lizgom's reviews
158 reviews

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.75

I hated so many things about this book, solely because what the f*ck is up with this family.
Sh*t hit the fan so early in the book, I wasn't expecting that lol.

I started reading the book and was creeping myself out so I decided to go the audiobook route because I wouldn't be able to push through if I was the one setting the tone. Overall the story was interesting, I really like all the reactions it got out of me. I don't remember the last time I actually felt SOMETHING while reading.

Definitely read the triggers to this before picking it up.
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Seed by Ania Ahlborn

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5

Since seeing the cover I got an idea of what kind of book this was. I can’t say I’m disappointed with any part of this book, the writing was great, the pace was sometimes uneven. But even then I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. I’m not exactly sure if this is categorized as horror, but more than anything I was interested in what was going to happen next. The ending was so creepy I felt like I shouldn’t have seen that coming even though I had the feeling the ending was being hinted at throughout the book. Overall a great creepy read.
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The Awakening by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti

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3.0

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous emotional funny 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? Yes

3.0

So prior to CC, I've only read ACOTAR by SJM and honestly the difference in the start of these two series is crazy. You're basically just thrown into this book with little to no explanation & the world building comes in strong. Once I got a foothold on the work¡ld and the characters, this was hard to put down. To me, Bryce wasn't very likable probably until the end of the book. reading 60-70% of the book just to like her felt like a chore. I really liked the character development towards the end of the book. The relationship building between Hunt and Bryce was something I liked a lot. I love how they didn't act on their feelings right away, I think that just made their "relationship" raw & real. I did love the friendship Bryce and Danika had.
I loved how Bryce continued to grieve through the book. Made her far more a relatable character than most main characters I've read about, especially in fantasy.
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Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas, Mark Olshaker

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dark informative reflective tense fast-paced

2.75

I really liked a few books like this and was SO excited to go into this one because of the Netflix series, but it fell flat for me. For some reason I can’t remember a thing I read. The most interesting part of this was the description and how to profile serial killers based on evidence and so on. It’s very insightful, but I just couldn’t connect with the writing. 
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The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore

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

4.0

I loved this entirely because of the vibes. The writing was a little off to me and Hazel was a bit annoying. Other than that this is the perfect cozy read along with The Pumpkin Spice Café.
The Fifth Suspect by Robert McNeil

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

2.5

I really had to push myself to get through the first 40% of the book. The characters weren’t engaging and lacked personality. I think I really enjoyed the story towards the end where it picked up, but it took me so long to actually want to read it.
Don't Let Her Stay by Nicola Sanders

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

3.0

This was a solid 3/5. The story itself was good. I felt like I read faster than listening to the audiobook. The voice the narrator used for Chloe when talking to Richard was probably one of the biggest yucks I’ve felt. The narrator made me feel like Chloe was an 8y/o girl when she was 20, 21 after her birthday which we see in the book. I just felt really disconnected to all the characters.
Chloe was annoyingly two-faced. Richard gave me the ick the moment he would dismiss his daughter’s rude behavior towards his partner. Joanna was annoyingly permissive and she let herself be gaslit so easily.
This is one of those types of books where I feel like the ending was rushed or summarized. The four month old baby was probably the best character in this book. The ending left me with questions but I guess that was kind of the point. This is the type of book I’d recommend if someone was looking for something REALLY specific with thriller and step parents or something. 
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated

4.75

The writing was easy to read and I have absolutely no complaints about the plot or characters. I feel like it was a thoroughly well written book. I enjoyed being on edge the whole time.
The only thing I didn’t like, was the fact that it’s the third book where dad takes the fall for his son being a murderer and it just feels like that could’ve been a little bit different so it would’ve been a little bit more original.
Other than that this is a close to perfect book! 
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

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emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

2.5

My first mistake was having high hopes for this. My second mistake was trusting Reese Witherspoon. Which is crazy because I’ve LOVED some of her recs. Anyway, the writing was alright. The plot was mediocre at best. The ending was just a sloppy way to wrap up the book.