Carmilla

by Kim Turrisi (Adapter)

An adaptation of Shaftesbury's award-winning, groundbreaking queer vampire web series of the same name, Carmilla mixes the camp of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the snark of Veronica Mars, and the mysterious atmosphere of Welcome to Nightvale.

Newly escaped from the stifling boredom of a small town, college freshman Laura is ready to make the most of her first year at Silas University. But when her roommate, Betty, vanishes and a sarcastic, nocturnal philosophy student named Carmilla moves into Betty's side of the room, Laura decides to play detective.

Turns out Betty isn't the first girl to go missing ? she's just the first girl not to come back. All over campus, girls have been vanishing, and they are completely changed when (or if) they return. Even more disturbing are the strange dreams they recount: smothering darkness, and a strange pale figure haunting their rooms. Dreams that Laura is starting to have herself.

As Laura closes in on the answers, tensions rise with Carmilla. Is this just a roommate relationship that isn't working out, or does Carmilla know more than she's letting on about the disappearances? What will Laura do if it turns out her roommate isn't just selfish and insensitive, but completely inhuman? And what will she do with the feelings she's starting to have for Carmilla?

Produced by Shaftesbury, and available on the YouTube channel KindaTV, Carmilla is a global sensation. A scripted transmedia series that puts a modern spin on the cult-classic gothic vampire novella by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu, Carmilla has generated over 71 million views and 245 million minutes of watch time across three seasons since its launch in 2014. It has been translated into more than 20 languages and also been made into a feature film. Author Kim Turrisi brings her trademark humor and sensitivity to an adaptation that offers a deep dive for existing fans and a portal for new fans around the world.

Genres: Fantasy, LGBT, Young Adult, Vampires, Romance, Queer, Lesbian

224 pages, Hardcover

First published May 7, 2019

Reviews

[nemo ☠️ · Rating 1 out of 5]

CAUTION: this is going to be an EPIC RANT of a review so buckle up buttercup for this SALT EXTRAVAGANZA!! (and an overuse of capitals and exclamation points.)

I expected a deliciously gothic, sapphic vampire novel. Instead I got something that bombed harder than the Tsar fucking Bomba.

There are no characters here, only caricatures. The writing was so horrendously juvenile, and the characters more so, making it seem like they were freshmen to kindergarten rather than university. It genuinely read like a 15 year old trying to write about what uni life would be like, I kid you not.

By a mere 10% in, I was so irritated that I went into Nitpick Mode, in which things I wouldn't mind in an otherwise good book annoy the everloving fuck out of me. Usually I wouldn't have continued reading, except that this was a Netgalley book and it wasn't very long. Of course, I didn't need to go into Nitpick Mode, because there were so many glaringly obvious flaws that essentially slapped me across the face.

I honestly do not know where to start with all the things that annoyed me about this book. Perhaps some of the "legends" of Silas University, such as students being digitized in the library - a.k.a. something ripped straight out of Doctor Who? Was it that somebody was described as "kinda PTSD"? Was it that Laura was so outrageously judgy it made me want to stab myself in the eye?

Carmilla is presented at first as The Roommate from Hell, Laura once saying "after everything she's put me through". Bitch!! What did she do?? She was sarcastic to you and ate your cookies! For the love of Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the entire Communion of Saints, GET OVER YOURSELF! You're in university, not elementary school!

An (incomplete, otherwise I'll bore you out of your skull) list of other things that annoyed me:

- LaFontaine, a genderqueer character who goes by they/them pronouns, is misgendered IN THE NARRATIVE. Ultimate fucking YIKES that nobody spotted that.

- When the Dean, a.k.a cookie-cutter cartoon supervillain appears, LaFontaine (and everyone else) is terrified of her but then calls her "Your Disapprovingness" to her FACE? Why the fuck would they do that!! That's not realistic!

- It's at like 40% before they decide Fo Realz that she's a vampire. WE KNOW SHE'S A VAMPIRE!!!!!!!!!!!

- Laura has some stupid fucking vlog documenting her search for Betty in which she literally says she suspects Carmilla and she's going to spy on her. First of all, if Carmilla WAS the culprit, then she'd OBVIOUSLY be watching the vlog to see if Laura was getting close. Did Sherlock Holmes have a vlog in which he was like, "Hey, I'm pretty sure this Moriarty dude is the guy behind everything, but I'm not quite sure yet so I'm going to spy on him. Stay tuned!" i want to d i e

- WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP THROWING FISH?

- What the entire fuck was that scene were LaFontaine just fucking decked a professor over a disagreement about the Illuminati? It wasn't even a distraction for anything (I don't think). Literally, what the hell was that??

- What the HELL were the sentient fucking INDEX CARDS that attacked them in the library? I know the original show was supposed to have a comedic slant, so maybe that's why, but none of this read like comedy or satire, it just read like a 14 year old writing their first fanfiction on ff.net without having anybody beta read it.

- When Carmilla was telling her Super Serious Story about her past and Laura just fucking??? Gets sock puppets??? WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK!!!!!!!

I am. I am genuinely, actually flabbergasted that this got published. It's an absolute joke. It's like if someone edited My Immortal to get rid of the spelling and grammar mistakes. I am legitimately - I am just done. I am amazed. I am - and I mean this in a way I have never meant it before - SHOOKETH. To my core.

[Faith Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

*I received an advanced copy of this title from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I've never heard of the web series that this novel was adapted from until I began reading this, so I'm not really sure if I'd like it should I choose to watch it. I don't know if it was the writing that made me dislike this book, or the content and the story itself, which would be deriving from the web series.
From the synopsis, I thought I would end up liking this book, but I really didn't. I'm thankful that this was a relatively quicker read, and it wasn't like I was trudging through molasses trying to read through it, it wasn't that boring. But the story itself was.... eh.
A large portion of the problem I had with this book was the writing. It just felt juvenile. It felt like the author was trying so hard to sound like the narrative was coming from a teenager/young adult so much that it came across as trying way too hard and not in the least bit relatable. So, despite the few times I related to the character's lesbianism, I could hardly enjoy the narration of this book at all.
Also, the unnecessary love triangle. I hate love triangles. And the fact that Laura and Danny had zero chemistry made the triangle even less enjoyable. And Laura just falls for Carmilla out of the blue? Like, there's some hinting before, but there's no transition from enemies to lovers, it's just enemies one moment, a little side comment about Carmilla being hot, her thinking she's trying to suck her blood and then suddenly falling for her and casting Danny aside just like that? What?
And the other characters weren't enjoyable at all. They were just annoying. The book made a whole point to show one of the characters misgendering her friend and Laura correcting her, and in the book, it sometimes used "her" instead of "they" completely defeating the purpose and making me second guess which character was being mentioned.
And honestly, the mystery was meh. The entire plot, for that matter, didn't really intrigue me very much. From Carmilla arriving to everyone finding out she's a vampire is a really fast transition. The plot twists came out of nowhere with like, little to no foreshadowing, which made the mystery even less appealing, as a reader, like many others, who like mysteries where they feel they saw some of it coming and can feel like a sleuth. The whole book just felt very rushed, especially the ending. The climax of the story basically happened over 4 pages.
And the fact that the book always had to go into paragraphs about Laura vlogging, I couldn't have cared less about.
This book has little redeeming qualities other than the fact that it's queer. Pretty disappointing.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

WARNING, a bit of a rant ahead + possibly some slight spoilers.

Thank you, NetGalley and the Publisher for the chance to read this novel.

Trigger/content warnings: deadnaming and misgendering of a genderqueer side character (on purpose and by accident), kidnapping and gore.


Before I start I just want to say I had such high hopes for this one. I mean, kick-ass lesbian vampire and f/f romance in a college setting? I was so excited for the LGBTQ+ rep and paranormal aspect, and while I hate leaving ranty reviews like this, I really think it needs to be said.

In hindsight, I probably should've watched the web series before requesting this, but I wanted it to be a surprise, as it's probably the equivalent of watching the movie before reading the book.

I have so much to say about this, I couldn't possibly fit it all into 1 review, even this is longer than anticipated! So I am going to stick to the basics of why this didn't work for me.


Things I liked:

-The LGBTQ+ rep: I was really happy to see that this book features 3 lesbian characters and 1 genderqueer side character (more info on that rep later)
-That cover is stunning
-Vampire/paranormal aspect
-Due to it being so fast-paced, I finished this in one sitting, plus, it's relatively short, at under 300 pages.


Things I didn't like/had issues with:

-Major problems with the genderqueer rep in this book. Heres why:
LaFontaine, a side character in this book, identifies as genderqueer and uses they/them pronouns. This book definitely needs some proofreading because I noticed at least 6 instances where the author used "she/her" pronouns instead of "they/them" here are some quotes to prove:

"LaFontaine got it from the campus hospital. She told them she needed it for some experiment"

"LaFontaine turns to Carmilla. "So you just serve them up like pizzas?" When she puts it that way."

"LaFontaine stammers "uh, dean." she sort of bows. "Your disapprovingness."

'"A little dramatic, even for you" they tease. Perry smacks her."

I really hope these mistakes are fixed before publication.

Disclaimer #2: I do not identify as genderqueer myself, I just noticed these mistakes.


Now onto Perry, LaFontaine's "friend of 16 years".

-Perry constantly deadnames LaFontaine, even after they ask her not to call them Susan.
-If someone who identifies as genderqueer asks you to use their pronouns/name and you ignore them, and you constantly deadname and misgender them, on purpose, is that right? The answer is no, it's not. Perry was a disgrace of a friend and a disgrace of a character.
-The worst part is, LaFontaine's feelings on the matter are never addressed until much later on in the book, where they finally have enough of being deadnamed and misgendered and (rightfully so) have a go at Perry. But even then, Perry still has the audacity to call LaFontaine Susan.
-The thing that really takes the cake is the fact that Perry is made out to be the victim. No one even asks if LaFontaine is okay after being deadnamed and misgendered by their best friend for (probably) years.

Now onto the other things I didn't really like:

-Lack of detailed descriptions for; characters, setting, magical element.

-Toxic love triangle and romance. There is zero chemistry between Laura and Carmilla and they only get together in the last 30%, up until that point they despise each other. The cover screams romance, it's marketed as a romance, well it definitely did not read like a romance to me. Carmilla physically attacks Laura and bites her, without her permission. Laura films and uploads videos of Carmilla without her permission. Laura keeps Carmilla hostage for two weeks and forces her to recount her whole life for Laura's blog. It's not a healthy relationship!

-The only male characters (of which there are a grand total of 3) are all problematic and bordering on sexist. Two of them are even literal stalkers who don't take no for an answer. Laura's dad, who appears for practically 1 chapter, is extremely over the top protective, even going so far as to not allow his 18-year-old daughter anything but a flip phone, as he is scared she will send nudes to random people. The other two constantly refer to all the women in the book as "sexy, baby, hottie" etc. Telling them they are there to "protect" them. Oh, but they will only protect the women they deem worthy, which is a "7.5 or above" to them.

-The writing style wasn't for me. I felt like It lacked depth and was way too fast paced.

-Whenever Laura was speaking to someone on the phone, the reader would only ever hear Laura's side of the conversation, never the responses. As a reader, this made me feel excluded from the story and therefore I lacked a connection to what was happening.


Overall, I am really glad that I had the opportunity to read this book. There are many reasons why this might not have worked for me personally. Maybe it's because it's a novelisation of a web series that I haven't watched. Maybe it's because it's meant to be read in a more humorous way that I didn't catch. Maybe the whole thing just didn't translate well in book format. Nonetheless, unfortunately, it didn't work for me. But I would always recommend giving a book a go and seeing what you think for yourself. Just because I didn't like it, doesn't mean it a terrible book.

Disclaimer #3: All quotes taken from the ARC copy, these are subject to change.

[Sapphir · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book made into a web series made into a book – that’s Carmilla, a really wild and trippy re-narration of Sheridan Le Fanu’s Gothic novella of the same name from the year 1872: a story full of vampires, kidnapped students, rampant fungi, lurking monsters, a university vlog, two “girls” in love and tons of humor.
I don’t think that the novel is very well written or that the author has much sense of timing, which means that the drama in the text always tends to peter out. But it’s peppered with references to the original text and pop culture, it’s refreshingly diverse and queer, and it’s highly amusing.
So yeah, Carmilla is no high literature, but it’s fun to read, especially for LGBTQIA+ people! Three stars.

[Abbey · Rating 2 out of 5]

What is it with me reading books that feel like they belong on fanfiction websites?

I’ve followed Carmilla since its debut in 2014. Over the years, I’ve grown attached to these characters. I’ve watched all of the extra videos Natasha and Elise have done together, bought the movie (with the huge bundle that includes all the behind-the-scenes perks and signed digital scripts) and watched all of their panels. You could say I’m a fan.

When I saw that Carmilla was going to be made into (another) novel, I was excited. Who wouldn’t want one of their favourite shows available in another format? However, after some thought, I became worried. The show is unique, to say the least. The web series is filmed like a vlog (no, not the “YouTuber” kind of vlog), and these characters are loved by many. Whoever this author was, they would have a lot to consider and live up to when writing the novel. How would they go about writing a “vlog style” show? What style would they use? What changes would have to be made?

Naturally, I prepared myself for these inevitable changes. In the end, nothing could prepare me for the disappointment that hit me like a slice of cheese hitting a baby’s face.

Obviously, as I said before, the author changed the perspective of this story. Instead of watching Laura’s uploaded vlogs (which, to be fair, would've been hard to translate into a well-written novel), we read Carmilla through Laura’s perspective in the first person. Now, I will say that anything written in the first person is an immediate turn-off for me. Even then, what really got me was how juvenile and emotionless this book was.

A vast majority of the dialogue is taken directly from to show, with some differences here and there. A full conversation between characters would be copied and pasted from the show into the book with the exception of a new sentence placed at the end in some cases. I found that most of the “fun” dialogue - the dialogue that makes each character unique and connects us to them - have been excluded from this adaptation. It is instead replaced by bland comments and unenthusiastic replies.

When I watched the show, Laura’s speech quickly rolls right off of her tongue - among other things - (sorry, had to make that joke, sue me) and adds to her character. Laura is an energetic, funny, and clever character who could make nerdy references on the fly. In contrast, Carmilla is aggressive yet cool and has this nonchalant attitude and seductive air surrounding her at all times, which she carries into her speech. When I read the book, I barely got any of those characteristics through the dialogue.

There’s a reason I alluded to this reading like a Wattpad fanfiction... because it does.

I’ll give you an example.

In episode 3 of Season 1, Laura explains her “roommate situation” to her viewers. At one point, she tells the viewers everything she hates about her new roommate, Carmilla. One particular annoyance is how Carmilla is always up at night with “some girl” in Laura’s bed. To get revenge, Laura says:

“But it’s fine, really. Because when Carmilla’s latest ‘study buddy’ came over, I may have mentioned that Carmilla has raging cold sores and she should probably get herself checked out, because they are, like, super contagious. Boom! Revenge is mine. And so is Carmilla’s super special soy milk that I’m not supposed to touch because ‘that’s just the way the world works, cutie’ Hunh.”

Yet, in the book, Turrisi states that Carmilla brings in a number of different girls into their shared room and writes the following:

“Well, guess what, I told the girl of the week that Carmilla has a longtime girlfriend. She went crazy. Bam, revenge is mine. Now I'm going to enjoy her soy milk on my cereal.”

First of all, instead of a dorky energetic journalist student, Laura comes off as a jealous and bitter teenager, which is an insult to her character. Second of all, you see what I mean when I say that all the fun and emotion is sucked out?

It is important to acknowledge that a large part of the reason why people love the show and characters is because of the chemistry between Natasha and Elise. Through their portrayals, dialogue that could be classified as “cringe-y” can be played off as dorky and endearing because of their acting. This also extends to Kirsch, who is more of a lovable and clueless dork in the show rather than a douchebag frat boy in the book. However, I’ve read a few media-to-novel adaptations that managed to not thoroughly ruin characters, so maybe I’m just particularly bitter because I know that these adaptations can be done well. In this case, it was not.

Now, onto Turrisi frequently misgendering the one genderqueer character in the entire novel.

Early on in the book - maybe around 30 pages in - we are introduced to LaFontaine and Perry. The author makes it very clear that LaFontaine is genderqueer, and that they go by they/them pronouns. LaFontaine is deadnamed and purposefully misgendered by Perry, which is a part of a conflict between the two life-long friends that is eventually resolved. Yet, the author then goes to misgender LaFontaine on five separate occasions, one of which is literally directly after the author writes Laf saying something along the lines of “I use they/them pronouns and my name is LaFontaine, not Susan.” It seemed like any importance of LaFontaine’s identity, experience and existence was thrown out the window. In fact, these critiques were made known when readers were sending reviews of ARCs, and it looks like there has been no effort to remedy these mistakes. Evidently, it seems like the author has not had any experience writing characters that are not cis, has not been educated on non-binary and genderqueer identities, has not been educated about how disrespectful and harmful misgendering is, and did not take the opportunity to fix the errors.

I could keep rambling, but I have to sleep and I don't want to put any more energy into this novel. Let's wrap things up.

Some other things that annoyed me were:
- Laura’s obsession with Danny
- The fact that we only read one side of phone conversations
- The fact that the author chose not to mention that Carmilla’s Mother is not her actual Mother, which is kind of important to the story as a whole

Things I liked:
- The book took the reader beyond Carmilla and Laura’s dorm room
- Lesbians

All in all, reading this adaptation was a huge disappointment. Please go watch the web series. Peace out, creampuffs.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The fact that no one told me there was a novelization of the web series that was literally my lesbian awakening is, quite frankly, homophobic.

5/31/19 UPDATE
Okay so this was..........meh. I think most of my enjoyment of this book came from my enjoyment of the web series. I love that series with all my heart and having a novelization of it was a novelty more than its own coherent story. I'm fairly certain I would have been super confused about the plot if I didn't already know the story. There were a few things that were fleshed out a bit more than they were in the web series, and a few things were changed to make the story make sense since we were seeing things as they happened rather than after the fact while Laura talked to her webcam, so that was cool.

This is very ramble-y. The point is, watch the web series. It's much better than this book. Sorry, book people.

[Megan P ☆]

this cover alone granted me eternal health & prosperity

[Cora Tea Party Princess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean, it was trash but it was fun trash.

[Geonn Cannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably 2.5 rounded up (provided by NetGalley)

I wanted to like this book. I watched the webseries, but it's been a few years so I was looking forward to refreshing my memory about what happened way back at the beginning. I got that, but that's about all I got. The book sticks firmly to Laura's point of view, very rarely explores outside her dorm room, and the majority of the book ends up being transcriptions of things that are said and done in the episodes. A novel seemed like the ideal place to throw off the restrictions that come with having a budget, and it's disappointing that the author didn't take advantage of that.

The book suffers from a lot of talking instead of doing, telling other characters what was done instead of showing it happen. Again, this is from the webseries where they COULDN'T go to multiple locations. Why not use the webseries descriptions as a template and flesh it out?

The oddest thing is that the big climactic battle IS seen in the book... and then Laura proceeds to explain to us what just happened. That was necessary in the webseries, not so much in a book where it literally just happened.

I am glad, overall, that this book is available. Fans will appreciate having a companion version of the story rather than watching hours of videos. But for the uninitiated or people who don't already know the show, this book is not a good place to start.

[Alana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I REALLY wanted to like this one, but unfortunately this was just a big ol' Yikes.

I was all in for a college plagued with vampires and a f/f romance including a vampire. The writing, however, basically cut short any hope of me loving it. It felt super juvenile and if this wasn't such a quick read this probably would have been a DNF for me. My biggest issue besides the writing feeling juvenile is that there was also barely any descriptions. Like, you're writing a story about a creepy old college you could have a field day with setting this story up...but nope. There was so much potential to take what the web series of this gave and build from there but majority of this was dialogue and everything was paced wayyyyy too fast.

Another issue I had with this was that there is a character that identifies as they/them and the book used she/her multiple times...so just yikes. I hope someone caught that for the final copy.

All in all, while the plot had SO MUCH potential, this basically fell short everywhere else.



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[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit that, after finishing the book yesterday, I binged-watched the first season of the show. And that changed my perspective, and my review, of the book.

First of all, the book is really fast-paced. It seemed to be an irritant for most reviewers, but I liked it. However, it could have had included more descriptions (of characters mostly).

There are a couple things that I now understand, after watching the show, like :
- when Laura is talking on the phone, you only have her side of the conversation. It's like that on the show, but it could've have been both sides in the book;
- Laura nearly always eats snacks, except for a date. But because the book explores more of Laura's quest than what we see on the show, she could've eaten take out a couple of times while planning...

Certain things I still have difficulty with, even with having watched the show:
- the lack of surprise of knowing that Carmilla is a VAMPIRE, like it's normal;
- all the male characters are described as idiots or having issues.

Overall, I'm still happy to have received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. I devoured the book even if it triggered all the reactions from me. And I got to discover a new show, that I liked too! It certainly is going everywhere with the weird, but after watching the show, I appreciate how Kim Turrisi filled the blanks left by the webcam show.

Many thanks to Kids Can Press!
Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[julia ☆ [owls reads] · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star.

*

Carmilla is a wonderful webseries, but the novelization fails at capturing just how great the story is. There’s an opportunity for creators to expand the world-building and setting in this novel, considering there isn’t a budget to put words on a page, and that is really not taken advantage of. As novelizations go, even Laura’s internal monologue misses the mark and comes off sounding a bit childish and flat.

I’m a huge fan of the webseries, so while this book does entertain me a bit, there’s an overall atmosphere of disappointment surrounding the story. They could have done a lot more with it than they did, from exploring different places and maybe even different POVs, despite the series focusing on Laura’s perspective of things.

The story just… doesn’t seem to do any work to aside from being a transcript of the series? And not a very good one at that. The way the author keeps using she/her pronouns to refer to LaFontaine despite them preferring they/them pronouns. There also isn’t any depth added to the story in the writing. The series has way more heart than the novelization. It’s really really disappointing, because this could have been great.
*

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Manon the Malicious · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.75 Stars*

I was provided an ARC by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

This book followed the story from the webseries which I have watched a very long time ago. I was actually planning on rewatching it because I barely remembered it and hadn't finished it.

Anyway, for those who don't know the show, this is Laura's story. Laura is starting college at Silas university. When she arrives, everything seems great, yeah her roommate is a bit of a party animal but they still clicked instantly. When she disappears, Laura doesn't know what to do, she tries to contact the administration but no one cares about her worrying and they even give her a new roommate, Carmilla. Carmilla is a night-owl and all of her habits deeply annoy Laura, especially because she won't take seriously the fact that Laura want to investigate all the disappearances that are happening on campus.
But since they annoy each other so much, why can't Laura stop thinking about her?

As I read this book, the story came back to me from when I watched the series and even it was enjoyable to be in Laura's head, I think the video format worked better. It allowed the whole crazy mushrooms thing to be more believable. I felt like in the book format, something was missing, the story felt rushed and I wished things would have been added, that Carmilla and Laura's relationship would have grown slower, little by little. I still enjoyed this a lot, (mainly because Gay) but I expected it to be even better. i still really liked the characters and the story though and I think others would too.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

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I was sent an eARC of this novel from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. This does not change my view in any shape or form. 2.5 star rating. Full review also found here at Booked J.

One of the first web series that I ever watched was Carmilla, so I was beyond excited to see that there was an upcoming novelization of the web series. Not to be confused with the original story that both are based upon. As far as novelizations go, Carmilla was every bit as intriguing as the original series it is based on and fans are going to certainly enjoy it.

This new novelization, too, will absolutely bring a new audience to the original series as well. Which is a massive plus.

While I did enjoy this novel, it did feel, at times, a bit unnecessary. It adds very little to the original episodes. In reality, this could have done more to flesh out the story a bit more. Unfortunately, it did not do that. This isn't to say Carmilla is badly written or paced--it's entertaining as always--but it felt, at times, a little choppier on page than it does on screen.

At the end of the day, one of the things that made Carmilla fall short in expectations was the length. I expected a little something more, a little something more descriptive and as atmospheric as the web series. In the process of translating it from screen to page, Carmilla loses a lot of its charm and just doesn't fit well with the narrative that was set up.

There were points in the story that were stronger than others but I think that is merely because I was able to look back on the web series and see it play out in my head in a very specific way--one that just wasn't aptly explored in the novelization.

In short, Carmilla could have benefited beautifully from the kind of development that books allow. I do think that Turrisi had the right idea, and had a particular kick to her portrayal of these characters, but in the end, the shortness of this novel was its biggest enemy.

Still, there were some good things to note about Carmilla, including the obvious representation. Queer girls who kick-ass? Sign me up. I don't think that the novelization is nearly as indulgent and fun as the web series, but I do think that it will find its audience--which is all that matters.

[Ankita Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the time it took Edelweiss+ to approve my ARC request, I'd already burned through all the episodes of the Carmilla web series and also watched the movie. And I'd also fallen in love with them. (And also maybe developed a tiny-HUGE crush on Natasha Negovanlis a.k.a. Carmilla.)


So by the time I got to the book, I already knew the story and the perfect cast. And I guess this was one of those instances where the movie (in this case: web series) was better than the book.


The reasons for that are:


♡ The book was based on the web series, not the other way around. 

♡ The web series is shot in the same place all throughout the season (it's supposed to be the protagonist's (Laura's) Journalism project and is therefore supposedly shot through her web cam.) So, it was easier to describe some things without showing them on camera. But it's impossible to do that in books, since descriptions are the essence of books, and the descriptions that were written seemed kinda lacking. 


So even though it told exactly the same story as the web series, the book did not contain the same magic. I'd definitely recommend you to check out the web series (IT'S ON YOUTUBE!) but I'm not sure if I'll do the same for the book. 

[Rianne K B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hi, my name's Rianne and Carmilla the series was my wlw comfort media growing up.

I'd heard a few people already say this wasn't good, so I didn't have high hopes, and while it wasn't terrible, it also wasn't that good. This is essentially the series, so you may as well watch season 1 because it'd be faster and you get to look at Natasha Negovanlis and Elise Bauman.

The reason Carmilla works is because it's campy and fun and a little bit bad but we all know it, and that doesn't necessarily translate into a book. The lines that are funny and make the show what it is, fall flat when put in a novel, and I don't think this novel added anything to the series. Carmilla the series was a new and original adaptation of Le Fanu's Carmilla, but this book is almost a carbon copy.

Overall, I enjoyed it, but I know that's for nostalgia reasons more than actual quality, because like I said, Carmilla was a big part of my teenage years. If you're really curious about the story you might as well watch the series because it's a much better way of consuming it.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

*thank you to Netgalley, Kim Turrisi and Kids Can Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


2 stars.

I struggled to get through this. I had requested it because of the mention of there being similarities between it and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. But I just couldn't get that into it. The characters didn't appeal to me much and I kept drifting while reading it so it did take me longer than usual to get through. I also pushed through because I thought there was a hope that it might pick up further in. It didn't really and I know now that it's probably best to have viewed the webseries prior to reading this. I reckon that would make it more interesting and understanding of whats happening. Unfortunately this was not for me. But to end on a positive, I am a fan of this cover. That's what first attracted me to this book.

[BadassCmd · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay so I loved the show Carmilla just as much as the next gay. But it had a very unique humor and Aesthetic. With all the weird shit going on and crazy situations leading to more obscure outcomes, there was a lot in the show that I truly didn't get, but just overlooked to enjoy the gayness.

I was excited to see that it would be adapted as a book, especially with that awesome cover. And it didn't bother me that apparently it would 'just' be the story of the actual first season of the show instead of something new.

I was actually hoping that this book would make the show even better for me, since it had the opportunity to dig deeper, show us more perspectives and stuff that happened off-Camera or without Laura there, and make the plot more logical by writing it out and connecting the dots the show sometimes just threw into our faces.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but I think this concept could have been great and sadly the book didn't deliver on anything I hoped it would.

It's a quick read, but that's mostly because it doesn't dig deep or describe much.
It didn't even go so far as to give us both sides of conversations Laura has on the phone, which really made it feel like the author sat down, let Camilla season 1 run and just plainly wrote down what happens on screen. Only that this way of retelling the plot makes it seem even more ridiculous than the actual show was.

I don't like to go on rants, but I am just incredible sad that this book does not work as a book. It is not an adaption. It only works as a transcript of a webseries.

[Quinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could write a better adaptation than this.

[Ash · Rating 1 out of 5]

I became a fan of the web series, Carmilla, by accident. I'm glad I came across it. It's rare for their to be a television show with decent but not overly blatant queer representation. When I saw Kim Turrisi's adaptation of Carmilla at a bookstore, I was like sure, why not? It might provide some added insight to the show.

I was very wrong.

The only word that came to mind as I was reading it was: Lame.

Carmilla is about college freshman Laura Hollis entering Silas University, a gothic looking school in Austria. As a Journalism major, she decides to do a vlog as her thesis. However, she changes the direction of her vlog when her new roommate Betty disappears without a trace.

Betty is replaced by a new surly Philosophy major named Carmilla Karnstein. She and Laura butt heads immediately. Laura realizes that Betty wasn't the only female student that went missing, she was just the only one who didn't come back.

Laura, along with her friends LaFontaine, Perry, and Danny try to figure out what dark secrets Silas holds and how Carmilla is connected to all of it.

This was a very disappointing read. I'm guessing without the actors especially Elise Bauman and Natasha Negovanlis who portrayed Laura and Carmilla, respectively, the book had no spark. Carmilla is a campy show that works. Turrisi turned camp into corniness.

It didn't help that Turrisi is a boring writer. Everything that was supposed to be dramatic was as dull as dishwater. The Dean being the uber big bad of everything going on at Silas is a cool turn of events. Turrisi made it boring. I couldn't believe it.

Skip this lukewarm watered down version and see the web series instead. If not, read the original source material, Carmilla by J. Sheridan LaFanu. I haven't read it yet but I heard it's good.

[J. Peters · Rating 2 out of 5]

When it was announced that the Carmilla web series was getting a novel adaptation, I was pretty stoked. After all, the web series was based off of a book to begin with. It took the basics of the original concept and modernized it for today's world, and it did a good job of doing so. I was excited to see that a book adaptation was being done, because I thought it meant we would get something that would dive deeper into the lore of the show, and show us the events that went on in more depth and detail. It would give us a chance to get to know the characters a bit more. Show bonding scenes that perhaps weren't shown on screen, and find a new way to frame the narrative so it would better fit a book.

Seeing as how I've rated it two stars, I'm sure you won't be surprised to find out that I was disappointed.

It hurt to rate this one as low as I did. I had a lot of hopes for it.

Before I get into the book, I'm going to talk about the web series, why I liked it, and what made it work. And then I'll talk about the book, and about how most of those things didn't end up working in the same way.

I took a chance on the web series, because I wasn't really sure how it would pan out. It seemed kinda slow and a bit boring at first. It was essentially just a vlog, but with a story behind it instead of an actual person vlogging about their day. It was handled well enough though, so I kept watching. And over time, I really got into it. The actors all had great chemistry, and were talented as well. Dialogue that could be seen as a bit cringy ended up working because the actors could sell it. It had a level of quirkiness that felt well suited to it's format. Laura was basically a beam of optimism despite all the darkness around her. She used the webcam to vent her frustrations to whoever would watch, and then implore the other students for help. It was a creative way to frame the narrative - taking the nature of a vlog and then layering an entire story around it. The fact that the story was updated to better reflect the modern world and how we've come to embrace LGBT themes was also a really nice touch.

The show was never about the big action scenes. Laura, Carmilla, and the other characters would spend a lot of time talking directly to the camera about the events that had happened off-screen between episodes, or during episodes. The real core of the show though, the emotional core - that was all on screen. And it was the interaction between characters that really made it work. The story wasn't about the action. It was about the characters, and how they adapted and changed based on the circumstances. Seeing Carmilla grab a sword from some cave in the ocean could've been cool to see, but seeing how her relationship with Laura changed and developed over the course of a season was better and more important to the overall narrative.

A lot of credit has to be given to the onscreen chemistry between Elise and Natasha, but the other actors were no slouches either. Kirsch was a lovable doof because the actor who played him was great at making him feel totally earnest despite whatever odd thing he would end up saying.

The show went on for three seasons, and was a bit of a cult hit on the internet. It even spawned it's own sequel movie, which was really well done, and stepped away from the vlogging aspect. That made sense, since it wouldn't have worked as well in the context of a movie.

And that brings us to the book adaptation.

So. I mentioned how the movie didn't use the vlogging aspect to the degree that the show did, because it didn't work as well in the context of a movie. When it comes to a book, I don't think vlogging works as well. Or at least, it doesn't work as well with how it's written.

For one, most of the vlogging stuff is taken directly from the show, sprinkling in some flavor with Laura's inner thoughts (which, in the end, don't really add that much.) It doesn't add anything new to these scenes - no major changes at least - and it lacks the actors chemistry that helped sell those scenes on the screen. Context matters a lot. When the characters are describing some big event that happened off screen in the show, you can accept it because yeah, a low budget show on YouTube isn't going to do that, and it wouldn't fit with the format of the show.

Likewise, having all of these vlogging scenes in the book kind of takes away from the flow of the book. It's essentially a transcription of the show, with a few changes here and there.

Second, it does show some of the stuff we didn't get to see in the show, like various parties, campus meetings, the library, and so on. Unfortunately, these also don't work very well. They're written very shallowly, like the author was given some notes on how those events went and did as little as possible to actually flesh those events out.

The show used vlogging as a tool to the tell the story because yeah, of course it would. It was a show that streamed online. It knew it's limitations.

The book could've taken that logic and changed it's approach to the story. Like, instead of vlogs, maybe we get journal entries from Laura mixed in with the larger narrative (because due to how the story works, I don't think limiting it to JUST journal entries would work very well.)

The book also lacks the charm of the actors in a big way. Without Elise and Natasha saying the lines and interacting with one another, the scenes just fall flat. Carmilla seems a lot more aloof in the book than she does in the show. Natasha has this way of speaking when she's playing Carmilla that shows that there's a lot more going on underneath the surface. The same is true for Elise playing Laura. Things aren't just said outright - they're shown, through subtle glances, through facial expressions, and through actions.

Perhaps one of the biggest ways the book changes things is that Laura comes right out in the beginning and says she's a lesbian. Now - of course I don't have a problem with that. But one of the cooler aspects of the show was that it didn't really say that outright in the show at the beginning. It just showed you how it was true because of how Laura gradually became attracted to Danny, and then later on, Carmilla. Those awkward interactions that Laura had with Danny felt a lot more genuine on screen than in the book. And Danny really doesn't come off that well in the book - she seems a lot more harsh and distant. It's not too different from the show, but again, with the charisma of the actor to sell those moments, it just falls flat.

So yeah. This was a disappointment. The writing wasn't that great. The characters fall flat and feel off from how they were portrayed in the show. At first I was disappointed that this only covered the first season, but now I'm kinda glad that it was kept short. And I kinda hope it's not continued, or if it is, it's done with a different author. I don't want to mean, but it just didn't work for me.

I was really hoping that the other low reviews I was seeing would turn out to be a fluke and that I would like it, but alas. I can't recommend it. I can definitely recommend the web series and the movie though. It works in all the ways that the book doesn't.

One final thing to mention, and it doesn't really effect my score, but it did bug me. The formatting of the Kindle version was a bit weird. The paragraphs were barely indented, and it made the flow of reading feel awkward and clunky.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book missed the mark for me. It missed a lot of opportunities to do what the confines of the web series couldn't, and instead it just summarized exactly what we saw in the web series.

Instead of richly describing the world outside Laura's room, or breathing life into the scenes that happened off-screen, or even adapting certain scenes to play better in this new format (the puppet show was very cringe-y on the page) it just described exactly what we've already seen.

I was disappointed that this didn't embrace its format and add to the franchise. It's like the sparknotes to the web series. I'd say skip it and just go watch or re-watch the show.

Full Review: on my blog

[Salieri · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry, Carm. I wanted to love this so badly. I love the webseries and was super excited for the book but it needs a lot more work before it's readable. Full review to come closer to publication date.

PS: LaFontaine is misgendered FIVE TIMES by the narrator. I understand Perry being so obtuse she insists on calling them Susan (she does get called out for it and corrects her behaviour, btw), but the narrator uses "they" in the whole book except for these five instances, so it's an editing problem but five times means it's a big one.

[Best Lesfic Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book (which was first published in 1872 and is said to have influenced Bram Stoker’s treatment of Dracula) to web series to book, Carmilla seems to be destined to keep reappearing in different forms through eternity, just like the character in the story. This version is based on the madly popular web series which had everyone shipping Hollstein.

Read the full review @https://bestlesficreviews.blogspot.co...

[Shannon McGee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an Advance Reader Copy at Clexacon and, uhm, I binged this book in less than a day. It did a really excellent job capturing the webseries and gave a little extra. Much love. Only problem is that now I want more, ha.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.75 stars. *sigh* just watch the web series.


(thank you, Edelweiss, for the free digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.)

[Rachel | thelibrarybookstagrammer · Rating 3 out of 5]

*A copy of this book was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

All Laura Hollis wanted was to succeed at Silas University, land a coveted internship, and launch her journalism career. Okay, maybe she wanted to have a little fun, too, after finally moving away from her overprotective father. Instead, she ends up in the middle of a mystery after her roommate Betty goes missing. And she isn't the only one. Girls have been going missing at Silas for years without explanation and they don't always come back.

To make matters worse, her new roommate Carmilla is pretty much the roommate from hell. She's a slob, she constantly has girls over, and...she keeps blood in a soy milk container? There's definitely something off about Carmilla, but Laura won't let it get in her way. She's far too busy trying to get Betty back, pass her classes, and maybe even spend some time with her crush Danny the TA.

With some help from her new friends LaFontaine and Perry, Laura may be able to find the missing girls. However, she'll have to navigate the party animal Zetas feuding with the Summer Society, flying herring, and the Alchemy Club to do it. Silas University is certainly never boring, but it just might be deadly. And Carmilla might just have the answers that Laura is looking for.

Like you might already know, this book is based on a popular webseries of the same name. I was actually a huge fan of the webseries when it first started airing, but I haven't watched it since I did a big rewatch in 2017. While my memory of the webseries might not be fresh, I do remember the important plot points and the overall vibe of the series. And now, having read the book I can definitely say that you should probably watch the webseries instead. Or if you're determined to read it, then watch the web series first.

That being said, this book does stay close to the source material. I did appreciate this, but it also felt like the book really didn't add anything to Carmilla overall. The writing was minimalistic and didn't really add depth to the story overall. The only contribution that it added was that some off camera scenes were present in the book. But the detail was minimal.

If you haven't watched the series then this book probably won't make you want to. While the actors really breathe life into the characters in the web series, here they're flat. Without my memories of the web series, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed this book at all. This book is missing the pizzazz of the web series.

While it's a decent read, it's not as good as the web series and if your interest is sparked by the summary just watch it. Especially if you're in it for the f/f romance. That is so much better in the show since the chemistry between Laura and Carmilla is much better there. In the book, I felt like their chemistry was lacking.

I'd give this 3 stars since it was still okay, probably just because I remember and love the web series so much. Nostalgia is a powerful force after all.

[Littlebookterror · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so bummed about this.
I started watching the series when the second season was just over and I loved every second of it. The way the story is told, the plot, the lesbians, I was hooked. So I was super happy when I saw that they had a book coming out. But sadly I was disappointed.
The book is simply retelling the story of the web series in book format.

So, the plot of the story is great. It's quirky and weird while embracing the more modern setting. Laura is a funny character to follow, Carmilla is my favourite broody vampire and the background characters are just as well-rounded.
It doesn't take itself to seriously which helps to simply be immersed in this wacky university and go along their adventure.

But the writing ruins most of it. It's superficial and simple, adding nothing to the story. We don't get a deeper insight into Laura or Carmilla, there is no emotional development or any attachment the reader could create. The book is filled with statements but nothing to back them up. It only tells us the most important part without going any further. It was so frustrating for the writing to be so shallow when character offer so much more. It doesn't help that the descriptions are very repetitive since most of the story plays out in Laura's dorm room. They easily could have fixed that.

I think they could have done so much differently. Instead of simply rehashing the entire plot, they could have focused more on Carmilla's side of the story. Or they could have told the story in short vignettes to mirror the short Youtube episodes. Or they could have implemented video transcripts to add to the experience of them actually documenting their adventure. Or show snapshot that are preceded by the location to create the setting. Really, anything.


I received and advanced reading copy on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[kyliegh · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is definitely closer to a 1 star read than a 2 star read, but i have such a soft spot for this silly little web series that i can't help but bump it up a little for my forever otp hollstein

i definitely understand why everyone said this reads like a fanfiction because it totally does - like, i know it must have been hard to write a book based off a show that was entirely batshit crazy and made no sense itself, and having to hit all those key points while filling in the blanks. some parts i think were done fine and some parts i liked having the added view of! but for the most part.. it kind of read like someone who had watched carmilla when it came out nine years ago and remembered like 65% of it and decided to expand it out based on that, if that makes sense? there were some very ooc moments and the last three or four chapters were the weakest imo. i could look past everything else, but when it came to battle scenes, there was no point in adding them, we got no extra information, they were just confusing and over in a blink.

all that being said... thank you, kim, for the bonus hollstein scenes!! i loved the banter we didn't get in the show (when carm joked about laura joining her in the shower with the promise that she "won't bite. again." i giggled) and yeah, a lot of the romantic moments didn't feel in character, and maybe the relationship was too rushed and not slowburn enough compared to the web series, but chez karnstein made my heart so so happy.

my wish for the universe that i'm tossing out there like a penny into a well is that someone somewhere writes a book of season one from carmilla's perspective. i want to know when she started falling for laura - what was the moment that she stopped seeing her as prey and saw her as a person instead? what was the thing that changed her mind? i need to know!!! please!!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will admit, I’m mainly giving this a 4/5 because I love the characters SO much. From a writing standpoint, it’s probably a 2.5/5 - like I noticed a lot of others have mentioned.
While I’m overall very satisfied with this book as a novelization. I’m also very torn because there is SO much that could of been done with this.
With this being a novel, we could do away with the one room stage aspect that the webseries could unfortunately only provide. We did get that here and there (with a lot of Danny/Laura scenes which was appreciated), but a lot of the scenes were just written from what was explained on the show.
I also think this book suffered greatly because it was in Laura’s POV. It really should of been written in 3rd person because we could of gotten a better sense of everyone’s characters, that didn’t always include Laura.
Like they did away with the epic scene of Laura being possessed by the Dean?! Sure we saw it in the video later, but it totally lost its effect. And where was the scene of Carmilla deciding to go and help?! Or maybe a scene of Danny going to save Laura near the end or her life in the Summer Society.
There was SO much potential for this book to expand more for the webseries, and in that regard it let me down.