turtlebread's Reviews (47)

Dark Matter

Blake Crouch

4.75

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

An exciting, gripping tale and a meditation on choice and identity. A fantastic entry into the speculative fiction genre. Very enthralling, fast paced, a total page turner.

Content Warnings

Dark and Shallow Lies

Ginny Myers Sain

DID NOT FINISH: 15%

The faux southern dialect took me out of the story. It just didn't ring true for ne.

Bitter Orange

Claire Fuller

DID NOT FINISH

I just couldn't get into it. I will try again later.

The Silent Patient

Alex Michaelides

4.0

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

A clever book, with some flaws that kept me from loving it. The writing style between the POV character and the diary entries of another character are so similar in voice that it took me out of the book at times. I also think it's a bit wordier than it needed to be for my liking. Though perhaps I felt this way because I just wanted to understand the central mystery. I enjoy a slow burn but this was more of a no burn with a sudden crescendo of fire.

Content Warnings

The Last House on Needless Street

Catriona Ward

DID NOT FINISH: 5%

I suspected very early on that the big twist is that

Teddy has dissociative identity disorder. This is SO over done and rarely if ever handled accurately or with care. I have no desire for a played out 'twist' that is damaging to real people.

Annihilation

Jeff VanderMeer

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

What a journey. A challenging read of you're not a fan of ambiguity. A great read if you're a fan of philosophy, speculative fiction, and/or just plain weird stuff. Very narratively different but tonally similar to the movie. If you liked the movie, you'll probably enjoy the book, though it's essentially a different story entirely. The book, like the movie, is something to meditate on.

Content Warnings

The Need

Helen Phillips

3.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

An interesting book. More of a meditation on motherhood and parenthood generally dressed in the clothing of a creepy speculative fiction. I liked what the book was going for but I feel like it needed more. I'm not sure exactly more of what, just more of something. Maybe a stronger commitment to exploring the premise. I liked the vibe of the book, though it was not particularly creepy nor did it go into detail about the premise of parallel universes. Maybe not the book for people looking for spooky sci-fi. However, I would recommend to people who enjoy character studies and emotional reads about the human condition with a light dusting of the fantastical and scary.

My Sister, the Serial Killer

Oyinkan Braithwaite

4.25

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Part thriller, part tongue-in-cheek character study. This book is great if you enjoy emotional character dramas, murder mysteries, and irreverent humor. I absolutely adore the straight forward writing style, it is a joy to read.

Content Warnings