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splatter_fauwxx's reviews
220 reviews
Ingest Me by Lesley Camphouse
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
**Thank you so much to Lesley Camphouse for providing me with an ARC of Ingest Me in return for my honest opinion. Expected pub date April 5th, 2025.**
Can someone please pass me a Tums? I have the “I’ve been trying not to vomit the whole time reading this” stomach.
My Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror peeps- you’re in for a treat! Well, a nasty treat anyways.
The first 40% of the book is absolutely nauseating (and believable). Think big brother feeding disgusting things to his baby sister. Then we get into the brother experimenting with things he shouldn’t, which leads to toxic masculinity. I don’t want to say much more because you really need to experience your emotions in this novella.
What I can say is, check your triggers- there are a variety of them in this book. This book is vile. I’m absolutely fatigued from reading it. The writing and story are solid- I’m appalled (in a good way?). Bravo Lesley- this books is NUTS.
Can someone please pass me a Tums? I have the “I’ve been trying not to vomit the whole time reading this” stomach.
My Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror peeps- you’re in for a treat! Well, a nasty treat anyways.
The first 40% of the book is absolutely nauseating (and believable). Think big brother feeding disgusting things to his baby sister. Then we get into the brother experimenting with things he shouldn’t, which leads to toxic masculinity. I don’t want to say much more because you really need to experience your emotions in this novella.
What I can say is, check your triggers- there are a variety of them in this book. This book is vile. I’m absolutely fatigued from reading it. The writing and story are solid- I’m appalled (in a good way?). Bravo Lesley- this books is NUTS.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, and Cannibalism
A God in the Shed by J-F. Dubeau
Did not finish book. Stopped at 43%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 43%.
I have been struggling to read this book for 3 days now- as in I just can’t stay interested. I’m calling it quits.
The writing is very good, but there are a lot of povs. Some of them don’t seem like they’re really necessary. It’s definitely the kind of story I usually dig, but it’s just not keeping my attention.
The writing is very good, but there are a lot of povs. Some of them don’t seem like they’re really necessary. It’s definitely the kind of story I usually dig, but it’s just not keeping my attention.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Blood
The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
“Without Faith, there is no refuge.”
.
I’ve been teetering between 3 and 4 star ratings for this book since I finished it. Ultimately I’m giving this a 4 star because the story has been living rent free in my brain since I finished it.
.
Composed mostly of pages of a Nun’s secret diary, this is a slow paced novel that manages to mix in quite a few tropes expertly. You will find themes of Religious Bigotry, Cult Mentality, Dystopian Future, Sapphic Horror and I even felt like there was a bit of Magical Realism mixed in.
.
I connected to the main character because I felt privileged to be able to read such an intimate account of her life trials- both beautiful and sad.
.
Like every cult documentary I’ve watched, in the end we find out this convent isn’t so Holy.
.
If you like Religious Horror novels, I definitely recommend picking this book up!
.
I’ve been teetering between 3 and 4 star ratings for this book since I finished it. Ultimately I’m giving this a 4 star because the story has been living rent free in my brain since I finished it.
.
Composed mostly of pages of a Nun’s secret diary, this is a slow paced novel that manages to mix in quite a few tropes expertly. You will find themes of Religious Bigotry, Cult Mentality, Dystopian Future, Sapphic Horror and I even felt like there was a bit of Magical Realism mixed in.
.
I connected to the main character because I felt privileged to be able to read such an intimate account of her life trials- both beautiful and sad.
.
Like every cult documentary I’ve watched, in the end we find out this convent isn’t so Holy.
.
If you like Religious Horror novels, I definitely recommend picking this book up!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury
Beartooth by Callan Wink
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I grabbed this book on a whim because of my love of survival/mountain stories- and my desire to find new and not talked about literature. The story started off okay, the relationship between the two brothers was interesting and fun, but then things just started going downhill from there. I found the writing to be overly descriptive ( too much fluff in the name of word count), the story arc felt rushed and the protagonist was just boring. After the arc, the story changes to a story of grief and finding and selling fossils to make money to fix the family house roof. I originally wanted to DNF this at 60% because the story clearly had no direction- but I stuck it out in hopes the ending would be better. It wasn’t. I’m left feeling like I read a first draft. I think the story could have been good if it was more refined and better visualized.
In the Tall Trees by Angel Van Atta, Angel Van Atta
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.0
This novel is written from the pov of a child so a lot of the prose sounds like baby talk. It took me a few chapters to get used to the writing style because of this. Overall, the story was interesting and heartbreaking- but ultimately I wish there were different povs because the baby talk is so hard to read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Kidnapping
Pink Slime by Fernanda Trías
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This fever dream of a book kept me interested the whole time, but I was left feeling like ‘wtf did I just read’? This novel has a very dystopian feel to it, and is very atmospheric.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Rest Stop by Nat Cassidy
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was such a quick and enjoyable horror novella. I love Nat Cassidy’s writing style and his stories are always multilayered and unique. I found a lot of the rest room setting to be realistic, and I was laughing at all the writing on the bathroom stall walls. I definitely recommend adding this novella to your TBR.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, and Blood
Root Rot by Saskia Nislow
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-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? No
1.0
**Thank you to Creature Publishing and NetGalley for this digital ARC of Root Rot by Saskia Nislow. Expected pub date March 24, 2025.**
I was really excited to read this novel based on the synopsis-but I quickly realized the writing style was not for me. There are some fairly creepy scenes in the book, however it's just really hard to follow the characters because there are nine cousins and each child has a name like, "the one who runs away" or "the one with the beautiful voice." I would say that each sentence includes one or more "names" so it just became really redundant for me.
I did really like the plot of the story, it has a fever dream type feel to it. Honestly, just think magic mushrooms and fungus. Ultimately this one just wasn't for me.
I was really excited to read this novel based on the synopsis-but I quickly realized the writing style was not for me. There are some fairly creepy scenes in the book, however it's just really hard to follow the characters because there are nine cousins and each child has a name like, "the one who runs away" or "the one with the beautiful voice." I would say that each sentence includes one or more "names" so it just became really redundant for me.
I did really like the plot of the story, it has a fever dream type feel to it. Honestly, just think magic mushrooms and fungus. Ultimately this one just wasn't for me.
Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen
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? Yes
5.0
**Thank you so much to Poisoned Pen Press/NetGalley/Johanna van Veen for this Digital ARC of Blood on her Tongue. Expected pub date March 25, 2025.**
Johanna van Veen has done it again, I just adore her writing. She has a way of enchanting you, which keeps you invested in the story from beginning to end. This Gothic Sapphic Vampire novel is truly unique, I can honestly say that I've not read anything like it in the vampire genre.
Johanna van Veen has done it again, I just adore her writing. She has a way of enchanting you, which keeps you invested in the story from beginning to end. This Gothic Sapphic Vampire novel is truly unique, I can honestly say that I've not read anything like it in the vampire genre.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, and Blood
Any Man by Amber Tamblyn
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was not worth the hype - but I can see why people are talking about it. It just felt like a bunch of nonsense strung together to keep you reading- which is why I finished it. 🤷♀️ This gets ⭐️⭐️ stars from me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Suicide, Blood, and Suicide attempt