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growplantsreadbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Unexpected and fun! It reminded me a lot of A Touch of Jen, but a lot more tame. I just wish it was longer and either leaned into the horror or the cozy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
stardustdreamer's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Toxic friendship, Blood, and Bullying
Moderate: Cancer and Terminal illness
thisbookrox's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
super fun, witty, and ironic. the audiobook cast was pretty good. the end moved quickly and the epilogue was an appropriate end. the letters could have been executed better but otherwise it was really fun and entertaining.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Vomit
apestforwrens's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Like a lot of reviews have already said, great concept but a little shaky on the execution. Even so, it was a fun read. Part of that fun was saying “wait what just happened?” out loud to myself as I was reading. I didn’t love the ending, I think it felt a little rushed and we never quite got any explanation for *why* the cult was doing what it did aside from some vague “she’s so amazing” stuff. I did love the epilogue though. I’d also love to read a prequel to this just about the formation of the Lesbian Death Cult (tm)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, Homophobia, Body horror, Addiction, Car accident, Death, Gore, Alcoholism, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abortion, Cancer, and Domestic abuse
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
this was a fun lead-up, but the end really lost me i can’t lie.
I was promised Bigfoot lesbian extravaganza & just got some sort of sad, predatory cult tenuously tied to outdoorsy lesbians?
the sparse Bigfoot teases amounted to an explosion (for lack of a better word) of very stilted action towards the end, and Renee made… so little sense. maybe this is what people mean when they say “cult leaders would love you” about a person but she was just a cardboard cut out of a character until suddenly she’s worshipping Bigfoot with boobs? her motivations made no sense and none of her actions seemed to match the others. her coming to a bi realization seemed promising, until it was completely lost in the Bigfoot worship?
I’m not sure if it was supposed to be funny but this book is actually really bleak in a not fun way. A bunch of (superficial) people, mostly young women, die brutal, awful deaths & it’s kinda just like… anyways, here’s lesbians who kill for Bigfoot, no elaboration!!!!! if this was going for “queer revenge plot”, it definitely got lost on the way there and landed in “sickos that happen to be lesbians obsessed with ape lady for some reason target young women tourists”. horror for horrors sake is fine ig but that’s not what i walked into this expecting.
also I’m just not a fan of “mean/superficial people die” media. rapists, racists, murderers, bigots, fine, but these are just girls with DEEP internal misogyny that go at other girls for insta followers… was this supposed to be some sort of overblown “karma”? some potshot at ~what they represent~? I really don’t know what to take from this. It kinda just feels like relatively innocent women were fed to a monster and the cult recruited another sicko to help. hooray? the production company making money off their deaths was maybe the only part of this that felt like realistic commentary, the rest is just ?????
Jeremy was a sleaze so not much pity there but frankly the host was just a sad drunk? Casey was a nerd stuck in high school mode & thought herself better than the contestants while being equally mercenary & obsessed with “getting ahead” of other women, but at least she was interesting. hated her guts but killing her off so soon was a complete waste. she had final girl potential if that was even a thing in this book. Mike getting framed was. unnecessary? the execution of this just felt like a low budget scary movie, the deaths were overly gruesome yet entirely devoid of meaning. they all died & Renee became an accomplice for… what? you can’t even say love bc frankly she didn’t seem to have that emotion. belonging maybe? even that feels too warm for her cold character. she faked this huge crush on Amanda even to herself, just to be completely unimpaired by her death? I am at such a loss to describe how nonsensical this book became
Don’t even get me started on the random love letters. I would find them lovely in a Lose The Time War way if they added literally anything to the book, but they don’t… am I supposed to go “Aw star-crossed lesbians with a happy ending” when said happy ending is killing young women? again this book just baffles me
Also the blogs from the missing sister???? cool at first but ultimately ?????
I picked this up in hopes of reading some Halloween month gayness & instead im just like. none of this made sense, these people are all terrible, & the worst ones didn’t even die. boo tomatoes
I was promised Bigfoot lesbian extravaganza & just got some sort of
the sparse Bigfoot teases amounted to an explosion (for lack of a better word) of very stilted action towards the end, and Renee made… so little sense. maybe this is what people mean when they say “cult leaders would love you” about a person but she was just a cardboard cut out of a character until suddenly she’s worshipping Bigfoot with boobs? her motivations made no sense and none of her actions seemed to match the others. her coming to a bi realization seemed promising, until it was completely lost in the Bigfoot worship?
I’m not sure if it was supposed to be funny but this book is actually really bleak in a not fun way. A bunch of (superficial) people, mostly young women, die brutal, awful deaths & it’s kinda just like… anyways, here’s lesbians who kill for Bigfoot, no elaboration!!!!! if this was going for “queer revenge plot”, it definitely got lost on the way there and landed in “sickos that happen to be lesbians obsessed with ape lady for some reason target young women tourists”. horror for horrors sake is fine ig but that’s not what i walked into this expecting.
also I’m just not a fan of “mean/superficial people die” media. rapists, racists, murderers, bigots, fine, but these are just girls with DEEP internal misogyny that go at other girls for insta followers… was this supposed to be some sort of overblown “karma”? some potshot at ~what they represent~? I really don’t know what to take from this. It kinda just feels like relatively innocent women were fed to a monster and the cult recruited another sicko to help. hooray? the production company making money off their deaths was maybe the only part of this that felt like realistic commentary, the rest is just ?????
Jeremy was a sleaze so not much pity there but frankly the host was just a sad drunk? Casey was a nerd stuck in high school mode & thought herself better than the contestants while being equally mercenary & obsessed with “getting ahead” of other women, but at least she was interesting. hated her guts but killing her off so soon was a complete waste. she had final girl potential if that was even a thing in this book. Mike getting framed was. unnecessary? the execution of this just felt like a low budget scary movie, the deaths were overly gruesome yet entirely devoid of meaning. they all died & Renee became an accomplice for… what? you can’t even say love bc frankly she didn’t seem to have that emotion. belonging maybe? even that feels too warm for her cold character. she faked this huge crush on Amanda even to herself, just to be completely unimpaired by her death? I am at such a loss to describe how nonsensical this book became
Don’t even get me started on the random love letters. I would find them lovely in a Lose The Time War way if they added literally anything to the book, but they don’t… am I supposed to go “Aw star-crossed lesbians with a happy ending” when said happy ending is killing young women? again this book just baffles me
Also the blogs from the missing sister???? cool at first but ultimately ?????
I picked this up in hopes of reading some Halloween month gayness & instead im just like. none of this made sense, these people are all terrible, & the worst ones didn’t even die. boo tomatoes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Racism and Suicidal thoughts
jillaay_h's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Alcoholism, Blood, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
kelly_e's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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? Yes
1.5
Title: Patricia Wants to Cuddle
Author: Samantha Allen
Genre: Horror
Rating: 1.50
Pub Date: June 28, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Unique • Absurd • Gruesome
📖 S Y N O P S I S
On this season of The Catch, contestants must compete for love. And their lives.
When the final four women in competition for an aloof, somewhat sleazy bachelor’s heart arrive on a mysterious island in the Pacific Northwest, they prepare themselves for another week of extreme sleep deprivation, invasive interviews, and, of course, the salacious drama eager viewers nationwide tune in to devour. Each woman came on The Catch for her own reasons—brand sponsorships, followers, and, yes, even love—and they’ve all got their eyes steadfastly trained on their respective prizes. Enter Patricia, a temperamental and woefully misunderstood local living alone in the dark, verdant woods, and desperate for connection. Through twists as unexpected as they are wildly entertaining, the self-absorbed cast and jaded crew each make her acquaintance atop the island’s tallest and most desolate peak, finding themselves at the center of an action-packed thriller that is far from scripted—and only a few will make the final cut.
💭 T H O U G H T S
How did this bizarre, satirical, completely outside my comfort zone, novel fall into my hands? Well that's the beauty of online book club events. This is nothing I would have ever picked up on my own accord, but peer pressure is real even in adulthood.
Writing this review is difficult because I don't even know what I read. I was expecting one thing and got something completely different - so I definitely think there was poor marketing of what this book is. The build up through the first half was slow, yet the second half was packed with senseless violence and trying to cover too many different storyline.
I understand Patricia Wants to Cuddle is Samantha Allen's attempt at social commentary through the reality show trope. However, when I finally made it to the end, I was confused because nothing was resolved. It was was one of those books that left me with that 'what the heck' feeling. I am not really sure what I read. One thing I am sure about is I am not the intended audience for this book. While it's hard for me to see myself recommending this to anyone, if you're book club is looking for something that is guaranteed to spark discussion than this would definitely fit the bill.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the reality TV trope
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"By the way, Maggie, quick news flash from the future: we don’t wear socks with Birkenstocks anymore."
"Imagine a world so small that your ego can fill all of it."
Author: Samantha Allen
Genre: Horror
Rating: 1.50
Pub Date: June 28, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Unique • Absurd • Gruesome
📖 S Y N O P S I S
On this season of The Catch, contestants must compete for love. And their lives.
When the final four women in competition for an aloof, somewhat sleazy bachelor’s heart arrive on a mysterious island in the Pacific Northwest, they prepare themselves for another week of extreme sleep deprivation, invasive interviews, and, of course, the salacious drama eager viewers nationwide tune in to devour. Each woman came on The Catch for her own reasons—brand sponsorships, followers, and, yes, even love—and they’ve all got their eyes steadfastly trained on their respective prizes. Enter Patricia, a temperamental and woefully misunderstood local living alone in the dark, verdant woods, and desperate for connection. Through twists as unexpected as they are wildly entertaining, the self-absorbed cast and jaded crew each make her acquaintance atop the island’s tallest and most desolate peak, finding themselves at the center of an action-packed thriller that is far from scripted—and only a few will make the final cut.
💭 T H O U G H T S
How did this bizarre, satirical, completely outside my comfort zone, novel fall into my hands? Well that's the beauty of online book club events. This is nothing I would have ever picked up on my own accord, but peer pressure is real even in adulthood.
Writing this review is difficult because I don't even know what I read. I was expecting one thing and got something completely different - so I definitely think there was poor marketing of what this book is. The build up through the first half was slow, yet the second half was packed with senseless violence and trying to cover too many different storyline.
I understand Patricia Wants to Cuddle is Samantha Allen's attempt at social commentary through the reality show trope. However, when I finally made it to the end, I was confused because nothing was resolved. It was was one of those books that left me with that 'what the heck' feeling. I am not really sure what I read. One thing I am sure about is I am not the intended audience for this book. While it's hard for me to see myself recommending this to anyone, if you're book club is looking for something that is guaranteed to spark discussion than this would definitely fit the bill.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the reality TV trope
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"By the way, Maggie, quick news flash from the future: we don’t wear socks with Birkenstocks anymore."
"Imagine a world so small that your ego can fill all of it."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Gore, Violence, Murder, Gun violence, Death, Lesbophobia, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Homophobia
Moderate: Mental illness, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Car accident, Racism, and Alcoholism
Minor: Cancer, Animal death, Abortion, Sexual content, and Sexism
raisinreads's review against another edition
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
This was fun! The build up was way longer than the action, which was definitely a bummer & when the action was happening it was barely any plot and just continual violence, which made it less interesting, like I thought the book would've spent more time on them trying to survive and figuring shit out but it was just bam bam bam; i also would have loved more gay love story going on
This was another book, where (for me), the idea was better than the execution, bc I could see this being done so well
This was another book, where (for me), the idea was better than the execution, bc I could see this being done so well
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Violence, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
readingwithgoose's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Car accident, Death, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Violence, and Abortion
juffnstuff's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Gore, and Murder
Minor: Religious bigotry and Abortion