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kkenna7's reviews
269 reviews
When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
*Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC! Opinions are my own.*
I thought I hated this at first. In fact, I almost DNFed it like twice in the first half! This is through absolutely no fault of the book at all, entirely a skill issue on my end. The thing with this book, it subverts a lot of the thoughts you might have about a horror novel. There are monsters, yes. There's high stakes, it's bloody, all of that. But this book isn't *just* all of those things. This book also tackles the terror that is being a young kid and what that might look like if those fears become real. Sometimes that looks kinda silly, like <spoiler2D cartoon characters chasing you through a hallway with a chainsaw. Sometimes that's much more horrifying, likethe manifestation of you abusive dad as a wolf ripping your companion's beloved mother to dust. This is about grief, abandonment, and how complicated relationships with your parents can still have love in them. The scariest part of the whole thing is not the monsters themselves, but the vulnerability, the not always knowing who to trust or when. It's really quite clever, actually.
The audiobook for this was wonderful. The narration masterfully done, Helen Laser does a great job throwing her voice between woman in her 30s and child at 5 years old. Nat himself chiming in at *just* the right moment (you'll know) was also so incredible.
One thing I will say is I didn't super love the ending. Felt a liiiittle lame for a "twist" to me. Not enough to knock down my rating but worth mentioning.
I wouldn't recommend this to just any old horror enjoyer; it certainly won't be for everyone, but this book was definitely something to marvel at and I'm really glad I stuck with it in the end.
I thought I hated this at first. In fact, I almost DNFed it like twice in the first half! This is through absolutely no fault of the book at all, entirely a skill issue on my end. The thing with this book, it subverts a lot of the thoughts you might have about a horror novel. There are monsters, yes. There's high stakes, it's bloody, all of that. But this book isn't *just* all of those things. This book also tackles the terror that is being a young kid and what that might look like if those fears become real. Sometimes that looks kinda silly, like <spoiler2D cartoon characters chasing you through a hallway with a chainsaw. Sometimes that's much more horrifying, like
The audiobook for this was wonderful. The narration masterfully done, Helen Laser does a great job throwing her voice between woman in her 30s and child at 5 years old. Nat himself chiming in at *just* the right moment (you'll know) was also so incredible.
One thing I will say is I didn't super love the ending. Felt a liiiittle lame for a "twist" to me. Not enough to knock down my rating but worth mentioning.
I wouldn't recommend this to just any old horror enjoyer; it certainly won't be for everyone, but this book was definitely something to marvel at and I'm really glad I stuck with it in the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol
Make Sure You Die Screaming by Zee Carlstrom
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
*Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC! All opinions are my own.*
I was very excited to dig into this one and I’m less than thrilled with what I received for a few reasons, which I’ll get into shortly.
First, the positives:
The narrator was wonderful! This was the well-narrated, fully executed audiobook that I’m always looking for.
The last-third or maybe half-ish? of the book or so was really very good and I wish the remainder of the book had the heart that it had. There’s a tonal shift there that feels like the author really got to the meat of the story they wanted to tell and just went all-in. It left me wanting more of it and that energy could have been better distributed on the front half. (This one is kind of a half-positive, I guess, my bad. :/)
The negatives, unfortunately, starting with the most egregious:
The blurb for this book lists Chain Gang All-Stars as a readalike. That’s not something you just SAY. You can’t just throw that around. Folks, I’m here to tell you that no, this book is not a Chain Gang readalike. Not in themes, nor tone, nor vibe. So just know this going in.
SMH, throwing around accolades like that.
Anyway, some other things I wasn’t too keen on. Especially in the first half (it does chill out some eventually), the language in this feels so trendy and almost tryhard? Who am I to say if that was intentional or not, idk. It doesn’t read that way to me. It feels quite forced and like “oh I know this slang term, here’s another!” It made it very hard to get into the book when every other sentence was another buzzword-filled cringefest. Very disappointing imo.
I’m sure this book will speak to a lot of people and for good reason - there are themes of found family and reckoning with generational trauma that are extremely important. I just wish it was a more fully cohesive story and that it spoke to me like we’re all adults here.
I was very excited to dig into this one and I’m less than thrilled with what I received for a few reasons, which I’ll get into shortly.
First, the positives:
The narrator was wonderful! This was the well-narrated, fully executed audiobook that I’m always looking for.
The last-third or maybe half-ish? of the book or so was really very good and I wish the remainder of the book had the heart that it had. There’s a tonal shift there that feels like the author really got to the meat of the story they wanted to tell and just went all-in. It left me wanting more of it and that energy could have been better distributed on the front half. (This one is kind of a half-positive, I guess, my bad. :/)
The negatives, unfortunately, starting with the most egregious:
The blurb for this book lists Chain Gang All-Stars as a readalike. That’s not something you just SAY. You can’t just throw that around. Folks, I’m here to tell you that no, this book is not a Chain Gang readalike. Not in themes, nor tone, nor vibe. So just know this going in.
SMH, throwing around accolades like that.
Anyway, some other things I wasn’t too keen on. Especially in the first half (it does chill out some eventually), the language in this feels so trendy and almost tryhard? Who am I to say if that was intentional or not, idk. It doesn’t read that way to me. It feels quite forced and like “oh I know this slang term, here’s another!” It made it very hard to get into the book when every other sentence was another buzzword-filled cringefest. Very disappointing imo.
I’m sure this book will speak to a lot of people and for good reason - there are themes of found family and reckoning with generational trauma that are extremely important. I just wish it was a more fully cohesive story and that it spoke to me like we’re all adults here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Dysphoria
She's a Lamb! by Meredith Hambrock
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
- 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
4.5
*Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the ALC! All opinions are my own.*
This was SO much fun, okay? First of all, let me just give Stephanie Willing her flowers. The narration in the audiobook was incredible. She didn't just narrate this novel, she ACTED the HELL out of it, which I think was incredibly apt for the plot and also made the listening experience ten times more enjoyable than it would have otherwise been.
Now for the book itself (which was equally as enjoyable). I knew immediately upon seeing this cover and reading the blurb that this was a book for me. The nod to Yellowface is immediately made clear in this book and I love books with a tone like that; they're ones I think have a lot of room for creativity within the fiction space and are not yet overdone. This will easily stand up next to ~weird girl fiction~ like Nightbitch, Motherthing, etc. as well, so this is a Must Read if you're into that subgenre.
I don't want to get *too* into the plot here because I do think going in blind with this one is your best bet for the best time, but let me just say watching the spiral and descent into absolute insanity that occurs throughout this novel is literary GOURMET. The ending was also incredible. It felt like such a wonderfully fitting grand finale to this tumultuous time we've had reading the rest of it.
Crazy, depraved, tense, dark. SO. MUCH. FUN. DO NOT sleep on this!
This was SO much fun, okay? First of all, let me just give Stephanie Willing her flowers. The narration in the audiobook was incredible. She didn't just narrate this novel, she ACTED the HELL out of it, which I think was incredibly apt for the plot and also made the listening experience ten times more enjoyable than it would have otherwise been.
Now for the book itself (which was equally as enjoyable). I knew immediately upon seeing this cover and reading the blurb that this was a book for me. The nod to Yellowface is immediately made clear in this book and I love books with a tone like that; they're ones I think have a lot of room for creativity within the fiction space and are not yet overdone. This will easily stand up next to ~weird girl fiction~ like Nightbitch, Motherthing, etc. as well, so this is a Must Read if you're into that subgenre.
I don't want to get *too* into the plot here because I do think going in blind with this one is your best bet for the best time, but let me just say watching the spiral and descent into absolute insanity that occurs throughout this novel is literary GOURMET. The ending was also incredible. It felt like such a wonderfully fitting grand finale to this tumultuous time we've had reading the rest of it.
Crazy, depraved, tense, dark. SO. MUCH. FUN. DO NOT sleep on this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
*Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC! All opinions are my own.*
This book was a RIDE. I had to sit with it for a couple days before reviewing to collect my thoughts. I definitely enjoyed my time reading this book. It was twisty and more than once, I found myself physically tensing up and having to catch my breath while reading which is always a good sign. It’s unique in its tone and I’m far-stretched to think of a read alike in my personal experience. This book is fast-paced, the characters are complex and engaging (and next to impossible to like almost the entire time - by design, of course). The descent into madness that occurs throughout this plot is a marvel to watch. There’s themes of codependency, adultery, narcissism, and some just plain gross body horror. It also gave me some freaky dreams if I read a lil too close to bedtime - another good sign of a good creepy story.
Definitely not a book I’d go recommending to just anyone, but I will absolutely be keeping it in my back pocket.
Is it perfect? Most certainly not. The writing can get a *little* repetitive if you’re paying too close attention - Johanna likes certain phrases and that shows. But the reality of reading, at least for me, is that sometimes shit like that just doesn’t matter.
SO. In conclusion, proceed with caution but my god have a funky freaky good time.
This book was a RIDE. I had to sit with it for a couple days before reviewing to collect my thoughts. I definitely enjoyed my time reading this book. It was twisty and more than once, I found myself physically tensing up and having to catch my breath while reading which is always a good sign. It’s unique in its tone and I’m far-stretched to think of a read alike in my personal experience. This book is fast-paced, the characters are complex and engaging (and next to impossible to like almost the entire time - by design, of course). The descent into madness that occurs throughout this plot is a marvel to watch. There’s themes of codependency, adultery, narcissism, and some just plain gross body horror. It also gave me some freaky dreams if I read a lil too close to bedtime - another good sign of a good creepy story.
Definitely not a book I’d go recommending to just anyone, but I will absolutely be keeping it in my back pocket.
Is it perfect? Most certainly not. The writing can get a *little* repetitive if you’re paying too close attention - Johanna likes certain phrases and that shows. But the reality of reading, at least for me, is that sometimes shit like that just doesn’t matter.
SO. In conclusion, proceed with caution but my god have a funky freaky good time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail
Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0