Honestly, this was a very boring novella revolving around two characters in a ship. Nothing more needs to be said about it. The whole sRating: 2.0/5.0
Honestly, this was a very boring novella revolving around two characters in a ship. Nothing more needs to be said about it. The whole story had one dimension to it.
Merged review:
Rating: 2.0/5.0
Honestly, this was a very boring novella revolving around two characters in a ship. Nothing more needs to be said about it. The whole story had one dimension to it....more
Rating: ⭐⭐ Genre: Horror + Mystery Thriller + Short Story
In Adam Haslett's "The Remedy," a man named Derrick lives in crippling pain that traditional mRating: ⭐⭐ Genre: Horror + Mystery Thriller + Short Story
In Adam Haslett's "The Remedy," a man named Derrick lives in crippling pain that traditional medicine has ignored. He feels alone and hopeless because this suffering has consumed him.
Then a friend suggests a secretive clinic in New York, and suddenly there is hope. Derrick has never come across such a radical "remedy" as what this clinic is offering. To his dismay, he begins a regimen of strange and disturbing treatments that actually appear to be effective. Slowly but surely, his suffering subsides, and he gains insight and relief from his emotions.
The Remedy is part of Amazon’s Dark Corners Collection. Except for the first book in the series, all the others didn’t live up to my expectations. These horror short stories have great ideas, but reading them, especially their endings, makes me feel very underwhelmed. The Remedy is no exception. The whole story was supposed to be frightening and atmospheric, but it lacked all these essential elements of a good horror tale. The ending is ambiguous and lackluster, too....more
Simon R. Green's The Holy Terrors is the first installment in a series of mysteries that focuses on a group Rating: ⭐⭐ Genre: Horror + Mystery Thriller
Simon R. Green's The Holy Terrors is the first installment in a series of mysteries that focuses on a group of celebrities who are featured in a show called Spooky Time, which is a ghost-hunting program. The novel kicks off with the introduction of the five main characters: Alistair, a young bishop who is skeptical when it comes to the supernatural; Diana, an actress who is trying to reestablish her career; Leslie, who self-identifies as a medium and claims to communicate with spirits; Toby, a comedian who employs humor to conceal his fears; and Indira, a famous chef who is enamored with wealth and fame. Last but not least, there is June, the ambitious host and producer of the show, who has planned a special episode to air on Halloween night.
The town hall in Stonehaven, which is notorious for being the scene of gruesome murders and paranormal activity, serves as the setting for this episode. Cameras and microphones record the group's every move while they are confined to the hall for the duration of the night. They quickly realize that they are not alone and that there is something nefarious hiding in the shadows.
Throughout the night, they are confronted with a series of peculiar and terrifying occurrences, including screams that are so terrifying that they make their blood boil, flickering lights, and moving objects. In addition to this, they realize that one of their own team members is a traitor who is present for a wicked purpose. Overcoming the night and getting out of the hall will require the group to work together. They must also find out the killer's identity and the dark secrets of the hall's history.
This is one of those books whose summary makes it sound great. I was sure I would love this one. I really wanted to enjoy this book, but it was not at all what I thought it would be like. I think the author had good ideas, but I do not think he carried them out well. The first thing you will notice about this book is that the narration and dialogue are not balanced. The dialogue is about 95% of the book. Although that allows the characters to express themselves, it detracts from the book's atmosphere. There was a severe absence of atmosphere in this narrative. The hall itself ought to have served as a character. There was hardly anything about it. There was no description of the setting or the environment, and if there was any, it must have been nothing more than a passing mention.
The characters were the primary focus of attention most of the time. I am sorry to say that I did not find their conversation to be enjoyable to read. There were indeed some entertaining parts; however, I did not find them to be sufficient to give them a thumbs up. For some readers, these characters will be too campy. Whether you like that or not depends on your own personal taste. I still would have given this book an extra star if the ending did not seem so unbelievable.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book....more
One of my reading goals for 2023 is to read a few books that received Goodreads awards in various categories. TheRating: ⭐⭐ Genre: Mystery Thriller????
One of my reading goals for 2023 is to read a few books that received Goodreads awards in various categories. The Last Thing He Told Me has been on my radar for some time, as many of my friends loved it, and it also won the Goodreads award for best mystery thriller in 2021.
"The Last Thing He Told Me" by Laura Dave is a novel that tells the story of a woman named Hannah, whose husband, Owen, suddenly goes missing. Hannah realizes that she didn't truly know Owen as well as she thought she did when she works to piece together what happened to him. Along the way, she gets closer to his teenage daughter, Bailey, and the two strike up an improbable connection. Soon enough, she uncovers some terrible secrets about Owen's history. The story delves into topics such as marriage, family, and the lies that individuals tell one another about themselves and others. In the end, Hannah will have to face the facts about her husband and come to terms with the person he actually is in order for her to be able to go on with her life.
My initial thought was always, "How is this book classified as a mystery thriller?" I just couldn't wrap my head around it. This is more or less a piece of general fiction, but it does have some aspects of a mystery. This work doesn't have any of the tension and suspense that one would expect from a mystery novel. This should never have been categorized under "mystery thriller" in the first place because it is not one. The fact that it was voted the best thriller is something that has me scratching my head. The writing was decent, but the plot moved at an extremely snail's pace, thus the overall effect was more of a slow burn. Even if you consider it to be a work of general fiction, the narrative itself is not very intriguing and has moments that are hard to swallow since they are so far-fetched. The conclusion was not at all satisfying, which leads one to wonder what the point of the whole thing was in the first place. I'm confused as to the reason behind all of the hype. My expectations were just not met by this in any way.
“Protect her” “Protect her” “Protect her” I was the one who needed to protect my nerves to avoid having a nervous breakdown!...more
Rating: ⭐⭐ Genre: Young Adult + Dystopia + Novella
The maid is only one scene. Not sure why is it even numbered as 3.3. It is one scene told from the peRating: ⭐⭐ Genre: Young Adult + Dystopia + Novella
The maid is only one scene. Not sure why is it even numbered as 3.3. It is one scene told from the perspective of the castle maid, Lucy. It covers her relationship with Aspen, her dreams, and her struggle with jealousy. I’m currently reading these novellas in order to get into the second era of The Selection series, i.e. books four and five. This was the shortest as it’s only one scene (about 13 pages). Although it is nice to read Lucy’s perspective, I don’t think the author has given her enough length to be understood and connected with. ...more
Christopher Lawrence (Kit) doesn't anticipate working as Maximilian St. James's valet for very long. He meets JenniRating: ⭐⭐ Genre: Historical Romance
Christopher Lawrence (Kit) doesn't anticipate working as Maximilian St. James's valet for very long. He meets Jennie Hickson, the new Mrs. St. James' maid, and all of a sudden, he wishes to spend the remainder of his life next to her.
This is a short story that is supposed to be a companion to a bigger series. Perhaps it is unfair to evaluate a companion book as a standalone. However, I will treat this short story as a standalone book since I haven't read any of the main series. Despite the brief length of the novel, the author squandered time by giving us a backstory, and the second half of the book built the relationship too quickly to be enjoyable. I didn't sense any chemistry between the two main characters, which is crucial for any romance tale to be convincing....more
What was that? I honestly did not understand this novella. I don’t know what is the purpose of its story atRating: ⭐⭐ Genre: Literary Fiction + Fantasy
What was that? I honestly did not understand this novella. I don’t know what is the purpose of its story at all. It started as a charming fantasy, but then it kept going on and on with no goal or particular direction. It ended up going nowhere. This was supposed to be based on English folklore, but I couldn’t compare it with any I know.
All I got from the story is that Treacle Walker is a man who meets a young man called Joe. The two make a trade. Joe ends up with a donkey stone, and then he uses this stone and more nonsense happens. The best thing about this book is that it was short, so it did not require much time invested in it. I don’t think I would have finished it if it was an entire novel. Not only the story, but I also don’t even understand the cover! What is that supposed to be on the cover? A pig? A chicken? ...more
Abby has been missing a mother figure in her life for a long time. When she gets the chance to move with her husband Ralph toRating: ⭐⭐ Genre: Horror?
Abby has been missing a mother figure in her life for a long time. When she gets the chance to move with her husband Ralph to her mother-in-law’s house. Abbigail is ready to offer her love and affection to her mother-in-law (Laura). However, Laura is a cruel person and she does not treat her son well to treat his wife decently. After some time, Laura commits suicide but her ghost will still haunt Abby and her husband and cause them terror and fear. Abby will have to help her husband get over his depression and at the same time get rid of Laura’s ghost!
The synopsis of the book is amazing. The cover art gives me the vibes of the 1970s/1980s horror movies. I felt this book had all the ingredients to make it a favorite book for me. Unfortunately, all the good elements that I thought they will make it a fun read did not help. For a start, this is one of those books that I don’t understand what it tries to be when it comes to the genre. This was not horror. It is more like a general fiction novel. I feel this book will suffer due to misleading marketing. It is categorized as horror but totally lacks any horror atmosphere. I think the author had no intention of writing a horror novel but the way the book is marketed might backfire.
Disregarding the genre, I still was not invested in the story’s execution despite the concept being top-notch. Many times I felt nothing was making sense. Not sure whether this was intentional or it was just the author’s writing style. However, I appreciate the subjects presented in the book like mental health, depression, and haunting even if they did not have a strong impact on me. I wanted to love this book but I couldn’t. It was just not the book for me.
Many thanks to the publisher Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Vintage, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book....more
The Tangled Woods is a part of Amazon’s Dark Corners series. A series about horror, haunting, and scary stories. The story follRating: ⭐⭐ Genre: Horror
The Tangled Woods is a part of Amazon’s Dark Corners series. A series about horror, haunting, and scary stories. The story follows a small African American couple with their children on a road trip to have a family vacation. I thought that with such a plot there will be some thrilling events, horror, and highly anticipating twists but nope! Noting happens. I just had to read the main character complaining and whining from start to end! The publisher should’ve told the author to pay attention to the theme of the story to make it compatible with the other books in the series and focus less on the excessive political statements that felt a lot more than the actual story! I am being generous with the two stars here. ...more
I don’t know how to review this book! It has no defined plot. It felt like a person blogging on one of the sociaRating: 2.0/5.0
Genre: Literary Fiction
I don’t know how to review this book! It has no defined plot. It felt like a person blogging on one of the social media platforms about her life and problems. It was just like a diary written in short paragraphs. A stream of consciousness. Sometimes things made sense and were quite quirky, other times it felt frustrating as I was trying to make up a story in my mind from the “notes” the author has written. Many times it felt to me that this was a nonfiction book and that the author was the actual narrator and she was just telling me about her own life which is not the case.
The story is about Lizzie, a married university librarian with a son. The narrator keeps jumping from a subject to another, normal life annoyances, climate change, political opinions, etc. So I don’t think these subjects were given their fair due in this short book and with this kind of narration style. On the cover, it says “a novel” but I don’t think I have read a novel! I can’t recommend it.
I thought this whole series was done for adults. Wrong! This story is made for children and I can't eve[image] Rating: 2.0/5.0
Genre: Novella + Horror???
I thought this whole series was done for adults. Wrong! This story is made for children and I can't even term it as a horror. The story is about a small group of children having a sleepover and playing together by imagining things! One of them, of course, is what the title suggests!
I felt this story was a mess. The Harry Potter references seemed to be forced and not interesting to me even being a fan of the series. The characters were not interesting enough. They were just names and not unique characters. What is worse than all the above was the audiobook narrator who used the same voice for all the characters. I had to quit the audiobook from the first page and read it myself because she made a boring story to become an awful one!
This is the third book in the series and so far my least favorite among the ones I read.
N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season revolves around three female characters who are of varying ages. Essun is Rating: ⭐⭐ ½ Genre: Fantasy + Science Fiction
N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season revolves around three female characters who are of varying ages. Essun is a mother who has witnessed the murder of her son and the abduction of her daughter. Then there is Seyenite, who is working alongside an experienced master by the name of Alabaster on an imperial mission. The third character is Damaya, a little girl who is always watched over by an adult in order to prevent her from abusing the power she possesses. Orogens are a race that is capable of both producing and managing earthquakes. These three females are members of this race. Should they become enraged, a disaster of unfathomable proportions may ensue, the aftermath of which no one can foresee.
I had really high expectations from this first book in the series. I already own the three books because I anticipated that I would love them a lot. The author even won three consecutive Hugo awards for all three books, so this must be good. Right? WRONG! This first book bored the hell out of me! While the author kept so many different representations in her story (that’s the new bait for awards in the past couple of years), which is good, the writing was too dry for my taste. I found the prose to be uninteresting. I had a lot of trouble getting through this book. I wanted to quit several times.
I have no problem with complexity. When things get too confusing, and the narrative doesn't seem to be going anywhere in particular, that's when I get frustrated. While I was reading the book, my thoughts kept going in other directions. I did not care about any of the characters or the stories they told. Their stories did not captivate or interest me in the least. If all of that wasn't crazy enough, the author picked a bizarre second-person narration style for one of the characters in the story! Why would you ever consider doing that? Why did you decide to use this particular format for the narration? I tried switching between the physical book and the audiobook, but neither was particularly helpful. The narrator performed an excellent job throughout the audiobook; yet, the style of narration contributed to the overall confusion that was present throughout the audiobook. Because the story was told from a second-person perspective, it was difficult to tell the difference between the narration and the dialogue.
I’m not going to continue the series. I just can’t. I will be unhauling all three books. The story, the writing, and the narration were all not for me. I don’t understand the hype. ...more
I don’t know what to say about this series. I was not impressed by the first two books. The third was not good aRating: ⭐⭐ Genre: Fantasy + Young Adult
I don’t know what to say about this series. I was not impressed by the first two books. The third was not good and this finale did nothing. I still don’t understand the purpose of this series’ existence. Everything seemed so shallow to me. I liked the idea of a school on an airship with the presence of vampires and werewolves. But all that was built superficially. The series has ended and still, we didn’t get a clear purpose of why a school like this existed! Why these girls were trained to be spies and against who?
The love triangle continues here and as I predicted Sophronia ended up with the guy I expected her to be with. At times I found myself annoyed due to the lack of a clear goal and other times I was very bored. In short, the plot is all over the place in a story that lacks a clear direction. The author had to resort to turning one of the love interests into a villain in order to make Sophronia’s choice reasonable. I didn’t like that. The best thing is that the whole airship collapsed at the end which means there are no more books in the series. What a relief! ...more
Synopsis: April May is back home from her work, in her way home she sees a metallic sculpture. Along Rating: 2.0/5.0
Genre: Science Fiction + Young Adult
Synopsis: April May is back home from her work, in her way home she sees a metallic sculpture. Along with her friend Andy, they make a video about it and upload it to Youtube. The next day the video goes viral and more of those sculptures (now called Carls) are found in many different towns around the world. What happens next is that April will have to live that new life of fame facing more challenges from society to changes in her relationships.
Book Structure: The book is 338 pages long and has 25 chapters. It is written in the first person's perspective. The whole book is written from the perspective of April May except for the last chapter which is from Andy's perspective. The book is written as if it is nonfiction written by the main character.
Pros: - Interesting idea: The main idea about the book is intriguing even though it is not something very unique it was still the reason I picked up this book besides the unreasonable hype.
Cons: "The reason I've failed is that I wanted to solve this mystery alone, I wanted to be the hero that you all remember. I wanted to hold to my fame and my exceptionality."
- Weak characters: The main character is a greedy attention-seeking opportunist. I didn't like her at all. I did not like her actions and the way she carried herself. I know the author did not have any intention to make the reader dislike his protagonist, but that is what happened. The other characters were as dull and boring. They were only there to feed more the protagonist's greed and arrogance. One of them even went to say "Oh, April, we're all just satellites in your orbit"! So one point is obvious that the book does not have strong characters.
- Dull world: Not just dull but dumb also. The author has made the whole world so dumb just to show the protagonist as the genius one. This world has no order! The president calls this girl questioning her why she did not call her (Madam president)! There is nothing called quarantine when someone comes in contact with something that might be considered contaminated. Despite dozens of Carls spread around the world, nobody else goes near them and nobody else makes any video of them! This world absolutely has no logic. To read this book one has to lower his IQ a lot and even after lowering it as you progress in the story you have to lower it further. Not good. Even the aliens were just props, they did not have any significance in the story despite being the major thing that the book should revolve around.
Final Thought: The author has written this book and catered it specifically to YouTubers and social media enthusiasts. He succeeded in creating a big hype around it through them and the different media channels. I usually would not be harsh on the young adult genre, because usually they are catered to that age bracket, but this book asks for too much, it asks you to ignore every logic and just blindly follow the story.
This is the first book in the series. I just wonder where will the author take the protagonist next. I won't be surprised if he made her be the ruler of the world! I mean anything is possible. I am not sure where this story will head next. But what I am very sure of is that I will not be picking up the sequel and I suggest you skip this as you will do yourself a big favor. Don't let the hype convince you as it did with me. I am going with only 2.0 stars out of 5.0....more
A collection of short horror stories by Kate Mosse. This is the first time I read a book by the author. UnfortRating: ⭐⭐ Genre: Horror + Short Stories
A collection of short horror stories by Kate Mosse. This is the first time I read a book by the author. Unfortunately, it was not a good experience for me. I’m not sure if this is because these stories were short and that her novels are different. That remains to be seen when I read a novel written by her. The short description of these stories is “boring”.
I appreciate that the author included the origin of these stories or what inspired her to write them at the end of each story. That was an interesting thing to know. Most of the stories can be termed historical with a gothic feel to them. A lot of these felt half-baked to me and lacked a certain atmosphere of what I can call a horror tale.
The book is not long and the stories vary in length but all are basically short. Despite that, reading this collection still felt like a tedious chore. The best stories of the collection can easily be termed forgettable. They just slip out of your mind the moment you are reading the next. Not a good sign! I still want to read books by Kate Mosse but to be frank I am not as enthusiastic as I used to be before reading The Mistletoe Bride and Other Haunting Tales! ...more
The main reason for me to pick up this book was because it was nominated for the Booker Prize 2018! I honestly don't know what the judgRating: 2.0/5.0
The main reason for me to pick up this book was because it was nominated for the Booker Prize 2018! I honestly don't know what the judges were thinking to choose this book. This is a graphic novel and graphic novels should be treated differently than novels and novellas. We have two elements here to judge, one is the graphics and secondly is the novel/story.
The art style is not something to rave about. I can say that I have seen many graphic novels (Not necessarily read them all), and many have a lot better art style than this one. You can say I am not a fan of the art style because not only it did not help the story but also worked against it. Many times the characters were emotionless and I did not feel they were representing clearly what the author intended.
The story was vague to me and I did not feel the atmosphere many other reviewers experienced or felt. I don't know if it was my state while reading it or the story just did not click for me. Another thing I felt was as if the author was trying to force feed me his opinions which I don't like. Opinions that governments are always to be trusted is not something I take seriously or even accept.
This is by far my least favorite nominee in the Man Booker Prize. I feel it will be a big shame if it wins. I have to go with only 2.0 stars out of 5.0....more
I am not sure how to review this book. It was a mixed bag for me. The book has its merits and interesting way oRating: ⭐⭐ Genre: Nonfiction + Business
I am not sure how to review this book. It was a mixed bag for me. The book has its merits and interesting way of trying to look into people’s minds, behavior, and the habits they have formed since their childhood. I think some of the ideas and questions that the author has raised here are legitimate but at the same time, I found many to be just complete BS.
I feel how much a reader will get out of this book is all depending on his own mentality. Yes, I agree with the positive messages that the author is trying to put in my head but some of them are just hilarious! One of them he is suggesting is to keep saying “I love rich people”! Why would I do that? I don’t love or hate people based on their wealth. When I know someone well then I can decide whether to love them, hate them, or just ignore them. I am not going to take that advice. Maybe it is more suitable for those who were brought up hating rich people just based on their wealth. But even for those, I feel this nuts!
“Rich people don’t complain, poor people complain all the time” OK? Then the author gives us Donald Trump as an example!! Yeah, yeah, Trump never complained! Has anybody ever heard Trump complaining? ...more
The story about coming out of the closet. I thought that this was a Romeo & Juliet retelling story but other than the main characters nRating: 2.0/5.0
The story about coming out of the closet. I thought that this was a Romeo & Juliet retelling story but other than the main characters names it is nothing like Romeo & Juliet. The story is mainly about Romeo coming out to his parents, friends and their reaction in accepting his sexual orientation.
Many of the negative reviews were given to this book because of the amount of homophobia it has. This is not the reason I am giving it low stars, because I still think in our real life there is so much more of homophobia than this short story depicted. My low rating is because I felt the characters were very shallow. They did not have much uniqueness. The situations and events were very superficial. Like the way, Romeo kissed Julian the first time just because he saw him in the room! There are cringy moments too. The second book has an Asian guy on the cover as Julian. In this book I don't even remember if it was mentioned that Julian was an Asian guy.
I have grabbed this book from NetGalley when it was available in the read now section and this is my honest non-biased review....more
I was very excited to get into this book because the synopsis and premise sounded very fantastic and something that I Rating: ⭐⭐ Genre: Science Fiction
I was very excited to get into this book because the synopsis and premise sounded very fantastic and something that I was sure I would love. Unfortunately, the case is not just I did not love it, but it was not even an OK book for me. I disliked the writing style. I feel it made the confusing story even more confusing and vague.
I read novels for enjoyment especially when they are fantasy and science fiction novels. This was a chore to read. What annoyed me is that the writer here wanted to turn this into literary fiction, so what I think he did wrote the whole story, then changed the simple words into words that were hardly being used just to make it literary fiction. The story was confusing, the choice of words made it even more confusing and vague. I know many readers had a problem with the sex scenes but that was not the problem for me. My problem was more how they did not add any purpose to the story. They were there just to fill up some more pages!
Other than the concept I don't think I liked anything in this book! I wanted to get into this series but now I am dropping it from my reading list. There is no point to continue with a series where you did not like the first book. I have to give Altered Carbon 2.0 stars out of 5.0. ...more
Sometimes predictable stories are good too for a reason or another. Unfortunately, Follow You Down was not just predictable only but alRating: 2.0/5.0
Sometimes predictable stories are good too for a reason or another. Unfortunately, Follow You Down was not just predictable only but also very boring. This was supposed to be a thriller but it is a very slow one. Very very slow. So slow that you might lose interest fast.
The protagonist of the story Neil Brewster has been a bully all his life. He finally is taught a lesson when his friends invite him to a camping reunion during the weekend after 18 years. The characters are very forgettable. The main character is irritating. The writing is nothing special, just OK.
I have chosen to read this book when it was available on NetGalley and this is my honest unbiased review....more
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