I don't care about the rating because three (3) goodreads friends and my favorite bisexual booktuber liked it I don't care about the rating because three (3) goodreads friends and my favorite bisexual booktuber liked it ...more
Set against the violent wilderness of the Peaks and the uncontrolled appetite of the industrial revolution HUNGERSTONE is a compulsive feminist reworkSet against the violent wilderness of the Peaks and the uncontrolled appetite of the industrial revolution HUNGERSTONE is a compulsive feminist reworking of CARMILLA, the book that inspired a captivating story of appetite and desire...more
Paranormal Great Gatsby retelling with vampires is what Zelda would've wanted. Things I didn't like: -Goody Two Shoes over here on her high horse -The faParanormal Great Gatsby retelling with vampires is what Zelda would've wanted. Things I didn't like: -Goody Two Shoes over here on her high horse -The fact that vampires were explained through science. I'm sorry. It's a cool idea but 50% of what I love about vampires is the ancient lore. Creating them in a lab kinda takes that away.
Things I liked: -everything else, pretty much.
Pick it up! The sequel is a Dorian Gray retelling!!!...more
Welcome to my rant! [Not about the book, though. The book was great]
I need people who’ve made certain classics their entire personality to stay away fWelcome to my rant! [Not about the book, though. The book was great]
I need people who’ve made certain classics their entire personality to stay away from retellings. This is very clearly not for you. It’s for people who like fun. If I read one more ‘’Ohhh nooo, they’ve ruined this one character! They would never do this! This is not how the story goes!!’’ I will become violent.
The only new-works-related-to-classics that need to respect all of that, are those that have been approved/requested-to-be-written by the people who own the original works. If you’re hired to write a new Nancy Drew novel, sure, you’ll have to follow their guidelines. Retellings are not it.
They’re supposed to change shit. Why would I pick up the same exact story, just worded differently by three new authors every year? This is madness. It’s a ‘’what if?’’
What if it happened during this time in history? What if we made this character good and this one evil? What if we added magic? What if we took the magic away? What if we tell it from someone else’s point of view and make the original protagonist unreliable? What if we add backstory to these unexplored characters? What if it’s gender-bent? What if [insert quite literally anything here]?
If a piece of literature is so dear to you, that any alteration to its original structure would be insulting, why would you purposefully pick up retellings? If you would only enjoy the exact same story but with more chapters, then you do not want a retelling. Leave them alone.
‘’Why not just write something else entirely if so much will be changed?’’ Because we like fun. It’s fun to be presented with something we know well and then have the whole thing turned upside down. It’s fun to have both the comfort of something familiar and the surprise of new shit. Everything has been done before, so we’re already taking inspiration from something else each time we come up with a story; it’s fun to lean on the inspiration if it comes from one obvious sourse.
I love Buffy. Would never pick up one of those Buffyverse-inspired novels. Because I know I’m way too attached to the original show, so I don’t want to read someone’s ‘’what ifs?’’. I don’t care about their takes on characters and storylines. In my brain, the actual show is untouchable. So I just.. don’t consume those novels.
A fledgling vampire and a headstrong vampire huntress must work together--against their better judgment—to rid the world of monsters in this irresistiA fledgling vampire and a headstrong vampire huntress must work together--against their better judgment—to rid the world of monsters in this irresistible romantic fantasy.
They're gonna look hot all throughout that. Look at that cover. ...more
Sapphic vampires, dark academia, plant horrors, and terrifying fungal fae. The only reason I hadn't picked it up earlier was capitalism (i have a job)Sapphic vampires, dark academia, plant horrors, and terrifying fungal fae. The only reason I hadn't picked it up earlier was capitalism (i have a job) and its horrors (many hours).
It was a great story, wonderfully written and constructed.
Truth is, it dragged a bit by the end. The last 25% was not my favorite, and that's where that last remaining star got stuck....more
Ooh, Miss Taylor Swift, the album you could write about this one...
“But this girl, this Carmilla… she undid all my domestication” I want to take a momeOoh, Miss Taylor Swift, the album you could write about this one...
“But this girl, this Carmilla… she undid all my domestication” I want to take a moment to convince every bi girl and lesbian reading this review to pick this book up, and I'll start with a few quotes to set the mood.
“I wanted nothing more than to be the voyeuristic ghost in the room when she read those poems in her bed at night.” [image]
“every inch the creature out of myth in her platform shoes”
[image]
“Can I confess that I loved it? I loved getting under her skin. I loved knowing that, if I tried hard enough, my words could pierce the armor of her popularity and her persona and disturb something inside her”
“ I worked myself into a fever over her, hunched over my typewriter in my dorm room while my tea went cold on my bedside table”
[image]
“I domesticated my own wildness, starved the odd appetites inside me. ”
“What was Carmilla when she wasn’t safely trapped behind the bars of one of my poems?” [image] [image]...more
