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Human Enough
When Noah Lau joined the Vampire Hunters Association, seeking justice for his parents’ deaths, he didn’t anticipate ending up imprisoned in the house of the vampire he was supposed to kill—and he definitely didn’t anticipate falling for that vampire’s lover.
Six months later, Noah’s life has gotten significantly more complicated. On top of being autistic in a world that doesn’t try to understand him, he still hunts vampires for a living…while dating a vampire himself. Awkward. Yet Jordan Cross is sweet and kind, and after braving their inner demons and Jordan’s vicious partner together, Noah wouldn’t trade him for the world.
But when one of Jordan’s vampire friends goes missing and Noah’s new boss at the VHA becomes suspicious about some of his recent cases, what starts off as a routine paperwork check soon leads Noah to a sinister conspiracy. As he investigates, he and Jordan get sucked into a deadly web of intrigue that will test the limits of their relationship—and possibly break them. After all, in a world where vampires feed on humans and humans fear vampires, can a vampire and a vampire hunter truly find a happy ending together?
Six months later, Noah’s life has gotten significantly more complicated. On top of being autistic in a world that doesn’t try to understand him, he still hunts vampires for a living…while dating a vampire himself. Awkward. Yet Jordan Cross is sweet and kind, and after braving their inner demons and Jordan’s vicious partner together, Noah wouldn’t trade him for the world.
But when one of Jordan’s vampire friends goes missing and Noah’s new boss at the VHA becomes suspicious about some of his recent cases, what starts off as a routine paperwork check soon leads Noah to a sinister conspiracy. As he investigates, he and Jordan get sucked into a deadly web of intrigue that will test the limits of their relationship—and possibly break them. After all, in a world where vampires feed on humans and humans fear vampires, can a vampire and a vampire hunter truly find a happy ending together?
199 pages, ebook
First published October 7, 2019
6 people are currently reading
684 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
March 8, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.
As you can tell by the release date of this book, my review is going up really late. Whoops...
So holy sh*t, I loved everything about this book. It’s a fantasy novel that centers around a pansexual and autistic guy who fell in love with an asexual vampire. The representation was amazing. I requested this book because I’m asexual and I rarely see my sexuality represented in books. I related so much to Jordan and his discovery of his sexuality. I felt seen and represented and it felt so good. I spent most of my high school life wondering what was wrong with me and it wasn’t until a book that I read recently helped me learn to accept that part of me and helped educate me on asexuality, so Jordan’s discover of his sexuality really resonated with me. To the author of this book, if you’re reading this review, thank you so much for including asexual representation. It really means a lot to me.
The vampire element of this book was really well done and I was impressed. It wasn’t too cheesy and I really liked the unique spin on vampires.
I also absolutely loved how the ending of the book made me so emotional. If I’m on the verge of crying because of a book, you KNOW it’s a good book.
Overall I’d highly recommend that everyone read this book as it can easily appeal to both romance and fantasy fans.
As you can tell by the release date of this book, my review is going up really late. Whoops...
So holy sh*t, I loved everything about this book. It’s a fantasy novel that centers around a pansexual and autistic guy who fell in love with an asexual vampire. The representation was amazing. I requested this book because I’m asexual and I rarely see my sexuality represented in books. I related so much to Jordan and his discovery of his sexuality. I felt seen and represented and it felt so good. I spent most of my high school life wondering what was wrong with me and it wasn’t until a book that I read recently helped me learn to accept that part of me and helped educate me on asexuality, so Jordan’s discover of his sexuality really resonated with me. To the author of this book, if you’re reading this review, thank you so much for including asexual representation. It really means a lot to me.
The vampire element of this book was really well done and I was impressed. It wasn’t too cheesy and I really liked the unique spin on vampires.
I also absolutely loved how the ending of the book made me so emotional. If I’m on the verge of crying because of a book, you KNOW it’s a good book.
Overall I’d highly recommend that everyone read this book as it can easily appeal to both romance and fantasy fans.
November 20, 2019
I was sent this book as an advance copy by the publisher via NetGalley for reviewing purposes, but all opinions are my own.
I really loved this book and I'm not finding anything I didn't like about it, which is rare. I'm normally not even one to love vampire stories but this sounded so good and I was not disappointed in the least.
Noah is a vampire hunter who gets trapped in an old vampire's house, and there he meets the vampire's partner (although he's a victim of his abuse too), also a vampire who's been turned unwillingly.
The story takes place both in the past and in the present and while at first I was scared this was going to feel a bit disruptive of the action in both timelines, I didn't find that was the case at all. If anything it just made me more eager to keep reading. It was also a nice way to both see Noah and Jordan's relationship develop and see them as an established couple, and they were so cute as both.
I think this book's strength is the focus on representation, especially Noah's autism and Jordan's discovery of being ace. Noah's internal monologue often makes it clear what's it like for an autistic person to live their daily lives and as far as I know from having read ownvoices reviews the rep is good and accurate. Jordan, being a vampire, was born in the 1920s and has been kept almost seclusive by his abusive ex partner, so while he's known forever about his homosexuality, he still has some issues being open about it because of the mentality back then. This is not something that impacts the relationship with Noah though, and it's clear that Jordan grows more comfortable once he gets access to the internet and is able to be more open. He also finds out about asexuality when Noah talks about the LGBTQIAP+ spectrum and he realizes that's also a part of his identity, and that was one of my favorite scenes in the book.
There's also a kind of investigation plotline that I thought was well written, perhaps it didn't keep me on my toes and was even a little bit predictable but I found that it perfectly fit the tone of the book.
There's really nothing I can complain about and I would 100% recommend this book to whoever is looking for a fun, sweet and diverse vampire story.
Rep: autistic pansexual Chinese-American MC, gay grey-ace vampire LI
TWs: emotionally abusive relationship, ableism, violence, death, grief, captivity
I really loved this book and I'm not finding anything I didn't like about it, which is rare. I'm normally not even one to love vampire stories but this sounded so good and I was not disappointed in the least.
Noah is a vampire hunter who gets trapped in an old vampire's house, and there he meets the vampire's partner (although he's a victim of his abuse too), also a vampire who's been turned unwillingly.
The story takes place both in the past and in the present and while at first I was scared this was going to feel a bit disruptive of the action in both timelines, I didn't find that was the case at all. If anything it just made me more eager to keep reading. It was also a nice way to both see Noah and Jordan's relationship develop and see them as an established couple, and they were so cute as both.
I think this book's strength is the focus on representation, especially Noah's autism and Jordan's discovery of being ace. Noah's internal monologue often makes it clear what's it like for an autistic person to live their daily lives and as far as I know from having read ownvoices reviews the rep is good and accurate. Jordan, being a vampire, was born in the 1920s and has been kept almost seclusive by his abusive ex partner, so while he's known forever about his homosexuality, he still has some issues being open about it because of the mentality back then. This is not something that impacts the relationship with Noah though, and it's clear that Jordan grows more comfortable once he gets access to the internet and is able to be more open. He also finds out about asexuality when Noah talks about the LGBTQIAP+ spectrum and he realizes that's also a part of his identity, and that was one of my favorite scenes in the book.
There's also a kind of investigation plotline that I thought was well written, perhaps it didn't keep me on my toes and was even a little bit predictable but I found that it perfectly fit the tone of the book.
There's really nothing I can complain about and I would 100% recommend this book to whoever is looking for a fun, sweet and diverse vampire story.
Rep: autistic pansexual Chinese-American MC, gay grey-ace vampire LI
TWs: emotionally abusive relationship, ableism, violence, death, grief, captivity
May 19, 2020
Full review to come on my blog (link in profile), but let's just say I loved this! It's a really fun, quick read, and the romance was so soft.
The autism rep is SO amazing and relatable and often made me want to scream "YES!" and cry at the same time. I can't help feeling so incredibly grateful whenever I get to read good autism rep, because there really isn't a lot.
Rep: Chinese-American, autistic, pansexual MC, grey-asexual love interest with depression
The autism rep is SO amazing and relatable and often made me want to scream "YES!" and cry at the same time. I can't help feeling so incredibly grateful whenever I get to read good autism rep, because there really isn't a lot.
Rep: Chinese-American, autistic, pansexual MC, grey-asexual love interest with depression
October 6, 2019
I received an advance copy from NineStar Press via Netgalley for review purposes. This in no way influences my review; all words, thoughts, and opinions are my own.
Content notes:
I really liked this book. I wouldn’t necessarily classify this as fluff because there’s several scenes of violence, prejudice, and ableism, but the relationship between Noah and Jordan is soft and sweet.
Noah Lau is a vampire hunter, part of the Vampire Hunter Association formally Van Helsing Agency, and he’s in a (sorta secret) relationship with vampire Jordan Cross. They’ve been together about four months and the book is told by alternating between when they met and present day. Noah has noticed the VHA investigators seem to be dispensing faulty intelligence and is worried that they may have killed vampires they shouldn’t have in the present story line. Jordan and Noah met when the vampire who turned Jordan kidnaps Noah and shows how they escape and fall in love.
This book has some of the best autistic representation I’ve come across - on par with Talia Hibbert and Xan West - and seeing Noah be unapologetically autistic was so wonderful and validating. There’s several time he muses on masking and the things that are easy for allistic folks but aren’t so obvious to him. I really loved those parts and would recommend this story on that alone.
I also really loved when Jordan learns about asexuality. He was born in 1921 and the vampire who turned him didn’t give him much access to the internet so when Noah mentions the different identities, Jordan does some research of his own. Him telling Noah that he’s asexual and realizing he’s not broken resonated so deeply with me and my own experiences of realizing there’s a word for those feelings.
I really like the way the story was told and the conflict didn’t come from the romantic relationship. Noah and Jordan work really well together and are a great support system. I also loved Noah’s sister and how supportive of Noah she is. I do wish they’d gone more into whether Jordan is related to one of the characters, especially because they meet, but that thread isn’t explored beyond the initial wonderings.
Overall, this was a really good read. I loved to romantic relationship and the autistic rep, and the mystery and tension was really well done.
Rep: pansexual autistic Chinese-American MC, grey-asexual white LI with PTSD, WLW side character, Black woman side character
Content notes:
I really liked this book. I wouldn’t necessarily classify this as fluff because there’s several scenes of violence, prejudice, and ableism, but the relationship between Noah and Jordan is soft and sweet.
Noah Lau is a vampire hunter, part of the Vampire Hunter Association formally Van Helsing Agency, and he’s in a (sorta secret) relationship with vampire Jordan Cross. They’ve been together about four months and the book is told by alternating between when they met and present day. Noah has noticed the VHA investigators seem to be dispensing faulty intelligence and is worried that they may have killed vampires they shouldn’t have in the present story line. Jordan and Noah met when the vampire who turned Jordan kidnaps Noah and shows how they escape and fall in love.
This book has some of the best autistic representation I’ve come across - on par with Talia Hibbert and Xan West - and seeing Noah be unapologetically autistic was so wonderful and validating. There’s several time he muses on masking and the things that are easy for allistic folks but aren’t so obvious to him. I really loved those parts and would recommend this story on that alone.
I also really loved when Jordan learns about asexuality. He was born in 1921 and the vampire who turned him didn’t give him much access to the internet so when Noah mentions the different identities, Jordan does some research of his own. Him telling Noah that he’s asexual and realizing he’s not broken resonated so deeply with me and my own experiences of realizing there’s a word for those feelings.
I really like the way the story was told and the conflict didn’t come from the romantic relationship. Noah and Jordan work really well together and are a great support system. I also loved Noah’s sister and how supportive of Noah she is. I do wish they’d gone more into whether Jordan is related to one of the characters, especially because they meet, but that thread isn’t explored beyond the initial wonderings.
Overall, this was a really good read. I loved to romantic relationship and the autistic rep, and the mystery and tension was really well done.
Rep: pansexual autistic Chinese-American MC, grey-asexual white LI with PTSD, WLW side character, Black woman side character
November 6, 2019
A Joyfully Jay review.
4.5 stars
Let me start by saying that this book is not told in an entirely linear fashion and, had I known that, I wouldn’t have picked it up. My brain works best when stories are told linearly, and I usually avoid books that are told in a different way. But then, I would have missed out on this gem of a story, and I’m so glad I was able to read this book. And I will say that the bouncing around in time was done exceptionally well, so if you’re like me, don’t let this deter you from picking up this book.
I really enjoyed this story, from start to finish. I was drawn in right from the beginning and thoroughly engaged through the book. Yu does a great job at characterization here. Noah is autistic, and the author does a fantastic job of showing his neurodivergent thought processes and characteristics. It was awesome to see a character like him being portrayed so well. Too often, autism is shown in a stereotypical fashion that is not true to life. But Noah was so real, he could have stepped off the page.
Read Kris’ review in its entirety here.
4.5 stars
Let me start by saying that this book is not told in an entirely linear fashion and, had I known that, I wouldn’t have picked it up. My brain works best when stories are told linearly, and I usually avoid books that are told in a different way. But then, I would have missed out on this gem of a story, and I’m so glad I was able to read this book. And I will say that the bouncing around in time was done exceptionally well, so if you’re like me, don’t let this deter you from picking up this book.
I really enjoyed this story, from start to finish. I was drawn in right from the beginning and thoroughly engaged through the book. Yu does a great job at characterization here. Noah is autistic, and the author does a fantastic job of showing his neurodivergent thought processes and characteristics. It was awesome to see a character like him being portrayed so well. Too often, autism is shown in a stereotypical fashion that is not true to life. But Noah was so real, he could have stepped off the page.
Read Kris’ review in its entirety here.
November 2, 2019
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this novel!
Rep: Chinese-American, pansexual, autistic MC & grey-ace love interest. Also mental illness rep (PTSD and depression)
Rating: 4 stars
Trigger warnings: kidnapping, hostage, violence, death, ableism, past abusive relationship (emotional), grief.
This is one of the most inclusive books I’ve read in a long time, and that’s saying something as I predominantly only read diverse books, but this novel was packed full of amazing diversity and it was so effortless and incredible.
Things I liked:
-Super fast-paced, quick and easy read!
-Loved the writing style.
-I liked how time was spent going back and seeing Jordan & Noah’s relationship develop.
-Noah and Jordan’s relationship was so sweet and caring. They communicated so well (on the whole) and there was a lot of trust between them.
-Really glad therapy was mentioned and offered in this world. I find a lot of fantasy/paranormal books completely disregard therapy (or any type of help for mental illness), so I’m glad that wasn’t the case here.
-While it was a little slow in places, I didn’t mind at all and I was never bored for a second because I loved the main characters so much!
Things I didn’t really like:
-The world-building was confusing at times, mainly about the vampires and how that came about, I didn’t really understand.
-While I really enjoyed the switching time frames in the beginning, as the story went on, they did start to mesh into one and it was hard to differentiate between the two.
Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes diverse characters, paranormal romance and gripping plots!
Rep: Chinese-American, pansexual, autistic MC & grey-ace love interest. Also mental illness rep (PTSD and depression)
Rating: 4 stars
Trigger warnings: kidnapping, hostage, violence, death, ableism, past abusive relationship (emotional), grief.
This is one of the most inclusive books I’ve read in a long time, and that’s saying something as I predominantly only read diverse books, but this novel was packed full of amazing diversity and it was so effortless and incredible.
Things I liked:
-Super fast-paced, quick and easy read!
-Loved the writing style.
-I liked how time was spent going back and seeing Jordan & Noah’s relationship develop.
-Noah and Jordan’s relationship was so sweet and caring. They communicated so well (on the whole) and there was a lot of trust between them.
-Really glad therapy was mentioned and offered in this world. I find a lot of fantasy/paranormal books completely disregard therapy (or any type of help for mental illness), so I’m glad that wasn’t the case here.
-While it was a little slow in places, I didn’t mind at all and I was never bored for a second because I loved the main characters so much!
Things I didn’t really like:
-The world-building was confusing at times, mainly about the vampires and how that came about, I didn’t really understand.
-While I really enjoyed the switching time frames in the beginning, as the story went on, they did start to mesh into one and it was hard to differentiate between the two.
Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes diverse characters, paranormal romance and gripping plots!
October 5, 2019
This was very good <3
This is a story about a Chinese-American autistic pansexual vampire hunter & his relationship with a gray-ace nintey-but-looks-nineteen vampire. It alternates between two different timelines: when they met, months ago, when Noah (MC) was kidnapped by Jordan's (LI) abusive vampire lover & months later, when some sketchy intel makes Noah question stuff about his job.
It's really good & sweet! One of my minor problems was that I was always more involved in one timeline than the other (not always the same) but then again is it a problem if it makes me want to go through chapters faster to figure out what happens at each time.
I loved both main characters. Noah is a bit of a grump and I love him, his relationship with his sister, and the autism rep!!! I'm a self-diagnosed autistic person, and this comforted me so much that I wasn't bullshitting it all? I related to Noah SO MUCH and it made me very happy <3 There is quite a lot of ableism in the book, though. It's always adressed as the absolute trash it is, even when it's internalized, but it's ever-present (like in real life lol). I loved that the author used anti-vaccines stuff and adapted it to the vampire world.
Also, the gray-ace rep!!! I love Jordan with all my heart okay. He doesn't always know a lot about today's world because of his abusive relationship that kept him stuck for eighty years, and him growing up in the 30s. But he tries so hard, and when the scene he figures he's ace? It made me feel FEELS. He's just really sweet but also the boy has TRAUMA to deal with. And I felt like it was addressed pretty well most times. I had some minor complaints along the way but also I realize most of them probably come from *my* experience and don't need to apply here.
Overall, the worldbuilding was also pretty fun and cool. Blood pills, vaccines, and the way vampires are public knowledge, VHA & HemRC, I just thought it was all a really nice way to include vampires in society.
I had a great time reading this, and I really loved both main characters and seeing their relationship at two different point in time (I like it especially because I feel like it's a What The Hell Happens After You Save Yourself From Your Personal Hell that we don't get to see too often).
I did feel like some minor points were questioned but not brought up again later, and I am still annoyed at this almost-breakup-scene at the end of every romance I read (though this one was handled in ways I can get behind, because Trauma, yknow).
Anyway, this was super great :D
TW: abusive relationship/consent issues (past), parental death, abduction, alcohol, ableism, blood/death/graphic violence, hate groups, acephobia, Some Secondary White Allocishet Guy Being A Dickhead (casual queerphobia, racism, ableism), sex (off-page).
I received an ARC copy from the author in exchange for an honest review
This is a story about a Chinese-American autistic pansexual vampire hunter & his relationship with a gray-ace nintey-but-looks-nineteen vampire. It alternates between two different timelines: when they met, months ago, when Noah (MC) was kidnapped by Jordan's (LI) abusive vampire lover & months later, when some sketchy intel makes Noah question stuff about his job.
It's really good & sweet! One of my minor problems was that I was always more involved in one timeline than the other (not always the same) but then again is it a problem if it makes me want to go through chapters faster to figure out what happens at each time.
I loved both main characters. Noah is a bit of a grump and I love him, his relationship with his sister, and the autism rep!!! I'm a self-diagnosed autistic person, and this comforted me so much that I wasn't bullshitting it all? I related to Noah SO MUCH and it made me very happy <3 There is quite a lot of ableism in the book, though. It's always adressed as the absolute trash it is, even when it's internalized, but it's ever-present (like in real life lol). I loved that the author used anti-vaccines stuff and adapted it to the vampire world.
Also, the gray-ace rep!!! I love Jordan with all my heart okay. He doesn't always know a lot about today's world because of his abusive relationship that kept him stuck for eighty years, and him growing up in the 30s. But he tries so hard, and when the scene he figures he's ace? It made me feel FEELS. He's just really sweet but also the boy has TRAUMA to deal with. And I felt like it was addressed pretty well most times. I had some minor complaints along the way but also I realize most of them probably come from *my* experience and don't need to apply here.
Overall, the worldbuilding was also pretty fun and cool. Blood pills, vaccines, and the way vampires are public knowledge, VHA & HemRC, I just thought it was all a really nice way to include vampires in society.
I had a great time reading this, and I really loved both main characters and seeing their relationship at two different point in time (I like it especially because I feel like it's a What The Hell Happens After You Save Yourself From Your Personal Hell that we don't get to see too often).
I did feel like some minor points were questioned but not brought up again later, and I am still annoyed at this almost-breakup-scene at the end of every romance I read (though this one was handled in ways I can get behind, because Trauma, yknow).
Anyway, this was super great :D
TW: abusive relationship/consent issues (past), parental death, abduction, alcohol, ableism, blood/death/graphic violence, hate groups, acephobia, Some Secondary White Allocishet Guy Being A Dickhead (casual queerphobia, racism, ableism), sex (off-page).
I received an ARC copy from the author in exchange for an honest review
February 12, 2023
Publishing date: 7th Oct. 2019
Disclaimer: I recieved this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Tags: LGBT, romance, paranormal, Ace, Pansexual, Autism, Crime, Alt Universe, law enforcement, vampires, friends to lovers, interracial.
Content warning: Ableism, graphic violence, allusions to past emotional abuse, abduction, hate groups.
I really liked this book. I can say that about loads of books, sure, but Human Enough managed something only a few couple have managed before - it dragged my head-first out of my reading slump, and was finished in just over 24 hours. I spoke with a friend just the other day on how so much of queer literature is just about coming out and nothing more - “Where are our fantasy novels? Where are our paranormal romances?” Well, it’s here, and it’sbloody brilliant.
Yu manages to do just the right amount of world building to pull us in as readers, whilst not going all exposure all the time. I as a reader believe in the world I’m getting - the secrets of vampires uncovered with time, the research to find a solution, the hate groups and the support groups both. There are several things we only get glimpses of, whenever Noah tags along with Jordan, but they are still only glimpses, and they make me want to learn more about the world.
Seeing a main character be so unapologetic about his neurodiversity (whilst also, at times, giving a big mental middle finger to the norm for autistic representation in media) was truly marvellous to read. The paragraphs on overstimulation, on auditory processing, on masking, on executive dysfunction… As a person who has for quite some time now been believed to be somewhere on the neurodiverse spectrum, these paragraphs felt incredibly validating to read. And whilst this is not entirely my topic to judge, and so I might’ve missed certain things, I would 100% recommend the book for this representation alone.
On that note, I also adore all the focus on communities - whether it’s a support group where certain vampires can talk through their thoughts and feelings, or online forums and message boards. So often in media we get presented with a minority character who the text completely isolates, because the writer - for whatever reason - can’t be bothered to give them any form of community or others to relate to, leaving both the character and the represented reader feel… not very good. Human Enough manages a good mix, both between people of different marginalized identities helping each other out in solidarity, and characters finding support amongst their own that I recognize from my own life and friends. Helping where you can when you can, and then when you cannot, helping to find someone who can.
I like the overall pacing of the story. The time jumps had me confused for a hot second, as the text explicitly tells us when it jumps back but not forwards, though after figuring out the (eventually) rather obvious pattern of “every other chapter”, it all went swimmingly. I might’ve felt that the plot was maybe a little predictable at times, having called certain plot twists several chapters ahead of time, but less to the point where it spoilt the story, and more like I’m “Poirot, detective genius”, solving the mystery alongside the characters. The overall storyline felt… I wouldn’t say lacking, but rather… almost too short? Despite the 6 month-divide, both plots only last a couple of weeks, making the story feel more of perhaps a slice-of-life than I was prepared for.
I’d like to personally thank Yu for including one of my favourite tropes, friends to lovers, but also for the clearly loving way in which various marginalized identities are included and discussed within the text. The characters strike a good balance between talking about their various identities in a way that feels real, and lived, and honest, and just being downright salty over the lack of respect the majority often has for minorities. Which, oof, big mood.
A quick and easy read, yet captivating and warm.
All in all, book gets a strong 4.5/5 stars - at the very least.
Disclaimer: I recieved this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Tags: LGBT, romance, paranormal, Ace, Pansexual, Autism, Crime, Alt Universe, law enforcement, vampires, friends to lovers, interracial.
Content warning: Ableism, graphic violence, allusions to past emotional abuse, abduction, hate groups.
I really liked this book. I can say that about loads of books, sure, but Human Enough managed something only a few couple have managed before - it dragged my head-first out of my reading slump, and was finished in just over 24 hours. I spoke with a friend just the other day on how so much of queer literature is just about coming out and nothing more - “Where are our fantasy novels? Where are our paranormal romances?” Well, it’s here, and it’s
Yu manages to do just the right amount of world building to pull us in as readers, whilst not going all exposure all the time. I as a reader believe in the world I’m getting - the secrets of vampires uncovered with time, the research to find a solution, the hate groups and the support groups both. There are several things we only get glimpses of, whenever Noah tags along with Jordan, but they are still only glimpses, and they make me want to learn more about the world.
Seeing a main character be so unapologetic about his neurodiversity (whilst also, at times, giving a big mental middle finger to the norm for autistic representation in media) was truly marvellous to read. The paragraphs on overstimulation, on auditory processing, on masking, on executive dysfunction… As a person who has for quite some time now been believed to be somewhere on the neurodiverse spectrum, these paragraphs felt incredibly validating to read. And whilst this is not entirely my topic to judge, and so I might’ve missed certain things, I would 100% recommend the book for this representation alone.
On that note, I also adore all the focus on communities - whether it’s a support group where certain vampires can talk through their thoughts and feelings, or online forums and message boards. So often in media we get presented with a minority character who the text completely isolates, because the writer - for whatever reason - can’t be bothered to give them any form of community or others to relate to, leaving both the character and the represented reader feel… not very good. Human Enough manages a good mix, both between people of different marginalized identities helping each other out in solidarity, and characters finding support amongst their own that I recognize from my own life and friends. Helping where you can when you can, and then when you cannot, helping to find someone who can.
I like the overall pacing of the story. The time jumps had me confused for a hot second, as the text explicitly tells us when it jumps back but not forwards, though after figuring out the (eventually) rather obvious pattern of “every other chapter”, it all went swimmingly. I might’ve felt that the plot was maybe a little predictable at times, having called certain plot twists several chapters ahead of time, but less to the point where it spoilt the story, and more like I’m “Poirot, detective genius”, solving the mystery alongside the characters. The overall storyline felt… I wouldn’t say lacking, but rather… almost too short? Despite the 6 month-divide, both plots only last a couple of weeks, making the story feel more of perhaps a slice-of-life than I was prepared for.
I’d like to personally thank Yu for including one of my favourite tropes, friends to lovers, but also for the clearly loving way in which various marginalized identities are included and discussed within the text. The characters strike a good balance between talking about their various identities in a way that feels real, and lived, and honest, and just being downright salty over the lack of respect the majority often has for minorities. Which, oof, big mood.
A quick and easy read, yet captivating and warm.
All in all, book gets a strong 4.5/5 stars - at the very least.
April 6, 2021
i adore this book to pieces ...rtc maybe?
rep: chinese-american autistic pansexual mc, grey ace li with depression
content warnings: abelism and abelist comments, past emotionally abusive relationship, acephobia and acephobic comments, gun violence, kidnapping and forced captivity, harry potter references
rep: chinese-american autistic pansexual mc, grey ace li with depression
content warnings: abelism and abelist comments, past emotionally abusive relationship, acephobia and acephobic comments, gun violence, kidnapping and forced captivity, harry potter references
April 4, 2020
i'm emo
content/trigger warnings; ableism, internalized ableism, graphic violence, emotional abuse (past relationship), abduction, captivity, hate groups, racism, binary language, kissing, mentions of parental death, death, alcohol, sex (off-page),
rep; noah (mc) is chinese american, autistic, and pansexual. jordan (li) is grey asexual.
— love the discussions and thoughts about ableism, and how it's pretty central to the story. and the autistic rep!!!!! i think this is one of the most in depth, detailed portrayals of autism i've read, and rings true to everything i've seen spoken about in the autistic community. (not sure if it's ownvoices, would make sense though).
— pansexual used on page!!!! and is defined as attraction regardless of gender!!! i also like how noah mentions having been given shit by cis gay men for having the potential to be attracted to women, because it's a very common mindset to look down on other binary gender attraction in queer spaces.
— i love love love jordan's discovery of asexuality, more specifically grey-asexuality, and him finally realizing there isn't anything wrong with or broken about him.
— interesting take on vampires, as well as a parallel/overlap between people who are against vaccines to prevent vampirism and people who are against vaccines to prevent diseases, both because of the make believe link to autism/disability.
— "he was still nervous about going somewhere he'd never been, meeting strangers, and not having that much of a sense of how the meeting was going to go ahead of time." same
— "not like noah, who tended to hover between social anxiety and a dour 'fuck everything' attitude." boy SAME
— my one note is that when noah says he's attracted to people regardless of gender, jordan asks "so you've been attracted to men and women before?" and noah confirms. even though it's totally okay and valid for a pansexual person, who has the potential to be attracted to all genders, to have only personally experienced attraction to or been involved with men and women, (pan characters don't all have to have been with people of every gender), and even though it's understandable that jordan would have a binary mindset, given the year he was born and how isolated from the world he was (something noah also acknowledges, wondering about how to update his knowledge on queerness), it still would've been nice to have non-binary people mentioned in relation to pansexuality. agender was mentioned later in their conversation, as well as a mention of cis-ness, so non-binary/trans wasn't erased entirely from the narrative. but given the literal definition of and history behind pansexuality, it seems a bit reductive and exclusionary to have a pan character basically clarify that "regardless of gender" means "men and women".
this is my second book for both the autistic pride readathon (fantasy, queer rep, novella, author of color prompts) and the magical readathon (outside your favorite genre prompt).
content/trigger warnings; ableism, internalized ableism, graphic violence, emotional abuse (past relationship), abduction, captivity, hate groups, racism, binary language, kissing, mentions of parental death, death, alcohol, sex (off-page),
rep; noah (mc) is chinese american, autistic, and pansexual. jordan (li) is grey asexual.
— love the discussions and thoughts about ableism, and how it's pretty central to the story. and the autistic rep!!!!! i think this is one of the most in depth, detailed portrayals of autism i've read, and rings true to everything i've seen spoken about in the autistic community. (not sure if it's ownvoices, would make sense though).
— pansexual used on page!!!! and is defined as attraction regardless of gender!!! i also like how noah mentions having been given shit by cis gay men for having the potential to be attracted to women, because it's a very common mindset to look down on other binary gender attraction in queer spaces.
— i love love love jordan's discovery of asexuality, more specifically grey-asexuality, and him finally realizing there isn't anything wrong with or broken about him.
— interesting take on vampires, as well as a parallel/overlap between people who are against vaccines to prevent vampirism and people who are against vaccines to prevent diseases, both because of the make believe link to autism/disability.
— "he was still nervous about going somewhere he'd never been, meeting strangers, and not having that much of a sense of how the meeting was going to go ahead of time." same
— "not like noah, who tended to hover between social anxiety and a dour 'fuck everything' attitude." boy SAME
— my one note is that when noah says he's attracted to people regardless of gender, jordan asks "so you've been attracted to men and women before?" and noah confirms. even though it's totally okay and valid for a pansexual person, who has the potential to be attracted to all genders, to have only personally experienced attraction to or been involved with men and women, (pan characters don't all have to have been with people of every gender), and even though it's understandable that jordan would have a binary mindset, given the year he was born and how isolated from the world he was (something noah also acknowledges, wondering about how to update his knowledge on queerness), it still would've been nice to have non-binary people mentioned in relation to pansexuality. agender was mentioned later in their conversation, as well as a mention of cis-ness, so non-binary/trans wasn't erased entirely from the narrative. but given the literal definition of and history behind pansexuality, it seems a bit reductive and exclusionary to have a pan character basically clarify that "regardless of gender" means "men and women".
this is my second book for both the autistic pride readathon (fantasy, queer rep, novella, author of color prompts) and the magical readathon (outside your favorite genre prompt).
October 19, 2021
Honestly, as a fan of the urban fantasy/paranormal romance who feels underrepresented in media and fiction, I'm exactly the target public of this book, and it was a highly antecipated read, so let's say it was disappointing to not find this much enjoyable for multiple reasons.
The story is very promising: the main character is Noah, an autistic pansexual Chinese-American vampire hunter, is currently dating Jordan, a gray-asexual vampire who used to be in a lifetime abusive relationship. The chapters alternate entre present, when there's the issue of possible corruption in the VHA (Vampire Hunters Association), and the past, telling about how Noah and Jordan met, how Jordan escaped his abuser and how their relationship progressed into a romantic one.
I feel kinda obligated to say that the main character representation is alright, the struggles of being autistic are, realistically, the mostly detailed ones, while some of his struggles as person of color and pansexual are also pointed, including stereotypes related.
What immediatelly ended the book for me was that, there's no way to put it: it's terrible written. You can see right through the narrative, phrasing, paragraph decisions and word choices; which is not only kind of embarrassing but mostly threw me off the story pace too many times. Possible serious themes are touched on the story and yet everything looks shallow.
Then I had other issues: first, with Noah. He is mostly a nice and understanding guy, but the way he treated Jordan at first didn't make sense. If he thought Jordan wanted to hurt him, a scared reaction would be appropriate, if he didn't think Jordan wanted to hurt him, why he thought being rude with someone acting scared and submissive would help to convince Jordan to free him? While I understand he was in a stressful situation, his reaction seemed to petty and lacking of preparation for me, and that leads to my other problems with the main character.
Being Noah a law enforcer, I would be wary of him either way, and the way this topic was despicted was just absurd. Don't vampire hunters have appropriate training for multiple vampire-related dangerous situations? The VHA is written off as a supposedly big and legitimate agency, yet the vampire hunter characters show total lack of profissionalism and general "I have no idea of what I'm doing" vibes, which I find very annoying because I hate feeling second-hand embarrassment.
As an urban fantasy work, the non-romance plot presented goes around, as unfortunately extremely common in the genre, fantasy prejudice. I found everything about it terrible. Through the story, the elements of vampire/human segregation makes vampires either the opressors or the opressed without proper consistency. I don't have illusions over all queer disabled people of color being sensible about social issues, but the main character infuriated me with his worry being far majorly about the VHA's public relations than about him and other hunters being possible involved in the murder of possible innocent vampires, he doesn't think it's right, but he dismisses the issue brought up by activists.
I was pretty pissed finding civil rights activists being written in a bad light, acting on the interest of damaging the vampire-hunting reputation, and look at the dimension of the shitty move: with vampires as a marginalized group, some of the pro-vampire activists find problematic the existence of a anti-vampirism vaccine. These people are also written as the same as real antivaxers who are ableist on making up a relation between autism and vaccine. This is the freaking problem with fantasy prejudice. Obviously vampires are bad and everyone should be vaccinated in order to not become one, therefore it doesn't make sense to vampires being despicted as a marginalized group, whose protectors are wary of the necessity of a vaccine or a cure, which is actually an issue faced by disabled people: ableist people finding the necessity of finding a cure to get rid of the disability more important than the life quality of disabled people and the safety of procediments envolved. Making such a twisted correlation is significantly problematic.
Of course, if also bugged me that the reader is supposed to think of Noah as a good law enforcer, when he doesn't really understand much about vampires. So how am I supposed to believe he can make actual justice without trying to have a good understanding and sensibility toward the people he hunts?
At last, I'm really not sure of Jordan on the representation of someone who was spent almost his entire life of almost a century in an abusive relationship. I understand that the author didn't want it to drag too much and be too heavy on the story, but the existence of such situation of deep continuous abuse during decades is already heavy enough if feels very insensible to just put it there. The author shouldn't have made Jordan's backstory so dark if didn't want its presence in the book to match it up to it.
Multiple other people enjoyed the book a lot, mostly because of the representation that is very welcome indeed, so don't let my review necessarly stop you from reading it, but many other factors are important for my satisfaction. I appreciated relating to many of the main character experiences, but it was far from enough to make up for everything else, specially the writing that I found almost unreadable for most of the book.
The story is very promising: the main character is Noah, an autistic pansexual Chinese-American vampire hunter, is currently dating Jordan, a gray-asexual vampire who used to be in a lifetime abusive relationship. The chapters alternate entre present, when there's the issue of possible corruption in the VHA (Vampire Hunters Association), and the past, telling about how Noah and Jordan met, how Jordan escaped his abuser and how their relationship progressed into a romantic one.
I feel kinda obligated to say that the main character representation is alright, the struggles of being autistic are, realistically, the mostly detailed ones, while some of his struggles as person of color and pansexual are also pointed, including stereotypes related.
What immediatelly ended the book for me was that, there's no way to put it: it's terrible written. You can see right through the narrative, phrasing, paragraph decisions and word choices; which is not only kind of embarrassing but mostly threw me off the story pace too many times. Possible serious themes are touched on the story and yet everything looks shallow.
Then I had other issues: first, with Noah. He is mostly a nice and understanding guy, but the way he treated Jordan at first didn't make sense. If he thought Jordan wanted to hurt him, a scared reaction would be appropriate, if he didn't think Jordan wanted to hurt him, why he thought being rude with someone acting scared and submissive would help to convince Jordan to free him? While I understand he was in a stressful situation, his reaction seemed to petty and lacking of preparation for me, and that leads to my other problems with the main character.
Being Noah a law enforcer, I would be wary of him either way, and the way this topic was despicted was just absurd. Don't vampire hunters have appropriate training for multiple vampire-related dangerous situations? The VHA is written off as a supposedly big and legitimate agency, yet the vampire hunter characters show total lack of profissionalism and general "I have no idea of what I'm doing" vibes, which I find very annoying because I hate feeling second-hand embarrassment.
As an urban fantasy work, the non-romance plot presented goes around, as unfortunately extremely common in the genre, fantasy prejudice. I found everything about it terrible. Through the story, the elements of vampire/human segregation makes vampires either the opressors or the opressed without proper consistency. I don't have illusions over all queer disabled people of color being sensible about social issues, but the main character infuriated me with his worry being far majorly about the VHA's public relations than about him and other hunters being possible involved in the murder of possible innocent vampires, he doesn't think it's right, but he dismisses the issue brought up by activists.
I was pretty pissed finding civil rights activists being written in a bad light, acting on the interest of damaging the vampire-hunting reputation, and look at the dimension of the shitty move: with vampires as a marginalized group, some of the pro-vampire activists find problematic the existence of a anti-vampirism vaccine. These people are also written as the same as real antivaxers who are ableist on making up a relation between autism and vaccine. This is the freaking problem with fantasy prejudice. Obviously vampires are bad and everyone should be vaccinated in order to not become one, therefore it doesn't make sense to vampires being despicted as a marginalized group, whose protectors are wary of the necessity of a vaccine or a cure, which is actually an issue faced by disabled people: ableist people finding the necessity of finding a cure to get rid of the disability more important than the life quality of disabled people and the safety of procediments envolved. Making such a twisted correlation is significantly problematic.
Of course, if also bugged me that the reader is supposed to think of Noah as a good law enforcer, when he doesn't really understand much about vampires. So how am I supposed to believe he can make actual justice without trying to have a good understanding and sensibility toward the people he hunts?
At last, I'm really not sure of Jordan on the representation of someone who was spent almost his entire life of almost a century in an abusive relationship. I understand that the author didn't want it to drag too much and be too heavy on the story, but the existence of such situation of deep continuous abuse during decades is already heavy enough if feels very insensible to just put it there. The author shouldn't have made Jordan's backstory so dark if didn't want its presence in the book to match it up to it.
Multiple other people enjoyed the book a lot, mostly because of the representation that is very welcome indeed, so don't let my review necessarly stop you from reading it, but many other factors are important for my satisfaction. I appreciated relating to many of the main character experiences, but it was far from enough to make up for everything else, specially the writing that I found almost unreadable for most of the book.
July 28, 2020
Pansexual Asian-American vampire hunter meets cute grey-asexual gay vampire and, after some adventures, they .
I really loved this book. I like the fact that Noah criticises the stereotyped representations of autism that can be often found in the media and in books, maybe he could have been a tad less preachy. In my opinion his character, including autism, was depicted in a believable way.
Jordan's discovery of being grey-asexual was believable. Many of us can relate to this feeling of not being like other people, and to the elation you feel when there is a kind of slotting in place about your sexual orientation. Not because you now carry a label, but because you finally know why you didn't feel what other people felt, and what you thought you were supposed to feel. Uh, I hope my explanation is clear enough.
The plot was a bit predictable, I've read a couple of books with this kind of twist . The two timelines worked well, the past one tells the story of how Jordan and Noah met, and the beginning of their relationship.
Warmly recommended.
I really loved this book. I like the fact that Noah criticises the stereotyped representations of autism that can be often found in the media and in books, maybe he could have been a tad less preachy. In my opinion his character, including autism, was depicted in a believable way.
Jordan's discovery of being grey-asexual was believable. Many of us can relate to this feeling of not being like other people, and to the elation you feel when there is a kind of slotting in place about your sexual orientation. Not because you now carry a label, but because you finally know why you didn't feel what other people felt, and what you thought you were supposed to feel. Uh, I hope my explanation is clear enough.
The plot was a bit predictable, I've read a couple of books with this kind of twist . The two timelines worked well, the past one tells the story of how Jordan and Noah met, and the beginning of their relationship.
Warmly recommended.
October 17, 2019
I heard about this book well before it came out and had been looking forward to it. Somehow, I had missed that there was an ace-spectrum vampire lead character / love interest. This is of particular interest to me because I wrote Changing Loyalties given the relative lack of ace-spec vampires that I found in urban fantasy and paranormal fiction.
Noah is an autistic person who works with a vampire hunting facility. He got into this both due to the fact that his parents were killed by vampires, and because a close family friend happened to be the branch leader.
At the same time as his present life within VHA is going on, we are treated with chapters from five and six months before the present events, leading back to when Noah first met Jordan, one of the vampires who keeps him prisoner for two weeks.
However, this isn't like many vampire romances where this is simply allowed to take place. The narrative shows just how completely Jordan too is a victim, captive in different ways to the older vampire Julius.
The prose is sparse but engaging, and this novel really made me want to go back and read the previous novel by the same author.
Noah is an autistic person who works with a vampire hunting facility. He got into this both due to the fact that his parents were killed by vampires, and because a close family friend happened to be the branch leader.
At the same time as his present life within VHA is going on, we are treated with chapters from five and six months before the present events, leading back to when Noah first met Jordan, one of the vampires who keeps him prisoner for two weeks.
However, this isn't like many vampire romances where this is simply allowed to take place. The narrative shows just how completely Jordan too is a victim, captive in different ways to the older vampire Julius.
The prose is sparse but engaging, and this novel really made me want to go back and read the previous novel by the same author.
October 16, 2019
The Representation Autistic People Deserve!
I really adore this book. Noah is bamf but so relatable being an Autistic POC. A lot of his struggles as a character hit a little too close to home at this . Jordon is a precious cinnamon roll despite him being a vampire and I want to give him a hug. I took 1 star off because I was not a fan of going present to past every chapter. I rather have a more chronological rigid story. All in all, this is a good book and I enjoyed it.
I really adore this book. Noah is bamf but so relatable being an Autistic POC. A lot of his struggles as a character hit a little too close to home at this . Jordon is a precious cinnamon roll despite him being a vampire and I want to give him a hug. I took 1 star off because I was not a fan of going present to past every chapter. I rather have a more chronological rigid story. All in all, this is a good book and I enjoyed it.
January 19, 2023
At first, i was slightly bored. It just felt like another vampire-hunter novel. But i enjoyed getting to know Noah, espesially when we got insight why he was how he was and his relationship with Jordan. But i wished that the book had been longer, because it felt rushed as well.
I got this eARC from Netgalley
I got this eARC from Netgalley
December 17, 2019
3.5 stars. Received from Netgalley. I liked it. It was different, interesting and informative. The story flicks back and forth between the past and the present. Deals with kidnapping, autism, Asexual and vampires. Both Noah and Jordan were sweet.
July 10, 2022
(3.5/4, cannot decide.) I love them - so much. Their relationship and they way that these two men love each other made my heart feel so much warmth.
release-2019
March 22, 2020I'm sorry I heard
- one grumpy, autistic, pansexual, Chinese American vampire hunter
- one soft, gray ace vampire
- who accidentally fall in love
Y'all can figHT ME I'VE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED
- one grumpy, autistic, pansexual, Chinese American vampire hunter
- one soft, gray ace vampire
- who accidentally fall in love
Y'all can figHT ME I'VE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED
December 8, 2020
Title/Author: Human Enough by E.S. Yu
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre/Sub-Genre: Paranormal Romance
Book Format: eBook
Length: 199 pages
LGBTQ+ Orientation: gay, grey-asexual, pansexual
Other Diversity Factors: Asian, Autistic
HEA/HFN: Yes
Content Warnings: Ableism, hate groups, mentions of past emotional abuse, abduction, and corrupt law enforcement.
Ratio of Sex/Plot: One sex scene was not on page but got a brief mention.
Well-Written/Editor Needed: A well written but simple story.
Would I Recommend?: Yes
Personal Thoughts: This was a very relaxing, sweet read. But for a book about a vampire hunter who works in an elite squad of vampire hunters, falls for a vampire, and uncovers corruption in the ranks, it was almost too sweet and mellow. This is also following on the heels of my reading Blue on Blue, which is a very serious, gritty, gay romance about police corruption that included a lot of detailed police procedure. They are two very different books and maybe I was expecting too much of this one in terms of the lack of complexity and predictability to the case. Even with the simplified plot, however, the use of two timelines, six months apart, worked really well with the two major events that changed Noah’s life, bringing them together in a way that would have been drawn out and boring otherwise.
Both main characters, Noah and Jordan, were sweet and clearly meant for each other with their insecurities and hang ups meshing together pretty well. Far from perfect, they were realistic and believable, as was their romance. While Noah’s educational info dumps are in-character with his Autism, they can seem a little too preachy at times for a mostly light read. At the same time, go Noah, for standing up for himself in a world where most folks don’t think he’s qualified for his job.
I would love to see more stories set in this world, where vampires are out to the general public, can go to support groups, and can get blood from free blood banks rather than killing humans.
I think my biggest issue was that this book is set in Boston and surrounding towns, but I didn't feel like I was in any of these places. They were simply name drops without any supporting details. I wanted to know what train stations Noah used when taking the T, for example, or how the annoying crush of too many bodies during rush hour might have been different for him with his Autism, or even what the neighborhoods looked like at a quick glance. It wouldn't take much to make the setting feel more real and relatable. Maybe I noticed this more as someone who has lived in Boston for the last 15 years. I was excited to see where this character went, what places I was familiar with, and was disappointed that I didn't get any of that.
Despite its simplicity, this was a light, fun read with good minority representation and I do highly recommend it. But, if this sounds too sweet for you and you’re into dark and gritty police procedural mysteries with a heavy dose of gay romance, I also highly recommend the Bitter Legacy series (of which Blue on Blue is the third book). Start with Bitter Legacy by Dal MacLean. Sadly, there are no vampires, though it will keep you up past your bedtime for sure.
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre/Sub-Genre: Paranormal Romance
Book Format: eBook
Length: 199 pages
LGBTQ+ Orientation: gay, grey-asexual, pansexual
Other Diversity Factors: Asian, Autistic
HEA/HFN: Yes
Content Warnings: Ableism, hate groups, mentions of past emotional abuse, abduction, and corrupt law enforcement.
Ratio of Sex/Plot: One sex scene was not on page but got a brief mention.
Well-Written/Editor Needed: A well written but simple story.
Would I Recommend?: Yes
Personal Thoughts: This was a very relaxing, sweet read. But for a book about a vampire hunter who works in an elite squad of vampire hunters, falls for a vampire, and uncovers corruption in the ranks, it was almost too sweet and mellow. This is also following on the heels of my reading Blue on Blue, which is a very serious, gritty, gay romance about police corruption that included a lot of detailed police procedure. They are two very different books and maybe I was expecting too much of this one in terms of the lack of complexity and predictability to the case. Even with the simplified plot, however, the use of two timelines, six months apart, worked really well with the two major events that changed Noah’s life, bringing them together in a way that would have been drawn out and boring otherwise.
Both main characters, Noah and Jordan, were sweet and clearly meant for each other with their insecurities and hang ups meshing together pretty well. Far from perfect, they were realistic and believable, as was their romance. While Noah’s educational info dumps are in-character with his Autism, they can seem a little too preachy at times for a mostly light read. At the same time, go Noah, for standing up for himself in a world where most folks don’t think he’s qualified for his job.
I would love to see more stories set in this world, where vampires are out to the general public, can go to support groups, and can get blood from free blood banks rather than killing humans.
I think my biggest issue was that this book is set in Boston and surrounding towns, but I didn't feel like I was in any of these places. They were simply name drops without any supporting details. I wanted to know what train stations Noah used when taking the T, for example, or how the annoying crush of too many bodies during rush hour might have been different for him with his Autism, or even what the neighborhoods looked like at a quick glance. It wouldn't take much to make the setting feel more real and relatable. Maybe I noticed this more as someone who has lived in Boston for the last 15 years. I was excited to see where this character went, what places I was familiar with, and was disappointed that I didn't get any of that.
Despite its simplicity, this was a light, fun read with good minority representation and I do highly recommend it. But, if this sounds too sweet for you and you’re into dark and gritty police procedural mysteries with a heavy dose of gay romance, I also highly recommend the Bitter Legacy series (of which Blue on Blue is the third book). Start with Bitter Legacy by Dal MacLean. Sadly, there are no vampires, though it will keep you up past your bedtime for sure.
October 9, 2019
I Liked this book, the world felt real and was introduced as the story developed. There was no info dumping, but well weaved writing that fed us the details as we needed them.
I really liked the two time periods that the story alternated between, I often do not enjoy books written this way, but the author did an excellent job and it felt right for this story. Though I kind of wonder what each time period would have been like as separate books. I think there was enough details and material for the book to be two books.
Noah is a vampire hunter, who hunts vampires that have killed humans, in a world that generally accepts the co-existence. Noah is also autistic, and the author has done a great job in portraying how this affects Noah’s world.
Whilst out with his team, on a hunt for an old and powerful vampire. Noah’s team are wiped out and he is captured by the powerful vampire. This is where he meets Jordan another vampire and the lover of the powerful vampire.
Jordan never wanted to be turned and has spent almost 100 years virtually imprisoned by his lover. When ordered to drain Noah’s blood, Jordan refuses and eventually he helps Noah escape.
What follows is suspicion of corrupt intelligence at the VHA a vampire hunting agency. We also learn of Jordan’s past life and struggles which is quite an emotional story.
I enjoyed watching Jordan come out of his shell and from the 1930’s to today, after being freed from his so-called maker and lover.
There are a few dark times and a few happy times, there is danger and tension as the story progresses towards its nail biting end.
I really liked the two time periods that the story alternated between, I often do not enjoy books written this way, but the author did an excellent job and it felt right for this story. Though I kind of wonder what each time period would have been like as separate books. I think there was enough details and material for the book to be two books.
Noah is a vampire hunter, who hunts vampires that have killed humans, in a world that generally accepts the co-existence. Noah is also autistic, and the author has done a great job in portraying how this affects Noah’s world.
Whilst out with his team, on a hunt for an old and powerful vampire. Noah’s team are wiped out and he is captured by the powerful vampire. This is where he meets Jordan another vampire and the lover of the powerful vampire.
Jordan never wanted to be turned and has spent almost 100 years virtually imprisoned by his lover. When ordered to drain Noah’s blood, Jordan refuses and eventually he helps Noah escape.
What follows is suspicion of corrupt intelligence at the VHA a vampire hunting agency. We also learn of Jordan’s past life and struggles which is quite an emotional story.
I enjoyed watching Jordan come out of his shell and from the 1930’s to today, after being freed from his so-called maker and lover.
There are a few dark times and a few happy times, there is danger and tension as the story progresses towards its nail biting end.
May 14, 2021
"[...] the past is in the past, and no matter how much I regret it, there’s nothing I can do to change what happened, so I have to let it go."
I liked this very much! And god it has been a long time since I read a book this fast, it was astonishingly entertaining and a very smooth read, which I'm very grateful for. The thing is, after the first pages, I expected it to be fantastic, because this had such an attractive concept and the first two chapters were madly interesting. But sadly, for me, the rest of the book didn't live it up for that.
Not that it was bad! Not in the least. It was an effortless read, and I really enjoyed reading about Jordan and Noah. Both Noah and Jordan's stories resonated especially in my heart, and I really enjoyed the autist and ace representation. However, it didn't feel like the dwell on these concepts was integrated naturally into the story, so it took off a little of my enjoyment.
The mystery started being just fine, but it became... very obvious to be surprising or interesting. I really think this book could have benefited a lot of more pages -this was quite a short story but it had so much material that deepening into it would have made this "nice" into something incredible, in my opinion.
Anyhow, I enjoyed it and I'm very happy about the representation we got :')
October 20, 2024
Content warnings: kidnapping, death of a parent (in the past), ableism, blood, death, murder
3.5 stars
This was fun, although I was also left with the feeling that I needed a tiny bit more world building than I got. The pacing of this was a little strange, and there were definitely times when I felt like the story...plodded?...a little more than I would have liked. But I enjoyed the characters and the way it discusses autism and the way that autistic people are treated for traits they cannot help.
The romance side of things was ultimately charming, although it took longer than I expected for me to be on board with it. Ultimately, I think it needed maybe 30-50 more pages than it had to fully give depth to the characters and the world. That being said, I still enjoyed it!
3.5 stars
This was fun, although I was also left with the feeling that I needed a tiny bit more world building than I got. The pacing of this was a little strange, and there were definitely times when I felt like the story...plodded?...a little more than I would have liked. But I enjoyed the characters and the way it discusses autism and the way that autistic people are treated for traits they cannot help.
The romance side of things was ultimately charming, although it took longer than I expected for me to be on board with it. Ultimately, I think it needed maybe 30-50 more pages than it had to fully give depth to the characters and the world. That being said, I still enjoyed it!
March 26, 2020
I really loved this.
The structure worked so well for me. It's told entirely from Noah-the-vampire-hunter's POV, alternating between two points on the timeline: the present day, in which Noah finds himself uncovering and confronting a potential conspiracy in his vampire hunting organization, and six months previous, when Noah was taken captive by a vampire target, and he forged a bond with Jordan, the also-captive lover of said vampire. I thought the two timelines provided a successful way to demonstrate the growth of security the two men find in such a dangerous romance (I mean, it's technically dangerous, but it's also immensely sweet and caring and nerdy), as well as put it to the test with a bit of a mystery/action plot.
The narrative takes so many things seriously: the intersectional reality of Noah's experiences as a pansexual autistic Chinese-American, as well as the emotional abuse Jordan suffered and the depression he lives with, and his relief and curiosity in his discovery of his identity on the asexual spectrum. I also appreciated the worldbuilding so much, where vampirism was not a metaphor for marginalization but another complicated dimension of people's lives.
(Heads up, if you're reading this before the end of March 2020, Ninestar Press's website currently features a major sale on its entire catalog, including a lot of books marked to free.)
The structure worked so well for me. It's told entirely from Noah-the-vampire-hunter's POV, alternating between two points on the timeline: the present day, in which Noah finds himself uncovering and confronting a potential conspiracy in his vampire hunting organization, and six months previous, when Noah was taken captive by a vampire target, and he forged a bond with Jordan, the also-captive lover of said vampire. I thought the two timelines provided a successful way to demonstrate the growth of security the two men find in such a dangerous romance (I mean, it's technically dangerous, but it's also immensely sweet and caring and nerdy), as well as put it to the test with a bit of a mystery/action plot.
The narrative takes so many things seriously: the intersectional reality of Noah's experiences as a pansexual autistic Chinese-American, as well as the emotional abuse Jordan suffered and the depression he lives with, and his relief and curiosity in his discovery of his identity on the asexual spectrum. I also appreciated the worldbuilding so much, where vampirism was not a metaphor for marginalization but another complicated dimension of people's lives.
(Heads up, if you're reading this before the end of March 2020, Ninestar Press's website currently features a major sale on its entire catalog, including a lot of books marked to free.)
October 29, 2019
Human Enough was my first book by E.S. Yu and I really liked it. It was a good story and the romance was really sweet.
January 14, 2024
This is really cute. I wish there were headers when we jumped back the present.
December 8, 2021
*4.25 stars
October 28, 2019
Human Enough includes an autistic main character and an asexual vampire... what's not to love? Seriously though, I love how both these characters are written.
Noah's character gave readers a candid view of the discrimination that he faced on a daily basis - both purposefully and unknowingly. Jordan was held in an abusive relationship from the time he was turned. He thought he was "broken" until he broke free of his creator and realized that there were other people out there just like him. Finding each other was the best thing that could have happened for both of them.
Their relationship wasn't exactly orthodox though. Noah was a hunter, but his objective was only to destroy rogue vampires. He started second guessing things though when some of their targets didn't quite feel right. Something was going on and it ended up being Noah's job to figure out who was behind some of the possibly false information the teams were being given.
Human Enough turned out to be a pretty sweet romance wrapped up in a suspenseful, action packed battle between a good and evil that Noah never saw coming. This is my first E.S. Yu read, but I'll definitely be looking for more.
I received Human Enough in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Noah's character gave readers a candid view of the discrimination that he faced on a daily basis - both purposefully and unknowingly. Jordan was held in an abusive relationship from the time he was turned. He thought he was "broken" until he broke free of his creator and realized that there were other people out there just like him. Finding each other was the best thing that could have happened for both of them.
Their relationship wasn't exactly orthodox though. Noah was a hunter, but his objective was only to destroy rogue vampires. He started second guessing things though when some of their targets didn't quite feel right. Something was going on and it ended up being Noah's job to figure out who was behind some of the possibly false information the teams were being given.
Human Enough turned out to be a pretty sweet romance wrapped up in a suspenseful, action packed battle between a good and evil that Noah never saw coming. This is my first E.S. Yu read, but I'll definitely be looking for more.
I received Human Enough in exchange for a fair and honest review.
February 22, 2023
either a 2,5 or a 2,75/5
May 7, 2022
There are a lot of ways I could describe this book, it featured a vampire human queer romance, main characters with multiple marginalized identities, and a see-it-coming-for-miles twist that wasn't very twisty.
I found the main characters likable, if a bit simpering at times. The side characters were largely lost in the background but were interesting in their own ways. I'd have loved for them to get a bit more screen time, because characters like the sister and other VHA teammates seemed to have some real potential. This was very much a romance first, everything else second, so if you're looking for a lot of plot, best to go elsewhere for your fix. That said it was a quick read, and not a bad time on the whole.
One of the things that I found disappointing about the book was how much it catered to allistics and allosexuals in the telling. There was so much explainer text, so much focus on introspection and outright monologuing on marginalization, that it felt, at times, heavy-handed. Ableism occurred throughout the book, but the telling felt cheapened significantly by the hammer-over-the-head method of highlighting it. Excluding some explainer text might have allowed people to see the ways that autism shaped the character's experience and to come to conclusions about the societal problems more organically. Perhaps allistic readers would have done some external research if they failed to understand something. The chapters-long introductory explanations often took away from the storytelling, which was a shame, because there was legitimately a story here. Conversely the vampirism as metaphor was wielded expertly and more reliance on that metaphor and faith in the reader could have really transformed this from a three star read to a five star one. Ultimately, it felt like a great draft in want of another round or two of substantive editing.
That said, it was a pleasant quick read. Good for paranormal romance readers of queer fiction. Good for getting in a few pages here and there during a commute.
I found the main characters likable, if a bit simpering at times. The side characters were largely lost in the background but were interesting in their own ways. I'd have loved for them to get a bit more screen time, because characters like the sister and other VHA teammates seemed to have some real potential. This was very much a romance first, everything else second, so if you're looking for a lot of plot, best to go elsewhere for your fix. That said it was a quick read, and not a bad time on the whole.
One of the things that I found disappointing about the book was how much it catered to allistics and allosexuals in the telling. There was so much explainer text, so much focus on introspection and outright monologuing on marginalization, that it felt, at times, heavy-handed. Ableism occurred throughout the book, but the telling felt cheapened significantly by the hammer-over-the-head method of highlighting it. Excluding some explainer text might have allowed people to see the ways that autism shaped the character's experience and to come to conclusions about the societal problems more organically. Perhaps allistic readers would have done some external research if they failed to understand something. The chapters-long introductory explanations often took away from the storytelling, which was a shame, because there was legitimately a story here. Conversely the vampirism as metaphor was wielded expertly and more reliance on that metaphor and faith in the reader could have really transformed this from a three star read to a five star one. Ultimately, it felt like a great draft in want of another round or two of substantive editing.
That said, it was a pleasant quick read. Good for paranormal romance readers of queer fiction. Good for getting in a few pages here and there during a commute.
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