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bacteriosage's review
0.5
the last thing i’ll say is HOWWW are these characters in their FORTIES???? they read like teenagers steeped in the deepest trenches of tumblr discourse. almost DNF’d at finding out the love interest works for AO3, then again with supernatural fanfic jokes, then again with an “assigned cop at birth” joke. admittedly i don’t tend to enjoy when books date themselves, just a personal preference, but i absolutely loved tamsyn muir’s pop culture references in tlt — this felt like a horribly ham-fisted version of that.
maybe i will try to put together a more coherent review later because i think what sucks (pun intended) the most is that the concept of a transmasc, vampire archivist is SO COOL and there were even a few pages that connnected those themes in really interesting ways, but the overall thread of them was totally lost in the story as a whole for me and i just felt like i was stuck listening to the two most obnoxious characters on earth talk ad nauseum and still say absolutely nothing. i couldn’t even tell the difference in character voices honestly, they all just felt like different vessels for the author because they all speak the same. i don’t think i’ve ever finished a book so quickly just because i needed it to be over.
okay TRULY the last thing i’ll say but there was absolutely no trans joy in this book that was not in some way connected to dysphoria, and i think we deserve better than that, especially when the book is written by a trans author.
Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Car accident
the d*ke slur is used repeatedly in this book, it does not appear to be used as a slur in the context but given the overall deeply lesbophobic themes in the book it does read that way in my opinionbuttermellow's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Car accident, and Dysphoria
catch__up's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Chronic illness, Blood, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Transphobia, Grief, Car accident, and Outing
Minor: Bullying, Deadnaming, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, and Alcohol
thecolouryes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Transphobia, Blood, Outing, and Dysphoria
Minor: Body shaming, Deadnaming, Death, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, and Lesbophobia
awildeasriel's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Deadnaming, Death, Hate crime, Transphobia, Violence, and Dysphoria
Minor: Infertility, Car accident, and Pandemic/Epidemic
amy_reading_23's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
It reads more like experimental literary fiction than fantasy - the vampirism is used as a metaphor for chronic illness, living in a trans body, and being othered. If you are questioning your gender or identity then there are definitley bits of this books that can feel quite affirming. Overall it is quite a challenging book though, I wouldn't read it just for fun, but there were elements I liked.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
vulgarboy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Deadnaming, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Grief
Moderate: Car accident
pobi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Blood, Car accident, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Infidelity, and Dysphoria
dustghosts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Outing, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, and Medical trauma
Minor: Deadnaming and Car accident
necroplasm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Grief, and Outing
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Blood, Medical content, and Car accident
Minor: Deadnaming and Pregnancy