bookish_bailee's reviews
111 reviews

Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

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dark mysterious fast-paced

3.75

Abrupt and unsettling, this is a classic haunted house gothic with a fresh and interesting new perspective. The characters are obnoxious and unlikable and yet so familiar and understandable that their experiences feel visceral to witness. 

The prose is incredibly creative, with language so ornate that it invokes the distorted awareness of inebriation — the scope pulling back wide enough to swallow a house and a lifetime, only to narrow small enough to pull a single exhale into painful focus.
The Gloaming by Kirsty Logan

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

A story like stepping into a fairy ring and finding yourself somewhere adjacent, somewhere beautiful and glimmering and gruesome all at once.

Lyrical, melancholy writing that picks each of the flawed, unlikable characters into small pieces only to fit them back together in a way that makes you love them all the same. 

Slowly paced and told in out-of-order bits, but each glimpse into the family’s life adds momentum to the precarious tension and draws you ever in, much like the story’s hungry sea.
The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco

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5.0

Incredible.
The Bone Witch was fascinating but entirely too slow for me — The Heart Forger was perfect. The pacing has caught up, the character development continues to build, and the world building & magic system continue to enthrall me. I am both excited for The Shadow Glass and terrified of the ending.
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5


• sentient forest 
• forbidden magic
• dagger-to-throat, enemies-to-lovers romance

I mean, come on?? 

From the first lines I was sure I was going to love this. The dark, moody atmosphere, the forest-centered world building, and the monsters lurking in the shadows all made for such an immersive read. 

The pacing is excellent, the cast of characters had me immediately invested, the romance subplot is satisfying, and the ENDING!! The ending ripped my heart out. I have the sequel release marked on my calendar. 

At times the writing wasn’t my favorite stylistically, and I wished there was just a little bit more depth to the main character, but overall this was an excellent read.