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grace_ezri's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A Black, LGBTQ+, Vampire novel written in the '90s what's not to adore!!! Fans of Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire sprint to read this book immediately!!!! Perfect fall read kinda tense and spoooky but not overwhelmingly so it give the perfect vibes. The pacing was perfect covering a large timeline in many areas throughout the US it kept you on the edge of your seat but allowed you enough time to sink in and understand each new time and place. It covers so many important topics from racism, sexism, found family, LGBT, humanity, greed, loneliness, jealousy, and environmental destruction. It was relevant 25 years ago and still relevant today. It really made me reflect on our society and what shape our future may take. I really appreciated how each character dealt with the vampirism different and showed a diversity of ways of dealing with their own humanity. I so often get caught up in wanting to read new releases I think it was important for me to go back to an older read and experience this! I'm so glad I read this book it will stick with me for a long time to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Racism
Moderate: Death and Sexism
Minor: Homophobia
sofipitch's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book took me a while to get through because of the writing style. I just really hate 3rd person omnipresent, especially in the beginning the narrative switches to quickly between characters I was sometimes confused trying to keep up. My other complaint is the format, each section involves another time jump and change in location, Gilda moves between places and often friends. And I think this book does a good job of showing the value of community in black and queer cultures but almost everytime we make a jump Gilda already has an established relationship with characters. This book is very tell not show in that sense, it often tells you how Gilda feels about her new friends or her new location or job, very little scenes leeting the reader see it in action. However this book is still a classic for being such a first, even today we can't take for granted a black lesbian vampire story, especially one like this. It focuses so much of women finding their ways in non traditional ways, it's unabashedly queer, it's unabashedly black. Like I said, it's about community, to use a tik tok word, it's about found family. I heard that this book is potentially getting a TV show and I think that is a great idea, the writing style does kind of weigh this book down but the ideas are so good and so relevant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Slavery and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
poirot's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Slavery, Blood, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Death, Murder, Sexual violence, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and War
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
- THE GILDA STORIES is an expansive, meditative exploration of found family, womanhood, and Blackness told through the story of Gilda, a young Black lesbian vampire, as she lives through the centuries.
- It took me a bit to get into this story, as I often find older novels keep the characters at a bit of a remove for my tastes. But once I got a handle on it, I was invested in Gilda and her search for a place and people to belong with.
- It reminded me quite a bit of Octavia E. Butler's work, not just for the vampire parallels to FLEDGLING, but also for the considerations of complex relationships and families as characters navigate new situations and realities.
- It took me a bit to get into this story, as I often find older novels keep the characters at a bit of a remove for my tastes. But once I got a handle on it, I was invested in Gilda and her search for a place and people to belong with.
- It reminded me quite a bit of Octavia E. Butler's work, not just for the vampire parallels to FLEDGLING, but also for the considerations of complex relationships and families as characters navigate new situations and realities.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Stalking, Suicide, Violence, Alcohol, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, Racial slurs, and Rape
stormywolf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
5.0
Breaking out of my reading slump to read last month's pick in Maven of the Eventide's (aka Elisa Hansen's) Vampire Book Club proved to be no easy feat. Unfortunately, my library did not carry the audiobook, and it turned out I had other obligations the night of the meeting. Luckily I found a copy of the audio online, and, as always, the book club meetings are saved for posterity, so while I wasn't there for the live discussion, I was able to participate in some ways (unlike the previous month's when my library didn't even carry a text copy for The Silver Kiss). And though I'd never heard of this book before the club picked it out, the premise seemed especially intriguing and I was eager to experience it. Let me just say, wow.
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, this book will undoubtedly sit with me for quite sometime. From the characters, to the settings, to the long and tumultuous journey of self-discovery, I was wholly invested. The exploration of life, and what it means to live and love from the perspective of an outsider, along with powerful depictions of struggling to choose what's best for yourself and for those around you, even if that means starting over, were what impacted me the most. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, books featuring BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+ main characters, empowering women, Afrofuturism, or just a fresh, new take on vampires—even hailing from 30 years ago!
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, this book will undoubtedly sit with me for quite sometime. From the characters, to the settings, to the long and tumultuous journey of self-discovery, I was wholly invested. The exploration of life, and what it means to live and love from the perspective of an outsider, along with powerful depictions of struggling to choose what's best for yourself and for those around you, even if that means starting over, were what impacted me the most. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, books featuring BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+ main characters, empowering women, Afrofuturism, or just a fresh, new take on vampires—even hailing from 30 years ago!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Racial slurs, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Drug use, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Alcohol, Body horror, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Biphobia, Colonisation, Death of parent, Abandonment, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, and Stalking
toopunkrockforshul's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This was a very interesting take on the vampire genre, and had some very interesting commentary and implications. I loved the structure of Gilda's life throughout the decades and was suprised that it ended up being quite speculative in the end. The writing style didn't grab me as much as other books have but the story was very engaging the focus on humanity and sharing life with others was very poignant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Racism, Rape, Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Violence
Minor: Vomit
lleullawgyffes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide, Slavery, Racism, and Sexual content
Minor: Addiction, Ableism, Drug use, Vomit, and Racial slurs
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