hali's reviews
349 reviews

Monster: The Perfect Edition, Vol. 5 by Naoki Urasawa

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

“Finally, the monster had a name, but there was nobody to call him by it. It was a shame, because Johan was such a wonderful name.”

I still can’t figure out his end goal…

Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas

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

1.0

i read this purely bc i knew it was going to be trash. but geez. yall live like this?? i did laugh out loud several times. but not when the author wanted me to, i’m sure.

Enjoy my copious notes. Almost everything in quotes is directly from the text…

- “We own you.” 10 seconds after meeting 🤨
- Patroclus being nicknamed “Patro”
- Patroclus having Achilles name tattooed on the side of his NECK?
- “Free the nipple and the lip (vaginal?)”
- [this phrase has been said 3 times]
- ACHILLES IS MUZZLED ?
- Bird conspiracy theory??
- everybody got weird tattoos in odd places
- the crucible is so fucking boring…
- “someone [verb’d]. it was me.”
- a snake saying “pussy power!”
- random chapters from the male gods’ POV talking about how much they want to have sex with a 19 year old
- 50% through and Hercules hasn’t been mentioned
- Augustus/Kharon/Patroclus: Oops! All Edgelords
- reverse favoritism = bullying
- the sirens give lore olympus energy
- Augustus, after choking Alexis, “NO ONE TOUCH HER >>:( “
- Nyx, who is a snake, telling Alexis she needs to “get dicked down.”
- ladies is it feminist for men to “protect” you from making your own choices?
- Augustus being mad that Alexis’ classmate switched seats to be next to her
- Alexis is so oblivious and naive that I feel stupid while reading
- Treating the only female student differently from the others… this is like textbook sexism 💀
- “Because…no other man is allowed to have you…” 😐
- Other men can’t hurt Alexis but Augustus can grip her so hard she bruises, choke her, and violate her mind with his powers
- If you’re a boy, DO NOT FLIRT OR SHOW ANY KINDNESS towards Alexis. The scary old men will attack you.
- “Cunt, absolute cunt, served!”
- Gods using guns is just funny idk
- Of course she’s the daughter of Hades and Persephone… not sure how this makes her Hercules, son of Zeus
- this lady got 4+ men fighting over her and she is not interested AT ALL (GOOD!)
- Is the twist that they were evil the entire time??? Bc…duh ? 😭
- “We would torture anyone who hurt her” okay so kill yourself? LIKE?? skdkdjdjfjrjf
- so her given name is Hercules. completely divorced from the Hercules of myth… and her blood is her power… the Blood of Hercules. okay.
- this isn’t even enemies to lovers. it’s a weird power dynamic where two men bully a 19 year old girl for existing. not hot or sexy or even fun to read!

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

i haven’t been ACTUALLY scared by a novel in a LONG time… i need the physical book to deep dive into the clues given in the audio… i just know this will make a great reread. this was far better than the other book i read that originated from an r/nosleep story.

Babel by R.F. Kuang

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

funny enough, i don't quite have the words to explain how this book made me feel. all i know is rf kuang has a talent for connecting you to her characters immediately. only, you don't realize how much you cared for them until she makes you.

My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Pretty good horror elements, the story had me hooked. I didn’t like the Living Blood lore - it didn’t make much sense to me. Still, Due is a great writer.

Monster: The Perfect Edition, Vol. 4 by Naoki Urasawa

dark emotional tense fast-paced

5.0

“I thought I’d reached the darkest place possible… But in fact… I went beyond that. I saw an even deeper darkness.”

This quote encapsulates this series perfectly… things keep becoming more and more twisted. Stay safe Tenma!!

Monster: The Perfect Edition, Vol. 3 by Naoki Urasawa

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.0

i find this “multiple personalities,” DID, Jekyll and Hyde stuff to be a bit of a reach…i’m hoping that’s not it. but still, this story is wonderfully crafted. i need more nina/anna though!!

Monster: The Perfect Edition, Vol. 2 by Naoki Urasawa

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.75

“Killing people is easy. You just gotta forget the taste of sugar.”

I have no idea where this story will take me. That’s the best part.

Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose

fast-paced

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

3.0

this is the perfect example of a mid book. it was just fine. nothing to write home about, but also not much to complain about. the sibling dynamics had me literally laughing out loud. they didn’t hold back about their feelings towards each other. but the mystery/thriller aspect just wasn’t there. i never felt tense, and the revelations at the end were very easy to spot.

the ending was really corny and i had to roll my eyes a bit. but like i said, it’s fine. read it or don’t - your life won’t be impacted either way.

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

this was interesting and i was invested for the majority of the book. especially once gyre started hallucinating and it became a psychological thriller for a minute. 

BUT! gyre is such an irritating main character. like, i understand not trusting Em and going against her AT FIRST. but when were 80% into the book and she’s still saying the same distrustful things…like please get a grip. finish the job. STOP WHINING. those parts of the story is what dropped this from a solid 4-4.5.

still, i would recommend this to those looking for a scifi horror/thriller. it was worthwhile.