hotties4literacy's reviews
64 reviews

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

A more accessible version of Christie’s And Then There Were None. Agatha Christie meets contemporary thriller. I’ve always liked Alice Feeny’s writing style (though here it was a bit too poetic for me) which lent itself to my enjoyment of this novel. The flashback chapters were a little too common for me and kept this from achieving the “page-turner” status of ATTWN. The twist was compelling and achieved one of my favorite attributes of Feeny’s writing where my entire understanding of the conceit of a book is flipped upside down and you find yourself paging through what you already read with an entirely new perspective. Obviously, this book didn’t outdo the original but this was still a fresh take on Christie’s original work and was captivating nonetheless. 

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

spoilers
I find the actual contrivance of the plot to be quite unbelievable. No person in this group of six determined that leaving a man to die would have devastating impacts on their future? Their friend is drowning in a lake. Abusive or not, it’s not only a shitty thing to do but also illogical. This decision kept me from sympathizing with many of the characters as the aftermath of the event was detailed in the novel. Additionally, I just … don’t like theatre people that much? And while all of the characters were believable and honestly well written, it could be exhausting to read about their lives and studies. And while I can appreciate some of the creative actions the author took like how the characters often quoted Shakespeare or the dialog was written like a play’s — it felt like the author couldn’t commit to a format that was daring, experimental and interesting. She was simply toeing the line which just didn’t work for me. Lastly, I would have given this book four stars had it not been for the ending. Yes, I was devastated when it was revealed James killed himself and wished it wasn’t so. However, I felt that this choice was bold and very poetic. A good showcase of how character’s decisions have devastating consequences and considering that this book revolves around four of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies — I thought it was a really great choice and highly impactful. For the author to literally throw that all away in the last line did not feel hopeful or exciting, it felt like an abrupt cop out of making your reader’s upset. What the author didn’t seem to understand is that to devastate your readers is to emotionally captivate them. Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, MacBeth, nor King Lear would be remembered as great works of literature if Shakespeare said “jk they’re actually alive” at the end of his shows. So take your inspiration for this dark academia and actually put it to good use. 

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

how was this her first novel this book was insane lmao

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Haunting storyline filled with a lot of ache for the main character Vanessa. The author very clearly understood her characters and what grooming and abuse looks like (arguably too well). Vanessa’s inner monologue and growth in understanding her own abuse and her part in it is truly compelling. It truly asks audiences to consider what we allow young women to bare and how even the strongest of supports can fail them. It highlighted perfectly how exhausting dealing with institutional power and men can be (I’m looking at you Henry). A classic All Men are Bad book in the best of ways. 

Let’s also note that the author dedicated this novel to the “self-described nymphets of the world”. Period. 

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

1.0

If you’re going to rip off Gone Girl, at least do it well. This book did not thrill me, it bored me. The actual interesting piece of the plot did not start for 250 pages which is way too long to try and keep a reader hooked for. Also, imagine discovering empathy for women that you are killing because your daughter is scared. Get real. This book was a great lesson in how to do the “scorned woman” trope poorly. The wife was so one-dimensional and her motivations were ridiculous. She flipped from perfect to evil in one second and she was never framed well. To bring it back to Gone Girl, Amy Dunne also cites cheating as her final straw that goes into this insane plan to frame her husband BUT her motivations and personality are much deeper than “I got cheated on and now I’m mad >:(“. She has actual critiques of the expectations of the modern women in marriage and how she couldn’t deal with it any more. But on top of that, she’s still a morally complicated character who does wrong. She is neither good nor evil, she’s a person. And the wife in this book was not a person. She was a plot device. And it made this book reprehensible. Congrats to My Lovely Wife for being my first one star read of the year. 

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

adventurous 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

4.0

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

All men are bad, agreed. But do they deserve to be killed for their transgressions? This book is great to read when you feel that classic feminine murderous rage but I can’t dwell on my enjoyment without feeling extreme guilt. 

If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin

emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I’m 😭 so 😭 sad 😭. This book would probably deserve three stars if I wasn’t a sucker for great foreshadowing that pertain to the theme of the book. To the people who recommended this to me — fuck you. Would I recommend this book to others? Absolutely. 

These Deadly Games by Diana Urban

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Certainly a page turner, but nothing life changing. The characters were forgettable (literally, I forgot who was who many times), the relationships shallow, and the plot foreseeable and redundant. Picked this up for a book club and won’t revisit it. Still, I’m glad there are good thrillers for younger audiences like this one.