A review by natreviews
Carmilla and Laura by S.D. Simper

5.0

I thought, since it being Pride month and all, I should read a book that features LGBT+ characters. (Side note: I have already done that, as I now just remember).

I (like a lot of people) first heard of Carmilla through the web series on youtube. Then, I read the original tale by J. Sheridan Le Fanu. After a while, I found this book.

The original tales main theme is about how women's sexuality is bad and dangerous, warding against both it and vampires. Carmilla & Laura is from Laura's perspective, as in the original, and the same time period. It puts the WLW subtext of the original into plain text, while giving it a happy ending.

If you want to read a lesbian period piece, this is it. It's a quick read, and starts pretty slow, but ramps up about a third of the way through. It's cool to see S. D. Simper take the original story and make it her own. It reads closely enough to the original that it's like it's written the year the original was published. I know she has written other WLW novels, and will add them to my collection when I can.

As a last note: totally pictured Carmilla's mother as Lady Dimestrescu from Resident Evil Village. Interesting, huh?