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angelsbeforeman's reviews
1083 reviews
Mina by Bruce Fulton, Kim Sagwa, Ju-Chan Fulton
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
the cat scene made me sick to my stomach and i couldn't move on. otherwise, a disorganised plot and a snoozefest.
The Bayou by Arden Powell
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pretty good! the best thing about this book is definitely the atmosphere. though i wouldn’t describe the author’s style as pretty and i didn’t highlight any quotes that stand out, i think the writing is good in the sense that they really know how to write in a creepy, eerie way.
i enjoy horror related to nature in some way, which is why the bayou intrigued me in the first place, and that didn’t disappoint. the author does a great job of describing the way the bayou inspires dread in people.
i do think the characters were a bit underdeveloped, which is alright considering how short the book is, but i still wanted more. though johnny was a cool character, i wanted to know a lot more about his motivations. i wanted to know about his life with mary beth’s family, why he felt so drawn to eugene especially, etc. eugene was alright as a character, better than johnny, but still lacking. mary beth’s development was adequate (she is literally a child so yknow) and her storyline is an intriguing part of the story.
i do find eugene and johnny’s connection fun to read about and the intimate scenes were good. it lacks depth but it’s fun!!
i also liked the paradise lost reference ♡
overall — pretty good and i’d read more from this author since i adore atmospheric literature ^_^
i enjoy horror related to nature in some way, which is why the bayou intrigued me in the first place, and that didn’t disappoint. the author does a great job of describing the way the bayou inspires dread in people.
i do think the characters were a bit underdeveloped, which is alright considering how short the book is, but i still wanted more. though johnny was a cool character, i wanted to know a lot more about his motivations. i wanted to know about his life with mary beth’s family, why he felt so drawn to eugene especially, etc. eugene was alright as a character, better than johnny, but still lacking. mary beth’s development was adequate (she is literally a child so yknow) and her storyline is an intriguing part of the story.
i do find eugene and johnny’s connection fun to read about and the intimate scenes were good. it lacks depth but it’s fun!!
i also liked the paradise lost reference ♡
overall — pretty good and i’d read more from this author since i adore atmospheric literature ^_^
Prince of Lust by Lucien Burr
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.25
just not that good. the best parts of this book are the cover and the concept. the concept is what had me excited to read this, obviously, but this left me disappointed.
first of all, i really didn't enjoy the writing. a lot of the times the lines that were meant to be hot (?) just ended up funny. an example would be "the stupid cum hungry slut roared to life" which is just so funny. i also disliked the writing because i felt like the author was simply doing too much at times, for example when he said a moan was coated in lustful ecstasy or something like that. and i enjoy really fancy, over the top writing styles but this one not so much.
second, i have an issue with the lacklustre sexual performance of the demon. who is meant to be really good at sex and all. i guess the phrase i'd use is all bark no bite. for example, asmodeus kept saying how he would make the priest tell him exactly what he wanted. and i was up for that cause i thought it'd be fun! but then he never actually made him say anything of substance. the gore was a bit much as well, in my opinion at least. like can you actually get inside of him i've had enough of hearing about how he wouldn't mind if a demon fucked his wounds. most of the dirty talk was boring and the author tried to make up for it by adding swear words to it, such as saying shut the fuck up you stupid slut 😭 just profoundly unsexy. how do you make the demon summoned to fuck a priest into a sexless beast.
this book also desperately needs an editor.
not a fan. and i was really hopeful ..... jesus wept.
first of all, i really didn't enjoy the writing. a lot of the times the lines that were meant to be hot (?) just ended up funny. an example would be "the stupid cum hungry slut roared to life" which is just so funny. i also disliked the writing because i felt like the author was simply doing too much at times, for example when he said a moan was coated in lustful ecstasy or something like that. and i enjoy really fancy, over the top writing styles but this one not so much.
second, i have an issue with the lacklustre sexual performance of the demon. who is meant to be really good at sex and all. i guess the phrase i'd use is all bark no bite. for example, asmodeus kept saying how he would make the priest tell him exactly what he wanted. and i was up for that cause i thought it'd be fun! but then he never actually made him say anything of substance. the gore was a bit much as well, in my opinion at least. like can you actually get inside of him i've had enough of hearing about how he wouldn't mind if a demon fucked his wounds. most of the dirty talk was boring and the author tried to make up for it by adding swear words to it, such as saying shut the fuck up you stupid slut 😭 just profoundly unsexy. how do you make the demon summoned to fuck a priest into a sexless beast.
this book also desperately needs an editor.
not a fan. and i was really hopeful ..... jesus wept.
Angels & Man by rafael nicolás
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
5.0
rafael nicolás is the perfect author in my eyes. everything he writes is exactly what i like. angels before man is my favourite book of all time for sure, and so i knew this wouldn't beat it, but it's still the easiest 5/5 rating ever. simply perfect. the way rafa interprets biblical events and characters is exactly the same as the way i do, which of course makes my reading experience even better.
i absolutely adore samyaza and azazel, as individual characters and when they interact with each other. though lucifer is very much like me, extremely like me if i'm being honest, samyaza and i also have some similarities so i cherished him from the start. and azazel is just precious. absolutely love him. he kind of reminds me of my partner.
i did not like armoni, but that actually makes me like this book more. it's honestly great character work! armoni is not a fan of lucifer, and i find lucifer extremely relatable, so it makes sense i wouldn't be the biggest fan of armoni. great. speaking of lucifer, he's less me in this book than the first one, but that does kind of make sense since falling from heaven naturally does things to one's psyche.
rafael describes my gender perfectly as well. yes, i'm a boy the way an angel is often perceived as one. angelgender or something. god bless!
i absolutely adore samyaza and azazel, as individual characters and when they interact with each other. though lucifer is very much like me, extremely like me if i'm being honest, samyaza and i also have some similarities so i cherished him from the start. and azazel is just precious. absolutely love him. he kind of reminds me of my partner.
i did not like armoni, but that actually makes me like this book more. it's honestly great character work! armoni is not a fan of lucifer, and i find lucifer extremely relatable, so it makes sense i wouldn't be the biggest fan of armoni. great. speaking of lucifer, he's less me in this book than the first one, but that does kind of make sense since falling from heaven naturally does things to one's psyche.
rafael describes my gender perfectly as well. yes, i'm a boy the way an angel is often perceived as one. angelgender or something. god bless!
The Stranger by Albert Camus
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
i read this literally ages ago and i don't know why but until now i just kept forgetting to mark it as read. anyway, big fan of this book which is obvious just from the star rating. camus is super interesting for me to read because of his style, philosophy, and the intrigue of his work. i'll probably update this with more thoughts whenever i feel like it, but i did write a really long book report on it for school and that was super fun!
House of Darkness House of Light: The True Story Volume One by Andrea Perron
dark
slow-paced
1.0
i have interest in the story of this house, but dear god this was very difficult to get through and i skimmed a lot 😭 i just really didn't like the writing and i often felt bored which isn't what i wanted from this story. hearing / seeing it from any other source is a way better experience unfortunately
An Encore of Roses by S.T. Gibson
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
short and sweet, a lovely little sequel ^_^ i'm a big fan of alexi so i like how this was mostly centered around him and what he thought and felt. not rating it 5 stars cause it's not on the same level that an actual novel would be, but i really enjoyed it ♡
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
0.0
the amounts of racism are astounding. terrible. no redeeming qualities, not even the writing style or anything. if i tried to find a thing to like i would fail miserably! only read this cause i was bored and wanted to help my sister with her assignment.