literaryhaunt's Reviews (647)

Kitty Collins is an Instagram influencer curating the perfect feed and the "good girl" in her circle of friends. She also happens to be a serial killer, plucking heinous men from the earth one by one. This is a pretty in-your-face example of the common knowledge that a pristine photo-grid does not a saint make.

Considering this is Katy Brent's debut, it's a fantastic one. How to Kill Men and Get Away With It was a fast paced read, with a pretty layered main character. I will admit that at first I pre-judged Kitty just as other characters in the book did, based upon her status and her full time job as an influencer. However, as I read I felt as if I got to know Kitty more, and in turn I really came to understand her. As a reviewer that is pretty critical of side characters, I found them to be believable and I appreciated that the focus of Kitty's relationships was to propel the story forward. I'm also joining the chorus of reviewers who found the ending and the twist to be perfect.

This was definitely a darker shade of humor, which is always a hit with me. This is somewhat of a Dexter-inspired book, so it also has a lot of gore as well as vigilante themes. There are several depictions of sexual assault and mention of pregnancy loss, so I would not recommend this book to readers who are sensitive to that subject matter. As for me, it was a great book for the season and despite the content (or perhaps owing to the content?) I thought it was a fun read and absolutely recommend it to anyone who also loves a little acrimony with their comedy.

Thanks so much to HQ Digital as well as NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eGalley of this in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Victoria is a housewife, a masseuse, an avid reader. Mostly though, those in Victoria's life have given value to Victoria because she is Eric's wife. Eric, who hates every bodily function Victoria has. Eric, with his puffy nipples. Eric, who turns his nose up at Victoria's love of books, preferring instead to get lost in TV dramas. Eric, who is making Victoria miserable. Eric, who, plausibly, could accidentally die soon. Not that Victoria is manifesting anything of the sort. It's just something that could happen.

Bookworm is one of the best debuts I have read in ages. I felt like I was personally being targeted as Victoria read some of my favorite unhinged fiction, taking more characteristics from these characters as the book went on. Victoria was a diverse reader, and the specificity of her reading habits made her all the more real to me. I loved the way Yeatman was able to weave levels of self-awareness into the book even as Victoria lacked it so often. The ending caught me so completely off guard, and I loved it. For me, personally, Bookworm has the added value that I could read it again and again. I can not wait to read future work by Yeatman, and to force everyone in my life to read this as soon as I can grab a physical copy for myself.

Thanks so much to Harper Perennial as well as NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eGalley of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Drinking Games is an honest and raw account of Sarah Levy's history with alcoholism, detailing how she lived as a party girl and then her journey to sobriety.

I respect so much that Sarah didn't hold back with this memoir. Laying out your faults and struggles that way is no easy feat, and this book was unflinchingly honest. I connected to her writing voice consistently throughout the book.

I did get confused at times as the timeline is not chronological and was hard to piece together at times, but otherwise I felt this was a rare memoir that gave me everything I wanted from the story and more.

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press as well as NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.