Ivy Pages

Rating: 3.75 leaves out of 5
Characters: 3.5/5
Cover: 4/5
Story: 3.5/5
Writing: 4/5
Genre: Magical Realism/Fantasy/Contemporary
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Sure

Tiny ends up pregnant with an owl baby, to which whatever that means. The whole story seemed metaphorical. Metaphor for what? Hell if I know. I did keep reading because I was interested in Chouette and what would become of her. Her mother's backstory is also kind of interesting. I absolutely hated the father and ugh if I could just throat punch him I would.

Julia Whelan, my favorite narrator, narrates it and as usual she always brings in the whimsicalness of the book. First heard her in The Invisible Life Of Addie Larue and fell in love! Is it worth reading? Probably if you have nothing else to really read or in a kind of rut.

Rating: 3.81 leaves out of 5Characters: 3/5 Cover: 5/5Story: 2.5/5Writing: 4.75/5Genre: Horror/LGBTType: AudiobookWorth?: I guess, depending on the personTW: Transphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Body horror, Sexual violence, Self harm, Racism, Gore, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Animal cruelty, Pedophilia I would highly recommend you look at trigger warnings for this book! There are a lot more I didn't list! Hated Disliked It Was Okay Liked Loved FavoritedWant to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to listen to this book. First book of 2023 and what a way to kick it off. Won't lie, it was an okay book. Nothing too grand and nothing horrible. I did take issues with one part and felt like it was just put in as a very poor excuse of an argument. I also feel like I get a look inside the mind of someone who is Trans and I think that is my favorite part about this. Because coming from someone who isn't you don't really know or understand what they go through inwardly, you only ever see it on the outside. How Alison expressed it was done pretty darn well. As for the horror aspect I really dug it. It gave monster house on a whole different level. There are some trippy scenes and the ending was chef kiss.

Rating: 3.5 leaves out of 5
Characters: 2.5/5
Cover: 5/5
Story: 3/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Genre: Crime/Mystery
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Meh

Do I recommend this book to anyone? No. I honestly didn't get the point of this story at all. They call it a mystery, and it is, but I had no desire to get to know the who and what and why. The main character is unremarkably dull. I get no point of his psychiatrist.

I should have listened to my gut when I read Stephen King endorsed the author.

Rating: 4.3 leaves out of 5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 3/5
Story: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Genre: Psychological Thriller/Mystery/Fiction
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Sure

This book was a rollercoaster. One minute it was okay, to why did I even pick up the book, and the BAM...plot twist AFTER PLOT TWIST. I know people are complaining he doesn't know how to write a female. Let's get this straight. He can write a female as well as a female can write a male. That was one of the dumbest arguments I have seen about this book so far.

Riley had me wondering if he even knew what he was writing, I ate my words. There was a part where Charlie let Josh pretty much go because of the damn waitress. I was about done at that part but something just told me to keep going and so I did! The plot twists were mouth dropping!

At the end I know it could be seen as... weird. Her marrying Josh could be seen as kind of fucked up but to be honest I was rooting for her to be with him. XD

Rating: 3.11 leaves out of 5-Characters: 3/5 -Cover: 3.5/5-Story: 3/5-Writing: 4/5Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller-Horror: 1.5/5-Mystery: 3.75/5-Thriller: 3/5Type: AudiobookWorth?: YeahHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked LovedThe story was okay. Reminded me a bit of Penpal but where it was bold it lacked in other areas. The ending annoyed me and she didn't deserve to go where she went. I wasn't wowed but I wasn't really disappointed either.

Rating: 4.9 leaves out of 5
Characters: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Story: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Genre: Children/Fantasy
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Yes!

First want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review! This book has been flying off the shelf at my work. If it is hidden this book would be sniffed out and found. The kids enjoyed it so when I saw that I could get a chance to listen to it I snatched up the request.

It is a cute and adorable little book. The soundtrack really added to the fun of the book. There was, however, one little bit of the book when the music went kinda dark but other than that it was an enjoyable read!

Rating: 3.91 leaves out of 5Characters: 3.75/5 Cover: 3/5Story: 4.6/5Writing: 4.3/5Genre: Horror/Mystery/ThrillerType: BookWorth?: YeahHated Disliked It Was Okay Liked Loved FavoritedMy second book that I have liked out of the three that I have read by him. At first I didn't like Jade at first and maybe even more through to the halfway mark and maybe she just got tolerable. Either way she wasn't the best and majority of the characters as well were okay. As for the story it was good but it dragged a bit. It was worth at least a read through once, for sure. The ending had me a bit annoyed but that's just me!

Rating: 3.70 leaves out of 5-Characters: 4/5 -Cover: 2.75/5-Story: 4/5-Writing: 4/5Genre: Horror, Paranormal, Fantasy, Mystery-Horror: 2/5-Paranormal: 4.75/5-Mystery: 3/5-Fantasy: 5/5Type: EbookWorth?: YeahHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked LovedWhat a big jump from Sour Candy. I absolutely loved how this was written. If you like documentation style stories, this is it. It is about a haunted house and how it grew to recognition and what happens after. It is creepy and very atmospheric. Honestly one of my favs this month!

Rating: 3.25 leaves out of 5Characters: 2/5 Cover: 5/5Story: 2/5Writing: 4/5Genre: Horror/Thriller/ParanormalType: AudiobookWorth?: Not even for a minuteHated Disliked It Was Okay Liked Really Liked Loved FavoritedUgh where do I even begin? I get Chris was in pain. Losing a child is hard, I don't know from personal experience but I can imagine. The level of horror in this book is like a 1/10 and a lot of the times the stupidity is what takes away from it all.Chris obviously had mental issues before and after her son's passing. The more I read the more I was getting angry because the only one who seems to really care was her exhusband's wife. and then don't get me started on the damn boyfriend who enabled her. I saw someone comment about how they were happy that a man wasn't there to fix her but him being there was just as worse. I can't stand mothers like Chris for the soul purpose of she seemed like the mother who A. smothered her kid. B. was one of those moms who would have said her son was innocent if he had did something wrong to someone else. He was a druggie, supposedly, and by the way she is written and how her mother talks about him and her it seems that way.There are so many issues with this story I don't know how it even got 4 and 5 stars.

Rating: 3.6 leaves out of 5
Characters: 3.5/5
Cover: 5/5
Story: 2.5/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Genre: Paranormal/Horror/Short Story
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Meh

The only thing that saved this book from being a 2 was the cover. It fell flat for a horror book. The music for the audio was scarier than the actual story. I will admit though that some pieces were scary. For example, the fact that one friend just straight up murdered his friend for his trash of a bride. The bride of this story is crap. Nothing redeemed her for all that went down. I had high hopes for it.

...is a gorgeously creepy haunted house tale, steeped in Japanese folklore and full of devastating twists.

Rating: 3.9 leaves out of 5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 3.5/5
Story: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Genre: horror/thriller/mystery
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Yes

I was really excited to read this one, not just because it is horror but because it was translated. They said it was like Midsommar and Blair Witch. I could understand what they meant with Midsommar and Blair Witch but it is very WATERED down.

A lot of horror and thriller books are very cliché to the point of death so I was happy that this one wasn't. I did like the plot twists but REALLY HATED the epilogue. It should have focused on Alice and not on the crazy younger sister of Alice's grandmother.

Alice and Emmy are... they both get on my very thin nerves. Lol. There are somethings that are hinted at like rape and that section I had to stop after a bit before going on.

All in all it is worth the read if you like suspense, horror, and thrills.

Rating: 2.09 leaves out of 5-Characters: 3/5 -Cover: 3/5-Story: 2.75/5-Writing: 4/5Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Splatterpunk-Horror: 1/5-Thriller: 0/5-Mystery: 1/5-Splatterpunk: 2/5Type: AudiobookWorth?: MehHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked LovedI am so disappointed. I saw all the hype and had it sitting on the fence until I saw Kristopher was coming out with a second book and it is coming out on the 1st so I thought it would be splendid to finish this and pick the second one right up. Ugh, I am just... over half the book is just... boring. Little to nothing happens and then rest it hits you. I was sick and I felt bad for the victims. The ending though, I don't know. I want to say I am happy? Kinda but at the same time it was just... flat. Will I be picking up the second book? Eeehhh maybe? Probably.I do advise you to go look up the trigger warnings for this, as I will say you should ALWAYS do for horror.

Rating: 1.67 leaves out of 5-Characters: 1.5/5 -Cover: 2/5-Story: 1.5/5-Writing: 2/5Genre: Contemporary, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, YA-Contemporary: 4/5-Horror: 1/5-Thriller: 0/5-Mystery: 2/5-YA: 5/5Type: AudiobookWorth?: NoHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked Really Liked LovedThis is the 2nd book I have read by this lady and at this point I can say that she just can't do horror. Majority of this stupid book was 2 girls fighting and hiking. NOTHING happens for the majority of this book. It was a snoozefest and then when things do start to come up Miss Stephanie played into the Appalachian hurtful stereotype while saying 2 young girls are so stupid as to go on this massive camping trip in woods they know nothing about.

Rating: 4 leaves out of 5-Characters: 3/5-Cover: 3/5-Story: 3.75/5-Writing: 5/5Genre: Fantasy, HisFic, Magical Realism, Romance-Fantasy: 3.5/5-HisFic: 5/5-Magic Realism: 5/5-Romance: 3.75/5Type: BookWorth?: I believe so.Hated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked LoveI am so glad I am reading this in story order. I loved the story. The characters were so/so. Maria annoyed me when she was younger but loved her as she grown. Same with her daughter. I was disgusted with a 30 yr old man knocking up a 16 year old girl, but what do you expect from those times? Rebecca is a POS and you can't change my mind.I loved seeing the women rise up from their trauma and the things I recognized from Practical Magic (the movie). What I didn't care for too much was the filler between scenes. I know it made the book run through smoothly, Alice does this in pretty much all of the books I have read by her, but somehow I don't mind it. It is like a car ride where you have this long stretch of nothingness but you admire it for the beauty.

Rating: 4.43 leaves out of 5Characters: 4/5 Cover (plus art): 4/5Story: 5/5Writing: 5/5Genre: Horror, Seinen, Thriller-Horror: 3/5-Seinen: 5/5-Thriller: 5/5Type: MangaWorth?: YesHated Disliked It Was Okay Liked LovedWhat the hell did I just read? I feel so bad for this kid, it is clear he is traumatized. This is just wild.

Rating: 3.4 leaves out of 5
Characters: 3.5/5
Cover: 3.5/5
Story: 3/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Genre: Fantasy/Aliens/Romance
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Uhh yeah

I suggest reading this AFTER the SECOND book. Though you can read it after the 1st it contains some spoilers from the second.

SPOILERS FROM BOOK 1 and possibly 2




This little book gives a bit of insight to what happens to the bodies of the girls who died along the journey. It is kinda sad but touching to see that Georgie needed closure. Of course there is some honeymooning in this book and there is a tension between her and Liz!

Rating: 4.09 leaves out of 5-Characters: 4.5/5 -Cover: 5/5-Story: 3.75/5-Writing: 4/5Genre: Horror, Fantasy, YA, LGBT, Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal-Horror: 3/5-LGBT: 2/5-Mystery: 4/5-Fantasy: 4/5-YA: 5/5-Thriller: 4.75/5-Paranormal: 5/5Type: AudiobookWorth?: YeahHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked LovedThe book started out pretty strong. For a YA I really liked it and there weren't much cringe? I think I did once. If you like THE LEFT RIGHT GAME I think you will like this book. I enjoyed that part. My problem though with this book was how confused I got during some parts, especially the end. I think if I had read it physically I would have understood it better.

Rating: 3.9 leaves out of 5
Characters:3.5/5
Cover: 5/5
Story: 3.5/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Genre: Horror/Vampire/Gothic/Fiction
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Yes

When I first stepped into Anne Rice's vampires I was a child and watching the movies. Needless to say I don't remember much from the movie enough to do side by side either way the book was enjoyable for the most part but there were some very sketch moments.

I really enjoyed the lovers aspect of Lestat and Louis, that was a plus. The thing that really threw me off was Claudia. The way she was written made me... kind of sick. Some parts made Claudia seem more like a lover, even says so a few times. She is a child, a literal body of a 5 year old, and where I get Louis was talking about how she was like a daughter to him it was still put in the strangest of ways.Needless to say I can't say Anne doesn't have some marbles loose, because to write that part you have to be.

Rating: 3.92 leaves out of 5-Characters: 2.75/5-Cover: 3.75/5-Story: 2/5-Writing: 5/5Genre: Classic, HisFic-Classic: 5/5-HisFic: 5/5Type: BookWorth?: I believe so.Hated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked LoveA classic for sure but nothing that hit me too hard. Was it sad? Yes. Did I cry? No, didn't even tear up. It gave a good basic run down on treatment of people during that time.

Rating: 4.39 leaves out of 5Characters: 4/5 Cover (plus art): 3.75/5Story: 5/5Writing: 5/5Genre: Horror, Seinen, Thriller-Horror: 3/5-Seinen: 5/5-Thriller: 5/5Type: MangaWorth?: YeahHated Disliked It Was Okay Liked LovedThis volume sucked me in and I didn't even notice the chapters going by. Also that damn ending, like... I had a inkling something like that might happen or something but at the same time I wasn't sure it would happen so soon.

Rating: 4.25 leaves out of 5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 4.5/5
Story: 4/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Genre:Fantasy/Romance/Retelling
Type: Manga
Worth?: Yeah

First want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review! Just like the first book I was excited to read this one as well. I really love seeing Beast's side of things since the story really just focuses on Belle. His backstory is just really sad but at the same time I can see why he turned out the way he did. Like the first book the coloring was done well and the only complaint about the manga is how some of the characters are drawn. There were just a bit off. Other than that it was a pretty good read!

Rating: 2.94 leaves out of 5-Characters: 2.5/5 -Cover: 5/5-Story: 2.5/5-Writing: 2.5/5Genre: Horror, Gothic, LitFic, Spanish Lit-Gothic: 4/5-Horror: 1.5/5-LitFic: 3/5-Spanish Lit: 2.5/5Type: ebookWorth?: MehHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked LovedI don't know if it was the translation to English or what but it wasn't giving what everyone else was saying it was.I was expecting something more impactful. Is it sad? Yes. Is it weird? Yes. But I was lost along the way, and not in a good way either. I felt bad for the Marina in the beginning and I guess she got her revenge but it was set up in such a weird way.The book is short enough to finish in a day but I wasn't pulled to keep reading and getting through with it seemed like a hassle.

Rating: 3.47 leaves out of 5-Characters: 3/5 -Cover: 4/5-Story: 3.5/5-Writing: 4.5/5Genre: Horror, Contemporary, Litfic, Magic Realism, Mystery-Horror: .5/5-Contemporary: 5/5-Litfic: 3/5-Magic Realism: 3.75/5-Mystery: 4/5Type: AudiobookWorth?: I suppose soHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked LovedFever Dream is indeed a fever dream. It was an okay story if you have no idea what the meaning behind it is all about. Without that knowledge it is a good mystery of sorts. But when I went looking, because I wasn't enjoying myself as much as I'd have liked, I found some rather... extremely sad news.The story was “inspired”, which sounds so shitty, from the use of harmful pesticides in Argentina. Finding that out made so much sense. On top of the how incredibly sad. The only horror in this how the deaths were a real life thing.

Rating: 2.37 leaves out of 5Characters: 2/5 Cover: 3/5Story: 1.5/5Writing: 3/5Genre: Horror/FantasyType: AudiobookWorth?: NoTW: blood and gore, murder, rape, animal death Hated Disliked It Was Okay Liked Loved FavoritedI gave it to 76% of the book before I just DNFed it. I suffered my way through thinking I could make it to the end but I just couldn't do that to myself. The characters were meh and the story itself was also meh. I don't usually have a problem with men writing women but Scott is one of those times that I do. He is so unimaginative when it comes to bad men. He is stereotypical about it and had to flavor his big bad villain with being a rapist because god forbid a man can't be evil otherwise. Actually, wait, he can be. I get it is popular but I can't seem to fathom on HOW. The main girl was like unflavored chicken and you can tell who done it so easily. This book tries to be something it is clearly not.

Rating: 4.54 leaves out of 5-Characters: 5/5 -Cover (+art): 4/5-Story: 4.75/5-Writing: 5/5Genre: Horror, Scifi, Seinen-Horror: 3/5-Scifi: 5/5-Seinen: 5/5Type: MangaWorth?: YesHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked Really Liked Loved