exclusivepalmbeachliving's review
3.0
Rufus Hobster is a vampire. He writes poetry.
A vampires love story through Poems.. name anything better than that…don’t worry, I’ll wait.
Rufus and his Human lover Elise.. a sad love story..? Rufus lost Elise, and so with her, he lost himself…
A vampires love story through Poems.. name anything better than that…don’t worry, I’ll wait.
Rufus and his Human lover Elise.. a sad love story..? Rufus lost Elise, and so with her, he lost himself…
sura_reads_books's review
1.0
This has an interesting idea, but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me! I found it hard to connect to the story, understand what was happening at times, and the repetition of some words made it difficult to enjoy the poems.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley!
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley!
manthasbookstack's review
3.0
La Petite Mort is a collection of poems from the POV of a vampire.
There were quite a few references to religion that lost me.
However overall I liked the majority of the poems but found it hard to always connect them to the bigger story.
There were quite a few references to religion that lost me.
However overall I liked the majority of the poems but found it hard to always connect them to the bigger story.
woolfinbooks's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Genuinely one of the finest poetry books I've read.
Gothic poetry is still fairly new to me. One thing I've noticed is how many people try to either mimic Poe or write very anachronistically. Eli managed to take inspiration from the gothic greats while weaving in his own narrative. I was impressed by not only the writing but the imagery. I tasted the grass. I smelt the blood. I felt her touch.
This isn't a collection of poems, it's a story. You feel his decline from infatuation to madness. Yes, parts feel sparse, as if you're missing parts of the story - yet it makes sense. He writes when his passion is high. Passion comes from the extremes of love, distress, fear, and loneliness.
Every part of me wants to dive deeper into this. I want to sit in a class as we analyze every line. There is so much here to pick up on in future re-reads. This is definitely on my list to buy asap. Undoubtedly, this is 5/5 stars.
Gothic poetry is still fairly new to me. One thing I've noticed is how many people try to either mimic Poe or write very anachronistically. Eli managed to take inspiration from the gothic greats while weaving in his own narrative. I was impressed by not only the writing but the imagery. I tasted the grass. I smelt the blood. I felt her touch.
This isn't a collection of poems, it's a story. You feel his decline from infatuation to madness. Yes, parts feel sparse, as if you're missing parts of the story - yet it makes sense. He writes when his passion is high. Passion comes from the extremes of love, distress, fear, and loneliness.
Every part of me wants to dive deeper into this. I want to sit in a class as we analyze every line. There is so much here to pick up on in future re-reads. This is definitely on my list to buy asap. Undoubtedly, this is 5/5 stars.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Sexual content, Body horror, Self harm, Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Mental illness
I would say that nothing in this is particularly triggering. It's poetry and doesn't go deep into descriptions in a graphic way.annettenis's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
its_rosa_reading's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
soudersmax's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
2.5
“Unrelenting death is an ending / that can’t help starting over, / while fragile life is a beginning / that can only ever end.”
I found the first 75% of this anthology enchanting - there are many highlights in my book of beautiful verses, heavily laden with emotion and drama and hitting on the full range of human (and supernatural) experience from birth, death, spirituality, sex, nature, sickness, and poverty.
Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed certain parts, I found a point at which the story thread running through them all stopped making sense to me. I still enjoyed most individual entries, but I think the reading experience lost something when the overarching events became unclear. Many of the events in the later part of the book had a wide variety of potential literal and metaphorical interpretations, and as soon as I thought I landed on something cohesive, I read a few more pages and lost the thread again.
Overall, 2.5/5 (rounded to 3 for some platforms) - I'm generally hesitant to review poetry, as voice is so subjective. I believe that there are many who would enjoy this collection, though I would recommend many of the individual poems more widely than I would the full anthology. Definitely for those into a more “emo”-style modern poetry, those who particularly love vampires, or people who really want to puzzle through analysis and meaning.
Thanks NetGalley, Witching Hole Publications, and Eli Wilde for sharing a copy!
libraryofhelixis's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
thebookkeepers's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
A collection of poetry written from the POV of a vampire. I loved this premise and couldn’t help requesting a copy from netgalley. Sadly, the premise didn’t live up to the hype for me. I had a hard time connecting with the speaker of the poems, and found the poems themselves not to be very moving. The God and religious references were a turn off for me as well, although I can see the relevance of exploring religious views of an immortal creature such as a vampire. A quick read, but not one I’d recommend.
vanmeers's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
I’m not usually one for poetry and I often find I can’t connect well with them at all, but I wanted to give this a go as I love the idea of a poetry collection from the POV of a vampire. I’m really happy I did — La Petite Mort by Eli Wilde did not disappoint.
La Petite Mort is a collection of poems by the vampire Rufus Hobster. The poems explore his feelings on immortal life, his relationship with God and a woman named Elise. It’s a soul-crushing and emotional collection that makes it impossible to not feel a connection to Rufus and it’s a perfect book for anyone who loves vampires.
Eli Wilde has done an exceptionally good job portraying the emotions of an immortal who has lived for hundreds of years, who struggles with his feelings on immortality, humanity and everything in between. It also feels absolutely perfect to write a poetry collection from the POV of a vampire, as you can imagine only an immortal would have the range of emotions that rarely can be carried onto paper by mere mortals.
I’m still new with poetry and I’m still not sure how I feel about poetry in general, but I did enjoy this collection a lot and for once, I also felt I could understand the different poems and the emotions they tried conveying. A definite recommendation for anyone who’s into gothic poetry and vampires — but also for anyone who is new to poetry!
Thank you NetGalley and Eli Wilde for the ARC!