vanishing_librarian's reviews
425 reviews

Graveyard of Lost Children by Katrina Monroe

dark mysterious sad tense

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

2.5

This is a story dealing something like postpartum depression. At the beginning I did really feel for Olivia and Shannon as characters but after a while I thought the story just didn’t really pick up pace and got a little boring and repetitive.

As someone who hasn’t had a child, I am not sure if I might have felt differently having been in a situation like this. I think it is very important to make talking about postpartum depression but I was personally not too happy with how it was portrayed and how the characters dealt with it.

Content Warnings

Verity by Colleen Hoover

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

4.5

Exactly what I needed right now - very fast-paced and a little creepy and mysterious at times. I did like how this was wrapped up with an ending that leaves you guess a little.

However, there are a few things I wasn‘t too happy with in regards to personal connections between a few characters. But overall I‘ll still give this 4,5 stars.

In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

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mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.5

I was debating if I want to give this 3 or 3,5 stars. I did quite enjoy the writing but - especially towards the end there were quite a few plot holes in my opinion.

Don’t get me wrong - the reveal was pretty surprising but also very unexpected because there where no hints or storylines that fit that reveal. I don’t want to go into spoilers - so I‘ll leave it at that.

Nonetheless, for the most part this is a slow burning mystery first, thriller second and the writing is pretty enjoyable :)

Bunny by Mona Awad

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challenging dark 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

1.0

This just really wasn't for me! I was expecting things to get weird but I just wasn't invested at all because it just got way too confusing for me instead of getting me involved.

To be honest, I was just minutes away from dnf-ing this book (which I usually don't do) because I just really couldn't enjoy it and I am pretty sure that this book is one of the main reason for my massive reader' block I am currently facing.

A lot of other people seem to enjoy it though, so I guess this book just wasn't for me!

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I really liked the audiobook for this one! There is the podcast part which is delivered very well through the audio and I would definitely recommend the audiobook!

Story-wise, I thought it was a little slow in the beginning since it felt a little too much like a legal thriller instead of what I was expecting - hence I'd probably lean more towards a 4,5-star rating. But having the two stories run parallel to each other definitely made it more interesting! I just would have wished for the stories to connect more than they did in the end. I could go into detail about this, but I want to avoid spoilers so I'll leave it at that.

Please be aware of the trigger warnings though - towards the end it does get pretty graphic and was quite hard to stomach at times.

The House Plant by Jeremy Ray

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced