I really wanted to love The Vengeance. The synopsis promised political intrigue, a sapphic romance, and vampires—what’s not to love? Unfortunately, the execution left much to be desired, and the book didn’t quite live up to its potential.

Let’s start with the positives. The pirate-focused early chapters were genuinely enjoyable. The ship scenes were clearly well-researched, and there’s an underlying sense of adventure that keeps you hooked, at least for a while. There’s also an attempt to explore some fascinating themes, from LGBTQ+ relationships to neurodiversity, which I really appreciated.

However, the pacing was all over the place, which made the story difficult to enjoy fully. The first half moves painfully slowly, and by the time the plot gains momentum, it rushes through critical developments, leaving little time to savour the big reveals. The vampires—arguably the book’s biggest selling point—don’t even show up until the 90% mark, which feels like a huge misstep given how prominently they’re featured in the synopsis. When they do appear, their role feels tacked on rather than integral to the plot.

The sapphic romance was another disappointment. Morgane and Lissette go from acquaintances to lovers so abruptly that it felt rushed and unearned. I wanted to root for them, but their relationship lacked the development needed to make it feel believable.

Another major issue is Morgane’s characterisation. For someone raised on a pirate ship, she comes across as oddly naive and impractical, making decisions that often feel inconsistent with her backstory. Her lack of awareness dragged the story down at times, with her asking questions or making observations that felt jarringly out of place for someone with her supposed experiences.

Ultimately, The Vengeance had a promising premise but struggled with uneven pacing, misleading marketing, and underdeveloped characters. While the pirate adventures in the early chapters are fun, the rest of the book doesn’t quite deliver on its potential.

If you’re here for vampires, you’ll be sorely disappointed. If you’re looking for a sapphic romance, it’s there, but it’s underwhelming. And if you’re here for a cohesive story that balances political intrigue and personal stakes, this isn’t it.

2.5 stars from me, rounded up for the effort put into the historical details and adventurous elements.

I read this book courtesy of NetGalley.

Unfortunately, while I'm a huge fan of Newman's science fiction novels, the same cannot be said about her foray into fantasy swashbuckler adventure. This is Newman in a very, very different mode - not a contemplative exploration of messed up psyche, but instead a story of adventure. Alas, I found myself frustrated with the protagonist, and not terribly gripped by the story or the world. There's a lot of not-like-other-girls vibe to it, with the heroine constantly clashing with conventions she finds pointless or oppressive because it's so much better to be a pirate. I found it repetitive and underdeveloped. Morgane's slow development of a relationship with Lisette was more interesting, and I think some compelling emotional story could be found in the ambivalence Morgane feels towards the woman who raised her (and towards mothering/mothers in general) but it gets lost in action. I also do think making the reveal announced in the title (!) happen this late in the novel just didn't work well.

I think if someone is looking for queer pirates, and for a light book about a girl-out-of-her-element, they might like this lots more than I did. For me, it was a miss.

I love anything to do with pirates and I was really looking forward to this one but sadly the middle was just too boring for me. The first and last part of the book were so quick paced and fun I wish she would’ve brought that energy to the middle of the book

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this ARC to review.

I sadly had to DNF this book at 25% of the way through. I tried really hard to give it another shot, but I found the storyline to drag and take too long to get into the nitty gritty of it all. I feel that the world building and introductions to characters could have been more detailed, however I didn't create any form of bond to any character which usually keeps me going during slow books as I want to see where the storyline will take them.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read the eARC.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed it, but it felt incomplete in some areas. The pacing was a bit off, it was marketed in various different ways, pirates, vampires ect, but it felt that some of those aspects weren’t as prevalent as expected.

I did have a good time reading the story and enjoyed it but would say it’s a 3.5 read for me! I am excited to read more of Emma’s work.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the arc of this book. Unfortunately, I had to DNF at 30%. The premise sounded promising. However, I found the pacing to be a major letdown.

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.