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zakiya_luna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Alcohol, Gore, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Murder
Moderate: Gaslighting and Cursing
grownmoss's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
Moderate: Murder and Death
cristina_margarita's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Firstly, this was not a Carmilla retelling.
The characters were all descriptions, I learned nothing about them through their actions. Any “development” in their relationships or as individuals (not that anyone developed really at all as an individual) was told to me & never elaborated on; it felt so forced & unbelievable.
There was simultaneously too much & not enough going on. The story with Isis needed to be expanded upon as did the rest of Evelyn’s backstory. The vague threat of the police & dangling of vampire society (just to facilitate a sex scene) felt unfinished. Evelyn’s relationship with both girls but especially Carmilla needed to be fleshed out, the book told me she was hugely influential but the internal monologues & her actions did not demonstrate that. The way the relationship with Dracula was handled in A Dowry of Blood was so delicate & real whereas this relationship was so flat.
Additionally, throwing Magdalena in to the mix but not telling us what happened to Constanta & Alexi?!!!??!!! Homophobic & downright rude!! (I was very happy to see Magdalena but still)
Also, this book was initially marketed as being a polyamorous story so it was very jarring to be waiting for Evelyn to join the relationship the whole time & for that to never happen.
Graphic: Sexual content
librariamortis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
manola's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The story centers on both protagonists, Laura and Carmilla, and how their relationship develops and twists over time. Both girls were fine; I liked Laura and it was fun to witness the first interactions she had with Carmilla, who remained cold and a bit 'bitchy' at first, but their POVs were hard to differentiate. The author did explain in an interview that she was avoiding their narrations clashing too much and disturbing the cohesion of the story, but for me that ended up muddling their voices together in a way that made it difficult for me to find what made each their own character.
I understand that part of the idea for the story (if you want to completely avoid spoilers, I suppose you should skip this part) is watching Laura kind of turn into Carmilla, to start resembling her in some ways, and making the reader sit uncomfortably in that process and wonder if it truly is what's 'best' for her or not. But that transformation wasn't that enticing to me for some reason. I couldn't make myself connect with the characters or feel much compassion for them either. I thought the story could've benefited from weaving in more subplots and character's stories; there are a few secondary characters I found interesting and left wondering about them when the novel tied off.
I just feel like it would've been interesting to have had more things happening in this book. What it concentrated on I ended up not feeling compelled by in the end. It's an interesting concept, and if you enjoy vampire novels it might strike your fancy, but it didn't really do it for me.
(I'm also writing this after some days of having read this, and the story got pretty scrambled in my head so it was hard to put my feelings into words).
Moderate: Death, Gore, Blood, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
itskenzcarter's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
bergha1998'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
3.75
Fantasy, Enemies to Lovers, Emotional, 2 1/2 🔥
“Life doesn’t seem worthwhile without synthesizing my experiences into art, the catharsis of putting it all out onto the page. It’s the only way I’ve ever been able to get other people to understand how I’m feeling.”
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol, Body horror, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Toxic friendship, Blood, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Bullying, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Death
hedonsgaybookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Dark academia, obsessive sapphic romance, vampires, kink, and gore? Yes please!
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Homophobia
fseely's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Moderate: Murder, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Emotional abuse
whatevertheysay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Graphic: Sexual content