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maeverose's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.25
I guess I’m eating my words about not liking the writing style of classics, huh?
I loved the writing style of this book. It was atmospheric and gothic, I loved the setting of the castle and the grassy hills and the ruins of the old town. I just pictured fog over everything anytime they were outside. Now I just wanna have a picnic at old castle ruins in the fog with a pretty vampire. (Sadly that doesn’t happen in this book but it could’ve). This might be my favorite classic I’ve read so far… it’s at least tied with Dracula, but I think it tops it. It actually got pretty creepy at times.
Was also a little surprised how explicitly sapphic it was, given when it was written. I was expecting it to just be homoerotic in the way that classics sometimes are, or overtly homophobic. I think it’s safe to assume that the combination of sapphic elements and vampirism was very intentional.. automatically villainizing lesbianism by portraying it as a ‘virus’ that you can ‘catch’, something that’s evil and scary… But reading it it isn’t actually explicitly homophobic. It’s all subtext. It could easily be read through a more modern lens, removing that subtext.
I loved the writing style of this book. It was atmospheric and gothic, I loved the setting of the castle and the grassy hills and the ruins of the old town. I just pictured fog over everything anytime they were outside. Now I just wanna have a picnic at old castle ruins in the fog with a pretty vampire. (Sadly that doesn’t happen in this book but it could’ve). This might be my favorite classic I’ve read so far… it’s at least tied with Dracula, but I think it tops it. It actually got pretty creepy at times.
Was also a little surprised how explicitly sapphic it was, given when it was written. I was expecting it to just be homoerotic in the way that classics sometimes are, or overtly homophobic. I think it’s safe to assume that the combination of sapphic elements and vampirism was very intentional.. automatically villainizing lesbianism by portraying it as a ‘virus’ that you can ‘catch’, something that’s evil and scary… But reading it it isn’t actually explicitly homophobic. It’s all subtext. It could easily be read through a more modern lens, removing that subtext.
My only complaints:
•The racism. It’s only in one or two scenes, but it’s pretty bad in one scene especially.
•How naive Laura was, especially at the very end. She was supposed to be 19, right? How did she not connect the dots after the general’s story??? 😆
•It ended a bit abruptly, I felt.
•And lastly, I just wish we got more pretty atmospheric descriptions of the ruins. I was waiting the whole book for them to go there and when they did we didn’t get much :/ I would’ve liked more atmospheric descriptions in general, but at least we got some.
Overall, I’m really happy I liked this! I was starting to worry that classics just weren’t for me. Hopefully there are still more out there that I’ll love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Ableism, Sexual content, Suicide, and Death of parent
Religious themes, beheading, cremation, sleep paralysis (not really but the descriptions are similar)atalea's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror and Child death
Minor: Suicide
thenerdybookwitch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
4.0
This pleasantly surprised me! I was expecting it to treat Carmilla and Laura’s relationship negatively but it’s not at all. Their romantic relationship is not judged by anyone. I can see why so many Lesbian bookworms absolutely adore this book. It is a vampire classic that has set a huge standard especially in the Lesbian vampire genre. It is a very good read and I highly recommend it.
Note: This is a book from 1872 so problematic themes are still going to be present. Especially outdated terms that are Ableist today. It also has such a negative view on Suicide at the end. Just keep that in mind when reading.
Note: This is a book from 1872 so problematic themes are still going to be present. Especially outdated terms that are Ableist today. It also has such a negative view on Suicide at the end. Just keep that in mind when reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Blood, Medical content, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Suicide, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Alcohol
sabrinaleaf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This book never explained what happened to Carmilla’s mom and I want to know 😭
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Suicide
mondayxius's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, and Blood
Minor: Suicide
cattheteawitchfairy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Lesbian vampires - need I say more?!
Having read and loved Dracula, I’m so glad someone made me aware of this book and then lent me it so I could enjoy! I loved the writing style and the simplicity of the plot.
I found myself understanding why the protagonist was falling for the vampire, the character was so easy to like, which only made her character all the more evil!
An easy, classical read that I devoured in one sitting.
Having read and loved Dracula, I’m so glad someone made me aware of this book and then lent me it so I could enjoy! I loved the writing style and the simplicity of the plot.
I found myself understanding why the protagonist was falling for the vampire, the character was so easy to like, which only made her character all the more evil!
An easy, classical read that I devoured in one sitting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, and Classism
coffeeshopvibes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide
amalyndb's review against another edition
dark
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Homophobia, and Blood
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Grief, and Gaslighting
Minor: Racism
_piercingwords_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
As a bi vampire lover, I liked this book and found it interesting to see the resemblance and differences to more modern adaptations of the vampire myths.
I also liked how Carmilla's and Laura's queerness was not directly demonised and found it very progressive for its age in comparison to other classics.
It was, as one of the first influential vampire stories, predictable but nevertheless an enjoyable read.
Did I get that right though? That Carmilla was actually remotely related to Laura? The thing I actually did not expect and threw me off a bit oof
I also liked how Carmilla's and Laura's queerness was not directly demonised and found it very progressive for its age in comparison to other classics.
It was, as one of the first influential vampire stories, predictable but nevertheless an enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Death, Incest, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Abandonment
kaayaak's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Classic lesbian vampires. Sign my gay ass up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Suicide