Ray
This was pretty good, especially considering how short this book is, it packed a punch.
It was quite dark, quite gory, I had fun.
Dnf
I don't know. Nothing about this book made me want to keep reading. I know that for a novella, i wasn't expecting to be attached to the characters but i felt absolutely nothing for them. So no.
This is a great book if you're looking for atmosphere and slow build. It's a very weird kind of horror. While the book is horrifying, it's in a very sad, hopeless way. I loved experiencing it.
However, this is one of those books that is vague with details, drags on some parts of the story while it rushes the others. You will have some unanswered questions, but I think it is intentionally so to keep this atmosphere.
Beautiful writing, and short digestable chapters. I came for deep sea horror but stayed for the dreadful disquiet.
“I think that the thing about losing someone isn't the loss but the absence afterwards. The endlessness of that”
This was not only a very engaging classic, it was addicting. I could not stop reading it.
It's so interesting that such forms of submission was discussed so long ago, and it was so peculiar at the time that they had to come up with a new word for it - masochism.
Today it means someone who enjoys pain, and while there is a small mention about enjoying pain in this book, Sacher-Masoch mainly talks about submission, and how he enjoys giving up his freedom to a dominating woman.
I especially loved when he says this-
“‘God did punish him and deliver him to a woman's hands' I repeated to myself. Well, what could I possibly do to make Him punish me?”
“If you love me, be cruel to me”
If you're curious about the work that gave birth to masochism, it's definitely worth giving this a read. I was fascinated.
Ultimately, I was expecting things from this book that I didn't get.
As the author goes on to tease the mysterious Stanislas Cordova, director of the most terrifying movies ever made, exploring the worst part of the human mind, I was expecting more nuance to the story. A deep dive into the mind of such a person, what makes him who he is, and why he does what he does. Details of the movies themselves and why they are so terrifying they're banned from television.
And that was mostly a disappointment, because I think we deserved that, especially with the length of this book.
Instead what we get is a long and winded mystery with Scott McGrath following lead after lead after lead, all of them dead ends, untill one person just word vomits everything at the end with the littlest bit of blackmailing, and after 500 long pages, it's all over.
Now that I think more about it though, giving an unsatifisying ending is something Cordova would totally do so that might have been intentional.
The book definitely did a better job with exploring Ashley Cordova's character but I was not here for HER, you know?? I wanted more.
This book has completely shattered me, I have NOT recovered from that ending. Even though i knew it was coming from the very start i couldn't face it, probably a true representation of what an execution is like.
The writing is punchy and an emotional rollercoaster, because it takes you through so many different facets of a killer's life. You not only get to read Ansel's POV but also the women whose lives have been ruined because of him, a detective who is solving the case and also has a personal connection to him, and his mother, who is probably the only one who has seen his true, pure form as a child. There was so much nuance to this story.
Some parts of Saffy's story felt a bit dragged on and took me out of the story, otherwise this is a 5 star book for me.
A thousand miles away, justice is being served - but justice is supposed to feel like more. Justice is supposed to be an anchor, an answer. Justice does not feel like a compensation. It doesn't even feel like satisfaction. As Saffy takes a long breath of alpine air, she pictures the needle pressing into Ansel's arm. The blue pop of vein. How unnecessary, she thinks. How pointless. The system has failed us all.
I really enjoy Murakami's writing, there's just something so unique about it. All these stories are essentially pointless, you're just tagging along the journeys of these characters that he builds so well. They feel real and palpable.
I especially loved ‘Samsa in love' a unique retelling of Kafka's classic, a kind of reverse metamorphosis.
I don't even know what I'm taking away from this one, but it was great and i enjoyed my time with it.
This is the only book in the series I've read, (i dnfd'd Mercy, then didn't read any more)
I actually really loved this. The spice was really spicy. I loved the characters too, I know everyone is talking about Eden, and she's awesome but i actually really liked Jade too.
Plot wise it was ridiculously predictable, a third act break up and all. I didn't mind it too much though.
"For every woman who has been ignored, belittled, dismissed, forgotten, overlooked, or abused, this one is for you!"
With a dedication like this, I had high hopes. Cons, the fact that half the book is spoiled in the blurb?
My suggestion is to go in blind. I wish I had.
Coming to the commentary in the book, it was doing quite a bit. Commentary on the legal justice system, and feminism. I would say it mostly worked though. Sometimes I was questioning the characters' motives, and wondering what the book was trying to convey.
Pros, I loved the fact that this has 2 parellely running plotlines. The writing is very fast-paced, the stakes keep building and to a very tense point, chapters end in cliffhangers.
The characters, I loved the building of the complex female friendships.
There were a couple plot twists that I didn't see coming.
All in all, this was a great thriller that I had a fun time with. Not necessarily a favourite, but very enjoyable.
I just can't finish this, I'm all for freaky reverse harems, but Jessica just feels too cringe, and the way all the boys are obsessed with her is ridiculous.
Not for me.
This book was such a mess but I was here for it. The men are so bratty and spoiled and act very immature at times, and Story contradicts herself so much it's ridiculous.
Also if someone did say the things these men said in real life I would never condone it but it's fiction, I guess.
I just had fun for reading this as it was.
This book was just so alive, so bustling with magic. The writing was so beautiful, I loved it
This book definitely took it's time to pick up, but once it did, it really picked off.
This reminds me of a lot of things i loved about ‘Jar Of Hearts' by the same author. It's emotional, it dives deep, and it has something to say. It takes a fairly simple plotline, fairly common tropes, but makes it so complicatedly beautiful.
I cried at the end, and that's when I know a thriller has touched me, and the characters have reached me. I loved this.
Sweet and lovable characters, plentiful spice and a warm fluttery happy ending, exactly what i wanted right now
Xavi and Nate!!!!
This is definitely my favourite of the series and I love the way everything wraps up so well. These characters literally have become comfort characters for me now.
Friends to lovers is mostly a miss for me, but this one completely worked. I love how in tune they are with their minds even though they don't really know their bodies. Their friendship flows through their relationship, making jokes and laughing together at the face of confusion and always so aware of how the other is feeling. It was so fun to watch them navigate this new dynamic of their already strongly built friendship.
Also this was hilarious. I love how many little perks their relationship has. So many inside jokes, so many references to their past, it makes it so special.
I loved this, and im sure I will returning to this book often to just spend more time with these adorable idiots. So cute.
This is a pretty basic murder mystery that I finished in a few sittings but that's not a bad thing. I enjoy Lucinda Berry's writing and the way she makes you so connected to the characters and rooting for them, there's plenty of twists and turns and it's surely gonna keep you engaged.
I should've seen the whodunnit coming, but I didn't so it was still a fun reveal.
Like everyone else is saying, this gives off the same vibes as Bunny by Mona Awad, which is one of my favourite books of all time. And just like that one, this is not a book for everyone. It's intentionally confusing, it's weird, it burns slow, it's plotless for the most part, characters are unhinged and the air is deeply unsettling.
In fact, Ines reminded me a lot of the protagonist from Bunny. The reason why these books work is because it's fascinating to glimpse into the minds of these characters. It's fascinating to watch them slowly transform and lose their minds, basically.
The writing was beautiful, just like you would expect from a dark academia like this. The setting was fantastic too.
My only bone to pick was that it dragged on a little bit in the middle which in my opinion was unnecessary.
You'll know if these kind of books are for you, and if they are, you'll have a great time with it.
I'm definitely in the minority here, but I didn't love this book as much as the first one.
I didn't feel as attached to the characters as I was expecting. I didn't enjoy the spicy scenes as much as I did in the previous book too.
I will be reading the next book regardless.
Absolutely hooked at the time of reading this, so i did enjoy the reading experience.
But i personally didn't like the twist and the direction it went, it changed into a ‘villian wrecking your life' plot that I'm not a fan of. So i didn't like the ending.
But high rating for the blast i had for the 3/4th of this book.
First Iain Reid book, blew my mind away. Definitely reading everything by this author ever.
I understand this book has made a historical change in the way the world see sci-fi horror but it just wasn't a very enjoyable read for me. I read half the stories, and obviously the iconic one which is the title of this book but I feel no motivation to read the rest.
I enjoyed the writing, I'm definitely coming back for more from Ricci.
I loved the almost fake dating aspect of it, it was so entertaining
The only down side for me was that both the characters are written exactly the same and i had trouble remembering whose pov I was reading so that's a huge pet peeve of mine