The Family Game is a holiday themed thriller that I read with the Horror Spotlight discord group. I want to say straightaway that I liked this book beThe Family Game is a holiday themed thriller that I read with the Horror Spotlight discord group. I want to say straightaway that I liked this book because I'm probably gonna spend this review doing a whole lot of complaining.
First off, for those of you who hate prologues because it usually means the book is boring for a while, I hate to inform you that there is a prologue and the book is, in fact, boring for a while. The Family Game starts out with a man and a woman enjoying the holidays in New York. It feels very much like a super messed up holiday romcom. It's romantic and it's over the top and it's in the big city, but you know from the prologue the female main character is going to wind up bloody and scared for her life on the floor of his family's holiday home.
There is a lot to not believe in this novel, but there's also a lot to keep you reading and guessing and griping out loud.
My biggest fear when I started reading The Family Game was that I would not care whether this woman survived by the end of the book because she's not very likable. But somehow even though I didn't like a soul in this novel, I still wanted to know what was really happening. I'm not usually the type of reader who tries to guess who did it, what the twist is, who's lying, but I was guessing and wondering in The Family Game.
There is so much to unpack now that I have finished reading this novel, but I don't have it in me to do the unpacking that's necessary to make it all makes sense. This book is being billed as a psychological thriller, but it's not what it had hoped to be.
So while I could sit around the kitchen table and gripe about the characters and the plot all day long, I still would not tell you not to read it. If you have The Family Game on your TBR, you should definitely read it. There is something to be said about a book that can make you gripe this much. Read it and then let me know what you think. We can scratch our heads about it together.
Source: borrowed from my mom. This is a review of my reading experience....more
Daisy Darker is a story like And Then There Were None and Clue where the characters get picked off one by one. This iDaisy Darker is a messed up book.
Daisy Darker is a story like And Then There Were None and Clue where the characters get picked off one by one. This is all in the synopsis so I guess it's okay to also say this in my review. I absolutely loved And Then There Were None, and I enjoyed Daisy Darker, too. In Daisy Darker, the Darker family is reuniting at their family home Seaglass. They are on an island where when the tide comes in there's no way to leave the island for eight hours until the tide goes back out. It's the perfect setting for one of these trapped thriller novels.
I saw someone on Booktube the other day say when a reviewer says they can't really talk about a book because it would be spoilers that means the reviewer didn't actually read the book (lol). That's a weird hot take, and you are just going to have to believe that I read Daisy Darker because this is one of those books that you can't really talk about without spoiling something. Maybe that Booktuber needs to read more thrillers?
If you enjoy messed up family secrets that slowly get revealed over the course of a book, I recommend you give Daisy Darker a try.
I read my first Alice Feeney last year when I read Rock Paper Scissors. I was anxious to read more books by Feeney and was really excited that Daisy Darker was a Book-of-the-Month selection this year and that it was getting such great reviews from readers that I trust. I love Feeney's characters and her twists and her suspense. I find her books impossible to believe, but I have a great time reading them and I don't want to put them down.
Daisy Darker is a thriller, but it's also horror–adjacent. I recommend it to readers like me who love horror and love thrillers and love reading those books that straddle the line as horror-adjacent.
Source: personal purchase. This is a review of my reading experience....more
Most of my friends have given The Golden Couple four or five stars. I'm not sure why The Golden Couple didn't wow me as much as it seems to have wowedMost of my friends have given The Golden Couple four or five stars. I'm not sure why The Golden Couple didn't wow me as much as it seems to have wowed other readers. It may just be when I chose to give it a read.
I've only read one other book by the writing duo of Hendricks and Pekkanen, but I enjoyed it. I was looking forward to reading The Golden Couple. While I wasn't disappointed and I did enjoy The Golden Couple, it was mostly just okay for me..
The characters were all unlikable for me which I really enjoyed in the beginning, but the book seemed to lose its focus and honestly so did I. This is a hard review to write because I did enjoy it, but I don't have much to say about it. The Golden Couple did keep me guessing, but for some reason I just wasn't very invested. It could simply be the fact that I was in a book hangover from the five-star read that I read just before this one that had me guessing but was not predictable whatsoever. The Golden Couple may have just fallen prey to having to follow a very unexpected book that worked for me on a level that The Golden Couple just didn't meet.
If you've read and enjoyed other books by Hendricks and Pekkanen, I would definitely recommend you check this one out as well. I have another book on my shelf by Hendricks and Pekkanen that I would still like to go back and read. This one just didn't wow me outside of being a well-written thriller with unlikable characters.
I listened to the audio, and I thought the narrators did a great job. The Golden Couple won't make it onto my list of favorite thrillers for the year, but I enjoyed the time that I spent with it....more
One thing I can always count on with BotM books is t Why did I read The Last Thing He Told Me?
This was my Book of the Month pick for May.
The Strengths
One thing I can always count on with BotM books is the writing. I was sucked into The Last Thing He Told Me and was curious how things would wind up.
The Weaknesses
I was expecting more of a thriller. The Last Thing He Told Me was compelling enough, but it wasn't suspenseful.
Final Thoughts
Even though this wasn't suspenseful or quite what I expected, I still really enjoyed reading it. I will keep an eye out for more books by Laura Dave....more
I love, love, love creepy trees. As soon as I read the description for The Mulberry Tree, I knew I needed to read it.
For the most part The Mulberry TrI love, love, love creepy trees. As soon as I read the description for The Mulberry Tree, I knew I needed to read it.
For the most part The Mulberry Tree lived up to my expectations. The tree was indeed a character in this book, and it didn't come across as some literary analogy with a deeper meaning to be extracted by the reader. It was a creepy tree with creepy intentions, and I loved that about this book.
Some of The Mulberry Tree was hard hitting. The dad was dealing with depression, and Immy was dealing with a parent who just wasn't around the same way that they used to be. It really pulled on my emotions, and I loved the relationship that Immy had with her dad and with the people around her in the village.
My only complaint was the ending. It wasn't a bad ending at all, but it took something away from my overall experience with The Mulberry Tree. I felt like the book deserved a little bit more of a messy ending instead of one so neatly wrapped up. I still highly recommend it, though. My creepy tree loving self is so happy to have read it. It's one I'm definitely passing on to my kids. I think they'll love it, too....more
This was my first time to read Chris Whitaker. I look forward to reading more from him.
We Begin at the End was beautifully written. The characters werThis was my first time to read Chris Whitaker. I look forward to reading more from him.
We Begin at the End was beautifully written. The characters were so well developed, flawed, and unforgettable. As much as I loved the characters, I also loved that there was a balance between plot and character. It was so well done.
I listened to the audio for much of this, and the prose and the narrator were a great fit.
It did take time for me to get sucked in, but it was such a well developed novel I'm not sure that's a bad thing.
If you love mysteries and crime novels, I highly recommend We Begin at the End, but I also recommend it for those wanting to explore other genres.
Source: Preordered purchase. This is a review of my personal reading experience....more
How do I even review Piranesi? This is 100% a book that is best to go into blind. I'm so glad I chose to avoid revieWhat a strange and wonderful book.
How do I even review Piranesi? This is 100% a book that is best to go into blind. I'm so glad I chose to avoid reviews for this one so I'm going to keep my review vague and avoid talking about the details of Piranesi.
I do want to mention if you decide to try Piranesi, don't put it down. I would actually recommend reading it in as few sittings as possible, but I mean don't DNF it. For most of Piranesi I had no idea what was going on and I assumed I wouldn't care about the characters that I was struggling to get to know, but I was wrong. I wound up loving the characters and loving Piranesi. This strange little book has turned out to be one of my favorite books of the year.
I wondered throughout reading Piranesi who I would even recommend it to if I wound up loving it, but now that I've finished reading it, I would recommend it to anyone willing to take a chance on a unique story. If you love finding a reading experience unlike anything you've read before, you should definitely consider picking up Piranesi....more
Oof. This book is a tough one. A tough one to read, a tough one to rate.
The Night Swim is my first book b Trigger warnings for rape and sexual assault.
Oof. This book is a tough one. A tough one to read, a tough one to rate.
The Night Swim is my first book by Megan Goldin and it's expertly crafted. You are following a true crime podcaster who heads to a small town to cover a rape trial. In her podcasting life, she is careful to hide her identity and her face, but someone in this small town knows who she is and needs her help.
The main plot, the subplots, the narrative - they all deal with rape and sexual assault. At one point it literally broke me.
In the beginning of the book, I honestly thought I would give it 2 stars. It's just not subject matter that I want in my entertainment, but as the book went on I got further hooked into Goldin's writing and the way she pieced together the multiple timelines of the rape trial, what happened in the case, and the cold case she's looking into on the side.
I wound up really liking The Night Swim in the end. I give you strong warnings going into this. The rape victims are teenagers and there's a lot of narrative surrounding women, sexual assault, and our legal system.
Many thanks to Scout Press for sending me The Tenant. The Tenant was a bestseller in Denmark, and I always get excited by bestsellers that have been tMany thanks to Scout Press for sending me The Tenant. The Tenant was a bestseller in Denmark, and I always get excited by bestsellers that have been translated into English.
Based on the blurbs and the synopsis, I expected there to be more suspense. I think The Tenant will be a great fit for folks who love mysteries, crime, and police procedurals.
I enjoyed all of the characters in The Tenant and the unfolding mystery. There was an older lady who was writing in her retirement, and I loved her. I also loved that all of the characters were flawed in different ways. It was interesting to experience the book through alternating view points between these different characters.
I enjoyed the writing in The Tenant as well. The English translation was written by Tara Chace, and I thought it was great. I especially loved the opening scene which did a great job of hooking me for the rest of The Tenant. I did find it a little hard to believe the sexy scenes were written by a woman, though.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Tenant. The Tenant is Katrine Engberg's debut novel and the beginning of a new series (which is already three books out in Denmark). I hope we get English translations for the rest of the series because I would happily read more from her....more
I just love the Stillhouse Lake series. In the last book, I was excited to see the direction the series was taking because it meant we could have a loI just love the Stillhouse Lake series. In the last book, I was excited to see the direction the series was taking because it meant we could have a lot more books in this series. I mistakenly assumed the series going forward would take the safe route and become more about Gwen Proctor's new life and less about Gina Royal's old life. I'm so glad I was wrong! There is still so much of the original plot and family dynamic happening, and I'm so happy.
If you've read Stillhouse Lake, so much of what I loved about that first book can be found in Bitter Falls as well. It's really a return to the roots of this series while still progressing the family where they are now.
If you haven't read Stillhouse Lake, well... I recommend you get on that some day. I really look forward to each book in this series. Things are not easy for this family, and I'm assuming things are about to get rough all over again in the next one. I'll be there!
The Dead Girls Club is told through dual timelines, and I think it works really well.
One timeline is set back in the 80s when the Dead Girls Club woulThe Dead Girls Club is told through dual timelines, and I think it works really well.
One timeline is set back in the 80s when the Dead Girls Club would get together and tell scary stories and do spooky stuff. It reminded me a lot of my spooky childhood when my friends and I were obsessed dark shit. Those were the days, and I loved reliving some of that through reading The Dead Girls Club. This timeline was my favorite, and it read like a dark Goosebumps novel.
The other timeline was the "now" which read more like an adult thriller. It was fun to have that mix working in the same novel, and I think Damien Angelica Walters did a great job with it.
If you need a recommendation for Women in Horror Month, I think The Dead Girls Club would be the perfect choice....more
I was not expecting such a post-apocalyptic novel!
What intrigued me the most before reading The Last was the "Agatha Christie meets Stephen King" quoI was not expecting such a post-apocalyptic novel!
What intrigued me the most before reading The Last was the "Agatha Christie meets Stephen King" quote. There was just no way I was going to pass that up. First of all, I didn't find Agatha Christie or Stephen King in the pages, but it's a cool quote. The Last is a mishmash of mystery and apocalyptic fiction, though.
I want to be clear - I loved this book. I do feel like it wasn't sure what it wanted to be most of the time. I know what I wanted it to be - a pure post-apocalypse. I loved the world of The Last, and I could have stayed there much, much longer. There were so many aspects that could have been expanded and explored. The framework of the novel was a mystery, though, and the apocalypse was one hell of a setting!
This was my first experience with Hanna Jameson's work, and it definitely won't be my last. She crafted something really great not just with the setting but with the characters as well. More than anything, The Last was about the characters and the relationships they built while the world was ending.
In the end, I'm giving The Last four stars instead of five simply due to the unexplored/unexplained aspects, but I still highly recommend reading this one.
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