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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
King doesn’t shy away from the reality of the pandemic—and he shouldn’t. If the COVID and politics feel heavy, it’s because they were. Holly is a sharp, unsettling mystery rooted in a very real kind of horror. Quietly bold and deeply creepy.
4.0 ⭐️
4.0 ⭐️
challenging
dark
I loved this book. I didn’t give it a 5 because I wasn’t crazy about it being during Covid. I read the acknowledgements so I get his reasoning behind it. That part still wasn’t my fav.
As for the rest of the book, I loved it. Loved the characters. And I love that there wasn’t some “big plot twist”. It was more of a story of building crazy characters and how their minds work rather than a “who done it”. Highly recommend.
As for the rest of the book, I loved it. Loved the characters. And I love that there wasn’t some “big plot twist”. It was more of a story of building crazy characters and how their minds work rather than a “who done it”. Highly recommend.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Great read, couldn't put it down! Pretty gross bad guy premise though, fair warning - don't read this while eating
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Thoughts:
I had such mixed feelings coming away from this book. I did love Holly as a character in the other books so I loved seeing more of her personality and the way she worked in depth this time, especially since the last bit I read was only the short story (If It Bleeds). I also thought this book had an even worse monster for Holly to stop since they’re human so it shows the extent of suffering humans can inflict on each other. It was so surreal reading all the elements of COVID after having lived through it as this is the first book I’ve read set in that period. However, there were too many references made to smoking to me as it added nothing to the plot and only padded out the pages, especially since Holly was supposed to have given up already so it’s not like we’d notice it missing. There was also no need for the use of derogatory terms since the monsters were already horrible enough without needing them to be racist and homophobic and it added nothing to the plot.
Favourite Quote:
“But Roddy and Emily Emily Harris were worse.
Why? Because there was nothing supernatural about them. Because you couldn't say their evil came from outside, and comfort yourself with the idea that if there were malign outside forces, there were probably good ones, as well. The Harrises' evil was both prosaic and outlandish, like a crazy mother putting her baby in a microwave oven because he won't stop crying, or a child of twelve going on a shooting rampage and killing half a dozen of his classmates.”
I had such mixed feelings coming away from this book. I did love Holly as a character in the other books so I loved seeing more of her personality and the way she worked in depth this time, especially since the last bit I read was only the short story (If It Bleeds). I also thought this book had an even worse monster for Holly to stop since they’re human so it shows the extent of suffering humans can inflict on each other. It was so surreal reading all the elements of COVID after having lived through it as this is the first book I’ve read set in that period. However, there were too many references made to smoking to me as it added nothing to the plot and only padded out the pages, especially since Holly was supposed to have given up already so it’s not like we’d notice it missing. There was also no need for the use of derogatory terms since the monsters were already horrible enough without needing them to be racist and homophobic and it added nothing to the plot.
Favourite Quote:
“But Roddy and Emily Emily Harris were worse.
Why? Because there was nothing supernatural about them. Because you couldn't say their evil came from outside, and comfort yourself with the idea that if there were malign outside forces, there were probably good ones, as well. The Harrises' evil was both prosaic and outlandish, like a crazy mother putting her baby in a microwave oven because he won't stop crying, or a child of twelve going on a shooting rampage and killing half a dozen of his classmates.”
challenging
dark
emotional
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:
Yes