Reviews with content warning for Death - Penpal

Reviews tagging 'Death'

aidareads's review

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

this was exactly what i’ve been looking for all october!! it was so creepy and unsettling. the ending made me tear up though

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_fallinglight_'s review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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murmurations_x's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

How far can you go into the woods?

The one word I have to describe this book is eerie. It feels bizarre to say that this was an enjoyable read giving the subject matter, it was one of the few horror books I've ever read that I was actually creeped out by when reading at night, maybe because it felt very real.

There are parts of the story that feel a little drawn out but with this story being a creepy pasta originally I imagine it needed bulking up for traditional publishing. After reading each chapter I actually listened to a Mr. Creepypasta on YouTube read the original and though some elements of the book felt drawn out there where one of two added items that added good suspense.

Would recommend this book for sure, especially as a Halloween/October read.

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bashsbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

What an eerie book. I was not expecting a horror that could, more or less, be real. I liked that aspect of it. I think that the jumping around in the timeline mostly works, but the sections where

Spoiler

the main character spent time with Veronica and then she died, felt kind of random and disjointed compared to the rest of the story. I know it was to reconnect him to Josh but I just felt like she appeared out of nowhere just to die.

That said, I really enjoyed most of this book, and while I feel like I guessed a lot of what was going to happen, that didn't really ruin the experience of watching the mystery unfold.

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destinyf1988's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This book had my full attention almost immediately and kept my attention throughout (which is a feat because I give up on a lot of books). It is incredibly creepy, dark and sad so if you don’t like heavy stuff this isn’t the book for you. I throughly enjoyed it and couldn’t wait to be able to read again when I had to put it down to go to work.
Up next in my stack of to read books is another one written by him because I enjoyed it so much.

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daniela_09's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

So creepy as each chapter progresses!

A bit confusing with the progression of events(his childhood could've been told in chronological order) and it would've delivered the same type of creepiness and suspense to the readers.

I also wanted the author to give more depth or information about the penpal/stalker so it lacked that closure for me in the end.

Overall, I still liked it and it fit the vibe of my spooky reading list 🎃👻

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maniacjac's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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killmoore_'s review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

1000Vultures (Dathan Auerbach) has been one of my favorite nosleep authors for years, so going in to Penpal I was very familiar with the stories within, and I was thrilled to not only be able to support a wonderful author, but to have one of my favorite collections of nosleep stories on my shelf.

Penpal is a story that takes us on a journey into the past as a man works to unravel the mystery of his lost friend and the unsettling experiences of his childhood. It is dripping with dread, and each story leaves you feeling like maaaybe you should check to make sure the doors are locked one more time before heading to bed.

What makes Penpal successful for me is what we are left without. We never see the monster. In fact, there is a significant section of this book that works to shut down the idea of our villain as the Boogeyman - he's just a man.

On its own, Penpal is horrific, but as a parent myself with 2 boys in the age range of our MC, it is absolutely gut wrenching.

I'm not giving this 5 stars simply because of the format - it reads very much like a nosleep post (which it is) and tends to be a bit wordy and disconnected at points. However, if nosleep is your jam, or maybe you just want to read something that will leave you sick to your stomach, Penpal is the perfect novel for you.

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