Scan barcode
woodsybookworm's reviews
117 reviews
I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I Feed Her To The Beast And The Beast Is Me was a wonderful debut for author, Jamison Shea - mixing fantasy, the supernatural, a bit of romance (subplot), and a tinge of horror while keeping it in the realm of YA fiction.
My first thought when I saw the blurb for this book was "oh! This is a young adult version of Suspiria" with its setting and themes surrounding a hardcore ballet school and the girls who fight tooth and nail to succeed there all while spooky stuff keeps happening to all of them.
What I didn't suspect, and I think a lot of other readers will feel the same, is the romance subplot. I expected this to be a suspenseful horror book but it's genre really leans more towards a YA romantasy with horror elements thrown in. There's nothing wrong with that but based on the cover and the blurb I expected the book to be 100% horror with no fluff.
While it wasn't everything I expected it was a solid debut, and knowing what I know now about the genre/plot, I do look forward to the sequel.
My first thought when I saw the blurb for this book was "oh! This is a young adult version of Suspiria" with its setting and themes surrounding a hardcore ballet school and the girls who fight tooth and nail to succeed there all while spooky stuff keeps happening to all of them.
What I didn't suspect, and I think a lot of other readers will feel the same, is the romance subplot. I expected this to be a suspenseful horror book but it's genre really leans more towards a YA romantasy with horror elements thrown in. There's nothing wrong with that but based on the cover and the blurb I expected the book to be 100% horror with no fluff.
While it wasn't everything I expected it was a solid debut, and knowing what I know now about the genre/plot, I do look forward to the sequel.
Lucy Undying by Kiersten White
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Lucy Undying was one of my most anticipated reads for the year - sapphic vampires, women taking on a MLM cult obsessed with blood, and a retelling of the original Dracula story from Lucy's perspective to boot - it was hitting every checkmark for a potentially solid read.
The book started slow, was disjointed between past and present, and it was made even more difficult to follow with Lucy's present POV vs her past POV vs her POV in therapy vs Iris's POV (why does one character have three POVs!?). It made the story so difficult to keep track of and I kept getting pulled out of it having to go back and figure out whose chapter I was reading and in what time period.
I hit my DNF wall at one point only to turn the page and be reeled back in at the 50% mark just to quickly lose that momentum again at 70% but at that point I felt like I was in too deep and owed it to myself to at least try and power through. I finished the book but I'm not proud of that achievement.
The book started slow, was disjointed between past and present, and it was made even more difficult to follow with Lucy's present POV vs her past POV vs her POV in therapy vs Iris's POV (why does one character have three POVs!?). It made the story so difficult to keep track of and I kept getting pulled out of it having to go back and figure out whose chapter I was reading and in what time period.
I hit my DNF wall at one point only to turn the page and be reeled back in at the 50% mark just to quickly lose that momentum again at 70% but at that point I felt like I was in too deep and owed it to myself to at least try and power through. I finished the book but I'm not proud of that achievement.
Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
To the Bone by Alena Bruzas
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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? No
2.0
To The Bone is a historical fiction YA set in the real life time period of the Jamestown Starving Time (1609-1610). During this time period of the 500 settlers in Jamestown, only 61 people survived.
For a YA novel this was an incredibly dark topic, especially with how young the main character is in terms of her written voice. She's naive and inexperienced, yet she is being worked to the bone as an indentured servant, starved due to her community's lack of experience in winter preparation, and abused physically, mentally, and emotionally by those around her.
This book was SLOOOOW and when it finally took the expected turn towards what you can expect from the title and blurb, it wasn't horrific in terms of spooky horror but instead horrific by way of human beings acting in monstrous ways. It wasn't what I expected, and though I didn't particularly enjoy it, I appreciated the nod to real life history.
I could write a wall of trigger warnings for this one but the main warnings I would provide are this is heavy on domestic abuse and physical violence - it's practically the core of the novel - so if this bothers you I highly recommend skipping this book.
For a YA novel this was an incredibly dark topic, especially with how young the main character is in terms of her written voice. She's naive and inexperienced, yet she is being worked to the bone as an indentured servant, starved due to her community's lack of experience in winter preparation, and abused physically, mentally, and emotionally by those around her.
This book was SLOOOOW and when it finally took the expected turn towards what you can expect from the title and blurb, it wasn't horrific in terms of spooky horror but instead horrific by way of human beings acting in monstrous ways. It wasn't what I expected, and though I didn't particularly enjoy it, I appreciated the nod to real life history.
I could write a wall of trigger warnings for this one but the main warnings I would provide are this is heavy on domestic abuse and physical violence - it's practically the core of the novel - so if this bothers you I highly recommend skipping this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, and Colonisation
So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I'm torn about my opinions after reading this book. On one hand I loved the vampire characters, especially Henry. On the other hand I severely disliked our main protagonists Sloane and Naomi.
For a book that's supposed to be about vampires it seemed to focus more on the petty bickering friendship between the two main characters than the more interesting backstory of the vampires around them.
I wanted to spend more time learning everyone's histories, the lives they'd lived surviving as vampires for centuries, how they get blood and travel in a modern world where everything is being recorded and uploaded at light speed, and delve more about the mysterious Feeders.
Instead, the majority of the book feels like a disjointed road trip focusing on a pointless argument between two women who say they're best friends but act more like jealous rivals.
I really wanted to like this book but in the end it felt too slow and fragmented for me to fully enjoy.
For a book that's supposed to be about vampires it seemed to focus more on the petty bickering friendship between the two main characters than the more interesting backstory of the vampires around them.
I wanted to spend more time learning everyone's histories, the lives they'd lived surviving as vampires for centuries, how they get blood and travel in a modern world where everything is being recorded and uploaded at light speed, and delve more about the mysterious Feeders.
Instead, the majority of the book feels like a disjointed road trip focusing on a pointless argument between two women who say they're best friends but act more like jealous rivals.
I really wanted to like this book but in the end it felt too slow and fragmented for me to fully enjoy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Toxic friendship
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
dark
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Go to Hell: A Traveler's Guide to the Underworld by Erika Engelhaupt
adventurous
funny
informative
fast-paced
5.0
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent
Private Rites by Julia Armfield
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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
3.0
I knew this was a King Lear retelling going into it, which is one of my least favorite of Shakespeare's tragedies, but considering what a wild ride Our Wives Under The Sea was I decided that I had to read it anyway!
Private Rights follows three sisters - Isla, Irene, and Agnes - living in an early Waterworld kind of post apocalyptic version of earth. The rain in this world never stops pouring so people have had to adapt to the new normal of moving to higher ground, getting floating houses, and knowing that you will rarely of ever feel dry.
When the three estranged sister's father, a renowned architect of self-raising homes, passes away the three women are thrown back into each other's lives and are forced to confront a past they have long chosen to forget.
This book was sloooow and atmospheric which is why it took me ages to read even though it's a fairly short novel. Things took the slow and steady pace until the last handful of pages were things went significantly crazy in a very signature Julia Armfield way. I saw a Goodreads review that stated it was "all vibes and no plot" and honestly I feel like that just describes all of Armfield's work in the best way.
Did I love at much as I wanted to? No. Was the vibes immaculate? Yes.
Private Rights follows three sisters - Isla, Irene, and Agnes - living in an early Waterworld kind of post apocalyptic version of earth. The rain in this world never stops pouring so people have had to adapt to the new normal of moving to higher ground, getting floating houses, and knowing that you will rarely of ever feel dry.
When the three estranged sister's father, a renowned architect of self-raising homes, passes away the three women are thrown back into each other's lives and are forced to confront a past they have long chosen to forget.
This book was sloooow and atmospheric which is why it took me ages to read even though it's a fairly short novel. Things took the slow and steady pace until the last handful of pages were things went significantly crazy in a very signature Julia Armfield way. I saw a Goodreads review that stated it was "all vibes and no plot" and honestly I feel like that just describes all of Armfield's work in the best way.
Did I love at much as I wanted to? No. Was the vibes immaculate? Yes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content