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renee_will's reviews
210 reviews
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
dark
emotional
sad
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
3.25
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
All That Remains by Patricia Cornwell
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Body Of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
challenging
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The Acolyte by Nick Cutter
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I hated this. I tried to listen to the audiobook twice, and the second time I almost DNF'ed it but pressed on because I was so close to the end. I listened to the last hour at 1.5x just to get it done with. What a gross, boring, pointless book. It's not scary enough to be horror, not mysterious enough to be a mystery, and to say the characters are one-note would be generous.
It feels like a rejected concept for a novel that got yanked out of the trash just to be unloaded on Audible. And just to be clear, Cutter's Little Heaven is one of my favorite horror novels ever, he clearly has talent. But it's nowhere to be found here. The 2 stars are just because I've read worse, I like the author, and it has a decently interesting concept. But man, I hated it.
It feels like a rejected concept for a novel that got yanked out of the trash just to be unloaded on Audible. And just to be clear, Cutter's Little Heaven is one of my favorite horror novels ever, he clearly has talent. But it's nowhere to be found here. The 2 stars are just because I've read worse, I like the author, and it has a decently interesting concept. But man, I hated it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Gore, Sexual assault, Murder, Abortion, Violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Animal cruelty, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Police brutality, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, and Racial slurs
Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
Between Two Fires is an unsettling odyssey set in France during the black plague, which has become inhabited by very real monsters, demons and angels. And despite how weird and maybe unappealing that sounds, it's actually a deeply beautiful, disturbing story that I cannot recommend enough.
The characters are all so intrinsically flawed, but the more you learn about the hellscape in which they find themselves, you can't really blame them. The writing style is poetic, languid, biblical at times. It's a road trip story about a man, a priest, and a mysterious little girl. It is so many things and I won't be able to stop thinking about it for a while.
The characters are all so intrinsically flawed, but the more you learn about the hellscape in which they find themselves, you can't really blame them. The writing style is poetic, languid, biblical at times. It's a road trip story about a man, a priest, and a mysterious little girl. It is so many things and I won't be able to stop thinking about it for a while.
Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0