hunni_reads's reviews
135 reviews

Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan

emotional funny reflective 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Hate crime, Infertility, Transphobia, Medical content, Outing, Abandonment

Moderate: Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder

Shy Girl by Mia Ballard

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Abortion

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Car accident

Universality by Natasha Brown

challenging reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Homophobia, Torture, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Outing, Sexual harassment

Make Sure You Die Screaming by Zee Carlstrom

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

3.25

3.25 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for granting me early access to an eARC in exchange for a review.

Make Sure You Die Screaming follows an unnamed nonbinary narrator as they go on a roadtrip (alongside their new garbage-goth bestie) to Arkansas in order find their missing MAGA-loving, conspiracy theorist father. However, the duo is on the run, and there are several different threatening characters who could be chasing them, including the cops. 

This book is a lot of fun and took me very little time to get through. Zee Carlstrom definitely has a great sense of humor that really developed the voice for our MC. However, there is a lot - and I mean a LOT - of drinking and driving in this book. Which is fine, as it becomes very clear as the story progresses that our narrator is struggling with addiction and needs help, but it was so excessive and almost redundant that I truly have no idea how they made it to their destination without causing major harm to themselves or someone else (not a spoiler, because SO many OTHER things happen during their journey) . Just when I would really start to like MC, it would all get erased by the atrocious decisions that they and their reckless passenger were making (this could also just be an issue for me due to personal experience- others may be able to relax a bit more when reading about this. I usually love characters who make questionable choices).  That part felt a little unrealistic, but I really enjoyed the other aspects of the book. The characters were quirky and well developed, and there was some great commentary on gender/sexuality, family, the insane fandom of the Republican Party, and America’s current political climate.

At the end of the day, although the tone gets a bit scattered and the story takes some HARD left turns, Make Sure You Die Screaming is a fun, unique little book that I am not mad about reading. It reads like a first novel, and that is okay. It gives us a good introduction to Zee Carlstrom, their writing style, and the themes they want to explore. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for Carlstrom’s future work- I’m super curious as to what they’ll do next, and I do think they could grow into being a great new voice in the world of comedic queer lit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Car accident, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent

Minor: Incest, Cultural appropriation

Hungerstone by Kat Dunn

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting

Soft Core by Brittany Newell

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Alcohol

Moderate: Body shaming, Mental illness, Suicide, Stalking, Death of parent

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito

dark funny fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol

Minor: Miscarriage, Pedophilia

The Lamb by Lucy Rose

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

5.0

?? rating could very well change? I need to sit with this one for a bit,
I’m in pain.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Cannibalism

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Torture, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail

The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis

dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for sending me an eARC for the Hounding.

I knew I wanted to get my hands on this book as soon as I read the blurb and saw that gorgeous cover. However, this was far better than I could’ve expected.

The Hounding follows a small village in eighteenth century England as they are sent into mass hysteria over the Mansfield sisters, 5 young girls they believe to be turning into a pack of wild dogs.  I don’t always agree when books and movies are compared to other popular works, but Virgin Suicides meets The Crucible is pretty spot on (in the best way). 

Once I got a few chapters deep, I simply didn’t want to put the book down. It’s a quick read, but I honestly could’ve gone for at least 100 more pages with these characters- and as someone who struggles with a short attention span, it’s rare that I say a book should’ve been LONGER.

With each chapter, we alternate between which villager we follow through the story. However, we never get to follow any of the Mansfield sisters, which keeps everything mysterious and leaves the reader on their own to piece together what actually happened. You are put in the same position as the villagers- only knowing the limited things they see and the gossip they hear. At no point does the author doubt her audience’s intelligence or feel the need to hold the reader’s hand to come to a conclusion, and I truly appreciate that.

This is an incredible debut. Xenobe Purvis is now fully on my radar, and look forward to seeing what she does next. I can’t wait to get a physical copy of this book (even if I do have to wait until August).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Violence

Minor: Infertility

Implied sexual assault