maggers94's reviews
160 reviews

The Rip by Holly Craig

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I liked the overall plot and the writing style, but I was waiting for some big twist that I never really felt materialized. All of the secrets being revealed were pretty obvious, and the other threads like Rob and the biological parents kind of just fizzled out and were ruled out in an underwhelming way. The ending reunion also felt a little too neat and wrapped up to be believable. Everything going back to normal so easily and quickly was just a little too perfect. Otherwise, an easy domestic thriller to binge.

 

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

dark lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

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

1.0

This was almost a DNF. I finished through shear force of will. I didn’t enjoy this at all, either reading or listening. The characters are uninteresting, the plot disjointed, and the writing and its tone feels extremely juvenile. It’s like it’s going for whimsy, but just falling so, so short. It feels like it wants to be both sci-fi and fantasy, but leans into neither, and the lack of world building for either makes it feel out of place in the world it’s painting. It’s the equivalent of playing pretend with a child and they tell you, okay, I’m a witch now, and you’re just expected to go with it. There would be so much potential if it didn’t time jump and instead followed Laurence and Patricia at their specialized schools, but the plot being a dude showing up and saying Patricia’s going to a special witch school (which is so cheesily set-up to begin with) and then immediately just jumping years into the future is just so ??? .

The Corset by Laura Purcell

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The premise of this was really interesting and the overall plot felt very original. I enjoyed Ruth’s portions and liked the way the twists played out in the end, but Dorothea’s less so. With Dorothea it felt like there were some moments where I just couldn’t see how it was all going to come together with Ruth’s story or where it was going, and the ending felt somewhat abrupt. I was also over the phrenology thing from the get-go, and that made her pretty off-putting as a character for me. Overall, I did enjoy the story as a whole.

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Sort of a slower start, but as things spiraled it picked up and by the end I was completely on edge. It was the perfect level of gothic horror. The historical setting was very different than my usual horror reads, but that felt like it added to the ambiance. 

Identity: A Novel by Nora Roberts

emotional funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

3.0

This was an easy listen, but the plot is pretty predictable and the suspense sort of fell off for me after the beginning chapters. Overall enjoyable, just didn’t really have me either on the edge of my seat or super invested in the romance piece to be a wow for me

Bad Dolls by Rachel Harrison

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

These were great little short horror stories. I loved Rachel Harrison’s writing, so much so that I found myself highlighting, and some of the themes were so relatable. Definitely made me interested in picking up some of her full-length novels that are on my TBR shelf

This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This was enjoyable, but didn’t suck me in nearly as much as the Overnight Guest did. The multiple perspectives were interesting, and I liked how Eve’s pieces brought in every possible suspect so you’re left wondering what really happened up until the very end. I do feel like I wanted one more chapter from Nola’s perspective after the reveal to tie things up, but otherwise a decent read.

Best of Luck by Jason Mott

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

All of the other creature feature stories were pretty unremarkable for me, but I loved this one! It’s one of the shortest in the collection, but manages to create a great horror story quickly and easily. Definitely makes me interested in reading more from this author.

In Bloom by Paul Tremblay

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Big Bad by Chandler Baker

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5