queenfury's reviews
113 reviews

dark fast-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

2.5

Because here's the weird thing: Sometimes I wish I could stay here forever. It's like being in a castle with a moat around it. Sure, it's a castle filled with crazy people, but at least no one can get in unless we let them in. Of course, we can't get out either, but when you think about it, what's so great about being out there? There's too much out there that can hurt you. In here you don't have to worry about it.

this book wasn't particularly well written nor enjoyable to read, and i can't honestly say i liked anything about it. the reveal that jeff attempted over

a boy rejecting him

was disappointingly obvious, but it was written at a time where everyone was talking about suicide rates amongst gay youths. so whilst i can't say that reading this book in 2025 left much of an impression on me, had i read it in 2008 as part of the target demographic, i think it might have become a novel i would hold dear.

Content Warnings

Hockey Rants and Raves by Steve "dangle" Glynn

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funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

For every bad-faith skeptic, for every chronically online antagonist, for every dull-bladed edge-lord, the success of women's hockey doesn't depend on you and never has. you hope for its failure--as if the failure of others could ever fill the void deep within you--but what you don't realize is that you're like a kid trying to catch the balloon they accidentally let go. Women's hockey is soaring in the air, soaring higher than you could ever reach yourself, blissfully indifferent to your absence.

a fun read from hockey's most notorious super fan. whilst not every chapter was a homerun for me, the entire book carried the patented steve dangle charm that made me want to keep reading. i think his first book was more engaging to me, personally, but hockey rants and raves was a fun treat and an enjoyable time.

The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan

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dark emotional sad medium-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

Blink, and Cassidy was gone. All those years. Her multiplatinum records, her dozens of televised appearances, her outfits on display at the Smithsonian--none of that mattered; they were done fifteen years ago. But the delicate tap when she dented a sugar cookie dough ball with one finger, the delight she had when scratching a dog under the chin, the way she made people feel when they were around her--that had disappeared. Evaporated like ether.

there is something really special about elissa r. sloan's prose that makes her writing so engaging. even with a cast of unlikable characters, in a horrendous industry, she crafted a page-turner that broke my heart time and time again. even the dramatic irony of the novel beginning with all three of the surviving members of gloss having back to back to back pov chapters where each of them proclaims in turn to be

"the one who was the closest to cassidy in the group"

hits so hard because it is, somehow, true and not true for every single one of them. they all thought

they were the closest to her, but none of them really knew her at all,

which is what makes the climax so effective.

that being said, there are things i wanted more of. despite cassidy being the main character, i do wish we had gotten to know the other three girls better; it felt like i knew more about lucy bowen and soleil than i did about yumi, for example. i think the jerry subplot wrapped up too abruptly and neatly, with no further worry about him. and finally, whilst i saw the reveal of

cassidy's bisexuality

coming a mile away, i do think it should have been foreshadowed a little bit more than it actually was; though i suppose realism is realism and sometimes you don't know until you know!

Content Warnings

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca

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dark fast-paced

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

1.0

It's not that I felt empty. I think all of us feel empty most of the time and we merely pretend to feel the vacuum with laughter, crying, apologies--anything to make us feel human.

never judge a book by its (admittedly gorgeous) cover holds true for this one. this was a complete waste of time for me. three too-short stories that did not have enough time to establish any sort of intrigue nor interesting thematic arc without it being directly told to the reader. the writing was simply poor, which is such a shame because there are a lot of good ideas here. but horror isn't about shock value or being edgy for the sake of being edgy, and

violently killing a salamander

for no reason or

having a miscarriage due to maybe-a-gas-leak, maybe-angelic-interference

doesn't add anything interesting narratively to the "psychological horror" genre, because what psychological horror is there at play here? there's no tension or distrust being built in the reader, nor is there enough substance here for any kind of interesting narrative or emotional payoff.

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