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dbguide2's reviews
805 reviews
Haussitter by Brendan Norton
Did not finish book. Stopped at 68%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 68%.
This immediately started out extremely weird but I was okay with it. Well, mostly, but I was fine. Then it just felt like it fell apart after the 50% mark. Nothing made sense – well it rarely did, but even more so. I found that I just didn’t have interest in it anymore. Even though it wasn’t that long. But at the same time, it felt like it was going on forever. I can’t even explain the plot and I was just shy of 70%. I only saw the cosmic horror in the synopsis after I dnfed it, which sort of made sense but at the same time… didn’t? I’ll probably just skip to the end to see what all happens – although I have a very good feeling I won’t understand a single thing.
Shadow City by Anna Mocikat
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
The writing started to feel off early into reading it and usually that’s a good feeling for me to stop reading. Also there was sort of racism? Or like stereotypes thinly veiled as racism so… that’s reason enough for me to dnf. I like post-apocalyptic fiction but this one didn’t ‘zing’ for me as I’d hoped it would. As I dnfed early on I didn’t get enough of the plot as I’d liked to have – which would’ve been cool as there were vampires in the plot.
Eight Will Fall by Sarah Harian
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Unfortunately I almost… immediately felt the dnf urge with this one. Which is sad because it has a team doing a heist! I love those things. It looked so good from the cover and synopsis, so I wanted to read it. It just didn’t work out for me. The characters seemed to all blend into one and by 20 or so percent I felt like I didn’t have a good grasp on anyone’s personality. That made it difficult to get into the book properly so I just stopped reading.
Rogue Princess by B.R. Myers
Did not finish book. Stopped at 43%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 43%.
Sometimes the paragraphs didn’t easily flow one after another. I find that when that happens it dampens my liking of the book. It slowly started to pick up but by Chapter 14/46, I decided it might be time to think about dnfing. Maybe I could have switched to the audio to really see but I don’t think that would’ve helped much. I found some of the sentences were giving that “look, I can write energy” which honestly was another reason to dnf for me.
Deadstream by Mar Romasco-Moore
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I think I’ve probably said this before but there’s something so nice about a YA mystery/thriller. Nearly always a quick read and will probably likely be a good one. And this was no exception! It’s almost an isolation horror since most of the plot is limited to one room – which upped my interest. I like isolation horror, I like knowing that, for whatever reason, the character/characters can’t leave the situation. In here it’s a bit different as it starts with our main character, Teresa, not being able to leave – as she’s agoraphobic. I think that and making the book be all about the Internet was an interesting take as I think it’s an evergreen issue. Plus influencers/streamers are always big in real life – I’d definitely like to see more. I love watching video gamers on YouTube so I was happy to see Teresa be one. Also I laughed at the game references – I think I got all of them.
Teresa was interesting and I liked her as a main character. I did want to see more mentions of her actually doing school work since I’m sure she does it online? It did feel like her parents barely did anything to help her but at the same time, we only saw it from her POV and they could be having multiple conversations about her in other parts of the house. I liked being part of her growing journey re her channel/followers, even though sometimes it was more about her getting more followers; she had the right heart about it. I’m always up for a good mystery and this delivered in here.
I got what I like in the horror genre – things starting to happen slowly and then it builds and builds until the characters can’t deny it anymore. In the case of Deadstream, it was even more interesting because there was always that “What if it’s all fake?” idea. Even I started to think it was fake and I knew it was a paranormal book and therefore wasn’t fake. It was spooky and I was reading it at and sleeping across from a door! Which, honestly, is exactly how I like to feel when reading a horror book. So I definitely recommend it if you’re into that spooky side. It’s also a very character-driven book and we’re almost always in Teresa’s mind, reading her thoughts (agoraphobic after the car accident), making it even more so (more character-driven).
I thought the mystery was well done and interesting. I had my own ideas, especially as I watch a bunch of horror movies – I was wrong but I was happy about it. I like being proven wrong. It kept me guessing for most of the book and I think it worked well here (sometimes it doesn’t). I probably would’ve liked more paranormal aspects but that’s just my opinion.
The issue I had were mostly with the characters. I liked Teresa but there was just something that held me back from rating it the full 5 stars or even 4.5. I couldn’t fully connect to Teresa like I wanted to. I liked the other side characters. but much like with Teresa, I wasn’t able to connect to them all. I did like that they mostly stuck together even though they were all physically apart. The relationship in this book (very late end) was sweet and I liked the other character.
Teresa was interesting and I liked her as a main character. I did want to see more mentions of her actually doing school work since I’m sure she does it online? It did feel like her parents barely did anything to help her but at the same time, we only saw it from her POV and they could be having multiple conversations about her in other parts of the house. I liked being part of her growing journey re her channel/followers, even though sometimes it was more about her getting more followers; she had the right heart about it. I’m always up for a good mystery and this delivered in here.
I got what I like in the horror genre – things starting to happen slowly and then it builds and builds until the characters can’t deny it anymore. In the case of Deadstream, it was even more interesting because there was always that “What if it’s all fake?” idea. Even I started to think it was fake and I knew it was a paranormal book and therefore wasn’t fake. It was spooky and I was reading it at and sleeping across from a door! Which, honestly, is exactly how I like to feel when reading a horror book. So I definitely recommend it if you’re into that spooky side. It’s also a very character-driven book and we’re almost always in Teresa’s mind, reading her thoughts (agoraphobic after the car accident), making it even more so (more character-driven).
I thought the mystery was well done and interesting. I had my own ideas, especially as I watch a bunch of horror movies – I was wrong but I was happy about it. I like being proven wrong. It kept me guessing for most of the book and I think it worked well here (sometimes it doesn’t). I probably would’ve liked more paranormal aspects but that’s just my opinion.
The issue I had were mostly with the characters. I liked Teresa but there was just something that held me back from rating it the full 5 stars or even 4.5. I couldn’t fully connect to Teresa like I wanted to. I liked the other side characters. but much like with Teresa, I wasn’t able to connect to them all. I did like that they mostly stuck together even though they were all physically apart. The relationship in this book (very late end) was sweet and I liked the other character.
Shadow Legacy by Colleen Mitchell
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
I didn’t see the chemistry between the two main characters. I’m always up for a vampire but he just didn’t give that vampire vibe that I was looking for? Not that I wanted him (Casimir) to be the traditional night creature with a cape and fangs but I didn’t get his appeal. I think I did like Casimir a bit more than the female main character, Rowan. I could see her potential and I wanted her to reach it – but as I reached nearly 40% I could see I wasn’t going to get what I wanted – which is why I decided to leave it.
I found the pacing to be a bit non-existent. How much time did they travel before they professed their love for each other? I don’t mind instalove – when well written. Another dnf reason was that it was all flowery writing and unfortunately, as it so happens in this book, the (flowery) writing at times wasn’t working for me.
I found the pacing to be a bit non-existent. How much time did they travel before they professed their love for each other? I don’t mind instalove – when well written. Another dnf reason was that it was all flowery writing and unfortunately, as it so happens in this book, the (flowery) writing at times wasn’t working for me.