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morimyths's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Rape, Alcohol, Blood, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Violence
Minor: Slavery, War, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Self harm, Genocide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Suicide, Abandonment, and Death of parent
directorpurry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Blood, Violence, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Death of parent, and Suicide
Minor: Homophobia
librarianmage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Blood, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Slavery and War
Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia
grace_ezri's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Racism
Moderate: Death and Sexism
Minor: Homophobia
sofipitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Slavery and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
stormywolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, this book will undoubtedly sit with me for quite sometime. From the characters, to the settings, to the long and tumultuous journey of self-discovery, I was wholly invested. The exploration of life, and what it means to live and love from the perspective of an outsider, along with powerful depictions of struggling to choose what's best for yourself and for those around you, even if that means starting over, were what impacted me the most. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, books featuring BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+ main characters, empowering women, Afrofuturism, or just a fresh, new take on vampires—even hailing from 30 years ago!
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Racial slurs, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Drug use, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Alcohol, Body horror, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Biphobia, Colonisation, Death of parent, Abandonment, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, and Stalking
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The pace is slow, but purposeful. Every section lingers just as long as it needs to convey its piece of this story that spans two centuries. The book is undeniably queer but a lot of the queerness in the early sections is understated or implied because it’s taking place in years and times where it’s not safe to be a woman, to be Black, to be queer. By having the MC be a vampire it takes some of the danger away, transforming it. It’s not gone, not really, it’s not magically safer for her to exist in this world that hates people like her, but it does help as a reader, to know she has something to keep her safe. It’s explicitly about abuse and power and violence and vulnerability, figuring out how to be a creature who could easily survive through violence but not if she wants to keep her humanity, her love for life. The final section flips this and changes which facet of her identity puts her in danger.
The secondary characters come in and out of the MC‘s life, sometimes being gone for long sections before returning again, and sometimes leaving forever, or being left by the MC. But even those she leaves behind in time and by distance often stay in her thoughts. Her fellow vampires have a consistent presence throughout the book, whether just in her recollections of them, her summaries of what’s happened with them most recently, or a few moments in person where the narrative lens aligns with their visits. It conveys this tension between loneliness and community which is integral to the story as the MC figures out how to stay interested in life as the years stretch ever onward.
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Racism, Drug use, Blood, and Gore
Minor: Slavery
CW for racial slurs, homophobic slurs, homophobia, racism, drug use, slavery, blood, gore, violence, sexual assault, major character death, death.