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khopeisz's reviews
123 reviews
Penance by Eliza Clark
3.0
Went into this without knowing the premise. If I had, I probably would not have read this book, as I have never liked or been interested in true crime or any discussions thereof (I put a hold on this book in the library months ago without thinking anything beyond: new book by popular author). The book is very topically aware of internet culture, and the point it is making is meta. But I felt the point lacked nuance, nor did it interrogate why people are interested in true crime. All it said was “ true crime = bad. This book was very upsetting and the ‘twist’ as intimated in the blurb was not worth consuming the upsetting material (I skipped entire sections in the last fourth). I felt I could not rate this book because I did read it in ignorance. But in the end, it’s my rating, and disturbing content aside, I felt the book was average on a technical, structural and philosophical level.
My Husband by Maud Ventura
3.5
I went into this with a stunted understanding of what a thriller could be, as the book was labeled as such, and my expectations were dashed because of it. I now better understand that thrillers can be erotic, tense, and filled with dread without anyone having to die . That being said, I’m keeping my star rating the same, for now.
Kala by Colin Walsh
3.0
Enduring this book’s frustrating structure was not worth the obvious payoff. However, the writing was good and there were a few characters who felt round. And I enjoyed the Irish slang.
The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
4.0
The writing was like eating grapes and jam on crackers—pastoral and country prosaic. However, the story was not very collected. It was ambitious and lost threads with regard to certain characters and plot points. By the last third the story dragged. If the use of language wasn’t so strong, and if the characters were not endearing, I’d have never finished this.