howlinglibraries's reviews
1804 reviews

 I've heard a lot of love for this book and I'd enjoyed short stories by Tananarive Due before, so I had a feeling I'd enjoy this, but I didn't know just how much I would adore The Reformatory. This book was an absolute masterpiece from start to finish and I wouldn't have changed a single thing about it. I'm so glad that I finally read it and I'm going to shove this beautiful, sad story at everyone I possibly can.
 

 

As soon as I saw the title of this collection, I was intrigued, because wow, what a title. 🤣 And no spoilers, but the title came into play in the BEST way at one point and it put the biggest smile on my face. If you don't mind reading stories mostly revolving around evil little kids doing terrible things to people (and sometimes getting punished for it), this was a really fun collection that I enjoyed a lot!

 

 

This was so much fun. David's stories are always so full of heart and charm, while still being downright terrifying, and this was no exception. Sammo ♥️

 

 

This was okay! I loved the darker elements - mostly watching these two go a bit psycho together - but I didn't love the writing. It wasn't an issue with the writing style itself as much as the fact that a lot of things didn't make sense to me, like Talon's self-contradictions (mainly how he kept leaving Lena alone for extended periods of time without intervening despite knowing, or at least being able to assume, what was happening to her). I felt like, if he were really as fiercely protective over her as he made himself out to be, there are a few things that shouldn't have happened. I also felt like the ending tied up pretty neatly without a lot of explanation for how they got away with things. Overall, it was fine, just not great.

 

 

Yeah... this isn't for me. 😬 I hate these characters lol

 

 I absolutely adored this. I can't decide if this or Pumpkin Spice is my favorite book in the series so far! I liked Kira too, especially once she started letting her guard down a little and we saw more of her personality shine through, but Bennett really stole the show for me. I related SO much to his need to feel useful and his tendency to let the people he cares about stomp all over his boundaries (or, more accurately, his tendency not to establish boundaries at all because he just wants everyone to be happy and doesn't always even realize he's put himself last again).

Also, the doggo love? Everything! I can't even tell you how many times I had to go find my Echo and give her some cuddles while listening to this because Laurie Gilmore is just so good at putting those pet-loving feels into words. ♥️ 

 

I've heard a lot of hype surrounding this novella, and I can certainly see why. It's a gruesome, suspenseful little thing with lots of fangs and pincers (literally and metaphorically), and I really enjoyed it. There's a dark humor to the whole thing, but moments of long-standing generational pain and cynicism are woven throughout it in a way that tugs at your heartstrings. The ending left me reeling a little bit, and I'm probably never going to look at gas station restrooms the same way.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.

✨ Representation: Jewish MC and author 

 God DAMN, I love a good vengeance story.

I loved the way this story was told, alternating chapters between present and past events. It gave us a chance to get to know and feel for the victims without being bogged down with massive info dumps or overly long and gratuitous assault scenes.

I'm usually really wary of horror books featuring sexual assault as a main premise because many of the more extreme ones I've read handled it VERY poorly, but it was easy to see the care and respect the author handled those scenes with. There are quite a few painful moments in this book that will break your heart and make you rage.

Overall, Seven Rabbits was beautifully written and I can't wait to read more from this author!

Buddy read with Misty! 

 dnf @ 20%

I don't know what it was, but the writing wasn't working for me at all.