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cassie_gutman's review
dark
reflective
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
4.0
A love story amid grief and sadness and exploration of self. I loved Sol's growth throughout the book and his recognition that maybe he wasn't dealing with his circumstances in the best way. His relationship with Else seemed, from the outside, a bit toxic at times, but they seemed to be helping each other work through their own grief, which I also thought was incredibly realistic.
CW: transphobia & confrontations about it with a coworker, blood & some body horror (scene where Sol drinks blood from human), in-depth discussions of transitioning and if it was right for a character
CW: transphobia & confrontations about it with a coworker, blood & some body horror (scene where Sol drinks blood from human), in-depth discussions of transitioning and if it was right for a character
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia and Blood
cailincailincailin's review
dark
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
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
3.75
I went into this book with absolutely no expectations, having not read the synopsis or heard anything about it, and I really enjoyed it. The book's primary interest is in its protagonist's inner life and his embodiment. He and the the other main characters (Else and Florence, in particular, but even Alice) felt very believable to me, and I appreciate that Fellman doesn't shy away from their messiness, especially in a book about managing mess. I also thought that incorporating so many different mediums and types of communication really helped evoke that feeling of human mess, of archives, and I found myself pretty interested in the fictional world within the fictional world too.
That being said, I didn't always find the dialogue as sharp as the characters. I don't think corny dialogue is inherently bad--sometimes people are corny--but it didn't always land for me. It sometimes felt too corny for the person saying it. (That isn't to say all the dialogue felt that way!)
The underlying plot was interesting but felt rushed. It felt like the conflict referenced in the synopsis -- "strange things start happening in the archive"--was introduced and resolved in minutes. I wish the pacing for that aspect of the plot had been a little slower; it felt like an afterthought, which is a shame because it was such a creative idea.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend giving the book a try! It surprised me more than once.
That being said, I didn't always find the dialogue as sharp as the characters. I don't think corny dialogue is inherently bad--sometimes people are corny--but it didn't always land for me. It sometimes felt too corny for the person saying it. (That isn't to say all the dialogue felt that way!)
The underlying plot was interesting but felt rushed. It felt like the conflict referenced in the synopsis -- "strange things start happening in the archive"--was introduced and resolved in minutes. I wish the pacing for that aspect of the plot had been a little slower; it felt like an afterthought, which is a shame because it was such a creative idea.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend giving the book a try! It surprised me more than once.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Transphobia
coyodie's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Transphobia, Medical content, Grief, Outing, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical trauma, and Car accident
Minor: Addiction, Deadnaming, Infertility, Misogyny, and Violence
honeyduke's review
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Car accident
cameron778's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
Spooky trans vampire archivist queer romance mystery written by a trans archivist! With niche archives references! Probably not for everyone but definitely exactly for this trans archivist :D
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia, Blood, and Medical content
anxiousnachos's review
mysterious
slow-paced
3.0
I have mixed feelings on this one. There were moments that took my breath away; there is such a gentle, tender but unflinching portrayal of a trans masc vampire and nonbinary love interest and some of the moments these two considered their gender and identity just took my breath away in how deeply I felt: same. This novel feels like a deeply personal experience, like looking into someone’s mind, it feels like you are glimpsing the author’s trans experience, from the way they explore butchness, to the way lesbian and trans masc identities can be so entwined, to the workplace discrimination. It feels very intimate.
I thought it raised some very interesting ideas around vampirism, death and archiving. But this is unfortunately where it began to let me down because it was all just rather…shall we say it, boring? Trying to be philosophical but just losing the engagement along the way?
So I have mixed thoughts and ultimately I am settling somewhere on a mixed rating. Because whilst there are some moments of real, deep familiarity and connection, there is also a lot to swim through to reach those moments.
Content warnings: transphobia, blood, needles and other medical content, dysphoria, disability discrimination in the workplace, graphic sex, deadnaming, outing (in the workplace), vampirism as chronic illness, car accident, suicidal ideation
I thought it raised some very interesting ideas around vampirism, death and archiving. But this is unfortunately where it began to let me down because it was all just rather…shall we say it, boring? Trying to be philosophical but just losing the engagement along the way?
So I have mixed thoughts and ultimately I am settling somewhere on a mixed rating. Because whilst there are some moments of real, deep familiarity and connection, there is also a lot to swim through to reach those moments.
Content warnings: transphobia, blood, needles and other medical content, dysphoria, disability discrimination in the workplace, graphic sex, deadnaming, outing (in the workplace), vampirism as chronic illness, car accident, suicidal ideation
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Blood, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Car accident, and Outing
manoushp109's review
interesting concept of vampire in modern day life esp w love story w a human. the trans part was interesting too but it felt very anti women in a way ? i liked that sol is an archivist i think that’s rly cute and also that some chapters are written like screenplays. felt like amateur writing also WHY TF WAS AO3 MENTIONED MULTIPLE TIMES N O O O O
he came while biting her. she kinda coerced him into doing it. also his fake dick was out made me giggle
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Minor: Blood
kell_xavi's review
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
This book made me feel weird. So much of it was similar to my reality and my writing style, and yet I found an underlying uncanniness to the whole that I don’t think was intentional. Like a photograph half-developed: there are a few typographic mistakes, continuity oddnesses (slang that seems anachronistic); there are many discussions of transness that, as a transmasc person, came across to me as both overwrought and unable to find the centre. I was bothered by the novel’s circling, looking for and reflecting on and deeply desiring substance, but only building and building a show rather than hitting on the crux. It’s so difficult to explain what I mean, this strange experience of reading.
I enjoyed, was excited about, the use of a science fiction TV show and fandom as jumping off points for the novel. I was curious about internal references and Sol’s attachment to this fictional universe; finding self in it, or looking back and seeing self not yet found, in the interaction with it. I wanted more of archival work, beyond a single personal collection of someone who so evades knowing, and is never quite a useful character or metaphor.
The novel is so often steeped in Sol’s perspective, and while we can’t name everything neurodivergence, there is a sort of autistic quality to his continued unhappiness, dissociation, distance, single-minded deep interests, loneliness, and difficulty anticipating social situation… he has a particular kind of oddness, and Fellman has a particular way of describing both his thoughts and his vampire body, that reads as autistic (but unaware of it) to someone who has ASD. The things I liked and the things that didn’t work may both be rooted in this factor (the perspective, the masking/ignorance).
I think this book will stay memorable, but right now it’s still caught, half-processed, in my mind.
I enjoyed, was excited about, the use of a science fiction TV show and fandom as jumping off points for the novel. I was curious about internal references and Sol’s attachment to this fictional universe; finding self in it, or looking back and seeing self not yet found, in the interaction with it. I wanted more of archival work, beyond a single personal collection of someone who so evades knowing, and is never quite a useful character or metaphor.
The novel is so often steeped in Sol’s perspective, and while we can’t name everything neurodivergence, there is a sort of autistic quality to his continued unhappiness, dissociation, distance, single-minded deep interests, loneliness, and difficulty anticipating social situation… he has a particular kind of oddness, and Fellman has a particular way of describing both his thoughts and his vampire body, that reads as autistic (but unaware of it) to someone who has ASD. The things I liked and the things that didn’t work may both be rooted in this factor (the perspective, the masking/ignorance).
I think this book will stay memorable, but right now it’s still caught, half-processed, in my mind.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Medical content, Car accident, and Dysphoria
Minor: Transphobia
ashofadummy's review
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Dead collections was al i could ever ask for in a book: vampires, trans rep and nerd.
It felt a little it confusing at some parts, not really tied up togheter, but it could have omething to do with the vibes-no-plotness of this book. Althoought, at the end this problem dissapears and theres a kind of plot (that i really liked).
I was a lot more interested in the vampirisim/archives thing, but the romance was so sweet and hot it didn't bothered a lot i really liked how it talks about getting in love with a person and then having to "accomodate" to their new gender presentation
I AM expecting a sequel with exorcist Sol as the main plot, bc taht would be JUST DOPE.
It felt a little it confusing at some parts, not really tied up togheter, but it could have omething to do with the vibes-no-plotness of this book. Althoought, at the end this problem dissapears and theres a kind of plot (that i really liked).
I was a lot more interested in the vampirisim/archives thing, but the romance was so sweet and hot it didn't bothered a lot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
cracklepages's review
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Death, Blood, Grief, and Car accident