night0wl_23's reviews
133 reviews

Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales by Soman Chainani

dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I’m very aware that I’m not the target audience for this book, but for most of the stories I could barely tell the difference between what I read here and what I remember from my childhood.
The dark twists for most was just a paragraph at the end changing, of course with the exception of a few who were reimagined (which I enjoyed!)
Sadly, when only 3/12 of the stories felt like they had time and effort put into the reimagining, I’ll have to give the whole book a low rating

The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores

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dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I want to start off by saying that I really enjoyed this book!
I would never think to mix the supernatural with magic, but I think the author did so in a balanced and cohesive way.
The whole story reads like a fairytale, which makes it easy to read and digest despite the heavier themes still keeping you on your toes.

I didn’t read this book because it was marketed as a Rapunzel retelling, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone do that.
There are themes and plot points in common with the Rapunzel story, but at the end of the day this book isn’t a retelling.
It should be read as its own story without a retelling expectation, and appreciated as it is.

The Island by C.L. Taylor

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I didn’t like this book.
Somehow it felt like nothing was happing at all, the characters were incredibly boring, flat, inconsistent and quite honestly a bit annoying.
The setting had so much potential that wasn’t really used, and some things just felt so random.

Yes I am thinking about the hotel guys just coming out to the island and terrorising them, like?? What the fuck was that??? And the romance point between Jessie and Milo was so rushed and felt so forced. There was 0 chemistry outside of “he’s a boy and she’s a girl, and the other boys have a girlfriend/ is gay, so they were meant to be!”

I feel like the cover and blurb lead me to have expectations of the story being more murder-mystery like, maybe some betrayals, more life or death situations and dark secrets or something. But what I got was

the guide having a stroke, and the teens being stuck on an island while one of them had a breakdown caused by his PTSD. All of it was in his head. Which, to me, feels like a very cheap way to explain everything

This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham

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dark funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A very interesting take on zombie/ghoul apocalypse, that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The balance between young adult and horror themes made it an easy, at times funny and very thrilling read :D

All These Sunken Souls by Circe Moskowitz

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dark reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was the first ever anthology I’ve read, and I really enjoyed it!
All of the stories were unique, with different writing styles and horror themes.
10/10 would recommend if you like scary stories, I think anyone would find something they like here!

The Faithless by C.L. Clark

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I admittedly thought this was a duology and now I’m just- how am I supposed to wait for the third book? D:

Favourite quote:

This was not the theoretical application of troop movements and provisions, done from a distance on a scrap of parchment. Yverte had neglected to describe how a woman stared at you, eyes pleading, as you stole her last breath with your blade. Their slow dulling.

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I REALLY enjoyed this one!! A very unique book, and if you like fantasy you really don’t want to miss out on it!

The narration for the audiobook was amazing, 10/10 I will get a copy of the book so I can actually sit down and read it and experience all of that again

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

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dark reflective tense slow-paced