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archaicrobin's reviews
624 reviews
How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLouie
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
A horror director finds a cursed camera that kills whoever is in its viewfinder in bizarre ways, giving Final Destination.
This book was a horror comedy with a lot of commentary on the horror genre and what makes horror truly horrifying. Incredibly gorey, with characters I didn’t really care for, and dark humor that borders the line of campiness here are the major reasons I didn’t really enjoy this book. I don’t like comedy in my horror, and I need strong characters which I just didn’t see in this one. I’m also not a huge fan of gore and desensitizing violence, which I get was the point and one of the main commentary pieces here, but I just didn’t enjoy it.
If you like comedic horror or violent gore books this one probably might hit but if you’re looking for a serious or scary novel, this isn’t what I’d recommend.
This book was a horror comedy with a lot of commentary on the horror genre and what makes horror truly horrifying. Incredibly gorey, with characters I didn’t really care for, and dark humor that borders the line of campiness here are the major reasons I didn’t really enjoy this book. I don’t like comedy in my horror, and I need strong characters which I just didn’t see in this one. I’m also not a huge fan of gore and desensitizing violence, which I get was the point and one of the main commentary pieces here, but I just didn’t enjoy it.
If you like comedic horror or violent gore books this one probably might hit but if you’re looking for a serious or scary novel, this isn’t what I’d recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
The Shabti by Megaera C. Lorenz
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.0
A charming romance story between a charlatan and an Egyptologist haunted by the past and an actual Egyptian ghost. This was a light read with a fun supernatural mystery, Egyptian lore, and a charming budding romance between two middle aged men. I loved the historical elements of mediumship and Egypt since the book is set in the twenties and the cast of characters were enjoyable. I’d recommend to anyone looking for a unique romance with a supernatural twist and a little bit of drama.
Model Home by Rivers Solomon
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Model Home is so much more than a haunted house story and I would not recommend this to someone looking for your classic ghosts and supernatural phenomenons in a house.
Model home is about racism, hatred, and childhood trauma. How we run from the things we can’t face until we can’t run anymore, haunted by the moments that shaped and plague us.
Amazingly diverse representation in this novel, heartbreaking prose, and characters you feel you know. This one was a difficult read and it went to so many places I didn’t expect. This reminded me a lot of White is for switching, where the house itself may or may not actually be the issue here….
Model home is about racism, hatred, and childhood trauma. How we run from the things we can’t face until we can’t run anymore, haunted by the moments that shaped and plague us.
Amazingly diverse representation in this novel, heartbreaking prose, and characters you feel you know. This one was a difficult read and it went to so many places I didn’t expect. This reminded me a lot of White is for switching, where the house itself may or may not actually be the issue here….
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism
Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A slow burn horror with toxic families, haunted villas, and a complicit Italian town. This one starts slow and the true horror for me at first was the insidious, toxic, gaslighting family Anna is entangled in and aware of but is still trapped under the “but they’re family” rhetoric. If you know, you know.
Accompanying the family tension is the pressing knowledge that something isn’t right with the families vacation rental….
I read Thorne’s previous book Lute and did not like to at all, but I’m so glad I read Diavola because I feel like this is what Lute was supposed to be but she hasn’t quite gotten the hang of it yet.
A perfect blend of horror, toxic families, accepting the self, and lore all rolled into one little Italian town. I loved this book and could relate to a lot of the themes of suffering for the sake of family, and felt very connected to Anna. I also LOVE a good low burn horror and Thorne does an amazing job of instilling that sense of slow gradual rot that occurs with a haunting.
This one is fun, creepy, and just a great ride. Love it!
Accompanying the family tension is the pressing knowledge that something isn’t right with the families vacation rental….
I read Thorne’s previous book Lute and did not like to at all, but I’m so glad I read Diavola because I feel like this is what Lute was supposed to be but she hasn’t quite gotten the hang of it yet.
A perfect blend of horror, toxic families, accepting the self, and lore all rolled into one little Italian town. I loved this book and could relate to a lot of the themes of suffering for the sake of family, and felt very connected to Anna. I also LOVE a good low burn horror and Thorne does an amazing job of instilling that sense of slow gradual rot that occurs with a haunting.
This one is fun, creepy, and just a great ride. Love it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I absolutely loved this book! Carrie Soto is my favorite Taylor Jenkins Reid character now! This book follows a minor character from Malibu Rising and delves into her tennis career and comeback. Reid is amazing at crafting realistic characters and setting them in historic moments.
While I love this book I do see how others might not. Tennis and sports in general are a huge focus, so if you’re not into tennis, sports, or character driven stories I could see how this book could be a struggle. Fortunately for me I love tennis, sports, and all the characters in this story so it was a blast. I highly recommend the audiobook, it made the matches feel so real and the rivalries come to life with the sportscaster dialogue.
While I love this book I do see how others might not. Tennis and sports in general are a huge focus, so if you’re not into tennis, sports, or character driven stories I could see how this book could be a struggle. Fortunately for me I love tennis, sports, and all the characters in this story so it was a blast. I highly recommend the audiobook, it made the matches feel so real and the rivalries come to life with the sportscaster dialogue.
That One Night by Emily Rath
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Hockey romance. That’s about it
Voices in the Snow by Darcy Coates
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Darcy Coates is one of the authors I go to whenever I need a comfort read. She’s great at crafting supernatural stories with likable characters that I want to succeed.
Voices in the Snow is book one in a series about Clare and Doran that find themselves together in a snowed in mansion surviving a sudden deadly
storm. Soon they realize that there is much more than just weather and lack of supplies threatening them, but something much more dangerous.
I love the mystery here and will be continuing this series to find out what’s going and what happened! I’m a sucker for Clare and Dorran and their interactions were just as fun to read as the action. Looking forward to book two!
Voices in the Snow is book one in a series about Clare and Doran that find themselves together in a snowed in mansion surviving a sudden deadly
storm. Soon they realize that there is much more than just weather and lack of supplies threatening them, but something much more dangerous.
I love the mystery here and will be continuing this series to find out what’s going and what happened! I’m a sucker for Clare and Dorran and their interactions were just as fun to read as the action. Looking forward to book two!
House of Rot by Danger Slater
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A bizarre horror story full where two newlyweds find themselves trapped inside their new apartment which happens to be infested with a malicious mold. Very weird, and you need to just go with the flow or you won’t enjoy it. Very gross, very weird.
Choose Strong: the Choice that Changes Everything by Sally McRae
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Sally McRae is a huge running inspiration to me in many ways. Recommend to anyone into the running realm, that always chose strong.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, and Death of parent
Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
It started out with so much promise and the beginning of the book is vastly different from the rest. I found out this is because the story of Etain is actually an old Irish folktale that the author is retelling and using in his own story, which explains why that part is so good and the rest is a total mess.
The plot and storyline was confusing and lacked direction, like the author himself didn’t know what he wanted to write. Is this horror? Is this fantasy? Is this a retelling? Is this a sapphic YA romance? I don’t know and the author clearly doesn’t know either.
The characters were all unlikeable and unrealistic in my opinion, they were also all incredibly cringey with the most try hard dialogue I’ve read in a while. This made sense, when again I read the afterward and found out the author was a theater major. He should stick with that, because there are so many plot holes and lack of consistency or real depth in these characters that makes a poor novel. But some of his scenes I could tell he wrote with a scene for a play in mind.
The way he wrote the female characters as well was poor in my opinion. These were not strong women, these were a man’s idea of what a strong woman would be and we ended up with a cast of pixie dream girls. Also why did Etain suddenly turn into a completely different person and then at the end was like oh sorry my bad girl? The characters made no sense just like the story made no sense.
Nothing was explained, nothing was solved but the ending acted like it was. How did literally anything happen or work? And why? How? I still don’t even understand the deal at the beginning with the box? When NO ONE else makes a deal? Was that a one time thing? There was so much potential here but the author got carried away with a romance that honestly changed the entire genre of the book. You have a few chapters in the beginning and the end focused on the mystery and lore of this tv program, and then the majority of the book is this goofy, unrealistic sapphic romance with some random woman named Betty that never ends up being more than just Ashling’s girlfriend. Why did Betty move in with Ashling? That bothered me the ENTIRE novel. I have to break up with you because you’ll have to move in with me and my mom sucks. I’m sorry why does she have to move in with you at all? Explain that. Never explained we just turn the page and Betty has been living there for months. Just one example of the lack of flow and detail and common sense in this book, that really ruined my enjoyment of the narrrative.
Inconsistent and unrealistic characters, poor plot, plot holes, confusing storyline, lack of direction, and cringe ended up with a 1/5 for me. The synopsis detailed an entirely different book than what I got.
The plot and storyline was confusing and lacked direction, like the author himself didn’t know what he wanted to write. Is this horror? Is this fantasy? Is this a retelling? Is this a sapphic YA romance? I don’t know and the author clearly doesn’t know either.
The characters were all unlikeable and unrealistic in my opinion, they were also all incredibly cringey with the most try hard dialogue I’ve read in a while. This made sense, when again I read the afterward and found out the author was a theater major. He should stick with that, because there are so many plot holes and lack of consistency or real depth in these characters that makes a poor novel. But some of his scenes I could tell he wrote with a scene for a play in mind.
The way he wrote the female characters as well was poor in my opinion. These were not strong women, these were a man’s idea of what a strong woman would be and we ended up with a cast of pixie dream girls. Also why did Etain suddenly turn into a completely different person and then at the end was like oh sorry my bad girl? The characters made no sense just like the story made no sense.
Nothing was explained, nothing was solved but the ending acted like it was. How did literally anything happen or work? And why? How? I still don’t even understand the deal at the beginning with the box? When NO ONE else makes a deal? Was that a one time thing? There was so much potential here but the author got carried away with a romance that honestly changed the entire genre of the book. You have a few chapters in the beginning and the end focused on the mystery and lore of this tv program, and then the majority of the book is this goofy, unrealistic sapphic romance with some random woman named Betty that never ends up being more than just Ashling’s girlfriend. Why did Betty move in with Ashling? That bothered me the ENTIRE novel. I have to break up with you because you’ll have to move in with me and my mom sucks. I’m sorry why does she have to move in with you at all? Explain that. Never explained we just turn the page and Betty has been living there for months. Just one example of the lack of flow and detail and common sense in this book, that really ruined my enjoyment of the narrrative.
Inconsistent and unrealistic characters, poor plot, plot holes, confusing storyline, lack of direction, and cringe ended up with a 1/5 for me. The synopsis detailed an entirely different book than what I got.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent