this isn’t your typical vampire book, and i appreciate that so much. there is so much packed into this 200 page novella without it being congested and info-dumpy. i also loved the FMC, rebekah. she was hilarious, confident and snarky.

vampires at sea reminded me a lot of what we do in the shadows; in some alternate universe where nadja and colin robinson were married and went on a cruise and then met and fell in love with a mysterious non-binary influencer who may or may not be a unicorn shapeshifter. 👀

A solid 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the story a lot and found the characters compelling. The idea of vampires on a cruise tickled me, and the way the author played with the setting was very interesting. There was obviously some further world building context that was hinted at (some kind of war) but never fully explored. It might be a hard sell as a novella and I wish it was either in a collection or part of full-length novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I’ve been gravitating to a lot of books and media that explore the themes of immortality, what it means to be human, and the consequences of what it means to live forever through vampire-like characters (Sinners got me obsessed).

I tried to like this book, I really did. But the vulgar, over-used sexual imagery every other sentence, the humor never landing, and the unlikable characters made me really struggle. The premise was very interesting but the execution was disappointing.

Honestly, the cover is very appealing, but didn’t match the themes or the plot of the book at all.

Two immortal lovers, Rebekah and Hugh, go on a queer cruise. While they're on it they meet a nonbinary social media influencer named Heaven, who might be a magical creature. When things change for the couple and their relationship over the course of the cruise, Rebekah has to remember, or discover, who she is.
This is a quick read with a lot of sex and commentary on changing relationships and who we are in those relationships. It's kind of a queer horror black comedy.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

2.5 stars

Rebekah and Hugh, vampires (in a non-traditional sense), embark on a queer Black Sea cruise where they meet Heaven. Heaven interrupts their lives in a way that they've never experienced before.

There were certain aspects about the writing that were really well done, however, it often felt like maybe the author was trying too hard. This book is humorous, but the humor didn't land for me. It likely could work for others; humor in books is tough to appeal to everyone. I liked the idea of these vampires and appreciated that it was a different take on a vampire story. The novella was a little overly sexual for my taste - constant mention of sex, sexual content, orgies, general horndog behavior etc. Again, maybe could work for someone else, but not for me.

Throughout the novella, there is mention of "the war" in passing most of the time. In a way, this part felt more thrown in there without it being more developed. However, I can see that maybe this was meant to be a critique of people living life in luxury, while there is suffering occurring outside of their little bubble. I don't know if this idea was explored enough to indicate that that was intentional. There's also moments where Rebekah has kind of unclear memories and does not know her own history. I wish that this was more explored or at least tied up in the end.

Generally, I found the characters to be incredibly annoying. A lot of the dialogue was a little cringy for me and I couldn't get past my dislike for these characters. Everything feels like a caricature. Maybe this is intentional, but I couldn't tell.

Overall, I think this novella was just a little too silly for me. I do not really enjoy smutty books, so that definitely played a part in my enjoyment level. I would not categorize this as horror, maybe more thriller? general weird fic? I'm not sure.

Thank NetGalley and Creature Publishing for the eARC!

I did not vibe with this book at all. While I did go in expecting a very NSFW work, I was taken out of any semblance of immersion as the language, even in the first few pages, was oppressively sexual. Before I could even realize the world, I was bombarded by ‘cocks’ and language that felt more appropriate for a smut fanfiction written by an oppressed teenager rather than a published story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC copy of "Vampires at Sea". This has not affected my review at all, which are my own thoughts.

Vampire couple Rebekah and Hugh are on a much needed vacation. With a backdrop of war, plagues and chaos, they embark a queer Black Sea Cruise, eager to relax, join an orgy, and feast upon their fellow passengers’ desires and sorrows. When Hugh becomes enchanted by an alluring, and most possibly as magical as them, social media influencer named Heaven, Rebekah’s reality capsizes and her true nature is unleashed onto everybody on her path.

So, let me preface by saying that, the moment I decided not to take this book too seriously and just recreate in the comical touch of it all, was the moment I could actually enjoy this. Not too much, though, there were still some things that made this book leaning to average for me instead of standing out from the other books I've read this year, but it was still mostly good. So, onto it we go.

I say that "Vampires at Sea" was average for me because it didn't do anything out of the ordinary in any of its aspect, not the vampires not the world not even the characters. It all lacked depth for my liking, the three main characters weren't that well developed for me to like them or care enough about them, and the world was as vaguely describe as the abstract concept of an afterlife, which the vampires won't reach. But yeah, the shortness of this novella might have killed its potential to take things a bit further and give us more than cramps.

But, as I'm complaining about lack of depth from this book, I will go at length about what I liked and didn't like.

The world is our world, except that plague with disease and war, a big war. Apparently, I'd say, because it is never describe or given enough proper context to grab the concept entirely. It is just war that reaches the characters some times when they go to land at some of the cruise's stops, and they flee it. But, like, that's all we know: there's a war. And I understand that that's just the context for the novella to happen, but, just as the characters are trying to not think about it while on the cruise, I would have liked it, as a reader, if we had been given more context on what was actually going on at the world. I think it would have given it even an additional depth and better background for the characters: since the vampires feed on emotions and sorrow, a better defined background would have given way to those emotions for them to feed on, in my opinion.
But alas, is not like Rebekah and Hugh were shown much feeding for us to know about the process in detail, so...

In fact, let's talk about the vampires now. Not sure if I should give a Spoiler Warning for this section, it is quite vague, but if y'all want to find out how the vampires in this novella work for yourself, then feel free to skip this paragraph. It's true that the vampires in this novella are not the conventional one, meaning, they don't feed of human's blood, but their emotions, something we know from the official blurb, even. But then again, it wasn't describe in earnest, we were just told that they feed from people's emotion. They go "hunting", things happen, but we are not shown how the feeding actually goes. If it were blood, they would sink their fangs and such, but in here, it is either like that and we just have to assume or is something else entirely and the author didn't feel like describing it. At least once, no need to go at it every time they feed 'cause, with just one time, we would know and imagine it every time Rebekah says she feeds on people. And they can stand under the sun with protection, can pass as humans... The only good detail is the fact that, since Rebekah and Hugh are quite old, they do not remember it all, which I think was an interested and realistic detail to give to immortal characters; I'm of the opinion that, unless they have some gifted memory, someone with hundreds of years on them would not remember it all. So, that detail was something well done in my opinion.

So, yeah, the vampires could have been done better, too. They also felt too human, just changing the fact that they feed on other people instead of regular food. I was a bit disappointed with them.

And, in terms of the characters, the only one I could claim to know some better is Rebekah, since she's the narrator of the story and we are privy to her thoughts. But then again, she wasn't that good developed, nor were her relationships with other characters, mainly Hugh, who is supposed to be her husband. So, when events started unraveling, and even when I reached the end of the book and the tension and emotional punch give way, I didn't feel that bad for the characters. I mean, I like Hugh character, and I was kind of sympathetic, but I could not feel bad for him nor understand the decisions made by him because I didn't knew him that well to have it clear if it was something he would actually do or a byproduct of what had transfixed at the cruise with Heaven or if he just went where the author wanted him.

It was the same with the rest of the characters. By the end of the book I didn't feel connected to any of them, not even Rebekah. They were two dimensional, following the plot, reacting some to the events happening and never showing more than what was needed to the plot.

Still, I had some fun with this book, that, I'll admit. It was describe as comical, queer and horrific. It only manage two of those, because I was never scare, not by the context of the world, nor by the vampires or anything else happening. But, I had some good laughs and there was definitely lots of queer characters and a semblance of theme there. And the mystery surrounding Heaven kept me glue to the pages from time to time.

Now, overall, I guess I can recommend this book, it was fun, it was short and it can be an entertaining read for fans of vampires and comedy, but, as I stated at the start, don't expect a revolutionary tale, just a novella to pass the time with supernatural elements, some mystery and unconventional vampires

This is one of those novellas where the cover is the most interesting part.

Now… hear me out, I love a good queer, vampire, ridiculous read, but this one just made me annoyed??

We follow Rebekah and Hugh who are vampires going on a cruise. They essentially want to f*ck lots of individuals, drink blood, and have a good time. Sounds fun right? Well then they meet Heaven who is a nonbinary social media creator. They essentially bring in the mess, jealousy, etc.

My biggest issues are… how is this considered horror?? Wasn’t horrific to me at all…. I expected alot more blood and feel like I barely got a drop.

There was a war going on?? But I’m still not sure what that had to do with the story? It was mentioned several times, but no clue on who it was between or how it related to the story.

And I loooove me some smutty moments, but it was never satisfying. Which I’m also very sad about.

I could go on, but sadly this did not work for me at all.

Thank you NetGalley and creature publishing for the ARC!

I haven’t a clue what the hell I just read but I didn’t enjoy it. Admittedly I requested this one again to try something different but this was not the one for me! Goodreads suggested it was horror but it definitely wasn’t.

Thanks to netgalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A story as chaotic as its cover. (Seriously, what is that cover? It attracted me immediately.) It's about vampires, but also about a married couple gaining a third. Or something.

Rebekah and Hugh have been together for centuries, but on a cruise full of gay orgies, they meet a nonbinary influencer called Heaven, who gets between them. There is some interesting worldbuilding - Rebekah and Hugh are vampires who feed on emotions instead of blood, and I won't spoil what Heaven is, but surely not human.

It's dramatic and comedic at once. The commercialized queer activities are funny in a cringe way. Also there's a war in the background??

Overall a good read, definitely decadent and queer and a bit messy.

Vampires at Sea by Lindsay Merbaum is a short, intriguing read with a concept that immediately grabs attention—vampires aboard a queer cruise ship. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but I was pleasantly surprised by how the story drew me in, especially with the emotional depth surrounding Rebekah’s character. It's a bold and original premise that manages to blend supernatural elements with personal, emotional undercurrents in a unique setting.

That said, the execution didn’t fully land for me. The writing felt a bit unconvincing at times, and the world-building was thin, making it harder to fully immerse myself in the story. I also struggled to connect with most of the characters, which was disappointing given the promising setup. Still, it’s a quick and creative read that might appeal to those looking for something different in the vampire genre. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

2.5
thank you to the publishers for the arc.

this unfortunately didn't really do it for me. i was excited by the premise of horny vampires on a cruise and with it being so short i really wanted it to pack a punch, but alas.
while i think this take on vampires was an interesting idea, i had issues with the overall storytelling.
the narrator could be snarky and funny at times and i enjoyed trying to find out what creatures i was reading abt but it was overall hard to really care for any of the characters :/ the pacing was also *literal* lightning fast for abt two thirds and then switched to a slower development in the last third. this sadly didn't work imo. i could tell the book wanted me to care so bad, but i just couldn't.
also, i have to at least mention the whole ''war'' element… what the hell was that!! lmao i still don't understand what the purpose of it was???

i think it could've been a nice and fun read, but it didn't rlly work for me.

Vampires at Sea is a captivating novella that draws you into a whirlwind cruise through the distinct and clear voice of Rebekah. We truly see the world through her eyes for a short while, which is something I really appreciated.
That said, the pace felt a bit slow at the beginning, especially given the novella’s short length. I believe it could have delivered an even bigger impact, as the narrative contains many interesting observations, and I think giving more room to explore how Rebekah and her companions navigate society would have made the story even more compelling.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it to be an interesting and thoughtful read.

It’s annoying. Confusing. There’s no other way to describe it. Usually by now I would have put the book down, promising myself I’d get back to it but… it’s kinda got me? And I finished it, so that’s something. It’s simultaneously the worst kind of prose but also weirdly poetic. It moves too fast, like the scenes are silted and starting at weird times, and somehow it utterly makes sense. The ending, though, was entirely too rushed. Nothing really happened plot-wise except a lot of random sex and partying until the 70% mark and then it was done.

I can’t stand the narrator and then I find myself rooting for her. Or mad on her behalf. She’s vain and contradictory, but maybe that’s the point.

Horror? No. With more time it could have been.

Maybe I’m just confused.

Overall, I’m coasting in some sort of middle ground. I don’t know if I enjoyed it, but I didn’t hate it, and I didn’t DNF it, though I thought about it more than once. There’s a ton of loose ends. I have so many questions.

Would I pick up something by this author again? Maybe, if I were feeling particularly unhinged.

Thank you Creature Publishing & NetGalley for this ARC!

Vacation? Horny vampires? What could go wrong?

This book is a very quick read with an interesting story line! You will laugh and be a tad confused at some points but overall a good read for individuals looking for a pallet cleanser with orgies!

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
3🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC!

Sorry, I accidentally posted the review early, actual review coming soon!!

Uhm nope… didn’t do it for me. I found the writing unconvincing with lack of world building. I didn’t connect with the characters. I was really looking forward to this too. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Non so bene cosa mi aspettassi, ma onestamente non era questo :/

Personalmente l'ho trovato molto deludente a livello di trama, l'intera vicenda sembrava un'accozzaglia di eventi accomunati solo dall'egocentrismo del narratore. Anche i personaggi non mi hanno colpito più di quel tanto, mi sono sembrati tutti piuttosto scialbi e poco definiti, se non nella superficialità di Rebekah.

Insomma. Dal blurb di netgalley (che comunque ringrazio per l'ARC!) sembrava una lettura più promettente.

I just don't think I get this. It's about two married vampires who go on a pleasure cruise, Rebekah who feeds on pleasure, and Hugh who feeds on sorrow. They meet Heaven, who is a unknown creature of some kind that they take in as a temporary third partner, but all is not as it seems. There is an unnamed war happening in the background of the book, and a lot of sex.

I'm sure there is some profound message about finding yourself through adversity here, but I went into this book with the thought that it was about vampire pirates, even though nowhere in the synopsis does it mention pirates, so I was kind of disappointed the whole time that there was no swashbuckling. I also wouldn't describe this as a horror. Is there death and murder and war? Yes. But there isn't anything really horrific about it and no impending feeling of existential dread to go along with it. Also the war is mentioned maybe 3 times in the whole book and kind of seemed irrelevant to anything actually going on.

I think the best way to describe this book would be a literary fiction that comments on mortality and distinguishing yourself from the collective unit of you and your partner. Gave the energy of a book I would have to analyze for school for what the meaning behind everything is.

The unexpectedness started within the first page. The tone, prose and themes of this book were not ones I was expecting at all. I was under the impression, mostly due to the cover, that this would be a historical fiction piece, I was shocked then when in the first few lines it is clarifies that this is no such thing, this is a cruise (I do admit I did not remember the summary, just the cover and title). Next thing to take me out, the prose, the first person pov is not an issue per se, but it just jumps around constantly, not giving any weight to the actions taking place, especially in the beginning, but it settles down as the story progresses.

Once I got over my initial reluctance, I did end up enjoying it, I even read it all in one sitting. Its a wild, messy new take on vampires I ended up eating up. Their "feedings" are a fresh take and I am always open to reading queer sluttiness.