cardigoth

3.5 rounded down mostly because I didn't find the characters quite as likeable as the first book and you have to read the epilogue separately and I feel the epilogue is necessary.

Very repetitive. The last 10% of the book was the best part.

It was always going to be hard to live up to Butcher & Blackbird. This was pretty well written, fun, and interesting, but it certainly paled in comparison. 3.75 stars, rounded up to 4.

Color me shocked, but I liked it. What can I say? I will be reading the sequel.

That was kinda fun.

Go for the audiobook, if you can.

There were some specifics of this book – common ones in the monster realm, certain anatomical anomalies – that didn't exactly do it for me (they never do), but the plot actually started to pull at my heartstrings enough that I'll be reading the sequel.

This book is fine.

2.5 rounded to 3 stars. Actually fairly disappointing. Just an extended metaphor, I think, for family trauma and lineage.

More enjoyable than I generally find “literature.” It was long and complicated at first, but never dragged once it got started. Some pretty gross people but some good ones too. I was looking forward to Lee breaking out into the world to pursue his dream, especially because it was to own a bookstore, and was disappointed when he returned but also relieved that his character wouldn't disappear when he had been so interesting and good. Second place: Samuel Hamilton, of course.

An interesting but mildly triggering read. I went into it thinking it would be more “culty” but it was interesting and, frankly, upsetting nonetheless. Unless you know your personal limits for reading about child sex abuse, intimate partner violence, violence against children, and general emotional/psychological abuse very well and know you will be okay reading something fairly detailed and very realistic I would say you might want to err on the side of caution and steer clear.

This is a silly note, but the kids in this group have the wildest names. I loved that.

I also loved how she talked to her childhood diary. Adorable and relateable.

If I were feeling more generous, I might give this three stars. I rounded down. 98% boring.

2.5 stars. This really did not hit for me. In the moments I regained momentum, they were moments of hope, I suppose. But generally this book was bleak in a boring and pedestrian way.

Beautiful. Funny. Difficult. True.

I prefer the podcast, I think. The podcast has most of the same information delivered in a very similar way but with a little more zazz. The book is fine if you prefer books.

Ugh, whatever.

Gruesome, disgusting, sad, disorienting, disturbing... I think I'll try another of this author's books and see if more exposure gives me a clearer idea of whether or not I've had my fill.

This happens sometimes where I need to read the sequel before I can decide how I really feel about the first in the series. I read the whole thing, so that's something. Right now, my instincts are saying the best review is, “Disney's Halloweentown but make it smutty.”

2.5 stars. Not as helpful as I had hoped as a work book. It gave me some things to think about but I think I will have to seek out more resources to more fully use any of the information it offered. It was essentially too basic and I think it needs more of an in-depth foundation to be of use to me.

3.5 stars. I appreciated some of the ambience and themes that made me remember one of my favorite horror movies, The Ring. This book isn't what I was expecting but I'm glad for that. It kept my attention. It wasn't earth-shatteringly good or even noticeably well-written, but it was an interesting enough mystery. It's got pretty great reviews so, if it's on your list, I can at least say I don't regret giving it a try.

2.5 stars. Fan-fiction quality.

Really really beautiful

This book wasn't at all what I expected. There were things about it that I really liked, things I could have gone without, and things I struggled to understand, but all of it together seems like a choice which is what really matters to me.

It's hard to write about this book without really coloring the telling with one's own point of view. But I'm on the other side of this book and you probably aren't, so I won't even try to explain it.

I like Darnielle's voice and I like how his characters move through the world and look at their lives and themselves and the choices they've made. This book does that.

ETA: almost six months later, I still think about this book often. Especially the surprising style shift and the ending. It won't usurp WiWV (one of my favorite books of the past several years), but I really can't wait until Darnielle comes out with another book.

It just dragged on for so long. I don't know why I didn't enjoy it as much as the first book, though. Maybe it's because I didn't really connect with the “main” love interest? Maybe it was the “plot”? I will read the third book when it comes out in July, though, I'm certain...

Much more enjoyable than book 2. Cute, short, and sweet. I was also relieved to not have to work through another RH!