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lenorayoder's Reviews (154)
dark
funny
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I really liked this at first and it was a quick read, but it really unraveled for me once she got pregnant. It’s a shame, because I think it could have been really interesting for the author to explore how someone with brain damage changes once pregnancy starts to affect their brain, but instead we got a weirdly boring devolution that didn’t seem to have much thought behind it. Just a cliche way to get to where the author wants to be for the sequel.
Also I’ll admit I’m sad aboutthe way she killed AJ. I kind of wanted to see if Rhiannon could push him into being complicit and instead he just gets murdered right away. Boo.
Also I’ll admit I’m sad about
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Murder
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
A classic for a reason! It’s a little juvenile but it’s supposed to be. Lots of heart. I’m gonna go read fan fiction about Dally and Johnny and wonder if the icon herself wrote it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol
Minor: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Obviously this book is an achievement and ahead of its time and presents some really interesting ideas, but when it comes down to how much I liked it… 3 stars. It just seems a little too long, and like many Romantic books from this period there are a lot of philosophical monologues that make me feel like the author has taken a break from their fictional novel to present an essay. I don’t object to a book having a moral argument, but I’d rather be shown that argument instead of being told (at great length).
My other main problem with the book is that so much of it is told from Victor’s perspective and spends time with him while he’s being boring and unlikeable (again, I think the book is a little too long). He never really owns up to his actions, but everyone he encounters still likes him, which is infuriating. It’s probably realistic, but it didn’t make for a very enjoyable read to spend so much time with a self-centered idiot.
I liked the context that this edition’s introduction provided. It’s interesting to see this book through the lens of an author feeling rejected and abandoned by her parents. I’m interested to read Mary’s diaries, where I can get her ideas unfiltered through unlikeable protagonists.
My other main problem with the book is that so much of it is told from Victor’s perspective and spends time with him while he’s being boring and unlikeable (again, I think the book is a little too long). He never really owns up to his actions, but everyone he encounters still likes him, which is infuriating. It’s probably realistic, but it didn’t make for a very enjoyable read to spend so much time with a self-centered idiot.
I liked the context that this edition’s introduction provided. It’s interesting to see this book through the lens of an author feeling rejected and abandoned by her parents. I’m interested to read Mary’s diaries, where I can get her ideas unfiltered through unlikeable protagonists.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Confinement
A little hard to give one rating to a collection of short stories by different authors. There were a few stories I didn’t like, but overall I either outright liked them or found them interesting.
I liked the mini biographies before each story, although sometimes they had confusing wording. I liked that the stories covered a wide range of time periods and had a variety of topics and writing styles. Added several books to my TBR based on what was mentioned in the biographies of the stories I liked.
Worth the read. I think the variety means most people would enjoy at least a few stories.
I liked the mini biographies before each story, although sometimes they had confusing wording. I liked that the stories covered a wide range of time periods and had a variety of topics and writing styles. Added several books to my TBR based on what was mentioned in the biographies of the stories I liked.
Worth the read. I think the variety means most people would enjoy at least a few stories.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Cute book with a lot of heart. It doesn’t make any sense that Sophie and Delphine are the first to break into a rogue rehab facility , but this is a book about tweens for tweens, so I’ll let it slide. I would have preferred that the villain behind the plot be structural instead of individual. Like this should have been a case of government discrimination or corporate greed instead of one lone megalomaniacal vampire.
fast-paced
i liked the setting and some of the art but it just felt really unpolished. all of the exposition is really clunky and the plot is basic and predictable. i know that this is a middle grade book but i still expect more and think kids deserve more.
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Really slow and the creature world-building felt like it had weak spots this time around. The first book was slow but had a setting I didn’t mind dawdling in. This time the setting felt less interesting or fleshed out. I also had some real issues with Matthew and Diana’s relationship with him so all the time we spent with them and the scenery was unwelcome.
mysterious
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I really liked this book! It was a bit of an odd reading experience, because once the romance gets going it starts to feel like a different and slightly worse book. I loved the first 15% or so of this book and thought it would be a five star read. At that point it becomes clear that Diana and Matthew's romance is going to progress a lot more quickly than I thought, and we start to run into a lot of romance novel cliches. This would have normally merited a 3 star rating, but I think Harkness' world building manages to make the cliches make enough since that I'll forgive their presence, even if I think the book would be better without them and with a slower relationship build. Diana's absolute denial and spellbinding make the different tone of the beginning of the book make sense, but I think it's a shame that the beginning feels so much better than the rest of the book.
I loved all of the world building, and I think it helps the romance and certain plot elements seem less ridiculous. The fact that the relationship we see in this book takes place over40 days seems stupid, but Harkness makes it clear that Diana and Matthew are not human, and holding them to human standards is a mistake. These are creatures who can literally experience love at first sight, as shown by Diana's parents. That's not a dramatization, sometimes it actually happens . That said, I still think the romance isn't well-written, and is the weakest part of the book by far. Diana could seem like a Mary Sue, but you have to remember that her mother, Rebecca, seems to have seen her future before even conceiving her. Diana was basically born and raised to create some serious change in this world . I mean, someone has to do it, right? Of course that's going to be the person an author writes about.
This book was consistently engaging and enjoyable to read. I was constantly theorizing and asking questions. I'm looking forward to getting more answers in the next books, and I know I will because this is clearly a planned out series that's laying groundwork with this first book. I wish the romance felt as polished as the beginning of the book made me think it would be, but I had a fun time and was never bored.
Final thoughts: I love the Bishop house, we stan characters getting privacy! I hope someone killsGerbert dead soon , what the fuck was that with Juliette and how many people has he done that to ??? I don't get why everyone was alarmed at the idea of Matt killing Satu. Like she's going around deeply torturing witches and who knows what else? Sometimes when you behave like that people kill you ! Agatha being the only decent member of the Congregation we've seen makes me curious to find out if it's always been corrupt/fucked up , or if that's something that developed over time. Don't like the whole bloodline = power thing even though it's kind of central to the plot. Given the timeline of these books I think it would be very funny if Diana gets back to the present "quickly" enough that Hamish never sends her letter backing out of the conference, and the entire series ends with her giving the keynote presentation she started this book being stressed out about. Perfect ending.
I loved all of the world building, and I think it helps the romance and certain plot elements seem less ridiculous. The fact that the relationship we see in this book takes place over
This book was consistently engaging and enjoyable to read. I was constantly theorizing and asking questions. I'm looking forward to getting more answers in the next books, and I know I will because this is clearly a planned out series that's laying groundwork with this first book. I wish the romance felt as polished as the beginning of the book made me think it would be, but I had a fun time and was never bored.
Final thoughts: I love the Bishop house, we stan characters getting privacy! I hope someone kills
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Really liked this! I think the framing device works well here, and allows for closing lines that feel appropriately spooky. I will say that this is less a novella, and more like a small collection of very related ghost stories. Because of that this "book" doesn't have a traditional story structure, it's more like Laura's story, which contains the story Spielsdorf tells about himself and Bertha, the story of the Karnstein estate, the story of the Baron and his ancestor, and sort of the story of the doctor. I think because of the short length of the book and the framing device this works, but you should expect this to not really be a novella going into it.
The scenery descriptions do a lot to set the mood. I love how gothic this story feels. Spielsdorf's description ofCarmilla preying on Bertha is so genuinely creepy and well-written. Some lines hit really well ("We now laughed together over our momentary horrors." )and make the whole book kind of feel like a campfire ghost story which I like. I like that the book kind of has the Baron clarify the vampire lore at the end, I think it makes sense given the framing device and clears up any confusion the reader might have had without cluttering up the main story. For vampire lore, I love the idea of a vampire having an obsession over a victim that they nurture and draw out, while simultaneously gorging themselves on victims they don't care for to tide themselves over . I also think the whole 'sleeping in a coffin floating in blood seven inches deep with your eyes wide open, heart beating, looking and being very alive and not pale or anything' thing is a great image and absolutely needs to be in a vampire movie. So gross and fun. In general I like that Carmilla doesn't seem dead at all - she's not pale, her heart beats, a doctor examining her doesn't find anything unusual - it's just that she has to drink blood and return to her coffin to rest everyday and has other specific traits that make it clear she's not really human.
I think theBaron not seeking out Carmilla's grave and killing her before the events of the book is a bit of a plot hole, but overall I think the story is good, an appropriate length, makes for good campfire story material, and has fun lore. Worth the read!
The scenery descriptions do a lot to set the mood. I love how gothic this story feels. Spielsdorf's description of
I think the
Content Warnings
Minor: Xenophobia, Lesbophobia
fast-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
No
cute and fun read. very predictable, though there was an aspect of the ending that pleasantly surprised me. i think i would have liked this better if we had gotten actual platonic boy-girl friendship representation, and if the main character had broken up with her boyfriend to do some single self-discovery instead of just switching to dating her best friend. The not-like-other girls mindset was cringe but realistic. I continue to have a soft spot for time loop books <3
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism