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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i went into this book with extremely low expectations, retellings (especially queer ones) are in my experience, horrible (think books like songs of achilles- which isnt bad but is still horrible if that makes sense?). they all share a similar issue, the writer (in this case simper- in the case of the song of achilles miller) while talented uses prose that to me feels like tumblr poetry. if youre as chronically online as i am that makes sense to you- i dont totally know how to explain it. and make no mistake, simper is (based only on this book) undeniably a talented writer, better than miller, also (and this is key) simper is clearly actually gay, which is revolutionary in the field of retelling classics (like wtf is up with straight women trying to write books about gay guys?!) and i love how she managed the book (it was very different from the original but definetly very similar and connected to it). when i first started it i thought it was going to be 5 stars!
the reasons that it isnt are as followed a) it had the tumblr poetry issue b) the ending was nonsensical c) not enough pining d) carmilla wasnt evil enough and e) (this is totally my opinion) i kind of love the "they are but they arent" sapphic dynamic (like the original carmilla but with a little more queerbaiting (i lowk love queerbaiting in classics sorry not sorry))
too much tumblr poetry especially the way religion was dealt with, the ending wouldve been better if it was tragic, it was too nice and too convenient, i like when characters are miserable (hence c), carmilla was, in the original, like really bad, including to laura (but this is my preference for toxic novel relationships lol), and like i said i think carmilla and laura got into the relationship a bit too early into the novella.
either way this is one of the better classical retellings considering the original work really didnt give a ton to go off of!
the reasons that it isnt are as followed a) it had the tumblr poetry issue b) the ending was nonsensical c) not enough pining d) carmilla wasnt evil enough and e) (this is totally my opinion) i kind of love the "they are but they arent" sapphic dynamic (like the original carmilla but with a little more queerbaiting (i lowk love queerbaiting in classics sorry not sorry))
too much tumblr poetry especially the way religion was dealt with, the ending wouldve been better if it was tragic, it was too nice and too convenient, i like when characters are miserable (hence c), carmilla was, in the original, like really bad, including to laura (but this is my preference for toxic novel relationships lol), and like i said i think carmilla and laura got into the relationship a bit too early into the novella.
either way this is one of the better classical retellings considering the original work really didnt give a ton to go off of!
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I think this can't figure out what it's trying to be. often reads like mediocre fanfic. I haven't read the original but can't speak to the extent it speaks back/echoes Carmilla but the whole thing was just corny and slightly stilted and I feel awful saying that and really wish I liked it more
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I like it.
It’s more focused on the romance and the vampire thing is kind of secondary. I would have liked Carmilla being a vampire to be more vital to the plot. I also liked the little changes with the vampire lore.
Eventually I should read the original novel, Carmilla
It’s more focused on the romance and the vampire thing is kind of secondary. I would have liked Carmilla being a vampire to be more vital to the plot. I also liked the little changes with the vampire lore.
Eventually I should read the original novel, Carmilla
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really enjoyed this! The original Carmilla was a huge letdown for me, both in terms of being lauded as 'the first queer vampire story' and just as a story on its own. I don't think it really had any queer undertones at all and the ending fell completely flat for me. This retelling took all of the potential the original Carmilla had and expanded on it beautifully; it was pretty much everything I wanted from it. A heartbreaking tale of queer love in a time when it was seen as an abomination. The parallels between being gay and being a vampire were obvious but still well done.
I will say this one also suffered from being too short. 70% of the book was just them growing closer and it moved quite slowly just for the action and violence to come out of nowhere at the very end. It felt very rushed even if I did still enjoy it. I vastly prefer the ending to this one than the original Carmilla, though I did feel so sad for Laura's dad. He really got fucked over and he didn't do anything wrong.
Still, a very good time!
C.A.P.E Rating:
Characters - 3/5
Atmosphere - 4/5
Plot - 3/5
Enjoyment - 4/5
I will say this one also suffered from being too short. 70% of the book was just them growing closer and it moved quite slowly just for the action and violence to come out of nowhere at the very end. It felt very rushed even if I did still enjoy it. I vastly prefer the ending to this one than the original Carmilla, though I did feel so sad for Laura's dad. He really got fucked over and he didn't do anything wrong.
Still, a very good time!
C.A.P.E Rating:
Characters - 3/5
Atmosphere - 4/5
Plot - 3/5
Enjoyment - 4/5
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes