Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
Ugh! This one is hard to rate. I really enjoyed the mystery of it – a woman is sleepwalking and waking up every morning with scrapes, bruises and blood on her body. Where is she going and how is she getting these? I quickly got into the story but just as quickly lost interest. I felt like it was not really going anywhere and it was never explained what was happening. The ending was a little disappointing as well. It just ended and left me with a feeling of “what did I just read”? I don’t think I was the right audience for it but I think many will enjoy it.
Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.
fast-paced
I come to the realization that it’s not just twinkling stars ahead of me. There’s also the dark between them.
3.5 stars. Maybe like 3.75? This was really fast paced and propulsive and strange. Just my kind of horror, in terms of the themes and the way things unravelled. It begins with our main character Iðunn consulting a doctor, because every morning she wakes up, exhausted and body aching. Something is happening to her during the night.
Even though it's a very quick book, and even though the reader has an idea of what's going on, I liked that the main character took a while to catch up. Which isn't something I say often! I generally don't like to be way ahead of the main character. But in this instance, it fit. This isn't really a traditional horror, but I liked that about it. I really enjoyed the first few chapters, and the conversations about being a woman trying to navigate the health care system, just trying to find out what's wrong. Even if Iðunn isn't totally relatable all the time, that got me to empathise with her right away. IDK, it's not novel, it's something that's been discussed a lot before, but its inclusion here really worked for me.
This is too short for me to go into details, but I really liked the mounting suspense, the unravelling, the way we slowly start to incorporate bits from Iðunn's daily life and her past. Some parts made me really sad, especially the animal death. One thing I didn't like was the super short chapters. And I mean, SUPER short, like when they would be a couple sentences long. I know it's good for thrillers, for creating a certain atmosphere and making a book very propulsive. But this wasn't a thriller; I went in expecting horror! That tactic is also gimmicky as hell, and sorta annoying when you're listening to the audiobook. Like, "Chapter 54. One sentence. Chapter 55. One sentence. Chapter 56. Oh look! This time! There are three sentences!!" It felt awkward, and almost made me want to stick with the ebook.
But I didn't, because the audiobook as read by Mary Robinette Kowal (also the translator) was so good! It's very interesting that she both translated and narrated this; it felt like she had a lot of familiarity with the text and the characters and their emotions, and that made it a really great listen. So the audiobook was definitely worth it. I really enjoyed this overall. It's creepy and dark, with crisp writing, sometimes really satirical and witty. Would love to check out this author again.
Content warning:
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Best for:
Those who like a pretty horrific psychological tale.
CONTENT NOTE: There are cats that start out alive but are not alive at the end of the book.
In a nutshell:
Iðunn is exhausted but doesn’t know why, and doctors aren’t helping. But we eventually know what is going on … sort of.
Worth quoting:
N/A
Why I chose it:
I somehow ended up following author Knútsdóttir on BlueSky. No idea when that came about. But I’d been wanting to read this since she announced it, and saw it available on Libro.FM as an audio book.
Review:
That was a wild ride. This horror novella is fascinating, but fair warning up front: the ending is ambiguous at best. There is a subredding thread discussing it with little agreement. So just be warned.
Iðunn is our narrator. She’s exhausted even though she’s sleeping through the night, and tired of medical professionals dismissing her. At one point she has a giant bruise, and so seeks out a second opinion, but still gets nowhere. A colleague at work suggests Iðunn isn’t getting enough exercise and thus not energized, and suggests a pedometer, she Iðunn purchases a fitbit-style watch. She takes it off at night, but one night forgets to and wakes up to find it has something like 40,000 steps on it.
While she’s been asleep.
The novella unfolds as Iðunn tries to figure out what she is doing in her sleep. She’s mostly off work, but we do get a glimpse of office dynamics as she tries to avoid her former romantic interest, who she left but still works at the company. We also learn of her parents, who don’t seem to really know her (the mother keeps buying meat for when Iðunn comes over for dinner, despite her being a vegetarian).
We do eventually learn what she is doing in those lost hours. And it’s not great.
As I said, the ending is a bit up in the air, but I enjoyed the writing and thinking about how people might handle facing the knowledge that they are living an entire life they aren’t aware of. We’d all seek help, right? Immediately? Or would we be afraid of what would happen to us if people knew?
I’m a bit annoyed at the ending, but I’m still glad I read this book, as I think Knútsdóttir is trying to leave open a few different interpretations that all could be equally interesting. I hope to read more from her in the future.
Those who like a pretty horrific psychological tale.
CONTENT NOTE: There are cats that start out alive but are not alive at the end of the book.
In a nutshell:
Iðunn is exhausted but doesn’t know why, and doctors aren’t helping. But we eventually know what is going on … sort of.
Worth quoting:
N/A
Why I chose it:
I somehow ended up following author Knútsdóttir on BlueSky. No idea when that came about. But I’d been wanting to read this since she announced it, and saw it available on Libro.FM as an audio book.
Review:
That was a wild ride. This horror novella is fascinating, but fair warning up front: the ending is ambiguous at best. There is a subredding thread discussing it with little agreement. So just be warned.
Iðunn is our narrator. She’s exhausted even though she’s sleeping through the night, and tired of medical professionals dismissing her. At one point she has a giant bruise, and so seeks out a second opinion, but still gets nowhere. A colleague at work suggests Iðunn isn’t getting enough exercise and thus not energized, and suggests a pedometer, she Iðunn purchases a fitbit-style watch. She takes it off at night, but one night forgets to and wakes up to find it has something like 40,000 steps on it.
While she’s been asleep.
The novella unfolds as Iðunn tries to figure out what she is doing in her sleep. She’s mostly off work, but we do get a glimpse of office dynamics as she tries to avoid her former romantic interest, who she left but still works at the company. We also learn of her parents, who don’t seem to really know her (the mother keeps buying meat for when Iðunn comes over for dinner, despite her being a vegetarian).
We do eventually learn what she is doing in those lost hours. And it’s not great.
As I said, the ending is a bit up in the air, but I enjoyed the writing and thinking about how people might handle facing the knowledge that they are living an entire life they aren’t aware of. We’d all seek help, right? Immediately? Or would we be afraid of what would happen to us if people knew?
I’m a bit annoyed at the ending, but I’m still glad I read this book, as I think Knútsdóttir is trying to leave open a few different interpretations that all could be equally interesting. I hope to read more from her in the future.
Idk what a 5 star book is for me anymore. This was fast and fun, but some of the plot fell short for me.
Obviously the animal violence is a trigger warning, but what got me most about it was that there was no explanation as to why it happened.
Obviously the animal violence is a trigger warning, but what got me most about it was that there was no explanation as to why it happened.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
feel slightly guilty about this one, as though the page count is falsely inflating my numbers. this 200 page book has 100 chapters. i found this to be extremely effective in keeping the tension high and the pace fast. you fall into a rhythm of turning the pages that makes you just have to know what comes next. even if you don't want to know.
some good commentary about the difficulties of being a woman seeking health care. some good commentary about being a woman in modern society. this was a very frank book that didn't feel cloyingly buddy-buddy. some books try too hard to be relatable that they feel like an overly familiar stranger. this one felt like listening to a friend rant and chiming in "yes, exactly!"
initially i didn't like the ending, but the more i think about it, the more beautiful i find it. lake mungo vibes, hill house vibes. unsure what the take away of the book really was. is it about drowning under other people's expectations? is it about smothering yourself to be someone else? or is it about those 10,000 steps? was it all one really elaborate ad for a fitbit?
if not for other people frequently referencing her sister, i could almost believe that iðunn didn't have one. that her future has come to haunt her present. to turn her into a self-fulfilling prophecy. if she did have a sister, did she experience the same thing? what drove her into the water the first time? was it really her sister clinging to her back, or something else? her cheekbones were higher, her lips fuller, her eyes darker. i fear we'll never know.
some good commentary about the difficulties of being a woman seeking health care. some good commentary about being a woman in modern society. this was a very frank book that didn't feel cloyingly buddy-buddy. some books try too hard to be relatable that they feel like an overly familiar stranger. this one felt like listening to a friend rant and chiming in "yes, exactly!"
initially i didn't like the ending, but the more i think about it, the more beautiful i find it. lake mungo vibes, hill house vibes. unsure what the take away of the book really was. is it about drowning under other people's expectations? is it about smothering yourself to be someone else? or is it about those 10,000 steps? was it all one really elaborate ad for a fitbit?
This was a fun fast paced thriller and such a fun read! I got chills when our main character is just smiling at the camera in the middle of the night and goes to shut it off- some really fun and creepy little horror elements in here! I also liked that the author acknowledged how women are treated and often dismissed inside of doctor’s appointments. They think we make it all up and dismiss symptoms and experiences and chalk it up to just casual bodily behavior.
Only thing I wasn’t a super big fan of was the ending. I felt like it was wrapped up very fast,, like if you blink, you’ll miss the ending but that’s it.
This is a quick, engaging read. Would recommend you pick this up!
Only thing I wasn’t a super big fan of was the ending. I felt like it was wrapped up very fast,, like if you blink, you’ll miss the ending but that’s it.
This is a quick, engaging read. Would recommend you pick this up!
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes