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megan_harper's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Violence, Toxic friendship, Grief, Body horror, and Self harm
herrinderwespen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.0
No one does horror like Khaw. No one writes prose quite this visceral and heart-wrenching.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
amris's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Infidelity
gourmetsoda's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ghastly and a good time for those who love a quick, Until Dawn series of events. I thought more could have been done with the subtext regarding the dead bride and the women buried in the walls-- I was surprised when that plotline sort of fell away. The ghosts in this story are only decorations-- the real horror comes from the people. Just like real life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Murder, Gore, Blood, Death, and Violence
amillionjourneys's review
dark
fast-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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore and Violence
sirenesque's review
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I loved the lore that Khaw incorporated into the text and their descriptions are incredibly macabre in a way that invokes terror, disgust, and fascination. I also really enjoyed their interpretation of the haunted mansion trope. I had a hard time following the storylines because it seemed some of the characters were more developed in personality and backstory than others including the protagonist Cat. I think this element was meant to create a sense of confusion and lack of empathy for the friend group. However, for me it just left a lot of unanswered questions for why the Cat decides to embark on this trip in the first place aside from the group’s codependency and the fascination with the supernatural. I honestly felt like the supernatural aspects of the story brought out their worst traits and this is what drove us to the conclusion, but I think there was more room to integrate how their personal demons make them prey to these spirits. Overall though, Khaw’s command of language, the vivid scenes of decay and the plots twists made this novella worth the read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Gore, Vomit, and Death
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Alcohol
rayshell's review
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Really beautiful and sensory writing, particularly the descriptions and metaphors communicating the narrative perspective. Heady, hazy, woozy in the best way. The plot could be been more fleshed out and characters more developed. The juice of this story is in the feelings and reflections it inspires in the reader.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Body horror, Violence, Death, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
deckled_edges's review
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.5
Giving it half a star because the cover is pretty cool.
This book is the written equivalent of an 84 minute straight to streaming horror movie made by a studio you've never heard of with actors you'll never see in anything else again.
Which could be good! That kind of description is appealing to me! I like B-rated movies with paper thin plots and a cast of unlikable characters that are all going to die in gruesome ways. This book somehow still managed to miss even that mark.
Every single character is insufferable. Each one a rough cut out of their archetype with zero attempt at refining them. They bicker and they're pithy and they all hate each other but for some reason are all together for this event. (Probably because no one else wants to deal with them.) Lin is the worst of the bunch in that his character serves absolutely no purpose. The characterizations and roles they all play somehow get worse once he's introduced? I was kind of hoping he was a ghost that infiltrated the group and that was why none of their interactions, or his constant flip-flopping of characterizations, made any sense. But.. no such luck.
It's not a scary story either. It could be! But it's not. The cover is the scariest part. Any chances there are to establish an atmosphere are completely ruined by some god awful forced simile. Not even a metaphor. A simile. At least one every other page. Generally multiple per page. Long drawn out descriptions that are meant to evoke some sense of unknown, of being unsettled, of the creeping dread, but the author gets so bogged down in trying to find the most esoterically poetic way to describe someone's footsteps that what little hint of dread they managed to eek out of you has just completely dried up. You're bored. You're waiting for something to happen. Even when things are actively happening, you're waiting for something to happen in a way that is at all interesting.
Spoilers for the ending.And only one of them died? Like okay I guess. You start to see the house affect all of them in various ways and you kind of think they're going to turn on each other, kill each other thinking they're seeing something else. Get possessed. Something. And in a way they do turn on one another but the arguments are so dramatic and over the top and don't at all match the tone of what's actually happening? And then when intense things actually ARE happening, someone has time to make a joke. I did see in quite a few other reviews people point out the fact that Faiz could read the surprise book as though that were some sort of plot hole or bad writing. And there's a lot I don't like about this writing style but I will say it's very clear there was nothing in that book. They just clung on to what he'd been convinced he saw because it was better than doing nothing while Phillip died.
Overall a really disappointing read that had the potential to be a lot more.
This book is the written equivalent of an 84 minute straight to streaming horror movie made by a studio you've never heard of with actors you'll never see in anything else again.
Which could be good! That kind of description is appealing to me! I like B-rated movies with paper thin plots and a cast of unlikable characters that are all going to die in gruesome ways. This book somehow still managed to miss even that mark.
Every single character is insufferable. Each one a rough cut out of their archetype with zero attempt at refining them. They bicker and they're pithy and they all hate each other but for some reason are all together for this event. (Probably because no one else wants to deal with them.) Lin is the worst of the bunch in that his character serves absolutely no purpose. The characterizations and roles they all play somehow get worse once he's introduced? I was kind of hoping he was a ghost that infiltrated the group and that was why none of their interactions, or his constant flip-flopping of characterizations, made any sense. But.. no such luck.
It's not a scary story either. It could be! But it's not. The cover is the scariest part. Any chances there are to establish an atmosphere are completely ruined by some god awful forced simile. Not even a metaphor. A simile. At least one every other page. Generally multiple per page. Long drawn out descriptions that are meant to evoke some sense of unknown, of being unsettled, of the creeping dread, but the author gets so bogged down in trying to find the most esoterically poetic way to describe someone's footsteps that what little hint of dread they managed to eek out of you has just completely dried up. You're bored. You're waiting for something to happen. Even when things are actively happening, you're waiting for something to happen in a way that is at all interesting.
Spoilers for the ending.
Overall a really disappointing read that had the potential to be a lot more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness
necroplasm's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
maybe someday i'll find one of these short horror reads that i actually like! anyways i honestly nearly DNF'd this bc i found the characters and their dynamic to be incredibly obnoxious, but the book was so damn short i figured i'd just finish it anyways. for something that was touted in reviews as ~Sooooo Disturbing~ there were like 2 parts that even had the POTENTIAL to be scary and literally a single kill that was admittedly kinda fucked up but not really Extreme. if this book scared you i'm sorry to say you're a total lightweight 💔
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Murder, Violence, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Alcohol, and Drug use
Minor: Sexual content
readingmushrooms's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Mental illness, Grief, Excrement, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Infidelity