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stormywolf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
5.0
Breaking out of my reading slump to read last month's pick in Maven of the Eventide's (aka Elisa Hansen's) Vampire Book Club proved to be no easy feat. Unfortunately, my library did not carry the audiobook, and it turned out I had other obligations the night of the meeting. Luckily I found a copy of the audio online, and, as always, the book club meetings are saved for posterity, so while I wasn't there for the live discussion, I was able to participate in some ways (unlike the previous month's when my library didn't even carry a text copy for The Silver Kiss). And though I'd never heard of this book before the club picked it out, the premise seemed especially intriguing and I was eager to experience it. Let me just say, wow.
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, this book will undoubtedly sit with me for quite sometime. From the characters, to the settings, to the long and tumultuous journey of self-discovery, I was wholly invested. The exploration of life, and what it means to live and love from the perspective of an outsider, along with powerful depictions of struggling to choose what's best for yourself and for those around you, even if that means starting over, were what impacted me the most. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, books featuring BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+ main characters, empowering women, Afrofuturism, or just a fresh, new take on vampires—even hailing from 30 years ago!
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, this book will undoubtedly sit with me for quite sometime. From the characters, to the settings, to the long and tumultuous journey of self-discovery, I was wholly invested. The exploration of life, and what it means to live and love from the perspective of an outsider, along with powerful depictions of struggling to choose what's best for yourself and for those around you, even if that means starting over, were what impacted me the most. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, books featuring BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+ main characters, empowering women, Afrofuturism, or just a fresh, new take on vampires—even hailing from 30 years ago!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
Minor: Biphobia, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Stalking, Death of parent, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
liminal's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide attempt, and Murder
booksthatburn's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
THE GILDA STORIES spans two centuries in the life of a Black lesbian vampire, following her as she finds family, friends, and connections tethering her to life in the first stages of her journey as an immortal.
The pace is slow, but purposeful. Every section lingers just as long as it needs to convey its piece of this story that spans two centuries. The book is undeniably queer but a lot of the queerness in the early sections is understated or implied because it’s taking place in years and times where it’s not safe to be a woman, to be Black, to be queer. By having the MC be a vampire it takes some of the danger away, transforming it. It’s not gone, not really, it’s not magically safer for her to exist in this world that hates people like her, but it does help as a reader, to know she has something to keep her safe. It’s explicitly about abuse and power and violence and vulnerability, figuring out how to be a creature who could easily survive through violence but not if she wants to keep her humanity, her love for life. The final section flips this and changes which facet of her identity puts her in danger.
The secondary characters come in and out of the MC‘s life, sometimes being gone for long sections before returning again, and sometimes leaving forever, or being left by the MC. But even those she leaves behind in time and by distance often stay in her thoughts. Her fellow vampires have a consistent presence throughout the book, whether just in her recollections of them, her summaries of what’s happened with them most recently, or a few moments in person where the narrative lens aligns with their visits. It conveys this tension between loneliness and community which is integral to the story as the MC figures out how to stay interested in life as the years stretch ever onward.
The pace is slow, but purposeful. Every section lingers just as long as it needs to convey its piece of this story that spans two centuries. The book is undeniably queer but a lot of the queerness in the early sections is understated or implied because it’s taking place in years and times where it’s not safe to be a woman, to be Black, to be queer. By having the MC be a vampire it takes some of the danger away, transforming it. It’s not gone, not really, it’s not magically safer for her to exist in this world that hates people like her, but it does help as a reader, to know she has something to keep her safe. It’s explicitly about abuse and power and violence and vulnerability, figuring out how to be a creature who could easily survive through violence but not if she wants to keep her humanity, her love for life. The final section flips this and changes which facet of her identity puts her in danger.
The secondary characters come in and out of the MC‘s life, sometimes being gone for long sections before returning again, and sometimes leaving forever, or being left by the MC. But even those she leaves behind in time and by distance often stay in her thoughts. Her fellow vampires have a consistent presence throughout the book, whether just in her recollections of them, her summaries of what’s happened with them most recently, or a few moments in person where the narrative lens aligns with their visits. It conveys this tension between loneliness and community which is integral to the story as the MC figures out how to stay interested in life as the years stretch ever onward.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and Blood
Minor: Slavery
CW for racial slurs, homophobic slurs, homophobia, racism, drug use, slavery, blood, gore, violence, sexual assault, major character death, death.nicolewhopickedthisbook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
TW: Slavery, Racism, use of the N-Word and the F-Word, sexual assault, blood
I did really enjoy this book and was intrigued about where it was going. The interesting aspects of this book was Gilda in her vampire life and we even get into an apocalyptic 2050 when people find out about vampires and hunters emerge.
I did feel at times this book did drag on a bit and even certain passages repeat themselves. Either the wording was too similar or Gilda was just thinking things in a loop. There were a couple of times when Gilda was thinking of something while in the middle of a gathering or party and the passage would just jump back and forth between her thoughts and the goings on around her making the writing seem very choppy and it would definitely pull me out of the story.
Pop Culture Readathon 80’s Round Bonus Prompt: LGBTQ+ Rep
I did really enjoy this book and was intrigued about where it was going. The interesting aspects of this book was Gilda in her vampire life and we even get into an apocalyptic 2050 when people find out about vampires and hunters emerge.
I did feel at times this book did drag on a bit and even certain passages repeat themselves. Either the wording was too similar or Gilda was just thinking things in a loop. There were a couple of times when Gilda was thinking of something while in the middle of a gathering or party and the passage would just jump back and forth between her thoughts and the goings on around her making the writing seem very choppy and it would definitely pull me out of the story.
Pop Culture Readathon 80’s Round Bonus Prompt: LGBTQ+ Rep
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Blood
Use of the N-Word and the F-Wordlleullawgyffes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, and Suicide
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Vomit