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meghjcollins's reviews
209 reviews
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
2.5
Teddy by Emily Dunlay
Did not finish book. Stopped at 73%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 73%.
Went on for a bit too long with no interesting developments
The Lamb by Lucy Rose
5.0
Firstly, I loved the way time is blurred within this book, sometimes I felt I'd been enveloped into medieval gothic age and then someone mentions a phone and I'm yanked back into the present, making this so much more impactful and agonising.
The way characters are portrayed is beautifully done, our protagonist Margot has clear thoughts, kept childlike and real in their tone, she is easy to love and empathise with. The relationship dynamics between Margot, her mother and Eden is a delicate triangle of desire, regret and duty. This exploration of motherhood is also extremely interesting and thorough, something I'm not used to enjoying.
This book is a spellbinding tale of a family, they are unconventional and unbothered by the world (or perhaps overly bothered by the world 🤔). This story treads a balance of macabre and melancholy, it's enticing and kept the pages turning throughout.
I could blabber on and on about this forever, but just know I loved this book.
The way characters are portrayed is beautifully done, our protagonist Margot has clear thoughts, kept childlike and real in their tone, she is easy to love and empathise with. The relationship dynamics between Margot, her mother and Eden is a delicate triangle of desire, regret and duty. This exploration of motherhood is also extremely interesting and thorough, something I'm not used to enjoying.
This book is a spellbinding tale of a family, they are unconventional and unbothered by the world (or perhaps overly bothered by the world 🤔). This story treads a balance of macabre and melancholy, it's enticing and kept the pages turning throughout.
I could blabber on and on about this forever, but just know I loved this book.
Idle Grounds by Krystelle Bamford
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I loved this book for a lot of reasons, first and foremost, the narrator, our protagonist, is absolutely fantastic. Coming from the point of view of a child is a difficult thing to get right but Bamford nailed it. The narration is childlike in the sense that the scares are bubbling away and building up through what they're seeing and feeling and hearing, but in the next breath they're telling you about a great candy bar they had been obsessed with. Either that or they're making some flippant remark about a member of the family. It keeps true to the mindset of a child, painting the memory in such a light that it becomes unreliable in its horror. The foreboding of the 'bad thing' is so excellent, only mentioned briefly and then we continue on the journey with them. I loved the way I was on edge, I felt like the environment was built so perfectly for a horror, it's subtle and effective.
In the same vein, there is nostalgia sprinkled throughout this book which everyone can relate to, putting you more in the story and embedded, invested even, in what is going to happen. The family dynamics are engaging and real - again, excellently done.
Overall, this book is a 5 star for me, the pace is fast and the writing is engaging. A great read for someone who likes horror but not the gore, if you want to be spooked out, read this.
Zip zip zip.
In the same vein, there is nostalgia sprinkled throughout this book which everyone can relate to, putting you more in the story and embedded, invested even, in what is going to happen. The family dynamics are engaging and real - again, excellently done.
Overall, this book is a 5 star for me, the pace is fast and the writing is engaging. A great read for someone who likes horror but not the gore, if you want to be spooked out, read this.
Zip zip zip.