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adancewithbooks's review against another edition
2.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol
inappropiate relatinship between student and teacherclrouse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
kelseydaffodil's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
the vampire lore was different to other vampire books and shows i have consumed which i really enjoyed. i love when people extend the vampire universe and think of different ways vampires can exist in media. obviously, sapphic enemies and rivals to lovers was perfect. the way s.t gibson writes is always so beautiful.
i did, though, at times, feel like i was crawling through it. i'm still unsure about ms de lafontaine being the only vampire presence for half of the book. i also thought that the rivals to lovers dissolved far too quickly after carmilla was changed. there was a good amount of laura lusting after carmilla before their relationship, but i felt there was a lack of arguments or just anything else that would make their relationship more rivals/enemies to lovers. it just kinda went, they hate each other, mostly carmilla hating laura, carmilla drinks laura's blood, carmilla suddenly doesnt hate her at all.
i feel there was too much going on in the book at times. enemies to lovers, religious trauma/guilt, carmilla's obsession with ms de lafontaine, ms de lafontaine's ex lover, dark academia, murder. it felt like a lot got lost. especially things like how isis would paint the toenails of the girls she murdered, what was the significance ? it was never developed and i found it to be an interesting tell of isis being the murderer.
i rate this book 4/5 stars because though i have quite a lot of qualms with it, i still absolutely loved this book. s.t gibson is certainly up there with my favourite authors, but i did enjoy a dowry of blood more.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Bullying, Gore, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
torrentsofhayl's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol
edamamebean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Murder
pagesofplatypus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Laura and Carmilla have such a compelling relationship and arcs. I love their progression. It all felt very natural and well-paced. And their steamy scenes had me swooning!
The De Lafontaine dynamic witb Laura and especially Carmilla was so frustrating and heartrending and complex. I feel she redeemed herself a bit towards the end, but the beginning is very uncomfy as she preys on her students.
The vampirism is developed well. Enough to intrigue readers but not so much lore that it feels overly explanatory or clunky.
And the atmosphere of the writing is very transportive and every emotion is felt so strongly. Both Carmilla and Laura have strong and distinct enough voices to easily differentiate between povs. And Laura's growth in particular was so beautiful and heart achingly done as she came to love Carmilla and come into her own.
Carmilla, my love, I wanted to protect her the entire book.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Blood
Moderate: Murder
ladyyaru's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Blood
theyellowbrickreader's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Murder
rookeatsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
My biggest problem with this book is Gibson's tendency to tell and not show. The first 20-30% of the book is infodump exposition about "This is how Laura feels about this. This is how Carmilla feels about this. And they're both sooooooo mad at each other and have such a tense rivalry (You believe me, right?)" Also, a nitpick but Gibson's tendency to start multiple chapters with "Month verbed XYZ'" made me want to bash my head against a wall. Find a better way to make time transitions!
The telling instead of showing was especially notable when considering that a huge theme in the story is love and obsession and the ways that they cross over onto each other and can make people do crazy things. This is all fine and dandy, except for the fact that none of the writing makes you feel like any of these people are genuinely obsessed with one another. I didn't feel any chemistry or magnetism between the characters and considering that one of the main conceits of the plot is Laura and Carmilla's academic rivalry and competition for De Lafontaine's attention, you would think that DLF would actually be an interesting character. Wrong! In addition, I lost my mind over the sheer amount of times you read "Laura hates Carmilla. Carmilla hates Laura. But Laura's obsessed with Carmilla. And Carmilla's obsessed with Laura" in so many words. Again, show don't tell.
The prose was also bland. All of the reviews claiming that it's lush and beautiful and whatever........ have you read good prose? There was a lot of "devouring" and "feverishly" and things of the sort and it comes off both incredibly pretentious and also like Gibson didn't want to put the effort into describing things in an interesting way. There are many sections where she just spells out exactly what she wants you to deduce thematically from a situation and so many overwrought metaphors that I wanted to vomit.
For your viewing pleasure, here is a passage that made me audibly say "barf" out loud because of the cliche, overplayed, and just dumb and cringey figurative language:
(Not major spoilers since this is tagged as a romance, but spoilered just in case)
Honorable mentions:
Also, completely separate conversation that I do not have the brainspace to go over in this review, but you would think that someone who writes queer romance would possibly realize that framing lesbians (or sapphic women in general) as predatory monsters who prey on younger women *cough cough, De Lafontaine* is problematic??? Like did the author think about the implications of that for more than 10 microseconds.
In conclusion, I don't know what possessed me to read this trainwreck of a book but I would not reread. I was so hyped by the premise and was severely disappointed by the execution. Rather than a thoughtful reimagining of Carmilla in an invigorating setting, it came off as a wannabe The Secret History with half the wit or writing skill.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Confinement, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Death of parent, and Abandonment
cardanrry's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Sexual content, and Murder