medievalfantasyqueen's reviews
127 reviews

The Damned by Renée Ahdieh

tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

It was an interesting story but I feel like the author seemed like she was drawing references and inspirations from all the other things she has watched and read, and wanted to include everything ever in the story and it shows. It is not badly written, it is a decent book and a decent read, but I feel that there could have been better planning so that things don't look like they appeared almost out of nowhere. There were also a couple of odd characterisation changes that puzzled me.

Character wise, I am more interested in Odette and Arjun and Jae as characters, and two of them were done dirty and now I am sad.

I will read The Righteous though because I hope my boy Arjun pulls through.

The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A nice read that captures the diversity of 19th century New Orleans, and there is no story set in New Orleans that does not include Mardi Gras. It was a nice story, but I wonder if I am perhaps older than the expected target audience which resulted in me finding some parts slightly silly and cringey, but I was interested enough to read till the end, and made the decision to move on with the series.
The Midsummer Night's Dream ball ended up being what Met Gala is all the time, where people just do not grasp fully what the theme is, so that is all right.
Celine was an interesting protagonist, and Bastien was classic brooding love interest, and I was not sure about Celine finding everyone hot - but again, that is a very classic YA type of storytelling, and I shall let it pass.
I am interested in Arjun as a character and I hope that we have more of him in the future books, given that he addresses one of my favourite things to address in such period stories - European colonialism.

Garlic & the Vampire by Bree Paulsen

adventurous inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-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

4.25

A story we need for the times, and a second one in the year where I have seen authors doing their best to remind people that not all strangers are sinister and evil. And yes to positive vampire portrayals!

The Formidable Miss Cassidy by Meihan Boey

adventurous dark inspiring tense medium-paced

4.25

A perfect book for the cultural melting pot that is Singapore, with the unexpected yet delicious blending of folklore from the two parts of the world, the United Kingdom, and the Malayan Peninsula.
 
--SPOILERS AHEAD--

All of this neatly packaged into a Mary Poppins inspired detective mystery with a dash of necromancy, geomancy, fortune-telling and all other manner of magicks both familiar and the new. I was impressed by the writing style and the characterisation of not only Miss Cassidy, but Anna, Haresh Nair, the twins, and practically everyone else. I was also very thrilled at the interweaving of Singaporean folklore with the storylines of the book, from Pulau Blakang Mati to Badang to the one and only Sang Nila Utama. For a book that has literally everything from pontianaks to toyols to orang minyak to bomohs and even Scylla, and the fay folk of Scotland. An utterly delightful read, and an automatic 5 star from me.

Just a little bit of criticism from me - though it does not affect my rating -  is that the section with Sang Nila Utama felt a little off to me, where something quite distinctive as the legend of Singapura's naming was caused by a fay creature with British folkloric ties. Although, of course, a fay is not a person and hence, not technically white, it would have been better for that to have been left to a positively-presented local creature, perhaps.

Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark by Cassandra Peterson

emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25

My rating might be very biased since I’ve been half in love with Elvira since I was 16, but that aside, this is a brilliant memoir. Cassandra acknowledges at the very beginning that her memory might be fuzzy since she is already seventy and so many years have passed since then, and naturally, there would have been some parts of the autobiography that could have been slightly fictionalised, but she is a very honest and good storyteller.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault

The Vampyre; A Tale by John William Polidori

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Everytime I read this, I cannot help but think about how Lord Ruthven is a sort of stand-in for Lord Byron, and then Polidori had to go around and say that Byron's a good guy at the end. :)
Friends!
A great read, and a must for any vampire fans!

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A classic lore mine for all fans of vampire fiction.

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm on a re-read round for the Vampire Chronicles, and of course, this is the book that started it all. For beginners, this is a fresh take on vampire lore, with the question of prolonged immortality attacking you from every angle, made all the more prominent by the existential turmoil personified that is the protagonist, Louis.
A masterpiece of the modern times.

The Company of Death by Elisa Hansen

adventurous dark funny hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

In most books, having zombies, vampires, androids, a post-apocalyptic setting and the four horsemen of the apocalypse would come across as kitschy and the author having bitten off way more than they can chew. However, Elisa does a brilliant job at somehow finding out the perfect blend of plot, story and character for the setting, and leaves the reader yearning for the continuation. It is also quite free from what I dub the first-book syndrome, where things tend to be just setting up without anything happening, The Company of Death springs right into the thick of things and everything is very fast and happening.

I was fond of the growing relationship between Emily and Death, a nice and slow-build of trust and learning to grow in and around each other and their different expectations and goals. Leif is a very cool vampire and I can very clearly see where he is inspired from, and I hope he does decide to do things differently, beyond being a True Menace throughout. But even if that is so, that’s all right because he’s just like that. It is also heartwarming to see how Carol is slowly getting Scott to give up his misogynistic ways, and I am excited to see where everything brings us to next!

Haiku of the Vampire: Book 1 of The Vampire Haiku Chronicles by Arakaki Soto

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Though I went into reading this, just expecting a fun vampire story, Haiku for a Vampire ended up surprising me. Granted, there could have been a bit more tightening to the plot and the mythology used, and the info-dumping at some parts were a bit jarring, but overall, the story was an interesting cross between Kill Bill and Jennifer’s Body, and I hope to see more of the bigger story arcs being resolved in the coming books.

Characters wise, Misake was ruthless and single-minded in the pursuit of her vengeance, and it was nice that she did not seem to think too much about this. I am a little concerned at her lack of empathy for the random people being pulled into her plan (like the frat boy) and I think Uriel only managed to escape her scathing because she liked him. I would like to see Uriel responding to this state of being used in someone’s revenge plot, in the coming books and hope to see him fleshed out more.

I also liked the exploration of the Yakuza mafia-esque scene in Japan, and Haiku of the Vampire is a very welcome addition to the subgenre of mafia-vampire fiction. The haikus included at the beginning of every part was a lovely touch, though I feel that some linguistic and stylistic choices could have been done better. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault