kendallreadsitall's reviews
313 reviews

Sugar by Mia Ballard

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

 I support women’s rights and wrongs! 🫡

Set in the 70’s, Satara, the femme fatale and completely unreliable narrator, is a scorned woman that is driven by love… and murder. I went into this book blind solely because of how much I loved the cover, so I’m not going to add anymore plot details! You can expect female rage, retro setting, and witchcraft!

Overall, this book was super fun, fast paced, intense at times, and had a unique plot. Ballard definitely deserves praise for this debut novel! However, the ending was a little too much of a stretch and caused a lot of plot holes for me, and I don’t think enough 70’s references were used to be true to the time. it made the jumping timelines a little confusing and hard to decipher what decade you were in. But I digress. This is a fun read nonetheless and I’m definitely looking forward to more from Mia Ballard! 

Rainbow Black by Maggie Thrash

challenging emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This story will take you on a wild ride through the life of Lacey Bond. At age 13, her life gets turned upside down after her hippie parents (they met at Woodstock, so they’re the real deal) get arrested for an absolutely obscene crime that is entrenched in the Satanic Panic of the 80’s & 90’s. Written very much like a memoir, we follow Lacey as she navigates this new life without her parents, criminal trials, living with her wild and hilarious sister Eclaire, being queer during this close minded time, and still attending high school through all of the legal trouble. Then, suddenly, the reader is plopped into mundane life in Quebec with Jo and Gwen in 2005, going back and forth between timelines.

This book was just as hysterical and brazen as a Grady Hendrix novel. I’d even told my husband that this reminded me a lot of My Best Friend’s Exorcism, which I loved. Thrash was able to cover such a dark subject matter so effortlessly while responsibly throwing in a lot of off the wall moments that were truly so funny.

I am not sure what this book is completely classified as, but I think I could sum it up as a queer coming of age literary mystery romance novel (or something like that lol), and I absolutely loved it. The only complaint I had was it got a bit windy in the middle and could have been a bit shorter and still hit all of the points it needed to. Otherwise, the narrator, Hope Newhouse, is clearly a master of her craft. She did different voices for each character so seamlessly that I truly thought there were multiple narrators!

I’d definitely recommend this book for my litfic and mystery/thriller friends! I even think some horror lovers could get down with this one if you’re into a slower burn. 

The Vacancy in Room 10 by Seraphina Nova Glass

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

After thoroughly enjoying On A Quiet Street and The Vanishing Hour, I was highly anticipating The Vacancy in Room 10. One thing I can applaud Nova Glass on is perfectly describing each setting. I could visualize The Sycamore perfectly, smell the smells, hear the sounds, and each place in this lower income community felt unique.

This story was told in two POVs, Cass and Anna. Cass found herself as the apartment handy-woman, trading a place to stay to manage the complex after her big shot realtor husband had an affair and essentially booted her to the curb. Anna arrived at The Sycamore after her husband, Henry, committed suicide, and she decided to stay in his apartment/art studio to not only clean it out, but also see what he saw in this dingy, dirty place.

Unfortunately, this story fell flat. The characters were flat and mostly not likable. I actually couldn’t wait for Anna’s chapters to end because she was so stuck in her own bubble, making assumptions about other characters that didn’t even make sense, and was honestly just rude. All of the characters, other than sweet Frank Sinatra, were not built up enough to become likable to the reader. The plot just kept going in circles with the two women trying put puzzle pieces together on the same puzzle by overly ruminating until they finally came together to find the last piece, which made the pacing so slow and boring, not at all like the other books I’d loved by this author.

Overall, is this a bad read? Not at all. I think a lot of people would like it, but in my opinion, this is my least favorite from Seraphina.
 

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

3.0

First of all, this cover, right?! I can’t get over how gorgeous the artwork is for this book, which is what initially drew me into wanting to read this story. YA reads tend to be hit or miss for me, usually a miss, and this one was neither here nor there.

To me, this would be more of a YA dark fantasy with horror elements. It followed the Hollow sisters, Iris, Vivi, and Grey, who disappeared as children and came back... different... A decade or so later, Grey goes missing again, and to be able to find her, Iris and Vivi must decipher what happened to them as children.

This book was dark, eerie, magical, and unsettling. The atmosphere that Sutherland created was completely successful for this story, and I really enjoyed the dark fantasy surrounding these girls, what happened to them, and why they are the way they are now. However, I found this plot to draaaag and I had a hard time paying attention. I felt like half of this story was Iris ruminating on her lack of memory and her life. I also found the very brief “romance” (I use that loosely) aspect for Iris really kind of odd, to be honest. It felt unnecessary to me, but maybe I missed something during one of the many moments my brain tuned it out. I can’t say I liked or disliked this book, it truly fell middle of the road for me. If someone is more into fantasy and magical stories, this book is probably more for you than it was for me! 

Finding Jake by Bryan Reardon

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

 The reader finds themselves in the mind of Simon, stay-at-home dad raising two kids, Jake and Lanie, while his wife, Rachel, works a demanding full time job. We start out by learning there was a school shooting, and Simon soon realizes that Jake is missing and suspected to be the second shooter alongside his childhood friend, Doug. We follow Simon as he struggles with this reality and trying to find his son and flashing back to memories throughout their lives to see how we got to this point.

This is a raw, devastating story that does not romanticize school shootings but more puts the reader in the perspective of the parent. Similar to We Need to Talk About Kevin in many ways, but without any graphic details of what took place. This book felt like a Lucinda Berry book in a lot of ways. Reardon was able to take an extremely heavy subject and handle it with complete care, and I appreciate that a lot from this author and the approach he took with this story.

The audiobook was narrated by George Newbern. He did an amazing job setting the tone for this dark, traumatic story. 

Dearest by Jacquie Walters

4.0

New mother, Flora, exhausted and isolated while her husband is deployed, seeks comfort in her estranged mother via email, only for her mother, Jodi, to show up at her door. From there, lost time, a sense of dread, a lack of mental stability, sleep deprivation, and infected nipples (iykyk) brings the reader on a creepy fever dream of postpartum motherhood…. Or is it more than meets the eye?

I think many moms could find this book relatable in the beginning. Still wearing diapers after birth, trying your hardest to breast feed, questioning if you’re a good mother, isolation, and boredom are all elements that a lot of new mothers experience. As soon as Jodi and Flora’s childhood imaginary friend, Zephie, enter the picture, all normalcy goes out the window. I truly never knew what direction this story was going to go, especially once I got to page 132 😳 but I love a story that keeps you on your toes, and Dearest definitely achieved that.

Overall, I really enjoyed this creepy, mind bending story! Truthfully, I found the ending a little bit cheesy, but I was honestly completely okay with it because the visuals playing in my head at that moment were too good to critique. I could definitely see this one getting a movie adaptation somewhere down the line, and I’d be all about it! Definitely a great debut for Jacquie Walters, and I’m looking forward to more from her! 

Sadie by Courtney Summers

4.0

Going into this story blind, I wasn’t sure where it was going to take me, but I ended up down a long road of grief, revenge, longing, heartbreak, and pure darkness. I am pretty choosy when it comes to YA novels, but this one receives a lot of incredibly high praise. For good reason.

This roadtrip of sorrow is told partially by Sadie, our 19 year old main character equipped with a very identifiable stutter, and also partially by podcaster, West McCray. Sadie sete out on a trip to seek revenge for her murdered sister, Mattie, and the reader learns the evil and devastating story surrounding Sadie and Mattie’s upbringing that creates a plot you don’t want to stop devouring.

If you’re interested in reading this book, stop right now and make sure to note to do this one in audiobook form. This was truly one of the best produced audiobooks I’ve ever listened to. Including a cast of narrators and sound effects, you feel immersed within the story, making it sound so real and tangible.

Before reading this one, check trigger warnings. I don’t want to leave them here to spoil the plot for those who intend to go in blind. Even though this is a YA novel, the content is extremely heavy. 

Cackle by Rachel Harrison

5.0

I saved this witchy, cozy book specifically to read this month, and I’m so glad I did. This is a perfect October read. The witchy vibes, looming sinister energy, pet spiders, foot breaking ghosts, and a mansion in the middle of the woods all come together for the exact spooky season aura I crave during this time of year. I think it’s the Halloweentown fan in me to want witches, potions, and spells as soon as the leaves start to change. 🔮

Cackle follows teacher, Annie, who just got dumped and moves to a small town outside of the city. Shortly after arriving, she meets Sophie. A beautiful, enigmatic woman who instantly latches onto Annie, and as they get to know each other, Annie senses that there might be something more about Sophie than meets the eye.

I truly loved every second of Cackle. I romanticized Rowan with the description of the warm, inviting nature of the town and its inhabitants. I longed to meet someone like Sophie, who might be a little off, but simultaneously so thoughtful and charming. And oh my gosh, PLEASE, someone get me a pet Ralph! I need a cute lil spider buddy to tuck in a lil bed and watch HGTV with.

This easily takes the cake on being my favorite Rachel Harrison book. Definitely check this one out for a cozy horror read! 

Maeve Fly by CJ Leede

4.0

 When you look up unhinged in the dictionary, it should probably just say “Maeve Fly” next to it and you’ll get the gist.

This book follows none other than the Maeve Fly, granddaughter of a once well known starlet, Tallulah Fly. Maeve is somehow an ice princess at Disneyland and simultaneously a neurotic, unstable, and deeply disturbing girl, who you truly just grow to love as she descends into madness as the book progresses.

Now, this book is much more graphic than I anticipated. I had almost listened to the audiobook, and my bestie @michellereadsthrillers was like “that’s a wild one to listen to”, so I thought I better pick up a copy. 😂 but seriously though, this book delivers multiple types of explicit content next to some laugh out loud dark humor, and they perfectly coexist together to make Maeve Fly what it is.

My only tiny complaint is the ending seemed rushed. I wanted at least 50 more pages OR I wanted it to end differently and lead to a sequel. (If you’ve read this hmu so we can discuss that avenue 😝) either way, Maeve Fly was thoroughly entertaining and a perfect read for October/Halloween 🎃 

William by Mason Coile

4.0

This book is advertised in the synopsis as a “delicious one-sitting read”, which checks out. The audiobook was roughly 5 hours that I completed in two sittings. I love a short book that packs a punch from start to finish, and this book delivered, baby. Told in multiple POVs, this story gives an eerie, futuristic, wtf is happening vibe that I lived for.

Henry & Lily are both tech driven and live in a home full of the top of the line, cutting edge technology. We’re talking robot dogs, doors that open and close through your voice, and AI in basically everything occupying the home. Henry has agoraphobia, and to combat his loneliness, he creates William, a robot who has darkness occupying his space.

I had a blast with this book, truly. I love sci-fi horror and this had all of the elements of that genre that I love, and OH MY GOD, robots truly scare the living hell out of me. I don’t want to reveal too much of what happens because I truly had no idea it was going to turn out the way it did. The audiobook was narrated by Honey St. Dennis and was fantastic with adding more eeriness through her voice.

If you love sci-fi, horror, multiple POVs, and satisfying twists - read William!