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A review by raychelbennet
The Mellification by Nat Buchbinder
3.0
I have a few mixed feelings about this. The things I loved, **I loved.** The Mellification follows vampire Holly, a trans vampire being forced to wait for his new masculine name from the pseudo-religious vampire leader of their community--Marlowe. Marlowe is demeaning, judgemental, and transphobic. He is not outwardly saying Holly cannot get a new name because he is trans but the thinly veiled excuses do little to cover what isn't being explicitly said. I also really liked the queer representation! Holly is in a relationship with another male vampire named Cain and there's a female side character coming to terms with her attraction to women.
I also enjoyed quite a bit of the world-building! The honey and bee connection, the honeyman, hexagonal imagery...all of it was really cool. I felt that this was a really refreshing and new (!!) take on vampirism and vampire culture.
What felt short for me unfortunately was the lack of development. When reading, I felt like there was a little bit of information right on the other side of the story that would have opened up the narrative so much for me. The characters (minus Holly) also were a little flat or one-sided, but I think this could have been rectified with some more explanation. Basically, I just wanted it to be longer. I had a lot of fun with what was here..I just wish it was a little bit more.
**I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!
I also enjoyed quite a bit of the world-building! The honey and bee connection, the honeyman, hexagonal imagery...all of it was really cool. I felt that this was a really refreshing and new (!!) take on vampirism and vampire culture.
What felt short for me unfortunately was the lack of development. When reading, I felt like there was a little bit of information right on the other side of the story that would have opened up the narrative so much for me. The characters (minus Holly) also were a little flat or one-sided, but I think this could have been rectified with some more explanation. Basically, I just wanted it to be longer. I had a lot of fun with what was here..I just wish it was a little bit more.
**I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!