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anaisqsn's reviews
55 reviews
The Beast of Loughby Island by Matt Doyle
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A massive thank you to the author for sending me a digital copy of The Beast of Loughby Island to review. It does not interfere with my review, which I kept as objective as possible.
“This thing stood like a man, looked like an animal, and moved like something in between.”
The Beast of Loughby Island is probably the best horror story I have read in a while, if not ever.
The author created a unique monster, cursed and blinded by hate. The storyline is perfectly crafted into a wonderful and chilling tale that left me on the edge of my seat. The fact that it is a short novella makes the story flow incredibly fast. I felt stuck on Loughby Island myself, breathless as the story progressed and the monster drew closer.
The book features a diverse set of characters. I enjoyed how queerness was just part of the story and normalized. I’m not only talking about MLM queer but also trans and polyamory characters. And you know what? It has no impact on the main plot. The other characters might be taken aback at first (I'm thinking of Tom and Selwyn), but that's all. People are queer, but they’re not entirely defined by it. Thank you for this, Matt.
The writing style is straightforward and picturesque. I loved the graphic depictions of violence implemented in the story. They’re gross, gruesome, and bloody, and fully grabbed my attention from the very first chapter. I also enjoyed the short essay at the end on werewolf lore. It was a thoughtful addition to the story.
Matt Doyle promised and delivered a strong storyline filled with unreliable and mysterious characters. I can’t rate it any less than a perfect 5 stars.
I highly recommend The Beast of Loughby Island to any reader looking for a chilling and unique horror tale.
“This thing stood like a man, looked like an animal, and moved like something in between.”
The Beast of Loughby Island is probably the best horror story I have read in a while, if not ever.
The author created a unique monster, cursed and blinded by hate. The storyline is perfectly crafted into a wonderful and chilling tale that left me on the edge of my seat. The fact that it is a short novella makes the story flow incredibly fast. I felt stuck on Loughby Island myself, breathless as the story progressed and the monster drew closer.
The book features a diverse set of characters. I enjoyed how queerness was just part of the story and normalized. I’m not only talking about MLM queer but also trans and polyamory characters. And you know what? It has no impact on the main plot. The other characters might be taken aback at first (I'm thinking of Tom and Selwyn), but that's all. People are queer, but they’re not entirely defined by it. Thank you for this, Matt.
The writing style is straightforward and picturesque. I loved the graphic depictions of violence implemented in the story. They’re gross, gruesome, and bloody, and fully grabbed my attention from the very first chapter. I also enjoyed the short essay at the end on werewolf lore. It was a thoughtful addition to the story.
Matt Doyle promised and delivered a strong storyline filled with unreliable and mysterious characters. I can’t rate it any less than a perfect 5 stars.
I highly recommend The Beast of Loughby Island to any reader looking for a chilling and unique horror tale.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Self harm
Les Aiguilles d'or by Michael McDowell
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Abortion, Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide and Grief
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
How To Bite Your Neighbor & Win A Wager by D.N. Bryn
exactly what i needed for long car drives this week. probably will listen to the second book, especially if it's also narrated by Simon Dornet
emotional
funny
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
- two queer young men madly in love with each other and achingly bad at communicating
- like really, really bad
- one is a vampire
- mutual pining slowburn
- some (definitely platonic) bite kink
- great narrator making it ten times better
exactly what i needed for long car drives this week. probably will listen to the second book, especially if it's also narrated by Simon Dornet
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying and Self harm
Just Die by E. Alan Fleischauer
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Good idea, but severely disappointing execution. American patriotism apparently excuses everything, including killing like a dozen people .
Full review pending on OnlineBookClub, coming soon.
Full review pending on OnlineBookClub, coming soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Rape
Jirvania: Book 2 in the Julu series by Jan Anderegg, Jan Anderegg
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
full review to come soon!
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
To be honest, I picked this book up solely because of its short length. I had never even heard of it before. And boy did it not disappoint!
It demanded a lot of focus for me to fully understand the storyline—probably because I listened to the audiobook. I read another review mentioning that the names of characters or places could be misleading with only the audio, such as Almost Brilliant the bird or the palace Thriving Fortune, and I fully agree with this. This feeling of disorientation in the first ~30% slightly lowered my rating.
However, once I got to understand the settings and the name of each place and character, the plot unfurled into a brilliant story of vengeance and sisterhood.
Each character felt real, making the story even more fascinating. I love how the story of In-yo’s rise to power and rebellion is told by Rabbit, her handmaiden, to Chih several decades later. The diversity of objects Chih finds in the palace adds a new piece of the story, further enhancing the experience of the reader.
Vo's writing is phenomenal. Even though I finished this book yesterday, I am still fascinated by how effective the storytelling was. Are you really telling me this was only 121 pages? Barely more than two hours? Dude. Weaving the threads of such a complex story in such an effective way is incredible. Every word is precisely chosen by the author and has a full impact on the reader.
This ended up being a 4 out of 5 stars for me. I will surely read this again, and probably purchase a copy of the novella to read along. I might even check out the sequels :).
If you’re looking for a short read, with strong-willed women (and a non-binary cleric?), set in what seems like Imperial China, I highly recommend it!
It demanded a lot of focus for me to fully understand the storyline—probably because I listened to the audiobook. I read another review mentioning that the names of characters or places could be misleading with only the audio, such as Almost Brilliant the bird or the palace Thriving Fortune, and I fully agree with this. This feeling of disorientation in the first ~30% slightly lowered my rating.
However, once I got to understand the settings and the name of each place and character, the plot unfurled into a brilliant story of vengeance and sisterhood.
Each character felt real, making the story even more fascinating. I love how the story of In-yo’s rise to power and rebellion is told by Rabbit, her handmaiden, to Chih several decades later. The diversity of objects Chih finds in the palace adds a new piece of the story, further enhancing the experience of the reader.
Vo's writing is phenomenal. Even though I finished this book yesterday, I am still fascinated by how effective the storytelling was. Are you really telling me this was only 121 pages? Barely more than two hours? Dude. Weaving the threads of such a complex story in such an effective way is incredible. Every word is precisely chosen by the author and has a full impact on the reader.
This ended up being a 4 out of 5 stars for me. I will surely read this again, and probably purchase a copy of the novella to read along. I might even check out the sequels :).
If you’re looking for a short read, with strong-willed women (and a non-binary cleric?), set in what seems like Imperial China, I highly recommend it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: War and Death
L'Empire d'or by S.A. Chakraborty
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
5.0
i love these books so much i am actually crying a little