poisoned_icecream's reviews
2035 reviews

Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Rape, Death of parent

Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

The Night Eaters, Book 1: She Eats the Night by Marjorie Liu

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual harassment

Moderate: Pregnancy

Not a River by Selva Almada

challenging emotional reflective medium-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

4.0

We Kept Her in the Cellar by W.R. Gorman

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Gore, Vomit, Death of parent

Escalators to Hell: Shopping Mall Horrors by Jennifer Jeanne McArdle, Michael W. Phillips

5.0

I had a good time with this anthology, as someone who used to enjoy going to the mall as a teen. The stories in this anthology explore themes such as gentrification, capitalism, consumerism, and the nostalgia of shopping malls. My favorite stories are "Hard to Be a Mall God" by Connor Boyle, "Posers" by Liam Burke, "The Silver Sneakers" by Pines Callahan, "Closing Time" by Lor Gislason, "Cherry Cola Lips" by J.A.W. McCarthy, "You Must Drop Buy" by Anjum N. Choudhury, "The Intercessor" by Eirik Gumeny, "This Place Belongs to Us" by Wendy Dalrymple, "How My Self Finds Me" by Avra Margariti, and "The Temple of All" by Cryus Amelia Fisher. 10/10 shopping malls :)

The Loudest Silence by Sydney Langford

3.0

Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

Against The Lockers by Aiden E. Messer

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

5.0

This is a queer extreme horror novelette about a bully who gets what he deserves. I've been wanting to read this book for a while and it lived up to my expectations. I'm eager to read more by Aiden E. Messer. :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0