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skypotion's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ST Gibson showed back up with this. It's no Dowry of Blood, but it's a great novel on its own. The writing is again gorgeous, the intrigue is great, and I love Laura & Carmilla's characterizations, as well as what Gibson is doing here with the power dynamics. Does not let down.
Also, if you're worried about homophobia, don't be. It's in the background, as this is set in the 60's, but neither girl is put in a situation where they have to experience it for themselves.
If you have any concerns about the Toxic Relationship TW:It is not between Carmilla & Laura, although there are BDSM/power/dom/sub undertones to some of their interactions. These are all consensual, though, & I do believe they're codependent in a fun way (lmao)
If you're curious about any potential Dowry crossovers:Magdalena appears for a bit! She references the activities in book one, but nothing specifically. It's just wonderful getting to see her again, I love Magdalena
Also, if you're worried about homophobia, don't be. It's in the background, as this is set in the 60's, but neither girl is put in a situation where they have to experience it for themselves.
If you have any concerns about the Toxic Relationship TW:
If you're curious about any potential Dowry crossovers:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Blood
Minor: Abandonment
bookameme's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
Dark, Gripping, & Stimulating
Quote:š
In the end, I stayed. I had the awful, yawning feeling inside myself that for her, I would always stay.
Thoughts: š”
The first chapter had a slightly slow and meandering feel to it, but as soon as the story dove into the rivals to lovers vibes I was hooked. There is this moment of intense attraction that quickly burns into rivals that grabbed all of my attention in a sharp flash and from that point on the story had a fast and dark vibe, and I adored every minute of it. The imagery and poetry that permeated everything was spectacular. It was very LGBT positive but still recognized the struggle of marginalized people in the time period. I canāt sing enough praises for this story.
Writing Mechanics: āļø
The plot is inspired and the language used and structure of it all is brilliant. All the characters were beautifully developed with rich backstories and deep motivations. There were points of the story that were so eloquently written that I had to reread and ruminate on the context and beauty of it. And the poetry! Gah! I canāt sing the praises of it enough! Everything in this book was spectacular!
Fun Bits:
āļø Sapphic Vampires
āļø Academic Rivals
āļø Needing to Please The Teacher
āļø Beautiful Poetry
āļø Sizzling Romance
āļø Plus Size Heroine
Important Note:āØ
Standalone companion novel to A Dowery of Blood.
Full Content Warning:ā ļø
Uneven Power Dynamics, Inappropriate Relationships Between Professor & Students, Toxic Academic Environments, Blood, Gore, and Murder, Alcohol and Drug Use, Smoking, Racist Political Policies, Homophobia, Religious Discrimination Against Women
Stats:š
š¶ļøš¶ļøš¶ļø
Characters: ššššš
Dark Historical Fantasy: Dark Academia, Sapphic Romance, Academic Rivals to Lovers, Vampires, Mystery Vibes
First Person, Present Tense, Dual POV
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Racism, Lesbophobia, Sexism, Blood, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Gore, Outing, Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Violence, Abandonment, Misogyny, Homophobia, Bullying, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death of parent
jems_'s review against another edition
4.75
I was provided an audio ARC of this which was the very first audiobook I ever finished!
I had heard about this book before, as well as the authorās other work, though I had not read or otherwise consumed any of it myself so far. This was thus my first encounter with S.T. Gibson.
That said, listening to this was a very pleasant experience. The narrator, Stephanie Cannon, did an amazing job of the voices and has a beautiful voice. Multiple times I went back in the audiobook to hear her narrate professor De Lafontaine because it sounded like an entirely different person. It greatly helped immerse me in the story.
Going into this, I wasnāt entirely sure what to expect of the story, especially the relationship between the professor and her students. On that, I am still not entirely certain what I think, though although strange, technically nothing too damnable happened in that aspect which I appreciate. (By damnable Iām mostly referring to anything explicit since I donāt know how I wouldāve felt about that. That aside the relationship was still really toxic! However, I donāt think the book acknowledged it as anything but if Iām not mistaken which is important.)
I did really enjoy the relationship between Carmilla and Laura. As a very loyal and faithful person myself, unfaithfulness is generally something I canāt tolerate and there was at least one instance in this book that tested me in that regard. However, surprisingly it didnāt make me drop and dnf it like I would other books until now so that definitely says something. I think the other partyās reaction influenced my own reaction to it as well, but thatās as much as I want to say on that to not spoiler too much!
Overall, I enjoyed the narrative style and the writing as it was read beautifully was nice and not too complicated. The characters were fleshed out with interesting, albeit a bit strange dynamics, though those were a big point of the story anyways and werenāt supposed to be the most healthy.
In my opinion it was a very nice experience and Iām very grateful I got approved for this ARC!
I had heard about this book before, as well as the authorās other work, though I had not read or otherwise consumed any of it myself so far. This was thus my first encounter with S.T. Gibson.
That said, listening to this was a very pleasant experience. The narrator, Stephanie Cannon, did an amazing job of the voices and has a beautiful voice. Multiple times I went back in the audiobook to hear her narrate professor De Lafontaine because it sounded like an entirely different person. It greatly helped immerse me in the story.
Going into this, I wasnāt entirely sure what to expect of the story, especially the relationship between the professor and her students. On that, I am still not entirely certain what I think, though although strange, technically nothing too damnable happened in that aspect which I appreciate. (By damnable Iām mostly referring to anything explicit since I donāt know how I wouldāve felt about that. That aside the relationship was still really toxic! However, I donāt think the book acknowledged it as anything but if Iām not mistaken which is important.)
I did really enjoy the relationship between Carmilla and Laura. As a very loyal and faithful person myself, unfaithfulness is generally something I canāt tolerate and there was at least one instance in this book that tested me in that regard. However, surprisingly it didnāt make me drop and dnf it like I would other books until now so that definitely says something. I think the other partyās reaction influenced my own reaction to it as well, but thatās as much as I want to say on that to not spoiler too much!
Overall, I enjoyed the narrative style and the writing as it was read beautifully was nice and not too complicated. The characters were fleshed out with interesting, albeit a bit strange dynamics, though those were a big point of the story anyways and werenāt supposed to be the most healthy.
In my opinion it was a very nice experience and Iām very grateful I got approved for this ARC!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Confinement, Infidelity, and Blood
Minor: Abandonment, Death, and Alcohol
henrygravesprince's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
3.75
In the interest of full disclosure, this review is specifically regarding an ALC copy of the audiobook from Net Galley, so while I imagine this audiobook was pretty close to finalized, some details may have been changed between my copy and the official release.
If youāre interested in sapphic adult romance, dark academia aesthetics, intense relationships, and vampires, I think this book is worth the time. My usual strongest vs weakest aspect evaluation is a little different this time: they both deal primary with character dynamics. The strongest aspect of this is the core relationship between Carmilla and Laura, from rivalry to infatuation; the weakest, to me, is the failure to really bring the subplot about Carmilla and De Lafontaineās relationship to a meaningful conclusion. I would have really liked for the book to get more into dark academic themes and historical (1960s) elements; they work fine as set dressing for the novel, but I feel it would go from a good book to a very compelling one if those elements were more developed. Iām very interested in checking out the authorās other work.
The narrative at hand is coherent overall, but it did leave me wanting. It feels a little undercooked. I enjoyed the overarching development of Laura and Carmilla throughout the narrative as individuals and as a pair, growing from rivals to friends to lovers. The dynamic shift after Carmillaās transformation in particular is very interesting. Character voice was compelling, particularly in conjunction with the stellar narration of the audiobook. The extended cast wasnāt really memorable, though for the purposes of this book, I think thatās just fine.
The secondary plotlines, I think, could have been bolstered some to really make this book feel complete. It sometimes feels like the Isis subplot was only put in to justify Carmillaās transformation , and was otherwise rushed over. I feel like the dynamic between De Lafontaine and Carmilla is realistic to one where someone is being preyed on by a person in a position of power , and as a result, I find the conclusion to that relationship very unsatisfactory. It does feel like the author is trying to portray it that way, but I feel like the amicable ending to it just doesnāt track, especially with how emotionally abusive De Lafontaine was towards Carmilla for a majority of the book . I think the dark academia aspect would be heightened beyond its aesthetics if the story actually delved into the weeds of how much power professors have over their students .
The writing style is very well-developed and characteristic, being one of the better parts of this book. The use of visual and sensory description is, for the most part, poetic and pleasant, but Iād have enjoyed more being present. Some of the themes were strong and well-incorporated, particularly that of power and control; others were a bit murky and vague. The pacing is adequate, and paired with the straightforward flow of the book, makes a pretty quick read. Exposition was relatively effective, not bogging the story down much or detracting from the linear quality of the story. I think the narrator did a stellar performance here, and enhanced the reading experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Murder
Minor: Abandonment, Violence, Bullying, and Death
Body image issues; Secondary relationship with power imbalancetakarakei's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
First and foremost I want to say that if you (like me) did not care for A Dowry of Blood - you might give this one a shot anyway!
I absolutely devoured this book. Almost read it in a day but ended up taking a little more time with it intentionally. Some beautiful writing and lush descriptions:
I absolutely devoured this book. Almost read it in a day but ended up taking a little more time with it intentionally. Some beautiful writing and lush descriptions:
Mississippi was a study in green, crawling with Spanish moss and bedecked with heavy-laden magnolia trees, but I never realized how many colors there were to be found in nature until that first fall in New England.
I am obsessed with Lauraās character and I really identified with aspects of her personality. There were some just real good quotes about female rage, feeling othered, and life. The academic rivals to lovers I thought was well done with the appropriate amount of angst.
Slight pacing issues that dragged about 70-80% of the way through. The ending was both expected and unexpected in different ways.
š¶ļø4/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Blood, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol, Abandonment, Gore, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Minor: Drug use
The teacher is the emotional abuse/toxic relationship w a studentbookspills's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual content
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