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bookishwelshie's reviews
880 reviews
The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Dark, ‘weird’, fiction is somewhat of an obsession of mine - and The Eyes Are The Best Part certainly fits that description. It’s a Korean, body, horror that I easily devoured in a few sittings/one weekend. Once the main character Ji-won, pointed out her Mother’s new boyfriend, George’s, blue eyes, I knew where this was going to go and it did not disappoint… 🩸👁️
The writing style is simplistic, with very short chapters, but I still felt pulled into this family’s sadness - as the Father has an affair and leaves them behind. It especially affects Ji-won’s Mother, who is grieving for her lost love badly.
Ji-won feels as though she is having to keep herself together for her Mother and her sister, Ji-hyun, but this becomes all the more difficult when a new man enters their lives - George. He isn’t understanding of their Korean heritage and disrespectful towards their language. He is a know-it-all and a misogynist, so Ji-won begins to channel all her pent up rage onto him - understandably so. It is racially insensitive how he ogles an Asian waitress at the restaurant, and insensitively tries to appropriate Asian culture - specifically Korean and Chinese.
The narrative descends into a dreamlike, nightmarish state as Ji-won’s eye-related fantasies worsen. You can feel her psyche fracturing. Will her twisted, dark, fantasies become reality?
The writing style is simplistic, with very short chapters, but I still felt pulled into this family’s sadness - as the Father has an affair and leaves them behind. It especially affects Ji-won’s Mother, who is grieving for her lost love badly.
Ji-won feels as though she is having to keep herself together for her Mother and her sister, Ji-hyun, but this becomes all the more difficult when a new man enters their lives - George. He isn’t understanding of their Korean heritage and disrespectful towards their language. He is a know-it-all and a misogynist, so Ji-won begins to channel all her pent up rage onto him - understandably so. It is racially insensitive how he ogles an Asian waitress at the restaurant, and insensitively tries to appropriate Asian culture - specifically Korean and Chinese.
The narrative descends into a dreamlike, nightmarish state as Ji-won’s eye-related fantasies worsen. You can feel her psyche fracturing. Will her twisted, dark, fantasies become reality?
Pushing Daisy by Christopher O'Halloran
3.0
One thing that instantly became apparent with Pushing Daisy is that the author likes to put empathise on the character’s bodily functions in response to the horror-filled situations (e.g. - poop and puke lol) - so if you have emetophobia then I would highly recommend you avoid this one!
It seems as though I have the unpopular opinion here, as I am one of the first people to rate this lower than a 5 star read 😅 it is a solidly decent horror story, but not one of my favourites.
It follows the main character, Roger’s, grief for his dead wife - Daisy. When she was alive, he was selfish, living off her income as a nurse. So this story’s horror revolves around his guilt towards Daisy, as well as the grief.
As much as Roger tries to move on with his life, onto other women, the presence of Daisy lingers. Will she allow him to move on?
The way human emotions are handled and written within this story are very good, in terms of it being a horror story, I was hoping for more. When it eventually got to the horror-filled final moments, it was very good, but the journey to there felt longer.
Considering this is the author’s debut novel, I’d be intrigued to read more by them in the future, as there is certainly potential there.
Thank you to Booksirens/ the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Whisper Man by Alex North
5.0
Wow. The Whisper Man is brilliant! It’s unique for a police-procedural/ crime-drama, as the horror elements are woven in masterfully by Alex North. The short, mysterious, chapters make for a fast paced read; but also the sense of foreboding throughout made me want to take my time reading this and truly get lost within its pages.
The connection between the detective inspector character - Pete Willis, and the other main characters - Tom Kennedy his young son, Jake, makes for an interesting dynamic between them all.
The connection between the detective inspector character - Pete Willis, and the other main characters - Tom Kennedy his young son, Jake, makes for an interesting dynamic between them all.
Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
4.0
If like me, you struggle to keep a handle on your emotions sometimes, this is a good guide to help you with mastering them. Emotional intelligence is a gateway to thriving.
Feelings like anger and anxiety can be overwhelming. It’s important not to ignore our negative emotions, and learn to process them and act on them in healthy ways. It’s easy to act on every impulse, but we have to learn to take a step back sometimes, to take a breath and think. This is an important thing I’ve learnt as I’ve been growing older.
Read on the Headway app, which condenses non-fiction books by their key-points to maximise quicker and more helpful learning. ✨🧠
Feelings like anger and anxiety can be overwhelming. It’s important not to ignore our negative emotions, and learn to process them and act on them in healthy ways. It’s easy to act on every impulse, but we have to learn to take a step back sometimes, to take a breath and think. This is an important thing I’ve learnt as I’ve been growing older.
Read on the Headway app, which condenses non-fiction books by their key-points to maximise quicker and more helpful learning. ✨🧠
The Art of Extreme Self-Care: 12 Practical and Inspiring Ways to Love Yourself More by Cheryl Richardson
informative
inspiring
3.0
Self-care is not selfish, it is a necessity. 🖤
This is a good book to read if you have reached a state of emotional burnout. Or before you do. Neglecting your own needs can deprive you of your happiness.
The information presented in here really isn’t anything new or mind-blowing, but serves as an important reminder to us all to put ourselves first more often. It’s okay to set boundaries, as that can make other people respect you more. That’s something I’ve really struggled with in the past.
Read on the Headway app, which condenses non-fiction books by their key-points to maximise quicker and more helpful learning. ✨🧠
This is a good book to read if you have reached a state of emotional burnout. Or before you do. Neglecting your own needs can deprive you of your happiness.
The information presented in here really isn’t anything new or mind-blowing, but serves as an important reminder to us all to put ourselves first more often. It’s okay to set boundaries, as that can make other people respect you more. That’s something I’ve really struggled with in the past.
Read on the Headway app, which condenses non-fiction books by their key-points to maximise quicker and more helpful learning. ✨🧠
Chibi Vampire, Vol. 1 by Yuna Kagesaki
Ugh. Bought a preowned bundle of the first 4 volumes of Chibi Vampire physical copies, and Vol.1 and 3 were the Manga, and Vol.2 and 4 were the light novels 😅 the books themselves are so cute though !! I’m here for the TokyoPop nostalgia, these edition Mangas/Light Novels look so nice. Maybe I’ll bother to collect both as a physical set at some point, some volumes of the Manga appear to be a lot more difficult to get my hands on compared the Light Novels.
My plan is to read the Vol.2 and 4 Manga on Kindle, and then read the Light Novels after to compare.
Anyways; cute, vampire, Manga is indeed very kawaii…! 4 Stars🩸🧛🏻♀️🖤
My plan is to read the Vol.2 and 4 Manga on Kindle, and then read the Light Novels after to compare.
Anyways; cute, vampire, Manga is indeed very kawaii…! 4 Stars🩸🧛🏻♀️🖤
Idolfire by Grace Curtis
3.0
As a reader who wants to get back into reading some more fantasy novels again, Idolfire seemed like a good choice - a sapphic road-trip, taking inspiration from the fall of Rome.
It’s a story which heavily focuses on the journey, more-so that the destination. The Sapphic romance between the two main characters is slow-burning too.
I think I would have liked this story even more if it had been told from the two female main characters’ perspectives. I felt a bit disconnected from them, which felt strange considering the book is so focused on them.
The fantasy world is built up, and described, strongly. If it wasn’t for this, along with the Queer romance and gory fight-scenes, I feel as though my rating for the story overall would have been lower. The ending was really beautifully written too, quite philosophical in nature.
Thank you to the publisher/Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Hungerstone by Kat Dunn
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
4.0
For what do you hunger…? 🥀🧛🏻♀️🩸
The feminine rage and sapphic tension/yearning in Hungerstone is utterly delectable. It’s made me want to *finally* get around to reading the original Carmilla, as this is a reimagining.
Yes, there could have been even more gothic elements to really set the tone of the story here, but the story itself is very intriguing and well-written.
Lenore is starting to feel the distance between herself and her husband, Henry. After being married to one another for a decade, they are slowly growing apart, with no child there to bridge the gap.
There is a carriage accident near their home, and this is when the mysterious Carmilla enters their lives. She instantly piques Lenore’s interests, she feels inexplicably drawn to her.
There are oddities about Carmilla’s behaviour; she doesn’t eat meals with the family, she is weak during the day time and only appears to come alive during the night…
Soon, some girls from neighbouring villages fall sick, before they are consumed with a terrible hunger… One similar to Carmilla’s.
Eat the World by Marina Diamandis
5.0
Reading poetry written by my favourite musicians is good for the soul .. ✨🦋💖
They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran
dark
mysterious
tense
5.0
Since reading She Is a Haunting, I knew I’d want to read everything that Trang Thanh Tran subsequently publishes. It is interesting that her stories are based around Vietnamese culture and folklore, as it’s interesting to learn about different cultures through well-written literature. There is some (much appreciated) Queer representation too.
“I wonder if all myths share roots.
Maybe people across different cultures and times yearn for the same things - love, companionship, safety-and accept that there is a cost with the universe to get them.”
The ocean/botanical/body horror in They Bloom at Night is so well-described and eerie. I am a fan of all these horror sub-genres, and the way they are used to create viscerally terrifying images within the readers’ minds.
Considering this is categorised as “Young Adult” speculative/horror fiction, please don’t let that deter you. There are so many hidden gems in the YA genre.