I was provided Carmilla by netgalley in exchange for a review.

Initially I thought this was a book version of the Carmilla Movie, because the cover is the same as the movie poster. Because I haven’t been able to see the movie, I was incredibly excited, then slightly disappointed when I found out the Book rendition of Carmilla is of the original web series. This however, was still really exciting in its own right.

The actual execution of the novel, did however, let me down. Maybe it’s because I haven’t read a lot of books based off movies and I was expecting more of a change between the original source material and what happened in the novel version. It however, read word for word off the web series. Every line, every aspect of the wed series was seemingly transcribed in this book, it could have been the original script for all I know. For me, that was just a little too jarring. I almost felt like I was reading a fanfic, and not a good, fresh perspective fanfic either.

I don’t know, there was nothing inherently bad or wrong with this one, it just wasn’t for me. But if you HAVEN’T see the web series than I would recommend this for you…I would also recommend to just go watch the original web series, It’s better than the book.

If Veronica Mars went to college and roomed with a genderbent Spike and they were Gay AF.

There’s three web series seasons and a movie in 2017. HELL YES. The YT channel Kinda TV looks right up my alley.So I can’t say how the book adaptation Carmilla will do if you’ve seen the web series.

But if you haven’t seen it, it works on its own. It’s fun, and will easily keep surprising you. The lens is so woman centered, it’s honestly a relief. No putting up with toxic masculinity bullshit or fat jokes.

Carmilla the book follows through the whole first season, which has 36 regular episodes averaging 3-5 mins each. There’s a bonus Christmas Special too. Maybe next as a novella?

Genderqueer scientist friend
Alchemy science nerd hijinks
Awkward adorable girl crushing
Hot TA
Annoying gross frat boys, but they’re not The Evil and don’t rape anyone
I’m really excited to find out what happens next. How did I not know about this series until this tour??? I know what I’ll be bringing this weekend.

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.

It wasn't a surprising book to me, since I've seen all (I think) of the Carmilla Web Series (and seen the movie too).

It's the story of Laura and Carmilla. Laura is a frosh at Silas University whose roommate goes missing, and she starts an investigation on what happened to her. She gets a new roommate, Carmilla, and from there, both their lives go even crazier than before.

It wasn't a perfect adaptation, since not only is Carmilla a super, super visual web series, but, there are most definitely things in the series that didn't translate to the page. And, I will say that the ending of the web series really, really didn't translate onto the page.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Kids Can Press.

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.

Laura Hollis enters Silas University to study journalism. Her roommate is a highly strung party animal, Betty, who soon goes missing. Laura sets out on a mission to find Betty. Her new roommate, the brooding, enigmatic Carmilla is a slob who completely disses Laura and her Betty-search mission. Then there are secondary characters including a genderqueer person.

This book is captures the breathless lunacy of the web series and the premise. It is fast paced and treats the crazy with an ironic seriousness. The only real problem is the repeated incorrect pronoun usage for the genderqueer LaFontaine.

This is a quick, fun read for fans of the series and for fans of nonsensical absurd.

I received this book from the publisher as an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This faithful adaptation had the potential to grow on its source material and open up a world that could give [book:Welcome to Night Vale|23129410] a run for its money. But unfortunately, I can't see this book is loved by anyone other than dedicated fans.
I'll preface this with the fact I am one of those original fans and I watched the web series when it first came out way back in 2014. As a queer girl, I wanted queer representation in the shows I watched and the books I read. And I still do. But looking back on the show and now this adaptation I can say that the f/f representation isn't enough to make up for the amateurish style of this book.
The LGBT representation in the book was somewhat problematic. The genderqueer character LaFontaine is frequently misgendered by both characters and the writer. I received a proof copy so I hope that these errors are corrected in the print version. The chemistry between Laura and her love interests is severely lacking in comparison to how it was in the series. Laura is frequently out of character, she is supposed to be loveable, dorky and smart but comes across as jealous, dumb and one dimensional. Carmilla is one dimensional, Perry is one dimensional, Danny is one dimensional...
That is my biggest gripe with this book, it had the chance to explore parts of the world that couldn't have been done in the web series due to budget and time constraints. The source material should have been a template for a good supernatural lesbian romance mystery book. In rare occasions, the book did venture out to places other than Laura's dorm room it felt like the writer didn't know what to do with the characters.
The ending felt rushed, the climax happened on all of 3 pages and it sets itself up for a sequel that I doubt I will read.
Overall, watch the show creampuffs.

Rating: 3/5
Queer: YES
ARC: I received an ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review:
I tried to get into this book, as I was a huge fan of the webseries. But the truth is, I couldn't. It didn't ring true for me, and felt like there weren't enough behind-the-scenes type things to make it even better than the webseries.

This was a miss for me. I don't know if you read this before the webseries if that makes any difference or not, but this didn't suck me in the same way The Secret Diary of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries sucked me in after the Lizzie Bennet Diaries webseries was over.

So, how did I read this? Well, I started with just reading the book and I found it a little hard to get to grips with the tone, I hadn't initially realised how silly this book is and it took me a moment to really lean into that. So that's my first tip - lean in.

I also ended up reading this book in tandem with watching the web series, which, in my opinion, was the best thing I could have done. The two compliment each other, each one lending that little bit of extra context to the other. Unlike other adaptations I don't think this book can exist in a vacuum, it needs to be tied to the series or else it doesn't make a huge amount of sense. The tone is so weird, the characters so funny and not what one might expect, the dialogue is the same somewhat stilted lilt of the series. They work so well together I see no reason to take them apart. Perhaps that would be different if you've already seen the series? If you have, read the book separately and then let me know what you think?

Worth noting, there is one instance of a non-binary character being consistently wrong-named and misgendered by another character in a moment of tension. In the series, this didn't feel like it had the weight that it does in the book, another instance of one adding to the other. I have seen other reviewers react poorly to this, and I can understand why, but I thought that the representation of an old friend having difficulty adjusting to someone transitioning was a very real thing. I also thought that the way this was handled by the other characters, who supported LaFontaine and corrected the friend (whose name slips my mind while writing this review please don't judge me).

I think it's telling to read the reviews which are pretty much split (with a few exceptions) between people reading this with knowledge about the series and those reading it alone. As a book on its own, I agree...this wouldn't be that great. But as a largely accurate novelisation of a series, I'd say this hits the mark. It captures the tone of the series perfectly and will appease anyone who loves their vampires silly and also gay.

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Carmilla is available now!

It's been awhile since I watched the webseries, so I figured that I would give this book a go. I would have like to see a lot more showing of what was going on instead of being told what was happening. It would have been interesting to experience the events myself instead of having the characters explain it. Overall it was an enjoyable read.

In my mind book adaptations of TV shows or movies are meant to, among other things, fill in the spaces between the scenes we got to see. Take the insinuation out of it and shows us more of what happened.
Carmilla does do that, but on the rarest of occasions. And that's one of the reasons why it didn't work for me.
I think the writing feels a bit under cooked. It's all from Laura's POV, it's all focused on the dorm room, much like the series and I don't get the point of it. While there's a bit of charm to it, at times it feels repetitive as things get explained more than once.
I don't know if this book was meant for fans of the show, or if it was meant for people who haven't heard of it.
I'm sad to say that I'm not sure it's suitable for either.

In the time it took Netgalley 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.

This read like fanfic to me, and not in a good way. The writing style came off really juvenile, the characters weren't well developed and came across as shallow and trope-y (and in some cases really dumb), and the relationships between the characters that are supposed to drive the story also were way underdeveloped.

Kim Turrisi has captured the story and Laura’s voice perfectly, her geekiness and nerdy references are perfectly appropriate and flow throughout the first person perspective. The characters from the series are written perfectly in character and pay true homage to the original actors’ performances. This would be perfect for fans of the Carmilla web series and film, but it is also a nice read for fans of vampire stories and has great LGBTQ representation with diverse characters.

This was a solid adaptation of the web series, which I love. I really enjoyed the way Laura's voice was captured in the first person POV.

I was uncomfortable with the repeated use of the phrase "and the girls," which seemed to encompass LaFontaine, but on the whole it wasn't an issue aside from Perry working through accepting their gender identity the same way she did in the show.

All in all, I just really enjoyed visiting Silas University and these characters again. There are so, so many tropes in this franchise that I adore, and all of the characters elements I loved in the show were well represented in the book.

I'd recommend for fans of the series, obviously, fans of urban fantasy, weird college campus stories, preternatural library stories, and f/f romances.

I have heard quite a bit about Carmilla over the years. I've yet to get around to watching the web series, and I don't know much about the history behind Carmilla, I was primarily interested in this book because of the romantic relationship between two women. I thought if I got into the book, I could check out the web series after (I tend to read before I watch).

But unfortunately, I didn't make it far into this book before deciding it wasn't for me. The writing style is far too condensed, and the author tends to tell rather than show. I didn't feel a distinctive voice for any character, and therefore it failed to grip me.

Kim Turrisi’s Carmilla is a book I read recently that was based on a web series. I enjoyed it and think that whether you’re a fan of the series or not, it is a good way to get acquainted or reacquainted with the story and characters.

The Queer Rep
This book and the series have been praised for the representation of members of the LGBT+ community. The series stars two girls who end up in a relationship with each other (and a freakin cute one at that) and even has a genderqueer character who uses They/Them pronouns. I really do think the praise that this book has been given in terms of representation is deserving. While I had a few issues with the rep regarding the fact that They/Them pronouns were not used for Lafountaine at the beginning of the book, that could just be a error with the ARC or something regarding the fact that the narrator does not know this ahead of time and once she does she uses they/them pronouns when talking about LaFountaine. I can’t tell you what to think about that or if it should make you more invested in the book or not. I can say though that the relationships in this book were very genuine and I believe if you’re looking for positive queer representation in a book in series, Carmilla is a good place to look.

2. The Story

A story is important to any form of media whether it be a movie, book, show, etc. And this book does have a great story. I really loved the mystery of the school and vampires. I am not usually a big fan of vampire stories (thanks Twilight), but I have to say this one is pretty interesting and amazing. If you’re a fan of mysteries, supernatural, or anything like that then I think this story could be the one for you.

3. More Than The Series

Something I really appreciated about this book is that though it only covers the first season, the story does go into more details than what the web series could. Many moments in the web series or at least the first season take place in one room (Carmilla and Laura’s dorm room) and while it is understandable for a web show to have those constraints, a book is different. With a book you can expand on the universe and give more details for scenes or characterization or background with the characters. It doesn’t have to be so neutralized. Without giving too much away, there is a big battle in the book that I was so happy got the exposure and details it deserved. In the series they show the aftermath of what happened and tell the viewers the details, but in the book you are able to read and “see” that battle for yourself and it’s amazing. I was a little nervous about reading a book that I already knew the story too. However, if you think of it similar to a movie novelization with more details and possible extra scenes then it works out pretty well.

4. Introduction to Web Show or Continuation

Something great about this book is it can be fun and enjoyable whether you’re a fan of the series or not. If you’re looking for a way to be introduced to the show this book isn’t a bad way to do it. If you’re a fan of the show who just wants more content then this is great for you too. What I love about this book is how anyone can read it and get something new out of it. So if you are not sure about reading this book because you have already seen the show or if you have never even heard of it, I am happy to say that you will not be disappointed if you pick up this book.

I have not seen the web series but I really liked this novelisation. The characters were all fun and Turrisi showed some great rep. The "romance" element was done well and I saw how the original Carmilla story was adapted into this one. This is definitely a series that I would like to continue with as I really liked the relationships and the drama in the novel.

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, especially when it comes to the writing and formatting.

DNF'd

I was very excited about this book. Lesbian Vampire Mystery! However, I couldn't get into it at all. The writing style did not work for me, and it came across as an adult woman trying to Be Young and Hip while actually being way off-base.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy for review. I'm sorry I wasn't the right reader in the end. :(

This is a book that I was very excited to read because I became an avid watcher of the series after we got accepted to review this ARC. I wiped out the entire series as soon as I could, which took me just over three weeks of watching it at every opportunity I had in my busy schedule. And I could start raving about how you need to watch it, but really, you do. And this book is no exception. The characters were captured in great detail and I didn’t feel like they lost any of their quirks, and I fell in love with them in a whole new way all over again.

This is certainly a book for someone who has watched the series because I think that if you haven’t you might be a little bit confused with a lot of the content, and how it is all laid out. The web-series is set out as a vlog, and this book follows that all to the T, as it all takes place pretty much in the dorm room where the Vlog is being filmed. The writing style that Kim Turrisi has is effortless to read and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing one of my (new) favourite series in a book form, especially since nothing was changed.

However, that in itself is also a bit of a problem, for the world and university of Silas hasn’t been fleshed out, and I feel that we would have benefited from seeing the world more fleshed out and experiencing the fights and conversations that take place outside of the dorm room. Apart from this, I am extremely impressed with ‘Carmilla’ and I hope that you will certainly watch the show as I did. For your convenience, I have linked the first episodes of each season below! I also recommend that you watch the movie, as I have just watched my copy and it is AMAZING!