A review by antimony
My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

dark emotional mysterious tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 starting 2024 with my resolution to rate books more accurately to my system as outlined in my profile and not sticking to 4 stars as a neutral just bc i feel bad abt rating 3 or lower. i thought this book was ok. i really liked stephen graham jones's story tiddlywinks in other terrors so even though i didnt care much for mongrels i checked this out from the library. and i didn't get along with the writing style and i kind of couldnt stand jade for half the book. like she did end up being right in the end but i don't blame everyone else for thinking she was delusional and convinced there was a slasher just bc the pattern fit. 
maybe this is a case of don't read a book that's a love letter to a genre you don't care for. because i'm not really a slasher guy. i prefer a quieter horror that leans more towards the unsettling than the gory. i do think this book is really good if you like slashers probably. but i kinda didn't care for a good most of it. the third-to-last and second-to-last chapters were really good though!! once i finally got ahold on the characters and story and also things started happening (because the beginning is SUCHHH a slow burn) i did enjoy myself ! but it took soo long for that payoff to come. 
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