kelsbookzone1's reviews
237 reviews

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
The Lies We Conjure by Sarah Henning

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

A witchy “who done it” with primarily rich privileged teens who always seem intriguing but also always seem to want to leave each other with enticing looks and sexual meanings under breath. If you were looking for a throwback Clue inspired story but with witchy teens, then you’ll likely enjoy this one.

When the 4 bloodlines of witch families reunite in the manor home of the high sorcerer but two imposters are among them. Wren and Ruby are paid to impersonate the long lost grandchildren of one of the famous bloodlines-  it’s just one night right? That is until the high sorcerer Ursula Hegemony is murdered and everyone could be a suspect. But wouldn’t you suspect the imposters first?

With mistaken identity and fantasy wrapped in, this gave me feelings of “These Vicious Games” in the best way.  At times, this was an emotional whiplash- going from flirty teenage eyes to immediate danger and death threats. And not always in such a smooth transition. Speaking of which, Wren for the most part was unhelpful and an irritating teenage stereotype. And I really wanted her to stop making lusty type  comments so frequently to her sister’s eye roll. It was much too repetitive.

The ending went a little too James Bond, with the villain monologue before our hero. And I’m realizing that even though I liked this and I liked the style of writing, it fell for way too many book tropes and stereotypes. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for access to an early release copy
Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

A very unreliable narrator; and I thought how the past was interwoven was done really well. I didn’t see the exact ending coming but it felt a little rushed and a little too wrapped up compared to the journey 
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The September House by Carissa Orlando

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

They Thought They Buried Us by NoNieqa Ramos

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

3.0

Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner books for an early release copy.

Female director taking the lead in the horror movie industry? Yes please. Yuiza gets the opportunity of a lifetime; admitted to a prestigious school to further her talents. A little vague and chaotic background on her settings, and the reader is lead into the dark academia setting.

If I could describe this novel in one word, it would be chaotic. I liked the idea of  giving the story bits of a screenplay format but not quite the execution of it. And really- a school that takes kids phones away and points of communication away from their parents? Not really believable for an elite academy- maybe more reform school. The redeeming moments of the novel are the conversations between Yuiza and her roommate Glorymar. 

I know these arcs are not the final copy- but can we at least try to address the sentence errors and poor structuring before hitting NetGalley. Is it really doing the author any favors there?

Overall this book felt like a lot of ideas that weren’t really sure where to go with them. I liked the mom though. The back half of the story had more focus and direction but I’m not sure if people will want to stick with it to get there. The ambiguous ending also felt like a good choice.
Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advance reader’s copy

Told in multiple timelines, in present time, a body is found floating in a river. Is it an accident? Was it suicidal? Being that it’s Maya’s sister, she’s determined to find out. But not without confronting her own past and something that feels oh so familiar.

With multiple timelines and dual narratives, we have Naomi and Maya, sisters years apart but so similar as Naomi follows in her sisters footsteps to attend her same Alma mater. The reader follows Naomi in her final days, introducing the reader to multiple red herring moments. Even though the author had some good tension building moments, the underlining why there should be tension was not established as well as it should have been. Anytime I felt a character jumpy for what was behind them, I felt why, you haven’t done anything. 

Even though this has some fun popcorn thriller moments, it is too long for what the story actually is. This was definitely a good 50-75 pages of too much. I enjoyed the ending, even if it felt like we breezed through it, but not always the journey to get there
Dearest by Jacquie Walters

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dark emotional
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No

4.5

Dearest is build up of years of trauma and the relationship it defines of mother and daughter. Incoming trigger warning.

With Flora a new mom and all alone as her husband is deployed, in the face of exhaustion and sleep paralysis, we see her reminiscing her relationship with her mother. The story is full of desperation and dread, as Flora starts to turn to a childhood comfort- as the reader, it left me wondering the spiral of her mental state and leaving the reader to question is she losing her mind. I really enjoyed the writing in this, especially the detail in the motherhood, and the way Flora constantly questions the way she mothers. The horror in the first half is very light and never quite pulls off creepy. And then you hit part 3 and can’t put the book down.

A haunting tale that gives a truthful voice to early motherhood and pregnancy. And specifically that of being a mother and being alone. I loved how the story kept unraveling as the story continued. Not entirely predictable but every transition was cohesive, like every moment was meant to be there. A few of these moments will stick with me and not always with the best imagery. And you couldn’t ask anymore of a horror novel than that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for access to an early release copy 
We Came to Welcome You by Vincent Tirado

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dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for access to an early copy.

Picture your dream home. Now picture your Pleasantville, Stepford wife type neighbors and something doesn’t feel quite right. At least to Sol

Sol and her wife Alice move into what should be there dream home with nice neighbors but are they too nice? Sol slowly starts to unravel as new things start to happen. Is it really happening or is it all in her head? I do like the representation in this novel, our main married couple as part of the lgbtqia+ community but I feel like I’ve read this story before. The character who is just home too much (from a forced leave of absence) and all that free time leaves her spiraling and overthinking. And no one believing her. Things unravel a little too predictably. Where I found the story a little messy, was when the story was trying to mix the growing delusional paranoias and what was going on with her on the side, like her career, therapy- now and then those moments would pop and Sol would seem to care for a brief moment and all was forgotten again. It never fully felt like those different aspects of the story really mashed together.

I enjoyed the interwoven past reflects of Sol’s history; it was good development from the author to give Sol a reason for her paranoia. Some graphic details and moderate body horror made this a creepy horror story. It takes a little bit to get into the rhythm of the story, making it hard to put down. I do wish the pacing was more consistent, cause when you hit a lull, you really hit a lull. And I didn’t really like the ending
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
Did not like the narrator 
We Love the Nightlife by Rachel Koller Croft

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

4.0

A little too slow at times, really just a story of an abusive/toxic relationship and a main character trying to leave it. But with vampires.
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