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nathanjhunt's reviews
210 reviews
Lost Treasure by Caradoc Evans
fast-paced
2.75
This was my 76th book finished in 2025.
Ehh, this was nothing special for me.
Ehh, this was nothing special for me.
The Room by Stacy Aumonier
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
This was my 75th book finished in 2025.
It didn't go exactly the way I expected, but it was a pretty cute story. I liked the setting; I could see myself in his shoes.
It didn't go exactly the way I expected, but it was a pretty cute story. I liked the setting; I could see myself in his shoes.
Bachelors by Hugh Walpole
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
This was my 74th book finished in 2025, and my 200th on StoryGraph.
It wasn't unpleasant, but I expected a bit more to it. What a bittersweet and sad ending.
It wasn't unpleasant, but I expected a bit more to it. What a bittersweet and sad ending.
Crackin' Castles by Terry Deary
dark
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
2.75
This was my 73rd book finished in 2025.
This is not what I was expecting. It suffers from the same as "Gruesome Great Houses" - little-to-no focus on the building, and just a loosely connected story attached to fill the space. Repetitive in places if you've read a lot of previous HH books.
This is not what I was expecting. It suffers from the same as "Gruesome Great Houses" - little-to-no focus on the building, and just a loosely connected story attached to fill the space. Repetitive in places if you've read a lot of previous HH books.
The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.25
This was my 72nd book finished in 2025.
I read Huck Finn a couple years ago, and I believe I enjoyed that one more than this. I felt it had more of a plot; this book kind of zigzagged all over the place, before following a storyline half way through.
I quite liked how it ended, although I much prefer Huck Finn as a character.
It's a bit of a romp. It's very charming to see old slang and bygone ways of life from the mid-19th century. Although the references to slavery and racial slurs is uncomfortable and could easily have been left out. Ahh, America. Have you always been so backwards?
I read Huck Finn a couple years ago, and I believe I enjoyed that one more than this. I felt it had more of a plot; this book kind of zigzagged all over the place, before following a storyline half way through.
I quite liked how it ended, although I much prefer Huck Finn as a character.
It's a bit of a romp. It's very charming to see old slang and bygone ways of life from the mid-19th century. Although the references to slavery and racial slurs is uncomfortable and could easily have been left out. Ahh, America. Have you always been so backwards?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Murder
The Shining by Stephen King
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
This was my 71st book finished in 2025.
I've never read a Stephen King book, I honestly didn't think I would. But I didn't realise he wrote this one, I kind of just assumed the film was its own thing. So I thought I'd give it a go, as the film is quite legendary.
I want to start off by saying that Jack is an awful, horrible person. I hate him, I don't like anything he says, thinks or does, I have zero sympathy for him. I struggle to connect to or like any of the main characters, and when you're battling through a 500 page book, that makes it difficult.
Wendy should have divorced Jack years ago. She's a fool for giving him second chances and letting her son be at risk, so again I feel absolutely no sympathy for her.
Danny is kind of annoying, and doesn't talk like any 5 year old I know - has Stephen King ever met a child?
The only character I liked was Hallorann. But there was such unnecessary and uncomfortable racism and racial slurs throughout. It has absolutely no relevance to the plot, so why include it? Why can't the one black character just be a character who is black - why does his race come up in virtually every interaction? "His black hands", "his dark face". Fuck off Stephen!
There was also frequent awkward sexual scenes or references that always took me out of it. Wendy making reference to gang rape whilst she's giving birth, and all the midwives laughing? Sure, Stephen, sure. You fucking freak.
It's also loaded with the usual sexism from these 20th century novels.
This book is slow. And I mean SLOW. It's simply BORING for so much of it. It's full of back stories and flashbacks, and dream sequences, and so much stuff I don't care about. Oh no, someone else used to own the hotel, but who owned it after him? What a mystery! Who gives a fuck?! The scrapbook chapter was so goddamn boring. How can anyone find that string of useless info dumping interesting?
I even found the climax boring. Like, the whole 500 page build up lead to this. Yes yes, the pup will get it's medicine (for the 100th time), yawn yawn.
It just wasn't scary to me in the slightest, and I found most of the "villains" cringe, weird and weak. A topiary lion attacking people - err sure, why not. A man in a dog outfit, on all fours and barking at Danny - just weird, wtf Stephen.
It had American Horror Story: Hotel vibes, but much less interesting than that show.
I don't think Stephen King is that good of a writer. It certainly seemed a bit simplistic, repetitive and not particularly clever. I won't be reading another of his books!
I've never read a Stephen King book, I honestly didn't think I would. But I didn't realise he wrote this one, I kind of just assumed the film was its own thing. So I thought I'd give it a go, as the film is quite legendary.
I want to start off by saying that Jack is an awful, horrible person. I hate him, I don't like anything he says, thinks or does, I have zero sympathy for him. I struggle to connect to or like any of the main characters, and when you're battling through a 500 page book, that makes it difficult.
Wendy should have divorced Jack years ago. She's a fool for giving him second chances and letting her son be at risk, so again I feel absolutely no sympathy for her.
Danny is kind of annoying, and doesn't talk like any 5 year old I know - has Stephen King ever met a child?
The only character I liked was Hallorann. But there was such unnecessary and uncomfortable racism and racial slurs throughout. It has absolutely no relevance to the plot, so why include it? Why can't the one black character just be a character who is black - why does his race come up in virtually every interaction? "His black hands", "his dark face". Fuck off Stephen!
There was also frequent awkward sexual scenes or references that always took me out of it. Wendy making reference to gang rape whilst she's giving birth, and all the midwives laughing? Sure, Stephen, sure. You fucking freak.
It's also loaded with the usual sexism from these 20th century novels.
This book is slow. And I mean SLOW. It's simply BORING for so much of it. It's full of back stories and flashbacks, and dream sequences, and so much stuff I don't care about. Oh no, someone else used to own the hotel, but who owned it after him? What a mystery! Who gives a fuck?! The scrapbook chapter was so goddamn boring. How can anyone find that string of useless info dumping interesting?
I even found the climax boring. Like, the whole 500 page build up lead to this. Yes yes, the pup will get it's medicine (for the 100th time), yawn yawn.
It just wasn't scary to me in the slightest, and I found most of the "villains" cringe, weird and weak. A topiary lion attacking people - err sure, why not. A man in a dog outfit, on all fours and barking at Danny - just weird, wtf Stephen.
It had American Horror Story: Hotel vibes, but much less interesting than that show.
I don't think Stephen King is that good of a writer. It certainly seemed a bit simplistic, repetitive and not particularly clever. I won't be reading another of his books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Along The Canal: From Bath To Bradford-On-Avon by Valerie Bowyer
adventurous
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
3.0
This was my 70th book finished in 2025.
I checked this book out of my local library. I was delighted to see this copy was 40 years old, and patchworked with decades of library stamps.
As for the content, it was okay, but a little hard to follow the text if you're unfamiliar with sections of the canal.
I liked the simple line drawings, but they desperately needed annotations in the second half, as I sometimes had no idea what I was looking at.
I checked this book out of my local library. I was delighted to see this copy was 40 years old, and patchworked with decades of library stamps.
As for the content, it was okay, but a little hard to follow the text if you're unfamiliar with sections of the canal.
I liked the simple line drawings, but they desperately needed annotations in the second half, as I sometimes had no idea what I was looking at.
The Fall Of The House Of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
dark
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
1.5
This was my 69th book finished in 2025.
I have a really irksome relationship with Poe. He is capable of great ideas and morbid details, but I actually quite dislike his way of writing. I just feel that often he uses ten words when one would suffice. It's far too flowery for my liking.
The payoff wasn't good enough for such a lengthy and drawn-out short story.
On a side note, I couldn't help but imagine the narrator spending time with Usher every time he mentioned his name. You know, the singer... What a funny image.
I have a really irksome relationship with Poe. He is capable of great ideas and morbid details, but I actually quite dislike his way of writing. I just feel that often he uses ten words when one would suffice. It's far too flowery for my liking.
The payoff wasn't good enough for such a lengthy and drawn-out short story.
On a side note, I couldn't help but imagine the narrator spending time with Usher every time he mentioned his name. You know, the singer... What a funny image.
A Dill Pickle by Katherine Mansfield
reflective
medium-paced
2.25
This was my 68th book finished in 2025.
I guess I can see what this was trying to be, but it's just not my kind of thing, so I found it dull.
I guess I can see what this was trying to be, but it's just not my kind of thing, so I found it dull.
The Apple Tree by Katherine Mansfield
reflective
fast-paced
2.25
This was my 67th book finished in 2025.
This was just a nothing story that didn't really go anywhere. The ending was mildly entertaining on reflection, but I dunno, it's just a bit inoffensive and meh.
This was just a nothing story that didn't really go anywhere. The ending was mildly entertaining on reflection, but I dunno, it's just a bit inoffensive and meh.