folklorisms's reviews
23 reviews

Elegy for the Undead by Matthew Vesely

dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

a queer zombie apocalypse love story. that’s all i gotta say. you’re welcome. for real though this absolutely rocked my world. the writing was so beautiful and so effortlessly explored the complexity of love, life, and loss. i’m annoying because of how often i’m telling people to read this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement, Car accident, and Abandonment

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this was a really enjoyable book! thanks lucy foley my queen. it didn’t have quite the holy mother of— *slowly removing sunglasses* as her other ones, but the ending did have me taking a moment to collect myself

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

dark mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

lucy foley my queen my icon. thank you for this gift

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Self harm, and Blood

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

i honestly don’t have much to say except i read this book in one sitting and it kept me from playing fallout, which is quite a feat

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual harassment

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

i found this to be a very enjoyable read. anything with hints of the occult is chef’s kiss magnificent outstanding to me. yeah, there were a few predictable moments, but there were also some parts that had me putting the book down for a few seconds to process what i just read. thank you lucy foley for the eerie spooks keep it up bff

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Minor: Violence

Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

i’ll be straight up i didn’t like this book for like 30% of it but then something changed and i went full 180. tbh i thought this was going to be a commentary on a woman being violently obsessed with an awful guy but it turned into a commentary on the complexities of human nature and self-worth. like what in the actual. and there were so many banger lines that blew my mind so much that i kind of had to sit with it for a second. anyways sorry megan nolan my bad 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

the start was so strong and spooky and the rest kind of just fell flat. i was always waiting for the other shoe to drop, so when the book ended i was like…wait is that it…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

where to start with this book. it’s absolutely one of my favorite romance books to date. i loved the intricate balance of friendship and yearning for more between poppy and alex. pining is my bread and butter; emily henry 100% delivered. in addition to the above, the writing style is so immersive and hilarious. i very rarely laugh out loud, but there were some parts that had me positively rolling. one other aspect that i really appreciated about the book was how it dealt with serious issues, issues that i think a lot of people relate to. it adds some depth to what could otherwise be considered fairly surface level. overall, this book had many themes and all were interwoven magnificently. 10/10 no notes

The Adult by Bronwyn Fischer

dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

i’m not overly sure how to explain my feelings about this book. it had a lot of beautiful prose, but i felt like it existed so much in the abstract that the present was lost. it was a good read and i did enjoy it to an extent. i would not read it again because of the above and because the plot didn’t feel as strong as it could have been

The Guest by Emma Cline

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i liked this one a lot. the dark twist on a hampton summer was really unique and enjoyable. i’ve always been a fan of emma cline’s writing style, and this lived up to expectations. my favorite parts of this book has to be the unreliable narrator voice and witnessing the insanity of  how alex manages to move through so many social circles so effortlessly

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Gaslighting