kelsbookzone1's reviews
242 reviews

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

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dark emotional slow-paced

5.0

Like a darker adult Coraline meets Oujia Origin of Evil- I gasped out loud at certain moments. I do wish some of the jump scare moments didn’t feel receptive- after doing it once, the reader is going to catch on
The Plus One by S.C. Lalli

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slow-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No

2.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an early release copy. 

Shay was never seen as good enough to them, socially below them, not enough money and cruelly ostracized. But she still caught the eye of Caleb and an invitation to a wedding event of the season, a “who’s who” guest list where the author will overly and repeatedly remind she doesn’t belong. But the mystery begins as the soon to be newly weds are found dead and the reader is introduced to dual timelines.

The characters are interesting to say the least; the rich are portrayed cruelly, judgmental and I find it hard to believe the father of the groom is concerned with our MC’s social status when his son is found dead. Be prepared to back burner some common sense thoughts as you read through this one. Even though this is calling as slow paced, it doesn’t feel it. You’ll move pretty easily through it as the author understands how to write a good transition.

This book does have a pet peeve of mine- the one where the “internal dialogue” of our MC contradicts  how she really feels or is doing. So that narrative was really only written to trick the reader. Breaking the fourth wall so to speak. So in that reference, be prepared to call the twists. 

Overall, I’m on the fence of giving the book a chance. It gets more than interesting around page 100, and the MC more root-able around page 200, even though she felt like a walking contradiction.  Let’s put trigger warnings please- the blatant racism from the social elite and abusive narcissistic type relationship was very uncomfortable to read. 
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Glass Houses by Madeline Ashby

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dark tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No

4.25

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for access to an early release copy 


How fascinating! Feeling a little tv show Yellowjackets meets Lost, a little  Black Mirror episode; and even feeling like I started in the middle of the story, I didn’t feel confused. I felt wanting more. 

A look into AI, follow Kristen Howard in dual timelines; in the present time, on a corporate retreat, their plane has crashed on an island. And in flashbacks, the reader is following how we got there. Kristen is clever, interesting, and a fun main character to follow. A plot focused story, leaves you wondering what is this island and is it all just a company retreat. The story really conveys the downside of technology and the abuse of power that comes with, even with little moments.

Overall, the pacing moved faster at times and the story telling could give you whiplash. There were good moments of feminine rage and the story reminded me of a script of a tv show. But if you find yourself asking for something different in a book, this might be for you. I liked this. If the story had flowed a little smoother and the ending hadn’t halfway been an overall cop out from the journey, I probably would have said 5 stars
I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No

3.0

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for access to an early release copy.

Jessa Maxwells follow up to her debut novel of The Golden Spoon is a story of the advice columnist; or really the obsession we have with those that feel like family but we don’t even know.

Alex gets the opportunity of a lifetime when Frances, a popular advice columnist, is found dead but her advice column isn’t. In comes Alex, excited for the new opportunity but hiding a secret of her own. Besides leaving the reader wondering what happened to Frances, we start to wonder what is Alex hiding from? Is she next? Is it all connected? Can Jessa Maxwell keep the suspension building to keep the reader invested?

Not really. Interesting concept but the suspense never really feels that tense or as tense as I was wanting. A little too much of a predictable Lifetime movie for me. I liked the idea of the trio at the diner but the whole time I felt like I was missing out on some inside joke and always felt like I was on the outside looking in. I think it’s because as the reader, we are Alex, as this is Alex’s story and she was written like a third wheel  in the trio. And Alex as a character didn’t bring much to the table in personality- she was rather bland. However, The Dear Constance letters were a nice touch. 

Some good writing. But it overall, more of a yawn.

FYI- this is totally how I found out they just re opened Century 21
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

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dark tense medium-paced

4.0

Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris

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

4.5

The Unraveling by Melanie Hamrick

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dark medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No

1.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for an early release copy. 

Follow Jocelyn and the toxic environment of the ballerina, following all the tropes like weight and competition. Change enters Jocelyn's life too fast as Jocelyn moves in with fellow ballerina Arabella (for no logical reason) as she re enters the back into the drama of the ballet world.

I wanted to like this story, this idea but nothing ever fully felt flushed out.  There were so many different ideas and directions for Jocelyn that the author never fully committed to developing. It moved too fast for a slow burn but that would have been a better direction to go in.  Unfortunately I never felt like the author committed to what they wanted the book to do.  I think I kept looking for logic and it wasn’t anywhere in this story, which is definitely something that throws me off. For the reader, everytime Jocelyn met a new sexual conquest, she would pretty much have the same consistent conversation about her past. So the story would become repetitive without much progress. The details when Jocelyn reflects onto her ballet roles, previous and current, are the best written pieces.

The style of writing just wasn’t for me- it reminded me of when I read “50 Shades of Grey” which wasn’t for me either. If you’re looking for a book that just rushes through everything else to get to the “smutty” scenes, this could be for you but I couldn’t recommend based off the writing. 



This Ravenous Fate by Hayley Dennings

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

3.75

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for access to an early release copy 

For The characters are engaging and easy to like, a great mix of history and fantasy, and such ease the authors adds in racial tensions of the Jazz age era. When a character remarks, “we’re allowed to perform there, but not be allowed to be in the club” was so poignant and poetic, I really hope they leave that line in.

I can summarize this book as a young adult sapphic reverse DayBreakers. If you have not seen Ethan Hawke’s vampire movie DayBreakers, it is brilliant, but skip it for now. A lot of the ending reminded me of that movie. 

Told in dual narratives, we have Elise back from her musical career in France for her family, almost like the top crime family in charge, for anniversary celebrations and to celebrate the naming of a new progeny. Second narrative is of Layla, a “reaper” or another term for vampire, but also former friend of Elise and the mystery of their dark past slowly reveals. Part horror, part crime and detective story with a romance story not quite believable, and 100% predictable young adult novel. 

Even though the story is set in the Jazz Age, It has a modern tone and language to it, so keep that in mind if the inaccuracies are something you will fixate on. Even with its predictability, the character developments and intrigue kept the page turning. I never really fell for the sapphic love story- there were moments in the present timeframe I couldn’t see them getting past that happened so I think I would have benefitted from a few flashbacks to see moments of their friendship. But maybe that’s addressed in the next book?
The ending does drag a bit tying up loose ends. This is obviously first in a series/duology, so I’m excited to see where this goes.
Queen B: The Story of Anne Boleyn, Witch Queen by Juno Dawson

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

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

Venture into the historical prequel of Juno Dawson world of Her majesty’s Royal Coven or how I really felt about this novella, the world within a world so to speak. Juno Dawson is a fantastic writer but as I’m reading this, I’m wondering was this a story that really needed to be told.

So this isn’t really story of Anne Boleyn but the coven she left behind and the mystery that enthralled them on who betrayed Anne. I did want more of a story about Anne but it’s probably better to go past that and not tell a story that has already been retold excessively. This tale is of powerful, strong women minimized down to that of a love triangle. To say that I was disappointed would be an understatement . 

I’m happy this was just a novella , as there wasn’t enough story there for a full novel. It really left me wanting to return to the original story and how the author is going to finally tie up those loose ends and cliff hangers from book 1 and 2. This was fine but nothing too rememberable. Even though this is a historical novella, the language bounces from modern to historic, so if that can throw you off, reader beware. I begrudgingly give this three stars because it is written well and those more into historical romantasy may love it but alas, I am not that girl
Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No

3.75

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Putnam for access to an early release copy

One tweet later and Willow is officially cancelled. From friends and fiancés, she is abandoned and her popular tv show canceled. So she’s on her last hope- an adult summer camp that takes you away from your technology and promises you a new day. Where the horror part comes in, is spooky ghost stories around the campfire in the form of knock-knock Nancy
 
A commentary on cancel culture, our female protoganist feels flat and male written. I mean, was anyone really wanting the Courtney Cox haircut and bangs from Scream 3? I hope that line gets edited out because I don’t want to keep picturing the main character with the Courtney Cox bangs. Before picking up this book, I would recommend being someone who is on social media and follows the idea of cancel culture, that is 100% the target market. 

I like the idea of this, although I wasn’t all in on the social media and cancel culture execution. I think I would have liked it a little bit more to keep it simple. About the first 70% of the book almost did exactly the opposite of what I wanted it to do; I wanted a throwback to horror at a camp, nostalgic and ghost stories around the fire. Instead, the development felt more focused on the social media life and cancel culture. Including an unnecessary tutorial on what cancel culture is. If only the story and development had focused more on the jump scares and slow builds, I think it would have been more successful on the horror side. 

Once the horror takes over in the final act, it’s a lot of fun. The back third of this book really saved it for me and I couldn’t put the ending down.