stacyrenee's reviews
429 reviews

The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

Adult
Historical fiction
LGBTQIA+ 🏳️‍🌈
Mystery thriller
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

James Willoughby is a promising young medical student who decides to abandon his mediocre studies at Oxford for the thrills of Edinburgh, Scotland where he will have the chance to work with real cadavers, but the cost to attend such a school is high and James finds himself immersed in the dark world of body-snatching!

This was dark and delightful, perfect for dark academia fans who want a bit more horror.

The mlm side-plot romance gave me Summer Sons vibes but otherwise reminds me of ‘Rotters’ by Daniel Kraus and an older historical fiction I loved called ‘The Dress Lodger’ by Sheri Holman.
⚕️🥼🪦🕳💀🩻🫀

We Are The Beasts by Gigi Griffis

adventurous dark mysterious tense

4.0

YA
Historical horror thriller
LGBTQIA+ 🏳️‍🌈
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Inspired by the ‘Beast of Gevaudan’ that terrorized south-central France in the 1700’s, this is a historical thriller about two teenage girls named Josephine and Clara who use the beastly attacks in their village as cover in an attempt to escape the nightmare that is their lives at the hands of their fathers, brothers, and other misogynistic townsfolk.

This one is for the feminine rage readers!
It gave me ‘Red Riding Hood’ (2011 fantasy horror film) vibes, minus the hetero romance. Instead, it’s sapphic (lightly) and the main focus is on survival of the MCs and their younger female friends as they try to escape the cruelty and brutality they face.

“For the feral girls.
Always bite back.”

American Rapture by CJ Leede

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

3.75-4 stars

Adult
Horror 

Catholic good-girl Sophie who has lived a strictly devout life and socially isolated life attempts to survive as a virus that turns its host into raging grapists wreaks havoc on the world.
She finds herself in the care of helpful young police officer, a viciously protective dog, and a few others as she navigates a brutal end-of-world scenario on top of all new emotions as she searches for her twin brother. 

I’m not Catholic but was raised semi-religious and saw connections to the doom and gloom that was fed to me as a child in Sophie’s world view. She is quickly separated from her parents and must navigate the big bad world and all the people in it and unfortunately doesn’t always know who to trust or how to protect herself but there’s tons of character growth throughout and most of the horror happens to other people. 

Content warnings: 
This is a very violent novel with sexual assault as the main theme throughout the book. 

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

YA
Dystopian 

Rereading the series after reading Sunrise on the Reaping because it’s been too long since I first read these and I needed to make all the little connections I noted in Sunrise. 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

YA
Dystopian 

1st reread 

I first read this trilogy as they came out and loved them so much that I recommended them to everyone I knew. 

I recently read Sunrise in the Reaping (which brought me to tears) and just had to return to the story. It still gets 5 stars from me. 

River Woman, River Demon by Jennifer Givhan

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Adult
Supernatural
Psychological thriller

Eva’s life changes the night her husband is accused of murdering her best friend and hiding their affair, but the evidence isn’t quite lining up and Eva is determined to find the truth and protect her family using brujeria 

Witchy* (brujeria)
Mysterious
Thrilling 

setting: New Mexico 

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Anne has decided to teach nearby so she can stay and help Marilla after Matthew’s passing(1st book) especially after Marilla decides to foster/adopt twins (a boy and girl named Davie & Dora) while Gilbert teaches in White Sands. 
Old and new characters throughout. Same enjoyable Anne and lots of character development for almost everyone. 

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Reread 

I first read Anne of Green Gables in elementary school and always felt that she was a true kindred spirit. My daughter read the abridged edition on her own at age 6. We’ve reread the full novel together since then but have yet to continue the series so this reread is to smooth the road for the sequels! 

Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill

adventurous 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

4.0

Middle-grade
Fantasy

Violet is a princess but not a very pretty one, or so everyone seems to say, but she loves to tell stories so when she and her friend Demetrius stumble upon a hidden library full of mysterious old books, Violet can’t help but sneak back for one special book containing information on a secret and hidden god that will change Violets life and kingdom for good. 

Plus there are DRAGONS! 

Adventurous. Lots of deeper meaning throughout the story. 

This Girl's A Killer by Emma C. Wells

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

4.75

Adult
Thriller
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Cordelia Black is a pharmaceutical rep by day, killer of bad men by night, stalking and disposing of grapists, pedos, and more, but when her best friend finds her “Mr. Right,” Cordelia is determined to prove that he is anything but and makes a blunder that could cost her everything!

I really enjoyed this, especially compared to my latest ‘feminine rage’ read, ‘Animal’ by Lisa Taddeo, which wasn’t very ‘ragey’ at all. This book has the rage and the follow-through and while that does kind of take a backseat to the MCs day-time relationship drama, it is still a major plot point with lots of intrigue and thrills and even some twists!

Perfect for fans of Maeve Fly and Cackle!