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marleyrollins's reviews
518 reviews
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
4.0
What a work of twisted, creeping, crawling genius!
Imagine Rebecca, meets Jane Eyre, meets Jeff Vandermeer, meets Day of The Triffids, meets Lovecraft, and you’re probably starting to get a sense of the strange, compelling nature of this novel.
For fans of the classic Gothic story, this is an absolute must. Garcia borrows very heavily from the genre, so if you’re a huge classic lit nerd like me, you’ll love all the little nods to other literary masterpieces.
The once regal and luxurious mansion, isolated from the world, now rotting and gripped by decay, much like the ruined splendour of Manderley or Wuthering Heights? You’ve got it here.
The creepy cast of characters inhabiting the mansion, including the handsome but chilling Virgil (Edward Rochester meets Heathcliffe meets Manfred from The Castle of Otranto anyone?), the Mrs Danvers-esque lady of the house Florence, and the tyrannical patriarch Howard Doyle, who basically plays into the stereotype of every controlling man in the history of the Gothic, with some racism added in for extra ~spice~? Check. ✅
The idea that the very house itself is haunted and seems to be exhibiting an influence on the people living inside it, which could be ripped straight from the pages of The Haunting of Hill House? Find it here.
And on top of that haunted house horror, the idea that something more undefinably terrifying and heinous is at work; that a cosmic and unknowably ancient evil that defies description and violates the laws of physics is tangling the characters in its knotted web? Lovecraft would be oh-so proud.
Speaking of Lovecraft, this novel manages to weave a deft criticism of racism, eugenics, and the deluded ideals of blood purity into its themes in a way that feels really skilled and nuanced. Obviously, with a title like Mexican Gothic, Garcia clearly signposts that she’s twisting a genre once reserved for white, middle class authors and viewing it through a Latinx lens, and I loved the way that Mexican references added to the text, as well as opened my eyes to a lot of things I had no idea about. The nods to Mexican history, culture and traditions all added fantastic life and texture to the novel and were one of my favourite parts about it, even if I had to stop constantly to Google what certain things were!
Horror has long been a genre associated with racism, with horror legend Lovecraft’s xenophobic rhetoric and obsession with white purity peppered liberally throughout his work, so I loved seeing Garcia skewer this tradition so effectively. When reading, I was really struck by the comparison to the (sadly not that great) show Lovecraft Country, which also does a similar thing through the perspective of black protagonists, and I found myself imagining that the Doyles were similar in appearance and behaviour to the Braithwaite family of the tv show. I’m sure someone far more literary and intelligent than me could write a fantastic literary criticism comparing the two!
There’s also some fantastic class criticism created in this novel, most starkly seen in the comparison between High Place and El Triunfo, as well as the treatment of the mining workers and the servants by the Doyle family. To the Doyles, the miners are just disposable commodities, much like the vacant-eyed, silent servants, but while the Doyles live in a facade of wealth that is rapidly falling apart, the villagers live in a poor yet vibrant and colourful community that is happy to offer help and assistance to those around them, even to the Doyle household who’ve treat their kin terribly.
There were also some really great links to be made between this text and the incredible short story The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins-Gillman, and I think it’s this comparison that Garcia leans most heavily on with fantastic effect. Much like the narrator of the short story, Catalina is trapped in her home and seemingly going mad, believing that the walls are speaking to her and listening in on her conversations, and much like the short story, her husband also dictates her medical care and decides what is ailing her, along with the under-the-thumb Dr Cummins. Both the novel and the short story capture the painful reality of womanhood under patriarchy- feeling suffocated, silenced, and demeaned by the power of men, which is especially prevalent in the time periods of both texts (Victorian era and 1950s). An extra layer of criticism of the patriarchy is also seen in Mexican Gothic in the way race plays a part in the silencing of Catalina- she is seen as inherently worth less than the Doyles due to her Latinx heritage, and so she is belittled even more. This also extends to Noemí, who is looked down on even further for having darker skin than her cousin, and so treat even worse by the white staff and family.
However, now I’ve proselytised about how much I loved this novel, here’s a couple things I wasn’t a huge fan of. First, it definitely felt like the pace slipped slightly in the middle of this book, whereas the beginning and ending were really action packed and transitioned from scene to scene well. Although, being such a short book, I would say this wasn’t too much of an issue.
I also would have liked to see more of the relationship between Catalina and Noemí, considering the entire conceit of the book was that Noemí is sent to High Place to rescue Catalina. While it makes sense as Catalina is unwell, it feels like a shame we don’t get that much interaction between the girls, and so it’s slightly harder to believe the danger that Noemí battles through to try and save her cousin.
That being said, there was lots that I adored about this book. I loved how cinematic it all felt- especially the opening of the book that sets up Noemí’s quest to rescue her cousin; it felt very much like the opening exposition of a thriller film. I also loved the character of Noemí and the way she embodies so many different versions of womanhood, allowing her to be multi-faceted, rather than slipping into a stereotypical portrayal of a heroine. She’s glamorous and feminine, yet she’s also fierce, headstrong and not afraid to get down and dirty when she needs to. She loves the finer things in life like expensive cars and fancy parties, but she also quickly gives up that lifestyle with very little complaint in order to help her family member. She enjoys the company of attractive men, but she doesn’t seem too sold on the idea of commitment, despite the 1950’s backdrop. She’s also incredibly intelligent, but still sensuous and sexy, knowing how to flirt and maximise her appeal to get what she wants, rather than assuming the traditional geeky ‘I’m not like other girls’ wallflower mantle like other smart leading ladies often do.
However, this isn’t me saying that this some huge feminist tract disguised as a fiction novel. The unfortunate thing is that on the whole, I’m not 100% sure if this book would pass the Bechdel test, as other than when Noemí visits a local healer, she rarely talks of anything but Virgil Doyle with Catalina.
Overall, I’m going to give this book 4 stars. I absolutely loved the gross Gothic imagery and I truly devoured this book, however it’s not quite perfect enough to get 5 stars.
I have heard that a Netflix film adaption is coming though, and I CANNOT WAIT to see it. Please please please do it justice!
Imagine Rebecca, meets Jane Eyre, meets Jeff Vandermeer, meets Day of The Triffids, meets Lovecraft, and you’re probably starting to get a sense of the strange, compelling nature of this novel.
For fans of the classic Gothic story, this is an absolute must. Garcia borrows very heavily from the genre, so if you’re a huge classic lit nerd like me, you’ll love all the little nods to other literary masterpieces.
The once regal and luxurious mansion, isolated from the world, now rotting and gripped by decay, much like the ruined splendour of Manderley or Wuthering Heights? You’ve got it here.
The creepy cast of characters inhabiting the mansion, including the handsome but chilling Virgil (Edward Rochester meets Heathcliffe meets Manfred from The Castle of Otranto anyone?), the Mrs Danvers-esque lady of the house Florence, and the tyrannical patriarch Howard Doyle, who basically plays into the stereotype of every controlling man in the history of the Gothic, with some racism added in for extra ~spice~? Check. ✅
The idea that the very house itself is haunted and seems to be exhibiting an influence on the people living inside it, which could be ripped straight from the pages of The Haunting of Hill House? Find it here.
And on top of that haunted house horror, the idea that something more undefinably terrifying and heinous is at work; that a cosmic and unknowably ancient evil that defies description and violates the laws of physics is tangling the characters in its knotted web? Lovecraft would be oh-so proud.
Speaking of Lovecraft, this novel manages to weave a deft criticism of racism, eugenics, and the deluded ideals of blood purity into its themes in a way that feels really skilled and nuanced. Obviously, with a title like Mexican Gothic, Garcia clearly signposts that she’s twisting a genre once reserved for white, middle class authors and viewing it through a Latinx lens, and I loved the way that Mexican references added to the text, as well as opened my eyes to a lot of things I had no idea about. The nods to Mexican history, culture and traditions all added fantastic life and texture to the novel and were one of my favourite parts about it, even if I had to stop constantly to Google what certain things were!
Horror has long been a genre associated with racism, with horror legend Lovecraft’s xenophobic rhetoric and obsession with white purity peppered liberally throughout his work, so I loved seeing Garcia skewer this tradition so effectively. When reading, I was really struck by the comparison to the (sadly not that great) show Lovecraft Country, which also does a similar thing through the perspective of black protagonists, and I found myself imagining that the Doyles were similar in appearance and behaviour to the Braithwaite family of the tv show. I’m sure someone far more literary and intelligent than me could write a fantastic literary criticism comparing the two!
There’s also some fantastic class criticism created in this novel, most starkly seen in the comparison between High Place and El Triunfo, as well as the treatment of the mining workers and the servants by the Doyle family. To the Doyles, the miners are just disposable commodities, much like the vacant-eyed, silent servants, but while the Doyles live in a facade of wealth that is rapidly falling apart, the villagers live in a poor yet vibrant and colourful community that is happy to offer help and assistance to those around them, even to the Doyle household who’ve treat their kin terribly.
There were also some really great links to be made between this text and the incredible short story The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins-Gillman, and I think it’s this comparison that Garcia leans most heavily on with fantastic effect. Much like the narrator of the short story, Catalina is trapped in her home and seemingly going mad, believing that the walls are speaking to her and listening in on her conversations, and much like the short story, her husband also dictates her medical care and decides what is ailing her, along with the under-the-thumb Dr Cummins. Both the novel and the short story capture the painful reality of womanhood under patriarchy- feeling suffocated, silenced, and demeaned by the power of men, which is especially prevalent in the time periods of both texts (Victorian era and 1950s). An extra layer of criticism of the patriarchy is also seen in Mexican Gothic in the way race plays a part in the silencing of Catalina- she is seen as inherently worth less than the Doyles due to her Latinx heritage, and so she is belittled even more. This also extends to Noemí, who is looked down on even further for having darker skin than her cousin, and so treat even worse by the white staff and family.
However, now I’ve proselytised about how much I loved this novel, here’s a couple things I wasn’t a huge fan of. First, it definitely felt like the pace slipped slightly in the middle of this book, whereas the beginning and ending were really action packed and transitioned from scene to scene well. Although, being such a short book, I would say this wasn’t too much of an issue.
I also would have liked to see more of the relationship between Catalina and Noemí, considering the entire conceit of the book was that Noemí is sent to High Place to rescue Catalina. While it makes sense as Catalina is unwell, it feels like a shame we don’t get that much interaction between the girls, and so it’s slightly harder to believe the danger that Noemí battles through to try and save her cousin.
That being said, there was lots that I adored about this book. I loved how cinematic it all felt- especially the opening of the book that sets up Noemí’s quest to rescue her cousin; it felt very much like the opening exposition of a thriller film. I also loved the character of Noemí and the way she embodies so many different versions of womanhood, allowing her to be multi-faceted, rather than slipping into a stereotypical portrayal of a heroine. She’s glamorous and feminine, yet she’s also fierce, headstrong and not afraid to get down and dirty when she needs to. She loves the finer things in life like expensive cars and fancy parties, but she also quickly gives up that lifestyle with very little complaint in order to help her family member. She enjoys the company of attractive men, but she doesn’t seem too sold on the idea of commitment, despite the 1950’s backdrop. She’s also incredibly intelligent, but still sensuous and sexy, knowing how to flirt and maximise her appeal to get what she wants, rather than assuming the traditional geeky ‘I’m not like other girls’ wallflower mantle like other smart leading ladies often do.
However, this isn’t me saying that this some huge feminist tract disguised as a fiction novel. The unfortunate thing is that on the whole, I’m not 100% sure if this book would pass the Bechdel test, as other than when Noemí visits a local healer, she rarely talks of anything but Virgil Doyle with Catalina.
Overall, I’m going to give this book 4 stars. I absolutely loved the gross Gothic imagery and I truly devoured this book, however it’s not quite perfect enough to get 5 stars.
I have heard that a Netflix film adaption is coming though, and I CANNOT WAIT to see it. Please please please do it justice!
Dracula: The Un-Dead by Dacre Stoker
2.0
Look, I don’t consider myself a literary purist, but this book feels like a prime example of ‘just because you can, doesn’t mean you should’.
Usually I would never consider a book that’s basically fanfiction, but Dacre Stoker being a descendant of Bram swayed me to pick this up. Unfortunately, despite apparently having access to Bram’s notes, Dacre does an absolute hatchet job with this supposed sequel.
Not only is he nowhere near as talented a writer as Bram- this book is chock full of ham-fisted similes and cheesy, cheesy lines- he also decides for no apparent reason to just absolutely murder our memory of the original beloved characters. If you ever liked the protagonists in Dracula and were at all attached to them, get ready to read them in this novel as aged, bloated, alcoholic drug addicts with issues.
Plus, considering that he’s a direct descendent of the man himself, Dacre seems to have absolutely no qualms about painting Bram in a terrible light too. That’s right- he doesn’t stop at just ruining the characters. Once again, for no reason other than to cause fury, he writes Bram Stoker into the novel as an actual character (which is just totally nonsensical) and in the novel he’s basically a talentless hack fading into obscurity who passes off his book Dracula, which is actually a real life retelling, as actual literature to attempt to salvage his fruitless career. Because, you know, why wouldn’t you paint your family member in this light? Duh.
And if you are super into the slaughter of the existing characters, you might also enjoy the addition of Dacre’s own characters, like the whiny, deluded Quincey Harker, or addled drunk Inspector Cotford, who plays the part of the police officer who’s getting too old for the job but just can’t shake the memory of his cold case he couldn’t solve and has let it drive him mad. Because we’ve never seen that character before. Yawn.
Or perhaps you’ll enjoy the character of Countess Bathory, who is the main antagonist of this novel, again, I don’t want to keep repeating myself, for no logical reason considering the book is f*cking called ‘Dracula the Undead’. Bathory is fairly 2D as villains go, and the only particularly interesting thing about her is that she apparently chose lesbianism as a way to defy god, because your sexuality is both a choice, and a sin. Lovely. Oh, and she’s also a family member of Dracula from back in the day. Which doesn’t make any sense as they never appear in lore together anywhere else, and they came from totally different time periods and countries, but whatever. We move.
Also, all the weird references to the time frame…why?! Dacre Stoker seemed absolutely obsessed with pointing out to the audience that this book was set just after the Victorian period for some inexplicable reason, so he throws in a ton of ridiculous references that were so annoying to read and often just felt crowbarred in for banter. Motorcars going 10 miles an hour, the Wright Brothers, Jack the Ripper, Oscar Wilde, the Titanic, it all gets a mention in here.
Prime example: the whole ‘Elizabeth Bathory is Jack the Ripper’ angle…WHY?! Not only is this super offensive to the victims to have their murder trivialised like this, but it’s just SO stupid.
Also stupid- the unnecessary forcing of steaminess into the book. The whole premise of Dracula and the vampire novel in general is the coded sexuality and the act of being bitten being sensual, but Dacre didn’t get that memo, and just chucked loads of random sex into this book. A prime example is the main villain sneaking into the home of Mina and getting steamy with her, then immediately promising to kill her, but…if you’re in her house, why not just kill her instead of wasting time up her dress? Stupid as usual. Typical male gaze author nonsense.
Speaking of offensive and stupid, there’s a chapter in this book that recalls the final fight that the original group have to open the coffin of Dracula and stake his body where the coffin is being guarded by Roma, and oh my god, the author must use the word ‘g*psy’ about a hundred times. Incredibly lazy, clunky writing, and reading this in 2022, incredibly offensive. Ugh.
And again talking stupidity, this book has some of the worst dialogue you’ll ever read in your entire life. So bad that it transcends badness and lands squarely into the campy, B-Movie, so bad it’s good territory. My favourite line of the book uttered by Mina: ‘Didn’t your Mistress warn you? I’m Dracula’s adulterous whore!’ Incredible stuff.
Usually I would never consider a book that’s basically fanfiction, but Dacre Stoker being a descendant of Bram swayed me to pick this up. Unfortunately, despite apparently having access to Bram’s notes, Dacre does an absolute hatchet job with this supposed sequel.
Not only is he nowhere near as talented a writer as Bram- this book is chock full of ham-fisted similes and cheesy, cheesy lines- he also decides for no apparent reason to just absolutely murder our memory of the original beloved characters. If you ever liked the protagonists in Dracula and were at all attached to them, get ready to read them in this novel as aged, bloated, alcoholic drug addicts with issues.
Plus, considering that he’s a direct descendent of the man himself, Dacre seems to have absolutely no qualms about painting Bram in a terrible light too. That’s right- he doesn’t stop at just ruining the characters. Once again, for no reason other than to cause fury, he writes Bram Stoker into the novel as an actual character (which is just totally nonsensical) and in the novel he’s basically a talentless hack fading into obscurity who passes off his book Dracula, which is actually a real life retelling, as actual literature to attempt to salvage his fruitless career. Because, you know, why wouldn’t you paint your family member in this light? Duh.
And if you are super into the slaughter of the existing characters, you might also enjoy the addition of Dacre’s own characters, like the whiny, deluded Quincey Harker, or addled drunk Inspector Cotford, who plays the part of the police officer who’s getting too old for the job but just can’t shake the memory of his cold case he couldn’t solve and has let it drive him mad. Because we’ve never seen that character before. Yawn.
Or perhaps you’ll enjoy the character of Countess Bathory, who is the main antagonist of this novel, again, I don’t want to keep repeating myself, for no logical reason considering the book is f*cking called ‘Dracula the Undead’. Bathory is fairly 2D as villains go, and the only particularly interesting thing about her is that she apparently chose lesbianism as a way to defy god, because your sexuality is both a choice, and a sin. Lovely. Oh, and she’s also a family member of Dracula from back in the day. Which doesn’t make any sense as they never appear in lore together anywhere else, and they came from totally different time periods and countries, but whatever. We move.
Also, all the weird references to the time frame…why?! Dacre Stoker seemed absolutely obsessed with pointing out to the audience that this book was set just after the Victorian period for some inexplicable reason, so he throws in a ton of ridiculous references that were so annoying to read and often just felt crowbarred in for banter. Motorcars going 10 miles an hour, the Wright Brothers, Jack the Ripper, Oscar Wilde, the Titanic, it all gets a mention in here.
Prime example: the whole ‘Elizabeth Bathory is Jack the Ripper’ angle…WHY?! Not only is this super offensive to the victims to have their murder trivialised like this, but it’s just SO stupid.
Also stupid- the unnecessary forcing of steaminess into the book. The whole premise of Dracula and the vampire novel in general is the coded sexuality and the act of being bitten being sensual, but Dacre didn’t get that memo, and just chucked loads of random sex into this book. A prime example is the main villain sneaking into the home of Mina and getting steamy with her, then immediately promising to kill her, but…if you’re in her house, why not just kill her instead of wasting time up her dress? Stupid as usual. Typical male gaze author nonsense.
Speaking of offensive and stupid, there’s a chapter in this book that recalls the final fight that the original group have to open the coffin of Dracula and stake his body where the coffin is being guarded by Roma, and oh my god, the author must use the word ‘g*psy’ about a hundred times. Incredibly lazy, clunky writing, and reading this in 2022, incredibly offensive. Ugh.
And again talking stupidity, this book has some of the worst dialogue you’ll ever read in your entire life. So bad that it transcends badness and lands squarely into the campy, B-Movie, so bad it’s good territory. My favourite line of the book uttered by Mina: ‘Didn’t your Mistress warn you? I’m Dracula’s adulterous whore!’ Incredible stuff.
The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
3.0
Meh, this was alright. Your standard average whodunnit with all the typical trappings of the genre.
✅ Remote, creepy location
✅ One of us is the murderer style intrigue
✅ Detective haunted by the past
✅ Sinister secrets thought to be long-buried now coming to light
The writing was okay, it was fairly tightly plotted, and the pacing was good. If you’re looking for your next thrilling beach read, this will work.
Some of the elements of the book were a little bit silly, for example the fact that Elin, while on holiday, apparently travels with a knife and a torch at all times, just in case she needs to solve a mystery. That and the fact that some of the reveals were very very obvious, such as what happened to Sam.
I also found the ending a little bit unsatisfying- I was expecting it to build up to the unearthing of this heinous crime that goes back decades and is more deeply tied into the history of the location, but that wasn’t quite what happened, which was a shame because I think a lot more could have been done with the medical abuse angle.
There was something I really didn’t like about this book though, and it’s something I wish mystery novels would hurry up and retire. I hate that so many books like this one use sexual violence against women in order to further the plot and act as a motive for the killer. I feel like it really trivialises sexual assault, and connotes this idea that women are disposable and their suffering and misery are just vehicles to enhance the character development and story arc of others. Can we plz stop doing this now? Thnx
⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me because although it was well written and kept me hooked, it didn’t do anything particularly interesting or novel with the genre.
✅ Remote, creepy location
✅ One of us is the murderer style intrigue
✅ Detective haunted by the past
✅ Sinister secrets thought to be long-buried now coming to light
The writing was okay, it was fairly tightly plotted, and the pacing was good. If you’re looking for your next thrilling beach read, this will work.
Some of the elements of the book were a little bit silly, for example the fact that Elin, while on holiday, apparently travels with a knife and a torch at all times, just in case she needs to solve a mystery. That and the fact that some of the reveals were very very obvious, such as what happened to Sam.
I also found the ending a little bit unsatisfying- I was expecting it to build up to the unearthing of this heinous crime that goes back decades and is more deeply tied into the history of the location, but that wasn’t quite what happened, which was a shame because I think a lot more could have been done with the medical abuse angle.
There was something I really didn’t like about this book though, and it’s something I wish mystery novels would hurry up and retire. I hate that so many books like this one use sexual violence against women in order to further the plot and act as a motive for the killer. I feel like it really trivialises sexual assault, and connotes this idea that women are disposable and their suffering and misery are just vehicles to enhance the character development and story arc of others. Can we plz stop doing this now? Thnx
⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me because although it was well written and kept me hooked, it didn’t do anything particularly interesting or novel with the genre.
My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
3.0
I went into this SO excited. I love horror films. I love spooky books. I love badass female characters. But this just fell really flat for me, no matter how much I wanted to love it.
The main issue for me was how long this book is- even though it’s around 430 pages, it feels so much longer. The book is so incredibly slow paced, and basically very little happens for the first 80% of this book, with all the important action coming in this confused rush right at the end of the book, and this coupled with Graham Jones’ eccentric writing style made it difficult to fully appreciate what was going on or make sense of the ending. In my opinion, you could have easily truncated this book into around 300 pages and given the ending a lot more time to really build. Because of this, I feel like the pacing of the novel is just super iffy, and you never really sufficiently build up a sense of unease or intrigue, because either nothing is happening, or everything happens quickly and is over with without that much reflection.
I also found that because Graham Jones’ writing style is quite sparse, sometimes I couldn’t always grasp what was being described properly or what he’s trying to communicate. For example, the ending of the book devolves into horrendous, slasher chaos, but I found it hard to picture what was happening and felt like I was losing track of the action without a good enough description to guide me.
Another issue I had with this book is nothing felt natural- I know this is the style of the novel, but it was super grating. Jade for me wasn’t a likeable character- she talks solely in these weird movie quotes, like she’s always trying to be cool and quotable, so all the dialogue had this weird stilted feel to it. Because she’s constantly trying to adhere to slasher rules, she also just does a ton of stuff that makes no sense, so I just really struggled to root for her.
Also, no spoilers, but the ending of this book is SO disappointing. We get no explanation or reasoning for the town becoming a slasher film. No reflecting moment really that looks back on the action. It also weirdly ends a chapter too late- it could have ended right after the juicy action, but there’s an added chapter that feels like a boring anticlimax, and it’s really confusing too.
Overall, I think if you’re into really slow burning books, or you too have a encyclopaedic knowledge of horror films (if you don’t, 80% ish of the references will be lost on you) then you might like this. However, I would say avoid it if you’re looking for an edge of your seat, creepy horror with tightly plotted action.
Giving this 3 stars- I know everybody else seems to love it, but it just didn’t do it for me.
The main issue for me was how long this book is- even though it’s around 430 pages, it feels so much longer. The book is so incredibly slow paced, and basically very little happens for the first 80% of this book, with all the important action coming in this confused rush right at the end of the book, and this coupled with Graham Jones’ eccentric writing style made it difficult to fully appreciate what was going on or make sense of the ending. In my opinion, you could have easily truncated this book into around 300 pages and given the ending a lot more time to really build. Because of this, I feel like the pacing of the novel is just super iffy, and you never really sufficiently build up a sense of unease or intrigue, because either nothing is happening, or everything happens quickly and is over with without that much reflection.
I also found that because Graham Jones’ writing style is quite sparse, sometimes I couldn’t always grasp what was being described properly or what he’s trying to communicate. For example, the ending of the book devolves into horrendous, slasher chaos, but I found it hard to picture what was happening and felt like I was losing track of the action without a good enough description to guide me.
Another issue I had with this book is nothing felt natural- I know this is the style of the novel, but it was super grating. Jade for me wasn’t a likeable character- she talks solely in these weird movie quotes, like she’s always trying to be cool and quotable, so all the dialogue had this weird stilted feel to it. Because she’s constantly trying to adhere to slasher rules, she also just does a ton of stuff that makes no sense, so I just really struggled to root for her.
Also, no spoilers, but the ending of this book is SO disappointing. We get no explanation or reasoning for the town becoming a slasher film. No reflecting moment really that looks back on the action. It also weirdly ends a chapter too late- it could have ended right after the juicy action, but there’s an added chapter that feels like a boring anticlimax, and it’s really confusing too.
Overall, I think if you’re into really slow burning books, or you too have a encyclopaedic knowledge of horror films (if you don’t, 80% ish of the references will be lost on you) then you might like this. However, I would say avoid it if you’re looking for an edge of your seat, creepy horror with tightly plotted action.
Giving this 3 stars- I know everybody else seems to love it, but it just didn’t do it for me.
Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski
5.0
If you’re a vagina-having person, or even if you’re not to be honest, you need to read this book.
Don’t be put off by the fact that this is a sex book- it’s about so much more than that. Insecurity, shame, stigma, stereotyping and stress- it’s all covered here, with the express purpose of helping you to find a way through all of it to a life filled with beautiful sexual pleasure.
If you’ve ever worried that your sexual organs aren’t normal, that your level of desire isn’t in line with what the media tells you it should be, or if you’ll ever have an orgasm, then this book is here to soothe all of your worries and assure you that whatever you’ve got going on, you’re not alone, and you’re not a freak.
I can’t speak highly enough of this book- it should 100% be required reading for all young women, and young men too if we want to finally raise a generation of men who understand women’s desire.
Definitely definitely definitely pick this up, and I highly recommend the audiobook- it’s read by Nagoski and her performance is fantastic, so alive and engaging.
5 stars from me for sure, and I’m definitely going to check out more from this author!
Don’t be put off by the fact that this is a sex book- it’s about so much more than that. Insecurity, shame, stigma, stereotyping and stress- it’s all covered here, with the express purpose of helping you to find a way through all of it to a life filled with beautiful sexual pleasure.
If you’ve ever worried that your sexual organs aren’t normal, that your level of desire isn’t in line with what the media tells you it should be, or if you’ll ever have an orgasm, then this book is here to soothe all of your worries and assure you that whatever you’ve got going on, you’re not alone, and you’re not a freak.
I can’t speak highly enough of this book- it should 100% be required reading for all young women, and young men too if we want to finally raise a generation of men who understand women’s desire.
Definitely definitely definitely pick this up, and I highly recommend the audiobook- it’s read by Nagoski and her performance is fantastic, so alive and engaging.
5 stars from me for sure, and I’m definitely going to check out more from this author!