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pacardullo's review
3.0
Well done coming-of-age/mystery/thriller, but, for some reason, it did not really click with me. Your mileage may vary.
brandy_wine's review
5.0
Okay, I wasn't expecting this to be what it turned out to be. I have said it many times before I am not a reader of the blurbs.
I will say that I was pleasantly surprised! I was expecting this to be about sex and with the cover I thought it would be an erotic book. I was wrong, there was so much more to it.
This was a book that had me pulled in not that long after starting it. I couldn't put it down. I wanted to know more, needed to know what was going to happen.
So in a nutshell Birdie needs a new job. She decides to go out and try her hand at stripping. Things are going well for her and she is actually enjoying herself, but before you know it bad things start happening. Now before I get into that I will have to say that the thought of a bowling alley / strip joint named Pins was awesome!! :)
So girls around her start being murdered and in horrible ways. There is a lot that goes on, there are drugs, abuse, suspense and it is a little on the darker side which is always a plus for me. I want to say so much about this, but don't want to give anything away, but there are things that come up that just make it all a big ball of questions... I am usually pretty good at guessing a little what might be coming. With this one I didn't see quite a bit of the stuff that happened.
If you have an issue with drug use, this will not be for you. There is quite a bit of it. I don't count smoking weed as drug use even though it is. There is more that is used in this one. It had me surprised and on edge quite a bit. This was a good one!
I will say that I was pleasantly surprised! I was expecting this to be about sex and with the cover I thought it would be an erotic book. I was wrong, there was so much more to it.
This was a book that had me pulled in not that long after starting it. I couldn't put it down. I wanted to know more, needed to know what was going to happen.
So in a nutshell Birdie needs a new job. She decides to go out and try her hand at stripping. Things are going well for her and she is actually enjoying herself, but before you know it bad things start happening. Now before I get into that I will have to say that the thought of a bowling alley / strip joint named Pins was awesome!! :)
So girls around her start being murdered and in horrible ways. There is a lot that goes on, there are drugs, abuse, suspense and it is a little on the darker side which is always a plus for me. I want to say so much about this, but don't want to give anything away, but there are things that come up that just make it all a big ball of questions... I am usually pretty good at guessing a little what might be coming. With this one I didn't see quite a bit of the stuff that happened.
If you have an issue with drug use, this will not be for you. There is quite a bit of it. I don't count smoking weed as drug use even though it is. There is more that is used in this one. It had me surprised and on edge quite a bit. This was a good one!
bandaloop's review
4.0
It's hard to nail this one down at first blush. Yes, we have strippers, drugs, a killer, multiple love (or lust) aspects, but this isn't a simple "here's a bunch of dancers and someone is killing them" story. While there is the thriller/horror aspect, what I think is overlooked by some other opinions I've read about this book is the straight literary aspects.
So, getting the blood and guts who-done-it portion out of the way, this is a candid look behind the scenes of the strip club environment. It reminds me of John O'Brien's Stripper Lessons in reverse. The voice is unique and honest and doesn't hold back when you would expect it to.
So, getting the blood and guts who-done-it portion out of the way, this is a candid look behind the scenes of the strip club environment. It reminds me of John O'Brien's Stripper Lessons in reverse. The voice is unique and honest and doesn't hold back when you would expect it to.
buttontapper's review
4.0
Wowzers! Okay, so let's get a few things out of the way up front:
1. I bought this book because it's about strippers. In a bowling alley/strip club. Awesome.
2. I pretty much never read horror. Try to avoid it, in fact. So when the action started to turn gruesome, I wondered if I should put it down and pick something lighter, especially at bedtime. But I didn't (although I did skip it on certain nights, since I am a wuss), and I'm glad I stuck with it.
3. This is my first book review of 2013, as I finished reading as the fireworks were popping. This is in no way relevant to my review, but I thought I would mention it anyway. Just because.
I really enjoyed this book, despite it being a genre I don't typically read. I loved Birdie's character, her attitude, her transformation from "civilian" to stripper, and the way the book managed to both present stripping as something a normal person might do, for any number of reasons, as well as a rather dangerous and not altogether wholesome lifestyle choice. What I'm saying is: the book is set in a strip club, like it's any other setting, without the preaching that you'll get with many other "stripper stories." Because it's not just a stripper story, it's a damn good story. Yes, there is a stripper with a heart of gold here (spoiler?), and her name is Honey on top of it, but she's also a lot more than a bunch of clichés, and that's what originally got me interested in the book.
I don't want to ruin the ending for you, but let's just say Holy Fuck A Duck. Hopefully my first night of 2013 will not be fully of bloody nightmares. Thanks, McHugh, for planting those creepy images in my grey matter. Should've seen it coming, in some respects, but there were plenty of red herrings to throw me off course. Nicely, bloodily done.
All in all, I'm glad I checked this book out, and I look forward to reading more of Jessica McHugh's work in the future!
1. I bought this book because it's about strippers. In a bowling alley/strip club. Awesome.
2. I pretty much never read horror. Try to avoid it, in fact. So when the action started to turn gruesome, I wondered if I should put it down and pick something lighter, especially at bedtime. But I didn't (although I did skip it on certain nights, since I am a wuss), and I'm glad I stuck with it.
3. This is my first book review of 2013, as I finished reading as the fireworks were popping. This is in no way relevant to my review, but I thought I would mention it anyway. Just because.
I really enjoyed this book, despite it being a genre I don't typically read. I loved Birdie's character, her attitude, her transformation from "civilian" to stripper, and the way the book managed to both present stripping as something a normal person might do, for any number of reasons, as well as a rather dangerous and not altogether wholesome lifestyle choice. What I'm saying is: the book is set in a strip club, like it's any other setting, without the preaching that you'll get with many other "stripper stories." Because it's not just a stripper story, it's a damn good story. Yes, there is a stripper with a heart of gold here (spoiler?), and her name is Honey on top of it, but she's also a lot more than a bunch of clichés, and that's what originally got me interested in the book.
I don't want to ruin the ending for you, but let's just say Holy Fuck A Duck. Hopefully my first night of 2013 will not be fully of bloody nightmares. Thanks, McHugh, for planting those creepy images in my grey matter. Should've seen it coming, in some respects, but there were plenty of red herrings to throw me off course. Nicely, bloodily done.
All in all, I'm glad I checked this book out, and I look forward to reading more of Jessica McHugh's work in the future!
mrfrank's review
4.0
PINS by Jessica McHugh was the book about a strip club bowling ally I never knew I needed to read. One part expose, one part mystery and one part suspense equals a sexy, salacious and scandalous good read. This could almost be Pretty Woman if Pretty Woman were a slasher whodunnit.
I really enjoyed the opening chapters where the focus is largely an honest behind-the-scenes look at how strip clubs operate and what young girls probably experience when they first enter the scene. But then as the characters are introduced and established, the story turns into a murder mystery. The plots and sub plots weave and twist and keep you turning the pages to find out who will wind up with who and who will wind up dead.
My only issue with the story came when the killer is arrested just past halfway. The story paused at being a mystery/suspense story and focused on being a love story and left me scratching my head. Had this book stopped being a mystery and switched gears well before the ending? But the suspense came once again but not before I had reservations and lost some trust in how I was feeling about the story.
Alas, Jessica McHugh proves she got solid storytelling skills. In PINS she proves she can versatile and honest while still being provocative, suspenseful and a bit gory. This may not be her strongest work but it's still a solid story and definitely worth the read to anyone who can stomach some truly disturbing and graphic scenes.
I really enjoyed the opening chapters where the focus is largely an honest behind-the-scenes look at how strip clubs operate and what young girls probably experience when they first enter the scene. But then as the characters are introduced and established, the story turns into a murder mystery. The plots and sub plots weave and twist and keep you turning the pages to find out who will wind up with who and who will wind up dead.
My only issue with the story came when the killer is arrested just past halfway. The story paused at being a mystery/suspense story and focused on being a love story and left me scratching my head. Had this book stopped being a mystery and switched gears well before the ending? But the suspense came once again but not before I had reservations and lost some trust in how I was feeling about the story.
Alas, Jessica McHugh proves she got solid storytelling skills. In PINS she proves she can versatile and honest while still being provocative, suspenseful and a bit gory. This may not be her strongest work but it's still a solid story and definitely worth the read to anyone who can stomach some truly disturbing and graphic scenes.
lindaunconventionalbookworms's review
3.0
*I received a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*
I'm not sure yet how to rate this book. Parts of it were really good, and others left me quite confused. I need to go over my notes and highlights before I can write a full review. This and other reviews can also be found on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews.
PINS is a gritty place but it seems to be full of life-lessons, both for Birdie and her fellow strippers. Birdie learns to be a lot more accepting, both of herself and of the girls she works with, and I think the story also shows readers that strippers are human, too! I believe that a lot of people tend to discard strippers as being one-dimensional, and that they strip because they are superficial and can’t really get another job.
I thought my English was close to perfect, even if it isn’t my mother tongue, however, I have learned quite a few new words for female genitals in this book! :) The way the girls talked among them, was pretty harsh, but also very honest, and I have always appreciated honesty, even if it sometimes hurts to hear (or read).
I'm not sure yet how to rate this book. Parts of it were really good, and others left me quite confused. I need to go over my notes and highlights before I can write a full review. This and other reviews can also be found on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews.
PINS is a gritty place but it seems to be full of life-lessons, both for Birdie and her fellow strippers. Birdie learns to be a lot more accepting, both of herself and of the girls she works with, and I think the story also shows readers that strippers are human, too! I believe that a lot of people tend to discard strippers as being one-dimensional, and that they strip because they are superficial and can’t really get another job.
I thought my English was close to perfect, even if it isn’t my mother tongue, however, I have learned quite a few new words for female genitals in this book! :) The way the girls talked among them, was pretty harsh, but also very honest, and I have always appreciated honesty, even if it sometimes hurts to hear (or read).
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