clairew97's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Gore, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Death, and Grief
amabel_xo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Body horror, Death, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, War, and Domestic abuse
thesawyerbean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The writing was poetic at times, beautiful, dark, obsessive and erotic - a novel of possession, in body and mind.
I did think however that overall the story was a little shallow, one track minded and by the end, a little same-y. The additions of Magdalena and Alexi occurred to spice things up but realistically it didn’t have that much of an effect on the pacing.
In summary, an extremely fun book with fabulous queer vampire representation (which is always what we need in my opinion). Definitely worth the read!
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Murder, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Cursing, and Death
saurahsaurus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Gore, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Child death, Physical abuse, Classism, and Medical content
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, War, and Abandonment
celestriakle'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
4.5
The main weakness of the book however is the characters relationships outside of Dracula. The book ends with
Spoiler
all 3 in a romantic relationship, and supposedly they fell in love this whole time, but they never have very much chemistry. They read far more like sister-wives trying to protect each other from Dracula than lovers with their own relationship outside him, with nothing to keep each other together once he's gone.Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Physical abuse, Injury/injury detail, Infidelity, Grief, Confinement, Bullying, Blood, Gore, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, and Death
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Murder, Abandonment, and Incest
Minor: War, Homophobia, Death of parent, Torture, and Misogyny
I tagged for incest, but it's not true incest: all four main characters are not related, but are frequently described with family terminology, despite being in a romantic relationship. Alexi and Constanta in particular are constantly described as mother/son, with Alexi's youth compared to everyone else frequently mentioned, but they still end up romantically entangled and share a sex scene.poirot'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
2.75
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexism, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gore, Blood, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Sexual assault
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and War
caties_books's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
speaking of calling her "the narrator," it's interesting that it shares this unnamed-woman-narrator quality with the last book i read, The Handmaid's Tale, but a notable difference is that here the narrator only refers to her Commander-equivalent as "you" and never his name in order to strip him of his power.
Graphic: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Murder, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Abandonment, Sexual violence, Body horror, Child death, Alcohol, Incest, Infidelity, and War
Minor: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Drug use, Self harm, Sexism, Death of parent, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Genocide
no biphobia. homophobia and lesbophobia are only mentioned once as a concern of the narrator but are never realized. adult/minor relationship and incest are debatable because of the characters being immortal vampires and having an …unusual family dynamic, but there's definitely something messed up therevej_bou'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
5.0
I really loved the format, too. The way you follow Constanta's personal growth/journey towards liberation is very satisfying, and I very much felt attached to her character (as well as those of the other spouses).
Also really appreciate the queerness throughout this, as well as the fact that for once in a historic novel(la?) there wasn't any overt homophobia. The depiction of polyamoury as something more than just,, flings and threesomes (or sexual at all) is really refreshing. The rather explicit sex scenes were a bit of a surprise, so big warning for that, but hey - at least they're not just straight ones, which is nice.
Hoverall, highly recommend!!
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Injury/injury detail, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: War
milkteawitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The writing is fantastic, poetic, somewhere between dreamy and terrific. The characters are so exciting and rich in loving traits, I can hardly decide who I love more. Gibson tells a terrifying yet empowering story about love, desire, manipulation and emancipation in tradition to gothic vampire stories written in the style of letters.
It is a heart breaking yet wonderful story and I recommend this to absolutely everyone that shows the slightest interest in gothic vampire romance.
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Abandonment, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Toxic relationship