Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

30 reviews

linblythe_pub22's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Death

Minor: Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, and Religious bigotry

mmoonlight's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I wanted to read this one for a while now, and because I recently received a copy, I finally could.

While I did not particularly like any of the characters, I did enjoy the development of Laura and Carmilla's dynamic, the prose, the descriptions, and the feeling of suspense. Now I understand why Carmilla is such a groundbreaking work.

The only real complaint I have is that I expected something more complex when it comes to wrapping up the story. For example, more about Baron Vordenburg, whose appearance was really underwhelming, or for the final clash with Carmilla to be something bigger, something more striking and intense.

However, those aspects did not make me enjoy the novella any less. It was predictable and formulaic, as a lot of Gothic tales are, but I still found it entertaining.

Also, I have to say, I love the cover of the edition I was gifted, as well as the chosen fonts. Very pretty.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Classism

ambessa's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Racism

rory_john14's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Violence, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Gore, Homophobia, Suicide, Medical content, Cannibalism, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

eva_vva's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Confinement, Stalking, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Gore, Sexism, Suicide, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

lucius_gooseman's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This is a good book. Sapphic Dracula with a plug-and-play "mystery" as to who the vampire is. I think a brain-damaged pastor's child who had never heard of a vampire, let alone a lesbian, could figure everything out in terms of the romance and "twist". The leadup to the twist is amazing- I love dark romanticism and gothic fiction and Sheridan Le Fanu writes the genre perfectly. Every word is perfectly chosen and each character described in a way that'd make Edgar Allan Poe cream his jeans. However, the two chapters of the General monologuing was so boring, I just skimmed some paragraphs. There's a lot of boring admin that goes into dark romanticism, so I get that. I still reserve the right to hate it, lol.

I'd like to dedicate a few words to this edition, and the asides and clarifications by lesbian author and essayist, Carmen Maria Machado. Her comments and history add another layer to the novel that I don't know if I would get without them. Her 21st-century adaptation of homoerotic 19th-century vampires (who am I kidding, they're legit gay) makes Carmilla a fully-rounded, time-transcending work of queer art. 

It's still boring as all shit, though, sorry gals. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief

mandareads222's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Lesbophobia

bearystarry's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Loved this. Even though I'd heard people talk about this book before, I was not expecting it to be this overtly romantic? Loved the specific vampire lore here as well. I think this will be something I want to reread pretty often.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Blood

Moderate: Chronic illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, and Murder

devermismysteris's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Blood

Moderate: Chronic illness and Cannibalism

Minor: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting

danilo_syrtis's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Misogyny, Suicide, and Grief