bookbearreads's reviews
220 reviews

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The first novel of Hercule Poirot did not dissapoint. I didn't solve the mystery but it was still a fun puzzle. 

I Might Be in Trouble by Daniel Aleman

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

Absolutely amazing story! I was engaged from beginning to end and love the main characters journey. 

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen by Shea Ernshaw

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I really enjoyed this sequel to TNBC. I loved following Sally as she explores the other towns and the interesting enemy she faces. I also really like how the story reflected on herself and what it means to feel complete and like you belong. What it means to find your true identity.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a surprisingly good mystery.  It's a little slow to start but then I ended up flying through it. 

Mirror, Mirror by Jen Calonita

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this story. If you've watched Once Upon a Time, it feels like that Snow White vs the Disney version. The only thing I wish had happened sooner was the twist of "What if the Evil Queen poisoned the prince instead?" It came very late in the story but everything else was enjoyable and I enjoyed having a backstory of how the evil queen came to power.

The Black Farm by Elias Witherow

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book far exceeded my expectations. The book focuses so much on the main character's thoughts and actions. His motivations and what drives him forward. Not usually what you find in the extreme horror genre. The world created is great with many terrible and terrifying creatures within it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Pregnancy

Murdle: Volume 3 by G.T. Karber

challenging funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

I love all the puzzles but unless I sit down and do all the puzzles right away I'll never remember the bigger plot line.  I do love the detectives though. 

The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Clive Barker manages to fit so much into a short novella. There is so many themes in this book.  It has graphic imagery to go along with it but the themes are what the story is truly about.

The Obituaries: The Collection Volume 1 by Aron Beauregard

dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is a wonderful collection of short stories from Aron Beauregard, Daniel J. Volpe and Kristopher Triana. The last section is Christmas theme which was so much fun! Its very graphic so don't say you weren't warned. 

Uzumaki by Junji Ito

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This was truly an unexpected story flow from Junji Ito. The story went in a direction that I wasn't expecting based on the few things you hear about the story and iconic images used to reference the story. However, it is very much a deep dive into fear, paranoia, human nature, survival and an interesting concept of supernatural/cosmic horror. The artwork is amazing and I love the main character and how she deals with the story that is unfolding in front of her and what she encounters. 

It won't be for every horror fan as it is more character and story driven, but it does feature disturbing images and body horror. Overall, I liked it, but it did have some slow parts that made it a bit of a challenge to get through, but that is often the case with cosmic horror.