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bookishvicky's reviews
127 reviews
Annie LeBlanc Is Not Dead Yet by Molly Morris
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.
I wish we could know more about this town and the Welcome Back! I feel like we got so little of how it works, why it’s a thing, what’s so special about Lennon. It made it feel more like Annie was just back for a summer vacation than back from the dead with how little people seemed to care.
The plot was fine, I found Wilson to be a little selfish at times though. She jumped to conclusions a lot and didn’t see Annie as a person, more like this object she wants back.
The romance was cute, wish it was more throughout rather than rushed at the last minute. This book just has some pacing issues, and needs some sort of lore drop for the town.
I wish we could know more about this town and the Welcome Back! I feel like we got so little of how it works, why it’s a thing, what’s so special about Lennon. It made it feel more like Annie was just back for a summer vacation than back from the dead with how little people seemed to care.
The plot was fine, I found Wilson to be a little selfish at times though. She jumped to conclusions a lot and didn’t see Annie as a person, more like this object she wants back.
The romance was cute, wish it was more throughout rather than rushed at the last minute. This book just has some pacing issues, and needs some sort of lore drop for the town.
Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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
3.25
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Putnam Books for an advanced copy of this book!
Rating: 3 stars
Pub Date: Aug 20 2024
Morbidly Yours is a TikTok sensation being republished by Putnam Books; so while this isn’t exactly a new book, I just wanted to preface that in case there were any distinct edits from this version and the independent publication.
I wanted to love this book, I really did. An Irish undertaker is right up my alley, and Callum was an interesting character, but Lark was a little annoying to me. Her introduction to Callum felt downright rude, and I found myself wanting Callum’s POV more than hers. Their romance was just okay, nothing huge but definitely not dry.
Another complaint I have is with the “antagonist” of this novel, the asshole animator at Lark’s job. I get his role in the story but a lot of his actions and dialogue felt unrealistic. I also found Maeve to be an interesting character, but she fell victim to the classic mentor ending, which I found to be too cliche.
The prose and dialogue in thai book was lovely:
“‘But all we can control is how we choose to move through life. With honesty. With Bravery. With Love…’”
And on top of that, the banter between the love interests was pretty entertaining, and— I’m not one to usually say this– the spice was spicing. Well-written, passionate, and they never felt too long or out of place.
Finally, I think this book handles grief well. Lark’s behavior and beliefs, being a widow, were handled well. Her not immediately marrying Callum out of respect for Reese for example was nice, as I was afraid they’d just rush into the marriage of convenience trope.
Overall, a solid read. Not anything I’d swoon over but definitely has some great moments.
Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison
5.0
I finished this in one day. Holy shit.
I can’t even explain how much I loved this. Vesper’s voice was so distinct, so desperate and cynical and raw. The atmosphere and setting was FANTASTIC— the twist of just what god they celebrate was beautifully done, and I while I did see that One twist coming, it still felt shocking and I had to just take a moment during the reveal.
Every character was so full of life. I truly just loved every character dynamic (especially Carl, the goofy dad in a pentagram tie. Love ya man).
As a long time horror fan, this is a love letter to slasher films, satanic cult documentaries, Blackcraft Cult as a whole— but this is also a beautiful story of finding one’s own identity after their childhood has been stolen from them, after having to endure living a lie and conditional love. It’s just so strong.
And the dialogue!! HOLY SHIT! It was all done so well, I was actually terrified for Vesper during her birthday party. All in all I’m gonna be screaming about this one for a while
THE RIB!! “DADDY’S LITTLE GIRL” THIS IS THE BEST DEPICTION OF SATAN IVE EVER READ. I WAS SCARED!!
I can’t even explain how much I loved this. Vesper’s voice was so distinct, so desperate and cynical and raw. The atmosphere and setting was FANTASTIC— the twist of just what god they celebrate was beautifully done, and I while I did see that One twist coming, it still felt shocking and I had to just take a moment during the reveal.
Every character was so full of life. I truly just loved every character dynamic (especially Carl, the goofy dad in a pentagram tie. Love ya man).
As a long time horror fan, this is a love letter to slasher films, satanic cult documentaries, Blackcraft Cult as a whole— but this is also a beautiful story of finding one’s own identity after their childhood has been stolen from them, after having to endure living a lie and conditional love. It’s just so strong.
And the dialogue!! HOLY SHIT! It was all done so well, I was actually terrified for Vesper during her birthday party. All in all I’m gonna be screaming about this one for a while
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Cannibalism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Torture, Body horror, and Murder
Happy Medium by Sarah Adler
The romance was a delightful slow burn, and I love how genuine we see Gretchen become with Charlie. I didn’t think a story about goats and ghosts would win me over, but I absolutely recommend Happy Medium to anyone wanting a romcom with a light supernatural twist. I just wouldn’t go into it expecting anything too deep.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Rating: ★ 4.5
Pub Date: 30 Apr 2024
Synopsis: Gretchen Acorn is a professional bullshitter, pretending to communicate with the departed souls of her clients for a quick buck. But when a client offers her a check too good to be true in exchange for an exorcism of her friend’s goat farm in preparation to sell it, she’s more than happy to accept– until that friend turns out to be the very hot and very skeptical Charlie Waybill, who doesn’t believe her for a second.
That all changes when the farm’s resident ghost gives Gretchen a chilling dilemma: due to a family curse, Charlie Waybill will die if he sells the farm. Can Gretchen convince him she isn’t a con artist? Or is the biggest con of all making him fall in love with her and stay on the farm?
Review:
“Loving you will always be worth it.”
If you hear a loud noise, that’s me screaming over how adorable this book is. I mean, come on, a con artist medium moving onto a goat farm with a grumpy goat farmer who has a BABY GOAT tattoo? And there’s ghosts? AND spice? Sign me up, respectfully.
Gretchen and Charlie are both well-developed characters who grow as the story progresses, and they really play off each other well. I do think Gretchen’s B-plot of her father and background was sort of overshadowed by the main plot, but I do think it helped flesh out her avoidance toward relationships of any kind.
The banter. Oh my goodness the banter:
“‘God knows the lengths you’ll go to fuck me over.’”
“‘I have no intention of fucking you over.’”
Also, Everett the ghost? So fun. It was a refreshing twist on the meddling best friend trope in romance books, and his quips genuinely made me laugh out loud. I do think he got a little annoying at times, however, and some of his banters with Gretchen didn’t add much but more humor to the plot.
The romance was a delightful slow burn, and I love how genuine we see Gretchen become with Charlie. I didn’t think a story about goats and ghosts would win me over, but I absolutely recommend Happy Medium to anyone wanting a romcom with a light supernatural twist. I just wouldn’t go into it expecting anything too deep.
The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this book for a fair and honest review.
Rating: ☆4.5 stars
Pub Date: 03 Sep 2024
The Night Guest, despite being a translation from its original Icelandic, is a short thriller with beautiful, biting language. I found myself entranced by the borderline defamiliarization in the prose, in the strange way the narrator describes the world around her. She has almost a childlike innocence, and is treated as such (her parents failing to acknowledge her veganism, her coworkers pitying her for buying a pedometer rather than use her phone, etc.).
I thought the short, repeating chapters made for a wonderfully tense atmosphere. The repeated “where did I go?” chapters cemented Idunn’s innocence in the depth of her odd yet monstrous condition; she is as much a victim as anyone else, her life taken by this unknown force.
This story does a beautiful job of showcasing the struggles of a chronically ill woman, framing it with horror elements, painting a picture that chronic illness doesn’t just hurt the host, but those around them as well.
While I wasn’t a big fan of the ambiguous ending, I found that viewing this book more as a metaphor and less of a true monster story gives it more power and authority. There’s never a clear or true end to chronic illness, and when you’re a woman, it’s just “all in your head” anyway.
To close up this review, I want to applaud Mary Robinette Kowal for her brilliant translation of this work. Definitely a novella to check out if you need a quick scare with some substance!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Chronic illness, and Animal death
Moderate: Blood and Murder
A Werewolf's Guide To Seducing a Vampire by Sarah Hawley
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!
Rating: ★ 3 stars
Pub Date: 13 Aug 2024
A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire is the third book in the Glimmer Falls’ series, but can be read as a standalone– unfortunately, if you read it as a standalone, you’ll receive spoilers for the previous two books right out of the gate. I understand some context for recurring characters, but some paragraphs were quite literally summarizations of the character’s arc within their respective stories.
A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire is the third book in the Glimmer Falls’ series, but can be read as a standalone– unfortunately, if you read it as a standalone, you’ll receive spoilers for the previous two books right out of the gate. I understand some context for recurring characters, but some paragraphs were quite literally summarizations of the character’s arc within their respective stories.
Maybe reading this as a standalone ruined my enjoyment of it, since I was often confused or overwhelmed with the sheer number of returning characters and concepts. Additionally, going into this book I expected more supernatural elements from the titular characters, but found little beyond surface level once a month shifting and vampiric speed. It just wasn’t living up to its title, in my opinion– especially considering how the vampire (who’s part succubus for some reason?) was the one to seduce the werewolf!
The charm in this book was undeniable– the characters were fun, the town was magical, the dialogue was quirky–but I felt like that charm often overshadowed the plot. Oftentimes characters would get sidetracked on silly topics, which I enjoyed until it kept happening.
Finally, while I do think Ben and Eleanore are a sweet couple, I thought their relationship moved way too fast to be believable, and I’ve already suspended a lot of disbelief reading this book. I think Ben needs a slower love, since he’s a beautifully written introvert/ people-pleaser character that Eleanore began to get to open up to her, and the chemistry between them was a classic “opposites attract”. Eleanore felt a little flat in comparison, though, and I feel like her character didn’t develop as much as Ben’s did.
Overall, I think this romcom just lacked balance between the rom and the com. I did enjoy it, but I probably won’t be reading the other two books since I basically now know what happens– though I may check the first one out for Ben. Just such a great character, I love an introverted werewolf himbo.
But How Are You, Really by Ella Dawson
emotional
hopeful
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
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Rating: 5 Stars ☆
Pub Date: 04 June 2024
“Charlie Thorne, always fine.”
Trying to find the words to write this review is difficult. To once again quote this book, “I needed this, it’s been a shitty few years.”
I so myself so much in Charlotte Thorne it was like looking into a mirror; the way Ella Dawson so perfectly captures the impossible yearning for a return to college days is astounding. The need to return to community, to being wanted, to belonging, was just so strong.
Charlotte’s fawn response and subsequent consequences are written just so realistically, and getting to both see her support system right in front of her when she can’t while at the same time being so in her hear that even we as the reader are blinded to the outside support, barraged by empty questions of “are you okay?” that can only be answered with an “I’m fine,” when the question we need to be asked is the titular But How Are You, Really-- it’s just beautiful writing is what it is.
“Enough of anything before today,” is a quote that will stick with me, and so will Dawson’s beautiful, witty, raw story. Everyone needs a Reece Krueger in their lives, someone who’ll show them the unconditional love they deserve, and this book is a light in the darkness for anyone going through a similar situation.
To end this review in the most honest way I know: this book made me cry. A lot. And that’s how you know it’s a damn good book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Homophobia, and Mental illness