I genuinely found the ambience and plot amazing; I loved the setting of the record store, I loved the char★★★★☆
How is this so criminally underrated???
I genuinely found the ambience and plot amazing; I loved the setting of the record store, I loved the characters, I loved the "magic" system, and I overall just enjoyed this book, and it was scary af at times. ...more
This was dark and horrifying, quite intense for a middle-grade as well! The only reason why this isn't a 5 star, however, is that I felt there was4.5★
This was dark and horrifying, quite intense for a middle-grade as well! The only reason why this isn't a 5 star, however, is that I felt there was definitely a need for an epilogue. This felt like a first book in a series and I have some, though it's only very few, unanswered questions.
Absolutely thrilling and awesome execution, big recommendation if you're in the mood for a scary story!...more
Please tell me this being listed as "LGBTQ+" is an actual joke.
Welcome to my very short rant review :D
Coming back to my statement t10/01/2023
★☆☆☆☆
Please tell me this being listed as "LGBTQ+" is an actual joke.
Welcome to my very short rant review :D
Coming back to my statement that this should not be listed as "LGBTQ+". While it isn't necessarily creepy or problematic because thank gods the middle-aged man isn't near the child he obsesses about, but rather admires his youth and beauty excessively, which is still creepy but at least this isn't giving Lolita. Anyway, this shouldn't be listed under this category, because either it's a story about a middle-aged man that is in love with a small boy and therefore should be categorised under a different term, I think we all know, or it is a story about a middle-aged writer who falls in love with the idea of a boy and his "god-like beauty" (a repeated quote from the book) and his youth and therefore has nothing to do with anything LGBTQ+.
Now that that's settled, let's quickly move on to Gustav's (our creepy-ass middle-aged protagonist) unsettling stalking and excessive descriptions of a literal child. And just so y'all know, I'm not reading into this because even the book describes his behaviour as stalking and observation...at least she's self-aware ...more
This was phenomenal! It's Stranger Things x Nerve (meaning vibes only).
The book has numerous elements, including a game, in-d27/05/2023
★★★★★
HOLY SHIT
This was phenomenal! It's Stranger Things x Nerve (meaning vibes only).
The book has numerous elements, including a game, in-depth and reoccurring commentary regarding the murder and mistreatment of/racism towards black people, and a paranormal and creepy setting. This book combines a lot of things and nothing falls short!
The horror aspects of this book gave me literal chills. This is an amazingly executed YA horror book and a debut at that! I will definitely keep an eye out for more books by this author.
And the way it handled relationship dynamics, was everything I wished for! I have to say that I really enjoyed the romance of this book!! It's sapphic and messy.
This is a massive recommendation!
Update: "Stranger Things meets Get Out in this Sapphic Horror debut from nonbinary, Afro-Latine author Vincent Tirado." TAKE MY DAMN MONEY ...more
It was a mixed bag of calling some plot twists and being surprised by others! I also enjoyed the last chapter and how things wrapped up. It's a go3.5★
It was a mixed bag of calling some plot twists and being surprised by others! I also enjoyed the last chapter and how things wrapped up. It's a good mystery/thriller :) I loved buddy reading it with my mum (ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ) ...more
The protagonist was straight-up bullied throughout the entirety of the book. I'm act15/09/2022
★★★★☆
First things first, Trigger Warning for bullying.
The protagonist was straight-up bullied throughout the entirety of the book. I'm actually giving it four instead of five stars because she got pranked at the end of the book, so I don't really see the "lesson learned".
Nevertheless, the horror aspect of the story was so creepy and I loved that! I'll continue on with the series, of course. ...more
I'll probably re-read this someday and give it a higher rating; I was simply not in the mood for this book right now, and I had to fin29/08/2022
★★★☆☆
I'll probably re-read this someday and give it a higher rating; I was simply not in the mood for this book right now, and I had to finish it for academic reasons. Otherwise, I would've put it on hold to finish it when I'm in the right headspace!
However, I loved that this book is essentially told through diary entries and every character is very distinguishable from the others! I also quite enjoyed the romance, tbh. Though, the way the women were written was a bit off at times, but still very enjoyable given the time this was published. For context; "My dear Mina, why are men so noble when we women are so little worthy of them?" Bram, luv, no❤️
As for gay subtext (which was my initial reason for reading this book); there's quite a fruity beginning and Dracula's gay vibes were strong at the start but that all just kind of stopped after literally 60 pages. And this bitch is thick, like 450 pages thick.
Can u tell I lost interest? Literally listened to the audiobook on 2.8 speed and had to read the words simultaneously to keep up. Turned the last 8 hours into 3h ...more
Okay, this time I took notes and could actually and actively follow the story and I enjoyed it a lot!! I'd definitely recommend12/07/2023 2nd read
★★★★☆
Okay, this time I took notes and could actually and actively follow the story and I enjoyed it a lot!! I'd definitely recommend this classic and I think it captured the creepy vibes perfectly. Also, I'm living for the messy relationship dynamics.
23/01/2023 1st read
★★★☆☆
Technically, I read this twice today. I finished it earlier today and was thoroughly confused; upon re-reading, I noticed that it's the writing that didn't bring things across as clearly. It's important to note, though, that I found the story to be intriguing enough to give it another try right away! I quite enjoyed the plot and atmosphere of this novella! I can definitely see why this has inspired many well-known books....more
I figured out some stuff pretty early, so that took away from my reading experience, but I do like the writing style. The creepy and di10/06/2021
★★★☆☆
I figured out some stuff pretty early, so that took away from my reading experience, but I do like the writing style. The creepy and disturbing scenes were amazingly written. I do look forward to other books from this author.
Reading this felt like watching a classic horror movie. ...more
“Some people were born just so they could be buried.”
Definitely check out trigger warnings, lots of slurs, and many other potential tr07/19/2021
★★★☆☆
“Some people were born just so they could be buried.”
Definitely check out trigger warnings, lots of slurs, and many other potential triggers.
I'd for sure recommend this for an atmospheric and messed-up small-town horror. This book also had many unsettling scenes, which were quite detailed....more
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