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dlrosebyh's reviews
627 reviews
The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore
3.75
as an introverted bookworm, i just need friends i can talk about books with
Dead Girls Talking by Megan Cooley Peterson
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
First of all, I would like to thank Holiday House and NetGalley for providing me with a free e-ARC of Dead Girls Talking.
In all honesty, when I requested this book, I was in a Heathers: The Musical high (Dead Girl Walking…Get it?). By any means, I had no expectations for this book whatsoever. And one of my goals this year is to read more mysteries.
For someone who doesn’t read a lot of mysteries, it all comes down to one reason: I’m picky with them. A lot of mysteries have disappointed me because the twist isn’t good or it’s just not believable at all. Dead Girls Talking didn’t really disappoint me, but it did not wow me either. I’ve read better, and I’ve read worse. However, one thing I liked about this book was the pacing. Even though the mystery itself wasn’t that interesting for me, I could not put this book down because it was so easy to read.
Dead Girls Talking is about Bettina’s father who has been arrested for killing her mom. However, lately, there have been numerous killings in the town of Wolf Ridge similar to the killing of her mom. It all comes down to one question: Did her father really kill her mom?
In this novel, we follow two characters: Bett, the daughter of the serial killer, and Eugenia, the mortician’s daughter. Together, they try to solve the town’s mystery.
One issue I had with this book is that the characters are so undeveloped. They felt so one-dimensional. Even Bett herself was one-dimensioned. That’s one of my biggest pet peeves in mysteries because you’re trying to find out who the killer is. The ‘twist would be unbelievable’ if your characters are one-dimensional. Because if so, you just wrote the killer for the shock and not because of the plot.
The plot twists were poorly done. The theories were thrown around just as it is and weren’t dug into as deep as I wanted them to be. There were extreme guesses and there were no real backup sources for them. Like, I guess it’s good to expect the unknown, but it kind of went down to: there’s no source, just trust me, bro.
I hate comparing books to other books, but it felt like the book was trying to be somehow like ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’. It seems uncanny that some of the plot points are similar.
Now, onto the things that I liked, I really like plot, and it felt like the plot was really well thought of. Everything was there for a reason, which I really loved. As I mentioned earlier, I really liked the pacing of the novel. It’s what every mystery book should be. Quick, gritty, and unputdownable.
In short, if you love mysteries, I think that this is still worth a read. And if you really loved ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ and want something similar, then why not give it a shot?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Bullying, Alcohol, and Domestic abuse
The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Simon Jimenez, I was not familiar with your game.
I am not the same person pre-TVB and post-TVB. I’ve been hesitant to read The Vanished Birds because a lot of reviews said it was boring, and for me, no, it really wasn’t. And yes, it might be slow, and the chapters are long, but the pacing made perfect sense.
A lot of people compare The Vanished Birds to the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers. And if you know me, you know I loved that series. While that series is healing and comforting, this book will tear your heart into pieces, throw it against the wall, run it over by a truck, break it even more with a hammer, and pierce it with a sword. I was expecting a simple space found family moment, but noo, Jimenez had to break my heart a million times. My heart broke for every character in this story.
This book is so rich in many ways. The characters, the plot, the world building, the atmosphere, everything. I was so shocked to find out that this is Jimenez’s DEBUT NOVEL. Only a mastermind can do such. I loved how he used scientific explanations for the progression and the effects of capitalism. Those footnotes really intrigued me.
Character wise, I have a question for you, Mr. Jimenez. Did you somehow go through my brain while writing Nia? Because why is she SO ME. The way she tries to protect everyone and is willing to give up anything just to keep everyone safe made me sob so hard. I loved how she treated Ahro, and Ahro, my baby, I will protect you with everything I have. And don’t even get me started on DanaFumiko because I cried over them so many times.
In short, please read this book. Any bad mouth against it shall fall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Colonisation
Minor: Suicide attempt