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melaniereadsbooks's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was incredibly bloody, as can be expected from a Lady Dracula retelling. I have to say I honestly hated both main characters, and that made it hard for me to enjoy this book. Obviously you are supposed to dislike Elizabeth, but I didn't find much to like about Anna either. I did enjoy the plot for a while, but ended up not enjoying the ending very much, as I thought things were resolved too easily.
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Torture
Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
eleanorefiore's review
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Death
Minor: Sexism
There is an emotionally and physically abusive f\f relationship. If you're triggered by this, I would not read this book, mostly because of the ending, which I'll put in the spoiler tag at the bottom of the page. There is also extremely graphic descriptions of torture and violence. Stuff that made me flinch or skip pages or feel physically ill afterwards, and I'm not usually someone affected by that sort of thing.caidyn's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
On reread, I decided to bump it up to 3 stars but I still had the same issues with it as the first time. I plan on trying the second book in this series to see if I like it better.
CW: blood, murder, intimate partner violence, poisoning, and death
This was my most anticipated book of 2020. I was SO excited for a story that talked about Elizabeth Bathory (sorry for the Anglicized version of her name, but I don't have the keyboard that can do the accents). There's basically nothing about her and, personally, I feel that the charges are largely made up and they were put on her by men who wanted to control her. But that's me! Also, I was super excited that this book is queer with an F/F relationship.
So, what went wrong?
The book, overall, felt very amateurish. The writing felt like it was a first-time author. The plotting felt the same. The characters were just off. I did not like how Elizabeth was portrayed at all in this book. It didn't feel realistic with how much she changed and then that poor man's version of psychopathy that was forced on her. And Anna, the MC, was so bland and boring. I would have preferred it from Elizabeth's perspective.
The relationship between Anna and Elizabeth also sucked. It was like they were adversaries then, all of the sudden, they were lovers. And then hated each other again. I couldn't follow the characterization of their relationship one bit.
Overall, I was so disappointed with this book. I'm very glad that I didn't decide to buy it. I know this is going to have more books in it -- probably about another famous historical woman who's rumored to have killed people -- but I'll likely skip it.
CW: blood, murder, intimate partner violence, poisoning, and death
This was my most anticipated book of 2020. I was SO excited for a story that talked about Elizabeth Bathory (sorry for the Anglicized version of her name, but I don't have the keyboard that can do the accents). There's basically nothing about her and, personally, I feel that the charges are largely made up and they were put on her by men who wanted to control her. But that's me! Also, I was super excited that this book is queer with an F/F relationship.
So, what went wrong?
The book, overall, felt very amateurish. The writing felt like it was a first-time author. The plotting felt the same. The characters were just off. I did not like how Elizabeth was portrayed at all in this book. It didn't feel realistic with how much she changed and then that poor man's version of psychopathy that was forced on her. And Anna, the MC, was so bland and boring. I would have preferred it from Elizabeth's perspective.
The relationship between Anna and Elizabeth also sucked. It was like they were adversaries then, all of the sudden, they were lovers. And then hated each other again. I couldn't follow the characterization of their relationship one bit.
Overall, I was so disappointed with this book. I'm very glad that I didn't decide to buy it. I know this is going to have more books in it -- probably about another famous historical woman who's rumored to have killed people -- but I'll likely skip it.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Abortion, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, and Violence
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