kelsbookzone1's reviews
236 reviews

Snake Oil: A Novel by Kelsey Rae Dimberg

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

The story of ; is wellness fake? Rhoda certainly hopes not. The extreme creator of radical, daughter of an entrepreneur fraudster, with big dreams and promises to fill. However, you know with a title like snake oil you’re probably looking at a fraud. I get influence of Elizabeth smart. 

With multiple points of view, I enjoyed Cecilia- the bottom of the totem pole employee who probably sees and understands the most. I loved Cecilia’s pov; “that if she had tried harder, she might have cured herself. That illness doesn’t work that way”, which really sums up the dismissive way the wellness industry can be.

This loses quite a bit of steam in the back half of the story but that happens when the most interesting POV is dulled. This reminds me of Darby Kane’s writing, which isn’t necessarily my favorite. The real opportunity here was Dani and Rhoda, as two different POVs, they were too similar.

I would have appreciated either one more good idea for the story, just keep the plot moving. Or some editing down. Not everything needs to be over 300 pages. If you are looking for a novel about wellness community, there have been better. Natural Beauty, by Ling Ling Huang is a good example.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner books for access to an early release copy.
Darkly by Marisha Pessl

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No

3.75

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for access to an early release 


“What Would You Kill For?” A premise that sounds like the games and the violence of “These Vicious Games”; This young adult tale almost hits that dark point but misses.

Dia applies for the internship that”ll change her life forever- an internship at Darklys; a clever multi board game industry with a mysterious creator dead. What could go wrong? Actually, this is starting to feel like a teenage Wonka ticket. Welcome to Darkly. Wander where the witch lies.

There were some clever moments, particularly that when they were playing the game. But I felt missed opportunities for more moments like those. And too many teen characters without much discerning factors to keep them separate ; a couple of them I could have done without. I needed more of the game moments in the story, I needed more of the fantasy that was Louisiana and Darkly. Overall, the relationships felt forced and underdeveloped. And I didn’t fall for the love stories. 

This was an easy read to get through; fast paced and a plot line easy to follow and a mostly satisfying ending. If you enjoy young adult thriller that are more plot heavy, this should be a good one for you.
Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton

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dark fast-paced

3.25

Johnny Compton’s newest novel explores guardian angels- are they really angels? And who is to decide what we need saving from, if any?

Sarita is celebrating her honeymoon, in the arms of her soulmate when a dark figured looms behind her. “Angelo” as she calls him, is just there to save her, again, but at what cost- as he unalived her mate in front her, as her cries scream at him no. 

How clever to take the myth of a demon knight that targets a woman’s husbands and write it into a full fledged cult story. For me, the story felt interrupted by religious mythological questions and what ifs. And I wasn’t interested in reading a college student’s mythology thesis. As intriguing as the idea presented, I felt lost for a lot of the beginning, as it was chaotic and jumped around point of views before anything was really established. Out of all the point of views, I enjoyed the interactions between Cela and Harrah most. 

Overall, I felt dropped in the middle of a story at the beginning, wishing for more set up, more explanation. There were just too many ideas to follow and it was just too baffling. I did enjoy the back half of the story, for the adventure and fun ride. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for access to an early release copy 
Where They Last Saw Her by Marcie R. Rendon

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.75

A scream rocks Quill to her core on her morning run- she races home wondering what was that? Or more likely, whom?

The story is there but the detail in some of the small daily details, are too much. Complete paragraphs could be left out, as every description didn’t necessarily need to be written. This was very slow start to the story. The three main female characters were written fine, each felt individualized but again, felt like the same conversations during the same setting.  The plot had some really amazing moments that tap into the author’s heritage and then would just get stalled. And those moments just fell into that repetitive feeling.

Still what a great diverse read- some powerful female empowerment moments. About halfway in, it was obvious where the story was going and how the mystery was going to unravel. And it was a little frustrating how long it took Quill to get there herself. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for an early release copy
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio

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dark medium-paced

3.25

A cleverly written group gets together in a graveyard, which reveals a freshly dug grave in a historical graveyard. Who dug it and why? 

I liked the characters- their descriptions felt individual and somewhat described. I could picture them. The story needed more- It was a little intriguing but there wasn’t enough set up for the gravedigger, for the actions the five characters took regarding. But maybe it was trying to be overly ambitious for being such a short story. 

The mystery never felt mysterious enough for me to follow after so it was hard to fall in-line with the characters that did. But the writing is good and makes me want to read other stories by the author. The book has a premise that could be promising but never fully develops. And then it ends? Like, is that an ending? I wish this was like 75-100 pages more.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron books for access to an early release copy
Tiny Threads by Lilliam Rivera

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No

2.25

Samara lands her dream job- working for a fashion designer, an unfortunate caricature of an adult man child with a whiny personality . Like most thrillers, the dream slowly unravels to become a nightmare. Same story, different verse. And a bit of a yawn.

Samara was such a confusing character. One moment, she’s attempting to befriend everyone, kiss butt so to speak; and the next, she’s purposely causing tension, putting the very characters in harms way. It felt as it the direction of the character was never fully committed. Samara is a very unlikeable character so it was hard to care about what happened to her. The pacing is erratic; and while the ending is powerful, it needed a better set up for it from the middle of the story. The story is a little disconnected, leaving me wanting more to extend the middle, maybe dual timelines or connecting the past to the present better would have helped.

Overall, a very slow build up to an impactful ending. I really hope the line is edited out where the main character actively dismisses racist jokes because she’s “too happy” in the final copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine books for access to an early release copy

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Come Out, Come Out by Natalie C. Parker

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dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Wonderfully written, thoughtful, and good use of metaphors. The ending could have been more, and I’m not a huge fan of “the memory loss” trope

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Happyhead by Josh Silver

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishers and Delacorte Press for access to an early release copy.

An epidemic of sadness rocks teenagers through a national crisis- but doesn’t it always. The story feels like a familiar problem but tackles something new. It actually wants to come up with a solution to the problem. 

Seb gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he gets invited to the HappyHead retreat designed to solve the national crises. But again, we get invited to a retreat where they confiscate your phone and a chip is inserted? How does this not raise any red flags? It was hard to follow the progress of the story. Like this is a retreat, that people had to qualify for - but then there are some that don’t seem to want to be there. So there is a concept but not so much a set up or follow through on it. Overall, a story that feels like a science experiment on people.
 
Unfortunately it felt like a lot of telling and not showing, so I couldn’t really get into it. So much of the story felt very left out- like nothing was developed at all regarding the national crisis of an epidemic of unhappiness. Which is disappointing! Cause it was such a good idea. Be prepared as the ending isn’t a conclusion but a set up for book 2. 
Gaslight by Sara Shepard, Miles Joris-Peyrafitte

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for access to an early release copy.

In a story that fully explores multiple timelines, we follow the now, before, and after of the lives affected by being involved in a cult. Is this story anything new? No.  

An unexpected knock at the door, throws Bex back into her past when Danny shows up, alone and desperate in need. Suddenly the reader is thrown into multiple timelines, following each girl’s journey in the cult and the escape Bex already has. And the confusion if it’s what Danny wants. 

I like the portrayal of the friendship- the mixture and hesitation both feel for each other. But the distrust and judgment coming from Bex’s (Rebecca’s) husband feels unwarranted and unnecessary. I almost would have liked it better if he wasn’t a character at all. But watching the characters of Danny and Rebecca was almost like a before and after of a cult experience. 

Trigger warning for moderate sexual assault; the book plays into the obvious cult trope- older gentleman, taking advantage of impressionable young girls. And in those moments, a hard read. But I would think I could give this four stars, if I could delete every chapter from the husbands point of view