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curiouslykatt's reviews
1089 reviews
Chainsaw Man, Vol. 9: Bath by Tatsuki Fujimoto
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Life with the Afterlife: 13 Truths I Learned about Ghosts by Amy Bruni
medium-paced
2.0
Now I’ve never watched any show she has been on nor listened to any podcast she has been on. So I was a “who dat?” when the Cult was gushing about her.
So as far as audiobook experiences there’s things I enjoyed and there’s things I kind of rolled my eyes at (Classic Katt).
Parts I enjoyed: the recreation of the EVP events in audio. I’ll tell you I shut down the audiobook so hard one night when the EVP mentioned the name Lucy in the dead of night. My whole body said “NOPE. THAT IS ENOUGH FOR ME.”
This is an easy read in the sense each chapter is a stand alone and the writing is easy and conversational.
Parts I didn’t like: this was a giant plug for her show, like every chapter she mentioned it. Babes we get it. You’ve been on some shows. Can we move along and grab a decent editor?
She lost of some credibility with conflicting information within the same chapter a few times, again perhaps pay an editor their worth? The writing within each chapter while approachable also jumped around and was scattered. Is the editor in the room with us now?
From what I can gather from other reviews, she basically summarized her show episodes into this book. Ultimately I’m happy I got a library copy for this one, and I’m good to keep my viewing time to other shows and movies.
The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State by Nadia Murad
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This was not for me babes.
I preface this review:
I adored Mexican Gothic with my whole heart and I am so excited to read all the other SMG I have on my shelf.
My main struggle was how slow this story was. This read like a classic which for me is a lot of words without a lot actually happening. Insert “HOW LONG IS THIS GOING TO TAKE” feelings and eye rolls. The flowery, overly descriptive, text really killed the vibe for me and I was dipping in and out of the audio experience. I truly didn’t miss much because it was like six paragraphs to talk about how they would travel next.
I’ve got to say too for a woman with a soul sucking bone shard in her body, you’d think there’d be some urgency and tension to, I don’t know, not die? No no. Don’t panic. Don’t rush. Just bumble along at a leisurely pace.
At the end of the day Katt the reader is blunt as a butter knife and basically constantly in a state of fight/flight so any reading experience that’s lacking both those things, ultimately is doomed to fail.
Too well adjusted.
Not enough anxiety.
Where’s the chaos?!
The September House by Carissa Orlando
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“There are rules to these things. Everything is survivable, even this.”
The house on Hawthorn Street is so much more than just a house. Margaret and Hal have found their perfect house. It’s gorgeous. It’s Victorian. It’s cheap. What could be the problem? Surely they were just in the right place right time.
Everything changes in September. Every September, the hauntings start.
The walls bleed. The ghosts roam the halls. The animals behave erratically. The screaming that is everywhere and nowhere lasts all night. You never enter the basement. Every September. All through September.
Margaret has learned the rules to survive Septembers, and these all seem like minor inconvenience for the home of her dreams. Margaret has learned to live with rules her whole life. Margaret can survive anything.
Everything changes one September when her husband Hal goes missing and her adult daughter Katherine comes home to help find him.
The September House is told through a nonlinear storyline jumping between the current September and the Septembers of the past. This story is so much more than just a haunted house. This is a complex well developed story around trauma responses, living through cycles of abuse, and the generational impacts of violence. Carissa does use dry humour sprinkled throughout to add so levity to the story. I will say it did feel about 50 pages too long but ultimately I will still highly recommend this read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Animal death and Body horror
Minor: Vomit