ritaslilnook's reviews
313 reviews

As a person who doesn't usually read true-crime, I had high expectations for Helltown. It was the first book I read about a serial killer and I expected it to blow me away. However, the narrative of this book became difficult for me to empathize with due to the additional information the author added that was not real.

The research is definitely visible within the pages of the book, but the dialogues of the characters and the scenes where the imagination of the author shines through turn this book into a fictional story about a serial killer who happened to be real.

The description of the book promised something different. I guess I wasn't that into the way the author chose to portray the killer. But, that's on me.

The writing is good and so is the premise, but this was a three-star for me.

If you're already an avid true-crime reader, give this one a try. I'd love to read different opinions.

Thank you to Sourcebooks, Casey Sherman, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Do-over: the chance to do something for a second time, after an unsuccessful first attempt.

This seems like a simple concept when we’re talking about the abstract. However, when the abstract turns into bone and flesh, with a beating heart, named Perci, doing something over might turn into a complex task after all.

Perci’s life falls apart from night to day. Her boyfriend breaks up with her live on the radio in exchange for concert tickets, her mom keeps judging her life choices and her overall appearance, her sister is marrying a douchecanoe and her job isn’t fulfilling to her anymore.

More than a rom-com, this is a book about learning to love yourself and your body exactly the way they are. How many attempts are too many? The answer is none. You just gotta keep trying to make it work no matter what. Even if to make it work all you gotta do is to learn how to be your true self.

It is very easy to empathize with Perci, however, she managed to get on my nerves countless times. MAKE THEM HEAR YOUR VOICE, PERCI. That’s all I kept wanting to shout at her. I wish her relationship with her mother, Phee, and Nate, had been a wee bit more developed, but I do understand this was meant to be a short, sweet, meaningful book, played out to have all the focus on the growth Perci goes through in order to be happy.

This book was a wonderful, light, read. A great debut novel.

It’s a three-star for me because, PERSONALLY, I do wish we had been given more of Perci’s story. It all happens super fast and I feel like there’s something lacking but I can’t put my finger on what it is exactly. Nonetheless, I do recommend everyone read this fluff of a book.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.