howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

 I'm very sad to say that this is NOT the book for me, despite — or, more likely, because of — the film being one of my favorite films of all time. I'd been told by so many people over the years that the book and film are very different stories, and that's true, but that's why this isn't working for me.

I think the biggest struggle I'm having is the fact that Howl/Sophie is one of my favorite OTPs ever, and I went into this book hoping for more of the instant chemistry between them that we see in the film; instead, they've barely interacted at this point and most of the character development surrounding Howl has just been discussions of how he constantly falls in and out of love with other women (which honestly makes it VERY difficult to imagine the two of them having any longevity in the end, given how he has a long streak of falling out of love as soon as the feelings are reciprocated).

If you're going into Howl's Moving Castle for the whimsy and fantasy, I'd give the book a try, but if you're like me and primarily love the film's romance, I'd avoid the source material. As much as it disappoints me to DNF this, I have mostly hated this book so far and can't foresee it redeeming itself enough to be worth how grumpy it's making me. 😅 

 

I've been seeing a lot of hype for this novella around the indie horror community, and between that and my general love for a unique vampire tale, I knew I had to pick it up right away — and I'm so glad that I did, because Our Own Unique Affliction was truly something special.

Despite its short length (clocking in at just over 100 pages for the kindle copy), there's a lot of depth packed into this little story. Alice, our main character, is a vampire who yearns for her human life. She explores and spends her time meeting humans, not solely out of bloodlust, but because she desperately craves a meaning in her lonely existence. All she has in the world is her sister, but she wants so much more.

There's so little that I can say about the plot of Our Own Unique Affliction because it isn't a plot-driven tale, it's a full character study and a deep dive into the ways grief and trauma shape us. My heart ached constantly for Alice and her sister, and the twisting reveal devastated me.

Moses' writing is stunning and masterfully captured the yearning that loneliness brings with it. I can't wait to read more from this author and I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys quiet, bleak horror stories.

✨ Representation: BIPOC side characters 

 

I'm disappointed to say that I didn't enjoy The Last Tale of the Flower Bride until the final 15-20%, and even then, it never redeemed itself from a dreary, bland start and characters that I found it impossible to care about.

We start off with the bridegroom's POV as we learn how he and Indigo came to marry, and it is a painfully instantaneous romance that holds no chemistry or depth whatsoever. Instead of character development, the narrative was comprised primarily of one fairytale reference after another, and I felt like I was being beaten over the head with blunt metaphors. As someone who typically loves purple prose, this was a rare experience in which the writing veered far past whimsical and into the territory of downright pretentiousness for me.

After a bit, the story begins to alternate between the bridegroom and Azure, his wife's childhood friend, and while the plot developing within her segments was far more interesting, I struggled with the fact that the writing did not differ in any way whatsoever between their inner monologues.

On top of the previous issues mentioned, I feel obligated to mention how predictable the twist was; I literally guessed it within the first 10% of the book, even down to the outline of how it played out in the end. I typically don't knock off stars for predictability because I know I'm the type of reader who guesses twists often, and that doesn't always act as a negative against the writing; still, in this case, it only added to my boredom. I would have set this book aside early on, if not for the fact that I became determined to see if I had guessed correctly.

It genuinely hurts me to write this review because The Last Tale of the Flower Bride held so much potential and I think, in another writer's hands, it could have been a perfect read for me, but the writing is what held this story back in every possible way. I can fully understand how this book has been popular with so many readers in the brief time since it was released, and I expect it will find a great deal more fans from here on, but unfortunately, I'm not one of them.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.

✨ Representation: Indigo, Azure, and Tati are BIPOC (no specific mentions of their ethnicities, one brief mention of Azure being uncertain of her ethnicity) 

 

As someone who has loved spooky stories and middle grade horror since I was a kid, I'm shocked that it took me this long to read this book (or see the film!), but I'd say I'm living proof that Neil Gaiman's kids' books are timeless, because I loved this. The entire premise of the Other Mother is horribly unsettling, but I loved watching little Coraline find her courage and learn to be grateful for her "boring" parents and home.

I listened to the full-cast audiobook and I highly recommend it! The voices were so much fun and added a really special extra layer to this parable of an adventure.

✨ Representation: casual mention of a character being a trans boy 

 

I've been meaning to read a Jennifer McMahon book for ages, so I thought a short story might be a good introduction to her work, and wow, this was so dark and delightful. I would absolutely re-read this on Halloween and would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick, spooky read — especially for an October reading list. 

 It's been a minute since I spent some time with The Awkward Yeti, and I didn't realize how much I missed these adorable, wholesome little comics. This collection was absolutely wonderful! There is so much in this book relating to anxiety, self-doubt, depression, mental health woes in general, as well as trying to find the balance between bettering ourselves and being happy with who we are right now. I laughed out loud, I found myself nodding and "aww"ing, and I generally loved everything about this book.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.

✨ Representation: discussions of anxiety, depression