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grimdreadful's reviews
203 reviews
Supplication by Nour Abi-Nakhoul
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
DNF:
Everything is way too wordy. It feels like it's going to be purple prose right up to the end, and it's just too exhausting to read for me personally.
I think this has a very specific audience, which isn't me.
Everything is way too wordy. It feels like it's going to be purple prose right up to the end, and it's just too exhausting to read for me personally.
I think this has a very specific audience, which isn't me.
When She Was Me: A Novel by Marlee Bush
4.0
This book is a slow burn that I flew through. I really enjoyed it.
The story follows twin sisters, told from a POV of each sister. It also takes places in dual timelines (if you have been following my reviews, you know that I love multiple pov/timelines) This was done really well in my opinion. At times I thought I was confused but once I got to the ending it was a "OH " moment, and it all got wrapped up nicely.
I'm not going to say too much but what kept me from giving it a full 5 star rating was that I just wanted more on the twins. Throughout the story it felt like it was leading to something major and ultimately it didn't come to a full boil and I just felt a little unsatisfied.
The twist though!!!! did. not. see. that. coming.
Read this book if you enjoy: suspense, domestic thriller, isolation, wilderness, twin sisters, multiple pov, dual timelines, slow burn
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, netgalley and Marlee Bush for sharing a digital copy, as always opinions are my own.
The story follows twin sisters, told from a POV of each sister. It also takes places in dual timelines (if you have been following my reviews, you know that I love multiple pov/timelines) This was done really well in my opinion. At times I thought I was confused but once I got to the ending it was a "OH " moment, and it all got wrapped up nicely.
I'm not going to say too much but what kept me from giving it a full 5 star rating was that I just wanted more on the twins. Throughout the story it felt like it was leading to something major and ultimately it didn't come to a full boil and I just felt a little unsatisfied.
The twist though!!!! did. not. see. that. coming.
Read this book if you enjoy: suspense, domestic thriller, isolation, wilderness, twin sisters, multiple pov, dual timelines, slow burn
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, netgalley and Marlee Bush for sharing a digital copy, as always opinions are my own.
Mother Knows Best: Tales of Homemade Horror (A Women in Horror Anthology) by Lindy Ryan
3.0
This is a horror collection of short stories and poems all about mother daughter relationships and bad mothers of all varieties.
the stories were hit or miss for me, I did enjoy many but some were so ambiguous, in a way that just felt too confusing.
a few of my favourite stories were:
- Oh What A Tangled Web, this was gross, fast paced, and I was a full book written out of this short story.
-So Lovely In The Dark, I'm not sure I fully get it but it was a good time.
-Skeleton Bird Song, I'm still thinking about this one.
-The Mom From Upstairs, this gave me Goosebumps vibes and I'm not mad about it.
-Special Medicine, WTF!! but felt cathartic.
-Your Mothers Love Is An Apocalypse, strange and reflective.
I knew this book had poetry going in, but for some reason I was expecting there to be a little more short stories over poems so this is on me. I'm not a big poetry reader, I struggle with them and I always feel like I'm just missing something. That was the case here, this is just a personal opinion but I did not care for most of them, the two poems I did enjoy were:
-Mother Bead
-Sometimes Its Hard To Let Go
Thank you to Netgalley and Black Spot books for sharing a digital copy, as always opinions are my own.
the stories were hit or miss for me, I did enjoy many but some were so ambiguous, in a way that just felt too confusing.
a few of my favourite stories were:
- Oh What A Tangled Web, this was gross, fast paced, and I was a full book written out of this short story.
-So Lovely In The Dark, I'm not sure I fully get it but it was a good time.
-Skeleton Bird Song, I'm still thinking about this one.
-The Mom From Upstairs, this gave me Goosebumps vibes and I'm not mad about it.
-Special Medicine, WTF!! but felt cathartic.
-Your Mothers Love Is An Apocalypse, strange and reflective.
I knew this book had poetry going in, but for some reason I was expecting there to be a little more short stories over poems so this is on me. I'm not a big poetry reader, I struggle with them and I always feel like I'm just missing something. That was the case here, this is just a personal opinion but I did not care for most of them, the two poems I did enjoy were:
-Mother Bead
-Sometimes Its Hard To Let Go
Thank you to Netgalley and Black Spot books for sharing a digital copy, as always opinions are my own.
Withered by A.G.A. Wilmot
4.0
I am convincing you to read this book with one of my favorite quotes:
"Over years, as a mattress takes on weight from dead skin and oils, so does a house grow dense with memories of all who've dwelled within. Their experiences seep into the walls, the plumbing, even the foundation; their fingerprints along surfaces and banisters are musical notes, scattered and unstaffed."
This story was heavy emotionally, yet cozy, with a great take on Death and a haunted house. I think the author had the right balance of it all. It follows an 18 year old non-binary, asexual Ellis, who is struggling with ED and dealing with grief from the loss of their father. I thought sexuality, mental illness, and identity, amongst others, were all done really well and respectfully. I loved the uniqueness of the haunting itself. How it came to be, how it developed and grew, and became what it was..but I'm not going to go into detail about it. No spoilers here!!!
For me personally, it did feel slightly too long in some parts and the dialogue between characters did feel a little on the YA side (however I do read YA from time to time so I'm not mad about it)
Thank you to @ecwpress for sending me a copy to read, as always, opinions are my own 🤘🏻💀🤘🏻
.
"Over years, as a mattress takes on weight from dead skin and oils, so does a house grow dense with memories of all who've dwelled within. Their experiences seep into the walls, the plumbing, even the foundation; their fingerprints along surfaces and banisters are musical notes, scattered and unstaffed."
This story was heavy emotionally, yet cozy, with a great take on Death and a haunted house. I think the author had the right balance of it all. It follows an 18 year old non-binary, asexual Ellis, who is struggling with ED and dealing with grief from the loss of their father. I thought sexuality, mental illness, and identity, amongst others, were all done really well and respectfully. I loved the uniqueness of the haunting itself. How it came to be, how it developed and grew, and became what it was..but I'm not going to go into detail about it. No spoilers here!!!
For me personally, it did feel slightly too long in some parts and the dialogue between characters did feel a little on the YA side (however I do read YA from time to time so I'm not mad about it)
Thank you to @ecwpress for sending me a copy to read, as always, opinions are my own 🤘🏻💀🤘🏻
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Grey Dog by Elliott Gish
4.5
I am convincing you to read this book with my favourite quote:
"I am not a place where nature can be weeded and tamed and kept in order. I am tree roots – and dark hollows – and ancient moss – and the cry of the owls. I am not a thing that you can shape, not anymore. I am no garden, but the woods, and if you ever come near me again, every but of wilderness in me will rise up to bite you. I will tear your throat out with my teeth."
I loved this book. It's been a week, and I haven't stopped thinking about it, I probably wont stop thinking about it for a while. This was a beautifully written story of societal expectations of women with themes that center around misogyny, female rage, grief, loss, exploration of sexuality, and longing for freedom. With an added twist of supernatural horror and a tormented descent into madness.
Can someone make this into a movie, please? Like immediately!!!!
**thank you to @ecwpress for sending me a copy, as always, opinions are my own 🤘🏻💀🤘🏻
.
"I am not a place where nature can be weeded and tamed and kept in order. I am tree roots – and dark hollows – and ancient moss – and the cry of the owls. I am not a thing that you can shape, not anymore. I am no garden, but the woods, and if you ever come near me again, every but of wilderness in me will rise up to bite you. I will tear your throat out with my teeth."
I loved this book. It's been a week, and I haven't stopped thinking about it, I probably wont stop thinking about it for a while. This was a beautifully written story of societal expectations of women with themes that center around misogyny, female rage, grief, loss, exploration of sexuality, and longing for freedom. With an added twist of supernatural horror and a tormented descent into madness.
Can someone make this into a movie, please? Like immediately!!!!
**thank you to @ecwpress for sending me a copy, as always, opinions are my own 🤘🏻💀🤘🏻
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PET by Akwaeke Emezi
3.5
I thought this was a solid read overall, and had incredible representation and a pretty deep/complex story for the age range of this book (ya, maybe middle grade even.) It's a short yet powerful read, I highly recommend this to those who enjoy YA.
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
4.0
holy hell, what did I just read? it was so messed up but I could not put it down. I'm not sure what my takeaway is after reading this book but I'm not mad about it, I'm going to search up Sayaka Muratas other books immediately.
CHECK CONTENT WARNINGS.
CHECK CONTENT WARNINGS.
Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis
3.0
overall I had a good time with this book. This is a YA (cozy)horror slasher that takes place at a summer camp for queer teen girls that are horror obsessed.
I really enjoyed the action/slasher portions of the book, the representation in this book was incredible with BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ characters, and the cover is beautiful. This also had some mixed media with emails, transcripts etc and if you know me, you know I love mixed media in books!!
It did have a bit of a slow start for me and things didn't progress enough for my personal taste until almost half way. I thought the concept of the book was really interesting, I wish some of the teen bickering scenes that just felt a little to long each time were shortened and there was more explanation into Temples family instead. I also felt like this was a little bit of a coming of age for Temple, from who she is at the start of the book to how she ends things.
Read this if you enjoy: YA horror, mixed media, family secrets, slashers, supernatural, creepy woods, isolation, serial killers, summer camp.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Amulet Books for sharing a digital copy. As always, opinions are my own.
I really enjoyed the action/slasher portions of the book, the representation in this book was incredible with BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ characters, and the cover is beautiful. This also had some mixed media with emails, transcripts etc and if you know me, you know I love mixed media in books!!
It did have a bit of a slow start for me and things didn't progress enough for my personal taste until almost half way. I thought the concept of the book was really interesting, I wish some of the teen bickering scenes that just felt a little to long each time were shortened and there was more explanation into Temples family instead. I also felt like this was a little bit of a coming of age for Temple, from who she is at the start of the book to how she ends things.
Read this if you enjoy: YA horror, mixed media, family secrets, slashers, supernatural, creepy woods, isolation, serial killers, summer camp.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Amulet Books for sharing a digital copy. As always, opinions are my own.
Diavola by Jennifer Thorne
4.0
I really enjoyed this book and Jennifer's writing, this being my first by this author I am glad to have her on my radar and I have to check out some of her other books soon.
I thought this was a unique and intresting take on a haunted house. The pace was great, and I loved the ending. I wish the backstory of the villa was explored more though, it was fascinating and creepy and I just wanted more of it. I was not expecting as much wit, sarcasm, and dry humour but it was a fun addition to the story all the while also being angered by this completely unhinged and pretty toxic family dynamics and STILL maintaining the spooky atmosphere.
And how great is the cover? I'm obsessed with it.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group | Tor Nightfire for sharing a digital copy. As always, opinions are my own.
Read this if you enjoy: horror, thrillers, vacation from hell, dysfunctional families, haunted houses, gothic, supernatural, drama, sibling rivalry.
I thought this was a unique and intresting take on a haunted house. The pace was great, and I loved the ending. I wish the backstory of the villa was explored more though, it was fascinating and creepy and I just wanted more of it. I was not expecting as much wit, sarcasm, and dry humour but it was a fun addition to the story all the while also being angered by this completely unhinged and pretty toxic family dynamics and STILL maintaining the spooky atmosphere.
And how great is the cover? I'm obsessed with it.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group | Tor Nightfire for sharing a digital copy. As always, opinions are my own.
Read this if you enjoy: horror, thrillers, vacation from hell, dysfunctional families, haunted houses, gothic, supernatural, drama, sibling rivalry.
A Small Apocalypse by Laura Chow Reeve
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
unfortunately this was a DNF for me.
The writing itself was good, There is no doubt that Laura Chow Reeve is a good writer but I just couldn't get into the stories. I am a plot girlie and I tend to struggle with short stories more often than not because they do not feel complete but I saw this book and the cover and I thought it looked and sounded good so I decided to give it a go. I read the 1st 3 stories and they felt incomplete, I think I might be missing the point/message in them which to me I don't think there is one? Anyway, I put the book down one day and just didn't feel the urge to pick it up again for weeks so I had to call it quits. This is just my personal preference.
many thanks to Netgalley and Northwestern University Press, TriQuarterly for providing a digital copy to read, as always opinions are my own.
The writing itself was good, There is no doubt that Laura Chow Reeve is a good writer but I just couldn't get into the stories. I am a plot girlie and I tend to struggle with short stories more often than not because they do not feel complete but I saw this book and the cover and I thought it looked and sounded good so I decided to give it a go. I read the 1st 3 stories and they felt incomplete, I think I might be missing the point/message in them which to me I don't think there is one? Anyway, I put the book down one day and just didn't feel the urge to pick it up again for weeks so I had to call it quits. This is just my personal preference.
many thanks to Netgalley and Northwestern University Press, TriQuarterly for providing a digital copy to read, as always opinions are my own.