Jacqueline Holland

3.75: A complicated book to review, and all due to my tastes.

The Good: Holland is a seductive and evocative writer whose prose and sense of history bleeds through the pages. It was a page-turner and I couldn't put it down. The story was just immersive enough to get lost in, and I was a bit obsessed with child-her and her early years as a vampire. I'd have loved just a 500-page novel of her in the 19th century. Also a bit controversial, but I liked the meandering internal dialogue—very Anne Rice at times—always a plus for me.

The Bad: Ultimately, the plot in the present part of the story felt very, very safe. I actually really enjoyed the plot and found it quite driving and well done. But. Nothing terrible truly befalls our main character, and the stakes, while high, never come to any fruition. The themes of privilege around safe childhoods and the relative love and care modern children get as compared to herself were fascinating but... could have maybe hit a deeper punch if... worse stuff happened!? Maybe I'm nitpicking, but the novel was lacking a certain je ne sais quoi of intensity I expected for a gothic vampire novel.

I enjoyed the historical sections a bit more because of that last fact, and it was a tiny bit disappointing to see nothing very drastic happen near the end. I still loved this novel though, and Holland is a talented writer, so confusing thoughts all around. I'd definitely read another of her novels if it's about something so seductive and gothic as this!… (more)