Review & Discussion: As You Prefer (Mi Lup Micut) By Cie Gives

As You Prefer is a complex yet intriguing story with its gay romance and complicated character relationships, yet is this LGBTQ+ vampire thriller actually worth the read? Read on to find out!

Quick note: This review is old, and was initially posted on my other blog Hazel Allen Writes. Later in this review it contains a discussion I had with the Author, Cie Gives as well! Some minor changes have been made to help fit the vibe of BookStack.

This is a book that I quite frankly have been wanting to do a review on since last January. However, as I left my job at the time and started working on transitioning to a new one, it sort of got lost in the mess. I was struggling both financially and mentally, and I still am to this very day. But now I am in a much much better spot than I was six months ago.

Because of everything going on, I wasn’t sure if I should scrap the review I was planning on doing, either. The author of the book, Cie Gives, answered some interview questions I had for them— and I just knew I needed to find a way to be able to incorporate those into some sort of spotlight. At one point I was thinking I could include as part of a book recommendations post. Then after realizing that wasn’t going to work either, I decided to finally double down on writing the book review.

Before we jump in though, let’s take a look at what the book is about. As You Prefer is a LGBTQ+ Vampire Thriller/Drama that follows Garrett Gibson — a self-learned and incredibly rare necromancer. He finds himself stalked by an ancient sanguim (vampire), who he can’t help but become friends with the sanguim, despite their overt rivraly. And over the course of the book and three years, Garrett discovers exactly why you shouldn’t befriend a blood sucking criature.

A couple disclaimers: I wrote the above blurb based off the synopsis for the book. You can see the official one here.

Though the review itself is light on mentioning them, there are some content warnings you should be aware of if you choose to read “As You Prefer,” later on: Non-consensual drugs, kidnapping, adult themes, betrayal, suicidal ideation, slavery, non-consent, heartbreak, human trafficking, torture, rape. (As taken from the book’s official blurb).

The review below is split into four categories: Characters, Plot, Writing, and World-Building. Then after that, I’ll give my overall rating of the book. Let’s dive in!

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Throughout the story, you are introduced to several characters. Some associated with the main character Garrett, and others associated with other entities. While some of these introductions are a little jarring, each character feels important to the over-arching story— no one overstays their welcome. The way each character interacts with one-another feels genuine and meaningful. The dialogue in this story really moves things along too, keeping things fresh and exciting.

This story holds a really strong premise throughout— navigating deep relationships and learning who you can trust and who you can’t. There is never a stale moment in the story, and the plot is well constructed. Though I do have to mention, the story is told in a non-linear fashion— jumping back and forth between different points of time. While this can be a little confusing to keep track of, it really forces you to focus on what’s happening.

I give this section a 4.5/5

Throughout my time with this book, I noticed little to no issues with the quality of writing. I’m currently re-reading through the book again, and I can assure you it is well-written. Cie Gives has a strong sense of vocabulary, and knowin

g how to use it to direct the flow of the story. There is never any dully written moments, and I found myself often wanting more.

The integration of supernatural creatures like vampires, necromancers, fae, and more is nearly flawless. The world building feels grounded in a way that makes sense for the narrative, and you can tell for sure there is more to be said after the story ends. Cie has given a lot of time and effort into crafting this world, and there’s never a moment where it doesn’t show.

Overall, As you Prefer is a well-crafted story with lots of meaningful moments. At no point does this story feel dull. And as someone who doesn’t normally read Vampire thrillers, I enjoyed every aspect of this story. It is intense and complicated, but fresh with a lot to say. There are moments in the story that are triggering to some, leading me to think: “What the fuck just happened?” But those moments serve the narrative well, and I don’t think the story would’ve hit the same otherwise.

My final and overall rating for the story is 4.9/5.

Now that we’ve gotten through the review section of this spotlight, it’s about time for the interview I was talking about earlier. But before we dive into that, I want to say this: so far we’ve managed to keep this spoiler-free. In the interview, there may be some moments that discuss spoilers. But, they will be marked so you can avoid them if you’d like.

The Interview With Cie Gives, Discussing their first book: As you Prefer.

How long did it take you to write As You Prefer?

Were there any major roadblocks to writing it?

Major roadblock was I wrote fifty thousand words and then scrapped most of it and started over, taking select parts of that fifty thousand and using them for the new iteration.

I am neurodivergent and with that comes a lot of “fun” brain differences. Motivation and inspiration doesn’t come in an organized manner, so I would write when I could and take huge breaks when I couldn’t. I don’t do well thinking the way other people say I should think so I have to do it my way.

Examples being, I don’t have daily writing goals, I try not to worry about if each chapter has the “correct amount of words or length”. I simply know I’ll never be that kind of writer and accepting that allows me the freedom to write.

I had never published anything myself and so I had to research and learn what the best and easiest way was for me to self-publish. I wasn’t ready to sit and be rejected or accepted by publishers yet, so this felt like the best way forward and much less pressure.

Who is your favorite character from the book, and what are some of their characteristics that you love?

If you had to change any one thing about the book or its plot, what would it be?

I’d make the book longer. I was ready to be “done” writing and publish this novel, so I didn’t make it as long as I would have liked.

What genre would you classify As You Prefer as?

I think I’m still sorting that out, to be honest. I guess if you want to boil it down, I’d call it gay or M/M romance.

Did anyone or anything from your personal life act as inspiration for your writing?

I mean we writers always use our personal lives to draw inspiration from. Garrett and Robin’s relationship reminds me a lot of my relationship with my best friend, but it’s still unique to those characters. Alexandru is a culmination of many different characters from many different books I’ve read. All the characters have a little bit of me in them though.

In the book, there are some triggering scenes. Was it hard for you to keep writing during those segments? How did you get through?

They were hard to write because I didn’t know how much detail to go into to give the audience what they needed to experience the character’s pain, but not also traumatize the reader.

Spoilers:

Speaking of the scene with Garrett being raped by his captors, he was only partially conscious, so I hope I captured the integrity of the situation well. I did worry about including this scene. I did consider not including it. This is where the characters and the story led me and so I followed along and wrote it the best I could at the time. I think it’s important for us to face something awful like this in a safe way because sexual assault happens every single day and it’s often swept away as something we shouldn’t think about or discuss. Living with sexual assault encounters affects so many people. I believe every single person has to work through these things in the best way they can, but I personally believe ignoring something that happened won’t help one long term, so long as one is healthy and supported enough to work through it.

During As You Prefer, you jump between past and present often. You've mentioned to me before that time is barely linear for you. So, how does that affect the creation of your books?

Does it make it more challenging to write, or perhaps, easier?

Big oof! Making this novel a non-linear/linear time jump story almost killed me, metaphorically. I struggled deeply to get my timeline accurate and correct. It delayed my novel being completed by at least two months.

I couldn’t decide how else to present some of these vignettes without doing a novel with dream or memory scenes and I don’t enjoy those much as a reader, so I felt this was the best way to accomplish what I wanted. The idea was inspired by reading, The Witcher written by Andrzej Sapkowski, and even watching the adaptation on Netflix, where you get a preview of the characters over an extended period of time. I liked the idea of teasing the reader with the characters and getting them excited about the relationships. In a way, novel one is similar to a prequel.

I may do a few remembered past scenes in the future, but I don’t know I will ever replicate the time jumping in this series as I did in As You Prefer. Firstly, it was incredibly difficult for me to organize and secondly, I think it might ultimately confuse some readers. The Watch, a novelette which follows As You Prefer, does have a linear time hop progression but is much easier to follow.

There is a lot of fun and impactful dialogue that really helped drive the plot forward. Were there any lines that stuck with you throughout?

Anything that Alexandru says feels impactful to me because I hope it leaves the reader wondering what he’s actually thinking and his humor is so dry it’s painful.

I prefer reading novels that are dialogue driven as I feel they are more engaging and give you better insight into the characters.

I think one of my favorite back and forths of As You Prefer was this dialogue though:

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Garrett said, as he turned back, pain and anger leaked into his voice without his consent.

Alexandru paused, staring off into space. He took an unnecessary breath and said, “For all practical purposes, immortality.”

What has been the biggest criticism you've received from someone reading As You Prefer?

My original cover was incredibly boring on the first edition. Every ARC and other authors said I needed a flashy cover to grab attention, so I remedied that fairly quickly.

How would you describe the book to anyone reading it for the first time?

Simply put, a love story. Most importantly I want readers to know this is about the struggles of life and love. This is a series that follows the same characters for years through all of their ups and downs.

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That’s it for the main part of the interview discussing the book. This next part is more personal, focused on Cie Gives them self.

How long have you been writing for?

Honestly, since I was a kid. I wrote poetry a lot when I was a teenager. I wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until I was in college and I didn’t read for pleasure until I was in my late twenties.

I’ve always felt I expressed myself better in written format, so naturally it makes sense I would write.

What have been the hardest and easiest projects you've worked on?

I think they’re all equally easy and difficult. When you’re doing something creative you have to tap into that part of you that pulls from something deep inside. Probably the emotional body.

Do you work on other creative projects outside of your writing?

I’ve been working on launching my YouTube channel for ASMR, called Cie Gives ASMR. Other than that I enjoy making art for fun and I make all my personal care items such as, hand lotion, shower gel, etc. One day I might make some art to sell, but for now it’s for me and my friends only.

What is your favorite genre to read?

Gay romance is what I read almost exclusively. It’s a genre that always holds my attention. The most important part is I need a good plot and engaging characters.

Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?

What are some books from other indie authors you'd recommend people read?

Some books I love and would reread:

• Phedre’s Trilogy by Jacqueline Carey

• Cut & Run Series by Abigail Roux

• The Others Series by Anne Bishop

• More Heat than the Sun Series by John Wiltshire

• Dark Soul Series by Aleksandr Voinov

• Hollow Folk Series by Gregory Ashe

Do you have any other thoughts, be it about your book, or in general you'd like to share?

I’m super grateful to my readers and reviewers! While I do write for myself because it makes me intensely happy, it’s such fantastic encouragement to see others appreciate what I do and how I do it.

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And that is it for this Review and Author Spotlight. If you want to read Cie Gives’ As You Prefer, just click on the link below. Currently, the eBook is $2.99 USD and the Paperback is $9.99 USD.

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