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inkedwxtchreads's reviews
125 reviews
Hide by Kiersten White
adventurous
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? Yes
2.0
I’m really sad. I truly went into this thinking if I had the right expectations I would like it. I’ve been waiting a while and have seen lots of commentary on this book. I understood the things people were saying about it that made them dislike it. I went in ready to embrace those things and give the book some grace.
And I mean I will say I liked the beginning. I was pulled in by the main characters story, and I was intrigued by how details of this hide and seek game were revealed, and I was interested in the characters for a while. Probably until about the 48% mark. So I guess I kind of liked the first half. But nothing really happened in that half that’s memorable or significant feeling now that I’m finished the book.
This book suffers from too many characters mainly. I think if maybe it was 6ish people it would have been a lot better. Especially since we get their perspectives randomly which makes it kind of confusing. With less people it would have also allowed for more action rather than just inner dialogue and trying to make an interesting voice and backstory for 14 characters (and of course not all 14 were evenly represented) especially with how short the book is.
Some of the storylines some of the characters had just felt like a little too much as well. One in particular was soooo cheesy. LeGrand I’m looking at you!
The book also lacked in detail and atmosphere way more than I expected. With it being adult I thought people were just upset because it doesn’t REALLY go there the way a lot of adult horror does. I was ready to give it complete benefit of the doubt with that though. It’s a first time adult horror author. No biggie.
But when I say almost every single kill was completely off page and had pretty much the same tagline….. I’m not exaggerating at all.
It was just so boring honestly.
And then what turned out to be going on didn’t really surprise me that much. I won’t say I predicted it. But when it was revealed it wasn’t really a WOW moment. It was just like “oh okay. That’s it?”
Which is a shame because the specific mythology and paranormal aspect used in this is actually kind of interesting historically speaking kind of.
The whole villain part of the book was also just very mustache twirly cringey super villain like and it just wasn’t for me.
I loved the concept of the book, like I love the setting too. They’re too of my favorite things, and sadly they almost never work out for me.
But I’ll still read this authors next book and hope she improves!
And I mean I will say I liked the beginning. I was pulled in by the main characters story, and I was intrigued by how details of this hide and seek game were revealed, and I was interested in the characters for a while. Probably until about the 48% mark. So I guess I kind of liked the first half. But nothing really happened in that half that’s memorable or significant feeling now that I’m finished the book.
This book suffers from too many characters mainly. I think if maybe it was 6ish people it would have been a lot better. Especially since we get their perspectives randomly which makes it kind of confusing. With less people it would have also allowed for more action rather than just inner dialogue and trying to make an interesting voice and backstory for 14 characters (and of course not all 14 were evenly represented) especially with how short the book is.
Some of the storylines some of the characters had just felt like a little too much as well. One in particular was soooo cheesy. LeGrand I’m looking at you!
The book also lacked in detail and atmosphere way more than I expected. With it being adult I thought people were just upset because it doesn’t REALLY go there the way a lot of adult horror does. I was ready to give it complete benefit of the doubt with that though. It’s a first time adult horror author. No biggie.
But when I say almost every single kill was completely off page and had pretty much the same tagline….. I’m not exaggerating at all.
It was just so boring honestly.
And then what turned out to be going on didn’t really surprise me that much. I won’t say I predicted it. But when it was revealed it wasn’t really a WOW moment. It was just like “oh okay. That’s it?”
Which is a shame because the specific mythology and paranormal aspect used in this is actually kind of interesting historically speaking kind of.
The whole villain part of the book was also just very mustache twirly cringey super villain like and it just wasn’t for me.
I loved the concept of the book, like I love the setting too. They’re too of my favorite things, and sadly they almost never work out for me.
But I’ll still read this authors next book and hope she improves!
All Hallows by Christopher Golden
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I want to start by saying this is actually a kind of generous 4 stars and I know lots of people won’t enjoy it. I can see this book being really polarizing because people are going to go into this expecting lots of Halloween themed goodness, and not the drama from domestic thrillers x 10. But it does call itself a drama, so to me it at least seems self aware!
I’d say this is about 75% neighborhood drama that just happens to take place on Halloween and 25% the cunning man and halloween horror/atmosphere the book describes on the inside flap. It takes a while before the cunning man or the kids in the description are even mentioned, and even once they are there are still quite a few chapters before anything regarding them gets very interesting. I know a lot of people won’t like that.
But idk, as someone who is avoidant of drama, I just really love reading about it in books. There were times it was a little redundant, I do admit. Like the pacing was definitely off. But I still just ate it up.
If you don’t like families falling apart, cheating, and just general drama you for sure will hate this book though. If you have the same guilty pleasure that I do because you try to not indulge in drama in your real life though….. you may really like it!
Sometimes there are topics brought up like race and lgbtq that were represented kind of questionably or just plain out not well. Those moments are very brief but I think ultimately there is a little nuance since the person being the slime ball in those situations does end up with consequences. I feel like it could have still done better despite that, but ultimately it’s up to the reader and own voices to decide how they feel. Some moments made me feel a little weird, but it didn’t read as the authors own thoughts or feelings, so I’m not sure how to feel overall, especially with those moments not being huge parts of the story.
With the drama there are lots of touchy subjects brought up. Please read content warnings!
There are a lot of POVs similar to ‘the spite house’ by Johnny Compton if you know what I mean. In that one I didn’t love all of the perspectives but in this one I didn’t mind it at all.
The second part of the book does get spooky, and I did like what the cunning man ended up being. I would have liked things expanded on a bit, but that comes down to pacing. If you like atmosphere while it isn’t strong, it’s definitely there and this would make a great Halloween read! Lots of descriptions of fall and Halloween props and costumes. I loved that little taste of Halloween in the spring/summer!
I think I just liked a lot of the scenes with the weird kids and the actual cunning man himself, coupled with the drama, enough to overlook some of the flaws this book has for now.
I like how it ended for the most part as well. I thought the cunning man was a unique take on a monster, or at the very least, his motivations were unique.
I may lower this to a 3 star later, but for now I did enjoy this guilty pleasure read! I think all in all I was just entertained and had lots of fun. It was messy and spooky. And I just was here for it.
I’d say this is about 75% neighborhood drama that just happens to take place on Halloween and 25% the cunning man and halloween horror/atmosphere the book describes on the inside flap. It takes a while before the cunning man or the kids in the description are even mentioned, and even once they are there are still quite a few chapters before anything regarding them gets very interesting. I know a lot of people won’t like that.
But idk, as someone who is avoidant of drama, I just really love reading about it in books. There were times it was a little redundant, I do admit. Like the pacing was definitely off. But I still just ate it up.
If you don’t like families falling apart, cheating, and just general drama you for sure will hate this book though. If you have the same guilty pleasure that I do because you try to not indulge in drama in your real life though….. you may really like it!
Sometimes there are topics brought up like race and lgbtq that were represented kind of questionably or just plain out not well. Those moments are very brief but I think ultimately there is a little nuance since the person being the slime ball in those situations does end up with consequences. I feel like it could have still done better despite that, but ultimately it’s up to the reader and own voices to decide how they feel. Some moments made me feel a little weird, but it didn’t read as the authors own thoughts or feelings, so I’m not sure how to feel overall, especially with those moments not being huge parts of the story.
With the drama there are lots of touchy subjects brought up. Please read content warnings!
There are a lot of POVs similar to ‘the spite house’ by Johnny Compton if you know what I mean. In that one I didn’t love all of the perspectives but in this one I didn’t mind it at all.
The second part of the book does get spooky, and I did like what the cunning man ended up being. I would have liked things expanded on a bit, but that comes down to pacing. If you like atmosphere while it isn’t strong, it’s definitely there and this would make a great Halloween read! Lots of descriptions of fall and Halloween props and costumes. I loved that little taste of Halloween in the spring/summer!
I think I just liked a lot of the scenes with the weird kids and the actual cunning man himself, coupled with the drama, enough to overlook some of the flaws this book has for now.
I like how it ended for the most part as well. I thought the cunning man was a unique take on a monster, or at the very least, his motivations were unique.
I may lower this to a 3 star later, but for now I did enjoy this guilty pleasure read! I think all in all I was just entertained and had lots of fun. It was messy and spooky. And I just was here for it.
Such Pretty Flowers by K.L. Cerra
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
So this book is pretty much all vibes and entertainment. No plot or logic. Which for the most part I didn’t mind. I even almost rated it higher if it weren’t for the ending.
If you need a book with spooky/witchy spring vibes? Then seriously this is for you. For the most part I didn’t care about the lack of plot or straightforward path (literally no twist, it’s incredibly obvious to everyone besides apparently the MC her parents and cops what is happening the entire time). I was just so intrigued by both the role of the flowers and well… the protagonist (Maura) because she’s totally crazy. And who doesn’t love flowers, herbs, and crazy ladies?
The atmosphere was definitely there. If this author did anything well, it was for sure that. From the flowers, to the gargoyles, to just the aesthetics of the environment. It was just so fun!
And I will say I was never bored or wanting to put the book down. So for a plotless book to achieve that is great!
The downside was how dumb our mc Holly was. Literally did not have a single string of common sense in her noggin. Like I said it’s not a twisty plot. It’s just pushed forward by Holly being conveniently stupid.
Not only that, but she was terrible on the emotional intelligence level. Like some of her thoughts are just so horrible it’s hard to care about her even though you’re supposed to.
But all of that was fine by me, until the super lack luster ending. It was okay I guess. Just so very meh.
I guess I was hoping there was a surprise or something other than what I already knew.
Also the science behind how some of the stuff with the flowers happened…. Is a bit questionable to me.
But not bad, all in all! Just not the best either.
The Elementals by Michael McDowell
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is one of those rare times it takes me forever to read a book, solely because I wanted to savor it and not because I was bored. I absolutely loved this. What’s not to love about a southern haunted house story with an EXTREMELY unique twist and eccentric characters? This book just hooks you with the very first scene (which is a bizarro funeral scene).
First and foremost I want to say this authors writing is just pure beauty to me. Like I literally want to live inside this mans words and I feel like that’s such a rare compliment coming from me. It wasn’t too much or too flowery. It was wonderfully immersive.
So was the atmosphere. I could practically feel the sun scorching me while reading this book. I highly suggest reading this on the beach with a nice refreshing cocktail!
The eeriness and mysteriousness of the haunted sand house was a creeping thing. It does take a while for the house to be truly scary, but I feel like the build up is sooo worth it. Especially because getting to know the characters before the build up is so worth it.
The characters were all very very weird. Like not totally nuts or anything, but definitely eccentric. It was offputting at first but quickly became kind of endearing and made it to where i started to love them all eventually. even though I might not love them as people. But just as characters. Especially India and Odessa.
I do know some people think India and her fathers relationship was weird, and inappropriate, and so did I at first. But after I did some research as to why they were written this way, I did come across some theories that make sense. One being that her father was just a gay man (McDowell himself was a gay man and there are multiple hints in the book that the father is a closeted gay man, which make this theory make sense to me) with no modesty and no cares to give. It’s also strongly hinted he didn’t want to be a father, which could cloud his judgment on how a father would act around his daughter. Due to this it’s also theorized that India just accepts him as he is. Just something to think about before going into this and you see what I mean etc.
I’m not saying it doesn’t make their relationship odd. It definitely is. But I don’t think it’s meant the way some people and reviewers are taking it . I do think in the end India and her father loved each other as father and daughter, but just interacted in odd and unconventional ways.
But the entire family was unconventional. If you want southern family drama… then you got it! And I personally loved every minute.
But also know this also means you’re getting a depiction of what a rich family in the south in another era would be like. So go into this bearing that in mind too! Though I do feel like the book is very self aware in that sense, if that eases anyone’s worries as to what I mean by that. Which was another thing I appreciated about it!
What ends up showing up in terms of a haunting like I said does take a while. But man when I tell you some of the imagery in this is just straight nightmare inducing to me. I can’t say I was actively scared while reading it. But later when I try to go to bed I definitely hope some of that imagery doesn’t snake its way into my mind!
And again…. So so unique! Such a refreshing haunted house story.
Cheers to that little nod to voodoo as well!
You may not like it if you need concrete answers though as this doesn’t really offer them. But part of me loves it for that!
I will 100% read more McDowell!
First and foremost I want to say this authors writing is just pure beauty to me. Like I literally want to live inside this mans words and I feel like that’s such a rare compliment coming from me. It wasn’t too much or too flowery. It was wonderfully immersive.
So was the atmosphere. I could practically feel the sun scorching me while reading this book. I highly suggest reading this on the beach with a nice refreshing cocktail!
The eeriness and mysteriousness of the haunted sand house was a creeping thing. It does take a while for the house to be truly scary, but I feel like the build up is sooo worth it. Especially because getting to know the characters before the build up is so worth it.
The characters were all very very weird. Like not totally nuts or anything, but definitely eccentric. It was offputting at first but quickly became kind of endearing and made it to where i started to love them all eventually. even though I might not love them as people. But just as characters. Especially India and Odessa.
I do know some people think India and her fathers relationship was weird, and inappropriate, and so did I at first. But after I did some research as to why they were written this way, I did come across some theories that make sense. One being that her father was just a gay man (McDowell himself was a gay man and there are multiple hints in the book that the father is a closeted gay man, which make this theory make sense to me) with no modesty and no cares to give. It’s also strongly hinted he didn’t want to be a father, which could cloud his judgment on how a father would act around his daughter. Due to this it’s also theorized that India just accepts him as he is. Just something to think about before going into this and you see what I mean etc.
I’m not saying it doesn’t make their relationship odd. It definitely is. But I don’t think it’s meant the way some people and reviewers are taking it . I do think in the end India and her father loved each other as father and daughter, but just interacted in odd and unconventional ways.
But the entire family was unconventional. If you want southern family drama… then you got it! And I personally loved every minute.
But also know this also means you’re getting a depiction of what a rich family in the south in another era would be like. So go into this bearing that in mind too! Though I do feel like the book is very self aware in that sense, if that eases anyone’s worries as to what I mean by that. Which was another thing I appreciated about it!
What ends up showing up in terms of a haunting like I said does take a while. But man when I tell you some of the imagery in this is just straight nightmare inducing to me. I can’t say I was actively scared while reading it. But later when I try to go to bed I definitely hope some of that imagery doesn’t snake its way into my mind!
And again…. So so unique! Such a refreshing haunted house story.
Cheers to that little nod to voodoo as well!
You may not like it if you need concrete answers though as this doesn’t really offer them. But part of me loves it for that!
I will 100% read more McDowell!
The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Petrified Women by Jeremy Ray
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I’ve heard a lot of hype behind this novella and yes, I can see why. However I don’t think I loved it as much as everyone else did.
I will say I do applaud the author for the messaging in this. It’s a stance against gaslighting and abusive relationships, in the extreme sense, but still something people actually go through. It’s a very “I see you” story. I also liked the intro by the author.
I would place it on a similar level as THIS IS WHERE WE TALK THINGS OUT by Caitlin Marcue if you like the way she did her commentary!
I did like the spookiness of the eerie wooden women, and I could definitely see where it was going pretty early on which didn’t bother me. But I felt like there could have been a little more done here atmosphere wise.
My main issue though was how ridiculous it got. It felt like the author wanted us to just accept the absurdity because he had a good message, but that doesn’t really work for me. I need a little something to cling on to for these sorts of stories that makes some kind of sense. In order for me to accept this level of absurdity I would have had to already be expecting it, or there better be a good explanation. In this one those things didn’t ring true.
It was a nice easy read though and I would read this author again!
The Dark Between The Trees by Fiona Barnett
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Oh man…. Thank god I’m free. I mean it in the nicest way possible. This book almost destroyed reading for me, and I feel terrible about that as it’s a debut in this genre at the least. I truly did think I’d like it. It was a 5 star prediction! On paper I should have loved it. Folk horror, creatures, and an ever changing forest! What’s not to like?
I’ll keep this short, and say the main issue is that the author made this sooooo painfully boring. Like literally I think I got a migraine from how bored I was at one point. Literally nothing happened that was even remotely interesting ever.
The pacing genuinely made me feel like I was in my own personal hell. And that’s saying something because I usually love a slow burn. 95% of this was literally two timelines of characters just walking around and talking about the trees.
With the creature in this I think there was supposed to be a feeling of being stalked and an atmosphere of otherness. But the author just didn’t deliver because it was always interrupted by really long drawn out and unnecessary dialogue or stream of consciousness. I wanted to skim so badly.
The cast in both timelines was also HUGE and the author just made it so confusing because she tried to flesh them out but at the same time I really couldn’t tell you anything about anymore than 3 out of like 20 of them.
The last 5% started to get interesting but the ending was soooo unsatisfying.
If this author spent less time talking about the trees or did something a little different with the past timeline, this could have been so interesting. It had the makings to be great, it just failed in literally every way.
I never rate things this low unless they’re offensive or I literally have nothing positive to say….. so there’s that.
Not sure I’ll write this author off completely but I definitely won’t rush to read her next book. This literally took me most of the month to read. I kept hoping it would get better or the answers to everything would make it worth it. I’m so let down.
I’ll keep this short, and say the main issue is that the author made this sooooo painfully boring. Like literally I think I got a migraine from how bored I was at one point. Literally nothing happened that was even remotely interesting ever.
The pacing genuinely made me feel like I was in my own personal hell. And that’s saying something because I usually love a slow burn. 95% of this was literally two timelines of characters just walking around and talking about the trees.
With the creature in this I think there was supposed to be a feeling of being stalked and an atmosphere of otherness. But the author just didn’t deliver because it was always interrupted by really long drawn out and unnecessary dialogue or stream of consciousness. I wanted to skim so badly.
The cast in both timelines was also HUGE and the author just made it so confusing because she tried to flesh them out but at the same time I really couldn’t tell you anything about anymore than 3 out of like 20 of them.
The last 5% started to get interesting but the ending was soooo unsatisfying.
If this author spent less time talking about the trees or did something a little different with the past timeline, this could have been so interesting. It had the makings to be great, it just failed in literally every way.
I never rate things this low unless they’re offensive or I literally have nothing positive to say….. so there’s that.
Not sure I’ll write this author off completely but I definitely won’t rush to read her next book. This literally took me most of the month to read. I kept hoping it would get better or the answers to everything would make it worth it. I’m so let down.
The Spite House by Johnny Compton
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I want to start by saying Johnny Compton looks like a really really nice guy. I mean just look at that smile in his picture! And I mean he wrote a book! What an accomplishment! This was a pretty solid debut and I think I’m in the minority for the ‘feeling meh about it’ group. He’s also a bipoc author so I love to see it! I definitely am not saying this is a bad book in this review. I just had some personal issues with it for what I normally want out of this genre. So I think this is a case of ‘it’s not you it’s me’ for sure.
I think I’m going to try something new with my review format, so let me know if this works for you!
WHAT I DID LIKE:
1. I liked the twist which explains why they’re on the run. but it does take a minute to get to it! I thought it was worth it though.
2. I liked the commentary on racism, so much so I wish it was expanded on more. I felt like it was just forgotten by the end of the story.
3. I liked the familial vibes, I always love a “I’ll do anything for my family” sort of scenario and we do get that in this book.
4. I liked the exploration of what may happen when you die.
5. I liked the different things it’s implied the spite house can do to you. So basically I liked the concept as a whole.
I’ll outline everything I DIDN’T like too, so you can see where I’m coming from and can decide if you should pick this up or not!
1. There was little to no atmosphere in here. For a story that relied on more so eerie moments for the horror…this book was surprisingly lacking in vibes. At least for me, I didn’t feel it. This isn’t to say he didn’t try to create atmosphere. It just didn’t click with me. Any scary moment kind of just happened out of nowhere with little to no build up. And it started waaaaay too soon.
2. It was a little overwritten. To the point where dialogue between characters was sometimes interrupted by huge exposition dumps, and the other character wouldn’t get to respond for a few pages. It just took me out of it.
3. It felt like 2-3 different books at times. It’s hard to explain it. It just felt like it would need to be longer to flesh everything the author wanted to do out… but at the same time I REALLY did not want it to be longer because it does drag in places. But we did have a few different stories seemingly going on.
4. The spite house was barely in the book it feels like. This really really disappointed me.
5. Waaaay too many perspectives. You get a perspective from almost everyone mentioned in the book. It’s very hard to connect to the characters because of this. It felt like no real development was possible because of this too.
Overall I will say I’m a little disappointed because this felt a bit messy and was a slog at times. But this doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s a debut. I see promise here.
I’m excited to see what else Johnny Compton does, and can’t wait to see him grow as an author. I did really enjoy the overall idea here!
I think I’m going to try something new with my review format, so let me know if this works for you!
WHAT I DID LIKE:
1. I liked the twist which explains why they’re on the run. but it does take a minute to get to it! I thought it was worth it though.
2. I liked the commentary on racism, so much so I wish it was expanded on more. I felt like it was just forgotten by the end of the story.
3. I liked the familial vibes, I always love a “I’ll do anything for my family” sort of scenario and we do get that in this book.
4. I liked the exploration of what may happen when you die.
5. I liked the different things it’s implied the spite house can do to you. So basically I liked the concept as a whole.
I’ll outline everything I DIDN’T like too, so you can see where I’m coming from and can decide if you should pick this up or not!
1. There was little to no atmosphere in here. For a story that relied on more so eerie moments for the horror…this book was surprisingly lacking in vibes. At least for me, I didn’t feel it. This isn’t to say he didn’t try to create atmosphere. It just didn’t click with me. Any scary moment kind of just happened out of nowhere with little to no build up. And it started waaaaay too soon.
2. It was a little overwritten. To the point where dialogue between characters was sometimes interrupted by huge exposition dumps, and the other character wouldn’t get to respond for a few pages. It just took me out of it.
3. It felt like 2-3 different books at times. It’s hard to explain it. It just felt like it would need to be longer to flesh everything the author wanted to do out… but at the same time I REALLY did not want it to be longer because it does drag in places. But we did have a few different stories seemingly going on.
4. The spite house was barely in the book it feels like. This really really disappointed me.
5. Waaaay too many perspectives. You get a perspective from almost everyone mentioned in the book. It’s very hard to connect to the characters because of this. It felt like no real development was possible because of this too.
Overall I will say I’m a little disappointed because this felt a bit messy and was a slog at times. But this doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s a debut. I see promise here.
I’m excited to see what else Johnny Compton does, and can’t wait to see him grow as an author. I did really enjoy the overall idea here!
Found: An Anthology of Found Footage Horror Stories by Andrew Cull, Gabino Iglesias
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I bought this right after I finished ‘episode thirteen’ by Craig DiLouie because I wanted to experience something like that again, and found footage in book format was something I didn’t know I was missing in my life! I didn’t have the same experience with this as I did that, but that’s to be expected since each story is written by a different author and they’re a lot shorter. Basically…. I was not disappointed with this at all despite it not being the exact vibe I wanted.
There are 18 stories in this, all being found footage. It for the most part, made my found footage heart pretty happy! We have diary entries, actual found video, incident records, interviews, and even a court transcript in here! It was so fun to read all the different and unique takes on these things.
There were a few misses in here, but not many at all! For some reason a few of the stories in here take on a current day/political/covid tone and I found I really didn’t like those. But that’s only like 2 or 3 out of 18!
Here are the ones I considered my favorite, with small descriptions! These are some of the 5 Star stories for me personally:
‘Junk pickup” by Fred Fischer, IV: a kid and his dad hunting for second hand goods, find a locker full of home movies, super creepy antics follow. I really liked this one and if I had been reading it at night and in bed… it may have actually given me nightmares!
‘Summons’ by Ally Wilkes: a social worker talks to a court room about a strange religious family she encountered right before they disappeared. Told in court transcripts. I REALLY loved this story and found it super eerie.
‘Accidents, of a sort’ by Kurt Fawver: a man reviewing accident footage is shown unexplained and sinister dashcam footage by a coworker, and slowly becomes obsessed. This one was pretty bleak and disturbing. I really loved it. Not to mention it was super unique.
‘A grave issue’ by Bev Vincent: people on a book forum for a famous author start seeing posts about a book never published by said author. Creepiness follows. This one had a really eerie vibe and the stuff revealed in the book gave me chills. One of the more solid endings in this whole collection.
‘This video is unavailable’ by Robert Levy : a YouTuber starts to act in a concerning way, so fans come together to help him. This story is their interview and recollection of that night. A Simple but effective story and super messed up! I did not see it taking that turn until we were right up on it!
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BUT those are not the only ones I liked. There are other good ones! That’s just to highlight the ones I liked the most.
Overall, this was a really solid collection and if you enjoy found footage or have found a new found love for it in book format, then I highly recommend this collection!
To Be Devoured by Sara Tantlinger
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Repulsive, disturbing, and beautiful, would be the three words I would use to describe this story. a story of wrath and grief and obsession.
I won’t say I couldn’t see where this was going pretty much the whole time, though there is one thing that caught me kinda off guard. However I did still predict it before it was fully revealed.
But even so this book was just so wild. A story of someone just straight losing their mind, and it was done wonderfully.
The atmosphere and vibes in this were absolutely amazing. Like the writing itself is just so pretty, but not too pretty if you get what I mean. I thought the cover wouldn’t match the vibe as I thought the original cover was more straight forward. But trust me… this cover matches the vibe. If you read it you’ll understand.
I just really loved the discussion behind the MCs obsession with vultures and carrion, and I was never not interested in where it was going. But it was like watching a car crash. The character is so tragic…. But also unlikeable. Not once are you supposed to like her. But she’s complex, so you appreciate her as a character. This is the kind of unlikeable character I enjoy. Being in her head was fascinating and disorienting. Her views and the things that happened to her in her life are just so messed up, but you can’t help but want to know more.
This book almost made me almost puke afew times. It does get graphic and gorey, and there is animal murder/death. Those things in horror don’t bother me and it did push the plot/evolution of the story. But for those it would bother…. Maybe skip this one? There’s also a gross scene involving period blood, idk if that would deter anyone or not. Both scenes mentioned were sooooo unhinged. But in a way I enjoy in horror. Definitely not for everyone though.
There’s a fun cocktail recipe at the back of the book too, that’s relevant to the book in a way and along with that there’s pretty vulture themed artwork. So those aspects are fun!
The end wasn’t my absolute favorite but I didn’t hate it! I just wanted a little something extra. Still loved this though… as much as you can love a book as disturbing as this!
Will love to read more from this author!