Take a photo of a barcode or cover
haunted_mia's reviews
21 reviews
Long Live the Pumpkin Queen by Shea Ernshaw
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
VERY loosely based on Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas, Sally and Jack get married, she wanders into Sleep Land and releases the Sandman. He puts everyone to sleep. The story is about her journey to wake everyone up.
I absolutely hated this book. Such poor writing, and absolutely ruined Sally's character. The author made her weak, pathetic, self-doubting, blaming herself for everything, repeatedly. It was so draining. She based her self-worth around Jack, she felt she needed others to save them, she couldn't do a thing without getting validation from someone else. Horrible, and only teaches girls that they need a man to fulfill their lives. No.
I absolutely hated this book. Such poor writing, and absolutely ruined Sally's character. The author made her weak, pathetic, self-doubting, blaming herself for everything, repeatedly. It was so draining. She based her self-worth around Jack, she felt she needed others to save them, she couldn't do a thing without getting validation from someone else. Horrible, and only teaches girls that they need a man to fulfill their lives. No.
Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everest by Beck Weathers
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
0.5
I read this book because I wanted some insight in regards to the 1996 disaster on Everest. I've read a couple of books in regards to it, and this popped up on my suggested. I had read that Beck Weathers was a pompous ass, and this book by him only goes to prove it even more.
The guy is a complete white privilege dick, and a racist. No matter how much he tries to make himself likeable, it's impossible. He talks about how he had no care for his family because he was depressed, but basically he was just a selfish uncaring asshole. His wife is/was an absolute fool for staying with him after all the abuse she put up with. It was disgusting.
His wife actually got someone to fly to pick him up off the mountain, and had him sent to the best surgeons. This kind of special privilege was the norm for him, and he took it for granted. Meanwhile the other hikers got left on the mountain to die.
He talked about "colored people", he talked about going to foreign countries and how the people live their lives like he was disgusted, all of it was so annoying, hearing it from his privileged ass. He constantly talked about how inconvenienced he was in whatever country he was visiting- so he could climb THEIR mountain... to use them as a "guide" or basically, slave services. He also described the indigenous people with distaste, criticizing their culture, and their appearances.
He barely spoke of the tragedy at Everest in 96, so don't waste your time if, like me, that's what you came to read this for.
The guy is a complete white privilege dick, and a racist. No matter how much he tries to make himself likeable, it's impossible. He talks about how he had no care for his family because he was depressed, but basically he was just a selfish uncaring asshole. His wife is/was an absolute fool for staying with him after all the abuse she put up with. It was disgusting.
His wife actually got someone to fly to pick him up off the mountain, and had him sent to the best surgeons. This kind of special privilege was the norm for him, and he took it for granted. Meanwhile the other hikers got left on the mountain to die.
He talked about "colored people", he talked about going to foreign countries and how the people live their lives like he was disgusted, all of it was so annoying, hearing it from his privileged ass. He constantly talked about how inconvenienced he was in whatever country he was visiting- so he could climb THEIR mountain... to use them as a "guide" or basically, slave services. He also described the indigenous people with distaste, criticizing their culture, and their appearances.
He barely spoke of the tragedy at Everest in 96, so don't waste your time if, like me, that's what you came to read this for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Lyla and her deadbeat bf, Nico, embark on a ship to an island off of Jakarta to be on a reality show. A storm hits leaving some dead, no electricity, and no way to get rescued. Food and water are rationed, and one of the contestants, Conor, decides he's taking over. The group decides how they will handle the situation before they all lose their lives trying to survive.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
The Hollow Dead by Darcy Coates
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Keira and her friends embark on another adventure to stop the ghost company from stealing more souls. During this time, Keira finally gets her memory back.
I love this series, it's a light ghost/haunting book, with feelings behind it. Looking forward to the last book in the series.
I love this series, it's a light ghost/haunting book, with feelings behind it. Looking forward to the last book in the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
The Twisted Dead by Darcy Coates
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Kira and the gang decide to help out dane, the rich owner of the founders manner. Dane has all of his ancestors attached to him and feeding off of him, and kira has to find a way to send them on.
I'm absolutely loving this series, and excited that the author decided to add in Harry as a character to show a little bit of diversity.
I'm absolutely loving this series, and excited that the author decided to add in Harry as a character to show a little bit of diversity.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma
A Turn for the Bad by Sheila Connolly
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
Maura runs a bar in Ireland she inherited from a distant relative she didn't know. A local man goes missing, and her bar is Central for all the news and gossip. Drug smugglers get involved, and her pregnant artist friend comes to live with her.
Book 4 dragged so much. When the author has Maura think everything over, go ahead and skip it because it's just a repeat of everything. I literally only read the lines with quotes because it just repeated itself constantly. I also thought Maura and Gillian were super rude to each other, and wondered why the author played it out like this. It was weird.
Book 4 dragged so much. When the author has Maura think everything over, go ahead and skip it because it's just a repeat of everything. I literally only read the lines with quotes because it just repeated itself constantly. I also thought Maura and Gillian were super rude to each other, and wondered why the author played it out like this. It was weird.
Ghost Camera by Darcy Coates
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Jenine finds a Polaroid camera at a lighthouse, and decides to take a photo with it. She discovers it takes pictures of ghosts, and the more pictures you take, the ghosts become more aware of the photographer.
I'm a huge fan of Coates, and glad she agreed to revisit her first story and rerelease it. Great and creepy ghost story with some great twists. Definitely good for a first novel.
I'm a huge fan of Coates, and glad she agreed to revisit her first story and rerelease it. Great and creepy ghost story with some great twists. Definitely good for a first novel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood
Strung by Per Jacobsen
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.25
Randall returns from a retreat to find a person hanged in the middle of the street. He calls the police only to find they are in on it, and most of the people are now 'zoned out.' It then becomes his mission to save his kid.
Complete bore. An entire book to get his kid, which could have taken five pages. A lot of wasted dialogue.
Complete bore. An entire book to get his kid, which could have taken five pages. A lot of wasted dialogue.
The Ravenous Dead by Darcy Coates
The end was super disappointing when the author did the weird plot twist of switching out the ghosts. Not a fan of that.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I am absolutely loving this series with Keira and her pals, Marvin and Zoe. Keira's past is catching up to her, and she's learning she has many survival skills along with her ghost seeing skills. She's made an enemy with the local doctor and his murdering son, but she's also made many friends, including the florist's goth son.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
The Gospel of Z by Stephen Graham Jones
Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.
Listening on audio, but wasn't holding my attention. Might try again some other time.