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megan_bbender's reviews
91 reviews
The Haar by David Sodergren
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I didn't think that this book was bad or good, it's an interesting concept and a super easy read for when you're in the mood for something quick.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately I found it really boring. I thought it was super sweet and cozy, I also really enjoyed the ending, but it just wasn't for me.
Pedo Island Bloodbath by Duncan Ralston
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Like many, I started reading this book from the title alone. It came up as a recommendation and I got right into it because I thought the title was amazing. I am a horror fan and I have read a few other splatterpunk books, but each time I'm left with a feeling of uncertainty, especially after this one. With that being said, my review could be a bit biased, as this just might not be genre for me.
Trying my best to not sound accusatory, after reading these types of books I wonder what the true purpose of it is for. I'm genuinely not sure if this genre is supposed to be fetish/kink content. I did read the ending blurb of this book but I still wonder where the inspiration for this stuff comes from and with such graphic depictions of certain activities, I always had it in the back of my mind if I had accidentally got into something made for a specific group of people.
I'd truly love to actually learn more about the splatterpunk genre itself, but I think this book has given me enough reason to stay away for now.
Here's what I thought of the book:
Honestly, every time I got to a new chapter, I said “okay, finally, this is when somethings gonna go down” and it just never did - I truly thought it was a good story as well as extremely well written, but it did seem very slow and drawn out. When I got to page 280 I genuinely could not believe I still had 100 pages left. Sadly, it just got to the point where I was getting bored, I wouldn't normally consider a book this length to be 'long'.
With that being said, when stuff started going down, it really started going down. It was an exciting way to end off the book, but even then I kept looking at the pages left going “there’s still more?”
I was happy with the ending, who can complain about terrible things happening to terrible people? I found myself rooting for the characters and got really invested. But compared to the slowness of the book, the ending seemed quick.
Trying my best to not sound accusatory, after reading these types of books I wonder what the true purpose of it is for. I'm genuinely not sure if this genre is supposed to be fetish/kink content. I did read the ending blurb of this book but I still wonder where the inspiration for this stuff comes from and with such graphic depictions of certain activities, I always had it in the back of my mind if I had accidentally got into something made for a specific group of people.
I'd truly love to actually learn more about the splatterpunk genre itself, but I think this book has given me enough reason to stay away for now.
Here's what I thought of the book:
Honestly, every time I got to a new chapter, I said “okay, finally, this is when somethings gonna go down” and it just never did - I truly thought it was a good story as well as extremely well written, but it did seem very slow and drawn out. When I got to page 280 I genuinely could not believe I still had 100 pages left. Sadly, it just got to the point where I was getting bored, I wouldn't normally consider a book this length to be 'long'.
With that being said, when stuff started going down, it really started going down. It was an exciting way to end off the book, but even then I kept looking at the pages left going “there’s still more?”
I was happy with the ending, who can complain about terrible things happening to terrible people? I found myself rooting for the characters and got really invested. But compared to the slowness of the book, the ending seemed quick.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Torture, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol
Minor: Cannibalism and Fire/Fire injury
The Good Samaritan by John Marrs
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I absolutely loved this book, I thought it was such an interesting concept and it had me hooked right away. I'll be seeing Laura in my nightmares, but it was a nice change from what I usually read.
This book will yank you in every direction and you'll be sat for it the entire time. Every time something happened, I went "no way". It was so fun to read something so unpredictable and it is so cool how the author is able to write in a way that makes you almost want to be rooting for Laura, wanting to see if she gets away with it or not.
I want to give major credit to the author, as I expected a book with this much going on would have a ton of plot holes in the end, but the way everything plays out and all makes sense had me telling all of my friends, "you have to read this book!".
This book will yank you in every direction and you'll be sat for it the entire time. Every time something happened, I went "no way". It was so fun to read something so unpredictable and it is so cool how the author is able to write in a way that makes you almost want to be rooting for Laura, wanting to see if she gets away with it or not.
I want to give major credit to the author, as I expected a book with this much going on would have a ton of plot holes in the end, but the way everything plays out and all makes sense had me telling all of my friends, "you have to read this book!".
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, and Alcohol
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book was just simply beautiful, I absolutely loved this book and all the meaning it holds.
This book has lots of important messages that I think everyone should read and learn from. I really reflected on my own life after reading this book.
"She realized that's what she was. A black hole. A dying star, collapsing in on itself."
"Death is the opposite of possibility."
This book has lots of important messages that I think everyone should read and learn from. I really reflected on my own life after reading this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Grief, and Death of parent
Lord of the Flies: Introduced by Stephen King by William Golding
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder
We Had to Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Honestly, this book is not what I was expecting at all. I was expecting something along the lines of someone working as a content reviewer and readers seeing into that role. However, readers get a weird love story instead.
I'm a bit disappointed that the whole premise of the book was this grueling job that impacted their personal lives, yet we barely got to see into this job, just saw the impact of it, and even then we hardly saw any.
The only reason I gave this book 3 stars was because of how short it was, I am just glad that I was able to read it so quickly. If it was any longer, I don't think I would have enjoyed it at all.
I'm a bit disappointed that the whole premise of the book was this grueling job that impacted their personal lives, yet we barely got to see into this job, just saw the impact of it, and even then we hardly saw any.
The only reason I gave this book 3 stars was because of how short it was, I am just glad that I was able to read it so quickly. If it was any longer, I don't think I would have enjoyed it at all.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
challenging
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this rating as it seems too low, but a 4 star feels to high.
I really did enjoy reading this book, I thought it was a cool concept, with that being said, the reason I docked a couple of points was because I thought the beginning was slow and towards the end I thought it was really dragged out, I think it could have been a couple of chapters shorter.
While reading this book, it genuinely felt like I was having a conversation with someone and they were telling me about the things going on in their life. I read through it really quickly and loved the switch up of genre, as this is quite different from what I normally read.
I'll definitely be on the look out for some other R.F Kuang books in the future.
I really did enjoy reading this book, I thought it was a cool concept, with that being said, the reason I docked a couple of points was because I thought the beginning was slow and towards the end I thought it was really dragged out, I think it could have been a couple of chapters shorter.
While reading this book, it genuinely felt like I was having a conversation with someone and they were telling me about the things going on in their life. I read through it really quickly and loved the switch up of genre, as this is quite different from what I normally read.
I'll definitely be on the look out for some other R.F Kuang books in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation
Stranded by Selena Winters
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book didn’t have the greatest writing of all time, but I still enjoyed it for the very quick read that it is.
Not sure if this is ever something that I would pick up again as I thought some parts were a bit weird but since it is such a short book, I’m not mad at the time I spent on it.
Not sure if this is ever something that I would pick up again as I thought some parts were a bit weird but since it is such a short book, I’m not mad at the time I spent on it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Murder
Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I absolutely loved the first book and I’m so glad that this one did not disappoint. I cannot wait to get my hands on the third one.
To be honest, for some reason I was struggling in the first half of this book to understand what was going on, but when I eventually figured it all out, I really enjoyed it.
I love these characters so much and I’m so sad that these books have to come to an end. I truly wish I could read about their lives forever.
To be honest, for some reason I was struggling in the first half of this book to understand what was going on, but when I eventually figured it all out, I really enjoyed it.
I love these characters so much and I’m so sad that these books have to come to an end. I truly wish I could read about their lives forever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Cursing