Loved this. I was afraid this would be a dense read since it was written in the 1800s, but I found it compelling, engaging, and a really smooth read. It’s short, which makes it pretty easy to get through. For a modern audience, everything about the plot will be pretty obvious (honestly, I can’t even imagine that there was much suspense for the original audience, either), but it didn’t really take away from the enjoyment of watching the story unfold.

Also, the atmospheric vibes on this are ON POINT, 1000/10 🏰 🌳 Love the descriptions of their castle or schloss in their beautiful melancholy middle-of-nowhere Austrian forest.

It was great to read a true classic of vampire literature, that even came before Dracula. Since I’m going through Dracula now, I can see how this book influenced Stoker and other authors. I feel like reading this has also enriched my understanding of other vampire books I’ve already read. I’m excited to have this foundational text under my belt to be a sort of base as I continue the Gothic lit / sapphic vampire journey.

The ending (last two chapters) felt so rushed, however. It did fit with the pacing and tone, since the whole book was short and a lot of it was pretty matter-of-fact “telling” instead of “showing” - but still - the end was just so abrupt. The very final closing sentence was DELICIOUS and perfect, but I wanted a little more to get there. Oh well! I guess that’s why there are so many retellings of this book, I’m sure one of them will give me what I’m craving!