I kept waiting for something exciting to happen but the plot just felt dragging. The dialogues weren’t as interesting as I hoped and some characters felt bland.

I had no idea what to expect from this. But I was pleasantly surprised. Vampires on a queer cruise ship could have gone either way. But it actually captured me and even had me feeling emotions for Rebekah.

A really good short read

This set out with a bold premise, queer vampires on a cruise filled with kink and choas, but sadly missed the mark. The characters and plot felt a bit underdeveloped, and while there is some charm in it's absurdity, it never felt very complete. not for me unfortunately!

Thank you to Creature Publishing for the ARC!

I really wanted to like this one, I really did. Billed as a polyamorous queer vampire romance...I think queer is the only term that really applies. There's not much romance, only instalust between Hugh and Heaven. Rebekah is basically insufferable, which makes it hard to read because she's also narrating.

Oh hell yes!! Vampires, smut, horror-comedy?? This was just god damn delightful! It felt so fast paced, camp, and it was so delightfully queer. This was such a perfect novella to spend an afternoon with getting lost in at sea. I need more books with this exact vibe now, it gave me the same feeling What We Do In The Shadows does so I just truly had a great time devouring this all in one go! The modern setting fit with this plot line was just really fun and it was such a refreshing novella to read!

I loved the concept of this book but parts of it fell flat for me. The humor was fantastic but there were a lot of plot holes. Very confused about Heaven as a whole.

This book was fine. I felt there were plot holes, too many things left unexplained, and I wasn't interested in any of the characters. I would recommend it to people who I know would like it, but I didn't really enjoy it.

This book was just not it. I was hoping for a fun sexy vampire farce. Nope. The sex is not sexy, the humor not funny, and the characters are so flat. I suppose after being alive as long as a vampire ennui can set in, but this is the most boring vampire book I ever read. The characters were not relatable or interesting. I am glad it was a short book. Meh.

Vampires at Sea by Lindsay Merbaum has a premise that practically begs to be a guilty pleasure—an immortal vampire couple boards a queer cruise, falls for a shape-shifting unicorn, and dives into lust, rivalry, and desire. Unfortunately, the execution is anything but pleasurable. The central couple, Rebekah and Hugh, lack chemistry or emotional depth, and Rebekah’s grating narration—full of jealousy, self-importance, and empty declarations—drains the story of its erotic and comedic potential. Despite nods to gender fluidity and modern satire, the writing feels forced, the plot goes nowhere, and the erotica rarely delivers. A promising concept lost at sea.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for this advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to @creaturepublishing for the ARC!
Publishing October 7, 2025

I absolutely adored @pickyourpotions VAMPIRES AT SEA. A fresh and unique take on vampirism, VAMPIRES AT SEA is clever, funny, heart breaking, and sharp (with a tad of spice). I loved Rebekah, and want to stay in this world a bit longer. Merbaum’s writing is beautiful and the passages on handling rejection, emotional drain, love, and loss resonated. A must read for those for a vampire novella.

Really not to my liking perhaps because I wasn't the target audience nor did I enjoy the way it was written. However I get the appeal and I truly hope this book will be read by a lot of people: I'm sure it will be well received.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc. Unfortunately, this one didn't work for me and I did DNF it.

I loved the concept - vampires on a queer cruise and saw a lot of reviews noting it was very in the style 'What We Do in the Shadows', but unfortunately the over the top smut and narcissism was a turn off for me, and the writing style ultimately didn't connect.

I think it's safe to say that despite the premise, this is not one for me but readers of dark spicy romances with horror elements will probably devour this and as a novella I urge others to pick it up and give it a try.

Absolutely ate this up.

It’s a novella about slutty emotional vampires on a cruise. Funny, witty, snarky and hot!

What a fun little trip. I hadn’t read a book like this before and really enjoyed every minute.
Rebekah and Hugh are a married couple of vampires that go on a vacation and they come across a new person, Heaven and fall into their orbit which is potentially magical and dangerous.

I don’t think this comes out until October but what a perfect book for a summer vacation.

Thanks to netgalley and creature publishing for an eARC

“Immortal beloveds Rebekah and Hugh are on vacation! Against a backdrop of ongoing war, this pair of chic emotional vampires from San Francisco sets off on 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 possibly magical--nonbinary social media influencer named Heaven, Rebekah's reality capsizes, and her true nature is unleashed.” (Back Cover Description)

I love vampire novels because everyone has their own interpretations and views of how they live, feed, and act. Rebekah and Hugh, although never explicitly said, are vampires who feed off the desires, pleasures, and sorrows of humans. Rebekah has narcissistic tendencies and feeds off the adoration and desires off her prey. She is often having sex with humans and is consumed with youth and her appearance since that’s what she uses to hunt. Hugh is an artist and uses his art to drain his audience of their sorrows and pain allowing him to feed. The two have been together for a very long time and take a cruise to reignite their relationship after an incident with one of Rebekah’s lovers left Hugh scarred and upset. On the cruise the couple meets Heaven and right away Rebekah is entranced by them. Heaven turns out to be a magical being themselves and has their own plans for Hugh and Rebekah.

There were many things about this novel that worked. I liked Merbaum’s interpretation of vampires and the other magical beings in the book, especially Heaven’s character. Heaven is non- binary and this fit her character once you find out what they are (no spoilers!).
I also liked the aspect of Rebekah’s and Hugh’s relationship being explored and tested. Although they are vampires they still feel intense human emotions and we see Rebekah’s destructive nature come to the surface when she is faced with jealousy.

Merbaum’s writing was easy to follow and reading about vampires relationship issues was humorous. Just when you thought Vampire novels couldn’t get any hornier, they do. I expect a lot of SMUT when it comes to vampires and Merbaum exceeded my expectations!

The only thing that I have to say about this novella is I wish it was longer and I wish we got different POVs from the other characters.

Merbaum delivered a sexy and smutty- horror comedy that shows even soulless beings can still feel intense human emotions.

I want to thank NetGalley and Creature Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’d recommend Vampires at Sea to a reader looking for a Queer, shorter beach read they can bite into in one sitting - while I felt a slow start, the story has an interesting main character and is overall enjoyable! Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an ARC through NetGalley. This review is written voluntarily. This review may contain light spoilers.

This is an interesting take on vampires, it feels suitably fantastical and the other mythical characters are equally eccentric and dangerous feeling. The plot itself has a slightly laboured feeling build, which considering how short the novel was frustrating but once the conflict begins, the writing became more dimensional. I felt pulled into the character and her emotional struggle and the pace and prose made you feel almost drunk. I felt the boredom of these ancient characters, flitting between the present and the past. The antagonist and their actions felt enticing, well thought out and at times, scary.

The attraction and romance were believable throughout, especially between the main character and her partners. However, some of the sex scenes felt simultaneously smutty and awkward - the passages gave you the lead up explicitly and then a fade to black which felt oddly juxtaposed when reading.

Throughout the story, an external war occurring within Rebekah’s world is mentioned and while it does provide a level of eeriness to some scenes, I feel it could be seen as unconsidered. It makes sense, as a being that has experienced countless tragedies that the MC may become desensitised to war, however it doesn’t seem to have much weight on the story and it’s outcome.

“Queer vampire polyamorous cruise” sounds like the fever dream of a bisexual goth in heat—and honestly, I was ready to be bitten. What I got instead was less plot and more undead Real Housewives on a booze cruise. This novella isn't so much a story as it is a chaotic moodboard of one (very self-absorbed) vampire sashaying from one melodramatic entanglement to another while everyone else on board tries to have a collective existential crisis in peace.

The plot? Lost at sea. Vanished somewhere between the third orgy and the philosophical monologue about mirror selfies.

And yet… the writing? Absolutely feral—in the best way. Stylish, sharp, unbothered by traditional narrative structure, and dripping with the kind of self-aware flamboyance that says, “Yes, I did eat your boyfriend. He was delicious. Moving on.”

I wouldn’t call it a must-read, but I’d absolutely attend the author’s next unhinged literary pool party. Bring your garlic-scented SPF and leave your expectations on the shore.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me. I did ultimately DNF.

I was really interested in the What We Do in the Shadows vibes other reviewers had mentioned, but unfortunately I didn't get that. Writing style felt clunky and distant.

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me, so I DNFed. I was really intrigued by the concept: vampires, queerness, and fantasy horror comedy. I went in thinking the style of humor would work for me. But instead of being drawn in, I ended up feeling more and more distanced from the characters, until I just couldn’t connect enough to keep going.

I think this will be a huge hit for a lot of people and I would recommend to a certain type of reader.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a gluttonous, slutty, ridiculous ride! I did not think this book was gonna be as funny as it was. There were multiple times that I laughed out loud and that doesn’t happen often for me.

A toxic, self-centered vampire on a queer cruise with her husband (also a vampire)….what could possibly go wrong?! This book felt extremely self-aware and kept cracking me up with the pop culture jabs.

Even though the main character was awful I could not help but relate to her. Rebekah was especially relatable when she kept using “We are on vacation!” As both an explanation and excuse for different experiences she was having.

If you like vampire books that are unhinged and make you laugh, give this a chance …preferably while you’re on vacation!!

Rebekah and Hugh are on holiday. It's time for these emotional vampires to have some fun aboard a queer Black Sea cruise. With the promise of orgies, relaxation and gorging themselves on the guests, Rebekah thought it would be the perfect adventure, but things start to go wrong when Hugh becomes enamoured with another guest. People are going missing, Hugh is acting weird and Rebekah just may have bitten off more than she can chew.

I had some trouble with this book, and i think it's because i wasn't sure what genre i was reading. I couldn't figure out if it was satire, horror or fantasy. I think it's a bit of all those things.
It's the type of book that I wish I could discuss and do a deep dive into all the symbolism and meanings behind the choices.
The cruise was a ship of extravagance and gluttony; the cruise setting was a war-ravaged area which covered in smoke and sirens.
The characters were having romantic sexy rendezvous on the deck, while bodies were being thrown overboard without them noticing.
The concept of emotional vampires and other mystery beings was really cool.

Rebekah and Hugh were horrible people. Selfish and extreme in their thoughts and behaviour. Rebekah is our narrator. She is unreliable, a little unhinged and an absolute force. Her power isn't overtly violent, but she can kill. I didn't like her and she doesn't need me to. I enjoyed her. I enjoyed watching her fight for the person she loves and I especially loved the moment she decided to love herself more.

That ending was satisfying.