Trigger warning: Rape, incest, snakes

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Be it with movies or books, I’m picky when it comes to horror. I’ve mentioned multiple times before that I don’t scare easily, or in the conventional sense. Anything that relies on gore and jump scares to deliver it’s spookiness will not hold too much interest for me. I’ve sat through years of this kind of horror, and at this point, I’m just really careful with any horror-thing I pick up.

Except for when I want to watch a shitty horror movie on purpose. Those times don’t count. But I digress.

Fabulous Beasts is one of those special horrors that don’t rely on gore and jump scares to make your skin crawl. It’s a creepy and slimy tale about two cousins who aren’t quite normal, and whose lives change when their uncle is let out of prison. Right from the get-go, Sharma’s writing captivates you. She takes her time building the story, and once you hit the zenith of this little tale, you’re invested in these characters, Lola and Tallulah, and your skin is crawling.

Is this scary? Not in the traditional sense, no. You (probably) won’t lie in bed at night, wondering if there are snakes slithering in slow circles under your bed, waiting for you to fall asleep – for your hand to hang off the edge of your bed for them to use to join you on your comfy mattress. What you will do, if you can handle the subject matter, is devour this story in one sitting, and wish to God it had been longer.

This story isn’t too graphic, so if you think you can stomach it, I urge you to put it on your Halloween TBR. It’s worth your time. If you suffer from Ophidiophobia/Ophiophobia, then you might want to stay away from this one. There are a lot of snakes.

See this review and more at So We Read This Book

You know what I love about this reboot? All the characters are so incredibly human. With the originals, it's always been easy to love Betty, hate Ronnie, and not understand why either of them was in love with Archie.

But now I see the appeal of Archie Andrews (I mean, remember the first issue? hot damn)
Ronnie's not bad, actually. She tries. She loves Archie in her own way, and I respect her.
Betty's not a goody-two-shoes. She's human, with the capacity to be mean, just like the rest of us.


I LOVE THIS REBOOT.

... Everyone's so sad.

MAKE IT STOP I DON'T LIKE THIS.

Well, that was a weird issue

Two things:

1) I miss Veronica Fish
2) POOR SAYID

Cheryl u bitch

Something wicked this way comes. Mild spoilers, for instance.

Confession time: This book was probably my least favorite in the series. Alright, alright, put down those pitchforks and hear me out for a minute.

The Creeping Shadow was flawed. The first half of the book was, much like Lucy's encounters with Lockwood and the gang, awkward. It took a while to find its flow, and was honestly a little repetitive until it found its groove. We didn't need to be reminded of what happened in the previous books that many times, Stroud. Just saying.

This book picks up a few months after the events of the previous book. Lucy's been sticking it out on her own and, it must be said, she's been doing pretty alright. Sure, it gets a little lonely, and sure having to listen to agency supervisors whine and harp during cases gets annoying real fast, but Lucy enjoys her freedom. And, more importantly, she's taking comfort in the fact that she's not leading Lockwood to his death.

But all that changes when she stumbles upon a dangerous secret, and the only people she can turn to are her old friends back at Lockwood & Co. - Holly, George, and Antony Lockwood. They take her back with, mostly, open arms, and the four of them quickly fall into their old groove and move on to solve possibly the biggest mystery in their short careers. One that involves the shady as hell (I've been saying it from the beginning) Penelope Fittes, and the Rotwell Agency.

From thereon out, the pace picks up, and the writing finds its rhythm again. And, without spoiling, lemme tell you, that the mystery in this novel has HUGE repercussions that will impact the rest of the series. Really. I can't wait to see what's in store for the gang in the books to come.

The characters as the same as your remember. Endlessly charming in their individuality, and each witty as hell. I was surprised the find that the character I was most excited to see wasn't Lockwood (Kaz Brekker has officially ruined me) but the skull. Yup. The skull. He's still a sassy, annoying little cretin, but God he was a delight.

The imagery and the description were also a true delight. Stroud definitely upped his game in that department. Like, this books shows us some of the creepiest ghouls and ghosts in the series. It was all very well done.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable read. I just... I just can't help but feel a tad disappointed by the initial pacing issues, as well as the character growth. Or lack thereof. I felt like there were so many opportunities for these characters to grow and evolve as people - but there really wasn't much evolution. There were few changes, yes, but for the most part, they're all pretty much the same. Which is sad, because considering everything they've been through in the last couple books, there's definitely room for a little, believable, character change.

Oh well, who knows what surprises the next book will bring. I NEED IT NOW.

PS: Lucy REALLY needs to get over the Holly hate. It's gotten really old.

Pretty book covers: 294, Me: 0

It’s an honest to God shame that the plot of this one was relatively pointless, because the writing is beautiful. I think I said it about her before, when I read her short story from the Slasher Girls and Monster Boys anthology. She utilizes repetition masterfully, so that her prose feels poetic, no matter how simple the language is.

Unfortunately, ifs and buts are not candy and nuts, and good writing, alone, does not a good book make. I mean, I’m still going to have a Merry Christmas, but this book won’t be why.

Wink Poppy Midnight is the story about two girls and a boy, all three with ridiculous names (which, as far as I can tell, seems to be Tucholke’s thing). Midnight, the cardboard, vanilla “hero” of the story, is in love with Poppy – a beautiful, possibly mentally ill bully. But Midnight knows Poppy is no good for him, and he wants out – and when he and his father move into an old farmhouse just outside of town, he thinks he meets his perfect match in his slightly-weird, but sweet, neighbor Wink Bell.

I don’t really know what to tell you about this one. I mean, it could have been good? Except all the characters were either loathsome or insipid (sometimes both) and the story overall seemed pretty damned pointless. Because, really, all Tucholke’s pretty writing did was, temporarily, distract you from the fact that nothing. bloody. happens.

No, really. There was no mystery to this whatsoever, because we were given cues RIGHT OFF THE BAT that neither of the girls are… all right – if you catch my drift. The only character in this book who could have been likable – Midnight – was blander than a bowl of cold, unsweetened, porridge.

And because of this lack of mystery, the story suffered. It could have been good. The magic realism, I thought, was a nice touch, and the premise of this book was honestly the kind of messed up that could have been GREAT, had it been executed right. But with characters that you couldn’t help but hate, and a message that ended up being completely pointless, Wink Poppy Midnight couldn’t live up to it’s premise.

And since we’re on the subject of interesting premises, I found the whole, insipid boy in the middle of two not-so-good-girls a little… recycled. I mean, correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Tucholke do the same exact thing with The Flicker, The Fingers, The Beat, The Sigh?

I’ve said that the writing was very good, and I’ll say it again, because it deserves note. Tucholke writes beautifully, and there’s a sort of timeless quality to her writing. This story could have been set in any time period, and it would have worked. It’s a damn shame this story wasn’t better. Really, it is.

Wink Poppy Midnight was supposed to be a book about people being more than what they seem, or more than what we think they are. And if that’s the kind of book you’re looking to read, then you’re better off reading Paper Towns, ’cause John Green did it better.

This review and more here

My inability to finish this was not the book's fault. I think I was just in a weird place when I picked it up, and I just never managed to gather the steam to make decent progress.

I'm sorry, book. I may come back to you later.

I'm calling it.

Time of death (of my interest in this series): .... a long time ago. But officially, let's just say 25th November 2016.

I'm sure that a lot of people found this book interesting. I'm sure they loved it. I've just never been particularly invested in this series or these characters, and my interest in anything to do with this book has steadily depleted as the series went on. I wanted to continue. But I can't. I just don't give a damn anymore.

*tosses rose onto the ground
*looks stoically into the sky
*walks off into the distance