I started reading and already at the first 3 chapters i got bored with the writing. Had to skim the rest of the book. I liked the idea of vampires in a cruise where they can enjoy themselves, but it felt poorly developed. The characters feel pretty plain and with only one or two characteristics to their personality: Rebekah is beautiful and flirty; Hugh is mysterious and depressed; Heaven is talkative and bad. I could connect with any of the characters, but i liked Rebekah for holding her ground against Heaven and not forgiving Hugh.

In summary, I expected more. But I believe that with improvement on the writing (making the sentences connect more and be more like prose) and the character’s personality (giving then more depth and making them less horny) this book can achieve better things.

Thank you Netgalley and Creature Publishing for providing me with the eARC and I will keep my eye in the official publishing of the book.

A dark, decadent voyage through blood-soaked waters and feminist rage. Think Anne Rice meets Moby Dick, with fewer apologies.

I DNF'd this book at 30%. None of the characters were likeable to me. Very self absorbed and really not that interesting. I was excited for this book and was happy when I received this eArc but was really disappointed.

I've been sitting on this review for a couple weeks now, and I'm still not 100% sure what to say about the novella.

It's an interesting concept with immortal vampires that are going on vacation to "save" their marriage, and the troubles that they got into while there. I enjoyed the overall story and the descriptions, and how the chapters are broken down into each day on the cruise. However, there were parts that felt a bit clunky. On days with a lot of events, there sometimes wasn't a clear cut if there was a time gap; it felt like I misread or missed a section of the book when in fact that there was a time period jump.

I'm excited to see the adjustments the author will make on this book! For now it's a 3/5 read for me, but I will be keeping an eyes peeled for release date!

Vampires at Sea was a fast and intriguing read. I felt transported directly into the claustrophobic confinement of the ship. The vampires being emotional vampires was intriguing and different from what I expected. It fit very well with the story but ultimately I expected there to be more horror and intensity than there was. I would've liked to know more about the type of world that this story takes place in rather than just the vague mentions of war stranding the cruise on high waters. Overall I enjoyed the story but it left still more to be explored.

I am so sorry, but I ran out of time to read this arc. I wouldn't be leaving this review but I previously accidently already reviewed this.

Thank you NetGalley and Creature Publishing for this ARC!!

What a fun read! I wish it was out already, so I could recommend it to everyone as a beach read. Loved both the characters and the world they lived in. Perfect for fans of What We Do in the Shadows.

If you ever wondered what happens when you mix vampires with a sea voyage, Lindsey Merbaum has a fun, queer answer. Vampires at Sea is a dark and addictive read with a great hook that pulls you in from the first page. The characters are sharp, the humor is witty, and the stakes, no pun intended, are high. Merbaum crafts a world that feels both fresh and classic, with a narrative that has a certain charm. While the journey itself is a whirlwind of mystery, romance, and bloodlust, the overall plot sometimes meanders, and the conclusion could have been more impactful. It's an easy escape that is still a good time.

Well this is certainly a unique spin on vampires! I loved the humorous tone throughout, and the pages flew by.
More queer vampire cruise stories, please! This felt so refreshing and fun to read!

This book was atmospheric and engrossing. I loved how the plot twists started from the very beginning and kept going. I really like how the author played with perspective to subvert expectations. I definitely want to read more from this author

This book had an interesting premise, however the writing was not for me.

Since I did not get to the end I will not be making a public review,

Thank you to the author and publisher for giving me access to this ARC.

I’ve come across this novella being compared to ‘What We Do in the Shadows,’ and I suppose I understand why people have made that connection but for me; I loved WWDITS but I didn’t love this…

While I had high hopes for this novella, I must admit that I found myself growing increasingly bored. I struggled to grasp what elements of the story made it a horror. I’m not particularly fond of ‘spice,’ but this just felt rather flat and uneventful.

On the positive side, I did appreciate certain aspects of the writing style. This is enough to pique my interest in reading more of the author’s work in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for the opportunity to read this title.

I really enjoyed this novella is was quite quirky and ambiguous. I loved the unique take on vampires and their open relationships. The exploration on how even though a relationship may be open and agreed upon by both parties doesn’t always reflect equality in each partner’s experience. I also really enjoyed the exploration of jealousy and greed.

Really interesting and enjoyable read overall.

errrg i really tried. had to dnf 😭 this book tried to be sexy. was not sexy, i couldn’t relate to any of these characters and i felt like they were sorta just narcissistic and not bad ass. i think this book is a good fit for other people maybe! just not my style of book.

Rating this book required me to break down the reasons I find a book interesting. I’d say it’s a combination of good writing that gets the point across, and an entertaining plot. Considering I read only fiction, these are my only criteria. But this book confused me.
At first I liked where the plot was going, because threesome angst? It’s usually fun, and just a little stressful. But this headed into heartbreak territory so fast. I deeply sympathised with Rebekah (even though I wouldn’t like her very much in real life, but maybe that’s the point of a lust-consuming vampire?) and hated Heaven’s guts, but I found myself disliking Hugh even more simply because I couldn’t understand him at all. In another situation, it could help the readers relate to Rebekah’s confusion, but it ended up giving me a vague sense of disconnect. In a story where everything was carefully detailed and mentioned for a reason, Hugh was very frustrating to untangle.

But the conclusion was gratifying, and the writing is impressive. Rebekah’s voice adds a casual dispassionate sexiness to the narrative, and later, a very believable jealousy and wretchedness. The transition was smooth too! There’s much to like about this book, but it didn’t quite manage what the writing could have achieved.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

I was instantly intrigued when I first read the blurb for this book. Queer vampires on a cruise sounded so fun and weird and exactly like the type of thing I’d love. Luckily, I did love it, but it was tonally very different from what I’d anticipated. While there’s moments of levity, it’s actually kind of a somber book about loneliness and memory. The main character Rebekah is my favourite type of narrator to follow; someone who’s kind of unlikeable but so honest about themselves that they end up being endearing, to me at least. I loved her inner monologue as she reckoned with her feelings for her partner and the new presence of ‘Heaven’. It was so brutal and I loved the unflinching look at how love can become obsessive and twist you up inside. I’m a big vampire fiction lover, especially when writers acknowledge the tropes synonymous with vampires and do something interesting with it. Here, the ‘feeding’ the vampires engage in is that of feelings. They gorge themselves on fear, pain and pleasure instead of blood, with each vamp having their own preference. I think that’s such an interesting way to play with the vampire mythos. For example, in this universe they’d be feared bc of how they can manipulate you into feeling and doing anything they wanted to satisfy their needs. So good, I’d highly recommend!

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 rounded up.

This was a fun read, the main character Rebekah has a humourous tone in her narration and makes many funny comments throughout the novel.

Rebekah and Hugo embark on a queer cruise, hoping to spice up their very longgg [open] marriage after a mishap with one of Rebekah’s lovers. Rebekah normally has many lovers whereas Hugo does not. However, when they get on the cruise, the two meet non-binary Heaven. Hugo is immediately enamoured with them, while Rebekah has suspicions about Heaven having ulterior motives.

Rebekah investigates while Hugo falls more deeply for Heaven. Sex, orgies, and lots of jealousy ensue.

I thought this was quite funny but can see based on the reviews that this might not be for everyone.

To note, while there is lots of sexual content, it is low in explicitness and often passes quickly & vaguely.

Firstly, look at that cover!!!! Of course, I needed to read this book. Could you blame me?! Unfortunately, I really did not like it. It was advertised as a sexy LGBTQIA+ horror, and it has the first part but the horror?! Unless spending 14 days insanely jealous on a queer spicy cruise is horror, I didn't get horror..
It was a super quick read, so I finished it, but I kind of wish I didn't. I didn't like the characters, I didn't like the plot.. there is an audience for this book I'm sure, but it wasnt me.

I just…did not enjoy this, personally. The pacing was fast, there was little world building, little backstory or depth to the characters, and at times I felt a bit lost on what was actively going on because things weren’t being described or elaborated on to the audience.

The queer and poly representation also felt lacking, if not problematic at times, despite being a queer poly book.

I guess I’m just not entirely sure what the point was? What the book/story was striving to achieve? Meaning there was promise but it didn’t stick the landing. For example, the emotion vampire concept? Thats so cool, I wish it had been explored more thoroughly! Or the MC getting flashbacks of her past self (or previous lives, maybe?) because she’s so old she doesn’t remember who she was before anymore? Also a cool thing I wish had more page-time! It feels underdeveloped, essentially.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lindsay Merbaum, and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book interesting and fun, but I felt like it was a little too short. 3.5 stars.