Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
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
A really unique take on vampires. Love the focus on food, such a new and insightful, and descriptive process of vampire feedings. Also I always love stories that depict vampires navigating the human world in very awkward ways.
just finished this and i’m tipsaaay and dude this book was just a straight up VIBE throughout
the story was eh kinda but honestly the dark moody contemplative vibe was IT and i could read another hundred pages of lydia’s thoughts
love that she’s drawn to the baba yaga puppet so she steals it and gives it a personality and it inspires her and keeps her company. that’s a thing i would do
pretty sure i’ve not read about nor consumed any vampiric media that has described the effects of drinking blood anything like this book. lydia’s mom thinks that, as vampires, she and lydia are shameful demonic creatures who deserve an austere and miserable existence, so she only allows herself and lydia to subsist on pig’s blood, which she considers the basest of animals. when they drink blood, it goes straight into their veins and they experience everything that said creature has experienced in its life. so when lydia drinks the blood of a duck, she feels weightless and has experienced flight and breaking through clouds, etc.
i thought ben was lame and she can do so much better lol
i loved her fascination with the amrita sher-gil painting, “three girls”, and how as a child she assumed they were vampires, waiting for men to leave a building so they could eat them. i looked up the painting and i love it. those bitches are vampires
the story was eh kinda but honestly the dark moody contemplative vibe was IT and i could read another hundred pages of lydia’s thoughts
love that she’s drawn to the baba yaga puppet so she steals it and gives it a personality and it inspires her and keeps her company. that’s a thing i would do
pretty sure i’ve not read about nor consumed any vampiric media that has described the effects of drinking blood anything like this book. lydia’s mom thinks that, as vampires, she and lydia are shameful demonic creatures who deserve an austere and miserable existence, so she only allows herself and lydia to subsist on pig’s blood, which she considers the basest of animals. when they drink blood, it goes straight into their veins and they experience everything that said creature has experienced in its life. so when lydia drinks the blood of a duck, she feels weightless and has experienced flight and breaking through clouds, etc.
Spoiler
when she tries drinking milk, her veins turn white, and her body spazzes out and rejects it, making her super illi thought ben was lame and she can do so much better lol
i loved her fascination with the amrita sher-gil painting, “three girls”, and how as a child she assumed they were vampires, waiting for men to leave a building so they could eat them. i looked up the painting and i love it. those bitches are vampires
Spoiler
i wasn’t sure where the book was going throughout but i’m glad it ended with her killing and eating gideon, a stuck up dipshit who owns some of her father’s paintings and enjoys groping women. pretty sure he’s the first human she kills and drinks the entirety of. when she consumes him she experiences his memories, the best being all the food he’s ever eaten, thankfully japanese food, which she has longed to eat her entire life due to being half japanese, and she also discovers a special appreciation for malaysian food. after initially rejecting her malaysian mother, understandably, considering how she was brought up to hate herself, lydia now feels the urge to retrieve her mother from the assisted living places she’s in, embrace her, and set off somewhere else with her
In a just world, this would be an immediate classic of vampire fiction. Flawless, engrossing writing, and a messy main character with powerful perspective and insight. The story itself is completely modern, weaving in threads of identity politics and toxicity that don't overwhelm, just enhance, the forlornness and menace that you'd expect from a vampire story. Just, smart as hell, and makes no apologies. Fucking read it.
dark
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
Stupid, derivative and boring.
3.5 ⭐
This is definitely different from what I was expecting but once I put that aside, I could appreciate the story for what it was. Character driven and more like a coming of age story that deals with issues such as self loathing, child abuse, and sexual harassment.
I will say, I needed more 'eating' but the ending was very satisfying.
This is definitely different from what I was expecting but once I put that aside, I could appreciate the story for what it was. Character driven and more like a coming of age story that deals with issues such as self loathing, child abuse, and sexual harassment.
I will say, I needed more 'eating' but the ending was very satisfying.
4.5 stars
I am continuing my vampire book in January for the second year now. Keep vampire era alive. Usually books with no plot and just vibes don't work for me but I flew through this and enjoyed the writing and characters. The ending definitely felt satisfying for me.
I am continuing my vampire book in January for the second year now. Keep vampire era alive. Usually books with no plot and just vibes don't work for me but I flew through this and enjoyed the writing and characters. The ending definitely felt satisfying for me.
This was quirky and a fresh, fun take on a vampire book. There were some plot threads that were never quite tied but I like the meditations on hunger and pleasure and control… and how those are all so intertwined. I liked some of the folklore and colonialist subtext as well. But def one I wanna talk through with folks.
Unique vampire story. Lydia like Art and Ben. But in what way and what part of her is hungry for him. Who is she without her mother and what role did her parents have in her creation. How can she explore this with her painting?
Although this could be taken as a metaphor for an eating disorder, I took it at face value. It was honestly fascinating to read an account of a vampire who longs to both experience human food and to live beyond or outside of hunger. I don’t think I’ve ever read such a take, and the character of the mom who loses her memory of her vampire life after losing her teeth is also incredible. Such a sharp and fascinating take on vampirism, as well as the vampiric way the art world can treat young artists. Well worth reading.