"It is only the past. No more than many have endured." 

"And yet so much more than you deserved." 

3,75☆|5 

Well, this was certainly a ride! We are here going for a gothic setting, lesbian vampire, revenge, and female rage in what I believe is a retelling of Carmilla (I haven't read that one yet, but it's on my TBR :) ) and what an intriguing premise. 

 

It took me quite a long time to enter this one, as the pacing was slower than I was expecting. But when I had entered it? Oh, what a wonder. The author's style is very beautiful, and she masters the gothic setting nearly perfectly, making the atmosphere really peculiar and fascinating to enter and read. 

 

This retelling is centred around Leonore, and even though it took me some time, she grew on me at some point. We follow her and the realization that she has lost her identity, her agency; we follow her anger, her rage, her hunger. We follow her as she tries to understand Carmilla, who played a minimal role in this book, all things considered. 

 

In the end, I did enjoy this book, but maybe not as much as I was expecting to. It was a bit too slow and long for my taste, but it's still definitely worth reading if gothic literature is something you enjoy! Thank you to Netgalley and Zando for the e-ARC; it'll be released on February 18th.