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howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I love Bree Paulsen's books so darn much, and this was just as precious and wonderful as I hoped it would be. It's definitely heavier than Bree's Garlic books, given that our sibling main characters have one deceased parent and one terminally ill parent and they are living in the aftermath of a terrible war. That said, the love that shines through this family of characters is truly something special. It's a tense read at times, but it's worth the ride. I'm forever in awe of Bree Paulsen's stories and can't wait to read whatever they release next!
I read a final copy borrowed from the library, but for the sake of disclosure, I was also gifted an early review copy. All thoughts are honest and my own.
✨ Representation: BIPOC and/or queer characters, transmasc side character, implied ace/aro character
✨ Content warnings: death of a parent, terminal illness, grief, war, violence
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Violence, War
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I generally enjoy all of Junji Ito's works, but this was one of my favorites of his collections! I loved the fact that these were all adaptations of a person's actual, true life stories, so they didn't typically wrap up neatly or end with any sort of explanation. I found each story to be at least slightly unsettling, with a few legitimately creeping me out. I'd be interested in reading the source material at some point in the future, perhaps, though Junji Ito did admit that he took some liberties, so they might not be as captivating! 🤣
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm leaving a review without a rating because I think I would've enjoyed this as a young teen, maybe even loved it. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me, but I'm not the target audience here, either. Without spoiling anything, I'll say that I struggled with the levels of angst and how romance-heavy the story was (despite not personally feeling like the characters would be a compatible pairing in the first place). I also found the villains to be very over-the-top and I predicted the twists very early in, which left me feeling irritated with the main character's total lack of awareness.
I read a final copy borrowed from the library, but for the sake of disclosure, I was also gifted an early review copy. All thoughts are honest and my own.
I read a final copy borrowed from the library, but for the sake of disclosure, I was also gifted an early review copy. All thoughts are honest and my own.
✨ Representation: Andrew is asexual and gay; Thomas is bisexual/pansexual; multiple side characters are queer
✨ Content warnings: violence, gore, death, body horror, grief, bigotry, homophobia, transphobia, verbal abuse from authority figures, physically abusive parents, mental illness, anxiety/panic attacks, disordered eating, self-harm
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Self harm, Transphobia, Grief
"I'm someone who hurt you and I'm despairingly in love with you and I canna bear to be both those things at once."
I loved this book so much. Lochlann has such a special place in my heart! His rage and anguish over the way his holiday was being treated, both from within and by outsiders, had me so deeply in my feelings. Don't even get me started on how hard he fell for our little anxiety baby Kris. 😭
Kris, on the other hand, frustrated me in the beginning, but then I realized that it was because his lashing out and depression hit TOO close to home. Once I set that aside, I loved him almost as much as I loved Coal in book 1. 🥺
Sara Raasch, PLEASE give us a 3rd book from Iris' POV! I need it! 😭♥️
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.
✨ Representation: bi/pan MC, queer love interest, queer side characters
✨ Content warnings: emotional/verbal abuse from parents, neglectful parents, alcohol, loss of parents, grief, explicit sex, anxiety/panic attacks
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcohol
Minor: Grief, Death of parent
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
He’d dragged me out of the gray world I’d been living in and taught me how to see colors again.
Look, I didn't know what to expect going into this book because honestly, it felt like there was a really good chance it wasn't going to live up to the hype for me. I didn't even think I liked stalker romances that much! I guess Aly and Josh weren't the only ones learning new things about themselves here. 🤷♀️
Lights Out is literally one of the funniest, most delightful books I have ever read. There were times where I was listening to the audiobook after my family went to bed and literally was sitting there in the dark with TEARS streaming down my face from how hard I was trying to stifle my laughter, and I honestly don't know if that has ever happened to me with a rom-com. 10/10, no notes. I can't wait for book 2.
I read a final copy borrowed from the library, but for the sake of disclosure, I was also gifted an early review copy. All thoughts are honest and my own.
✨ Content warnings: graphic sex, BDSM, kinks, stalking, voyeurism, violence, murder, discussions of rape/assault, home invasion, spying, hacking, death of a parent, grief, mentions of serial killers, mentions of cannibalism, vomit, medical content/settings
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Stalking
Moderate: Rape, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Car accident
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This odd little book has been a real source of discussion lately, and after reading it, I can see why. Told through the perspective of a child, there's a devastating sadness and unsettling nature to her upbringing that claws its way under your skin and remains there. I wanted to take Margot right out of these twisted pages and hold her, but she's far from an innocent little girl - and, somehow, her own terrible behaviors and thoughts about the world made me love her that much more. The ending of this book is going to stay with me for a long time to come, and despite how much heartache the entire story brought me, I'm already itching to read it once more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse
Minor: Infidelity
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
I always love Kealan's work, so I figured I'd celebrate St. Patrick's Day by picking up a new-to-me read from my favorite Irish author! It was a damn good choice. I loved this collection. I'm fascinated by the idea of haunted pieces of art anyway, but also, I enjoyed that it wasn't only about paintings - the final story was even about music, which I wasn't expecting but really loved.
My favorite story of the collection was the first one, which was so sad and lovely, but all of them were fantastic! I highly recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys short horror stories, especially if you're looking to get into Kealan's work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
... I should have read the spoiler reviews.
I went into this book totally oblivious, knowing nothing about it except that it was very controversial. I'll admit that it piqued my interest and I bought the ebook from the author's site on a whim, wondering, "How bad could it be?" Well, friends, how bad it could be was that this entire book is a romance story between a 16/17-year-old girl and her dad.
Honestly, I think the worst part was killing off the mom a chapter in just to fridge her character and make room for these two to hook up, but really, there's a lot of stuff to choose from here that's frankly even more offensive than the incest. The entire book was a shitshow stacked on top of a trainwreck and I'll probably never reach for a K. Webster book again.