Reviews

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

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susycssl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.25

silvergreyleaf's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

ladybanecourt's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

✨3.5/5✨

I'd been wanting to read this story for quite some time now. It's beautiful—the mystery was certainly spellbinding, the passion stunning. Plus it's gay??? Sign me up!!

luciafm's review against another edition

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5.0

A LESBIAN VAMPIRE

alannahsh's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

3.75

4pril4ntic's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

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? No

Finished my reread of **Carmilla** by Le Fanu and it’s a bloody pleasure to relive. The first time around I read the story perhaps a bit too quickly as I remember mashing it into a busy week, but this go around I listened to it on a slower speed. It’s only <3h so I’m not saying I spent forever reading it or anything, however, I did mostly listen in the morning time with crisp air and time to soak it in. The narration was some of the best I’ve ever heard and last year I clocked over 800h of audiobooks. Would highly recommend Tracey Childs as she switched back and forth between accents to accommodate characters including English, Austrian/German, and Hungarian. Her voice really took me to place and scene; I felt like a fly on the wall listening to all unfold.

As far as a vampire story, I think this just might be better than Dracula. It feels complete, dangerous, mysterious, and frankly… darkly sexy. I cannot imagine essentially dreaming up this nightmare before the birth of Stoker’s Dracula.

If you haven’t read Carmilla, then I would strongly suggest that you do if you at all like horror, monsters, or especially vampires. I’m sure that this story will gain more popularity—as I’ve already seen in last few years—and perhaps come to outshine at least the fictional work of Stoker’s if not Dracula himself. Carmilla is a spookier vampire imo but judge for yourself!