petalpineink's reviews
80 reviews
The Lover by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
dark
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
4.5
What a dark little tale that will leave you with a wicked grin.
This is me sticking my toe into the water that is the works of Silvia Moreno-Garcia (I know - I’ve been sleeping on this author and I get it now) AND I CANNOT WAIT FOR MORE!
For such a short story, this tale pulled me in quickly and left me feeling like I deeply knew these characters. The author real knows how to get into the inner workings and root aspects of a person that let you see them so clearly. And there’s just something about the chosen dialogue in this story that not only had me giggling mischievously, but let me picture the characters personalities and physical quirks so clearly.
If you’re looking for something short and wicked that will leave you feeling deliciously smug at the end, The Lover is your book.
Thanks NetGalley and Amazon Original Stores for and ARC of this read.
This is me sticking my toe into the water that is the works of Silvia Moreno-Garcia (I know - I’ve been sleeping on this author and I get it now) AND I CANNOT WAIT FOR MORE!
For such a short story, this tale pulled me in quickly and left me feeling like I deeply knew these characters. The author real knows how to get into the inner workings and root aspects of a person that let you see them so clearly. And there’s just something about the chosen dialogue in this story that not only had me giggling mischievously, but let me picture the characters personalities and physical quirks so clearly.
If you’re looking for something short and wicked that will leave you feeling deliciously smug at the end, The Lover is your book.
Thanks NetGalley and Amazon Original Stores for and ARC of this read.
Unfamiliar, Volume 2 by Haley Newsome
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Winston, always the voice of reason, always stealing my heart with is tiny cuteness.
I loved this second volume of Unfamiliar. The story picked up right where the first volume left off. In this volume we follow more personal struggle and growth story, but mainly focusing on Sun and Babs this time. I loved to see the little unexpected twist ending I was not expecting too!
I highly enjoyed this read and will be keeping my eye out for future works from this artist.
Thanks NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an ARC of this volume.
I loved this second volume of Unfamiliar. The story picked up right where the first volume left off. In this volume we follow more personal struggle and growth story, but mainly focusing on Sun and Babs this time. I loved to see the little unexpected twist ending I was not expecting too!
I highly enjoyed this read and will be keeping my eye out for future works from this artist.
Thanks NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an ARC of this volume.
Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
YA horror about a creepy forest cult? Sign. Me. Up.
This story had just the right features to suck me right in. Cults, moths, frenemies, missing person mystery. I really enjoyed the authors choices that made this a mysterious and creepy folk horror. It was just the right amount of dark and chilling for this kind of read.
While I typically love a faster paced read when it comes to a mystery in the plot, I do wish this specific book took it a little slower and added a bit more fluff. Despite the speed of the plot, I did still get to know and care for the characters quite well. However, I think more character building (especially of the side characters), an elongated plot that reveals the mysteries a bit slower, and more of the authors prose would have made this book pop a bit more for me.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC of this book.
This story had just the right features to suck me right in. Cults, moths, frenemies, missing person mystery. I really enjoyed the authors choices that made this a mysterious and creepy folk horror. It was just the right amount of dark and chilling for this kind of read.
While I typically love a faster paced read when it comes to a mystery in the plot, I do wish this specific book took it a little slower and added a bit more fluff. Despite the speed of the plot, I did still get to know and care for the characters quite well. However, I think more character building (especially of the side characters), an elongated plot that reveals the mysteries a bit slower, and more of the authors prose would have made this book pop a bit more for me.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC of this book.
Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Give me a YA fantasy mystery steeped in connections to Greek mythology and I am going to eat it up. I loved this book. I listened to this book on audio at work and barely got any work done (shhh🤫).
I really enjoyed the world the author ha begun to build in this first book. Not going to lie, as happens with many fantasy series, it took me a bit to understand what was going on, as these reads tend to just drop you into the world and take off running, but once I got more familiar with the story after a few chapters, it was no struggle to keep up. I really loved how fast paced this book felt. Straight from the beginning I was thrusted into a story of mystery as main character Io is already investigating a strange occurrence that ends up being part of a much larger scheme than anyone was imagining. While diving right into the action did cause me to stumble at first, I prefer it as it caught my interest immediately and kept it through the story.
I also loved the way the different descendants of the gods, Other-born, are written. I had a great time connecting which powers went to which greek mythology references (some were explicitly told in the story, some were not).
This story was very creative and exciting and I cannot wait for the sequel already!
Thanks NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC of this book.
I really enjoyed the world the author ha begun to build in this first book. Not going to lie, as happens with many fantasy series, it took me a bit to understand what was going on, as these reads tend to just drop you into the world and take off running, but once I got more familiar with the story after a few chapters, it was no struggle to keep up. I really loved how fast paced this book felt. Straight from the beginning I was thrusted into a story of mystery as main character Io is already investigating a strange occurrence that ends up being part of a much larger scheme than anyone was imagining. While diving right into the action did cause me to stumble at first, I prefer it as it caught my interest immediately and kept it through the story.
I also loved the way the different descendants of the gods, Other-born, are written. I had a great time connecting which powers went to which greek mythology references (some were explicitly told in the story, some were not).
This story was very creative and exciting and I cannot wait for the sequel already!
Thanks NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC of this book.
My Heart in Braille by Joris Chamblain, Anne-Lise Nalin
fast-paced
3.0
What a cute and beautifully illustrated graphic novel about finding your compass in another person. Follow along as Victor is metaphorically guided by Marie-Jo to see his worth and potential while Marie-Jo is literally guided by Victor to find her way despite her quickly fading eyesight. I would have liked to see Victor get his own story of chasing his own dreams versus tying his worth so fully to Marie-Jo, however, this really is just a snapshot of their time together, so one could overlook this flaw and assume there would be more to their story. Overall I enjoyed this fast paced read.
Thanks NetGalley and Europe Comics for the ARC of this graphic novel.
Thanks NetGalley and Europe Comics for the ARC of this graphic novel.
The Angel Maker by Alex North
dark
mysterious
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
2.75 ⭐️
While I enjoyed the overall mystery too this read, I was left often confused by the disjointed timeline or unsatisfied with the lack of connection to any of their characters. While I typically love a read that doesn’t follow a chronological timeline, but I found myself struggling with this one often. I especially found it hard to keep track of characters as the author regularly referred to them with differing names (switched between first and last name a lot which got especially confusing as some characters shared last names).
I also found it quite difficult to feel connected to any of these characters. I found myself not caring for any of them, which made it hard for me to truly enjoy the ending. Other than their connection to the mystery taking place, I found very little effort to make the reader understand the characters desires and motivations making them hard to care to deeply for in the height of conflict. Also, why the addition of detective Laurence Page? I feel like this character could have been completely removed from the story.
I’ll give Alex North another shot, as I have several of their books on my TBR, but this one was not for me.
Thank NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC of this book.
While I enjoyed the overall mystery too this read, I was left often confused by the disjointed timeline or unsatisfied with the lack of connection to any of their characters. While I typically love a read that doesn’t follow a chronological timeline, but I found myself struggling with this one often. I especially found it hard to keep track of characters as the author regularly referred to them with differing names (switched between first and last name a lot which got especially confusing as some characters shared last names).
I also found it quite difficult to feel connected to any of these characters. I found myself not caring for any of them, which made it hard for me to truly enjoy the ending. Other than their connection to the mystery taking place, I found very little effort to make the reader understand the characters desires and motivations making them hard to care to deeply for in the height of conflict. Also, why the addition of detective Laurence Page? I feel like this character could have been completely removed from the story.
I’ll give Alex North another shot, as I have several of their books on my TBR, but this one was not for me.
Thank NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC of this book.
Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.75
By all means I should have liked this book. The plot was just what I look for in a book - a mysterious town with its secretive residents, indecipherable hints from a deceased character, things being not at all what they seem. But there was just something I can’t seem to put my finger on that kept me from truly enjoying this read. Maybe it was that I just was in the wrong mood when I read it? Though it might have been that I couldn’t connect to any of the characters? Overall this read slower for me than I would have like, and I had a hard time getting into the book. I’m honestly a bit confused why I didn’t enjoy this as much as I expected to, so I’d give this author another chance for sure before deciding if they are for me or not.
2.75⭐️
Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this read.
2.75⭐️
Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this read.
Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
I had a hard time getting into and following this book, but to be honest, I think that was more me than the book itself. I hadn’t realized going into this read that it was more of an anthology style compilation of short stories, and short stories aren’t typically my favorite story format, so that was my fault for not realizing. That being said, there were several stories in this book that I liked. What I really struggled with is that each story is connected to another somehow and I found myself having a hard time seeing those connections and then hyper-fixating of that instead of letting myself become immersed in the story. I also felt that several of the stories were a bit to short or ended too abruptly for my personal liking - they didn’t let me get to know the characters as much as I liked, which is what I often struggle with when reading short stories. However, I do quite appreciate what the author was accomplishing by creating so many interwoven stories that not only touched upon supernatural themes, but of other man made atrocities, as the title suggests.
Thanks NetGalley and Levine Querido for the ARC of this book.
Thanks NetGalley and Levine Querido for the ARC of this book.