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mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Wish it was even gayer but still a very relaxing read.
Short and interesting but nothing too exciting.
Short and interesting but nothing too exciting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Blood
Minor: Child death, Death, Suicide, Blood, Religious bigotry
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror, Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting
it’s a book about vampires so expect blood and such (albeit very minor)
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's was very interested in reading the original vampire story (26 years before Dracula). While it may not meet today's standards great LGBT+ representation, it is refreshing to see a very blatantly queer (and female centric) story for this time period and it not be through a homophobic lens. Tonally, Carmilla is mysterious, dark, and filled with sexual tension in the way you'd expect a gothic / vampiric tale to be. Le Fanu crafts a very grounded story and the visual descriptions are great. Carmilla's actions and changes in personality really grab your attention. As a character, Carmilla should be as famous as Dracula in terms of vampiric pop culture, it's a shame she isn't (and we can probably guess a myriad of reasons why). I can see why modern adaptations of this story have been so well received and I agree! Overall it's a solid read, not too long, the mystery and dread build well, and the plot moves fairly quickly. If you're already a fan of gothic literature or the supernatural genre you'll enjoy it. You can see how this story inspired and has acted as sort of the staple of the entire Vampiric genre and it still holds up well today. A downside is not much character development but stories like these were usually meant to entertain like ghost stories and leave the reader wondering about Carmilla's backstory and vampires as a whole. It also turns out the phrase "love will have it's sacrifices" was coined in this book!
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
dark
mysterious
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Suicide
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The OG vampire lady
Glad i did a reread abt 10 years after reading this for thd first time
(yes i read it the first time bc of the webseries on youtube)
Glad i did a reread abt 10 years after reading this for thd first time
(yes i read it the first time bc of the webseries on youtube)
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Blood
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Blood, Antisemitism
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
RIP Carmilla you would have loved to watch First Kill on Netflix
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood
Minor: Death
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood