their facade.

This is a sex heavy pride cruise where it seems everything goes, including crime.

The premise seems fun but I felt it was a little half baked. Nothing is really ever explained and things are left very vague like the "war". The ending just happens so fast I got whiplash.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I will always share my honest opinion.

I'm a sucker for a good Vampire Book, be it set in modern day or in the past there's something that intrigues me about vampires that I find really compulsive to read. However this book just didn't hit the mark unfortunately. The premise definitely had promise, vampires on a cruise ship where the passenger's have no where to run, instantly giving me a modern day Last Voyage of the dementor vibe. I found the main character Rebekah highly annoying and her narcissism really just infuriated me. For such a short book I didn't really feel like it packed a punch when there was so much opportunity to do this with the setting and situation. I found the premise confusing at times and didn't connect with any of the characters. Not one one for me but would be someone else's cup of tea.

I’m all for vampires especially horny ones and thought this would be right up my alley as it’s both that and queer. Except I DNF at 20%. The writing and the characters just weren’t it for me.

Thank you for the ARC in return for my honest review!

Thank you to the publishers, the author and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book.

Actual rating : 3,75

I had high expectations for this erotic horror tale and while it delivered an atmosphere full of lust and obsession and an intriguing magic system, it fell short on the characters. I enjoyed reading about their flaws and hunger but especially Hugh didn't feel like a real person. I better understood Rebekah who is a very fun and compelling character to follow.

Overall the vibes were delicious and I would recommend it.

Although certainly a premise that I found exciting, the execution of the story rather let me down. The prose was clunky, and made it seem as though the immortal narrator was honestly juvenile. The world building was nonexistent, with vague mentions to tragedy and war and creatures existing (and feeding, of course). The plot was also fairly lackluster. Every aspect just felt entirely surface level. All that said, it was a remarkably quick read, so in some way, despite the flaws, it was certainly still engaging.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had such high hopes for this one but I guess I am a more traditional vampire kind of person and wanted this to feel more like horror. An emotional vampire seems like a cool idea but they don't necessary have to have physical touch to feed just need to be nearby from my understanding but they do enjoy intercourse with strangers and that is definitely vamp behavior. There were a lot of things that were unclear such as the war they kept discussing and the ending also didn't give enough but it was a short read and a little entertaining. Hopefully others will enjoy this one more.

Rebekah and Hugh are going on the Black Sea Cruise to relax, join an orgy, and feast upon their fellow passengers’ desires and sorrows. Then they meet Heaven who isn't quite what they seems. Heaven isn't human but Rebekah can quite figure out what they are while figuring out her relationship, herself and her future.

A uniquely striking story full of magic, queer joy and adventure. Enchanting, a little steamy and utterly charming.

Thank you Netgalley and Creature Publishing for an arc of this book

I would recommend this book if you love Vampires and Queerness. And of course if you love a sex hyped vampire and a cruise filled with sex.

We follow Rebekah and Hugo. They are invited on a cruise for Queer people. While Rebekah is happy to be on vacation, she and Hugo meet Heaven. Hugo becomes infatuated with them and immediately falls in love them. While Rebekah does fall into their thrall, she see's Heaven for who they really are.

While this book kept my attention and was entertaining, it did take a weird turn. It is a good book just shy of 4 stars.

As a polyamorous, nonbinary queer person, I couldn’t help but be interested in reading a novella of such salacious- and likely controversial, to mononormative society- nature. Still, I felt a pleasant thrill of surprise and delight at the style and nature of the writing from the very first sentence of this book. That hook is powerful, utilizing vivid, poetic imagery and language threaded amidst that theme of narcissism. And from that hook on ward? There is no shortage of unabashed debauchery.
Rebekah, from whom the reader receives a first-person narration, remains delightful, charming, and somehow-forgivable in her unapologetic narcissism and brazenness… maybe she’s forgivable to me as a fellow baddie, and her energy makes me feel like I have permission to acknowledge my sexy, vampiric goddess energy. I cannot help but admire her despite her utter selfishness. “Who is worthy of a fuck and feed?” The perfect, vampiric slut question to ask herself- and ostensibly, the reader- at the start of the cruise. (There is a level of fourth-wall breaking present throughout this work which I LOVE)
Hugh I found to be incredibly endearing, though I have to admit I’m a sucker for a tortured artist. While I’m absolutely a Rebekah stan, I couldn’t help but advocate for Hugh and his journey moving apart from Rebekah and finding another life of his own. His soul is a sweet one, yearning for a taste of…
Heaven was, dare I say it, heavenly. Their presence is precisely the addictive, enthralling sort of nonbinary energy tortured, sexy queers could not help but drink in, and do so to excess.
I leave this a 5 star review because it absolutely delighted and entertained me, and I’d read it again- for myself or even for my lovers. I was far from disappointed in this work; honestly, I enjoyed it more than I expected even given the high levels of excitement I had coming into it based on the description. But I have to admit the level of jealousy and possessiveness radiating from Rebekah as things started with Hugh and Heaven did not sing of ethical nonmonogamy/polyamory to me- perhaps that was the point and still, I couldn’t help loving Rebekah… just a poly queer here not thrilled by that sort of exposure. A heartfelt thanks to Amanda Manns through NetGalley for the opportunity to read this delightful ARC!

This was an interesting novella to put it lightly. I'm still trying to grasp what I read even after 12 hours. If you can get past the choppy writing and characters this would be a delightfully funny horror-esque summer read. But the latter issues make it difficult to concentrate and fully immerse yourself in the story.
There really isn't much horror besides some gore during the last quarter of the book, and of course the vampire spouses, but also a surprise or two. I was hoping for this to be more horror heavy, but a girl can only dream. The cruise ship I felt was a unique setting that felt only slightly claustrophobic and more realistic. There was an attempted at a bigger world view, but the lack of detail and consistency within the novella made it out to be a sad attempt and one that I wish was done better.
The characters themselves felt lacking in depth and history. There are brief mentions about the couple's lives previously but it left me feeling miffed about the attempt. I did love how unapologetic they were and the vampire-esque was done in a very unique way. They were more human than most I've read about, and their feedings were also not the norm. Heaven..... was Heaven. That's literally all I can say about it because that's all that makes sense.

I can see why this has such mixed reviews, but I absolutely adored it.
This book is a short fever dream of hedonism and indulgence, nothing short of what I would expect of energy vampires on a queer cruise.
It's less gothic horror, Only Lovers Left Alive vibes and more Nadja and Lazlo from WWDITS in the sex party episode.
I was kicking my feet at the line 'We're actually not entirely prepared for an orgy. Hugh didn't even bring his cape'.
Rebekah was an absolute queen, and Heaven was a chaotic non-binary goblin. I wish Hugh had been a bit more fleshed out as a character and maybe have the book be a bit longer so other things could be further explored.
A messy and fun read overall, definitely more of a satire than spooky.

4/5 stars.

The plot is pretty much what the title says... vampires... at sea...except these vampires feed on energy and not blood.
I was excited to read bc queer gothic is absolutely my jam, but I just didn't enjoy it that much. It felt like this could be a short story, and instead it went off on some tangents and some unnecessary additions.
I also don't enjoy reading sexual scenes, so there was some I had to skip, which added to the feeling that there was a bunch of unnecessary points. At least the sexual aspect contributed to the plot. That made it a little better, since I really dislike the trend nowadays of adding sexual scenes to romance for no reason.

DNF'd around 50% through it. I thought I might be the target audience, I thought the premise seemed fresh and fun...I really wanted to like it, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I found the characters odious, the FMC vain and whiny the chemistry between Hugh/Rebekah/Heaven shallow. I just didn't get invested in the story, I didn't care to see what would happen next... the only thing that kept catching my attention was the mention of a war that was happening on land, and that ultimately seemed like it was going nowhere. Like, why mention it at all? Dunno. Lindsay seems like a very talented and skilled writer, it's just a shame that this was my introduction.

Thank you to NetGalley for the early access to this ARC in exchange for my honest review <3

Bad, substanceless, weird and not for me. Not vampiric, don’t be fooled. Nothing about it was fun or rememberable