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thiscryptidreads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
3.75
đź“– - 393 pages
Genre: occult horror
POV: Single
Read via the Libby app
This was a vivid gory acid trip. Constantine meets American Gods vibes with a dash of Angels Wolf, Ram, and Hart.
I loved the characters they all had so much depth you wanted to know more about them with each page turn, you're endeared and invested with Julie and her friends until the end and their mysterious, magical and macabre world.
The book is a bit stuffy to read at times. Using some verbiage, I felt you might need a dictionary or Google search to make sure you were following along right. There were so many layers to the story, and each chapter Ping ponged you somewhere else so quickly it was occasionally hard to follow, so much so that the ending felt rushed and a bit cliffhangery. I was left needing more. (Hopefully a book 2 happens)
The slow burn added a nice tension that really drove the characters all the way to the end despite their being no actual romance most of the time. You want to cheer for them.
Tyler can eat a bag of dicks. (No I won't explain further)
You can find more of my reviews on all social platforms under the username ThisCryptidReads.
Genre: occult horror
POV: Single
Read via the Libby app
This was a vivid gory acid trip. Constantine meets American Gods vibes with a dash of Angels Wolf, Ram, and Hart.
I loved the characters they all had so much depth you wanted to know more about them with each page turn, you're endeared and invested with Julie and her friends until the end and their mysterious, magical and macabre world.
The book is a bit stuffy to read at times. Using some verbiage, I felt you might need a dictionary or Google search to make sure you were following along right. There were so many layers to the story, and each chapter Ping ponged you somewhere else so quickly it was occasionally hard to follow, so much so that the ending felt rushed and a bit cliffhangery. I was left needing more. (Hopefully a book 2 happens)
The slow burn added a nice tension that really drove the characters all the way to the end despite their being no actual romance most of the time. You want to cheer for them.
Tyler can eat a bag of dicks. (No I won't explain further)
You can find more of my reviews on all social platforms under the username ThisCryptidReads.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Body horror
Moderate: Death, Self harm, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Addiction, Torture, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Vomit
jessicafee86's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I heard someone describe Cassandra Khaw's writing as gorgeously, gooey horror and this book is a perfect example of that. This is the only book I've ever read that has felt weirdly hopeful even while I'm digging through endless piles of intestines and bowel for pages on end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Murder, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Blood, Torture, Cursing, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Grief
vaguewhisperings's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
So fun to read. All characters were interesting, worldbuilding was fantastic. Such good writing- had to look away few times since descriptions were graphic. Fun plot. Ending didn't feel quite right but works as lead up to second book. Great book, would read again; have recced to multiple people
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Body horror, Murder, Torture, Blood, Suicide, Violence, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction and Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse and Grief
garyosu's review against another edition
dark
funny
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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Alcoholism, Blood, Drug abuse, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Vomit, Suicide, Violence, and Torture
embee007's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Fiction is the lens through which humanity makes sense of the mystical.”
Well, this was...interesting. Jarring POV changes at times, especially the random throwaway POV characters. I've read Kadry before, but I haven't read Khaw yet, but it seemed like I could tell when it changed from one author to another (maybe it was just the severe changes in POV tho).
I did enjoy it overall, but it was just so jarring at times that it took me out of the book & I would take a (several hours long) break & have to force myself to come back.
“Someone bring me pants,” she demanded grandly. “I’m going to kill a motherfucker.”
I do not suggest this book for anyone whom is not okay with body horror, lots of gore, viscera, tentacles, & random eyeballs in places they do not belong. Murder is absolutely negotiable/implied. The characters range from loveably morally grey to "why are they not dead yet?!" To you actively cheer for their death. This is not a sweet & cozy book.
Something I did not understand:it's stated the magic system is basically that rich people have magic. Harvard teaches a class on magic, but it's secret. Wall Street runs on magic... But our MC is & always has been poor, & it's never explained how she got her magic?
"The universe spins. Worlds whirl in the great void. Most of all, things change."
Well, this was...interesting. Jarring POV changes at times, especially the random throwaway POV characters. I've read Kadry before, but I haven't read Khaw yet, but it seemed like I could tell when it changed from one author to another (maybe it was just the severe changes in POV tho).
I did enjoy it overall, but it was just so jarring at times that it took me out of the book & I would take a (several hours long) break & have to force myself to come back.
“Someone bring me pants,” she demanded grandly. “I’m going to kill a motherfucker.”
I do not suggest this book for anyone whom is not okay with body horror, lots of gore, viscera, tentacles, & random eyeballs in places they do not belong. Murder is absolutely negotiable/implied. The characters range from loveably morally grey to "why are they not dead yet?!" To you actively cheer for their death. This is not a sweet & cozy book.
Something I did not understand:
"The universe spins. Worlds whirl in the great void. Most of all, things change."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, and Torture
pencilled_robin's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
liked the characters. Julie and Sarah made such a cute couple - I was rooting for them all the way. Also, more St. Joan please!
The authors have a talented way with words, and there were several times where I had to stop and marvel at how well they phrased something. However, the endless descriptions of cruelty and gruesome, painful deaths did get wearing after a while.
The authors have a talented way with words, and there were several times where I had to stop and marvel at how well they phrased something. However, the endless descriptions of cruelty and gruesome, painful deaths did get wearing after a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Self harm, Murder, Suicide, Death, Suicide attempt, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Cannibalism
pm_me_book_recs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really liked the conceit, but some of the writing took me out of the story. I don't know if it was one of the authors, or if it was supposed to be part of a character, but SOMEONE kept using super obscure words without any leads to their meanings. I'm the weird kid that read the thesaurus for fun, and there multiple times it was necessary for me to drop the book and research what the heck was trying to be conveyed. It also made the character feel very edgy in an already bluntly "I'm a badass GIRL who does inappropriate BOY stuff, like swear and do drugs. YEAH."
Anyways... aside from that, the story is a really cool concept! I enjoyed the urban aspect and the corporate greed analogy, the magic system, tying things together with deep seated trauma, the come-uppance, and the demons felt so creepy and insidious! I want to add that there is excessive substance abuse and alcoholism, which I did not mind because of the context with trauma and depression (been there), but some of the dialogue surrounding it was borderline edge-lordy...
Super LGBTQ friendly, surprisingly heartwarming in that department considering the horror/thriller focus.
Anyways... aside from that, the story is a really cool concept! I enjoyed the urban aspect and the corporate greed analogy, the magic system, tying things together with deep seated trauma, the come-uppance, and the demons felt so creepy and insidious! I want to add that there is excessive substance abuse and alcoholism, which I did not mind because of the context with trauma and depression (been there), but some of the dialogue surrounding it was borderline edge-lordy...
Super LGBTQ friendly, surprisingly heartwarming in that department considering the horror/thriller focus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Torture, Death, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Drug abuse, Addiction, Blood, Medical content, Alcohol, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
mercourier's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
If you don't like body horror this book might not be for you. The gore gets visceral. It's fun, a queer modern take on Eldrich horror. I found some the plot to be a little too twisty. But I liked meeting all the weird characters and seeing their demises.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Torture
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Domestic abuse
rwxtd's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I picked this up from the library because I thought the title and cover were cool, and that was mostly it. I don't think the book was very good, but I also don't feel like it was a waste of time, so there's that.
Ultimately I think this book bothered me because it just wasn't consistent. I felt like Julie's character in particular was weirdly inconsistent in terms of morality; sometimes she'd be willing to work for someone or do something she didn't agree with because she was desperate for cash, and other times she would refuse even though she was still desperate for cash and it wasn't actually all that different of a situation. There were plot points that got mentioned and then never brought up again, or barely brought up again, and there were inconsistencies in the worldbuilding as well. Can you or can you not bring someone back to life? In what circumstances will it work and in what circumstances will it not work? It's hard to feel invested in the story if I don't understand the stakes, and it's hard to understand the stakes if the rules of the world and its magic system are inconsistent. I don't need a thorough description of every detail, I just need enough to feel like it makes sense. I also got a bit tired of the writing style after a while; it was very irreverent, sarcastic, basically what you'd expect from a typical foul-mouthed disaster human like Julie. Normally I do like that kind of thing, but I think it was just repetitive enough that I got a bit bored with it. It doesn't feel like it's really doing anything interesting or new, it just keeps throwing giant evil eldritch monsters at me and hoping that'll distract me from the fact that it's not a great book. Also, and I'm not gonna say much because spoilers, but I did not like the big climactic scene or how things ended up playing out there. It felt a little rushed, and also there are other reasons that I can't get into because spoilers.
All that being said: there were things I liked about this book! I liked the romance, it was very cute although I do wish we'd gotten a little bit more info about the relationship between Sarah and Julie: what was their relationship like before they stopped talking? Did they stop talking, or did they just grow apart? Is it fully no contact or do they still send like birthday texts and stuff? How long has it been? Was there a big fight? I just felt like I didn't have a lot of context, which I think undermined some of the cute romancey stuff because I didn't know where either of the characters were coming from. I did still think it was very cute most of the time. Their whole little squad was really cute and fun, actually. St. Joan was great, I liked her a lot. Dead Air was my favorite. I don't think that's super surprising to anyone. And I did think the monsters were fun and creepy; I don't know how much of it is fully original monsters and how much is based on like tropes/existing monsters within the genre or whatever, but I did think they were mostly pretty cool, aside from the fact that they couldn't seem to decide which of the world-ending monstrosities was actually worth their time and so just sort of did a little bit with all of them. I did also like Brad. He's barely in it and he's not at all relevant to the plot but I did like him, so shoutout to Brad. (I think it was Brad. I might have the name wrong. Sorry, Brad.)
Ultimately, this book was pretty mediocre. It wasn't awful, I didn't hate reading it, I just didn't think it was good. It's fine. It's not great. I liked most of the side characters more than I liked Julie herself, which was a bit dissappointing. The worldbuilding and characterization is inconsistent and the plot is a bit contrived, but there's a fun little group dynamic and a cute romance and abusers dying in painful ways, so if you're interested in exciting battles with eldritch monsters and not thinking about it too hard other than that, this would be a good choice.
Ultimately I think this book bothered me because it just wasn't consistent. I felt like Julie's character in particular was weirdly inconsistent in terms of morality; sometimes she'd be willing to work for someone or do something she didn't agree with because she was desperate for cash, and other times she would refuse even though she was still desperate for cash and it wasn't actually all that different of a situation. There were plot points that got mentioned and then never brought up again, or barely brought up again, and there were inconsistencies in the worldbuilding as well. Can you or can you not bring someone back to life? In what circumstances will it work and in what circumstances will it not work? It's hard to feel invested in the story if I don't understand the stakes, and it's hard to understand the stakes if the rules of the world and its magic system are inconsistent. I don't need a thorough description of every detail, I just need enough to feel like it makes sense. I also got a bit tired of the writing style after a while; it was very irreverent, sarcastic, basically what you'd expect from a typical foul-mouthed disaster human like Julie. Normally I do like that kind of thing, but I think it was just repetitive enough that I got a bit bored with it. It doesn't feel like it's really doing anything interesting or new, it just keeps throwing giant evil eldritch monsters at me and hoping that'll distract me from the fact that it's not a great book. Also, and I'm not gonna say much because spoilers, but I did not like the big climactic scene or how things ended up playing out there. It felt a little rushed, and also there are other reasons that I can't get into because spoilers.
All that being said: there were things I liked about this book! I liked the romance, it was very cute although I do wish we'd gotten a little bit more info about the relationship between Sarah and Julie: what was their relationship like before they stopped talking? Did they stop talking, or did they just grow apart? Is it fully no contact or do they still send like birthday texts and stuff? How long has it been? Was there a big fight? I just felt like I didn't have a lot of context, which I think undermined some of the cute romancey stuff because I didn't know where either of the characters were coming from. I did still think it was very cute most of the time. Their whole little squad was really cute and fun, actually. St. Joan was great, I liked her a lot. Dead Air was my favorite. I don't think that's super surprising to anyone. And I did think the monsters were fun and creepy; I don't know how much of it is fully original monsters and how much is based on like tropes/existing monsters within the genre or whatever, but I did think they were mostly pretty cool, aside from the fact that they couldn't seem to decide which of the world-ending monstrosities was actually worth their time and so just sort of did a little bit with all of them. I did also like Brad. He's barely in it and he's not at all relevant to the plot but I did like him, so shoutout to Brad. (I think it was Brad. I might have the name wrong. Sorry, Brad.)
Ultimately, this book was pretty mediocre. It wasn't awful, I didn't hate reading it, I just didn't think it was good. It's fine. It's not great. I liked most of the side characters more than I liked Julie herself, which was a bit dissappointing. The worldbuilding and characterization is inconsistent and the plot is a bit contrived, but there's a fun little group dynamic and a cute romance and abusers dying in painful ways, so if you're interested in exciting battles with eldritch monsters and not thinking about it too hard other than that, this would be a good choice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Torture, Alcohol, Gore, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Murder, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, and Medical content
Minor: Animal death and Cannibalism
I did my best with the content warnings, hopefully I'm not forgetting anything. This book is very violent and graphic, so if that's not the vibe then maybe save it for another day.maggies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
Part fantasy like Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens, part workplace horror like Office Space, all gore and heart. Natalie Naudus’s narration is, as usual, perfection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Torture, Blood, Body horror, and Gore