Reviews

Bluebeard's Castle by Anna Biller

bones_the_baker's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

Moderate: Bullying, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, and Animal death

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Body shaming, and Blood

katietregs's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-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? Yes

4.25

I still hope this becomes a movie! I picked this up because I absolutely adore the Love Witch, and I think if you like Anna Biller’s movies, then you’ll enjoy this book. She does a masterful job of translating the language of movies into her writing, and I think the tongue in cheek nature of the Love Witch is ever present in Bluebeards’s castle. It’s dark and disturbing, but the melodrama elevates it to something more enjoyable than a story of a smart woman falling victim to an abusive man. It’s equal parts poignant and parody. 

That said, I did find that it started to drag a bit at the 3/4s mark.

In hindsight, I appreciate how the writing became more frantic and train-of-thought as Judith started spiraling. But while I was reading I found myself getting a little bored by the page after page of circular thinking. I think some people might dislike the very straightforward description of Gavin’s crimes at the end, as it left little room for interpretation, but I think it was important that reader’s were invited to look at their own potentially problematic interpretations of the story. 

Overall, I’m very impressed by Biller’s writing. This book felt really fresh and different to me, and I’m glad I picked it up.  Like the Love Witch, this isn’t for everybody, but it’s worth your time if you like romance books and golden-age thrillers, but tire of the problematic tropes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, and Infidelity

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit

This book is meant to paint a sympathetic picture of how women become trapped in abusive relationships.

kaitlynnnn's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

a really fun and fast paced read. wasn’t the best prose i’ve ever read but i liked the themes depicting female empowerment clashed with male violence 

rion_gale's review

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

agirlnameddante's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

2.5

lazybonesheroine's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.75

anwhitebooks's review against another edition

3.0

If you're into cautionary tales, gothic romance, and feminist literature, I think you'll like this one! There's a lot that I enjoyed here, and I appreciate what it was trying to do -- tell a gothic romance story as it would probably happen in reality, as opposed to the heavily romanticized toxicity of the genre. I'm giving it 3 stars because I felt the writing style really kept me at arm's length, especially during the moralizing at the end, and it was probably about 100 pages too long. But I'm interested in where this writer goes from here, and will probably read more from her. 

dani_nzd's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

_sofiia_'s review against another edition

funny 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? Yes

2.0

laurenmulvi's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0