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106 reviews for:
Liaisons d'enfer au paradis
Maud Desurvire, Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Sarah Mlynowski, Claudia Gray, Maureen Johnson
3.33 AVERAGE
106 reviews for:
Liaisons d'enfer au paradis
Maud Desurvire, Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Sarah Mlynowski, Claudia Gray, Maureen Johnson
3.33 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Podobało mi się że mogłam czylać historie w perspektywy różnych osób które normalnie piszą dlugie książki. Te książki są czasami nie dla wszystkich wiec czytanie łatwych i krótkich histori pozwala na poznanie jak oni piszą i czego można sie spodziewać z ich książek.
I read this purely because I had to find an anthology of short stories for a reading challenge, and this is short and mildly amusing (there is almost nothing worse in reading-land than having to plough through a long, badly written anthology of 'short' stories... not that I have ever had to do it).
This was OK. There are vampires, witches and the spirit of the French Revolution, but not a single short story was really frightening. I found Cassandra Clare's mirror concept quite chillingly portrayed, but the incestuous overtones of the romantic relationship between siblings-by-marriage was off-putting.
The rest of the stories adhered to the usual cliches about hormonally charged teenagers with little judgment or good sense (especially Libba Bray's 'Nowhere is Safe').
This was OK. There are vampires, witches and the spirit of the French Revolution, but not a single short story was really frightening. I found Cassandra Clare's mirror concept quite chillingly portrayed, but the incestuous overtones of the romantic relationship between siblings-by-marriage was off-putting.
The rest of the stories adhered to the usual cliches about hormonally charged teenagers with little judgment or good sense (especially Libba Bray's 'Nowhere is Safe').
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Average rating: 3/5 🌟
A solid anthology if you are into ya horror in the vein of House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland. Not a single short story was bad! Unfortunately, there also was not a single story that I outright loved, but the setting and the concept were always very intriguing and unique.
Cruisin by Sarah Mlynowski
3/5 🌟
Spending a few days on a cruise ship. The goal: the main character's first time. The problem: reports about people being killed by vampires.
Very funny, nice murder mystery and twist (although predictable)
I Don't Like Your Girlfriend by Claudia Gray
2.5/5 🌟
A rather large coven of witches spending the holiday together at a beach. The goal: Changes constantly. The problem: A guy seems to be enchanted which is super-duper forbidden.
Good writing style, interesting to see the main character changing her to-do-list in her journal. A little bit boring.
The Law of Suspects by Maureen Johnson
4/5 🌟
Sisters spending the summer in Paris. The goal: Meeting their cousin and sightseeing. The problem: Ending up in the French countryside instead and meeting strange neighbours telling weird stories.
The best story in this collection by far! Very atmospheric, reads like a Gothic novel. Cool mystery and ending. Has some psychology and French history in there. Sometimes reminded me of some of Lovecraft's works as well as Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
The Mirror House by Cassandra Clare
3/5 🌟
A family trip to a beach. The goal: Relaxing. The problem: An asshole father, stepsiblings are in love with each other, oh, and there is a weird lady living in a weird house at the beach.
Very cool supernatural aspect and family dynamic. Nice idea of an ending. Dragged a little. Did not really care for the characters.
Nowhere is Safe by Libba Bray
3/5 🌟
A backpacking trip with friends. The goal: celebrating graduation from high school. The problem: Deciding to visit a haunted Eastern European village next.
Written as if the reader is watching a video on YouTube, but only at the beginning and in the ending of the story. Had some great elements such as the Satanic rituals, the talk about diaspora, a forbidden forest. Sometimes had The Ritual (Adam Nevill) vibes. Nice idea of an ending. Did not like the characters at all and wanted them all to die.
A solid anthology if you are into ya horror in the vein of House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland. Not a single short story was bad! Unfortunately, there also was not a single story that I outright loved, but the setting and the concept were always very intriguing and unique.
Cruisin by Sarah Mlynowski
3/5 🌟
Spending a few days on a cruise ship. The goal: the main character's first time. The problem: reports about people being killed by vampires.
Very funny, nice murder mystery and twist (although predictable)
I Don't Like Your Girlfriend by Claudia Gray
2.5/5 🌟
A rather large coven of witches spending the holiday together at a beach. The goal: Changes constantly. The problem: A guy seems to be enchanted which is super-duper forbidden.
Good writing style, interesting to see the main character changing her to-do-list in her journal. A little bit boring.
The Law of Suspects by Maureen Johnson
4/5 🌟
Sisters spending the summer in Paris. The goal: Meeting their cousin and sightseeing. The problem: Ending up in the French countryside instead and meeting strange neighbours telling weird stories.
The best story in this collection by far! Very atmospheric, reads like a Gothic novel. Cool mystery and ending. Has some psychology and French history in there. Sometimes reminded me of some of Lovecraft's works as well as Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
The Mirror House by Cassandra Clare
3/5 🌟
A family trip to a beach. The goal: Relaxing. The problem: An asshole father, stepsiblings are in love with each other, oh, and there is a weird lady living in a weird house at the beach.
Very cool supernatural aspect and family dynamic. Nice idea of an ending. Dragged a little. Did not really care for the characters.
Nowhere is Safe by Libba Bray
3/5 🌟
A backpacking trip with friends. The goal: celebrating graduation from high school. The problem: Deciding to visit a haunted Eastern European village next.
Written as if the reader is watching a video on YouTube, but only at the beginning and in the ending of the story. Had some great elements such as the Satanic rituals, the talk about diaspora, a forbidden forest. Sometimes had The Ritual (Adam Nevill) vibes. Nice idea of an ending. Did not like the characters at all and wanted them all to die.
A very enjoyable read, short and easy to get through.
The last story was creepy af and now I can't sleep. Thanks Libba Bray.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A very enjoyable read, short and easy to get through.
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The 5 stories were vastly different in quality in this book in my opinion. Overall they balance out to a three. Here are my individual ratings for each story below:
Cruisin’ by Sarah Mlynowski (2 stars) - This was my least favorite of the bunch. The characters felt lacking, and I guessed the twist long before it happened. Also, the trope of a teen desperate to lose their virginity is old and grates on my nerves.
I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend by Claudia Gray (4 stars) - This was possibly my favorite of the bunch. I liked the idea of a coven of witches getting together on the beach in the summer to practice spells together. I enjoyed the descriptions of the spells, and albeit it was spooky, it still felt like a light summer read.
The Law of Suspects by Maureen Johnson (2 stars) - I wasn't as enamored with this one either, which was a disappointment since I like other books by this author. The premise of it was kind of weak to me, and the surprise ending was pretty meh.
The Mirror House by Cassandra Clare (3 stars) - I enjoyed this story for the most part, and I liked the ending a lot. I did not understand why the mother would marry the man she did. I didn't buy their relationship, and the was not my favorite.
Nowhere Is Safe by Libba Bray (3 stars) - I loved the overall story with the twist. Her descriptions are superb, and she really knows how to create atmosphere. I just didn't like any of the characters. They all were really obnoxious.
Cruisin’ by Sarah Mlynowski (2 stars) - This was my least favorite of the bunch. The characters felt lacking, and I guessed the twist long before it happened. Also, the trope of a teen desperate to lose their virginity is old and grates on my nerves.
I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend by Claudia Gray (4 stars) - This was possibly my favorite of the bunch. I liked the idea of a coven of witches getting together on the beach in the summer to practice spells together. I enjoyed the descriptions of the spells, and albeit it was spooky, it still felt like a light summer read.
The Law of Suspects by Maureen Johnson (2 stars) - I wasn't as enamored with this one either, which was a disappointment since I like other books by this author. The premise of it was kind of weak to me, and the surprise ending was pretty meh.
The Mirror House by Cassandra Clare (3 stars) - I enjoyed this story for the most part, and I liked the ending a lot. I did not understand why the mother would marry the man she did. I didn't buy their relationship, and the
Spoiler
weird step-brother/sister crushNowhere Is Safe by Libba Bray (3 stars) - I loved the overall story with the twist. Her descriptions are superb, and she really knows how to create atmosphere. I just didn't like any of the characters. They all were really obnoxious.