leahrosereads's Reviews (1.04k)

Soft DNF just not in the mood for this type of story at the moment

There's definitely an audience for this sensational, fun book, but it may not be this human.  It was a bit loud, chaotic, energetic, and I prefer quieter, softer stories (like Darius the Great).  That being said, the topics explored here are so very important for the YA audience, and I'm so glad that this story exists for young gay boys navigating queer spaces and their sexuality.  This is incredibly sex positive, which I really appreciated.

Couple of things I didn't love:  the mixed media aspect.  That's going to be a hit for some folks, but again, it's not something that I tend to look up in my day to day life, so it's really not something I cared about seeing/reading in a fictional setting.  Also, I think Hunter and Kaivan's relationship could've been explored more, especially with how recent a lot of Kaivan's statements on boybands were and his superiority as a musician over boybands.

Enjoyment:  4
Start:  4
Characters:  4.5
Atmosphere: 4.75
Plot:  4.75
Ending: 4.25
Style: 4

What a dark, interesting YA mystery/thriller/horror novel!  I really liked the different POVs, especially the more unusual one, and while I don't think anyone here's that likeable (again, other than the unusual POV), it was still a really good story.  I had to know what was happening next.  Hopefully my library has the sequel, cause that ending!!

This was my first possession story that really showed everything the possessed was going through, and I really liked it.  I thought Amanda was a bit stupid, like I'm not going to play games with a potential demon, but if you don't believe, I can see someone ignoring all the signs.  I just really liked where this went, how Amanda interacted with the world around her, and that ending!  Woah!

 

TWs: animal cruelty, animal death, body horror (not teeth related), blood, cannibalism, toxic relationship, vomit

If you’ve ever wondered what carrion tastes like, boy do I have the book for you!  If you’re squeamish, you might want to pass, because some of the descriptions here - sheesh! This is an incredibly twisted story about grief, loss, anger, dark desires and a woman struggling with it all. Queer horror has easily been the most unhinged I've ever read! 

I cringed and read parts of this hiding behind my hands, but still, no matter how horrified I was, I had to keep reading and seeing where this was going to go. 

The basics
Enjoyment: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Start: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐
Atmosphere: ⭐⭐⭐
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐
Ending: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Style: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was ridiculous and fun and dark and very queer.  It fit my humor so well.  I thoroughly enjoyed flying through these pages, but I didn't love the characters individually, and I'm not sure how much I'll remember in a day or so.

Unspeakable horrors in space?  Sign me up!  Sci-fi horror is one of my favorite subgenres.  That and underwater horror, and for the same reason.  There’s something so terrifying with not just the monsters being able to kill you, but at any moment, the environment itself.  It’s claustrophobic being stuck on a ship and knowing that you can’t escape.  I love it so much! 

 

This was a wild ride, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll run and pick this one up as soon as possible!