night_shift's reviews
78 reviews

The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 2 by James Tynion IV

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dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

The Nice House on the Lake Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

The Ritual by Adam L.G. Nevill

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Weirdly life affirming. So, so incredibly tense with an absolutely brutal and deserved ending. Leaving us until the very end to reveal the thing in full was a good move. Now to rewatch the movie to see how it compares (not super comparable in my memory, but was several years ago so idk)

Content Warnings

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks

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dark reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

I dunno, man. Had some darkly funny bits but I called the ending (although wavered here and there when clues were "resolved") about a quarter of the way in. I can see where this was probably shocking and I was deff uncomfortable with the frequent animal deaths, but something about this felt like it was trying to say something but even Banks didn't know until that very last chapter where he tried to bring it all together (not entirely successfully, imo)
I guess also this wasn't going to be my jam from the start as I'm not a fan of the sociopath/serial killer POV. That said, Frank really is a unique voice and it doesn't waver.

Content Warnings

The Ruins by Scott Smith

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adventurous dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Gnarly. Deff grosser than the movie but I'd have to rewatch it to truly judge the differences. What a fucked ending lol

Content Warnings

Possession by Peter James

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dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

Dragged on quite a bit too long for me. So much of just.. "this woman is hysterical" from people and then Alex just freaking tf out and idk. Wasn't scary, not really even that tense.

Content Warnings