Definitely a better love story than Twilight.

Incredible, especially for its time. Although I would’ve preferred a different ending and found the actual one really abrupt.

I really wish the author had explored more of Laura & Carmilla’s relationship. I understand that this is probably the most you can expect from a novel written in 1872.

I’m planning on reading both Carmen Maria Machado’s annoted version & the re-imagined graphic novel coming out February 28th 2023.

Still rating it high for the beautiful prose, sapphic romance, incredible gothic setting & its influence on pop culture.

Please check trigger warnings if you plan on reading it!!

This novella has everything that you could ever want from a 19th century vampire story: an ancient manor house, villagers plagued by mysterious illness, a magnetic vampire woman, beautiful European forest, a thinly veiled description of orgasm, a masquerade ball, a ruined chapel, and more.

If you're looking for a quick, one-sitting horror classic... Well, look no further than Carmilla! Bram Stoker himself was so enchanted by this story that he borrowed many themes from it for his own work, culminating in the unforgettable Dracula.

there wasn't any portion of this book that disliked reading, though i have mild hang up about the ending. the pacing of this book is consistent, though depending on the angle you view it from, could be seen as slow, medium, or fast, depending on what you count as plot progression. The language is very accessible considering it's a classic, but not simplistic or dull. i think the dialogue, especially between carmilla and laura, is the standout. 

the plot began to trail off upon the introduction of the general, though the answers to the mysteries throughout the book were fully delivered (a bit too fully, you could say) in a very sussinct manner that, once finished, quickly pushed you towards the climax.

the ending was, in my opinion somewhat anti-climatic, but i understand that was the style of the time. i do think that in making carmilla more of a vague outline of a monster, rather than something present, both added and detracted from the climax, which really need more of her actually in it. 

i really found carmen maria machado's introduction to be informative as well as her footnotes, though they often leaned towards comedy.

she's totally right on one front however. there's no way that wasn't an orgasm.

 

i had a fun time with this book though i think if it were longer, it would've made the book much better. especially the climax.

The way it’s never explained why Carmilla’s mom just abandons her in people’s homes, so she can suck the lives out of their daughters is kinda funny to me. There is definitely an untold story there. Is her mom also a vampire? What is she doing after she abandons Carmilla? What is this journey of life and death she talks about? It also seems kinda reckless to abandon your vampire daughter in the castle right next door to the father of the girl Carmilla killed just a few days ago. How did her mom think that was gonna play out lol???

I have mixed feelings on Carmilla. One one hand I feel for her because she was turned into a vampire against her will and she’s just doing what she needs to do in order to survive. And as much as I wish Laura and Carmilla could live out their lives in a happy, sapphic vampire/human relationship, Carmilla was slowly killing Laura and killed a bunch of other women, so her death was justified and kinda necessary.

I also wish the romance between Laura and Carmilla was developed a little bit more. While I do recognize that Laura does indeed have romantic feelings for Carmilla, there are points in the story where it feels like Carmilla is 10x more in love with Laura, than Laura is with Carmilla. For example, Carmilla tells Laura that she has never been in love before and she will never be in love with anyone besides Laura, but Laura never tells Carmilla that she loves her too or opens up about her feelings for Carmilla at all. I guess this could mostly be attributed to the fact that this a 100 page short story rather than an entire novel though.

I have ambivalent feelings about this. Was looking forward to reading it and was glad to find the audiobook, but I probably wouldn't have finished it if it was longer. The story is historically important, but the performance is cringe... 

Dreamy and extremely gothic. Some of the luster and horror has been lost with modern knowledge and tropes, but fascinatingly compassionate to even its monsters.