Scan barcode
travsbookshelf's reviews
67 reviews
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.75
Stephen King certainly chose the right title for this book. Every one of these four novellas was dark. The author himself even admitted that these tales were harsh.
There were a lot of disturbing moments to read throughout this collection. At one point it was even downright uncomfortable to read. However, these were, in my opinion, some of King’s best ever work. Of particular interest was his writing in the first story, titled “1922”, which brilliantly depicted the historical ambience of that time period. King has always been a genius at writing historical narrative.
These were also some of King’s shorter novellas in his entire bibliography. But they supplied so much emotional and imaginative punch nonetheless. Three of the four endings were pretty much fulfilling, one was left in ambiguity, but they ALL ended satisfactorily.
It’s probably my next favorite of King’s collection works right after “Different Seasons”. A highly recommended book.
There were a lot of disturbing moments to read throughout this collection. At one point it was even downright uncomfortable to read. However, these were, in my opinion, some of King’s best ever work. Of particular interest was his writing in the first story, titled “1922”, which brilliantly depicted the historical ambience of that time period. King has always been a genius at writing historical narrative.
These were also some of King’s shorter novellas in his entire bibliography. But they supplied so much emotional and imaginative punch nonetheless. Three of the four endings were pretty much fulfilling, one was left in ambiguity, but they ALL ended satisfactorily.
It’s probably my next favorite of King’s collection works right after “Different Seasons”. A highly recommended book.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
This was one of my fastest reads ever, especially for an almost-400 page tome.
And for very good reason.
It. Was. So. AWESOME!!! I am near speechless. This was one of the most dramatically emotional books I’ve ever read. I got hooked right from the beginning and the only reason I didn’t make it in one sitting is because I got tired and had to go to bed. Because I started the book late in the day. The messages were so powerful in this book and it only enhanced the importance of them through TJ Klune’s utterly brilliant writing by integrating fantasy into societal issues.
Klune is damn near becoming one of my top literary gods. His unique fantasy elements are so vivid and colorful and he creates such a diverse cast of unusual characters in his novels, all while interspersing crucial subject matters within the story plots. This mixture provides both metaphorical and literal storytelling that aids in the importance of understanding his messages but also for being entertained at the same time, in a way such that the reader is left with a sense of not only general awe but a feeling of hope and a sense of looking at things in a brighter light. This book was the very definition of that for me.
Of course, there were surprising twists in the story but ultimately it was the characters that made it what it was. One simply can’t walk away from this book without feeling love for these characters. So many times I wanted to just reach into the pages and pull them out to hug them. The ending was perfection.
This is hands down 5 stars for me and I highly recommend it.
And for very good reason.
It. Was. So. AWESOME!!! I am near speechless. This was one of the most dramatically emotional books I’ve ever read. I got hooked right from the beginning and the only reason I didn’t make it in one sitting is because I got tired and had to go to bed. Because I started the book late in the day. The messages were so powerful in this book and it only enhanced the importance of them through TJ Klune’s utterly brilliant writing by integrating fantasy into societal issues.
Klune is damn near becoming one of my top literary gods. His unique fantasy elements are so vivid and colorful and he creates such a diverse cast of unusual characters in his novels, all while interspersing crucial subject matters within the story plots. This mixture provides both metaphorical and literal storytelling that aids in the importance of understanding his messages but also for being entertained at the same time, in a way such that the reader is left with a sense of not only general awe but a feeling of hope and a sense of looking at things in a brighter light. This book was the very definition of that for me.
Of course, there were surprising twists in the story but ultimately it was the characters that made it what it was. One simply can’t walk away from this book without feeling love for these characters. So many times I wanted to just reach into the pages and pull them out to hug them. The ending was perfection.
This is hands down 5 stars for me and I highly recommend it.
The Asylum Confessions: Serial Killers by Jack Steen
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Maybe I should be reading this series in chronological order after all. The way this volume ended felt like there is an overarching storyline happening at some point, whether it has been going on very subtly throughout the series or this is just the beginning. Then again, if that’s not the case then it was just a truly chilling ending. Not that it wasn’t regardless.
And not just the ending. This volume was by far the most disturbing and frightening all around. At least to me it was. It felt like a huge nod to the first book in the series in that the confessions were totally varied, even though the volume is specifically themed as “Serial Killers”. Of course, there are all kinds of serial killers so it really isn’t that big a stretch to expect some variety. It even mentioned a patient from the first book, which made the nod more special.
The details in the confessions were pretty vivid and scary and made for a really intriguing read. Had a few triggers that were, of course, disturbing yet served to heighten the tension.
Probably my favorite volume in the series thus far. A highly recommended book.
And not just the ending. This volume was by far the most disturbing and frightening all around. At least to me it was. It felt like a huge nod to the first book in the series in that the confessions were totally varied, even though the volume is specifically themed as “Serial Killers”. Of course, there are all kinds of serial killers so it really isn’t that big a stretch to expect some variety. It even mentioned a patient from the first book, which made the nod more special.
The details in the confessions were pretty vivid and scary and made for a really intriguing read. Had a few triggers that were, of course, disturbing yet served to heighten the tension.
Probably my favorite volume in the series thus far. A highly recommended book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual content, Excrement, and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia
We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I’m actually torn on this book. The story was honestly extremely interesting and well done. It had one of the most powerful premises I’ve read in a while and it evoked a full range of emotions from me. The characters were perfectly flawed which made them all the more better to get emotionally invested in.
Yet, I didn’t feel challenged by the book. And I thought it’s because, as I’ve stated before about my hesitancy of reading this book on my YouTube channel, the book is a YA novel and I’m quite a bit older than a YA therefore I felt I wouldn’t relate to the maturity of the material. Turns out, I was kind of right about that. Understanding the plot was a breeze and I was indeed drawn into the story and characters as usual. But it left a void for me in terms of really thinking about the material. It had nothing for me to chew on mentally, because it was so straightforward it felt to me like a sort of school lesson: simple information meant to be taken in as you go and not think twice about it. I’ve just grown to enjoy reading something that forces me to really think about and challenge me. This just didn’t.
Not a good explanation, that, but this would definitely have fit me to a T back in my youth because this book is the level of maturity for that demographic. I would have sat and pondered on this book way back then; today not so much as I wanted more to analyze from the story. Don’t get me wrong, I strongly enjoyed this. There were some truly wonderful moments throughout and lots of interesting surprises. I just felt it was too simple a read for me.
I’m giving this 4.5 stars. Excellent story but just not my bag.
Yet, I didn’t feel challenged by the book. And I thought it’s because, as I’ve stated before about my hesitancy of reading this book on my YouTube channel, the book is a YA novel and I’m quite a bit older than a YA therefore I felt I wouldn’t relate to the maturity of the material. Turns out, I was kind of right about that. Understanding the plot was a breeze and I was indeed drawn into the story and characters as usual. But it left a void for me in terms of really thinking about the material. It had nothing for me to chew on mentally, because it was so straightforward it felt to me like a sort of school lesson: simple information meant to be taken in as you go and not think twice about it. I’ve just grown to enjoy reading something that forces me to really think about and challenge me. This just didn’t.
Not a good explanation, that, but this would definitely have fit me to a T back in my youth because this book is the level of maturity for that demographic. I would have sat and pondered on this book way back then; today not so much as I wanted more to analyze from the story. Don’t get me wrong, I strongly enjoyed this. There were some truly wonderful moments throughout and lots of interesting surprises. I just felt it was too simple a read for me.
I’m giving this 4.5 stars. Excellent story but just not my bag.
Duma Key by Stephen King
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My first impression of this book was that it bore a striking similarity to “Bag of Bones”: main character suffers great loss and travels to another location to recuperate only to find out there’s a ghost story he’s wandered into. And this is true, which made me a little hesitant at first. But I quickly learned that this story was so much more. This was a tale that had humor, very likable characters without the usual Stephen-King-ton-of-baggage types, a terrifying but BEAUTIFUL (yes, I said beautiful!) ghost story connected to a rather engagingly tragic family history, and it was set in a completely different setting unique to King’s usual backgrounds.
But what I found most clever was the writing structure. The story is set up in large sections that give the literary illusion of teaching one long art lesson on drawing pictures. It was a very unique and insanely clever way to tell this story by blending narratives together and illustrating the plot and action and emotion throughout. I literally felt like I was reading a portrait coming to life with each turn of the page. Especially the ghost story parts, and that’s why I called it beautiful. Some of the eeriest scenes I’ve ever read, and made more effective by its artistically descriptive writing. Which is gold to me because I love good ghost stories anyway and I struck the motherlode with this one. I won’t be getting much of the imagery from this book out of my mind anytime soon. Cool!
The emotional levels ran a pretty full gamut throughout as well. There was (of course) tragedy, horror, a quite large amount of humor, happiness, and even hopefulness felt by a lot of the characters. It was different for a King novel but a very nice and welcome change of pace. Wireman and Jack were definitely two standout characters for me and I loved their friendship with Edgar. They made for a quite diverse yet interesting compatible trio that worked well together. The history story was a little challenging to get through but paid off in spades once everything was revealed. And the ending is by far one of Stephen King’s best ever! I thought it was perfect.
A definite 5 star read and highly recommended book. This would be an excellent Stephen King starter novel.
But what I found most clever was the writing structure. The story is set up in large sections that give the literary illusion of teaching one long art lesson on drawing pictures. It was a very unique and insanely clever way to tell this story by blending narratives together and illustrating the plot and action and emotion throughout. I literally felt like I was reading a portrait coming to life with each turn of the page. Especially the ghost story parts, and that’s why I called it beautiful. Some of the eeriest scenes I’ve ever read, and made more effective by its artistically descriptive writing. Which is gold to me because I love good ghost stories anyway and I struck the motherlode with this one. I won’t be getting much of the imagery from this book out of my mind anytime soon. Cool!
The emotional levels ran a pretty full gamut throughout as well. There was (of course) tragedy, horror, a quite large amount of humor, happiness, and even hopefulness felt by a lot of the characters. It was different for a King novel but a very nice and welcome change of pace. Wireman and Jack were definitely two standout characters for me and I loved their friendship with Edgar. They made for a quite diverse yet interesting compatible trio that worked well together. The history story was a little challenging to get through but paid off in spades once everything was revealed. And the ending is by far one of Stephen King’s best ever! I thought it was perfect.
A definite 5 star read and highly recommended book. This would be an excellent Stephen King starter novel.
Spare by Prince Harry
4.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. By that, I mean, I never read memoirs (except one many years ago that captured my attention and it was good). Second, I do not follow the Royal Family. Of course I hear things and see the occasional news clip or video about some of the happenings there but I never really invest in their stories. However, this book seemed to be skyrocketing in the book charts so I decided to pick it up out of sheer curiosity.
Another thing I don’t do reading-wise is I never use audiobooks. I have nothing against them, I certainly see the convenience for people on the run, don’t have time to sit and read a book, etc. I just personally don’t want a book read to me, plus my focus gets very skewed when trying to listen to a story but I get easily distracted. But I broke down and bought the audiobook of this as it is narrated by Prince Harry himself, which I thought would be very interesting.
And it paid off. I sat and read the book and listened to the prince narrate at the same time because I figured that’d be “safer” for me to not get too distracted considering it was a memoir, so it was fairly easy to stay focused and invested since hearing Harry discuss his life story would be helpful hearing his feelings through his voice.
I won’t get into the details of the book because I don’t want to spoil anything but here’s where the mixed feelings come in. Style-wise this book is excellently written. It’s divided into 3 clear, distinct parts and the chapters within each part are carefully laid out and sectioned flawlessly. Story-wise….I don’t know. A large part of this young man’s life, I felt a lot of sympathy for him. But there are other parts where it seems he comes off as….I don’t know, I honestly don’t know how to feel about. I found myself looking up videos of the backlash this book is getting and I feel the press is cherry picking certain things from the book when there is so much more to consider. Again, not to spoil, but I found that there were 2 major motives that Prince Harry had (and, honestly, rightfully so) that spurred him to react in certain ways that he did at times. And that is something that I never expected from a memoir of all things: a lingering afterthought, like what could have been, how could this be another way, while that never had to be, etc…
All in all, I’m giving this book 4 stars. Usually I’d give a memoir at best 3 stars because they are usually just diary-esque accounts of someone’s life. It’s not perfect, of course, and even though the style is very good, it also gave me that afterthought I mentioned above. That is, I didn’t just read someone’s life story and just put it down. It actually made me think about it afterward. Best I can explain it. But my advice: pick it up, read it. It’s actually very good.
Another thing I don’t do reading-wise is I never use audiobooks. I have nothing against them, I certainly see the convenience for people on the run, don’t have time to sit and read a book, etc. I just personally don’t want a book read to me, plus my focus gets very skewed when trying to listen to a story but I get easily distracted. But I broke down and bought the audiobook of this as it is narrated by Prince Harry himself, which I thought would be very interesting.
And it paid off. I sat and read the book and listened to the prince narrate at the same time because I figured that’d be “safer” for me to not get too distracted considering it was a memoir, so it was fairly easy to stay focused and invested since hearing Harry discuss his life story would be helpful hearing his feelings through his voice.
I won’t get into the details of the book because I don’t want to spoil anything but here’s where the mixed feelings come in. Style-wise this book is excellently written. It’s divided into 3 clear, distinct parts and the chapters within each part are carefully laid out and sectioned flawlessly. Story-wise….I don’t know. A large part of this young man’s life, I felt a lot of sympathy for him. But there are other parts where it seems he comes off as….I don’t know, I honestly don’t know how to feel about. I found myself looking up videos of the backlash this book is getting and I feel the press is cherry picking certain things from the book when there is so much more to consider. Again, not to spoil, but I found that there were 2 major motives that Prince Harry had (and, honestly, rightfully so) that spurred him to react in certain ways that he did at times. And that is something that I never expected from a memoir of all things: a lingering afterthought, like what could have been, how could this be another way, while that never had to be, etc…
All in all, I’m giving this book 4 stars. Usually I’d give a memoir at best 3 stars because they are usually just diary-esque accounts of someone’s life. It’s not perfect, of course, and even though the style is very good, it also gave me that afterthought I mentioned above. That is, I didn’t just read someone’s life story and just put it down. It actually made me think about it afterward. Best I can explain it. But my advice: pick it up, read it. It’s actually very good.
The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
4.0
This was a very interesting read. A home invasion story with a twist. And a pretty huge twist, depending on your own expectations. The writing was very good. It’s laid out in 4 parts and each section has chapters that are told from various characters’ perspectives throughout the story. Paul Tremblay has also laid out the action and events in vivid detail.
I’ve read a lot of reviews where readers were disappointed with the ending. I personally loved the ending because, again, depending on your own expectations one needs to really indulge in the story for what it’s true message is: it’s not necessarily about the obvious outcome. That’s all I’ll say as I don’t like to give spoilers.
I’m giving it 4 stars. I’d like to give it 5 as I really enjoyed the special family dynamic featured in the story but some of the secondary characters fell a little flat. Plus some of the backstories felt slow in pacing at times. Still, I highly recommend this book for readers who like a good apocalyptic thriller.
I’ve read a lot of reviews where readers were disappointed with the ending. I personally loved the ending because, again, depending on your own expectations one needs to really indulge in the story for what it’s true message is: it’s not necessarily about the obvious outcome. That’s all I’ll say as I don’t like to give spoilers.
I’m giving it 4 stars. I’d like to give it 5 as I really enjoyed the special family dynamic featured in the story but some of the secondary characters fell a little flat. Plus some of the backstories felt slow in pacing at times. Still, I highly recommend this book for readers who like a good apocalyptic thriller.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
5.0
Wow! All I can say is….just, WOW. That plot twist….no spoiling it.
This was a fast read for me. I seriously could not put this book down until I found out exactly what happens. I really enjoyed the characters in the story and a lot of the action surrounding the main mystery kept me completely hooked and drawn into their world.
This is definitely a 5 star read and I VERY HIGHLY recommend this.
This was a fast read for me. I seriously could not put this book down until I found out exactly what happens. I really enjoyed the characters in the story and a lot of the action surrounding the main mystery kept me completely hooked and drawn into their world.
This is definitely a 5 star read and I VERY HIGHLY recommend this.
The Asylum Confessions by Jack Steen
4.0
Despite a lot of typos throughout the book (although I had read somewhere that this was deliberate on the author’s part), these 4 stories were excellent. The book served its purpose by being disturbing and scary and definitely mind-boggling. Every storied confession was uniquely written, as well as brilliant for the author to incorporate himself into the book as a character, enhancing the writing style.
The only reason I don’t give it 5 stars is that some of the confessions were a bit predictable. I had blatant hunches to where things were going and it turned out as I predicted. So if you’re looking for something with huge plot twists that will tether you to these pages, I suggest you read something else. Still, this was a gripping read in its own right and, who knows, maybe plot twists aren’t the point of this book?
Regardless, highly recommended read if you like being scared and/or intrigued by disturbing imagery. I plan to read more in this series.
The only reason I don’t give it 5 stars is that some of the confessions were a bit predictable. I had blatant hunches to where things were going and it turned out as I predicted. So if you’re looking for something with huge plot twists that will tether you to these pages, I suggest you read something else. Still, this was a gripping read in its own right and, who knows, maybe plot twists aren’t the point of this book?
Regardless, highly recommended read if you like being scared and/or intrigued by disturbing imagery. I plan to read more in this series.
Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book.
First, while there were some genuinely very creepy moments in the story, after all the main events started to present themselves in the twist reveals the overall experience came off as little more than a romantic domestic whodunnit to me other than a true thriller. Kind of made what one real major action take place near the end a bit underwhelming.
Second, the characters were some of the most unlikable I’ve ever read in a story, yet that doesn’t mean they weren’t still interesting or intriguing somewhat. I personally enjoy characters that have gray areas. After all, not all heroes are adored and some villains can be fascinating. When all the plot twists were finally unveiled- and there were quite a few - things about all the main characters elicited feelings of both sympathy and revulsion from me. It was hard to like any of these characters outright, yet it was also hard to hate them as well.
Having said that, it leads me to…
Third, I did enjoy the cleverness of the writing. I thought it was extremely well done. Very deceptive when it needed to be. I especially loved the unique concept of the “letter” chapters (read it and you’ll know what I mean). I said there were quite a few plot twists but really only one truly shocked me a bit. The others were surprising but didn’t impact me enough to stand up and shout “Whaaaaat?”
Fourth, the ending. I….don’t know. Kind of unrealistic. But also kind of disturbing. Or maybe I’m just naive.
A 3 star read for me. I just didn’t feel that “thriller” aspect, and the twists (except for one) just didn’t “rock” my world. Do I recommend this? You bet, if for no other reason than the clever writing style, which overall made me keep going back over wondering what would happen. But don’t expect to be on the edge of your seat. JMO.
First, while there were some genuinely very creepy moments in the story, after all the main events started to present themselves in the twist reveals the overall experience came off as little more than a romantic domestic whodunnit to me other than a true thriller. Kind of made what one real major action take place near the end a bit underwhelming.
Second, the characters were some of the most unlikable I’ve ever read in a story, yet that doesn’t mean they weren’t still interesting or intriguing somewhat. I personally enjoy characters that have gray areas. After all, not all heroes are adored and some villains can be fascinating. When all the plot twists were finally unveiled- and there were quite a few - things about all the main characters elicited feelings of both sympathy and revulsion from me. It was hard to like any of these characters outright, yet it was also hard to hate them as well.
Having said that, it leads me to…
Third, I did enjoy the cleverness of the writing. I thought it was extremely well done. Very deceptive when it needed to be. I especially loved the unique concept of the “letter” chapters (read it and you’ll know what I mean). I said there were quite a few plot twists but really only one truly shocked me a bit. The others were surprising but didn’t impact me enough to stand up and shout “Whaaaaat?”
Fourth, the ending. I….don’t know. Kind of unrealistic. But also kind of disturbing. Or maybe I’m just naive.
A 3 star read for me. I just didn’t feel that “thriller” aspect, and the twists (except for one) just didn’t “rock” my world. Do I recommend this? You bet, if for no other reason than the clever writing style, which overall made me keep going back over wondering what would happen. But don’t expect to be on the edge of your seat. JMO.