Ray
My favourite kind of books are those that are vague and confusing and fuck with your mind. I feel like those are the ones that I think about the most, because they force you to.
This book came so close to being that.
My primary issue with this book was that it was too slow paced. I felt like the part where Ben works in the store was dragged on for so long. After finishing the book I realised that the whole thing was inspired by personal events in the author's life which makes sense, but at the time, it really put me off.
As someone who really loves Penpal and r/nosleep stories in general, I still loved the vibe of this, although it was absolutely not what I was expecting it to be.
I've thought a lot about this book since I finished it, and honestly I'm still so confused. Lots of unanswered questions. But hey, it successfully wedged itself in my mind?
I love a plotless gay story. I'm not usually a character driven book reader but Arden just fascinated me SO MUCH! I was just as enthusiastic to learn more about him as Michael was.
Another thing I usually don't like is the insta-lust trope and it must be pure magic of Laura Lascarso's writing that made me love Arden and Michael's instant connection. The spice was spicing so hard, I love the way this author uses all sorts of fruity and floral metaphors to describe the.... things. It's so uniquely erotic.
I wish this was a series so bad because I would've loved to read more of these two, or any of the side characters, just to be in this world.
Loved this.
This was JUST as good as the first book, wow, I loved this so much.
There's something so wonderful about the way the author uses gore, yet the writing is almost lyrical. If anything, it enhances the writing so well.
It definitely didn't let me down with how dark it was.
I also enjoyed the folk horror aspect of it. The small town vibes, the town lore, it was so well written.
I went in completely blind for this and honestly I would recommend you to do the same. All you need to know is that there is free for all orgies involved, an almost gothic vibe to the setting, and great spice, (especially if you would enjoy reading voyeur/exhibitionist dynamics)
I loved how unique this was, I've definitely never read anything like this before and it kept me hooked throughout.
The only two things i would complain about this firstly, what was up with our main character's necrolepsy? I understand it's something the author suffers from and wanted to represent that in a character, and she just didn't do it right. There's heavy mentions of it in the beginning and it's almost like she forgot about it in the second half. I wish it was consistently represented throught, it just didn't feel realistic.
Secondly, I wish the dynamics among the different characters were clearer. Something about the way the characters each feel about each other just felt like it wasn't fully fleshed out for me. Maybe that's just because this is the first in the series and maybe later on we find out more about them all.
Overall, I'm glad I picked this up from having it in my tbr for years and Sierra Simone didn't disappoint.