sonygaystation's reviews
429 reviews

Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy

challenging dark emotional funny 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Holy motherfucking shit. This book hit exactly right in all the places it wanted to hit. I was NOT expecting a cis man to be able to do this kind of exploration of female rage and gender but holy shit. I’m in love with this book. I had so much fun through all the nasty humans and gore, and I LOVED Mary and her aunt even though her aunt is the absolute worst human and Mary herself needs some work. But damn y’all Nat Cassidy did the thing because despite being 20 years younger than the MC, I related so much to her. Also it just makes my year when I can find genuine horror that’s not only good but ACTUALLY has in depth commentary and metaphors and doesn’t lazily rely on mental illness and its bastardization. I loved this to pieces. Seriously. I’m about to tell everyone I know to pick this up, Listen to this via audiobook cuz omg Susan Bennett does not hold back!!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Physical abuse, Torture, Excrement, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Fatphobia, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Deportation

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

adventurous mysterious tense slow-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

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

challenging dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

I think this maybe just wasn’t for me? And I think it’s because I had different expectations for what the book was supposed to be. It was hard to follow what was going on at times because of the writing style and the fact that there’s a lot of assumption of understanding how SCUBA gear works. I did really enjoy the part with the orcas but that’s about the only part that really grabbed at my attention

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Suicide, and Grief

The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I wasn’t quiet sure where this was going to go, even with it being a Frankenstein-inspired book. Sometimes the character actions felt a little confusing (ie. between Iris and Vi) but as it got further and further in the book I just got sad for everyone. I do wish there was a little more build up to the twist (which I did feel I started to guess pretty early on) rather than just spending time with the characters for the sake of it. I loved Eric he had my whole heart and I was sad at That One Part ™️. Also I enjoyed what was really going at the end, like give me more of that please!! It felt like a Mindy McGinnis novel there and I love her books 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Car accident, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Suicide, Torture, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Don't Breathe A Word by Jennifer McMahon

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

AHHHH this started out unsettling and then you think everything’s fine there is really an explanation for everything and then you get the REAL explanation and you’re like oh god this is disturbing and upsetting and so many things are happening AND THEN you get the actual end of the book and you’re right back to the feelings from the beginning. Jennifer McMahon is such a master of writing weird and unsettling topics about things that are just slightly at the edge of reality but maybe actually could be real. Part of me wants to re-listen to it immediately just to see the entire journey with the bird’s eye view I now have. I had a good time on this rollercoaster of a disturbing ride but definitely heed the triggers on this one

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Drug use, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Vomit, Medical content, Abortion, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Alien: Echo by Mira Grant

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? No

3.75

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.5

I have a longer review writing itself in my brain but for now what I have to say is this: as an epidemiologist, this book felt much more sensational and trying to use ebola to generate attention via scare tactics. Preston is a very sensationalist and exaggerated writer, plus his viewpoints, word choices, and assumptions of character feel pretty Old-Ass White Man even for the early 90s

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Excrement

Minor: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson

adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

2.0

The idea is promising but the execution is subpar. The writing is a prime example of telling rather than showing and the main character is INSUFFERABLE. I also feel like it tried so hard to have an opinion on absolutely everything cultural but never really did anything with it. Snooze!!!

It Will End Like This by Kyra Leigh

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and Medical content

Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 by Mitchell Zuckoff

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

Extremely harrowing. There really are no words.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, and War