flickdabeen's reviews
72 reviews

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

I looooved this book, it took me a bit to get into it but once I started I couldn’t stop. the twists were so unique and I love the way the story works backwards. the one note I have is the author seemed to repeat themselves a lot with dialogue between characters. some of it dragged on but overall I really enjoyed it and loved jen as the main character. it was heartfelt and mysterious without feeling forced 

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

i’m honestly on the fence with this one, i’m not sure how I feel about the twist. I don’t love mental health being used as a means of fiction but it was completely different from anything else i’ve read and I was hooked.
I love a book with different perspectives shown but I think this author has a harder time distinguishing each characters voice so at some points it could get confusing. overall I enjoyed this and it gave me a lot to think about.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

4.25

The Deepest Lake by Andromeda Romano-Lax

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.5

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

3.5

it felt like there was no real resolution to this. it ended in a way that left so many questions for no reason. pretty slow and sad, a lot of it felt traumatic just because it could be. i’m not sure how I feel about this one overall

Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

3.75

this was a good read, I liked the twist and enjoyed the character development along the way. some of the dialogue felt a bit forced and bringing tiktok in so much bordered on cringey at so points. overall I liked the idea and plot, it took a bit to get into it but I finished it quickly. 

The Shadows by Alex North

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

this was a wild ride, the author did a great job creating suspense. I don’t usually feel scared while reading but there were a few times that I genuinely felt nervous because I was engrossed in the characters. it was sad to see how many families were torn apart because of charlie for years to come.

Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

2.0

super heart breaking story but by the end I felt like everything was being repeated. and we were getting so much of the main characters internal dialogue telling us how she felt over and over that by the end I was kind of fed up and just ready for the book to be over. kind of felt like trauma porn with a weird out of place twist at the very end.

Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

3.0

I was excited about the idea but execution was not there for me. It felt like we were just waiting for something to happen for 90% of the book and then everything just magically worked out. the ending seemed rushed to me, also a lot of reviews I saw before called it the most disturbing book they’ve ever read so I was expecting a lot more gross content than what was given.

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

challenging dark funny sad tense fast-paced

4.5

such a great story and pip was a love able character without making her over the top. i’m not usually a YA fan but this one I read through so quickly. I was enthralled with the story from the start and was truly surprised by the ending.