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3.24 AVERAGE
3.24 AVERAGE
I have a few mixed feelings about this. The things I loved, **I loved.** The Mellification follows vampire Holly, a trans vampire being forced to wait for his new masculine name from the pseudo-religious vampire leader of their community--Marlowe. Marlowe is demeaning, judgemental, and transphobic. He is not outwardly saying Holly cannot get a new name because he is trans but the thinly veiled excuses do little to cover what isn't being explicitly said. I also really liked the queer representation! Holly is in a relationship with another male vampire named Cain and there's a female side character coming to terms with her attraction to women.
I also enjoyed quite a bit of the world-building! The honey and bee connection, the honeyman, hexagonal imagery...all of it was really cool. I felt that this was a really refreshing and new (!!) take on vampirism and vampire culture.
What felt short for me unfortunately was the lack of development. When reading, I felt like there was a little bit of information right on the other side of the story that would have opened up the narrative so much for me. The characters (minus Holly) also were a little flat or one-sided, but I think this could have been rectified with some more explanation. Basically, I just wanted it to be longer. I had a lot of fun with what was here..I just wish it was a little bit more.
**I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!
I also enjoyed quite a bit of the world-building! The honey and bee connection, the honeyman, hexagonal imagery...all of it was really cool. I felt that this was a really refreshing and new (!!) take on vampirism and vampire culture.
What felt short for me unfortunately was the lack of development. When reading, I felt like there was a little bit of information right on the other side of the story that would have opened up the narrative so much for me. The characters (minus Holly) also were a little flat or one-sided, but I think this could have been rectified with some more explanation. Basically, I just wanted it to be longer. I had a lot of fun with what was here..I just wish it was a little bit more.
**I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!
I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for this review.
This was a nice, quick and easy read. The set-up was interesting, the idea of combining mellification and vampires was unique, and I liked the LGBT+ representation, which I was pleased to see extended to more than just the main (trans) character! However, this felt a little like a rollercoaster that spends a lot of time setting up a massive scare only to turn out to be a tiny hill at the end. The author spent a lot of time establishing interesting characters, backstories, vampire lore, and even incorporated a fun "jumping between different characters in different time periods" element. But the mystery and suspense of the honey, beehives, referring to the community as a "colony" literally living in hexagons with a "queen bee" in the form of Marlowe, and then eventually the shocker of both Lila in the past and Holly in the present discovering the coffin leaking honey (not to mention Marlowe's weird honey bath) all had me on the edge of my seat, making guesses about what the big conspiracy or reveal would be. But all of this suspense was let down by the ending of the book. It felt really rushed and incomplete, and a lot of seemingly random things happened that felt more like plot devices to quickly end the book than a satisfying conclusion that the rest of the book deserved. All of a sudden, this rebellious and strong willed Holly just meekly accepts this massive betrayal and getting buried? The trial itself lasted all of 2 pages, and we never even saw the resolution of some of the characters and side plots introduced earlier: what happened to Lila after Claudia left? Who was the Lizard King? What happened to Marlowe's wife? ? Was she in the coffin? What did Marlowe mean when he said the honey was how he "maintained his power"? What's the backstory??? The sudden inclusion of the clearly neo-Nazi-esque "vampire hunters" at the end was completely out of left field, not to mention the end raid scene, which felt almost like the author got tired of developing the plot and just wanted a quick and easy way to end the story already—a real shame because there was so much potential in the first half. Intriguing set-up, disappointing execution.
This was a nice, quick and easy read. The set-up was interesting, the idea of combining mellification and vampires was unique, and I liked the LGBT+ representation, which I was pleased to see extended to more than just the main (trans) character! However, this felt a little like a rollercoaster that spends a lot of time setting up a massive scare only to turn out to be a tiny hill at the end. The author spent a lot of time establishing interesting characters, backstories, vampire lore, and even incorporated a fun "jumping between different characters in different time periods" element. But the mystery and suspense of the honey, beehives, referring to the community as a "colony" literally living in hexagons with a "queen bee" in the form of Marlowe, and then eventually the shocker of both Lila in the past and Holly in the present discovering the coffin leaking honey (not to mention Marlowe's weird honey bath) all had me on the edge of my seat, making guesses about what the big conspiracy or reveal would be. But all of this suspense was let down by the ending of the book. It felt really rushed and incomplete, and a lot of seemingly random things happened that felt more like plot devices to quickly end the book than a satisfying conclusion that the rest of the book deserved. All of a sudden, this rebellious and strong willed Holly just meekly accepts this massive betrayal and getting buried? The trial itself lasted all of 2 pages, and we never even saw the resolution of some of the characters and side plots introduced earlier: what happened to Lila after Claudia left? Who was the Lizard King? What happened to Marlowe's wife? ? Was she in the coffin? What did Marlowe mean when he said the honey was how he "maintained his power"? What's the backstory??? The sudden inclusion of the clearly neo-Nazi-esque "vampire hunters" at the end was completely out of left field, not to mention the end raid scene, which felt almost like the author got tired of developing the plot and just wanted a quick and easy way to end the story already—a real shame because there was so much potential in the first half. Intriguing set-up, disappointing execution.
"He wanted to abide, he wanted that patient undead serenity, he wanted stoicism. and fortitude and instead all he had were complaints and tears."
My biggest complaint with this book is that it isn't long enough. It was a really interesting take on the modern vampire, and the way that cultures attempt to preserve their traditions in the face of modern forces.
Vampires are traditionally portrayed as forever unchanging and unaffected by the world around them. How does a trans vampire, who by definition needs to be able to change in order to be true to who he is, reconcile the vampires' traditional reluctance to change with his need to get his "vampire name" and ascend to his true self?
The things I loved about this, I really loved. But the ending came quickly and suddenly, and I'm left with many questions as to "what happens to_____?" "what happens with________?" "what happens after __________?"
If there's a sequel, I'll definitely check it out. If there isn't a sequel, I don't know how I'll feel about this book a few years down the road.
My biggest complaint with this book is that it isn't long enough. It was a really interesting take on the modern vampire, and the way that cultures attempt to preserve their traditions in the face of modern forces.
Vampires are traditionally portrayed as forever unchanging and unaffected by the world around them. How does a trans vampire, who by definition needs to be able to change in order to be true to who he is, reconcile the vampires' traditional reluctance to change with his need to get his "vampire name" and ascend to his true self?
The things I loved about this, I really loved. But the ending came quickly and suddenly, and I'm left with many questions as to "what happens to_____?" "what happens with________?" "what happens after __________?"
If there's a sequel, I'll definitely check it out. If there isn't a sequel, I don't know how I'll feel about this book a few years down the road.
dark
mysterious
tense
this was so bad
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming
Moderate: Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence
Netgalley Review Copy
The Mellification by Nat Buchbinder
4/5
There is a vampire society, where they live together under a cemetery and have lots of vampire traditions, for example when you love someone one will be buried alive and you will have to try and find them as a sign of your love.
Their core value is patience, but out main character Holly, a transgender male vampire is growing more frustrated by the day by how patient he is expected to be. He is supposed to receive a 'vampire name' which everyone else got, but he has no idea when he will get it and it keeps getting delayed.
I wished this book was longer, this had such an interesting concept with the plot and I feel like if it had been longer then maybe some details could have been fleshed out more because being a 200 page book it did feel a little rushed and not everything was explained in full detail. For instance part of the story is told in flashbacks and I wasn't fully understanding how it connected to the present day but I enjoyed the story nonetheless. and there was this weird thing with bees and honey, which I found interesting but that wasn't fully explained either.
And the ending had be internally SCREAMING, like you really gonna end the book like that? I would definitely read the sequel if there ever will be one.
Such a fun read if you ever need a short vampire book about a transgender vampire.
The Mellification by Nat Buchbinder
4/5
There is a vampire society, where they live together under a cemetery and have lots of vampire traditions, for example when you love someone one will be buried alive and you will have to try and find them as a sign of your love.
Their core value is patience, but out main character Holly, a transgender male vampire is growing more frustrated by the day by how patient he is expected to be. He is supposed to receive a 'vampire name' which everyone else got, but he has no idea when he will get it and it keeps getting delayed.
I wished this book was longer, this had such an interesting concept with the plot and I feel like if it had been longer then maybe some details could have been fleshed out more because being a 200 page book it did feel a little rushed and not everything was explained in full detail. For instance part of the story is told in flashbacks and I wasn't fully understanding how it connected to the present day but I enjoyed the story nonetheless. and there was this weird thing with bees and honey, which I found interesting but that wasn't fully explained either.
And the ending had be internally SCREAMING, like you really gonna end the book like that? I would definitely read the sequel if there ever will be one.
Such a fun read if you ever need a short vampire book about a transgender vampire.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
I really loved the representation in this book and how the different identities shown were normalized by the narrators. Learning about the vampire society created and their leader was fascinating, though I would have loved a deeper dive into the history of the society. I also really enjoyed Holly and his determination and his insight and the way his insecurities haunted him.
However, it didn't feel like the story fully developed. I wanted to know more about many of the sides characters-- such as Cain and Methuselah, neither of whom were ever fully sketched out. Our second narrator's story was also not as fleshed out as Holly's, which is really disappointing as she was a much older vampire, a lesbian, and could have had more of an impact on the vampire society. I never felt any closure on her story and still don't understand why her perspective was in first person while Holly's was in third person.
Overall, though, I enjoyed the story. Though bleak, the ending was a satisfying conclusion that fit the story perfectly.
Thanks to the publisher for the free review copy!
However, it didn't feel like the story fully developed. I wanted to know more about many of the sides characters-- such as Cain and Methuselah, neither of whom were ever fully sketched out. Our second narrator's story was also not as fleshed out as Holly's, which is really disappointing as she was a much older vampire, a lesbian, and could have had more of an impact on the vampire society. I never felt any closure on her story and still don't understand why her perspective was in first person while Holly's was in third person.
Overall, though, I enjoyed the story. Though bleak, the ending was a satisfying conclusion that fit the story perfectly.
Thanks to the publisher for the free review copy!
Content Warnings
Minor: Transphobia
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
I have so many questions. Why do clothes not disappear when vampires turn to bats but they do when they turn to bees? How does honey (mellification?) turn someone into a vampire? What was the point in having one character’s perspective in first person and another’s in third-person? What the hell is going to happen to Holly? To Lila? What were the motivations of the vampire hunters? What does a blood popsicle taste like? I don’t care what the answers are; I just know I wanted more questions, I wanted more of this book. The story follows two vampires: one transgender and one lesbian. I really loved that the author didn’t use this as an allegory to make a socio-political point or to express a higher meaning about the importance of acceptance. The characters were just who they were and I think this type of inclusivity is really what members of the LGBT+ community want. Why does everything have to mean something? Maybe I’m wrong and please tell me if I am. I don’t know much about this author but damn they know how to write. The only critique I could provide them would be that this book would have benefited from chapter breaks and just one omniscient narrator instead of switching perspectives. But these are personal opinions and they did not take away from the fun experience. The book ends with an amazingly rewarding climax and sets itself up for a sequel. I really really hope there is a sequel. I also really really enjoyed this book and I want you all to read it.