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siena_j_p's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
So uh this might literally be the worst book I’ve ever read. I genuinely don’t even know why I kept reading it except that it was oddly compelling to just watch it get worse and worse and worse. Basically the premise is that a young sorceress named Kami goes on a quest to destroy the Crimson Queen and save her town from monsters, except also the Crimson Queen is into Kami and wants her to come be her wife. And there is just nothing redeeming about any of it. The writing is bad, the plot is uninspiring and takes forever to actually go anywhere, and the way it handles gender and sexuality is just abhorrent. Spoilers from this point on, as it’s necessary to explain just how bad this was.
There were a lot of things about this book I found absolutely disgusting, but probably the most egregious was that Kami MAKES FRIENDS WITH HER ATTEMPTED RAPIST. There’s a dragon in human form named Skye and he decides he needs to have sex with Kami because monsters can smell virgins or something??? And he is going to rape her until other members of the group barge in and stop him. But he doesn’t really face any actual consequences other than a slap on the wrist. Doesn’t get kicked out. Nothing. And then Kami decides that actually he’s lovely and likable and she has to protect him and it’s just. So. Gross.
Next up, we have the Crimson Queen herself. It turns out that she is not a queen at all, but the prince of the family of vampires that Kami’s mother defeated, and he reincarnated himself in the form of a woman? I guess? But he doesn’t seem to identify with womanhood in any way, and I believe there are even a couple of comments about how this form is inferior, he wishes he had his body back, etc. But then he also talks about how he likes being in this form because it makes Kami less threatened by him. So not only is marketing this as a lesbian vampire situation false, it is actively maintaining dangerous narratives about men disguising themselves as women to pursue cis women. It’s awful.
Which of course also brings us to the idea that lesbianism is caused by feeling threatened by men. Almost every single male character in this book is vaguely creepy towards Kami, if not outright threatening. And if I recall correctly there’s an explicit line where she talks about liking women because they’re less threatening. That’s. Not. Why. Lesbians. Exist.
Spoilers end.
So in conclusion, this was just awful. I can forgive poor writing, but I can’t forgive what comes across as an active attempt to mischaracterize queerness and demonize trans women.
foxgloveshelf's review
3.0
(3.5 ⭐) Bride of the Crimson Queen took my heart completely by surprise. Fascinated by the general concept of a powerful vampire falling in love with the same sorceress who vowed her demise and the stunning, eye-catching cover, I found myself unwillingly pulled inside, stuck to my phone, intrigued and obsessed to the point of almost devouring the whole book in a single sitting. Despite many imperfections, like very large information dumps, some unnatural dialogue (which I mostly giggled at), and forgivable writing stumbles that could be fixed with proper editing... Gosh, I genuinely enjoyed myself! Call me cheesy, but once I pushed through the first couple of chapters and one of the main characters - Aradia - appeared, my heart was hooked, that woman is simply too snarky, morally grey, and sarcastic for me not to have a crush. I'm very easy to please and I'll proudly admit it!
Despite some mixed opinions about the novel, I gave it a fair chance and I do not regret it at all, it will certainly not suit everyone's taste, as books always do, but for me... This was a positive experience, one I will fondly remember and recommend, even for the sake of forming your own thoughts about the matter! I genuinely can't wait to see how this story will progress, especially after a certain plot twist and my uncertainty about who will the main character - Kami - actually choose (Aradia, please let it be her, I will literally scream if not). If you love queer characters, magic, bloodthirsty vampires, and love interests who aren't necessarily nice, but would burn the world for their beloved, this is the book for you! I will never grow tired of novels and authors who remind me why reading is my favorite hobby and how much fun books can bring to a person who's going through a hard day.
A huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this novel in exchange for honest feedback ♡
Despite some mixed opinions about the novel, I gave it a fair chance and I do not regret it at all, it will certainly not suit everyone's taste, as books always do, but for me... This was a positive experience, one I will fondly remember and recommend, even for the sake of forming your own thoughts about the matter! I genuinely can't wait to see how this story will progress, especially after a certain plot twist and my uncertainty about who will the main character - Kami - actually choose (Aradia, please let it be her, I will literally scream if not). If you love queer characters, magic, bloodthirsty vampires, and love interests who aren't necessarily nice, but would burn the world for their beloved, this is the book for you! I will never grow tired of novels and authors who remind me why reading is my favorite hobby and how much fun books can bring to a person who's going through a hard day.
A huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this novel in exchange for honest feedback ♡
pomengranate_moon_'s review
1.0
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.
I was super excited for this because lesbians and mythical creatures are almost always a win. This book is nearly impossible to read, however. The writing reminds me of proofreading classmates’ essays in high school. It was very difficult to get into the story at all because I was distracted by awkward phrasing and poor sentence structure. I feel like with a good editor this could be worth reading.
I was super excited for this because lesbians and mythical creatures are almost always a win. This book is nearly impossible to read, however. The writing reminds me of proofreading classmates’ essays in high school. It was very difficult to get into the story at all because I was distracted by awkward phrasing and poor sentence structure. I feel like with a good editor this could be worth reading.
iamcupid_'s review
2.0
A huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
With that said, this book was... not what I thought it would be. There were a lot of questionable scenes and choices in this book that made it hard to focus on the romance that I came to read this book for. I don't even see what happened between Kami and Arcadia as romance because it just didn't make sense. Plus, for a sapphic book, it felt like the men took majority of the screen time and they were all fleshed out more than all of the female characters combined. The plot was okay but the writing and execution of it really made me just not take any of what is happening seriously.
But my main issue, if we're just narrowing it down, is the whole virginity talk that happened in, like, half the book. It was unnecessary and disappointing as the main reason I read this was for the sapphic aspect, instead we get several whole speech about how Kami is a virgin and how she's a danger to the mission because of that. There was also several (non-graphic to mildly graphic) SA scenes here and just r*pe mentions that completely took me off-guard.
<spoiler/>
This book is a 1 star but I made it 2 because it was bad in the "so bad it's good/entertaining" way. I will not be picking up the second part, though.
With that said, this book was... not what I thought it would be. There were a lot of questionable scenes and choices in this book that made it hard to focus on the romance that I came to read this book for. I don't even see what happened between Kami and Arcadia as romance because it just didn't make sense. Plus, for a sapphic book, it felt like the men took majority of the screen time and they were all fleshed out more than all of the female characters combined. The plot was okay but the writing and execution of it really made me just not take any of what is happening seriously.
But my main issue, if we're just narrowing it down, is the whole virginity talk that happened in, like, half the book. It was unnecessary and disappointing as the main reason I read this was for the sapphic aspect, instead we get several whole speech about how Kami is a virgin and how she's a danger to the mission because of that. There was also several (non-graphic to mildly graphic) SA scenes here and just r*pe mentions that completely took me off-guard.
<spoiler/>
This book is a 1 star but I made it 2 because it was bad in the "so bad it's good/entertaining" way. I will not be picking up the second part, though.
mothie_girlie's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
As always thank you to publishers and Netgalley for a free arc in exchange for an honest review.
I genuinely didn't enjoy anything about this book. The prose is painful to read, the sheer amount of normalized misogyny and the fact that the main love interest literally touches the main character without her consent, I legitimately can't think of one thing I thought was well done. Every single character is a walking red flag. Forced myself to finally finish it, only happy that it’s over.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Violence, and Sexual harassment
hmgauthi's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review!
“Why don’t you go on and set this whole place on fire. I’ll lie here and burn with it.”
The premise of this book sounded like Beauty and the Beast with a sapphic vampire which I was incredibly excited about but it unfortunately fell so short of hopes/expectations.
For a book titled “Bride of the Crimson Queen,” I expected more of the Crimson Queen and for the Kami to be an actual bride.
The whole world created here is a heaping pile of misogyny that Kami is not fleshed out enough to combat or help distract the reader from. Her lack of real character and the horrible virginity obsessed society made for a painful read.
The writing itself left much to be desired and it needs an edit.
Additionally, the book absolutely needs trigger warnings. If it wasn’t for other reviews I wouldn’t know about the on page rape and attempted rape of the main character.
Aradia was easily the most interesting aspect of this book, I just wish she was in it more than Skye and Wasser. The slow burn of her and the Kami was fun.
“Why don’t you go on and set this whole place on fire. I’ll lie here and burn with it.”
The premise of this book sounded like Beauty and the Beast with a sapphic vampire which I was incredibly excited about but it unfortunately fell so short of hopes/expectations.
For a book titled “Bride of the Crimson Queen,” I expected more of the Crimson Queen and for the Kami to be an actual bride.
The whole world created here is a heaping pile of misogyny that Kami is not fleshed out enough to combat or help distract the reader from. Her lack of real character and the horrible virginity obsessed society made for a painful read.
The writing itself left much to be desired and it needs an edit.
Additionally, the book absolutely needs trigger warnings. If it wasn’t for other reviews I wouldn’t know about the on page rape and attempted rape of the main character.
Aradia was easily the most interesting aspect of this book, I just wish she was in it more than Skye and Wasser. The slow burn of her and the Kami was fun.
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