weathersreadsgarbage's reviews
240 reviews

You've Lost a Lot of Blood by Eric LaRocca

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

I really want to mull over this story some more but I think I enjoyed it. The story within the story doesn’t particularly speak to me (video game stories - ugh!) but the prose and the character of Martyr was good enough to keep me going. I feel… frustrated. Like maybe I didn’t get all the satisfaction I needed. Maybe I need to sit with it more? I can see this benefiting from a reread - I know some threads are there that I just didn’t see until the end. 

I must say I really love the way this author writes. 

Also bonus points for the use of Tamsen as a name. I was stressed every time. 

The Man Who Loved Cole Flores by K.A. Merikan

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was such a dreamy reread and the absolute PERFECT thing to knock me out of a slump. 

It’s got all the important things that make Merikan my favorite mm romance authors: comedy, drama, dangerous men who may kill each other at any time. But it’s also a uniquely special read that really explores the theme of revenge. I love how it’s a single POV because Ned is hilariously oblivious but it really hypes up Cole as the romantic lead of your dreams. 

This is one of my unapologetic favorites and is close enough to what normies read that I don’t feel the need to add a bunch of warnings or qualifiers to it. Ugh, what a romp. I can’t decide if I want to reread the sequel immediately or sit with it for a while. 

More Tales to Chill Your Bones by Alvin Schwartz

dark mysterious fast-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

4.0

This trilogy definitely ends on a high note that managed to be… I won’t say scary so much as unsettling. I feel unsettled by the story of Harold in particular. 

These were all so fun to reread as an adult and fit perfectly for the holiday! I’m not sure if these would speak to modern kids so much - the jokes are weak (especially in this book) and there’s not as much depth. I can see them all being very unthreatening for reading aloud though so that’s probably the thought process. 

More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

dark fast-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

3.75

The stories are a bit longer than in the first book of this little trilogy and are surprisingly gruesome for their time. While they still feel more like outlines than true stories I found myself being much more engaged with the folklore here. 

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

adventurous fast-paced

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

3.5

It’s interesting to see how much more oomph children’s writing has had in the 40 years (!!!) since this was published. 

While all of the stories are very bare bones (and maybe two pages a piece) the illustrations are fantastic and it has a nice spooky vibe. Perfect for a Halloween where your brain hurts. I’m also pleasantly surprised at how extensive the bibliography is. 

The Wehrwolf by Alma Katsu

dark medium-paced

• 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? No

3.0

This did a decently good job at what it was trying to do - the similarities between this and the modern day are hard to miss - but I was left wanting more. More horror - Katsu can create tense atmospheres and write gruesome scenes but doesn’t here. More folklore. More of anything. 

The Beaufort Bride: The Life of Margaret Beaufort by Judith Arnopp

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? No

3.0

The writing was competent and it was accurate enough but it lacked a certain spark. Maybe because it’s a trilogy (and frankly does it need to be?) but I don’t feel much for Margaret. 

I’m likely to continue but this isn’t one I’d rush to suggest people read. 

Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand

mysterious medium-paced

• 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? No

3.5

It took a moment to really get used to the format the story was told in but once I was there it totally worked. The handful of characters with different perspectives and opinions really helped keep things mysterious. The truth is none of them seem to know for sure what happened. There’s no telling what they chose not to mention. It’s frustrating but unsettling. 

I do wish the ending had remained a little more vague. There was a marvelously horrible moment towards the end that I sort of wish that things had ended on. 

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I had a fucking blast with this one in the sense that I was stressed out the whole time. And of course I read it in one single solitary sitting. 

I feel like the atmosphere was properly scary but what was more I love horror where I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know where the monster is, what it is, how it came to be. I don’t know for sure who’s still alive or who’s dead. Being stuck with one single perspective character meant that I didn’t know the rules and I was figuring things out alongside her - and that is really an excellent way to raise tension. Horror authors seem to forget that. I can even accept the ending - it’s not what I wanted but I’d rather be left with questions than given a tedious happily ever after. It’s horror, for fuck’s sake. 

I think my only issue is that there’s two competing storylines during the third act and frankly one of them is just not that interesting to me. I lost patience with the flashbacks and maybe that says something about me as a person but I just don’t care. 

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

adventurous 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? No

1.5

I really need publishers to stop throwing the word feminist on any retelling where a woman is involved. This is getting fucking embarrassing. 

My problems here beyond the awkward pacing and the fact that it makes a compelling myth boring as hell is that women don’t do shit. Ariadne does virtually nothing without help from men. She’s not clever, she’s not charismatic, all she does is stare blankly and shit out a bunch of kids while the story happens around her. But that’s super feminist right? Poor widdle Ariadne can’t have two brain cells to rub together - how else would we make these one note male characters fit into the story? 

I’m disappointed and I think this has left me not wanting to read Greek myth retellings anymore. If this is the best the genre has…