I really wanted to love this fairytale retelling. However, I didn’t really care for the characters. I did love the writing style which was very atmospheric! I recommend this for fairytale lovers!

Anna Biller's "Bluebeard's Castle" is a modern retelling of the classic gothic novel "Bluebeard" by Charles Perrault. The story follows Judith, an insecure and love-starved writer who feels overshadowed by her more loved sister. Her life changes suddenly when she meets Gavin, a handsome and rich baron from Cornwall. Overnight the two embark on a love affair which blinds Judith to the dark reality that awaits her.

I loved the premise of the book. The cover and the author's previous film work were the reasons I wanted to review this. Sadly though, I could not finish it. I could not get past the author's prose. I found the language quite distracting, it read like I was reading a social media post. I know others enjoyed the book but it was not for me.

Anna Biller’s Bluebeard’s Castle offers a visually rich, feminist reimagining of a classic tale. While its style and themes are thought-provoking, the pacing and heavy symbolism may not appeal to everyone. It’s a bold, unique take for fans of artful storytelling.

Anna Biller should stick to film making. Her descriptions read like lists for set decorators and her characters are lifeless without actors to quicken them.

Kudos on the cover art.

Recevied via NetGalley.

Anna Biller is a talented filmmaker! I love her style and her fascination with film history. The Love Witch is a recent favorite and I’ve revisited it multiple times. Bouebeard’s Castle is a unique project but it never fully delivers Biller’s storytelling strengths. The descriptions are rich but the characters are clunky and there are significant pace issues. I would not recommend this to others.

Anna Biller is as visionary as they come. I appreciate her eclectic taste, now in novel format. Blending the old with the new, I found this pulpy story propulsive and exciting. It was great!

Pitched with all the greatest comp titles, I just couldn't get into this one long enough to get to the good part, I'm afraid. So much style with so little substance. I would try getting through it again with an audiobook, but DNF.

Bluebeard's Castle by Anna Bille first of all has the most AMAZING cover!!! THis was truly a treat - a horror story reimagined! I was truly thankful to have gotten to read this before most people! I would like to purchase this one for my physical library!

I think this would have worked better as a movie, for a number of reasons. A lot of the book is telling, not showing- descriptions more than plot. I'm not sure if this is meant to be satire, and I don't think it really works as satire, maybe campy more than anything, which is another element I think would have translated better on screen. The book mainly follows romance author Judith's perspective as she falls very suddenly in love with her own personal Bluebeard, but does shift perspectives a couple of times in ways that don't make sense. A quick read with a gorgeous cover, this didn't really live up to what I had hoped it would be and the writing and plot felt amateurish.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book! This book was an interesting gothic retelling of a classic horror story. The horror story was something I was familiar with, and the implications of the story were carried over well in Biller's novel. The crux of the storyline seemed a little weak, as if the narrative relied on the tropes to carry it instead of utilizing the tropes as literary devices in a compelling story.

This is one of the best covers of 2023 and I loved the conceit of the novel--a truly modern Gothic novel filled with references to the classics. I think the writing is intentionally kitschy, but that proved to be a barrier to my enjoyment, especially given the length of the book.

A gothic romance fairy tale retelling perfect for fans of Anna Biller's cinematic masterpiece The Love Witch. Perfect for literary fiction and mystery readers looking to add a bit more thrill and a bit more horror into their next read.

I was drawn in by the cover, which evokes the old gothic romances I loved as a teenager. Not exactly what I was expecting, but an interesting read.

Gorgeously gothic, gorgeously dark, deserves way more attention than it got. Thanks for the arc, it was fantastic

Unfortunately I will not be submitting a review for this title as my opinions and the authors do not align.

I have enjoyed Biller's films in the past, but I'm just not sure if she translates well to send ups of novel forms in the same way. I also think Biller has not grown and perhaps even regressed in her feminism. This book relies on a really essentialist view of gender that I see in perceptions of old gothics more than I actually see in old gothics.

I was initially intrigued by the conceit of a Gothic satire but found this far too tongue-in-cheek and ultimately the satire fell flat. This is a rewriting of the Gothic trope of a young woman becoming trapped in a relationship with a dangerous man, when author June meets the baron Gavin. Examining ideas of gaslighting, toxic relationships and how these Gothic tropes can map onto modern society. However I felt that the tone was too satirical and ultimately made these serious themes fall flat.

This review was made possible via an ARC through NetGalley.

Bluebeard's Castle is a story of abuse not only in a romantic relationship, but also in familial ones. Judith's relationship with her mother hit me quite hard in a lot of ways and her relationship with her sister reminded me of friends in similar situations. The book makes it clear that the cycle of abuse is just that; a cycle. People go back for a variety of reasons, but self-doubt and self-worth are one of the big ones as is the ramifications of gaslighting and never feeling loved as a child.

It was my first Gothic in a while and I would say it does accurately reflect the genre because there are some very key tenets that the novel plays open. Judith herself being a Gothic author and, therefore, genre aware and romanticizing herself and her relationship can be hit and miss. I did have to take breaks from reading it due to how triggering the content could be for me, personally, so I recommend other readers exercise self-care and take breaks if need be.

After such gems as "To me, being murdered is the most frightening thing that can happen to anyone" and "'I'm a man,' he said, in the manliest tone she had ever heard", I'm tapping out at about 10%. Shocking, I know, but the prose just isn't doing it for me - and that's without making any mention of the love interest's orbs, described in turns so far as dark, burning, and dreamy.

I've given Bluebeard's Castle a generous 2 star rating to account for the fact that I didn't make it very far (and refrained from a star rating entirely on Goodreads for the same reason), and I'd still like to give my thanks to NetGalley and Verso Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a devotee of her movies VIVA and THE LOVED WITCH, thrilled to include Biller's debut novel in the October edition of Novel Encounters, my column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)