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2.72 AVERAGE
2.72 AVERAGE
dark
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:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I found the character building kind of lacking and didn’t care for any of them however..
I enjoyed the Japanese inspired horror and learned a lot of new terms and found myself researching them to deep dive on Japanese mythological creatures and found myself learning about Ohaguro and Yokai such as the Ohaguro bettari which directly translates to “Nothing but black teeth”
Overall for such a short story I enjoyed the cultural immersion and creepy imagery within an alternative setting. I like how the Yokai are not necessarily trying to kill/harm you as western monsters often aim to do. Some yokai seem to be mischievous and or aim to terrorise rather than harm people.
The creepy vibes were there and the cultural aspect feel well done but overall It was lacking in plot and character building a little for me which is where it lost stars but an enjoyable read overall.
I enjoyed the Japanese inspired horror and learned a lot of new terms and found myself researching them to deep dive on Japanese mythological creatures and found myself learning about Ohaguro and Yokai such as the Ohaguro bettari which directly translates to “Nothing but black teeth”
Overall for such a short story I enjoyed the cultural immersion and creepy imagery within an alternative setting. I like how the Yokai are not necessarily trying to kill/harm you as western monsters often aim to do. Some yokai seem to be mischievous and or aim to terrorise rather than harm people.
The creepy vibes were there and the cultural aspect feel well done but overall It was lacking in plot and character building a little for me which is where it lost stars but an enjoyable read overall.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Murder
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Mental illness
The two scariest things about this book: the cover (which is awesome) and the fact book was categorized as 'horror'. The art and setting of the story had lured me in.
Could've been a really great story if fleshed out more, but it seems the writer was too busy digging, clawing her way through the thesaurus. Her eyes desperately seeking, scrutinizing the pages of text for the very words that lacked any *checks thesaurus* pedestrian meaning.
Could've been a really great story if fleshed out more, but it seems the writer was too busy digging, clawing her way through the thesaurus. Her eyes desperately seeking, scrutinizing the pages of text for the very words that lacked any *checks thesaurus* pedestrian meaning.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Cover is beautiful. Story is awful. Was willing to give 2 stars until the 3rd act when characters were just leaning against a wall smoking a cigarette breaking the fourth wall a la Scary Movie style.
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It wasn’t good. The only reason I didn’t DNF it was because it’s short enough that it would have felt embarrassing if I had.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a book I was highly anticipating for this year and honestly it was a big disappointment. The characters, while complex, were really unlikeable and hard to root for. I did like some of the discussion of typical horror tropes though and I would have maybe liked that to be expanded on a little bit. The writing was really poetic at points but was also to over the top at other points which contributed to a feeling I had of the whole book just being a little bit disjointed. The narrative became very disjointed once we got to the horror aspect of this book which made the book very confusing and in my opinion stopped some of the horror from being truly effective. However, this was a very quick read which is always nice. Ultimately, I can see why some people might really like this book but unfortunately I am not one of them.