juchinnii's reviews
246 reviews

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

Very good debut! I did pick up pretty early that

Annie and Anya were 2 different people and Annie was not the ghost, and I was suspicious of the maxwells

but I didn’t fully put most of it together. I do feel like the book kind of glossed over Mallory’s past traumas a bit and we could’ve gotten some stronger character development there, but for what it is I quite enjoyed it. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Drug abuse

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I’m conflicted about this book. The first half was so slow, but the last quarter or so was insane. The main character was unlikeable but seemed to get a new outlook on life super randomly. I didn’t see the answer to the mystery coming, but it also felt like the end tied up too nicely (people should be WAY more suspicious of the whole thing). Idk man. 

The Bad Seed by William March

dark 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

3.25

It was fine, but it isn’t scary or even really tense/thriller-y. There’s mostly just a ton of worrying and back and forth from the mom’s POV, plus some weird dinner parties and a feud between a grown man and a child. 

I will say, the audiobook narrator (Elizabeth Wiley) did a FANTASTIC job. I think that probably bumped it up half a star for me, I think I would’ve liked it less if I had read it. 

3 am edit- I just woke up from a rather terrifying child possession dream. Bit of a different theme but perhaps it does subconsciously stick with you after all. Guess I can’t say it isn’t scary lol. 

Glow of the Everflame by Penn Cole

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.25

Better than the first, but felt like a lot of filler. I can’t believe I just read almost 600 pages like what really happened in those 600 pages? Not much. A lot of two steps forward one step back. 

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I’m conflicted about this book. The writing style really brought the characters to life and I felt like I was in the Deep South - it’s clearly something the author is very familiar with. The main characters were just kinda the worst though. It felt like “old men finally attempt to discover empathy while also going on a violent and murderous rampage” and I’m clearly biased, I’ve grown up in a very liberal and accepting household, but I feel like that just added to my frustration with these characters. In the middle part they’re looking for information and whether people help them or not, they just keep fighting w everyone. Most of the LGBTQ+ people in this book feature as plot devices to further the main characters’ journey, and I can’t say much more than that about the depictions of women either. I get that the author was making some big Statements about racism, homophobia, toxic masculinity, etc., but it was a lot for me. I didn’t have a good time. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Racism, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Torture, and Transphobia

Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.25

This was still kinda fun, but maybe I’m just tired of reading about rich people and their oh so massive problems. This was basically interchangeable with all the rest of Kwan’s books - same gimmicks (schooling history when introducing characters, footnotes for things that poor people wouldn’t get) and kinda same characters too. Overbearing Chinese mom, rich boy with a heart of gold, rich playboy asshole, woman who doesn’t care about money, etc. Also I just started skimming paragraphs upon paragraphs of descriptions of designer clothes, jewels, art, and decor. It was too much. 

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.25

Didn’t quite hit for me. I love the writing style as always, and the higher education and PR jokes were fun, but I think it was just like 40-50 pages too long. Got a bit repetitive.

They’re also BARELY rivals.  

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

adventurous lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.75

Cute little episodic stories. Would’ve liked a bit more from the overarching plot but I get that that isn’t the point of this book. Didn’t love the end though, didn’t feel like enough. 

The Housemaid Is Watching by Freida McFadden

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

“The third in a series usually isn’t that great” indeed (if you knew that maybe you shouldn’t have published this?). Def the weakest with a really boring first half. Still super easy and quick to read though. It also isn’t the worst of her books that I’ve read, but I’m now fully realizing how formulaic her books are (found this one pretty predictable for the most part) and I think we’re done w this author. I feel like her priority is the twist(s) regardless of whether they actually make a good story or not. If she actually had

made Suzette the killer after she saw her husband stabbed and realized he was never going to change

it would’ve been a much better story imo, but she just HAD to get the last twist in there with

Martha

which was so random. 

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This may just be my favorite of the series. Tense and unnerving and told in a way that makes you immediately want to start again from the beginning to see what you missed the first time.