By Silk Tones

The Ancients' Bargain #3

by V.T. Hoang

[Third book in a series of queer paranormal romances, but does not require the first two books to understand. Can be read as a standalone.]

Most pureblood vampires go blind early in their life, and Minsu is no exception. That hasn't stopped him from living an accomplished life as a diplomat.

Following the end of the war between the demonic Pure Clans and vampiric Khrang Bi, Minsu is chosen to participate in a political marriage with Clan Deng. He's expecting a savage and bigoted demon for a wife, but what he gets is a husband who seems too kind for his own good. Liem was selected as a mockery to this union. Born female and mixed blood, his family has never accepted him. Minsu finds himself conflicted as he grows to care for Liem. In truth, he wasn't sent to make peace. Who would expect a blind man to be a threat, after all?

Minsu’s real directive is to assassinate all of Clan Deng. And that includes his new husband.

[ M/FtM romance, spy x spy, blind/ visually impaired lead, amputee (leg) lead, Korean/Sino-Viet couple, vampires and demons, hypermasculine FtM lead, explicit open door]

Genres: Fantasy, Vampires, Romance, M M Romance, Paranormal, Magic, BDSM

458 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 28, 2024

About the author

Look who came to cry...
V. T. Hoang is a Viet trans man who writes queer romance that hurts, but he'll forever write happily ever afters.

Reviews

[Smutty Sully · Rating 5 out of 5]

Free on Amazon 20-22 February! Books 1-3!

MC Names: Minsu & Liem

Tags: Anachronistic fantasy, MM, political intrigue, grumpy/grumpy, FTM trans MC, half demon half wolf-shifter/pureblood vampire pairing, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, partially blind MC (will eventually be blind), trans author, fight scenes, hidden identity, arranged political marriage, amputee (leg, uses a prosthetic), Sino-Viet MC/Korean MC pairing, sworn assassin, fighting to fucking to fight-fucking, biting, bratting, pleasure Dom, vers, pegging, biting, scratching, degradation, trans author, Viet-American author, POC author

[V.ya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, the feels!

An almost blind vampire enters a political marriage with a trans, amputee demon. Both have their own agendas—one even carries an order to kill. Yet, the attraction between them is undeniable. Can their marriage—and their spouse—survive in the end?

I love how the author lets us experience the world through someone nearly blind and another who uses prosthetics. It’s done with such care and realism, adding incredible depth to the worldbuilding. The fantasy world is complex, with sirens, lycans, vampires, demons, and their politics and history. I'm pretty sure there are minor plot holes here and there, but they don't bother me much.

Minsu and Liem are never unkind to each other, but their loyalty to their people keeps them conflicted until the very end. (Minor gripe: maybe a touch too long.) Still, the author knows exactly how to twist the knife and make you feel every ounce of their pain.

"I think, in another life, I would have liked coming home to you every day."

A happy ending feels forever out of reach. As they struggle not to destroy each other, there’s a quiet resignation in their affection.

"It's okay," Liem whispered brokenly. "If it's you, it's okay."

Another thing I adore is the prose. The love, the struggle, the longing are all portrayed so beautifully in words.

They'd somehow built this relationship on lies because the truth had been in touches that lingered too long and glances that never quite connected and words left hanging with the things they could never admit.

And Minsu! How he suffers! My heart goes out to him.

Tears streamed down his face, dripping over his cheeks and chin. Why was he crying? It was an honor to serve. He was happy to aid his people. They needed him. They needed him not to be selfish. So many people relied on him, and he had to be what they needed.

I'm not crying. You're crying.

[Moni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It's got plot, intrigue, angst, diversity regarding characters and good smut. I absolutely adore Minsu and Liem and I would read a lot more about them.

Minsu is an assasin/spy/diplomat, he is also a vampire and visually impaired. Liem is a spy/assasin transmasc demon with a prosthetic leg. Since they hold important positions in their clans, a marriage is arranged between them. Both are widowers, both want to be loved, but don't think this marriage will bring that. Oh, and Minsu was sent there with the purpose of killing Liem so that complicates things. I really just want to hug both Liem and Minsu and wrap them in a cosy blanket, my babies.

I absolutely loved how they interacted. Liem is so thoughtful, knowing that Minsu is visually impaired, he hired an interior decorator to make sure his house is accessible to Minsu. Minsu is sarcastic and dramatic when he's relaxed, but takes his job seriously. They are both trying their hardest to make each other happy throughout their "fake" marriage.

The plot was so interesting, I couldn't stop reading. The world building is super well done, combining modern and fantasy. I also love the author's twist of the fantasy elements, adding new and interesting stuff to vampires, demons, wolves, sirens. Bonus points for not being Western centric, borrowing aspects from Eastern and Southeastern Asian cultures.

[Marley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book had me on a chockehold. It was so intense until the very last moment.
I teared up twice.

I loved the progression of the relationship. It felt so natural and real. Chemistry off the charts.

These two deserved the best life has to offer and I'm glad they found it with each other.
They were just so tender and soft together 🥺 My heart melted.

The prose was excellent. The plot was riveting. But the characters were everything!

Truly a masterpiece of a novel!

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best of the series so far - I love devastatingly competent MCs who hide their skills under seeming frivolity. The main couple was so lovely, and the way gender, queer relationships, and poly are handled (with acceptance and openness and love) in this series makes me feel happy. (May I live in a world that is like this someday.) I’m taking a star off because it dragged on a little - we could all see the end coming, it would have been better if it was a little tighter, maybe 5-10% shorter. Still, such a great read! I’ll be looking for more from this author ❤️

[Mme Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely devoured this book. The romance, the intrigue, the smut. I read it as a standalone, and even though in the beginning I had a hard time following along, things got better quite fast. This book needs more recognition

[BiblioFan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. From cover to cover, I loved this book. The characters stole my heart immediately. The plot was so well done and developed. The world building continues to be stellar. I honestly wish I could unread this book just so I could experience it again.

This book is MM (vampire/half demon half wolf shifter pairing) and follows the stories of Minsu and Liem. The emotional trauma is heavy in this one and frequently broke my heart.

Liem and Minsu are in an arranged political marriage with their own ulterior motives. The chemistry between them starts pretty much from the second they meet each other, but they’re both guarded. Watching them open up and relax around each other was amazing. They both have their own pretty significant emotional trauma and letting someone else in wasn’t easy.

Liem is a half demon/half wild shifter trans man. He fought in the Blood War. He lost one of his legs and uses a prosthetic now. His backstory is painful and has left him with a lot of emotional scars. His story really drives the plot forward, so I don’t want to say too much and give away anything.

Then there’s Minsu. He’s a pure blooded vampire, which is leading to him going blind. I loved Minsu the second he was on page. I loved his sassy attitude, his wit, the way he was able to use his intelligence and words to outsmart everyone (as well as put them in their place). To be able to experience the world the way Minsu does, there’s not a lot of visual details from his POV beyond color contrasts or vague shapes. Minsu doesn’t let his disability stop him at all. He’s completely badass.

The previous books in this series were excellent, but this one really captivated me from beginning to end. I love being able to see characters from previous books and the way they’re weaving together their own found family.

Again, I love this world and these books and I’m so excited to see where it goes from here!

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Challenged On Silver Shores for being my favourite book of the series. — edit after several rereads IT IS my favourite now!! The dynamic of push and pull between Minsu and Liem was captivating, you really felt their trust and connection deepen despite all they couldn’t say. I particularly liked Minsu’s laissez faire attitude mixed with his competency, and Liem’s thoughtful and virtuous personality. As with the rest of the series the world building in By Silver Tones was unique and interesting.

However, for an ending that was so foreboding it arrived rather slowly and concluded abruptly. This allowed readers to build anxiety and dread as the characters experienced the same feelings however the ending didn’t feel satisfying for me. The doomed end had finally arrived but I didn’t get enough relief from their quickly wrapped up happy for now.

[Talya · Rating 3 out of 5]

sometimes really good but mostly didn’t engage my interest 😔

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps my favorite part of this story is how Hoàng handled the forbidden dynamic between Minsu and Liem. It’s enemies to lovers in the same way that Aster Glenn Gray’s Honeytrap is: our people are enemies, we may or may not have secret agendas, but we, surprisingly, actually *like* each other. Too bad our feelings don’t matter. I find this dynamic really interesting. I particularly liked the tension of each knowing the other is a spy but not knowing if their respective assignments is to harm the other. It’s an unusual approach to a spy story—the spy’s occupation is normally a secret from the other—and it complicated their relationship in a really interesting way; their “lies” to each other honestly kind of hurt my feelings. Also, this one’s for the competence kinksters.

The author states that this book can be read as a standalone. But I didn’t feel like I had a strong grasp of all the different groups and places, and I wonder how much firmer my understanding of the obviously deep world-building would be if I started from the beginning of the series. So, standalone with caveats, maybe?

[Macrochiroptera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novel so so much. I was absolutely delighted every single page. I wish more people read it because it is such a fantastic blast of an interesting world setting (urban fantasy, demons and vampires, also werewolves and other mythical beings), an amazing plot, some good angst, a trans protagonist and both good emotional scenes, sex scene sand fighting scenes. It really has everything.

Minsu and Liem were such great protagonist, and the fact that the novel managed to pack such an emotional punch without making them full on enemies really surprised me. I admit that when I saw Liem and Minsu immediately getting along I feared the novel had done away with the angst far too quickly, but I was quite wrong. The story unwraps both their personalities, their families and especially the way they fit together page after page, it felt so much like a mystery and a discovery as the actual plot.

[Bekka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lie to me.

Two wonderfully cute MCs who are also ferocious politicians and assassins. These MCs start an arranged marriage both aware it will end in destruction. More communication than the majority of romances done so beautifully. Liem looking up how to make his house better for his future blind husband? Minsu being confused but loving how Liem spoils him?

Quote
"So you are a good cook," Liem said after he swallowed, "antagonize demons for sport, and hear people's feelings. Is there anything you can't do?"
"See."

I love Minsu's humour and how these MCs showed their affection and love for each other because they couldn't tell each other.

NSFW infos:
- big ftm demon-wolf (author gives CWs: is deadnamed and worse by his grandmother who gets her reckoning)
- smol blind super pale vampire, bratty

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

How does this book have so much murder and it's barely mentioned in the blurb?
Listen, we need to agree on something here, you don't need to describe every room and outfit in this much detail; it gets old real fast. This book should not be as long as it is. Other than that, it was fine. The characters are likeable enough and the murder plot is fun enough. The consequences of everyone's actions are not well-thought-out though, or they have an incredibly corrupt government. It's like there was a murder and some bad people were close to the murder, and so they get charged with the crime and sent away even though there is no proof and also they didn't do the murder ????? It's like we knew where we wanted to go, and we set it up and then gave up and said 'you fill in the blanks'. I don't love it

[BookGeek1987 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok I loved this book. I’ve never read anything by this author before and I am really glad I pushed this to the top of the TBR list and took the plunge. To confirm I haven’t read the other books in this series and I followed the plot and characters fine.

The representation in this book is on point. So both our MCs are disabled. We have one that is blind and one that has a leg prosthetic. Plus one MC is trans - F to M, only had the top surgery done. Please note the CW as the family are transphobic and kept using the MCs deadname.

It is an arranged marriage plot, which is my catnip, but it wasn’t enemies to lovers. They acknowledged they both had their reasons for entering the marriage and it wasn’t going to last. We then got to watch them develop feelings and try to resolve said feelings with their own political needs.

It was also fantastic to read a non western centric book. I felt really immersed in the eastern cultural components without being ‘lost’ as everything was described beautifully so I could really imagine the different clothing/housing etc.

My only criticism would be the lack of an epilogue. I felt the ending was abrupt and it would have been perfect if I got a 5 years ahead epilogue. Just to see how our MCs are as a couple without the pressures of the political agendas weighing them down. Apart from that it was just perfect. I’ll happily read more MM books from this author.

[Sy A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book. It's sexy and sweet, and there's arranged marriage which I'm always a sucker for. I love that the disabled characters aren't just thrown in for no reason - it's an essential part of their character. My only complaint is that I wish it were longer and that the end was slightly less contrived.

[August · Rating 5 out of 5]

this series is just so fun and i can’t put them down. i love love love the world building and seeing the books build on each other. i enjoyed seeing characters outside of the normal cast from the first two and more of the lore of the vamps/demons. also genuinely obsessed with it going 3/3 on trans main characters in this series so far.

[aidni · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

A great plot idea, but poor execution. For a plot that was all about political intrigue there was almost none of
It to be found here. Everyone was entirely too honest all the time.

Points for disability rep , but lost points for juvenile writing.

[pastsimple]

I didnt like it. Something was off.
Maybe trans thing is just not mine. Although Names for the dawn i liked a lot.
No rating