Thank you for the ARC!

As soon as I first read the blurb for Vampires at Sea, I was hooked. Queer representation? Vampires? Alternative, nonconforming relationship dynamics? Sign me up.

But the novel fell short of my expectations. Rebekah, Hugo, and Heaven are never entirely fleshed out. There is so much about each of their backstories that went unsaid, and so much of their personalities that only grazed the surface. While it was a quick, easy read, I didn't care for any of the characters because there was so little substance to each of them and yet so much potential! Why can't Rebekah remember her past lives? Why is Hugo so static? How did Heaven come to be what they are, and how did meeting Hugo and Rebekah change them? Are there other kinds of vampires, and what exactly is the history of vampirism for this author and novel? What is the "war" that is briefly mentioned and yet never really explained? These are just a few of the questions I was left with at the end of the novel. It read like something that wanted to be an episode of What We Do in the Shadows and yet couldn't pull the comedy-horror landscape off as well (there was nothing comedic nor horrifying about this novel). Rebekah and Hugo seemed like stand-ins for Nadja and Laszlo. On top of that, the writing was shallow and unorganized. At times, the writing style appeared to be improving--and nuancing the plot--only to shy away from the depth the novel could have held.

All in all, I'm left severely disappointed. The premise had such deep promise and such poor execution. I would be willing to read another novel by this author in the future, but I so wish this one had lived up to the hype. A few more rounds of revision, I think, would have fixed many of the issues I see within it.

I really liked this! It's kinda like Nadja and Lazlo from what we do in the shadows go on queer, very horny cruise. It was a fun read, but it felt rushed. I think both Hugh and Rebekah are energy vampires? they didn't really explain how they both feed. Some other questions weren't answered, like what is this war that's going on, who threw the person overboard, what was the deal with the cruise? I wish there was a few more chapters so that Hugh could be fleshed out a bit more but also so the ending didn't feel as rushed.


Thank you Netgally and publishing for the ARC copy of this! I will definitely check out more of this author

This was an unhinged ride with not a lot of likeable characters or much of a plot. Despite it being a novella I would have liked something somewhat more coherent or explained/fleshed out - like, what war is going on in the background that keeps being casually mentioned??

Overall a fine read but not something I'll be thinking about after putting it down. Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC!

Vampires At Sea follows Rebekah and Hugh, married centuries old vampires, as they take a two week queer cruise on the Black Sea. On board the ship, they meet Heaven, an enthralling social media personality, that the couple become enchanted by.
I loved this quirky little book. Rebekah was hilarious, and I really wanted more of her and Hugh. Heaven was an interesting character, if not all that likeable. I did wish this was longer, so that both the war in the background, and Rebekah and Hugh's backstory could be more fleshed out.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of Vampires At Sea in exchange for my honest review.

Vampires At Sea by Lindsay Merbaum
2.5/5

A fun and sexy romp that offers up a lot of cool ideas that leave you wanting more than the page count can deliver.

Initially I liked the simplicity of Merbaum's setup: two immortal vampires on a queer cruise whose lives are intercepted by an intriguing stranger. In and of itself this arc is handled relatively well, though the nature of Heaven's existence is only briefly touched on in any great detail. Unfortunately the book fell apart as more subplots got introduced and subsequently abandoned: Rebekah's apparent memory loss, the disappearing bodies, the war. All of these could have been expanded on to develop this into a proper novel, but leaving those hints without any resolution was unsatisfying.

Rebekah and Hugh being emotional vampires was an interesting twist on the traditional and I liked the exploration of their unique tastes in that regard. I felt that Hugh was positioned as the most developed character, and although Rebekah was an amusing narrator, she should have been offered more growth in the second half of the story. Heaven was, I assume, meant to seem mysterious but also needed much better development to appreciate the threat they posed. The allegory for non-binary/gender fluidity that was at play sometimes veered into problematic territory for me.

The writing was my favourite part of the experience. Even though the inner voice of Rebekah skewed far too modern to be believable for a vampire of her age, it was funny and easy to read and set a good tone for the story overall. If the full expanse of Merbaum's ideas had been explored in depth, this could have been a really wonderful novel, but as it stands it's just an okay novella.

"He's very excited. He keeps touching things for no reason: his hair, elevator buttons, gold banisters. Normally, Hugh wouldn't lay a hand on any of this, he doesn't like germs. They can't harm him, but neither can musical theatre and he can't stand that either."

A quick fun read about two vampires that go on a cruise vacation to help mend their relationship. Expecting to feed off the lonely cruise-goers, Rebekah and Hugh meet a mysterious person named Heaven who quickly becomes their third. Their vacation soon spirals out of control- who really is Heaven? Why do people keep disappearing? And how can Rebekah be sure she isn’t becoming obsolete in her own relationship?

I loved this author’s take on vampires and their powers. They aren’t overly explained and the reader has to piece things together. The story is narrated from Rebekah’s point of view and I thought her view of humans was really accurate (and funny) considering she is an immortal monster. Both protagonists are narcissistic and self-serving. Overall I recommend this as a funny vacation read that explores themes of desire, power, and the nature of relationships!

A book overflowing with possibility – political intrigue through a cruise on water amid war on land, desire-driven queer vampires, and orgies – Vampires at Sea promises the most. The first few lines lure us in with lyrical imagery of the Black Sea, but then... “We’re on vacation!” The bubble built in those first few lines pops as if popping a child’s balloon – in short, it’s disappointing.

The voice shifts from mature and lyrical to teenage Mean Girls 2.0. Throughout the story, the narrator shifts from being on-board with her partner loving another to hating her partner’s lover’s guts and back again so quick I’m constantly given whiplash. The narrator is hot then they’re cold, but not in a fun way like desire and orgies may promise. The sex is without emotion, breezed over, and ultimately unsatisfying. And the war doesn’t seem to fit; it was unclear to me why it was included in the first place aside from producing some unnecessary and ineffective angst.

I can see what the author is trying to do – create a humorous work that contrasts most vampire books that are laden with the macabre, but the humor ultimately fell flat for me, and the repetition of “We’re on vacation” had me rolling my eyes harder each time it was written on page (which was an absurd amount of times). I felt removed from the characters, and so I pushed through while not caring what happened at all. I wish I felt a greater connection, but the flippant nature of most of the narrator’s internal monologue had me detached and uncaring. And most side characters were not on-page enough for me to care about (or even remember) them in the end.

I love a good story with a messy narrator, but this is beyond messy – it's sloppy and not well-curated. Overall, Vampires at Sea brims with potential, but in its immature, annoying narrator, it falls dramatically short, into the realm of disappointing.

This book is a perfect blend of comedy, smut, and vampire shenanigans.
I reccomend it to anyone which loves smut and vampires.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

Vampires at Sea sets up an intriguing premise—a vampire couple on a Black Sea cruise with relationship issues and a mysterious nonbinary influencer thrown into the mix. Unfortunately, the execution doesn't quite live up to the concept.

As it is such a short novel, the story moves quickly, but that brevity comes at a cost. Key elements feel underdeveloped, and the emotional arcs—especially Rebekah’s personal evolution—don’t quite land. There are interesting ideas here, especially around queerness and identity, but they're more gestured at than explored in depth.

Overall, it’s a bold swing stylistically, but the story lacks the substance to make it stick. Best for readers drawn more to tone and provocation than cohesive storytelling.

okay I really liked this one. there is a very particular writing style and plot going on here, and it won't be for everyone. this truly captures "stream of conciousness" in novel form. I felt a little confused until about halfway through then flew through the rest of the book while nothing on a grazing plate over the kitchen counter at 10pm, as one does. that was unplanned, but felt like the novel could be described this way too. berries, crackers, cheese, chocolate, dim lighting and too much booze. yes, specifically "booze" and not any other way to describe an alcoholic beverage. dark skies, warm breezes and falling stars. emotional vampires are on a queer cruise and there are undeniable connections between Rebekah's husband, our emotionally drowned, melancholic, photographer husband, and the new young sparkling unicorn influencer, who is champagne with frozen berries as ice. if you ever feel like hyperventilating on on your knees, kneeling and dizzy on a grassy hill on a warm summer night (in a good way), then this is for you.

This story has

-vampires and other occults
-LGBTQ+
-polyamorous representation
-mystery

This gave very 90's vibes

An average read overall

I don’t know if I really was a good fit for this eARC. I can assume there is a lot of fun jest and wordplay within the queer community, but the playful poking fun and jokes went over my head and felt a bit like the author was punching down on their fellow bisexuals.
Rebekah is difficult to like, and the sex scenes felt coarse. I wouldn’t recommend this one, and didn’t have a good time reading it.

Unfortunately I was granted the book so close to it's archive date that I never got to download it or read it 😭

If I manage to read it elsewhere I'll be sure to update my review.

I was immediately pulled in by the description of this book. I found the feeding of the vampires an interesting take, it wasn’t something I had read before. Unfortunately, I did find the story a little lacking. There was a random war put in which felt like a storyline that had once been bigger but was then removed. There was no purpose to it, and did make me wonder why it was even mentioned. Rebekah was rather dull as a narrator, but I did like her character development and her choices at the end. I think the story needed more refinement and development to live up to its promise.

3.5. I requested this book on Netgalley because I wanted sexyqueerchaos on a cruise ship and I guess I got queer chaos on a cruise ship, I just didn't personally find it very sexy. My first slight disappointment was when I discovered the main characters - a married couple of vampires - weren't old school blood thirsty vampires but emotional vampires, meaning they feed on people's emotions. This was a cool twist and definitely made the story less messy but apparently I have a blood k1nk because I missed some good old neck biting and blood guzzling. I really enjoyed the plot and variety of.characters and how much they bent gender and defied binaries, but I didn't find the smut very smutty. I can't put my finger on how, but it was like it wasn't written to titillate and so it very much did not, and that was another disappointment. The cover, however, swoooooon.

This book is great if you like following a schedule of unpredictable and captivating events. I have never read a book in this format before, and I enjoyed it. This book delivered drama and had me on the edge of my seat, just as it described!

Very much in two minds about this book, and I wish that Goodreads would let you give half stars. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I quite liked a lot of this. The prose was a little purple, but not overly so. The pacing was good, and I was intrigued by the mystery of Heaven and what their goals were. The concept of energy vampires was cool, as was the setting of the queer cruise. The erotic aspects were well done and did not make me physically cringe during moments where I was not supposed to physically cringe. I read this in an airport while traveling, and I had a lot of fun.

However, I feel a little weird about Heaven's shapeshifting. It reads a little like transfemme people are dangerous because they can pretend to be something that they aren't, and I don't love that. [ When combined with the thing that sends Rebekah over the edge being Heaven taking on her own form, it leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. (hide spoiler)] It doesn't feel intentionally transphobic, but I still feel slightly uncomfortable with it.

With that said, this has not turned me off Merbaum. I'd like to check out Merbaum's novel The Golden Persimmon in the future.

This is a book which tastesfully uses its characters to portray situations which we morally would find very bad. The characters do not act "good" or are in healthy relationships but it is so much fun to observe their thoughts and actions! It is dark but still hilarious at times, it can feel a bit over the top sometimes but overall it was very enjoyable!

If you like
-vampires and other occults
-LGBTQ+ characters
-polyamorous representation
-vacation vibes
-mystery
This could be for for you
Trigger warnings include
-war
-murder/abuse

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to read and review. My actual rating for this novel is a 3.25 stars out of 5.

Well that was different. It's giving vampire novels from the 90s,but then with a lot of tech. I like my vampires to be more sultry than slutty, but since this is from their viewpoint I can appreciate how they would view it since I usually read from the human's POV; if this was from the view of one of the other cruise members, I'm sure it'd be sultry as all Hell.

I think I'll be processing this one for a bit, much like Rebekah.