skroot's reviews
33 reviews

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

3.5

I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, the infamous twist is one of, if not the best and most effective twist that I've ever read. On the other hand, the reason it's so effective is because you have to slog through way too many hours of setup to get there. Once you get past the hump, it's a really fun thriller with a very interesting premise, but I cannot overstate how bored I was and how much I wanted to put the book down several times before I finally got to the good part. But yeah, part 2 was basically exactly what a thriller should be. I'm kind of indifferent about the ending, I was praying the whole time that the story wouldn't end up there but then it did.

I was hoping that the sociopathic murderer, compulsive liar and manipulator would actually face consequences for her actions but I guess we don't get a happy ending.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

4.25

This is a classic psychological thriller for a reason. The ending is obviously fantastic and completely unexpected. I did get it spoiled but still was pretty blown away by some of the reveals near the end. I like how the book starts off as one thing, and the first half is a very solid detective mystery in itself, but then it veers into a weird direction that has a lot of eyebrow raising moments and kind of lessens the enjoyment for like the third quarter of the book. The reason for why all of that happens is explained in the last quarter but it still is just not very fun while you're reading it and only when it clicks afterward do you start to understand why everything happened. But honestly, the ending just elevates this to a whole other level, and I wholeheartedly believe this would've been one of my most shocking reads had I not gotten it spoiled beforehand.

'salem's Lot by Stephen King

4.75

Amazing King world building, he genuinely makes Jerusalem's lot feel like a real place with all these interconnected people and things happening all over. People talk about the slow start a lot, but to me, the beginning was the best part of the book. Getting to know all these people and seeing them interacting with eachother, actually making this fictional world seem alive. I don't really have many complaints apart from nitpicks and personal preferences, just a great world to get lost in.

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

emotional mysterious sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

This was a pretty emotional read which I was not expecting. This book is almost more about grief than is is horror, as it's an underlying theme throughout the whole story (the title of the 5 parts makes it pretty obvious as well I suppose). There were some parts that dragged on for me especially in the first half, which is my main complaint, but I loved the second half. I finished it in one sitting. There was a point in the story about 3/4 through that especially surprised me and actually made me have a physical reaction to just how unexpected it was. Also the ending made me tear up a bit.

My main complaint, as I said, was that it took a while for the story to get interesting, but I also wasn't a huge fan of how the paranormal stuff was handled. I found it pretty ridiculous at times. It was still entertaining though, I guess. And my final complaint is I wasn't a huge fan of the development of one of the characters (

Mark

), I thought it felt a bit unnatural but maybe that's just me.

The Ruins by Scott Smith

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

My favorite thing about this book is by far the way it was written. It's a page turner. The story and setting are engaging, and the characters feel real. I felt like they all talked like actual people (for the most part, though Jeff is pretty over the top in the way he's written. But the way he talks feels really in line with his character). Their relationships to one another were done really well, so when things inevitably started to go wrong between them for various reasons, it feels really natural. I just can't get over how good the writing was. My main gripe that kept it from 5 stars for me were some of the logical fallacies that kind of annoyed me throughout the whole latter half of the book (obviously looking past the concept, which isn't supposed to be logical to begin with).

After having finished the book, I kind of just felt like the vine could have killed them pretty easily right off the bat. We see the vines move very quickly and forcefully at multiple points, so why doesn't it just kill everyone in the tent in their sleep day one? Or why doesn't it trap Amy, Eric and Pablo down in the mine when they first enter? To me it just seems like a convenient way to prolong the tension and the book. "If you offer no explanation, you can't argue that it's illogical." That was the only thing I disliked about the book.

A lot of people complain about the dumb decisions that they make throughout the book as well, but that didn't bother me. It's kind of expected at this point.

Overall, firm recommend.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.75

In my opinion, a good premise and a good ending are two things that can take a book a very long way, and this one nails both. The ending was something I did not see coming, even though others say they found it to be predictable. I thought it was unexpected and very well done.

My main qualm with this novel is that it kind of became a detective mystery halfway through, which I did not find to be very well done, or particularly engaging. Besides that, there was also a portion of the book focusing on the early part of Theo's relationship that I found to be a slog (it wasn't that long thankfully), and I kind of just wished that we were back with Alicia. Everything that involved her I found to be very interesting, and I couldn't wait to learn more about her.

Also, I have to say that I absolutely loved how the author made it seem like Theo's relationship stuff and his work with Alicia were happening simultaneously, even though they weren't. Absolutely blew my mind.

The Outsider by Stephen King

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

I'm rating it a 4.25, which is a disappointment considering it was shaping up to be a possible 5 star read at first. I absolutely loved the first half of the book. I loved the detective mystery that was unfolding, and even though I knew the story would eventually

go in a supernatural direction,

(which I was actually okay with), I thought the execution fell flat.

I didn't think the latter half was bad and is still definitely worth a read, but it was a little disappointing. I think this could have been an amazing book had it not switched directions halfway through.

The Troop by Nick Cutter

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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

I really liked the extreme depictions of gore and body horror in this book, I thought the author did an excellent job in the scary/disturbing department. I also thought the story was very interesting and loved how everything was gradually revealed with the newspaper clippings and interrogations at the end of chapters. Those moments where certain things were revealed about the contagion were the best parts of the book for me.

What knocked it down for me though was the kids. Every single kid in the group (except maybe one) fits a certain stereotype, and their defining character traits are cranked up to 100%. I just didn't think it was very realistic writing.

edit: adjusted rating a bit, the writing of the characters sours my view of the book a lot but the horror aspects are great if that's what you're looking for

Misery by Stephen King

dark tense medium-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

3.75

First half was a little too slow and uneventful for my liking, second half was very engaging. I would say the book starts to get really good once you see the first signs of just how crazy Annie is. Spoiler :

the rat scene

11/22/63 by Stephen King

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5