Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Carmilla: The First Vampire by Amy Chu

8 reviews

courtofsmutandstuff's review against another edition

4.0

I liked the tone/vibe - it captured that film noir feel really clearly, and I liked the investigation element driven by a social worker. I also loved the Chinese folklore and wanted more of that more explicitly detailed and expanded. It's also delightfully sapphic! 
<spoilers> The entrapment of Violet felt a little rushed, and I wanted to shake Athena for wrecking her relationship with Morgan for Violet, and then Morgan - her partner of over 5 years - dies like 2 days later and Athena doesn't really react to it! The reveal that Athena's family are also vampire hunters felt rushed and there wasn't as much detail/exploration on that as I'd like.
Definitely recommend for anyone who likes gothic stories, detective/investigative stories/film noir, or sapphic stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Transphobia

indeedithappens's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Lesbophobia, Murder, Sexual content, Death of parent, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Abandonment, Addiction, Drug abuse, Sexism, Blood, Car accident, Stalking, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Torture, and Police brutality

sucreslibrary's review against another edition

2.0

interesting idea, rushed and sloppy execution. important events happen in the blink of an eye and there's not much weight to anything. i had to go back and check pages to make sure I hadn't skipped over anything, but I never had, the pacing was just that poorly done. there's a lot of decisions and conversations that happen off-page which really adds to the rushed feeling. once the family's backstory is revealed things really start to fall apart story-wise, but it's not like there was a lot going on before it. a disappointing read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Racism

honeybeewitched87's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Blood, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Transphobia, and Cursing

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Medical trauma, Trafficking, Death of parent, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism

poisoned_icecream's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Misogyny

Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia

library_goth's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Deadnaming, Car accident, Transphobia, Death of parent, and Homophobia

Minor: Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Racism, Infidelity, and Cancer

asiantomato's review against another edition

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Sexual content, Violence, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Racial slurs, Cancer, Gore, Misogyny, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Transphobia, and Blood

livlamentloathe's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed Carmilla more because of the beautiful art than for the story. This book was luxuriously drawn and colored. I loved the imagery and the lore. Violet was a glowing beacon throughout.

The writing, however, wasn’t amazing. There wasn’t much emotion to the book. I didn’t feel anything from Athena. She seemed to be on rote for the whole book—moving from client to client, researching the case then Carmilla, lapping up Violet’s attention. And a lot of the plot threads were overly complicated. I liked Mai Tai and her scenes, and was disappointed in her lackluster death. It felt like the book lacked a beating heart—but maybe that was purposeful. I mean, a vampire’s heart does not beat. 

I am curious about where it’s going and I’ll continue it. I hope that with the next story will come more complex emotions and a better connection to Athena. She can be more than she is, I know it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Transphobia

Minor: Blood, Car accident, Alcohol, Death, Cancer, Medical content, Racism, Stalking, Drug use, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship