Reviews with content warning for Racism - Carmilla

Absolutely loved the introduction and the first half of the book. I was unimpressed last third. It was infodumpy without any of Laura’s perspective which is what’s most gripping about the story. I loved reading her interpretations of Carmilla and their interactions. They were far more haunting than what occurred in the latter third.

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thenerdybookwitch's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

4.0

This pleasantly surprised me! I was expecting it to treat Carmilla and Laura’s relationship negatively but it’s not at all. Their romantic relationship is not judged by anyone. I can see why so many Lesbian bookworms absolutely adore this book. It is a vampire classic that has set a huge standard especially in the Lesbian vampire genre. It is a very good read and I highly recommend it.

Note: This is a book from 1872 so problematic themes are still going to be present. Especially outdated terms that are Ableist today. It also has such a negative view on Suicide at the end. Just keep that in mind when reading.

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sabrinaleaf's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

This book never explained what happened to Carmilla’s mom and I want to know 😭

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sinaprst's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I went into this with the sole knowledge that this vampire classic apparently heavily inspired Bram Stoker for his Dracula (which I have not read yet btw), but that it is sapphic and immediately I was sold.
When I hear sapphic gothic vampire story, I buy, no questions asked.

And the novella truly delivered on that. The writing was really atmospheric and even though english is not my first language, I had no trouble immersing myself into the story.

Carmilla not only charmed the protagonist Laura (and honestly everyone around her) but also me and even though she did scare me a bit I cannot deny that that I was and still am very much in love with her.

I also loved to see the relationship between Laura and Carmilla. They're relationship was very intimate and loving and very clearly sapphic, which I really did not expect from a book from the late 1800s.

In conclusion, I am very much gay for Carmilla and this book is now a core part of my personality. I already pity everyone around me, because I will probably not shut up about this for quite a long time.

I'm off searching for a vampire girlfriend now, good bye

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