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windsorgrace's review
adventurous
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
3.0
I mostly enjoyed this book. Even though the characters’ dialogue was a bit clunky at times, no one is that sarcastic and witty all the time. It’s also not really a true horror story, more of a thriller with horror elements. It was a quick read.
The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle is a creature feature, an LGBTQ romance, and a thriller all in one. Tyler finds himself on the island where his mother lived, trying to solve the mystery of her disappearance 18 years before. A fan/stalker (he’s not sure which) lured him to the island with what looks like a recent video of his mother.
Once on Echo Island, Tyler realizes something weird is going on. Everyone he meets is gay, which weirds him out because he goes to the island to escape his life after making out with his straight best friend, Josh, who he’s in love with. While trying to help a sleepwalking islander, he comes across some kind of monsters in the woods that the islanders insist are just bears. Even though they have glowing, hypnotic eyes.
The more Tyler learns, the less he understands. If he stays too long and unravels more of the mystery, he may get stuck on Echo Island forever.
Major trigger warnings for this book from the author: sexual assault, physical abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, gore, explicit violence, implied ingestion of urine for survival purposes, implied cannibalism, mild dysphoria, discussions of conversion therapy, starvation, eye trauma, body horror
clarke's review
slow-paced
1.5
1.5 stars bc the initial premise was great.
This had so much potential. You start off the book with a chapter called 'fapping into god's sock' and I immediately have high expectations. It started off well, but quickly became a chore. I felt like I was reading for hours for it only to be a few pages. I just stopped caring and it was a real slog. Pretty much nothing happened for the majority of the book, except questioning sexuality on an island with a history of conversion. I'm not too sure what the purpose of the graphic sex was other than to be graphic, and serve as an excuse for more questioning.
There were also a lot of lines that brought me out of the story - frequent references to exquisite corpse, "let out a breath I knew I was holding", etc that made it clear I was reading a book that was aware of other books. I felt the characters were 2D at best, the action/gore was lacking, and the mystery got too muddled and wasn't satisfying. When it changed POV I almost quit because I was so tired of the slog. I stuck it out to write a fair review, but I should've quit whilst I was ahead. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.
This had so much potential. You start off the book with a chapter called 'fapping into god's sock' and I immediately have high expectations. It started off well, but quickly became a chore. I felt like I was reading for hours for it only to be a few pages. I just stopped caring and it was a real slog. Pretty much nothing happened for the majority of the book, except questioning sexuality on an island with a history of conversion. I'm not too sure what the purpose of the graphic sex was other than to be graphic, and serve as an excuse for more questioning.
There were also a lot of lines that brought me out of the story - frequent references to exquisite corpse, "let out a breath I knew I was holding", etc that made it clear I was reading a book that was aware of other books. I felt the characters were 2D at best, the action/gore was lacking, and the mystery got too muddled and wasn't satisfying. When it changed POV I almost quit because I was so tired of the slog. I stuck it out to write a fair review, but I should've quit whilst I was ahead. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.
kaitlinliz's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
Honestly, at first, when I started reading, I was wondering why I was reading this. It was dragging, seemed pointless and felt very pretentious - like it was trying to be edgy or something it wasn't. Then....then things started happening. The amount of times I flinched, jumped or squirmed due to the abuse and torture that is depicted, is unknown. I gagged at many of these scenes and kept on going. I had to know what happened. This book went from a 2.5 starts to a 4 around the halfway mark. I'm extremely glad I stuck with it because the payoff was huge.
Do I think it could have been shorter? Most definitely. Do I think others should read it? 100%!
Erstwhile Tyler Kyle is a tragic read that if you like supernatural, the lgbtqa community and shit hitting the fan, you will love this book.
TW: Sexual assualt, physical abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, gore, explicit violence, torture, stalking, vomit, implied ingestion of urine for survival purposes, implied cannibalism, mild dysphoria, discussions of homophobia, discussions of conversion therapy, starvation, eye trauma, body horror
Do I think it could have been shorter? Most definitely. Do I think others should read it? 100%!
Erstwhile Tyler Kyle is a tragic read that if you like supernatural, the lgbtqa community and shit hitting the fan, you will love this book.
TW: Sexual assualt, physical abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, gore, explicit violence, torture, stalking, vomit, implied ingestion of urine for survival purposes, implied cannibalism, mild dysphoria, discussions of homophobia, discussions of conversion therapy, starvation, eye trauma, body horror
gkepps's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
If you are looking for a horror story with snark and queer representation, this book is for you. Now, I’m not generally a horror novel reader, but this was so very good. It’s definitely not for the lighthearted and it made me so so stressed, but it was compelling. Both the storyline and characters were so fleshed out. I was attached to all of them and felt deeply about what they were going through, even the characters who showed up later in the book. I felt very immersed in the world building and the twists kept me on the edge of my seat!
_tomeraider's review
dark
funny
mysterious
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? No
4.0
Never really thought I would be the type to enjoy comedic horror, but this really fun!
In this book we follow 30 year old Tyler Kyle, a co-host for a youtube channel called Discovery Bang, who travels to this mysterious island I'm search of his mother who seemingly fell off the face of the Earth.
What follows is just buck wild craziness, some gore, and some body horror.
Westenra does a really good job in creating Tyler Kyle's voice. He felt authentic and relatable. My only gripe is that he reads more as a man in his early twenties rather than one who is thirty. Other than that, I really enjoyed being in his POV.
The small town claustrophobic atmosphere was incredibly well done and the behavior of the eclectic townspeople was deliciously creepy and off putting.
I really enjoyed how everything came together at the end and the little romance subplot was so freaking cute.
This was a punchy fast paced story that was highly entertaining. I look forward to reading more of this type of book.
In this book we follow 30 year old Tyler Kyle, a co-host for a youtube channel called Discovery Bang, who travels to this mysterious island I'm search of his mother who seemingly fell off the face of the Earth.
What follows is just buck wild craziness, some gore, and some body horror.
Westenra does a really good job in creating Tyler Kyle's voice. He felt authentic and relatable. My only gripe is that he reads more as a man in his early twenties rather than one who is thirty. Other than that, I really enjoyed being in his POV.
The small town claustrophobic atmosphere was incredibly well done and the behavior of the eclectic townspeople was deliciously creepy and off putting.
I really enjoyed how everything came together at the end and the little romance subplot was so freaking cute.
This was a punchy fast paced story that was highly entertaining. I look forward to reading more of this type of book.
lindielou's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-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
mel_c_bell's review
picked it up on NetGalley. The description and cover were intriguing and I was looking forward to a comedic mystery but I was pretty confused for the entire first 10% and said “ain't nobody got time for that”
lydiahephzibah's review
dark
mysterious
slow-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
3.5
Setting: Canada
Rep: queer protagonists; mostly queer cast; trans author; BIPOC side characters
This is a weird ass book. It's a mash up of several genres and for a lot of it I wasn't sure what direction it was going in. It is also a long ass book - it took me a while to get through! I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it but it was a good book, so it's a 3.5 rounded up to 4.
Rep: queer protagonists; mostly queer cast; trans author; BIPOC side characters
This is a weird ass book. It's a mash up of several genres and for a lot of it I wasn't sure what direction it was going in. It is also a long ass book - it took me a while to get through! I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it but it was a good book, so it's a 3.5 rounded up to 4.
laurathebookhermit's review
So Tyler Kyle is a youtuber with his friend. They investigate cryptid sightings together and although Tyler knows that his friend is heterosexual, he has confusing feelings of romantic love towards him. After they drunkenly kiss one night Tyler decides to investigate a video he was sent, by his stalker, revealing a link with his long lost mother. However, when he arrives on the island he is overwhelmed by the ominous feeling and odd occurrences that seem to be going on the island. Will Tyler find the answers he wants and will he figure out his own sexuality questions along the way?!
This review will only comment on the experience of reading it to 40%. This novel is written in the first person and is overtly stream of consciousness. Although this is not my favourite style of writing, I did love the amount of queer representation there was. There were references to Canadian folklore which was fun too. If you enjoy books that feel like a fever dream this is definitely for you. There is something about Tyler and the plot that makes you want to know what happens and find out what’s going on. And while I did not find it funny or particularly atmospheric, I can see how a lot of people would get that aspect. I also really wanted to know the outcome of Tyler telling his friend how he feels. However, all of this was not enough to keep me reading. While I could see the potential of the plot and the characters, I felt it would have benefitted from a couple more rounds of editing (Tyler read like he was a teenager instead of in his thirties); and potentially a sensitivity reader due to the nature of many of the themes. For example, references to gender, sexuality, race, religion, and ethnicity were all bandied about in a very jarring way that was not always called for, or appropriate. I wonder if this was intended to be social commentary, if this is the case I support it 100% and this is why I am still making the effort to review a book I did not finish. More editing I feel would work out the disjointed nature of the sentence structure and flow. As a reader, I want to be shown more and less of the telling what to visualise.