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nvarclet's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I read Carmilla and Laura mere days after devouring the original, unsatisfied with its ending and yearning to know more. And oh, did Simper deliver. It’s tense. It’s emotional. It’s hot.
The retelling fleshes out the background a little, from clarifying the meaning of the strange dreams Laura had, to Carmilla’s background and therefore her motives. The romance between the girls develops slowly and conveys just enough detail to give an idea of the passionate lovemaking the girls engage in without being overtly smutty.
I adored the development of some background characters including Laura’s father,the quiet lesbian De la Fontaine and Carmilla’s mother, though the latter serverves as a bit of a MacGuffin while being seriously overpowered . This last detail made me cleave my final star in twain, now leave me be because I need to process the fact that I will never be able to experience this tale for the first tome again!
The retelling fleshes out the background a little, from clarifying the meaning of the strange dreams Laura had, to Carmilla’s background and therefore her motives. The romance between the girls develops slowly and conveys just enough detail to give an idea of the passionate lovemaking the girls engage in without being overtly smutty.
I adored the development of some background characters including Laura’s father,
Content Warnings
Minor: Gore, Miscarriage, and Rape
aidamaria_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
“Can I copy your homework?”
“Sure, but don’t make it too obvious.”
Except for the ending (which I did like), this was borderline plagiarism instead of a retelling. Even the writing style, which I had to struggle past, was a poor imitation of the original prose.
“Sure, but don’t make it too obvious.”
Except for the ending (which I did like), this was borderline plagiarism instead of a retelling. Even the writing style, which I had to struggle past, was a poor imitation of the original prose.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
alexfromistemor's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'm not sure why I was surprised at how short this was, given the length of the original, but still I was thrown off. Not dissuaded, however, far from it. I loved this. Simper's text is true to the prose and language style of the era, and of the original story itself, but definitely adds a sense of beauty and love, and more importantly, a sense of agency and choice on the part of Laura, particularly at the end. And I love her added bookends of the prologue and epilogue. This was romantic and sweet and even hit me in the feels. Great book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail