Becky

TLDR: Vampire Fanatic so Might be Biased

The original Carmilla is a favourite classic(?) of mine, so I was really excited when I heard this was getting published. I waited for it to show up in the shops and devoured it in a few sittings. Tbh, it got me out of my long held reading rut. Was it perfect? No, of course not. Cora is really annoying (though this is intentional - we are seeing her through Lenore) and the big reveal around the pastilles is something you can predict quite early on. However, there's not many books I'd call perfect and I thought it was beautifully crafted and the depth you're made to feel for Lenore is brilliant. Carmilla is less present than you want, but that sort of fits in well with how sporadically she appears for Lenore herself. Dunn does a great job of almost turning you into the main character, wanting but never quite getting exactly it is that you crave. More could've been written into Lenore exploring her backstory and her husband's misdoings I suppose, but then again that isn't really the point of the whole thing.

It's a fab refresh of the classic book it takes from, with Lenore given a lot more meaning and agency and fire. Vampire novels are my favourite, anything a bit weird or edging on gothic horror (kinda like Lapvona or The Lamb) even more so. This fits nicely in that realm of everything I love, and the writing was very beautiful in some parts.