maudmont's reviews
291 reviews

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Solid Poe retelling with a fungus twist. Predictable if you know the original story, but satisfying. A dark and whimsical humour about it, too. Eerie and atmospheric and creepy rather than terrifying, though it did get my heart pounding and my arm hairs standing a couple of times. A bit too slow to get going in my opinion. If you like The Magnus Archives, you'll probably like this book. I enjoy Alex as a character and I'm excited to read the next one, though I do think the pronoun thing is a little out of place here. Sworn soldiers seems like a concept best left for a longer story that isn't a retelling of something else.

Keep It In The Family by John Marrs

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fast-paced

0.5

I hated every second of this book. There was nothing really disturbing or thrilling about it despite the subject matter. The major plot twist s didn't feel justified at all, to the point where they were just stupid. I hated every one of these characters from start to finish. The villains weren't compelling, the protagonists weren't worth sympathizing with. The writing itself was just bland as hell.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

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challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

2.0

This book is a fever dream- even for something written in 1899, it was SLOW, though the prose was so vivid and had such a weird, tripping-along sort of momentum to it. It gives me a better appreciation for the equally fever dream-esque Apocalypse Now, which is definitely a spiritual successor to this plotless mess. I like the movie for what it is and appreciate it more for having read this book, and while the writing itself was compelling, there is simply no way to know what's really happening at any point or why it's happening in the first place. None of the gravity in the last few pages is backec up by anything, so it all falls flat. This is a weird relic of literature for sure.

The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke

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challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced