Stunningly beautiful artwork as always, and I do so enjoy the dark, simmering eroticism of Carroll's work, but the narrative here was a little muddy and difficult to follow. Usually Carroll's fairy tales haunt me after I finish reading them (to the point I've taught Through the Woods in fairy tale courses several times now), but this one left me still hungry. ( )

More comfortable but less clear than an Angela Carter story, which for all their weirdness tend to have an internal through line that /feels/ coherent. Strikingly beautiful, and, uh, horny/excessive in the best possible way, the way that cishet male authors constantly are to a fault, and everybody else never gets to be. ( )

EDIT: I will say that this is probably more of a 3-star read for me because there's nothing "bad" about it that would normally make me rate a book so low; but this rating also just reflects my overall disappointment. Like I wrote below, if you've never read anything by Emily Carroll I'm guessing it's probably more likeable! I'm just saying that personally, as a long time reader of Carroll's, I found "When I Arrived at the Castle" to be a letdown- it felt more like her scraps of other works all pieced together than a new, fresh tale.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this one. A reader who has never read Carroll's work (or only a little of it) will likely enjoy this more than I did.
On one hand, aspects like the gothic atmosphere, the palette of dreary grays and violent reds, the sensual undertones, and striking lines really made an impact, both visually and narratively. Each of these elements felt like they fit the story line flawlessly.

But those same elements, plus the body horror, the tone, the characters, the dialogue- I feel like I've seen them all before in Carroll's other works. The creepy castle: "A Lady's Hands Are Cold". The characters splitting open/having another layer: "The Nesting Place" and "Out of Skin. Red being used as a horror emphasis: "His Face all Red" among plenty others. Girls going missing: "Margot's Room", "Our Neighbor's House", etc. All these elements and more have been used at least a couple times in her other stories. I don't think this is a case of having a certain style that makes your work unique, because almost everything else I've read by Carroll is so noticeably HERS because of her artwork, and they all had very different plots and feel to them.

I distinctly remember reading other Carroll works and gasping out loud from shock. That didn't happen once in this book. I went into it really excited but as it kept going I just got bored because I've seen ALL of this before in her stories. Carroll is a talented writer and artist and I'm going to keep reading her work for now, but this one was a letdown for me personally. ( )

This is a great example of an author leaving almost everything to your imagination, but providing enough worldbuilding that you're not lost.

Wonderful atmosphere, interesting plot, and beautiful coloring. ( )

Beautiful, haunting illustrations. It sent chills down my spine. It's creepy and awe-inspiring. Loved it!! ( )