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gabography's reviews
17 reviews
Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
on a quest for werewolf media to heal my inner child, and this was the perfect little read for a friday night. nothing remarkable, just fun
The Hunger by Alma Katsu
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
zombies aka honk shoo mimimi. actual accounts of these events are scarier
Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
much like its main character, the story is grizzly. i know "cute thing but EVIL" can be gimmicky, but this is put together by such a beautifully illustrated bow that it was great. i wish it was longer. hopefully the author revists this world because i'd love to go back to woodbrook
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder
Chlorine by Jade Song
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
i should've read the reviews before going in lol. not because of any triggering moments, but because of the issues i had with the mc and the writing.
something ain't right when you can't tell if a word or metaphor choice is the author speaking or the character, and i scratched my head a bit as i read. as some reviews have said, the mc is giving angsty "you're all below me, bleh" vibes the whole time and while that can absolutely be interesting to read, it's not here. ren has an ego on top of being delulu and i don't know if the author has quite figured out how to make her a character worth following or caring about as she whines for the tenth time about wanting to be a mermaid and how all humans suck. like someone on goodreads said, it's giving "my immortal".
and that's where i get to the writing and story overall. is this ya? it sure sounds like ya. is it really horror? not really, unless you count a body mutilation scene. is it sapphic romance? ehhh, there's a girl she likes. that's kinda true. this book is labeled as and trying to be a lot of things, and i think that's part of its problem. and again, the mc's narration and feelings make that jumbled mess such a head-scratcher because after a while i wondered why should i care. and i was a sports girl with pressure from coaches and family all while in those formative teen years of everything changing and feeling weird. this just leaned a little too much into the weird that it wasn't only unrelatable; it was so uninteresting.
and i just need to mention the blue eyes white dragon analogy because huh?? lmao???
something ain't right when you can't tell if a word or metaphor choice is the author speaking or the character, and i scratched my head a bit as i read. as some reviews have said, the mc is giving angsty "you're all below me, bleh" vibes the whole time and while that can absolutely be interesting to read, it's not here. ren has an ego on top of being delulu and i don't know if the author has quite figured out how to make her a character worth following or caring about as she whines for the tenth time about wanting to be a mermaid and how all humans suck. like someone on goodreads said, it's giving "my immortal".
and that's where i get to the writing and story overall. is this ya? it sure sounds like ya. is it really horror? not really, unless you count a body mutilation scene. is it sapphic romance? ehhh, there's a girl she likes. that's kinda true. this book is labeled as and trying to be a lot of things, and i think that's part of its problem. and again, the mc's narration and feelings make that jumbled mess such a head-scratcher because after a while i wondered why should i care. and i was a sports girl with pressure from coaches and family all while in those formative teen years of everything changing and feeling weird. this just leaned a little too much into the weird that it wasn't only unrelatable; it was so uninteresting.
and i just need to mention the blue eyes white dragon analogy because huh?? lmao???
The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
a very unique and quick dark fantasy adventure that i consumed in two sittings. there's a dreamlike fairytale/fable vibe to the story that i found enjoyable. the ending was left open in a way that makes me wonder if this is a world the author may return to, and i hope that's the case. the amount of worldbuilding for only such a short book would be a crime
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and War
Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry
Okay, that aside this was an incredibly gripping read. I would have finished in a day if it weren't for obligations. So many things in this story just make sense if you're familiar in any way with the Peter Pan story. There's something so odd about him and Neverland that's just written off as magic and childish whimsy, but thinking about it too hard makes ol' P.P. a bit of a creepy figure who is more in the wrong than people may think. Even before reading this book I'd wondered as a child what exactly did Hook do that was so bad to earn Peter's constant torment and pestering beyond being annoyed with the little bastard who refuses to mature or be responsibility. Hook is one of those childhood antagonists that doesn't really feel like one if the only lense looked at him with is "well, he spoils the fun of children" because... so? and?
The author painted such a tragic image of the boy who would captain the Jolly Roger that it is impossible not to join Team Hook-Did-Nothing-Wrong before it's done. Literally everything that's led him to the point of becoming Hook was casued by Peter's meddling and you'd have to be on something to even try to convince me that he shouldn't give that "kid" what he deserves. I also feel like I am never going to look at the more cheerful depictions of Peter and his Lost Boys the same way after this bookrevealed that the children brought to Neverland from the "Other Place" are all but sows being saved for slaughter, so the blood spilled through Peter's games are what keep the island teaming with magic and Peter young, all-knowing, and immortal . That went beyond the "Lord of the Flies" vibe that is very present and true, so it's going to stay with me for a little bit.
While some retellings of childhood stories can edge too close to "look at how edgy everything is oooooh", Henry truly Told A Story with sympathetic characters you root and feel for, believable dangers and stakes, and an ending that is both understandably bleak and still hopeful for the day, somewhere, somehow, Peter finally stops getting his way. If only for there to finally be justice for everything he's caused in the name of fun.
Edit: f it. changing my 4.75 to a 5 because this book really grabbed me. No notes on the writing (Henry did great) or any characters beyond the antagonist getting on my nerves, so yeah. A perfect book if you know what you're looking for and what you're getting into.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
If Peter Pan has a million haters, I'm one of them. If he has one hater, it's me. If he has 0 haters, I have died. If the world is against Peter Pan, I am with the world. If the world is for Peter Pan, I am against the world.
Okay, that aside this was an incredibly gripping read. I would have finished in a day if it weren't for obligations. So many things in this story just make sense if you're familiar in any way with the Peter Pan story. There's something so odd about him and Neverland that's just written off as magic and childish whimsy, but thinking about it too hard makes ol' P.P. a bit of a creepy figure who is more in the wrong than people may think. Even before reading this book I'd wondered as a child what exactly did Hook do that was so bad to earn Peter's constant torment and pestering beyond being annoyed with the little bastard who refuses to mature or be responsibility. Hook is one of those childhood antagonists that doesn't really feel like one if the only lense looked at him with is "well, he spoils the fun of children" because... so? and?
The author painted such a tragic image of the boy who would captain the Jolly Roger that it is impossible not to join Team Hook-Did-Nothing-Wrong before it's done. Literally everything that's led him to the point of becoming Hook was casued by Peter's meddling and you'd have to be on something to even try to convince me that he shouldn't give that "kid" what he deserves. I also feel like I am never going to look at the more cheerful depictions of Peter and his Lost Boys the same way after this book
While some retellings of childhood stories can edge too close to "look at how edgy everything is oooooh", Henry truly Told A Story with sympathetic characters you root and feel for, believable dangers and stakes, and an ending that is both understandably bleak and still hopeful for the day, somewhere, somehow, Peter finally stops getting his way. If only for there to finally be justice for everything he's caused in the name of fun.
Edit: f it. changing my 4.75 to a 5 because this book really grabbed me. No notes on the writing (Henry did great) or any characters beyond the antagonist getting on my nerves, so yeah. A perfect book if you know what you're looking for and what you're getting into.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore and Fire/Fire injury
Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
4.75
wow, what a read. for the first time in years, i finished this book in 36 hours. it was that engrossing to me.
what an honestly bonkers concept turned out to be such a dark, fast paced, and surprisingly moving story written in a lovely prose that i can only imagine comes from the very stories that inspired the ensemble of not-so-cuddly creatures (some reviews did not care for that and some even called it pretentious, but i see what the author was going for and i loved it).
truly the only reason why this book doesn't earn a perfect five is due to the human characters, except for the one girl in the group named caroline who i liked a lot. to keep it as spoiler-free as possible because this book should be read blind, i found the main character to be the male equivalent of a mary sue at times, in the sense that you can tell he was the apple of the author's eye and had to be the most specialest lil guy of all the guys in the story, which felt a bit :/ as the story went on. while he was interesting and you feel for him, it all lining up the way it did just made me wish there was more there than just something that felt very "ope, he was special the whole time! surprise everyone!" like... okay. his male friend was also very one-note, left to be nothing more than the bumbling himbo sidekick who makes the main character look ever so clever and special in comparison. if not for his bravery and care for caroline and their relationship tugging at my heart, i would not care for him at all.
other than that, the world, the animal characters and their plight, the theme of trauma and loss and grief, all of it made for such a unique story that i know is going to stay with me. peter rabbit and friends are already looking a little more suspicious.
what an honestly bonkers concept turned out to be such a dark, fast paced, and surprisingly moving story written in a lovely prose that i can only imagine comes from the very stories that inspired the ensemble of not-so-cuddly creatures (some reviews did not care for that and some even called it pretentious, but i see what the author was going for and i loved it).
truly the only reason why this book doesn't earn a perfect five is due to the human characters, except for the one girl in the group named caroline who i liked a lot. to keep it as spoiler-free as possible because this book should be read blind, i found the main character to be the male equivalent of a mary sue at times, in the sense that you can tell he was the apple of the author's eye and had to be the most specialest lil guy of all the guys in the story, which felt a bit :/ as the story went on. while he was interesting and you feel for him, it all lining up the way it did just made me wish there was more there than just something that felt very "ope, he was special the whole time! surprise everyone!" like... okay. his male friend was also very one-note, left to be nothing more than the bumbling himbo sidekick who makes the main character look ever so clever and special in comparison. if not for his bravery and care for caroline and their relationship tugging at my heart, i would not care for him at all.
other than that, the world, the animal characters and their plight, the theme of trauma and loss and grief, all of it made for such a unique story that i know is going to stay with me. peter rabbit and friends are already looking a little more suspicious.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Self harm, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
The Only One Left by Riley Sager
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"rebecca" meets "the fall of the house of usher" meets the lizzie borden case with a sprinkle of "grey gardens". i found it a little predictable but a lot of fun. it feels like something i could easily see being a killer (no pun intended) miniseries that i would inhale in a day, so it's no surprise that i listened to this audiobook in less than 48 hours. a good story overall with drama, sadness, tension, and more drama
Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-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
5.0
oh, how SEEN this book made me feel. i've been really going through it as of late so this quick story about what's basically the loving girl gang of my dreams felt like a mug of hot cocoa for my spirit. i saw myself in each of these wonderful characters (who i hope we see again in another book or even just a webcomic, please please please) and it was so therapeutic to let myself cry when some emotional scenes literally had me like "she's just like me for real". truly loved this book
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Stalking, and Lesbophobia
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
didn't grip me the way i hoped it would.