amaranth_wytch's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Fatphobia, Grief, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Vomit and Sexual content
kkehoe's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at 77%. That's how much I disliked this juvenile attempt at shock humor mixed with "horror". There are plenty of ways to fly your geek flag without having to drop so many references that your story feels like it's half RLM podcast. Pop culture can be an interesting flavor, but when it's so heavily relied on, it becomes tiresome and groan-inducing. Sadly, the story that's hidden away among the second-rate Kevin Smith jokes, did nothing to keep me interested, reminding me of some jock relating his conquests in the locker room. I enjoy crass humor. I enjoy sexed up prose. I didn't enjoy this. At all. I tried. I truly did.
oddly's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not sure what just happened, but I am sure that I loved every second of it.
This strange little novella follows Sadie Snow, a lady who knows what she wants, and she wants it cold. She isn't gross, OK, she doesn't want dead people—it's just that coldness turns her on. When she finally finds a guy who's willing to go there with her, it all turns upside down.
Kiera is able to take this absurd premise and make a story where I really cared about the characters. It didn't matter that they were kind of weird (OK, pretty f-ing weird), they come alive in the story through the great dialogue and fun humor.
The story is really a feminist sort of Frankenstein, where Sadie will do anything to keep the one man who truly gets her from dying.
Another great entry in the Rewind or Die series from Unnerving!
This strange little novella follows Sadie Snow, a lady who knows what she wants, and she wants it cold. She isn't gross, OK, she doesn't want dead people—it's just that coldness turns her on. When she finally finds a guy who's willing to go there with her, it all turns upside down.
Kiera is able to take this absurd premise and make a story where I really cared about the characters. It didn't matter that they were kind of weird (OK, pretty f-ing weird), they come alive in the story through the great dialogue and fun humor.
The story is really a feminist sort of Frankenstein, where Sadie will do anything to keep the one man who truly gets her from dying.
Another great entry in the Rewind or Die series from Unnerving!
n0rmann's review against another edition
4.0
A love story for all ages combined with a modern day Frankenstein story. Can't go wrong with it!
bookishactor's review against another edition
3.0
All You Need is Love and a Strong Electric Current is a fun take on the Frankenstein story. Mackenzie Kiera has created a funny and surprising page turner that presents an interesting look at love and sex. The writing style is extremely conversational as the protagonist narrates the story for the reader. The book is delightfully crude at times, perhaps presenting a progressive take on the pulpy paperbacks from hell of old. Although I found the sudden willingness of the main character to commit murder to strain belief, it was nevertheless an interesting exciting scene.
My main beef with this book, and the reason I rated it 3 stars instead of 4, is the inclusion of needless fatshaming. I was really disappointed to read passages in which the main character muses about why high schools and colleges let big dudes play football because it seems like it would be a liability that they’d have a heart attack. In another passage she told this story about an obese person dying and needing to be cut out of their surroundings. Simply put, there were no major obese characters in this story (for which I’m thankful if these fatphobic comments reflect the author’s views of obese people and not merely the character) so I was totally mystified as to why commentary on overweight bodies needed to be included at all? Kiera could have simply not written these sentences, or cut them in the editing and revising process. In my opinion they contributed nothing except alienating obese readers like me and transforming a character I liked into one I didn’t. Perhaps this was the author’s intent, if so- congratulations! If not, well...oops. It was disappointing to see a character who goes out of her way to explain how progressive she is have this enormous blind spot when it comes to body and size diversity. I don’t like seeing people make jokes at my expense or openly and unashamedly explain how I disgust them. While this content didn’t ruin the book for me, it did diminish the experience. That’s too bad.
4 stars for the story and characters, but overall I’m rating this book 3 because of the fatshaming.
My main beef with this book, and the reason I rated it 3 stars instead of 4, is the inclusion of needless fatshaming. I was really disappointed to read passages in which the main character muses about why high schools and colleges let big dudes play football because it seems like it would be a liability that they’d have a heart attack. In another passage she told this story about an obese person dying and needing to be cut out of their surroundings. Simply put, there were no major obese characters in this story (for which I’m thankful if these fatphobic comments reflect the author’s views of obese people and not merely the character) so I was totally mystified as to why commentary on overweight bodies needed to be included at all? Kiera could have simply not written these sentences, or cut them in the editing and revising process. In my opinion they contributed nothing except alienating obese readers like me and transforming a character I liked into one I didn’t. Perhaps this was the author’s intent, if so- congratulations! If not, well...oops. It was disappointing to see a character who goes out of her way to explain how progressive she is have this enormous blind spot when it comes to body and size diversity. I don’t like seeing people make jokes at my expense or openly and unashamedly explain how I disgust them. While this content didn’t ruin the book for me, it did diminish the experience. That’s too bad.
4 stars for the story and characters, but overall I’m rating this book 3 because of the fatshaming.
djohan's review
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
kkehoe's review
1.0
DNF at 77%. That's how much I disliked this juvenile attempt at shock humor mixed with "horror". There are plenty of ways to fly your geek flag without having to drop so many references that your story feels like it's half RLM podcast. Pop culture can be an interesting flavor, but when it's so heavily relied on, it becomes tiresome and groan-inducing. Sadly, the story that's hidden away among the second-rate Kevin Smith jokes, did nothing to keep me interested, reminding me of some jock relating his conquests in the locker room. I enjoy crass humor. I enjoy sexed up prose. I didn't enjoy this. At all. I tried. I truly did.
sarahkate_reads's review
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
songcatchers's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0