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bookishraccoon's reviews
78 reviews
Guests by Kealan Patrick Burke
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Maeve Fly by CJ Leede
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I was torn with this book honestly. Fantastic debut novel by this author, as I’m new to their work. I was very much intrigued by the premise of an aspiring actress working in a theme park. You come to discover more grisly details, as she isn’t as innocent as she seems. I loved the old Hollywood feel of the story, as she takes much inspiration from her famous grandmother. Parts of this story reminded me of Rouge by Mona Awad, which I adored.
I did like the slow unraveling of Maeve, and her descent into insanity. I felt like some parts of this could’ve been shortened, as some portions felt like heavy filler. As the main character becomes erratic, I find that the story as well becomes a bit messy & scrambled. Some things don’t quite add up, or make sense. Not sure if this was intentional on the authors part. As much as I wanted to rate this higher, I just couldn’t bring myself to. The ending I’ll admit was a huge shock to the system, as I didn’t see that coming.
My honest rating: 3.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I did like the slow unraveling of Maeve, and her descent into insanity. I felt like some parts of this could’ve been shortened, as some portions felt like heavy filler. As the main character becomes erratic, I find that the story as well becomes a bit messy & scrambled. Some things don’t quite add up, or make sense. Not sure if this was intentional on the authors part. As much as I wanted to rate this higher, I just couldn’t bring myself to. The ending I’ll admit was a huge shock to the system, as I didn’t see that coming.
My honest rating: 3.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Bug Collector by Wrath James White
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Exorcist's House by Nick Roberts
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
The Cotton Candy Massacre by Christopher Robertson
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
3.8 Stars bumped up to 4!
I heard a lot of good things about this one, so I was excited to check this out! Honestly the 1st 100 pages severely dragged, where it was discouraging to push onward.
But I will say, once things started picking up- things got pretty off the walls quickly! From that point it was a quick read, & was very entertaining!
As being a huge fan of Killer Klowns from Outerspace, this was a satisfying Splatterpunk read!
I heard a lot of good things about this one, so I was excited to check this out! Honestly the 1st 100 pages severely dragged, where it was discouraging to push onward.
But I will say, once things started picking up- things got pretty off the walls quickly! From that point it was a quick read, & was very entertaining!
As being a huge fan of Killer Klowns from Outerspace, this was a satisfying Splatterpunk read!
100 Ghost Stories That Will Lead to My Own Death, Vol. 1 by Anji Matono
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John Harrison
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
2.75
Author has a really poetic writing style that I respect, just couldn’t personally get into the story itself. Dragged on quite a bit.
I’ll be honest I didn’t know what was going on majority of this book, I did skim some chapters.
I wanted to know more about this other world that they were insinuating. 80% felt like filler/ rambling, & 20% went into the actual premise. I would’ve liked to not hear about the character’s pasts/traumas/etc, & rather go into finding out more about this unknown species. I actually found that portion very intriguing, & wanted to know more. The premise itself was incredibly eerie, but this book DRAGGEDDD. I had trouble keeping myself awake for this one.
With all that said, this book was hard to rate - as I wanted to rate it 3 stars for an interesting premise & a great writing style.. But this fell awfully flat for me I’m afraid. Really didn’t enjoy this one, and would’ve Dnf’d to be honest if I didn’t need to get this read for a book club. I know some people adored this one, but it was too draggy for me & not much honestly happened reflecting back on it.
I’ll be honest I didn’t know what was going on majority of this book, I did skim some chapters.
I wanted to know more about this other world that they were insinuating. 80% felt like filler/ rambling, & 20% went into the actual premise. I would’ve liked to not hear about the character’s pasts/traumas/etc, & rather go into finding out more about this unknown species. I actually found that portion very intriguing, & wanted to know more. The premise itself was incredibly eerie, but this book DRAGGEDDD. I had trouble keeping myself awake for this one.
With all that said, this book was hard to rate - as I wanted to rate it 3 stars for an interesting premise & a great writing style.. But this fell awfully flat for me I’m afraid. Really didn’t enjoy this one, and would’ve Dnf’d to be honest if I didn’t need to get this read for a book club. I know some people adored this one, but it was too draggy for me & not much honestly happened reflecting back on it.
Twelve Nights at Rotter House by J.W. Ocker
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book was a pleasant surprise honestly! Definitely gave me 1408 vibes, which is personally one of my favorite thriller/ horror movies to date! I loved the banter in this book, & the references! I can’t remember the last time a book genuinely creeped me out! This one got under my skin a few times, & kept me on the edge of my seat! A fast read that I would highly recommend! I think one of the twists could’ve been reworked a tad better, but it didn’t ruin it for me! I absolutely loved this book aside from that! I did call some of the stuff early on, but I do theorize alot as I’m reading!
In this story you follow Felix Allsey , as he travels the world to get the new latest paranormal scoop for his writing. He stumbles across Rotterdam Mansion, with an extremely grim history. Felix convinces the owner to let him stay for 13 nights, which he also uses as an excuse to reconnect with an old estranged friend. With the stay he sets 3 rules: No leaving the premises by any means, Refrain from outside Contact (no cell phones,etc), & Resting during the day only.
This houses ends up bringing many things to light, and slowly Felix’s mind unravels. Question is, what kind of ghosts are haunting Rotterdam?
In this story you follow Felix Allsey , as he travels the world to get the new latest paranormal scoop for his writing. He stumbles across Rotterdam Mansion, with an extremely grim history. Felix convinces the owner to let him stay for 13 nights, which he also uses as an excuse to reconnect with an old estranged friend. With the stay he sets 3 rules: No leaving the premises by any means, Refrain from outside Contact (no cell phones,etc), & Resting during the day only.
This houses ends up bringing many things to light, and slowly Felix’s mind unravels. Question is, what kind of ghosts are haunting Rotterdam?