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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
...it was okay. It wasn't bad. It wasn't great but it was a quick read
This was such a sweet take on the original Carmilla story. I wasn’t a huge fan of the original story but this was absolutely amazing. I loved the way it portrayed the beauty and sensuality of sapphic love and the ending was just the cherry on top ❤️
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2024 is apparently my year with Carmilla.
I didn’t think I could love this story more than the original.. but.. I think I might. I’m sitting here utterly wrecked. This was stunning. I’m.. incapable of even writing a proper sentence.
“I still knew not what future could be ours. But her hands touched every part of me, my soul fully open to her presence, and I wondered if heaven was not a place, no, but a state of being, the time where one might exist with God or whatever deity they claimed.
Carmilla did not believe in God, but she believed in me.”
I didn’t think I could love this story more than the original.. but.. I think I might. I’m sitting here utterly wrecked. This was stunning. I’m.. incapable of even writing a proper sentence.
“I still knew not what future could be ours. But her hands touched every part of me, my soul fully open to her presence, and I wondered if heaven was not a place, no, but a state of being, the time where one might exist with God or whatever deity they claimed.
Carmilla did not believe in God, but she believed in me.”
[Carmilla and Laura - S.D. Simper → ☆☆☆.5]
Dopo aver letto 'Carmilla' due anni fa sono rimasto da un lato incantato dall'immaginario di Le Fanu, ma dall'altro affamato di altro materiale riguardante l'opera. A lettura finita non era del tutto soddisfatto, mi sembrava di aver letto solo l'introduzione di una bellissima storia d'amore e d'orrore.
Questo volume non si prefigge di essere un seguito o un'espansione dell'opera di Le Fanu e risulta anzi un'opera molto rispettosa dello scritto originale. Vuole riempire quel vuoto lasciato a chi ha finito di leggere di Carmilla e Laura ma vuole immergersi ancora in storie che le coinvolgano.
Non è sicuramente esente di difetti, a volte è un po' ripetitivo, ma è un volume che nel complesso ho apprezzato molto. Scrittura che vuole riprendere un po' il lirismo dell'opera di Le Fanu e che riesce abbastanza bene nell'obiettivo.
Dopo aver letto 'Carmilla' due anni fa sono rimasto da un lato incantato dall'immaginario di Le Fanu, ma dall'altro affamato di altro materiale riguardante l'opera. A lettura finita non era del tutto soddisfatto, mi sembrava di aver letto solo l'introduzione di una bellissima storia d'amore e d'orrore.
Questo volume non si prefigge di essere un seguito o un'espansione dell'opera di Le Fanu e risulta anzi un'opera molto rispettosa dello scritto originale. Vuole riempire quel vuoto lasciato a chi ha finito di leggere di Carmilla e Laura ma vuole immergersi ancora in storie che le coinvolgano.
Non è sicuramente esente di difetti, a volte è un po' ripetitivo, ma è un volume che nel complesso ho apprezzato molto. Scrittura che vuole riprendere un po' il lirismo dell'opera di Le Fanu e che riesce abbastanza bene nell'obiettivo.
“‘Someday there may be a world for us. For now, we shall create our own future.’”
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Carmilla is a tricky story to retell. You need a balance between the horror and the romance, and in the original book, the two are inextricably linked: Carmilla's love is meant to be unnatural and corrupting. Understandably, a modern retelling wants to do away with that link. But doing so excises some of the horror and some of the ambiguity of the character - overall, this leans more empowering than dark. It also adds a very predictable subplot about unwanted suitors, just to make the antagonists easier to dislike, which felt like a bland move.
It also has to be said that at least the first third of the book, before getting into the romance proper, reads a little like you just took the opening of Carmilla and rephrased everything very slightly. I know I criticised Hungerstone for including very little of the original story, but this went too far in the other direction. It even has a similar level of exposition dumps, which were not the shining element of the original. The reworking of the framing device was fun, though, if not especially well-executed.
I don't want to be too harsh on this book - overall, it's fine, probably because it's drawing so heavily from a good book. If you're looking for a dark romance with vampires and you haven't read the original, you might like it! But honestly, I think I might swear off Carmilla retellings from now on.
(Also, pettily. Carmilla's anagram names habit is stated to be because she enjoys it, and not the much funnier original that vampires just have to do that.)
It also has to be said that at least the first third of the book, before getting into the romance proper, reads a little like you just took the opening of Carmilla and rephrased everything very slightly. I know I criticised Hungerstone for including very little of the original story, but this went too far in the other direction. It even has a similar level of exposition dumps, which were not the shining element of the original. The reworking of the framing device was fun, though, if not especially well-executed.
I don't want to be too harsh on this book - overall, it's fine, probably because it's drawing so heavily from a good book. If you're looking for a dark romance with vampires and you haven't read the original, you might like it! But honestly, I think I might swear off Carmilla retellings from now on.
(Also, pettily. Carmilla's anagram names habit is stated to be because she enjoys it, and not the much funnier original that vampires just have to do that.)
