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singalana'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? Yes
3.25
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
emmathebookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
loustat__'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Abandonment
phillyhufflepunk's review against another edition
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
nerdkitten's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Abandonment, and Colonisation
moreau's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Pedophilia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Abandonment, and Colonisation
gabriella_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The yearning is so strong in this book. There are moments where Louis’ sorrow is so tangible it has a physicality. It drapes over the narrative of prose of the book like a curtain.
The entire time I felt like I was seeing through Louis’ eyes and was keenly aware of
“But Louis, this is the very spirit of your age. Don’t you see that? Everyone else feels as you feel. Your fall from grace and faith has been the fall of a century.”
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
jasminawithab's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
claudia my beloved
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Classism
kalira's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism
thesawyerbean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The story unfurls before us, laced with treachery, eroticism, death, love and a lot of blood; paced with twists, turns and climaxes; and underpinned with a nuanced discussion on existence and the concept of good and evil.
What made me not enjoy it as much as I could’ve was the lack of connection with the protagonist. I know fundamentally he is supposed to be evil as a murderous vampire, but I think in reading vampire fiction we suspend the vilification of this inhumanity as one both expected and understood. However, the seeming obsession in contemporary vampire fiction of making important characters have involvement in the slave trade/confederacy is so off-putting and honestly needless. In addition, his relationship with Claudia (although a grey area considering her actual temporal age), was very strange and gave off similar vibes to that in Lolita. Overall my empathy with Louis was extremely stunted from the get-go which made the rest of the story quite the slog.
That was a shame indeed, as the writing is incredible - vivid, atmospheric and poetic. If my gripes with the characterisation were non existent I’d be tempted to give it 5 stars just for that. As an important part of the vampire canon I’d say this was worth the read, especially for spooky month.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail