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aliteraryescape's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death
Minor: Alcoholism
nightmarebees's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
“I wanted to fall at her feet and worship her. I wanted to desecrate her in every filthy manner I could imagine. I wanted all of her, in every way, all at once.”
after i sped through dowry of blood in a single day, i was so excited to pick this up and it did NOT disappoint. sexy, bloody, toxic, decadent, sapphic as all hell. this one was written for queer girlies specifically. do i hate her? do i love her? do i hate that i want her? should i hate myself for wanting her?
“I was miserably vexed by her presence, but I was just plain miserable without her.”
the themes of jealousy and envy are so well explored as to make you uncomfortable bc it feels like this book SEES you. the dynamics of the main trio are so messy and entangled that at times you don’t know who to root for.
literally the only thing keeping this from a full 5 stars for me was that something about the pacing felt a bit off. maybe it just felt different bc it took place over such a shorter period of time than dowry.
lush prose, atmosphere that manages to be both spooky and cozy, and a feeling of obsession that made this so hard to put down. i loved this.
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Toxic relationship
missreaderlove's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved that Gibson stayed true to the majority of the plot in Carmilla, but added in her own little changes and quirks to make it her own.
The last quarter of the book was what dropped it down a star for me - I wished there was a focus other than the romantic story, like the previous parts.
Overall, an intense and engaging novel.
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Blood, Violence, Death, Toxic friendship, and Sexual content
ashrosereads_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Gibson has such a prose-like voice that is simple yet so perfectly ample at the same time.
I really really wished it was longer. I could have certainly lived in this story for even 200 pages more, but I’m always feeling that way when I enjoy the writing.
It explores some pretty dark themes, one which I will personally pen as “grooming” and uneven power dynamics as supplied by Gibson’s content warnings before the book begins. (Which is much appreciated).
Read it! It’s fast and suspenseful and lyrical - then keep it on your shelf always when you need a quick moody sapphic fantasy read.
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, and Gore
ohennui's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol and Drug use
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Blood, Sexual content, and Drug use
Moderate: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
Minor: Racism
lightfoot33's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Sexual content
blacksphinx's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Well... this book includes an interview with the author. In it, she says her stories start as a music video in her mind with vibes-based images and that's exactly how this novel turned out. It's vibes. It is a collection of scenes that if it was a movie or a music video, would be turned into gifs and reblogged on tumblr until the end of days. There's a massive college party where all four floors of the dorms are transformed into a representation of The Divine Comedy. During the opening ceremony, senior girls in pure white dresses put laurel crowns on the incoming freshmen around a bonfire. Does this have anything to do with the themes of the story? Nope! But they are cool to think about!
Things only happen to push us from one pretty set piece to another. And there's very, very few things that happen in this novel. It honestly bothers me that both protagonists are poets and spend all of their time off-screen writing poetry, but we only get two poems from them in the entire book. The author is a poet... where are the poems? This novel also doesn't need two PoVs, and I sometimes got them confused because they were so similar. (I feel bad that the author admits she struggled to make their voices sound different; I don't think she succeeded.) I also think it's weird that the protagonist being plus size is a selling point but no one mentions this until like 45% through the book?
But the thing is like, I was one of those girls reblogging collections of stolen photos a decade ago. The vibes are immaculate! I would reblog the gifs of the movie of this novel! But it's like, eating a giant puff of black cotton candy from a cone with bookshelves printed on it. There is no substance here. The words are beautiful, but so little happens. I am completely torn on what number to give to this book. It was pretty. It bored me. I'd read her other novels. I'm glad I checked this out of the library instead of preordering it.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Murder
Moderate: Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Lesbophobia, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Physical abuse, and Confinement
bookishvicky's review
- 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
Where do I start. The characters. Each one so unique, so strong and detailed and mysterious and beautiful. Carmilla’s inner voice, her brattiness covering for her deep loneliness, just SCREAMED vampiric longing. She wanted so deeply of the world that she had to change to get it, and even then she only found that refuge in Laura.
Oh Laura. Oh man. The only character. The best girl. I’m so proud of her. She deserves everything. EVERYTHING.
De Lafontaine. Holy shit. I don’t know if I want to brush her hair or run her over with a car. What a complex character. I’d pay to watch her and Constanta duke it out.
SPEAKING OF
Great dark academia, steamy with yearning and longing and hope peeking through the misery. Utterly beautiful prose. I’m going insane at how much I adored this.
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, and Alcohol
charming_killerqueen's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Sexual content
Moderate: Blood and Violence