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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
sad
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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
First off: about the cover. If you want a fun 60s vampire romp, this isn't quite it. That being said, this was beautiful, heartrending, and left me wanting to hold on to the characters.
The capacity of cultures to attribute monstrosity to femininity has fascinated me since learning about Pandora, who is literally responsible for all the evil in the Greek world but is really just Some Girl. Hesiod's venom-spewing seems almost cartoonish in light of that.
It's even more so if you subscribe to the theory that Pandora was a pre-existing hero figure in a more ancient story, a fate that paralells Lucy Westenra and Bee (Bertha) Mason from Dracula and Jane Eyre, respectively. The forgotten women of their stories, having only each other, they must find a way to stop being haunted by the men of their past. Men who, like them, refuse to stay dead.
The first third or so of the book failed to hook me. It felt like sheer gloom, and the reluctance and despair was consuming. As the cast of characters is built up, though, the story comes alive, and while the plot may meander a bit, it greatly picks up and I had the time for a leisurely beach read. I wouldn't ever say this reaches cheerful, but hopeful, yes.
Mechanically, I know the market's oversaturated, but this also felt like it added a decent amount to the vampire canon in terms of how vampiric abilities worked, though the sunlight bit was a little hokey. Though nobody can top Meyer in that department, I suppose. The thrall aspect was creepy, and I honestly found Rochester to be creepier until the final third of the book.
This book is a hymn for all the forgotten, and reminds us the power each of us, the forgettable, the mundane, have, if we just remember each other, open ourselves up and invite each other in.
The capacity of cultures to attribute monstrosity to femininity has fascinated me since learning about Pandora, who is literally responsible for all the evil in the Greek world but is really just Some Girl. Hesiod's venom-spewing seems almost cartoonish in light of that.
It's even more so if you subscribe to the theory that Pandora was a pre-existing hero figure in a more ancient story, a fate that paralells Lucy Westenra and Bee (Bertha) Mason from Dracula and Jane Eyre, respectively. The forgotten women of their stories, having only each other, they must find a way to stop being haunted by the men of their past. Men who, like them, refuse to stay dead.
The first third or so of the book failed to hook me. It felt like sheer gloom, and the reluctance and despair was consuming. As the cast of characters is built up, though, the story comes alive, and while the plot may meander a bit, it greatly picks up and I had the time for a leisurely beach read. I wouldn't ever say this reaches cheerful, but hopeful, yes.
Mechanically, I know the market's oversaturated, but this also felt like it added a decent amount to the vampire canon in terms of how vampiric abilities worked, though the sunlight bit was a little hokey. Though nobody can top Meyer in that department, I suppose. The thrall aspect was creepy, and I honestly found Rochester to be creepier until the final third of the book.
This book is a hymn for all the forgotten, and reminds us the power each of us, the forgettable, the mundane, have, if we just remember each other, open ourselves up and invite each other in.
Dracula finally gets his "me too" moment. Could have been better if it didn't feel so overwrought, or the author found a better way to reference The Count than calling him "Dracula" every three sentences. Just made it hard to take seriously. The SF Summer of Love take was cool though.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Incredible book. Gives a satisfactory conclusion to two characters long forgotten by the literary world. Also includes the scariest version of Dracula on paper since Stoker's original story. Highly recommended if you liked Dracula, Jane Eyre, or anything dripping with gothic overtones. Five stars.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
Loveable characters:
Complicated
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:
Yes