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loupend's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Gore, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Deportation, Death, Death of parent, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Drug use
apollo0325's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
First, I'd like to say the length of this novel saved this from being a DNF for me. I almost DNF'd midway through part one, but I said fuck it, it's only a 6 hour audiobook and I decided to keep going. I'm glad I did. This book encompasses such a specific angle of grief that isn't explored enough in literature especially under the lens of psychological horror/body horror/cosmic horror (of sorts).
I won't lie, the beginning is VERY slow because it's setting up Thiago's relationship with Vera, his mental state at her loss, and what life was like with her. However, after part one, we really get a grasp of what this novel is going to be in a way. I kept seeing people online pitch this book as one about grief and a "haunted Alexa" but babes, the haunted Alexa part is maybe 10% of the novel within part one and mentioned later on. I'd pitch this book as a psychological horror examining grief and how one deals with loss as someone basically loses their grip on reality (psychosis). Thiago is someone who is absolutely stricken with bad luck 100% of the time, and you learn this very quickly in part one. It makes this book all the more tragic.
If you're sensitive to animal death/violence especially with dogs, please cautiously read this book. It doesn't occur until part two, but everything snowballs very quickly after that point.
The ending was simultaneously confusing and tragic. I knew Thiago was succumbing to his grief, but it was really unclear as to what was actually happening to him. That's more of a me problem + listening through the audiobook. NGL, I also kind of hate the idea that people's tragedies/fates are inescapable, especially when it is based on generational trauma. It makes it feel like there is no hope at all and instead you should just die to save the people around you. It's a very hopeless ending, but that's also my interpretation. Others may feel differently! I think the open ending allows the reader to draw their own conclusions on what was going on with Thiago.
This book was brutal, unsettling, and tragic. The audiobook narrator was also FANTASTIC. I loved his narration. I'd read another book with him narrating it for sure.
I won't lie, the beginning is VERY slow because it's setting up Thiago's relationship with Vera, his mental state at her loss, and what life was like with her. However, after part one, we really get a grasp of what this novel is going to be in a way. I kept seeing people online pitch this book as one about grief and a "haunted Alexa" but babes, the haunted Alexa part is maybe 10% of the novel within part one and mentioned later on. I'd pitch this book as a psychological horror examining grief and how one deals with loss as someone basically loses their grip on reality (psychosis). Thiago is someone who is absolutely stricken with bad luck 100% of the time, and you learn this very quickly in part one. It makes this book all the more tragic.
If you're sensitive to animal death/violence especially with dogs, please cautiously read this book. It doesn't occur until part two, but everything snowballs very quickly after that point.
This book was brutal, unsettling, and tragic. The audiobook narrator was also FANTASTIC. I loved his narration. I'd read another book with him narrating it for sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Abandonment and Classism
If you are sensitive to animal death / viscera, I would not recommend this book unless you feel okay going in knowing it WILL be descriptive and detailed. The body horror in this one is also very well described.mlewis's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Grief, Suicide attempt, Violence, Xenophobia, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicide, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Medical content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Miscarriage
ammanarie's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-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
2.0
The vibe? Definitely spooky and sad. The plot? All over the place. I am left wondering what exactly I just finished reading. Some of the chunks of prose were really great, but it wasn’t strung together in a way that consistently made sense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
bitchigo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Body horror, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness
bxnnny's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
2.0
i wanted to like this book but it honestly fell flat for me. the beginning started off decently - i found the representation of grief to be well done and it hit me hard. but as the story progressed and we're seeing more of the supernatural bits coming out, i was feeling a bit lost. there's no explanation as to what is really going on beyond some very minor speculation and things became somewhat confusing for me towards the end with the dreams and the quick jumps back to reality(?). i felt like there should have been more of a bigger build up to a crescendo ending but it really just fell flat for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Animal cruelty, Death, Body horror, Animal death, and Suicidal thoughts
garinatorsch55's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
This book was my first step into the horror genre in books, and I really wasn't disappointed. I'm not the biggest horror fan, but that is only for horror stories with little to no connection to the humanity of the characters. This book does not fall under this trope.
The fact that this was written in 2nd-person made it all the more creepier and really made the main character's grief seep into your soul. I had so much sympathy for Thiago in how lost and depressed he became. Ultimately, this book supernaturally amplifies the feeling of grief after an unexpected loss of a loved one, the feeling that you should have saved them if only you had made one other, miniscule decision that would have changed your course for the better. Like I said, the humanity behind these characters makes me want to recommend this book.
The fact that this was written in 2nd-person made it all the more creepier and really made the main character's grief seep into your soul. I had so much sympathy for Thiago in how lost and depressed he became. Ultimately, this book supernaturally amplifies the feeling of grief after an unexpected loss of a loved one, the feeling that you should have saved them if only you had made one other, miniscule decision that would have changed your course for the better. Like I said, the humanity behind these characters makes me want to recommend this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Animal death, Body horror, Grief, and Murder
samaraptor's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
amirahazhar's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
This was really something. Engrossing, eerie and unsettling. The synopsis makes it look like Itza, an Alexa-like device is the one behind all these hauntings, but it's much deeper than that. I really wouldn't want to spoil anything, and seriously it's a book that you have to pick up and see for yourself because a summary won't do it any justice.
Having said that, I was so gripped by the storyline but I felt like the ending was an easy cop-out. All those hauntings and occurrences building up to what? I really wanted there to be some sort of big, fucked up reveal. It is a fucked up cosmic horror, after all. I hate having to interpret an ending and then reading a reddit thread, and some dude says something along the lines of, "maybe he's so grief-stricken that he can't be a reliable narrator, etc". I hope to God that that's not at all what the author was trying to convey, because if it's meant to be interpreted as something that only the protagonist goes through just because he's grieving then why make it a horror in the first place?
But I digress. Should you read this book? A hundred times, yes. It's really something different and refreshing. It's a great book, even. Just don't put too much of your hopes on the ending.
Having said that, I was so gripped by the storyline but I felt like the ending was an easy cop-out. All those hauntings and occurrences building up to what? I really wanted there to be some sort of big, fucked up reveal. It is a fucked up cosmic horror, after all. I hate having to interpret an ending and then reading a reddit thread, and some dude says something along the lines of, "maybe he's so grief-stricken that he can't be a reliable narrator, etc". I hope to God that that's not at all what the author was trying to convey, because if it's meant to be interpreted as something that only the protagonist goes through just because he's grieving then why make it a horror in the first place?
But I digress. Should you read this book? A hundred times, yes. It's really something different and refreshing. It's a great book, even. Just don't put too much of your hopes on the ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Violence, Body horror, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Gore
catapocalypse's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
It's a hard decision for rating; I'd say 4 stars for execution, but 4.5 is closer for my own personal enjoyment of the book, so I've landed on 4.25 stars.
This is an intense exploration of grief about a man dealing both with the death of his wife as well as with a malevolent force hounding him. It weaves in a variety of other timely anxieties, like always-listening electronic assistants, the many angles of the relentless media cycle, and being a bit disconnected from one's own heritage.
Main thing I want to note is that the first 25-30 pages are slower than one might expect, but then the speculative bits start seeping in, and things really pick up speed as it goes. So I recommend sticking with it, even if the beginning doesn't quite grab you!
Other than that, the ending felt a little weak compared to how hard things go in the middle. It feels as if there are a number of compelling ways things could have gone, but things unravel without pursuing any of them in a satisfying way.
This is a great debut, and I'm eager to read more from this author!
This is an intense exploration of grief about a man dealing both with the death of his wife as well as with a malevolent force hounding him. It weaves in a variety of other timely anxieties, like always-listening electronic assistants, the many angles of the relentless media cycle, and being a bit disconnected from one's own heritage.
Main thing I want to note is that the first 25-30 pages are slower than one might expect, but then the speculative bits start seeping in, and things really pick up speed as it goes. So I recommend sticking with it, even if the beginning doesn't quite grab you!
Other than that, the ending felt a little weak compared to how hard things go in the middle. It feels as if there are a number of compelling ways things could have gone, but things unravel without pursuing any of them in a satisfying way.
This is a great debut, and I'm eager to read more from this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Animal death, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Child abuse, Incest, Racism, and Rape