It took me some time to get into the world and the characters again, because it's been a while since I read the first book and the autumn descriptionsIt took me some time to get into the world and the characters again, because it's been a while since I read the first book and the autumn descriptions did not feel as detailed as in the spring/summer instalment. Ro was such a cutie though, and the ending was very wholesome and hopeful....more
**spoiler alert** The merman scenes were kind of interesting, but the protagonist is a walking red flag. Which I suppose was intentional because of he**spoiler alert** The merman scenes were kind of interesting, but the protagonist is a walking red flag. Which I suppose was intentional because of her depression?
She is full of hatred, envy and superficial, coarse thoughts. She feels immature and is addicted to sex and self-sabotage. She drugs her sister's dog for no good reason, until he eventually dies. (Why? The poor dog.) On top of that, she ruins her sister's furniture without thinking twice, does not care about potentially getting syphilis because she just wants to get laid right now, and even mentioned wanting to cook and eat the merman who she has a sexual relationship with. Because his balls taste like oisters, his penis like female genitals, and she just cannot get enough of him. The intercourse with him even feels like them being siblings, and supposedly, that is an absolutely amazing feeling. Sure. Makes absolutely no sense to me, but sure.
Speaking of, the merman has both a penis and a fish tail, yay???, likes to drink menstrual blood, and collects dead bodies, presumably former lovers who willingly drowned themselves out of love...and/or depression? He is being transported via handcart into the mc's sister's house to enjoy some spicy nights on a couch. And our protagonist is very particular about her cleanliness in preparation of sexual intercourse, since she is somehow confident that removing her own faeces by inserting her own fingers into her ass is a perfectly normal idea. Go you.
I also love how the author mentions a lot of Greek myths, but does not seem to know that back in the day, sirens originally were considered winged creatures, quite similar to harpyies, instead of having a fishtail.
There are also a lot of side characters who go to therapy and who also have similarly...interesting lives. But I do not want to go into every single detail that I did not particularly enjoy. I think I explained myself enough already. All in all, I just did not grasp the book's value and could not get any wisdom or entertainment out of it....more
I thought I would never say this, but I actually liked the plot about the old man and the museum guideI came for the cats, but stayed for the humans.
I thought I would never say this, but I actually liked the plot about the old man and the museum guide so much more than what was going on with the cats (Unless something sad happened. Then, I definitely sympathised with them.) It was such an emotional ride! And, truth be told, the humanoid cat scenes were plain weird to read. At least, for me. But the plot itself and the art style were very charming and original.
A perfect read for any cat and art lovers out there! ...more
Seen as a horror short story collection, this felt like a letdown. Though as a collection of contemporary, everyday snippets with a darker edge to theSeen as a horror short story collection, this felt like a letdown. Though as a collection of contemporary, everyday snippets with a darker edge to them, it was a solid read. Almost every story felt literary to me instead of horror. And there is not really any body horror in it unfortunately. So, I was definitely going into this with the wrong expectations. The book focuses on deep, personal relationships between parents and children or between lovers. Gay couples, straight couples, young people, the elderly. It is all in here.
More often than not, the 'horror' aspect is not anything supernatural, scientific or unexplainable. It really is all about how we see ourselves as monsters, or how other people around us will do monstrous things. The book features a bunch of sad, regretting morally gray characters, who often have page-long inner monologues and the setting always feels quite restricted, featuring one important location with a limited amount of characters dealing with different dark situations. Because of that, there is not a whole lot of action in here.
All in all, a mixed bag. I certainly enjoyed some stories, while others felt pointless or just were not my cup of tea. However, the stories blend together nicely and definitely felt like they belong into one and the same collection. Sometimes a similar theme or phrase connects the stories, for example pregnant women, a deadly game/ decision-making, "swaddle him like a mother", "fingers as thick as tubes of blood sausages", etc.
"Eric has an unending empathy for his characters, even the worst among them. The tales are often ones about love, lust, are unabashedly queer, are about what we do with the feelings we cannot control [...]. Eric's stories are ones of sacrifice and transformation. [...] They offer sickness, death, birth, marriage, mutilation. Skin. Teeth. Blood." Chuck Wendig
The introduction by Chuck Wendig was written beautifully and points out a lot of interesting views on Eric LaRocca's writing. I also liked the little fact about Ali back in the acknowledgments section, since it is a real person but also a character from one of the stories. Or at least, they share the same name. But this can't be a coincidence...
"Anything that's worth doing always hurts. [...] That is the dark magic at the core of this collection. [...] And maybe at the core of storytelling in general." Chuck Wendig
Since this was my first dip into Eric LaRocca's work, I have no idea if these short stories are representative of his whole opus.
Unfortunately, this was not for me at all. Generally speaking, I am not a huge fan of contemporary or murder mystery stories, but I also somehow did nUnfortunately, this was not for me at all. Generally speaking, I am not a huge fan of contemporary or murder mystery stories, but I also somehow did not really click with the writing style. A lot of the scenes felt quite rushed to me. They ended abruptly and, the next thing you know, you are in a completely different scene hours later. I got really confused because of that, especially in the first half of the book. At some point, I just did not care about the characters or the plot anymore and simply wanted to finish the book, which is a shame, since the fantasy aspects could have been amazing. And the cover? Breathtaking! I know a lot of people seem to love the book, so maybe it is just my personal taste that didn't align with the presented story. ...more
This is going to be a super short review, since I did not really enjoy the book and I do not want to rant about all the things I did not love. OverallThis is going to be a super short review, since I did not really enjoy the book and I do not want to rant about all the things I did not love. Overall, I am not its target audience and I am sure there are a lot of people who will like the story for what I could not. In short, Two Wrongs Make a Right might be the perfect read for you, if you are looking for: - a revenge plot - an autumnal, feel-good read that is perfect for the Halloween and Thanksgiving season - fake dating - mental health/neurodiversity rep - toxic relationships - protagonists who are interested in chess, art and astrology - a contemporary retelling of Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing, which I have NOT read, meaning that I have no idea if it is a good retelling or not! - a lot of dating and miscommunication and not a lot of plot - happy endings - instalove - cats and hedgehogs...more
The atmosphere was top notch and the book started out very mysterious, suspenseful and dark, but it soon lost me and I have no idea what it is even abThe atmosphere was top notch and the book started out very mysterious, suspenseful and dark, but it soon lost me and I have no idea what it is even about or whether there was any kind of plot in there. ...more
The idea of following a (ghost) cat through time, observing the changing world and experiencing fleeting insights into everyday life of individual humThe idea of following a (ghost) cat through time, observing the changing world and experiencing fleeting insights into everyday life of individual human beings while pondering about your own (aka the cat's) mortality, was executed in a very fun, cute and thought-provoking way.
I really liked how the different time periods were described. It felt both authentic and atmospheric as well as emotional sometimes. I wish some of the chapters were longer, especially the ones taking place in the 1800s and the early 1900s. At the same time, I learned a lot of new interesting facts about Scotland and history in general. A few of the more contemporary chapters/hauntings were not as interesting to me personally, most notably the one set in the 1940s and the very last chapter. By the way, it would have been nice to have an epilogue about the Grimalkin's afterlife now that I thnk about it. Anyways, I also enjoyed that some time periods indirectly affected future chapters, and that some characters and places unexpectedly reappeared again. It sometimes made the story feel less believable and realistic, but it also enriched the reading experience in a way....more
Would have dnf'ed the book if it were not for the buddy read I was participating in. Sadly, I cannot recall a single thing I liked about it. Not 1.5/5
Would have dnf'ed the book if it were not for the buddy read I was participating in. Sadly, I cannot recall a single thing I liked about it. Not a fan of the modern-day setting, the predictable mafia-esque plot, the romance, the pretentious and annoyingly heady yet weepy protagonists, especially Persephone. The whole thing about the god/goddess system does not even make sense or is ever fully explained. Some cringe-worthy thoughts and dialogues made me skim over many passages.
Chapter 14 was the only intriguing chapter and that is coming from someone who never reads a book seeking out smut. Maybe it is just the translation into German that ruined it all for me, I am not sure. Repeatedly reading "Partymaus" or "Göre" in reference to Persephone was hilarious at best.
I would rather read Fifty Shades of Grey or The Hades Trials by Eliza Raine. They were much more entertaining and gripping....more
First off, this is yet again not a fantasy book that, nonetheless, was featured in a fantasy book subscription box, which has affected my rating signiFirst off, this is yet again not a fantasy book that, nonetheless, was featured in a fantasy book subscription box, which has affected my rating significantly. The characters solely talk about fantastical things and imagine a world of fae but nothing fantastical actually exists in the story! This created a rather awkward feeling for me when reading the dialogue. If I knew beforehand that I was getting into a mystery novel with mild indications at magical realism, I might have had a different reading experience.
"The Last Tale of the Flower Bride" does read like a fairy tale at times, but that is mostly because of the neverending references to a variety of fairy tales and myths as well as Susan from Narnia combined with the effect of fiction mirroring reality and vice versa. It is nice to get all or most of the references, but it did not really appeal to me for most of the book. It merely affected the pace negatively and encouraged the nonexistent plot. Because of that and the writing style, it was really hard to get into the book at all. I did not care for any of the characters, which is a shame, because the relationships are the main focus here. The boring present-day setting also was not my vibe. The first third was a struggle to get through and I totally understand why people would end up dnfing the book altogether. I was thinking about it, too!
But I always aim to finish every book, so I pushed through. And I have to say that the last third was actually worth it! I got used to the writing and actually enjoyed the vast amount of references and wanted to know what would happen next. The story suddenly had some really thrilling and mysterious vibes which reminded me of books like "Bunny" by Mona Awad, "A Dowry of Blood" by S. T. Gibson or "You" by Caroline Kepnes. And that plot twist at the end... ...more
More of a 2.5 out of 5 stars, but most of the issues come down to personal taste which is why I rounded up to 3 stars.
The positive:
I loved to spot alMore of a 2.5 out of 5 stars, but most of the issues come down to personal taste which is why I rounded up to 3 stars.
The positive:
I loved to spot all the Peter Pan references throughout the book and I liked most of the smut scenes. Wendy and Hook seemed like a cute couple, if anything they do can be called 'cute'. The story started out intriguing enough and had some interesting gruesome scenes here and there that were written well. You will fly through the book as the writing style flows quite naturally.
The negative:
Nothing really, but it is just not what I like to read about. I do not enjoy drug lord stories, revenge plots or mafia stuff. I just did not care who turned out to be the villain, who got injured, who got killed. And the ending was a little too happy in my opinion. Oh, and it was often difficult to know which perspective I was reading from, because both Wendys' and Hooks' perspective seemed very much alike. ...more
I appreciated the diverse LGBTQIA+ rep as it does include underrepresented rep like trans or asexual characters. The second half Average rating: 2.4/5
I appreciated the diverse LGBTQIA+ rep as it does include underrepresented rep like trans or asexual characters. The second half of the anthology was also much more enjoyable for me personally due to the fact that it features more fantastical stories. Unfortunately, I only trully liked 3 out of the 17 contributions, but that is better than none, I guess.
My individual ratings:
Kick. Push. Coast. 2/5 skateboarding
What Happens in the Closet 2/5 vampires at prom
Player One Fight! 1.5/5 video games
Lumber Me Mine 2.5/5 school stuff
Follower 1.5/5 influencer at the beach
Refresh 3/5 online dating
Victory Lap 3/5 dad and son interaction, school and work
A Road of One’s Own 2.5/5 road trip
Seditious Teapots 2.5/5 tea pot collector
Star-Crossed in DC 3.5/5 politics, family
Floating 1.5/5 school stuff
The Soft Place 1/5 drugs
A Pound of Flesh 3/5 Greek mythology
One Spell Too Many 4/5 witches, bakery
Far From Home 2/5 aliens
The Coronation 3.5/5 post-apocalyptic fantasy with all kinds of myths
Loading...
