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tyrshand's review
2.0
I think my rating on this one is completely down to me not being the right kind of reader for this book. The stories seemed well enough written and I enjoyed most of each story. However, each had a core piece that just felt... gross... to me, leading me to be quite unhappy with the way things turn out. I should clarify that it's more an emotionally gross feeling rather than gore or some such.
norcani's review against another edition
4.0
A Sheep Among Wolves - 1/5
Fine Print - 5/5
Land of Milk and Honey - 5/5
You see the trouble I have rating this book. It averages out to 3.6 and somehow it feels wrong to give a 4 to a book that contains one of the worst pieces of fiction I read. But also it also contains some of the best? I hope the print version of these are separate so I can rate them accordingly.
I highly recommend the 2nd and 3rd story they were both excellent and everything I wanted this to be.
my original review for first novella below.
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First novella was a complete disaster on every level I'm shocked this got approved for the collection. I don't think I read something quite so bad in a while.
-every two sentences there is a thinly veiled psa about mental health, chronic pain, weight, sexuality etc etc inserted very unnaturally. I agree with everything in it technically and generally am weary of people complaining about such topics being shown down their throat but in this case it really was. If this was a YA Issue book that'd be fine but it isn't? I'm not here to be educated about this shit. It wasn't even particularly insightful or new it felt like seeing cold twitter takes inbetween the story. Yes I get it mental health is important. Can we move on.
- and while doing all the above it still managed to fall into classic sexist tropes more at home in a early 2000s teen drama. The most unlikeable characters in this story are beautiful women. In one case the only reason the mc feels disdain for her its that she's hot. In the other case while the chracter is a bully but not in any believable way and the way the story justifies treating her is laughable
-it..completely ignores vtm setting rules. vampires just prancing around during daytime as long as they dont go into the sun? okay. I get the impression this story was written for another setting but the author changed it for this collection. There is nothing tonally or even story wise that ties this to the vtm setting beyond some name drops like saying camarilla once.
-this story had the most obnoxious characters i ever encountered. This is partly because the author uses them to give (unnecessary, unnatural) lessons about mental health but also they're just annoying fucking people who talk in weird unnatural ways. The whole time I was thinking, you guys don't have any friends because you are impossible to converse with.
-the stupid nonsensical twist that makes the whole story laughable if you think about it for two seconds. honestly looking back at some scenes is a comedy and I'm sure this wasn't intended from the start. It was just a twist for twists sake. Nothing in the plot made sense in general and the ending instead of contextualizing it just adds another layer of stupid to it.
-mental health is important <3 unless you're blonde and got big tiddies then well obviously that means you're evil and deserve to die
I think that this is an official part of vtm now is frankly, embarrassing. I hope the other two are better.
Fine Print - 5/5
Land of Milk and Honey - 5/5
You see the trouble I have rating this book. It averages out to 3.6 and somehow it feels wrong to give a 4 to a book that contains one of the worst pieces of fiction I read. But also it also contains some of the best? I hope the print version of these are separate so I can rate them accordingly.
I highly recommend the 2nd and 3rd story they were both excellent and everything I wanted this to be.
my original review for first novella below.
----
First novella was a complete disaster on every level I'm shocked this got approved for the collection. I don't think I read something quite so bad in a while.
-every two sentences there is a thinly veiled psa about mental health, chronic pain, weight, sexuality etc etc inserted very unnaturally. I agree with everything in it technically and generally am weary of people complaining about such topics being shown down their throat but in this case it really was. If this was a YA Issue book that'd be fine but it isn't? I'm not here to be educated about this shit. It wasn't even particularly insightful or new it felt like seeing cold twitter takes inbetween the story. Yes I get it mental health is important. Can we move on.
- and while doing all the above it still managed to fall into classic sexist tropes more at home in a early 2000s teen drama. The most unlikeable characters in this story are beautiful women. In one case the only reason the mc feels disdain for her its that she's hot. In the other case while the chracter is a bully but not in any believable way and the way the story justifies treating her is laughable
-it..completely ignores vtm setting rules. vampires just prancing around during daytime as long as they dont go into the sun? okay. I get the impression this story was written for another setting but the author changed it for this collection. There is nothing tonally or even story wise that ties this to the vtm setting beyond some name drops like saying camarilla once.
-this story had the most obnoxious characters i ever encountered. This is partly because the author uses them to give (unnecessary, unnatural) lessons about mental health but also they're just annoying fucking people who talk in weird unnatural ways. The whole time I was thinking, you guys don't have any friends because you are impossible to converse with.
-the stupid nonsensical twist that makes the whole story laughable if you think about it for two seconds. honestly looking back at some scenes is a comedy and I'm sure this wasn't intended from the start. It was just a twist for twists sake. Nothing in the plot made sense in general and the ending instead of contextualizing it just adds another layer of stupid to it.
-mental health is important <3 unless you're blonde and got big tiddies then well obviously that means you're evil and deserve to die
I think that this is an official part of vtm now is frankly, embarrassing. I hope the other two are better.
dirtandwyrms's review
3.0
The first story was just about internalized mysoginy as if it was girl bossing.
The second stroy was well written and I loved the way you would be cheering for terrible things to happen to the protaganist.
The last story was a little harder to read then the other two. A little slow, but the narrative beats with obsession were interesting.
The second stroy was well written and I loved the way you would be cheering for terrible things to happen to the protaganist.
The last story was a little harder to read then the other two. A little slow, but the narrative beats with obsession were interesting.
parenthesis_enjoyer's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Stalking, Kidnapping, Trafficking, and Toxic relationship