Reviews

A Phantom Lover by Vernon Lee

andromedaa's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

3.75

izzysorr's review

Go to review page

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

3.75

sillysausagezj's review

Go to review page

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

4.0

lkkirk75's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

katieb94's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.0

stranger_sights's review against another edition

Go to review page

REVIEW TO COME

doomluz's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

kylefwill's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Lovely to see a book like this on a new press like this.

jastato's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I found this a very compelling read. From the get-go, we're introduced to this very erratic kind of writing that borders on stream of conscious. I will say that I haven't really been a fan of stream of conscious writing yet I think it worked pretty well here. Because we had the narrator's generally unfiltered thoughts, the anxiety build-up was impeccable; you started off with very ominous notes regarding what happened to a couple. The narrator doesn't immediately tell you exactly what happened, so you're forced to sit through the story in dread. Other than our narrator who is themselves an interesting front to read from, I found the other two main characters equally fascinating. Mr. Oke was surprisingly easy to sympathise with and Mrs. Oke was so wholly interesting that I was both very excited and worried for how this train wreck of a couple was going to go. Needless to say, the quiet air before the climax really unnerved me, and when we indeed got into the climax, I felt myself racing to finish. I found the progression of the story very entertaining and the ending deeply satisfying. All in all, this greatly surpassed my expectations for it. The only reason I'm not giving it a full 5 is that I wished it had more of a emotional punch for me, but that really is on personal preference.

weeta's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Delightfully creepy and gorgeously written.