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166 reviews
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
5.0
Beautiful classic. Learning patience and to love yourself and others especially when they aren’t their best self yet. Ugh. Just so beautiful. I feel like everyone should read this as a kid and as an adult to remind ourselves to breathe and support each other. It’s a very fast read with obvious heavy emphasis on the love of flowers, plants, and wildlife. The metaphor of growth in flowers and people are easy to grasp. The 1996 adaptation is the movie version I grew up with and it is so close to the source material that I could hear the actors sometimes which was a really cool experience. The “box your ears” comment from the late (RIP) Dame Maggie Smith or the accent of Mary and Colin and the “beggin your pardon miss” of Martha. I watched it with my mom after reading this book and had a wonderful time.
C 8
I mean… most of them are kids
A 7
The movie supplied most of my visual and vibes but this is a children’s book and the lessons are so much more important.
W 9
Wonderfully written. The accents written in a real way. The morals. The feeling.
P 8
It’s okay enough. The movie holds so much sentimental value for me that I had to read it as well but I think I will pick the movie over the boon most days. It is still very much worth the read.
I 4
See above.
L 10
Makes sense.
E 10
Two thumbs up!
C 8
I mean… most of them are kids
A 7
The movie supplied most of my visual and vibes but this is a children’s book and the lessons are so much more important.
W 9
Wonderfully written. The accents written in a real way. The morals. The feeling.
P 8
It’s okay enough. The movie holds so much sentimental value for me that I had to read it as well but I think I will pick the movie over the boon most days. It is still very much worth the read.
I 4
See above.
L 10
Makes sense.
E 10
Two thumbs up!
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
5.0
At 37% I predicted my review. “It was a fun time”. Which is my review for a lot of books but this truly did feel like a 5 star for me. Retelling or not, I would have enjoyed this as I truly don’t recall much outside of the basic premise of Poe’s. The relationships felt more fleshed out and everyone had the vibe they were supposed to have with consistency which I find is hard to do in the horror books I’ve been picking up lately.
The original they did not feel like they were ever friends. They did not feel like they really knew each other at all. I do remember that. And even in this one it’s like — sure it had been a long time — but you serve in a war with someone whether you’re friends or not you’re comfortable around them. You’ve been literally in the trenches with them. This book does not have this AT ALL. The connections made are genuine. Prejudices are withheld and exasperated even in times of stress because OF COURSE they are. Even interactions with minor characters are exactly what they need to be.
That’s another thing about this book. It did what it came to do — nothing more, nothing less. I am 100% satisfied after starting this book and I do believe from a technical standpoint this may be my first true five star read. I will have to consider the score but if it’s not, it’s goddamn close.
Read this book, please. It’s good and fast and entertaining.
C 10
A 10 although there is a lot of overuse of the world gloomy
W 10 loved it so much more than Poe sorry that’s probably offensive to some but get wrecked I guess
P 10 there were questions. There were answers. There are interpretations.
I 10 I loved the narrators voice and I really enjoyed legit everything so yeah. Nothing I’d rather be doing right now.
L 10 sounds crazy right?
E 10 yeah buddy this is my first 70/70 5 star
The original they did not feel like they were ever friends. They did not feel like they really knew each other at all. I do remember that. And even in this one it’s like — sure it had been a long time — but you serve in a war with someone whether you’re friends or not you’re comfortable around them. You’ve been literally in the trenches with them. This book does not have this AT ALL. The connections made are genuine. Prejudices are withheld and exasperated even in times of stress because OF COURSE they are. Even interactions with minor characters are exactly what they need to be.
That’s another thing about this book. It did what it came to do — nothing more, nothing less. I am 100% satisfied after starting this book and I do believe from a technical standpoint this may be my first true five star read. I will have to consider the score but if it’s not, it’s goddamn close.
Read this book, please. It’s good and fast and entertaining.
C 10
A 10 although there is a lot of overuse of the world gloomy
W 10 loved it so much more than Poe sorry that’s probably offensive to some but get wrecked I guess
P 10 there were questions. There were answers. There are interpretations.
I 10 I loved the narrators voice and I really enjoyed legit everything so yeah. Nothing I’d rather be doing right now.
L 10 sounds crazy right?
E 10 yeah buddy this is my first 70/70 5 star
Evocation by S.T. Gibson
3.0
I finished this on the last day of the Autumn Equinox reading challenge. It was the guild book and if it wasn’t the last day and I wasn’t trying to finish it I probably would have dnf’d but I think it was just that particular period in my life. The story was tight. A take on ghosts and magic and supernatural that I haven’t seen much of in the books I’ve read. The complicated relationship was almost too complicated to me and I am a fan of a mmf all day long but I had to force myself to care for this one and that wasn’t fun to me. But I will fully say I had just turned 30 alone and was in an absolute terrible mood for a while so reading about love in a complication wasn’t what I wanted then. I do think I will revisit this down the road as the supernatural part of it and the political intrigue of it all was really refreshing.
C 6
The mains fell flat a lot and sometimes the side characters were just exposition and that’s fun when it’s done well but…
A 9
Really good settings. The atmosphere around the stakes were compelling as well.
W 7
Flat in some parts. There were decisions that felt strange and like ‘snap of the finger just kidding’ type of things.
P 8
Pretty good. Take the romance out still pretty good. Just the romance? Toxic as hell fr fr with some green flag moments that feel out of place.
I 3
I won’t say never but probably not is most accurate.
L 5
I don’t really remember. Just a lot of daddy issues I remember.
E 7
Was a slog to get through but it could have been my end so I will give a 7 instead of a 5
C 6
The mains fell flat a lot and sometimes the side characters were just exposition and that’s fun when it’s done well but…
A 9
Really good settings. The atmosphere around the stakes were compelling as well.
W 7
Flat in some parts. There were decisions that felt strange and like ‘snap of the finger just kidding’ type of things.
P 8
Pretty good. Take the romance out still pretty good. Just the romance? Toxic as hell fr fr with some green flag moments that feel out of place.
I 3
I won’t say never but probably not is most accurate.
L 5
I don’t really remember. Just a lot of daddy issues I remember.
E 7
Was a slog to get through but it could have been my end so I will give a 7 instead of a 5
The End of the Road by Craig DiLouie
5.0
What a strange and demented hour of my life. Why did I love this? I was just thinking last night that I needed a book that felt like wrong turn and this delivered that same fucked up, gotta get out, can’t get out, how do we do this, oh fuck. Under 8k? It didn’t feel like that in the audiobook. It wasn’t too short or too long. Each vile act was paced well for the story but quick relative to horror. If you want to revel in the gore, this one isn’t going to do it for you, but it still delivers.
If you have an hour or so to spare, I highly recommend the audiobook but this will be going on my physical wish list for sure. What an absolute random delight from Audible’s AI feature that I thought was dubious at best but it did spit me out this gem.
Two very enthusiastic thumbs up :)
C 9
This was a for the sake of it kind of book and it didn’t hold back so it’s not perfect but still weird people dealing with weird people
A 10
Fucking. Wild.
W 10
Fucking. Wild
P 9
Fucking. Wild. Little too far to be perfect but damn close.
I 10
I still think about this book. I didn’t read it long ago but I’ve never been so bummed in my life to find out I can’t physically hold a book without making it myself.
L 10
There is none at all. Do not come to this book for that.
E 10
WTF did I read?
If you have an hour or so to spare, I highly recommend the audiobook but this will be going on my physical wish list for sure. What an absolute random delight from Audible’s AI feature that I thought was dubious at best but it did spit me out this gem.
Two very enthusiastic thumbs up :)
C 9
This was a for the sake of it kind of book and it didn’t hold back so it’s not perfect but still weird people dealing with weird people
A 10
Fucking. Wild.
W 10
Fucking. Wild
P 9
Fucking. Wild. Little too far to be perfect but damn close.
I 10
I still think about this book. I didn’t read it long ago but I’ve never been so bummed in my life to find out I can’t physically hold a book without making it myself.
L 10
There is none at all. Do not come to this book for that.
E 10
WTF did I read?
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
4.0
I just spent two hours listening to this book and I couldn’t tell you anything except he said his “boon companion”.
Edit: next day read a graphic novel and listened again at the same time and I’ve changed my mind. This is alright.
C 7
They didn’t feel like they ever really knew each other enough to answer a letter like that.
A 7
The graphic novel maybe because it’s visual just felt better.
W 7
Again. Characters felt very distant.
P 9
This one didn’t have as many answers as other versions and I liked that. The ending is satisfying because it feels real despite the disconnect in chemistry. It felt like a sane and rational ending for an insane and unnatural story.
I 5
Eh.
L 5
Sure.
E 3
I had to read another book for it to sink in. Not my favorite but retellings I enjoy thoroughly.
Edit: next day read a graphic novel and listened again at the same time and I’ve changed my mind. This is alright.
C 7
They didn’t feel like they ever really knew each other enough to answer a letter like that.
A 7
The graphic novel maybe because it’s visual just felt better.
W 7
Again. Characters felt very distant.
P 9
This one didn’t have as many answers as other versions and I liked that. The ending is satisfying because it feels real despite the disconnect in chemistry. It felt like a sane and rational ending for an insane and unnatural story.
I 5
Eh.
L 5
Sure.
E 3
I had to read another book for it to sink in. Not my favorite but retellings I enjoy thoroughly.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
5.0
There are zero stars to knock off for how insufferable Ichabod is. What a piece of shit. The entire first half I was trying to recall if he would die or not and how lovely it would be if he did.
I don’t know what we read in high school but Ichabod was definitely not a Chad the first time around. He really did say all the quiet parts out loud in this story but fuck I still was worried for him. Nostalgia for the cartoon every public school in the US would show when movie day coincided with Halloween time? Maybe. He was a milady type before fedora tipping was a thing and it was very unexpected.
The audiobook was super short and I’ll be picking this up physically. It was definitely worth a listen while cleaning on a rainy day, preparing for storms later tonight.
C 7
Familiar faces. Insufferable characters all around.
A 8
Not quite as spooky as I recalled but still pretty alright.
W 7
Too much. It was just too much about who ichabod was and not enough horseman.
P 6
Same reason as writing.
I 8
Still fun though.
L 9
I forgot the moral of the story and I could still relate it to modern stories and media at its core so… classic.
E 9
Too much.
I don’t know what we read in high school but Ichabod was definitely not a Chad the first time around. He really did say all the quiet parts out loud in this story but fuck I still was worried for him. Nostalgia for the cartoon every public school in the US would show when movie day coincided with Halloween time? Maybe. He was a milady type before fedora tipping was a thing and it was very unexpected.
The audiobook was super short and I’ll be picking this up physically. It was definitely worth a listen while cleaning on a rainy day, preparing for storms later tonight.
C 7
Familiar faces. Insufferable characters all around.
A 8
Not quite as spooky as I recalled but still pretty alright.
W 7
Too much. It was just too much about who ichabod was and not enough horseman.
P 6
Same reason as writing.
I 8
Still fun though.
L 9
I forgot the moral of the story and I could still relate it to modern stories and media at its core so… classic.
E 9
Too much.
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio
4.0
Freaking ate this up! What even was this? I need more just like this. I need every book I read in October to feel like this.
I don’t even really know what to say. I wish it continued. I wish there was another half of this story minimum but I also like the questions. I like deciding what happens for myself.
Not every story needs a definitive ending and I think the way it ended was perfect. Upon first listen (I did the audiobook cuz free credits and it’s the Autumn Equinox and if you count the last name it counts for all the letters in my name lol) it feels like every single question posed is unanswered in a way. Who knew I would like something like that?
I was in the middle of making a salad when this ended and I had to check three times that it was actually over and i wasn’t missing something. I squealed when I realized that was it. I will be reading if we were villains of course I am. I will be searching for more horror novellas, more experiment horror, more fungus horror?! Is that even a genre?
This shit was perfect for that first week of fall feeling.
C 10
Weirdos
A 10
Spooky
W 10
Absolutely insane.
P 10
Absolutely insane.
I 9
Wild time.
L 8
I feel like some things should’ve had more of an answer. Or like anything really.
E 10
Wonderful time.
I don’t even really know what to say. I wish it continued. I wish there was another half of this story minimum but I also like the questions. I like deciding what happens for myself.
Not every story needs a definitive ending and I think the way it ended was perfect. Upon first listen (I did the audiobook cuz free credits and it’s the Autumn Equinox and if you count the last name it counts for all the letters in my name lol) it feels like every single question posed is unanswered in a way. Who knew I would like something like that?
I was in the middle of making a salad when this ended and I had to check three times that it was actually over and i wasn’t missing something. I squealed when I realized that was it. I will be reading if we were villains of course I am. I will be searching for more horror novellas, more experiment horror, more fungus horror?! Is that even a genre?
This shit was perfect for that first week of fall feeling.
C 10
Weirdos
A 10
Spooky
W 10
Absolutely insane.
P 10
Absolutely insane.
I 9
Wild time.
L 8
I feel like some things should’ve had more of an answer. Or like anything really.
E 10
Wonderful time.
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
3.0
3.5/5
It is definitely slow. This is a book to be read in one-two days. If I had not forced myself to finish for the Autumn Equinox, I probably would have dnf’d at like 35%. I feel like things got a little convoluted and drawn out and the middle should’ve happened sooner. The last… 10% was real fun. The last line has me hooked thank god because I thought this was a duology for some reason and I was very wrong. I’ll read the third one just to see the dynamic brought by the last line and the world the last few pages set up. I’m in. Which for a second book isn’t too bad. I hope the third delivers.
After a day to let it sit and rereading the last chapter, I have a few character/plot thoughts that I will keep spoiler free. There is a dumb character from the first book that comes back that is an ABSOLUTE delight and truly makes the book fun. Alex’s humor is dry and stale and that was okay paired against other sources of genuine humor in the first book but in this one when everything is doom and gloom, the other character is a much needed relief and I wish for more in the third.
C 8
I liked a lot of characters more in this than the first but some I didn’t like as much and that made me sad. Probably would’ve been 7 but one character makes up for it.
A 7
Better in the first
W 8
Better than the first
P 6
Weak to be honest but if the third book pays off this one will most likely feel leagues better.
I 4
Eh
L 6
Again convoluted. A hell of a ride. Get it? But too much and not enough at the same time.
E 7
Enjoy the thought of it enough after the fact.
It is definitely slow. This is a book to be read in one-two days. If I had not forced myself to finish for the Autumn Equinox, I probably would have dnf’d at like 35%. I feel like things got a little convoluted and drawn out and the middle should’ve happened sooner. The last… 10% was real fun. The last line has me hooked thank god because I thought this was a duology for some reason and I was very wrong. I’ll read the third one just to see the dynamic brought by the last line and the world the last few pages set up. I’m in. Which for a second book isn’t too bad. I hope the third delivers.
After a day to let it sit and rereading the last chapter, I have a few character/plot thoughts that I will keep spoiler free. There is a dumb character from the first book that comes back that is an ABSOLUTE delight and truly makes the book fun. Alex’s humor is dry and stale and that was okay paired against other sources of genuine humor in the first book but in this one when everything is doom and gloom, the other character is a much needed relief and I wish for more in the third.
C 8
I liked a lot of characters more in this than the first but some I didn’t like as much and that made me sad. Probably would’ve been 7 but one character makes up for it.
A 7
Better in the first
W 8
Better than the first
P 6
Weak to be honest but if the third book pays off this one will most likely feel leagues better.
I 4
Eh
L 6
Again convoluted. A hell of a ride. Get it? But too much and not enough at the same time.
E 7
Enjoy the thought of it enough after the fact.
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
4.0
There are many, many thoughts I have about this book. The most prevalent is I hate men. The second most prevalent is why this book is not five stars and it is 100% my own fault but I rate with my heart and this deserved a whole point taken off. I read this entire book thinking all of the characters were black. It wasn’t until the very end, there’s a line that clearly states what happens to white people and what happens to black people and like… it really did just knock the entire story down for me. The classism is very distinct in here and I guess it says something about my blindness to racism because if it’s explicitly in there, I missed it. If that one line hadn’t been in there and I could’ve lived thinking this was about black women banding together to read, their families trying to succeed in a time that wanted to oppress them and see them fail, classism within race, and then the obvious spoiler that I will not include but the last arc of the book club is so much sweeter when you think of there only being one white person… I don’t know. I just felt like I read an entirely different book now. I choose to live in my other world because it just reads better to me.
Nothing can make me like the men in this book which like yeah duh.
Patricia full crazy bitch we love and support her but I live for Miss Mary on a real level. All the book club ladies made me think of people my parents brought around growing up in the 90s. The husbands make me think of them more knowing what life was like behind closed doors for all of them. Life really sucks for some people and no one ever knows the whole truth and I feel that hard in this book in almost every character.
There is one thing that I wanted a definitive answer on in regard to one aspect of Patricia and Carter’s fate that didn’t get confirmed or denied which… I guess truly doesn’t matter. Also SCREAMING FUCK CARTER ON MAIN fuck all them men honestly. Show me a good one and I’ll show you an Oscar winner.
I will say the gaslighting (if that’s what it is?) in this book made it really really hard to get through. It made me feel dread like I was the one looking on like ‘there’s no coming out of this, it’s just how it’s going to be from now on if I want to survive’ and it was physically painful and yeah… I felt her standing at that sink.
This is my first Grady Hendrix and I liked it. It was well paced. I don’t know enough about psychology to argue points I’ve read made about how women are represented by a male author but I know as a woman, I know all of those women, I know all of those viewpoints and it felt okay to me.
But take my review with a grain of salt because those bitches were white the whole damn time.
4.75 because it really was a fun time when it was fun and it really was dreadful when it was dreadful.
C 8
A 8
W 9
P 9
I 6
L 8
E 8
Nothing can make me like the men in this book which like yeah duh.
Patricia full crazy bitch we love and support her but I live for Miss Mary on a real level. All the book club ladies made me think of people my parents brought around growing up in the 90s. The husbands make me think of them more knowing what life was like behind closed doors for all of them. Life really sucks for some people and no one ever knows the whole truth and I feel that hard in this book in almost every character.
There is one thing that I wanted a definitive answer on in regard to one aspect of Patricia and Carter’s fate that didn’t get confirmed or denied which… I guess truly doesn’t matter. Also SCREAMING FUCK CARTER ON MAIN fuck all them men honestly. Show me a good one and I’ll show you an Oscar winner.
I will say the gaslighting (if that’s what it is?) in this book made it really really hard to get through. It made me feel dread like I was the one looking on like ‘there’s no coming out of this, it’s just how it’s going to be from now on if I want to survive’ and it was physically painful and yeah… I felt her standing at that sink.
This is my first Grady Hendrix and I liked it. It was well paced. I don’t know enough about psychology to argue points I’ve read made about how women are represented by a male author but I know as a woman, I know all of those women, I know all of those viewpoints and it felt okay to me.
But take my review with a grain of salt because those bitches were white the whole damn time.
4.75 because it really was a fun time when it was fun and it really was dreadful when it was dreadful.
C 8
A 8
W 9
P 9
I 6
L 8
E 8
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
5.0
There are no reviews that can do this justice. If you like fanfiction, mm in general, fantasy, mythology or all of the above, you will enjoy this heart wrenching book. It is probably the most beautifully written book I’ve ever read from a sentence structure and I wish I had it physically to annotate. I’ve never loved love like theirs and no one will ever be loved like they loved each over.
C 9
Obvious flaws, characters that meant nothing really. Some pointless scenes that felt kind of like ‘look at all of these names I know’ but not very many and it didn’t slow the pace that much
A 10
There were a LOT of settings in this book. A LOT. And I enjoyed them all. They all felt real and they felt like the characters in the book had to adapt to each change of the landscape literally which doesn’t always happen in books. It seems like sometimes the guy that wears head to toe fur can go through the desert just fine and doesn’t have any adverse effects unless it furthers the plot and sometimes those effects in this book were just so well done.
W 10
There isn’t a word I know that can describe this book. Poetic doesn’t even touch it.
P 8
The love story is great. If you know mythology you know how it ends. If you don’t it might be a slog to get through at points. The ending did propel me forward a lot.
I 10
I want to own this physically desperately.
L 8
I don’t know enough about war strategy to know how well the logic hold up but the other parts were mostly okay.
E 10
C 9
Obvious flaws, characters that meant nothing really. Some pointless scenes that felt kind of like ‘look at all of these names I know’ but not very many and it didn’t slow the pace that much
A 10
There were a LOT of settings in this book. A LOT. And I enjoyed them all. They all felt real and they felt like the characters in the book had to adapt to each change of the landscape literally which doesn’t always happen in books. It seems like sometimes the guy that wears head to toe fur can go through the desert just fine and doesn’t have any adverse effects unless it furthers the plot and sometimes those effects in this book were just so well done.
W 10
There isn’t a word I know that can describe this book. Poetic doesn’t even touch it.
P 8
The love story is great. If you know mythology you know how it ends. If you don’t it might be a slog to get through at points. The ending did propel me forward a lot.
I 10
I want to own this physically desperately.
L 8
I don’t know enough about war strategy to know how well the logic hold up but the other parts were mostly okay.
E 10