Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
BLUF: worth the read!
i originally read it because of the cover and almost DNF’d it once i started but i’m really glad i stuck through. it really had a great horror aspect and included one of my biggest fears (i won’t give it away).
i only gave it four stars because going in between the timelines got confusing at times due to the way it was written. other than that though i really liked it and am going to read more of his books!!
i originally read it because of the cover and almost DNF’d it once i started but i’m really glad i stuck through. it really had a great horror aspect and included one of my biggest fears (i won’t give it away).
i only gave it four stars because going in between the timelines got confusing at times due to the way it was written. other than that though i really liked it and am going to read more of his books!!
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was sufficiently creepy and I liked that it was mildly Stranger Things adjacent.
But sometimes I wonder if authors will set their stories in certain time periods so they can get away with saying certain things. Since it was “a different time back then.”
Idk, I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it. There was a moment when the ending could have worked for me and I got excited but then the author doubled down 😩
But sometimes I wonder if authors will set their stories in certain time periods so they can get away with saying certain things. Since it was “a different time back then.”
Idk, I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it. There was a moment when the ending could have worked for me and I got excited but then the author doubled down 😩
This was an unexpected, unique novel. Body horror, science fiction, and even a bit of dark academia. I really enjoyed this and the 'reveal' at the end was well-done.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Some parts of this book really didn't do it for me, I'll list those below in spoiler wrapped text.
I want to start with what worked - this writing is amazing. Andrew Van Wey's writing style is lush and emotive, it's descriptive and riveting. It's so easy to sit down with this book and just chew through it. I found myself pausing between chapters to update friends on what's happening. I was interested from the get go.
The formatting of the story is also really interesting. The podcaster interviewing for his podcast based on true crime is a really great basis on which to build this kind of story. I really, really loved how the book worked that angle, it's original and fun.
Now, what didn't work for me.
I have to take stars off my overall rating of this book for several reasons, they're all very personal so I don't think they're reasons not to read the book at all. I cannot emphasize enough that I hate that the first 'on screen' death was a woman of Asian descent. That ruined the first half for me I had to rant about it. I can't stand the main antagonist being Romani. The Romani people have struggled enough, as well as for a book published in 2022 to the the g slur... it just feels microaggressive and uninformed. It could be that I'm reading this book through the gaze of a WOC but these things really brought down my overall rating and did impact how much I enjoyed this read.
I want to start with what worked - this writing is amazing. Andrew Van Wey's writing style is lush and emotive, it's descriptive and riveting. It's so easy to sit down with this book and just chew through it. I found myself pausing between chapters to update friends on what's happening. I was interested from the get go.
The formatting of the story is also really interesting. The podcaster interviewing for his podcast based on true crime is a really great basis on which to build this kind of story. I really, really loved how the book worked that angle, it's original and fun.
Now, what didn't work for me.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5 ✴ this was such a weird story! I think some things were a bit drawn out. The ending was a twist and I still don't 100% understand. Kinda hard to follow, but loved the writing style. Solid read!