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kelsbookzone1's reviews
277 reviews
Shy Girl by Mia Ballard
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Galaxy Press for access to an early release copy.
An unraveling 30-something, with glimpses of how we got here and internal dialogue, Gia told in first person follows a routine of job search, overdue rents, and nightly cries. The only solution: a sugar daddy and a… fetish? Go into this one blind.
An unraveling 30-something, with glimpses of how we got here and internal dialogue, Gia told in first person follows a routine of job search, overdue rents, and nightly cries. The only solution: a sugar daddy and a… fetish? Go into this one blind.
Gia’s beginning is a sad tale, with glimpses of some depression, post traumatic stress, and some OCD that doesn’t get really explored once the horror truly begins. The author does include trigger warnings at the beginning, which I appreciate and thought was best. The thought of treating dating as survival, felt pretty realistic and the appreciation I had for the quick turn of what she was really looking for in a date. I loved it. What this novel grows to, is unexpected.
This is a good read for a novella, if you enjoy self reflection and a detailed journey of it. The darkness that can come from your lowest points and just looking for that glimmer of hope and the spiral that can take you over. This story packs so much into so little and is a hard read- don’t let that cover fool you; this is creepy and disturbing. Splatter punk type horror readers only.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence
Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi
emotional
fast-paced
3.25
Thank you NetGalley and Bantam for access to an early release copy.
Smitten and giddy, Claire decides to surprise her fiancé at work with a lunch date that only she can do- I mean, what’s a better way to celebrate their one year anniversary? However, Claire’s smile drops as Noah’s co workers asks “who?” and her whole world comes crashing.
Smitten and giddy, Claire decides to surprise her fiancé at work with a lunch date that only she can do- I mean, what’s a better way to celebrate their one year anniversary? However, Claire’s smile drops as Noah’s co workers asks “who?” and her whole world comes crashing.
Who Claire is, is obvious from the get go, with the way her conversations go with co workers and her repeatedly mentioning not becoming her mother. Like maybe genre this romantic thriller instead. With the reader deciding between reality and delusions, I don’t really see this as a twist as more subtlety was needed. I do feel like the author showed a lot of sensitivity and empathy for the character too, maybe too much from other characters. I enjoyed the back half of the story much better
The Claire dialogue was a rough read, written more like a perspective of a child. It was a smart choice in making it fast paced, as it didn’t leave the reader having to reflect on the not mystery of it all. Although I appreciated the originality with a lot of this story, I was not a fan of the epilogue.
Saltwater by Katy Hays
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.5
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine publishing for access to an early release copy.
How I love a good opening line. It’s the island of Capri and it’s only filled with lies. This gives me feelings of the characters of Succession vacationing on White Lotus, an intriguing mystery of mostly rich people. But if you do not want a story of rich people behaving badly, stay far, far, away.
How I love a good opening line. It’s the island of Capri and it’s only filled with lies. This gives me feelings of the characters of Succession vacationing on White Lotus, an intriguing mystery of mostly rich people. But if you do not want a story of rich people behaving badly, stay far, far, away.
There is one outsider on this rich people’s paradise, Lorna, an assistant and POV, someone described as being all ears and a listener, so you know which pov will have all the secrets the others are trying to hide. The other POV is Helen, a somewhat friendly acquaintance, maybe even friend, of Lorna, but Helen is still the rich girl on the inside who knew how to play the game. The two, tied together by their own mischievous plot and secrets; But then Lorna allegedly disappears.
Both pov were mostly enjoyable, with some charm and likability less and less as it went on; Helen not quite so poor little rich girl, and in each pov, a slow unravel of secrets. A very by the formula type of book. The details would get too wordy at times, as a character would reach the point the reader was already at and would slow the pacing down. Because the point of views were similar, i almost didn’t want Sarah’s flashbacks, as they almost read the same as Helens but in a different timeline. I would have liked more flashbacks for Helen and Lorna, their interactions and supposed friendship development. Hints of darkness here and there but it took too long to feel like it was really doing anything. The pacing for this was just off.
And trying to feel sorry for rich people, isn’t my favorite storyline. A mostly written well thriller, with predictable twisty moments. Being so slow, the hints are just way too obvious.
Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This had no business being this good.
Seems Perfect by Rebecca Hanover, Rebecca Hanover
medium-paced
2.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for access to an early release copy.
In a society set up with no safety net, where do you turn when your life has no other options? Maybe Craigslist for a possible roommate… seems perfect… huh, get the title? But Pip, as she likes to be called, shows up with some unexpected baggage.
In a society set up with no safety net, where do you turn when your life has no other options? Maybe Craigslist for a possible roommate… seems perfect… huh, get the title? But Pip, as she likes to be called, shows up with some unexpected baggage.
If you liked stories like Single White Female, this is a little that vibe. Except our main character is pretty much a moron. The reader finds out within the first 30 pages of this story every reason why Pip and the unexpected baggage shouldn’t stay but she kept her around. And I mentally rolled my eyes if I could put up with an almost 300 page story of this level of intelligence. When the main character finally starts using her common sense, the flow of the story starts to pick up a little and a mystery intertwines them even deeper. But it takes about 30% to get there.
With the lack of character build up and likability, it left the mystery feeling mid at best, due to not really caring about all those involved. Unfortunately there were some claims the author made in the story, from the idea of squatters rights to unemployment, that could have been corrected with research that I couldn’t get passed. Trigger warning for bad mental health representation- saying you have anxiety without displaying any of it up to this point, should not be included; then throwing in a panic attack and abandoning the description completely. This book would have benefitted from more character development and some research from the writer.
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
3.5
Written beautifully from the outsider perspective of Jordan Baker, it wasn’t as much of a reimagining as I wanted. It overall felt like the same story, some magical elements that never really felt explored or committed to
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
dark
emotional
medium-paced
3.75
Thank you NetGalley and Tiny Reparations for access to an early release copy.
Dr Nadia Amin travels to Iraq with the goal to de radicalize Isis brides- Dr Nadia was unlikeable, flaky, and shallow for the first half and I disliked her immensely; then her entire character arc changed to someone who seemed to care. The beginning of the story almost felt disjointed from the rest and anytime the main character was written as proving she was a funny cool girl, never felt transitioned in. Just random. Like there was growth sporadically with the character but I never really got to enjoy the journey of it.
Dr Nadia Amin travels to Iraq with the goal to de radicalize Isis brides- Dr Nadia was unlikeable, flaky, and shallow for the first half and I disliked her immensely; then her entire character arc changed to someone who seemed to care. The beginning of the story almost felt disjointed from the rest and anytime the main character was written as proving she was a funny cool girl, never felt transitioned in. Just random. Like there was growth sporadically with the character but I never really got to enjoy the journey of it.
The reader gets to know Dr Nadia from her progress with Sara, as well as her past relationship with Rosy. Which Rosy felt very underdeveloped and unnecessary for the most part. More than anything, when the author relayed the stories of her characters in the camp and why they were there, it felt the most genuine and honest. And the way the complexities of it all rolled out in some conversations in the end, felt like a very big a ha moment for Dr Nadia and perhaps the reader too.
I liked the plot, but not so much when it tried to force the humor. Did people really say “I find you banging?” Like failed attempts at millennial lingo in places. The thing is, I really started to enjoy this one when it would finally flow naturally. It was the moments were it felt like it was trying too hard that would pull me out of - trying too hard to be funny, too hard to be cool. It would unfortunately stagnant the flow of the story from lack of consistency. I recommend reading the authors note at the end, it was interesting learning where her knowledge and inspiration came from.
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
emotional
medium-paced
4.0
A beautifully creative fantasy, speculative fiction. Great imagery. But did have a slow start and had to go almost 50% of the way in to get hooked
Hungerstone by Kat Dunn
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.25
Thank you NetGalley and Zando for access to an early release copy.
A historical story of a bored wife. Lady Lenore Crowther, in a bland childless marriage and her husband, Henry, a man not above suspicion; but enter into their life, a wrecked crash victim in white. Carmilla. This is just what Lenore needs- the woman of her dreams. Quite literally.
A historical story of a bored wife. Lady Lenore Crowther, in a bland childless marriage and her husband, Henry, a man not above suspicion; but enter into their life, a wrecked crash victim in white. Carmilla. This is just what Lenore needs- the woman of her dreams. Quite literally.
A slow build with almost a smirk when Carmilla is introduced, as the reader you know what’s going to happen next with the tension building between the two. And the predictability didn’t take away from the story. There are scenery descriptions that feel trivial , almost like paragraphs you want to skip as the characters are the real stars of the story. There are some interesting moments, clever reveals, but the space between moves too slowly as the reader is mostly in the mind of Leonore. As her same thoughts bothered her and I could feel myself spacing out, wanting more.
It is almost a descent of madness for Leonore, like an old black and white movie, picturing an Ingrid Bergman like character in the middle of her seven year itch. Not quite a feminine rage, as Leonore isn’t quite the perfect victim. I felt my own descent of madness from the first person pov, as Leonore was our only perspective and her thoughts never really varied.
Yes the book is called Hungerstone, the references for her desire and being “hungry”, was a little bit of an overkill. Like we get it. Maybe it was the wrong moment to read this but I wish I had liked this more. The stagnant pacing for most of the book and the repetition from the first person POV just got to me too much.
Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Loved this, would have been five stars but the pacing felt changed for the back half of the book and threw me off. Like the first half felt medium where the back half changed up to slow