A review by bladelikesbooks
When I Arrived at the Castle by E.M. Carroll

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

 When I Arrived At The Castle is an erotic horror about a cat woman who goes to the countess’ castle with murder in mind. The premise of this book and, of course, the sapphic MCs, really attracted me but I actually found it really underwhelming. I originally got the e-book and was so confused when I first read it because it seemed like I was being thrown into the end of a book with no set up and no character development, I thought maybe I got scammed with a bad copy, however I bought the physical and it’s exactly the same content. 

So the main character is a cat woman and her aim is to get into the castle and murder the Countess that lives there. Why? Who knows! The book sure doesn’t explain! I have no idea why this Countess is hated by everyone, what she’s done that’s made her such a monster that needs to be killed. There’s a lot of stories within the story that I’m assuming is meant to weave together the over-arching plot but honestly it’s so vague I have no idea what it was going for.

The art is absolutely stunning and Carroll’s command of colour is phenomenal. The mix of gore, violence and eroticism is genuinely exquisite and the colour palette is just amazing. If you’re into books that are simply just vibes then I’m sure you’ll love this but for me it just didn’t make sense for it to be a whole story on it’s own. 

TWs/CWs: Animal Death, Blood, Body Horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury Detail, Murder, Sexual Content, Sexual Violence, Violence