anakaur's reviews
16 reviews

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

I appreciated the focus on female friendships in this book. I feel like a lot of teen relationships center a romantic partner.

Over all it was a fun story. I loved all of the 80's references. Great fall read.

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

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adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I loved the writing style. I read this book so fast, can't wait to read it again this December. It's the perfect winter thriller. If you love a creature feature but also a feminist awakening, you'll love this book.

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

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dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Very interesting commentary about factory farming, capitalism, also sexism. If it wasn't so graphic I would say that this could be a great required reading for high schoolers.

Short book, highly recommend if you can stomach it.

There are a lot of criticisms about the book being misogynistic. I would say that it's realistic. Regardless of socioeconomic status, the women in disenfranchised groups are treated the worst. So yes, the sexual violence the poor "heads" are subjected to is a reflection of the violence poor women in the real world face. Along with other gender based atrocities like forced births and mother-child separation.

Content Warnings

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

It was a fun read.
I liked the mock furniture ads at the beginning of the chapters. It's more of a paranormal action, so if you prefer ghost stories that are fast paced you'll like this book.

It by Stephen King

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-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

4.5

There isn't much to say here. It is considered a classic for a reason. Yes it is an extremely dense book. There are parts that King could have cut out and made the book a barrable length. For those of you that have time and don't mind taking a break every 200 pages, this book is a great challenge.

I'm taking off 1/2 a star for that one scene with Bev and the boys. It was unnecessary...

Content Warnings

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I fell in love with Jake as a character. He was just so sweet. The story itself touched on important topics like race, being gay, and the intersection of those. I normally can't get into YA, but Jake was written as being quite mature for his age so he didn't read like an angsty teen.

There were a few parts where I was confused by the magic system. I was really invested in the characters so I didn't mind too much. I have some other more spoiler filled complaints with some of the story, those are at the end.

I really recommend this read if you are a younger person or someone that really likes YA. The subject matter does get dark. Watch out for the trigger warnings.

Maybe I'm awful but I almost didn't care for Sawyers parts. I almost wanted his story to get darker so that I could be conflicted about feeling sorry for school shooter.

The ending with Jake and Allister made me so happy. I really am over gay tragedy. I want more happy endings in rainbow relationships.

Content Warnings

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

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dark sad fast-paced

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

1.5

I commend a book trying something difference. I liked the format, but some people have a problem with stories told through email/chat.

The story mainly about psychological manipulation and a little bit of body horror. I left the book feeling kind of sad and confused. Even though it's a quick read I don’t recommend it. It’s not for everyone so I maybe in a different life I would have liked it more. I would have "gotten it". I just felt like the characters were under developed and the plot got too disturbing too fast.

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.5

This book was so disappointing. I was so excited for a creepy kid story.

I'll put a spoiler rant at the end of this but overall the book gets repetitive and the ending wasn't interesting or satisfying. If you do decide to pick it up don't expect anything too engaging.

I had such a problem with the scenes of Hanna watching her parents have sex were so unnecessary and unnerving.
The addition of the "witch" concept was unnecessary and cheapened the plot.
The ending of just shipping her off to a school felt unsatisfying (as I've said). Maybe if she was sent off earlier and came back older and smarter. That would have been forgivable. I really wanted the father to come to some sort of a epiphany but he remained clueless and unhelpful through out the whole book.
I would not stay in a marriage like that, if my child was a demon I would demand support from my spouse or I would have left. I guess that's why the whole story felt so unrealistic to me. Maybe I demand more from a partner. I guess feeling so lonely even in a relationship was a pretty tragic.

The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum

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dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This book was so... frustrating.

There were many points where I did want to DNF. I'm okay with reading triggering descriptions but I don't think I've read anything this heavy and relentless. There wasn't a single breather. As a reader I felt trapped , watching something I shouldn't be, and there wasn't anyone I could go to.

But then why did I give this a high of a rating?...

Well I left the book feeling like: "I know I can't recommend this to anyone, and I know that I don't want to be reading anything like this again. But I feel like I had to read something like this a least once". I know it sounds ridiculous, but I truly feel that this book scared the by stander effect out of me.

A lot of people ask what the point of writing something that's essentially torture p*rn, could be? And that was the point of the book for me. The point was that yes this is hard to watch, but there are many people, like our main character, that just watch.

I left this book with so much anger. And I still don't know where to place that anger yet, I just know that it is righteous and I can do some good things with it.

It broke me and angered me further to learn that this story was based on a real case, and the real case was more horrific than the book. So I do ask for those that DNF-ed the Girl Next Door to spare a thought for Sylvia. For those like her that could have been saved if only someone that was just watching, actually said something, or done something.

Content Warnings

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

It was short but effective story. I liked the symbolism of the Ku Kulx being literal monsters because it's a pretty accurate interpretation on how I view the real Klan. The story follows 3 black women that hunt the Ku Klux and fight to keep them from multiplying. Maryse (our main character) is going through her personal journey of her healing trough trauma that is bittersweet. Chef was probably my favorite because I have a soft spot for sapphics. Sadie is is the fun bubbly one of the group. There is so much diverse representation in this book outside of our 3 main women.

This is a thrilling creature feature with some important conversations surrounding race and a look at life in the south. Even if you have read the book I still recommend picking up the audiobook, read by Channie Waites, because she sings during the shouts and she's very good. It was an immersive experience.

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anakaur's reviews 16 reviews

anakaur's reviews
16 reviews