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kaylasbewks's reviews
88 reviews
The Polar Bear Explorers' Club by Alex Bell
adventurous
reflective
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? No
4.0
cawpile ,, 8.43
The Last Word by Taylor Adams
medium-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
3.0
cawpile ,, 6.14
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Child death
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
cawpile ,, 9.14
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Minor: Fatphobia and Sexism
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: The Untold Story of a Lost World by Steve Brusatte
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Will definitely come back to this.
Dread Wood by Jennifer Killick
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
stars ,, 3.0
cawpile ,, 3.57
cawpile ,, 3.57
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Animal death
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
slow-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
2.0
stars ,, 2.0
cawpile ,, 4.0
super disappointed. the only enjoyable factor in this book was the authors writing style, which i already knew i liked because of my last read, another of his books (which was actually super good). even though i wasn't necessarily bored or angry, i wasn't interested in the plot at all - the horror aspect didn't even truly begin until about ,, 250 pages in? even though you spend so long with the characters & their backstories, they still felt underwhelming and i had trouble feeling bad/scared for them, which then ruined the atmosphere. overall, didn't hate it, but certainly didn't love or like it.
cawpile ,, 4.0
super disappointed. the only enjoyable factor in this book was the authors writing style, which i already knew i liked because of my last read, another of his books (which was actually super good). even though i wasn't necessarily bored or angry, i wasn't interested in the plot at all - the horror aspect didn't even truly begin until about ,, 250 pages in? even though you spend so long with the characters & their backstories, they still felt underwhelming and i had trouble feeling bad/scared for them, which then ruined the atmosphere. overall, didn't hate it, but certainly didn't love or like it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Body horror and Mental illness
Minor: Self harm, Alcohol, and Child death
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
stars ,, 5.0
cawpile ,, 9.14
this book was insane ,, i read 80% in one day which explains a lot.
i'm a sucker for 'housewife horror' so i may seem biased when i say this but ,, the characters were amazingly written. were the ignorant? yes. were they stupid at times? yes. were they selfish? yes! but that's what makes reading about them so interesting, instead of seeing people suddenly rise up to the occasion you see the internal battle of ignoring the problem or fighting against it. also, the atmosphere was phenomenal, the amount of times i actually got freaked out was embarrassing ,, and the amount of times i giggled was unsurprising. i also seem to be a sucker for books that heavily lean into horror stereotypes ,, but are extremely self aware ,, so that's always nice to know!
i'd definitely recommend this but please check the tw's before reading, it's a dark book.
cawpile ,, 9.14
this book was insane ,, i read 80% in one day which explains a lot.
i'm a sucker for 'housewife horror' so i may seem biased when i say this but ,, the characters were amazingly written. were the ignorant? yes. were they stupid at times? yes. were they selfish? yes! but that's what makes reading about them so interesting, instead of seeing people suddenly rise up to the occasion you see the internal battle of ignoring the problem or fighting against it. also, the atmosphere was phenomenal, the amount of times i actually got freaked out was embarrassing ,, and the amount of times i giggled was unsurprising. i also seem to be a sucker for books that heavily lean into horror stereotypes ,, but are extremely self aware ,, so that's always nice to know!
i'd definitely recommend this but please check the tw's before reading, it's a dark book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Gore, Rape, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, and Forced institutionalization
Leech by Hiron Ennes
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
stars ,, 5.0
cawpile ,, 9.14
this book was outstanding from the completely unique plot, fantastically fleshed out characters and mesmerising writing. it became so much more than i ever expected it to be, i'm still in awe. i will admit that at times i was confused, but by the end of the book i believe i pieced together everything,, even if i haven't, i still loved the experience - the last 25% or so of this book was a rollercoaster of emotions and i couldn't put it down. wow.
i have so many thoughts about this book, 99% of which are positive, but my brain is so frazzled. simply, i'd recommend this book to anyone and everyone who's even remotely interested, but please check the trigger warnings first.
wow. wow? wow. wow. wow.
cawpile ,, 9.14
this book was outstanding from the completely unique plot, fantastically fleshed out characters and mesmerising writing. it became so much more than i ever expected it to be, i'm still in awe. i will admit that at times i was confused, but by the end of the book i believe i pieced together everything,, even if i haven't, i still loved the experience - the last 25% or so of this book was a rollercoaster of emotions and i couldn't put it down. wow.
i have so many thoughts about this book, 99% of which are positive, but my brain is so frazzled. simply, i'd recommend this book to anyone and everyone who's even remotely interested, but please check the trigger warnings first.
wow. wow? wow. wow. wow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Miscarriage, Death, Body horror, Child death, Grief, Gore, Medical content, Violence, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, and Fire/Fire injury
Tinfoil Butterfly by Rachel Eve Moulton
taboo sexual relationship between step sister & brother explored.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
stars ,, 3.0
cawpile ,, 6.85
the writing was beautiful, i loved the two main characters relationship but the timeline pacing felt off & unrealistic - it ruined the immersion for me, therefore making the story less unsettling + creepy as it could've been. the blur between realistic fiction and magical realism was sometimes very confusing and could make the narrative hard to follow, other than that, i enjoyed the story. not a bad book!
lowell's character confused me though, his random 'arc' of sorts felt unnecessary and the re-introduction of him was obviously just for an extra obstacle/ scare factor in the plot,, felt like more could've been done with him though.
cawpile ,, 6.85
the writing was beautiful, i loved the two main characters relationship but the timeline pacing felt off & unrealistic - it ruined the immersion for me, therefore making the story less unsettling + creepy as it could've been. the blur between realistic fiction and magical realism was sometimes very confusing and could make the narrative hard to follow, other than that, i enjoyed the story. not a bad book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Murder, Medical trauma, Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, Child abuse, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Bliss Montage by Ling Ma
challenging
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
stars ,, 4.0
cawpile ,, 8.14
i actually loved this, even if it took me a minute to wrap my head around some of the overarching metaphors, the writing was gorgeous 'nd i'll definitely be checking out 'severance' by the same author. :) none of the stories really fell flat to me either, i definitely had my favourites, those being 'the office', 'peking duck' & 'tomorrow' but all of them were great. not being too detailed in this rvw because there's just ,, so much going on.
boobclub pick with mari !!
cawpile ,, 8.14
i actually loved this, even if it took me a minute to wrap my head around some of the overarching metaphors, the writing was gorgeous 'nd i'll definitely be checking out 'severance' by the same author. :) none of the stories really fell flat to me either, i definitely had my favourites, those being 'the office', 'peking duck' & 'tomorrow' but all of them were great. not being too detailed in this rvw because there's just ,, so much going on.
boobclub pick with mari !!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, and Blood