Reviews with content warning for Blood - Carmilla

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

186 reviews

el219's review against another edition

5.0

grrrrrr i have so many mixed feelings abt this,, was definitely way too short; lacked details that help you connect with the characters & even details that explained important plot points. was also hard to follow at times since each scene was about 5 pages long,, yet despite the simple storytelling, it was strangely atmospheric and alluring. everything felt very murky but that’s kind of the point. i’m just disappointed at how much better this could have been :( i needed more scenes between laura & carmilla to show their “unconventional” and sometimes toxic relationship; i needed more creepy outbursts and declarations of love. i wanted to know about laura feeling conflicted about carmilla in depth; not knowing whether she should love or hate her, etc. i did love this, but it’s “wasted” potential makes me love it a little less

edit im lying actually i think about this every day five stars

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snackattackisback69's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-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? Yes

4.25

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danimacuk's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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fernnoweh's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Ending is kind of abrupt here. Wish that there was more tension and suspense that leads up to it. I can definitely see why this inspired other vampire novels because it does set up some very interesting lore that can be played around with. I can also see why there are many adaptations of it—there’s so much more you can do with the base story.

Also. For a book that is “steeped in sexual tension and gothic romance” there could’ve been a lot more of both. They just held hands and kissed a bit?? Where’s the DRAMA?? (I know this was published in the 1870s but c’mon man!!)

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cassielaj's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Creepy and fascinating! This book is considered the first vampire novel, so it was really interesting to see how elements of vampire lore from this book have persisted for centuries! It’s a quick, mysterious, gothic read, and I cannot recommend the audiobook enough! I want Megan Follows to narrate every book forever.

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marthadude's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-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? No

4.75

How can you get better than a gothic lesbian vampire novella? Carmilla is an icon. Not quite a five because I thought the very end was a little confusing

and Carmilla should have lived

. If you’ve seen the webseries from a few years back you’ll be surprised to find so many familiar names.

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moreau's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

solid, short book. good story, read it all in a day. literally my only complaint is it shouldve been longer because its so good

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judassilver's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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theaceofpages's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Yay for lesbian vampires but I wasn't a huge fan of the style. Contents are somewhat surprising for the time but I struggled to get into it.

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suneaters's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

I love this book. The lesbian vampire prototype and it lives up to the hype too. The writing style is sublime. The analysis you can do to even this shorter vampire story shows how masterfully crafted it is. I love it. I love Carmilla and Laura. Their love is text, not subtext. It’s very explicit how they feel romantic feelings for one another. This is a top tier entry in the lesbian literature catalogue, even if a man wrote it. It’s awesome and a must-read.

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