maddramaqueen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child death, Grief, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Minor: Ableism, Sexual harassment, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Suicide
thebiblioboo'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? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicide, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
abmochapman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Having read The Gilda Stories and Fledgling, I was immediately excited to find a queer vampire story pre-dating Dracula. This gothic novel reads much more like a condemnation of deviant desires than an exploration of sexuality and the supernatural as in the case of its more modern counterparts. Yet, I think Carmilla is nonetheless an important piece of vampire and lesbian literary history.
It was slow and tortuous, ridiculously campy, and almost erotic. Though it was not as scary or suspenseful as I had hoped, I had fun!
Spoiler
And did you know Marcia Maren, like Mircalla, is an anagram? Once I realized — after some research, of course — I found an even greater appreciation for Carmen Maria Machado’s introduction and how she twisted LeFanu’s self-serving fiction into her own.Now I can’t wait to dive deeper into author interviews and fan re-tellings (such as the web series). I love a queer reclamation of a cult classic!
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Grief
Minor: Racism and Misogyny
littleflowerfairy'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? No
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Death, Chronic illness, Medical content, Murder, Blood, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Grief, Ableism, Racism, and Body horror
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
bi_n_large's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Grief, Sexual assault, Death, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Suicide
kelisabeth's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Lesbophobia, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Blood, and Death
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
ggcd1981's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Toxic friendship, Blood, and Terminal illness
jelliestars's review against another edition
- 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
1.75
Moderate: Blood, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Death, and Racism
Minor: Child death, Grief, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Suicide, and Violence
alexisgarcia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, Stalking, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, and Grief
dreareads_'s review against another edition
4.0
I can see why this book is a cult favorite, it has all the gothic angsty vibes that teenage emo me would have eaten up.
It is obvious why so many authors took inspiration from this story, it was imaginative and fairly well paced. That being said, having read my fair share of vampire stories I am not sure if this is very high on my list of favorites.
I will add that the last 20-30 pages were spine tingling, seeing everyone finally see what is really going on. I do wish the climax had been a bit more dramatic, but alas that was not the fashion at the time.
A fun short read that anyone would enjoy, but especially if you love vampires.
Graphic: Confinement, Blood, Death, and Grief