wisteriariaa's reviews
131 reviews

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

This is genuinely one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever read. This is a horror novel. Anyone who legitimately believes this is a romance needs to be locked behind bars and left to rot. 

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

4.0

I hope Eve gets back to her timeline/dimension or whatever and then shoves Thomas down 13 flights of stairs

Ice Massacre by Tiana Warner

4.0

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

slow-paced

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

4.5

You know usually I’m not a huge fan of books that don’t really pick up until halfway through, but this book manages to create such an unsettlingly addictive atmosphere that it pulled me right through to where things started to get interesting. 

Also, it’s nice to see a book have a twist that actually enhances the book rather than just being there for the sake of having one. 

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks

slow-paced

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

1.0

What a lackluster execution of an interesting premise.

Also the reveal that Frank was forced into being transgender by his father as an experiment and that’s why he’s a murderous psychopath is ridiculous. I’m not offended I just think it’s a dumb twist that adds nothing.

Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I did have some issues with some bits and I do think some of the foreshadowing was way too on the nose at certain points, but I liked this well enough. As someone who is deeply afraid of being pregnant and doesn’t want kids, the horror was probably a lot more effective for me than it was for others. I do think the epilogue was kind of stupid though, makes the antagonist feel a bit too much like supervillains in my opinion

This is a personal thing, but I kind of wish Maeve got to kill that bitch Andrea with her own bare hands. I’m satisfied that she at least got Rob, but Andrea deserved way worse for what she did to her.

Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie

medium-paced

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

3.0

I am very conflicted on how I feel about this book. On the one hand, I do like the concept and I was intrigued with the direction the plot went. I thought it would be a generic Paranormal Activity type ghost haunting, but I was surprised that it wasn’t. On the other hand, there are some aspects of the execution of the book’s concept that absolutely do not work. I like the transcripts of the found footage and the inclusion of emails and text messages, but the diary entries are ridiculous. I’m meant to believe that these people exactly remembered everything that happened to them in their day-by-day, including every word of their exact conversations? Yeah, no. Not buying it. 

I also did not care for any of the characters that much. They were all so incredibly stupid and honestly deserved everything that was coming to them. Especially Kevin the ex-Philly cop. What was the author thinking making a cop character who commits police brutality in this social climate? Was I supposed to like him at any point because all I felt towards him was a powerful wish that he would die. The only character I even remotely liked was Jessica. She was the only one with any self-preservation instincts and I thought her relationship with her sister was emotionally compelling. She was the only character I was rooting for to live and get back to her son,

which makes me happy with the ending. Like yes, let all the other idiot morons die while Jessica gets to eventually get out after making the correct choice to not go down the weird stairs that anyone with a brain could tell led to an untimely demise

I dunno. Definitely a mixed bag, but I had a good enough time with this.

The Final Child by Fran Dorricott
Did not finish book. Stopped at 27%.

This book was turning into such a slog to get through. I didn’t care about the characters or the story, I literally skipped through the book to figure out what the big mystery was and that was enough for me.

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

slow-paced

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

4.0

Spear by Nicola Griffith

adventurous medium-paced

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

5.0