Reviews

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

the_reading_vampire's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

aileenfox20's review

2.0

It was an alright book not the best tho for I it took me a while to get into it and then when I did the interesting parts didn’t last long I feel like we didn’t get much of the story either

smartinez9's review

4.0

Riveting if a little anticlimactic—I’m not even sure I really liked it, but it was strange and twisted and wouldn’t let me out.

hexatrance's review against another edition

mysterious 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? No

3.0

This had potential and I love an ambiguous ending but this didn't execute it right. It would have felt more ambiguous if it had actually given us more details, rather than less, to confuse the real/supernatural details more. Those details should have been with the other murders, which get lost in the murders of the Carlson's and became forgettable. Also no character felt developed. Michael wants to be a journalist but shows no passion for it and hardly any journalism takes place. The plot focuses on the interviews but there's too many artificial gaps in between them to draw it out long enough to create a whole book, and instead too much happens off the page. I think a short novella would have been creepier because it would require less of these drawn out pauses. I didn't understand the motivations for the town turning on them any more than I understood the motivations of the niceties and lack of urgency shown to Marie at the station. There was no build up to any of these because there was too much telling rather than showing. It made it feel like all side characters flipped at the flick of a switch to whatever mystery required. No one felt real, except the one character that was written to not be believed as real. It was all just meh, tropes that I like, but I've seen pulled off way better elsewhere. 

brightestwitch_maddie's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

cyreph's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

like im not saying the book was bad or whatever, it was disconcerting, creepy, and yeah i cried at the end but

WHAT DO U MEAN THERE WAS NO ENDING??? NO CONCLUSION??? so like we're just gonna say there's this killer on the loose who's able to do all these creepy things and idk?? it's never explained?? like there was so much potential and it all just feels so unfinished and like it just feels unsatisfying because who is the killer??? whats the reasoning?? i get there was supernatural elements but like?? cmon you can't just leave us wondering about all that??

eg what did she mean by he didnt always have to kill them??? then why did he turn to killing? and how did he come about as a vampire? and does that mean her stepfathers body is just never gonna be found?? so the authorities just charged a 15/16 year old girl with murder and ignored the fact that a murderer/ vampire was still on the loose?? how is anyone, especially Michael, able to rest peacefully after knowing all this?? i know it cuts off at her asking him to make sure she wont turn into a vampire and him probably going against her wishes and raising her, but then what about the man?? also does that mean her appearance changed drastically (eg became more "beautiful" and lost her acne) after drinking the blood?

marieintheraw's review

4.0

I am convinced that Kendare Blake is an author I have to try everything from because I never know what I am going to get from her. Sometimes this could be over-the-top-levels-of-cringe, but the true crime levels killed me.

I received an ARC of this through a Goodreads giveaway; however all opinions are my own.

chris10b's review

4.0

3.5 stars rounded up.

I think some of the reviews are a bit too harsh on this book. Is it amazing? Meh. But it was a good enough read--I enjoyed the paranormal twist, and didn't mind the fact that we really never got solid answers. Honestly, I think it's better that way.

aerussom_25's review

dark mysterious relaxing slow-paced

3.5

I don’t mind an ambiguous ending but this one just left me with too many questions. I feel like we didn’t resolve enough of the mystery throughout the book and it kind of went in circles as a result. 

vandavknihach's review against another edition

4.0

Četla se mi příjemně, odsýpalo to a stránky ubývaly před očima. Některé pasáže mě přitahovaly více, konkrétně ty, ve kterých bylo více akce a napětí, než ty podlouhlejší a popisné. Přesto bylo zajímavé sledovat, jak se vyvíjí psychika jak hlavních postav, tak ostatních obyvatel okolo. Autorka má fajn styl psaní, kterým si mě získala už v sérii Tři temné koruny. Uměla mě u knihy udržet, a hlavně ze začátku jsem byla napjatá, co se za případem skrývá za tajemství. Postava Michaela mi byla sympatická, přišel mi na svůj věk rozumný, a zároveň přístupný jakýmkoliv možnostem. Výsledná zápletka nebyla přitažená za vlasy, a všechno to tam postupně zapadávalo na své místo. Bylo to dobře promyšlené (u thrillerů se často obávám, že to bude naopak). Bylo tam pár momentů, kdy jsem si říkala hlavně ať to není vytažené do extrému, a nebylo. Přesto mám pár připomínek. První je zahrnutí upírů. Ono to dávalo smysl, bylo mi jasný proč to tam je, a vymyšlené je to fakt dobře, ale já si už někde v první třetině říkala: teď za tím budou upíři a mě klepne! Bum, o pár stránek dál, a máme to tady. Druhým bylo občasné chování Marie, která si sice nejspíš prošla docela hrůznými věcmi, do kterých nevidíme ani na konci příběhu, ale někdy mi přišlo, že to přehání. Řvát ve vězení na určité lidi mi nepřijde jako dobrý tah. Některé situace se mi nečetly zrovna nejlíp, většinou když šlo o nějakou nechuťárničku, ale to neberu jako minus, to je čistě můj postoj k podobným situacím, které prostě já extra nezvládám. Ale zase jsem se nebála, což jsem normálně strašpytel, takže až tak děsivý to nebylo. Docela jsem byla překvapená tím, že na konci jsem zjistila, že se autorka inspirovala reálným případem, což je pro mě vždycky takové wow hlavně jak jde o podobné cringe události. A ve výsledku je to pro mě takový originálním způsobem napsaný zvláštně zajímavý thriller, jaký jsem asi ještě nikdy nečetla.