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longlost's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
mmm. i really wanted to like this book. like many other reviewers i was sold on the Sapphic Vampire Revenge Story premise and while there were parts of the book that really spoke to me and made me feel like it was worth reading, the parts that bothered me were.... a bit too Much to gloss over in favour of what i did like about it.
the good: hartl's brand of dark humour used to tell this story made it feel very engaging to me, but that's very much personal taste. i liked the characters - the core vampire trio (later quartet) were easy to love for their quirks and i found what we did learn about their backstories and histories to be genuinely interesting and at times heartbreaking. holly's issues w/ her mother also really spoke to me when they did become front and centre, and i likedthe resolution with her mother in their final scene together. ive never really been that invested in vampire stories so im going into this world with the basics of vampire knowledge, but i really enjoyed the work hartl put into worldbuilding regarding the vampire lore. when i picked up the book to continue reading i was as much interested in seeing where the characters would go next as in how the world and the rules behind vampirism would be unraveled. which sucks because the stuff im going to talk about next really ruined whatever good aspects those parts had.
the bad (and the Ugly): so. the entire premise of the book is the three girls who were coerced by the main villain - a vampire creep who preys on vulnerable, isolated teenagers - teaming up to kill him so he can't ensnare anymore victims. and then we spend the entire book developing a romance between holly and parker of which the inherent weirdness of it is never really acknowledged ? like yea, we know that holly genuinely cares because we're reading things from her point of view and there's a lot of emphasis on how being Turned pauses you at that point in time meaning that holly is Technically still 16 but. it is just, not that simple ? she's been existing for like 30 years and parker is. a teenager. maybe there could have been ways to approach it well but here it just felt.... extremely brushed over despite a major plot point of the story being how the villain did similar things to the main character & her friends. the romance felt kinda bland too but tbf i was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt until the out of nowhere underage sex scene which very nearly made the book a DNF for me but there wasnt much of the story left at that point and i wanted to keep to my rule about having read a book in full before writing an in-depth review like this and i felt like these issues were glaring enough that they needed to be discussed in context of the story which is. as explained, never really addressed by the author other than holly being like "oh no if we date parker will eventually grow old and die" which. doesn't even begin to address the juxtaposition between the entire revenge plot and holly and parker's relationship. the overall ending seems to be contentious from reading other reviews here but tbh at that point id disengaged emotionally so i dont have any real thoughts on that.
the good: hartl's brand of dark humour used to tell this story made it feel very engaging to me, but that's very much personal taste. i liked the characters - the core vampire trio (later quartet) were easy to love for their quirks and i found what we did learn about their backstories and histories to be genuinely interesting and at times heartbreaking. holly's issues w/ her mother also really spoke to me when they did become front and centre, and i liked
the bad (and the Ugly): so. the entire premise of the book is the three girls who were coerced by the main villain - a vampire creep who preys on vulnerable, isolated teenagers - teaming up to kill him so he can't ensnare anymore victims. and then we spend the entire book developing a romance between holly and parker of which the inherent weirdness of it is never really acknowledged ? like yea, we know that holly genuinely cares because we're reading things from her point of view and there's a lot of emphasis on how being Turned pauses you at that point in time meaning that holly is Technically still 16 but. it is just, not that simple ? she's been existing for like 30 years and parker is. a teenager. maybe there could have been ways to approach it well but here it just felt.... extremely brushed over despite a major plot point of the story being how the villain did similar things to the main character & her friends. the romance felt kinda bland too but tbf i was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt until the out of nowhere underage sex scene which very nearly made the book a DNF for me but there wasnt much of the story left at that point and i wanted to keep to my rule about having read a book in full before writing an in-depth review like this and i felt like these issues were glaring enough that they needed to be discussed in context of the story which is. as explained, never really addressed by the author other than holly being like "oh no if we date parker will eventually grow old and die" which. doesn't even begin to address the juxtaposition between the entire revenge plot and holly and parker's relationship. the overall ending seems to be contentious from reading other reviews here but tbh at that point id disengaged emotionally so i dont have any real thoughts on that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Dementia, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings
lesbegays's review against another edition
dark
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
I couldn't get past the creepiness of a 30-year old+ adult getting together with a 16-year old, and there being absolutely no critical thought applied to that age gap. Whether or not she's trapped with the appearance of a teenager, Holly is an adult. Furthermore, all of Holly's attraction to Parker seems to be based on the idea that Parker is like who Holly was as a teenager, which is gross and creepy on many levels.
This might also just be a personal feeling, but the gore was a lot for me. It felt over-the-top in a non-interesting way and, again, there was almost no critical thought applied to the fact that all the main characters are effectively serial killers. Plus, how would they not get caught if they're dumping bodies in the apartment dumpster on the weekly?
This might also just be a personal feeling, but the gore was a lot for me. It felt over-the-top in a non-interesting way and, again, there was almost no critical thought applied to the fact that all the main characters are effectively serial killers. Plus, how would they not get caught if they're dumping bodies in the apartment dumpster on the weekly?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder
kt2e56's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
This felt like it was the author’s first time ever writing a book: so many repeated phrases, no proper sense of pacing, a romance with absolutely no chemistry or believability, the blandest dialogue, every cliché imaginable, and the most egregious crime an author could commit: ZERO depth and personality for the characters.
Each character spoke exactly the same despite their age/time period differences. Like the entire book felt like one person arguing with themself.
The book was told from Holly’s point of view but she had no real personality to her.
Rose’s personality was just the author describing her outfits (and she was the only character who ever got such devoted details when it came to clothing. Everyone else might have been naked based on the lack of description they received).
Ida’s personality was that she was supposed to be the dark, edgy one who makes “quirky” art projects using the bodies of her victims but like that’s literally it. Just that one note played over and over and over again.
Parker was beautiful. That’s it. Beautiful (no other character had the same level of description when it came to physical appearance) and unbelievably foolish because her little plan to help save the day in the end truly made no sense. Her being turned into a vampire made all of the hard work of the other characters feel pointless. Her romance with Holly wasn’t believable in any way. They barely knew each other. There was no genuine buildup there. None. The author couldn’t be subtle if she tried so the romance between Parker and Holly was not even remotely a surprise but it felt like it came out of nowhere because there was no actual spark or connection between the two characters, just lots of cliches and bland dialogue.
Side characters were also given just one personality trait per person.
It’s a shame this book was as bad as it was because the premise sounded great and I love me a sapphic romance! But c’mon. Us queer women need to stop settling for mediocre books like this because we want representation so badly.
Each character spoke exactly the same despite their age/time period differences. Like the entire book felt like one person arguing with themself.
The book was told from Holly’s point of view but she had no real personality to her.
Rose’s personality was just the author describing her outfits (and she was the only character who ever got such devoted details when it came to clothing. Everyone else might have been naked based on the lack of description they received).
Ida’s personality was that she was supposed to be the dark, edgy one who makes “quirky” art projects using the bodies of her victims but like that’s literally it. Just that one note played over and over and over again.
Parker was beautiful. That’s it. Beautiful (no other character had the same level of description when it came to physical appearance) and unbelievably foolish because
Side characters were also given just one personality trait per person.
It’s a shame this book was as bad as it was because the premise sounded great and I
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Dementia, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
kay_w's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Dementia, Stalking, Death of parent, and Abandonment
trippalli's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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? It's complicated
3.0
Substantial semi humorous vampire victims abound as the feminist story focusing on 5 women is interwoven with the narrator, a bisexual vampire's personal story as she and her 2 cohorts, former best friend scheme to overcome a controlling narcissistic beautiful vampire who turned them, and threatens to turn another young woman, the blooming romantic interest of not just the narcissistic vampire but also the narrator
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Abandonment
Minor: Emotional abuse, Violence, and Murder
rose_88's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
I loved the premise of this book, and I loved how the author completely debunked most of the myths about vampires and created her own lore. I also loved the scenes with the three girls basically talking shit about their ex. I also adored the relationship between Parker and Holly. There were so cute and it broke my heart when Parker lost all her memories except for the last day, but it was amazing of her to sacrifice her memories to kill Elton.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Dementia
ghostlyprince's review against another edition
funny
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? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child death
Minor: Bullying, Sexual content, Dementia, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
daphnehumming's review
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
It’s a fast read, but not always as fun as the premise suggests, nor does it dig as deeply in the emotional reality & ethical stuff as I would have liked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Murder
ghostreadin's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual harassment