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thysparklyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book was quite enjoyable though as I've experienced TVC so far, they only tend to really get me hooked well beyond the halfway mark.
The pacing issues are still present, though not as pronounced this time around, mostly on the start of it.
This book was refreshing in that it didn't have an absurd amount of characters, just a very crucial few that happened to be extremely infuriating. The title character was unbearable but as a villain it's to be expected. The issue is that when your other main character is also an antihero and insufferable there's just too much of that to go around and nobody to root for but a dog.
I believe that after finishing it, if i had to guess what Rice's purpose was with this book it would've been to maybe make it so people really saw Lestat the way he truly is in her eyes. I think the readers are Talbot and Rice is guiding the tiger towards us and trying to remind us that it's not just a big cat.
Surprised to say that I really enjoyed Louis in this book. He's always felt very underwhelming as a character though I assumed it was planned that way to make Lestat stand out more.
I got spoiled majorly about this book and yet it still hurt more than I thought it would.
Time to move onto the next one.
The pacing issues are still present, though not as pronounced this time around, mostly on the start of it.
This book was refreshing in that it didn't have an absurd amount of characters, just a very crucial few that happened to be extremely infuriating. The title character was unbearable but as a villain it's to be expected. The issue is that when your other main character is also an antihero and insufferable there's just too much of that to go around and nobody to root for but a dog.
I believe that after finishing it, if i had to guess what Rice's purpose was with this book it would've been to maybe make it so people really saw Lestat the way he truly is in her eyes. I think the readers are Talbot and Rice is guiding the tiger towards us and trying to remind us that it's not just a big cat.
Surprised to say that I really enjoyed Louis in this book. He's always felt very underwhelming as a character though I assumed it was planned that way to make Lestat stand out more.
I got spoiled majorly about this book and yet it still hurt more than I thought it would.
Time to move onto the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Self harm, and Stalking
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
peggy_racham's review
4.25
What would you give up to be mortal again?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
avie_j's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
econsidine's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.5
There are other reviewers who put it better, but this feels like the book where Anne Rice really, really wanted to remind readers that her main character Lestat is a terrible person. He's a fan favorite, since he's charismatic as hell and an entertaining narrator, but it's easy to forget that he's done and continues to do some horrendous things to the people he claims to care about. If you love Lestat and see him as a misunderstood/tortured soul, this will be a tough read. If you enjoy him as a character/narrator but would hate to meet him in real life, you'll probably still enjoy this one.
There's nothing really new or surprising if you've read the first three, unless you've been reading this character with major rose-colored glasses on, but this book really hammers home his selfishness, violence, and complete lack of respect for other people's bodily autonomy. In this book he (vague spoilers ahead; see tags)rapes a woman, burns his lover's house down, and turns someone into a vampire against their will. He also murders a lot of people as vampires tend to do . As narrator, he acts like all of this was on impulse and he had no control over himself, immediately regretting all actions afterward, though I'd argue none of this is portrayed as okay or redeemable in the text. The "Body Thief" of the title very much refers to Lestat in a LOT of ways other than the obvious.
If you're okay reading all that, then you'll get a few beautiful moments with Louis (in his best taking-no-bullshit-era), Claudia haunting everything, and one of the best dog characters ever. Otherwise it is a lot of Lestat being horrible and having conversations with his old man friend David. Which really doesn't interest me. All that to say, gonna pause here with the series for now.
There's nothing really new or surprising if you've read the first three, unless you've been reading this character with major rose-colored glasses on, but this book really hammers home his selfishness, violence, and complete lack of respect for other people's bodily autonomy. In this book he (vague spoilers ahead; see tags)
If you're okay reading all that, then you'll get a few beautiful moments with Louis (in his best taking-no-bullshit-era), Claudia haunting everything, and one of the best dog characters ever. Otherwise it is a lot of Lestat being horrible and having conversations with his old man friend David. Which really doesn't interest me. All that to say, gonna pause here with the series for now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Biphobia
carrionkid's review against another edition
3.0
This book could've been good. There were a lot of plot threads and concepts presented that could've been honed into a compelling final product. Unfortunately, miss Rice decided to fire her editor and my GOD does it show!
There's multiple completely incoherent passages. So many descriptions of pissing. Wildly unsexy erotic scenes. Wholesale rape. And the whole thing should've ended much sooner than it did, which she tried to play off coyly as a self aware joke in chapter thirty two, which ultimately fell flat because it should've ended well before even that.
However, it's a perfect example of why a published author needs an editor so I guess it serves one greater purpose.
There's multiple completely incoherent passages. So many descriptions of pissing. Wildly unsexy erotic scenes. Wholesale rape. And the whole thing should've ended much sooner than it did, which she tried to play off coyly as a self aware joke in chapter thirty two, which ultimately fell flat because it should've ended well before even that.
However, it's a perfect example of why a published author needs an editor so I guess it serves one greater purpose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury