apolloniablooms's reviews
181 reviews

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

4.0

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

3.0

Denali's Howl: The Deadliest Climbing Disaster on America's Wildest Peak by Andy Hall

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

3.0

The narrative lacks some cohesion. I wish it would have decided what it was focused on. But really, it is what you think it is and delivers an adventure 

The Deep by Nick Cutter

dark tense slow-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

2.5

Like a lot of horror/thrillers this book suffers from hitting the peak amount of tenseness a person can feel really early on and then maintaining it instead of giving the reader relief then building tension again.  By the end I was skimming.  Bad guy is bad because of mental illness. Wish it had been a short story.  Would be a good premise for a video game.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, Grief, Torture, Stalking, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Terminal illness, Animal death, Physical abuse, Murder, Blood, and Body horror

Girlhood by Melissa Febos

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

4.5

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.0

It really choked at the end, which felt rushed.  Overall glad I read it, but it feels like a shadow of books like Annihilation and Inspection which do the same thing but feel more complete.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Self harm, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Gore, Body horror, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, Confinement, Blood, Animal death, and Abandonment

Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation Into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin by Megan Rosenbloom

5.0

Restart After Coming Back Home by Cocomi

emotional hopeful medium-paced

5.0

Fluffy and cute, just what I wanted.

Ararat by Christopher Golden

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I wish this book had more of a build to the climax. It starts tense and stays there, which is exhausting.

Sensor by Junji Ito

dark sad medium-paced

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

3.5