casparquarius's reviews
84 reviews

American Rapture by CJ Leede

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

this book hollowed me out with a melon baller and wow. it took me a long time to read, partially because my focus for reading is spotty but also because it is very intense and emotionally challenging. I loved it every step of the way, but often needed to read it in small doses so that I did not get too overwhelmed with the feelings of it. while I don't like zombies and am typically wary of pandemic horror stories, this one felt fresh and interesting and slightly-too-relatable; the fact that the true horror was in Sophie realizing the extent and limits (and not quite realizing the abuses yet) of her upbringing and community was just icing on the cake. heed the content warnings, but this is an incredible read.
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Model Home by Rivers Solomon

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

this book burrowed into my bones and is going to live there for a long time. solomon's writing is incredible, the characterization full, and the characters themselves compelling and real. I saw more of myself in Ezri than is maybe comfortable while also being deeply, positively resonant. 
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The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp

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dark tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

this book was so extremely up my alley and also just generally very fun. Jack Sparks is a guy that I absolutely would hate to hang out with but was written in such compelling fashion that I almost loved him, and the writing carried the narrative really beautifully in terms of character voices and styles
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The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson

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challenging dark emotional tense

4.5

Shirley Jackson was one of the best to ever write creepy stories and I'm not convinced there will ever be another like her
The Fisherman by John Langan

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

I liked this slow burn of a fishing horror quite a lot, and not just because I think fishing is a tragically underutilized horror context. the narrative was well-crafted and compelling, though I did find myself wanting a little more outside of Howard's story
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Ascension by Nicholas Binge

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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

a quick fun read. I enjoyed the sense of confusion and urgency, and loved the format of the narrative. it wasn't particularly scary or as tense as I was hoping, but still definitely enjoyable 
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ANTIFA SPLATTERPUNK by Donyae Coles, Eric Raglin, John Baltisberger, Cynthia Gomez, Keith Rosson, Sarah Peploe, Joe Koch, Max D. Stanton, Caias Ward, Sam Richard, Kathe Koja, M. Lopes da Silva, Gordon B. White, Jonathan Louis Duckworth, Ana E. Robic, J.V. Gachs, Patrick Barb

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challenging dark

4.0

anthologies, and short stories in general, are often hit or miss for me but this one was good fun throughout and I found some new-to-me authors to read more of
House of Rot by Danger Slater

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I did like this but I wanted to like it so much more. this is exactly
my kind of thing, but I wound up wishing it had a little more to it? the characters' emotions and motivations felt too distant, the dialogue stilted, everything just slightly too ungrounded in anything to feel like it mattered
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Posthaste Manor by Carson Winter, Jolie Toomajan

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

wow what a book to start off 2025. I love a haunted house and I especially love a weird book, and this delivered on both counts
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

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mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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