morganjanedavis's Reviews (396)

3.75
I know this rating is oddly specific but I have my reasons LOL. Okay I want to start by saying I enjoyed the book. January and Augustus' romance was so fun to watch unfold. I loved January's character so much and just inserting her character alone into a book would have made me feel the same way. She was endearing, wistful, and downright hilarious. I also enjoyed Augustus and his more ~reserved~ side. From the beginning it was evident that he would be the brooding, hard to read, "I have built these walls and boundaries because REASONS" character, which I felt he fell into in a way that wasn't jaded and kept me interested. The story itself was precious, and I could feel myself walking through this small beach town as I read through the pages. Even with all of these elements the story provided, the book just didn't make me *FEEL* like other romances do. Was it a fun and amazingly well written and executed read? Yes. Did it make me overwhelmed with emotion and feel as if I was upset that it ended? Meh??? Overall, this was a fun read and I would definitely recommend it but, it just didn't make me feel that "Ooh that was really good, I wish I could wipe my memory clean and read it over again unknowingly" feeling when it was over.

I devoured this YA book in an afternoon. This left me in tears at multiple points. Beautifully written, powerful, and modern. Rhodes does an astounding job of linking the past to the present in a way that keeps readers wanting more from the storyline while highlighting groundbreaking cases of the lynchings of young Black boys across time. I found myself wanting a happy ending but it’s evident and pertinent that Rhodes did not include one, as this is the reality many Black people (especially young boys) face today. This is a MUST read. I would recommend this to anyone with middle school aged children as well as yourself. This is the perfect catalyst to start a powerful conversation between you and someone else. PLEASE pick this up!

I refuse to believe colleen wrote this.....I did not like this at all. I felt that Ben was a douche bag and the only time I found him redeemable was towards the middle of the book when tragedy struck. I don't understand how Fallon was supposed to just fall head over heels for this man...he was manipulative and very odd the entire book. I really wish she would have ditched him for real. Along with this, the whole "meet on Nov 9" thing when they literally BARELY KNEW ONE ANOTHER was not charming or romantic to me. If it were me I would have agreed and never shown up. Maybe I enjoy Colleen's other works because they're more of an enemies to lovers/complicated past/~we shouldn't be together but we are~ type of beat but this one just did not do it for me. Overall, this was extremely disappointing and while I still love CoHo I did not love this :(

4.5...this book was so special. As a person who has been through it the past few years, seeing Nora's hurt felt so relatable. This story unfolds beautifully and I felt like I could see everything as Nora glided in and out of her different lives. The character development displayed throughout this made me emotional and the ending (while a little predictable but like it had to be this way) was everything I could have asked for to solidify the theme presented throughout. Overall, I feel that this is a feel-good must read that anyone would enjoy.

3.5 Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised with this book! It starts out slow and really picks up towards the middle. I assumed that this would be more of a supernatural story but, as it progressed it was evident that wasn't the case. The story really gets down to the meat of humanity and showcases this through real life events that are hard to cope with and work through in general, let alone by Aaron who is a young adult living in poverty, taking care of his declining Mam. The characters interactions are raw and authentic, making the story so much more believable and well thought out. While this is a short read, it definitely packs a punch and had such a feel-good ending for the main character to have endured so much throughout. My only issue is that there are some loose ends that didn't get tied up neatly and I'm not sure why. It sort of drives me crazy that they did not :-). If you want something short that reflects real life struggles, this is a good choice!

Ooh ya’ll I’m always down for a haunted house book but one this unique and atmospheric is always a treat! I heavily enjoyed the abundance of characters and the dynamics that they upheld throughout the story. The fact that the family was untraditional but close knit made the story far more interesting. One of my favorite aspects of the novel is that every character tries to convince themselves and others that nothing is going on and that it’s a collective hallucination/fever dream/etc. This made the events feel far more real and made them scarier when they did occur. Speaking of events…while they were climactic and got scarier as the book progressed, I loved that they were sporadic and more haunting than directly and consistently menacing as most horror books are. Normally I do not like when you don’t find out exactly what the root cause of an issue is in a book as it feels unfinished and lazy. With this story, it only added to the allure. The horror and gore elements depicted were perfectly timed and the fact that up until the ending most of the events took place during the day made it all the more unsettling. I’m aware I’m far behind as this book debuted in the early 80’s but this has made me SO excited to dig into more of McDowell’s works.

I like to sneak in some YA books every once in a while and this one did not disappoint. The writing, themes, and symbolism throughout the book was beautifully presented and well thought out. The struggles of trust fund babies and the lies, manipulation, and secrets that stacked one on top of the other made the book that much harder to put down. I didn't enjoy Cadence as much as the supporting characters but, I did enjoy reading through her character development as the book progressed. The book could be tedious at times and I could have absolutely done without the "Once upon a time.." chapters (srsly this was so cliche and annoying and something I considered skipping through EVERY TIME I HEARD IT) but the plot was so good. I did wish more of a resolve was given about the granddad's racism because Lockheart just sort of said, "Yes he is racist" and left it at that...very weird. Quick interesting read.

Man oh man. This book is a big fat fatty so I’ve been nervous to read it because large books intimidate me. I always fear I’m going to get bored and/or overwhelmed with the length. After finishing, it was evident I had these fears for NO GOOD REASON AT ALL.

When Leland Gaunt moves to Castle Rock and sets up his shop Needful Things, residents are intrigued. The shop becomes even more enticing when residents find out the items are seemingly affordable and tailored to their specific interests. As the novel progresses, it’s evident the residents got more than they bargained for. In true King style this story turns horrific on a dime, making it impossible to put down.

The book starts slow initially giving painstaking details about the town’s many characters. At first, I was like hmm this seems absolutely unnecessary get to the scary shit please but, as a I read on and events started to heavily unfold, the most minute details were woven into the larger more sinister events that unfolded.

King repeatedly refers to Castle Rock residents feeling revulsion when making physical contact with the proprietor of the new shop Needful Things, an eeriness no one can quite put their finger on. This running theme throughout the book paired with the unraveling of Mr. Gaunt from cheerful proprietor to demanding destroyer made this story extremely difficult to put down. As if this wasn’t enough, the characters are so intricately intertwined, I felt like a bird on a wire watching Mr. Gaunt’s terrible domino affect make its way through Castle Rock one by one. HIGHLY recommend this book! So so so good.

This was such a fun novella! Ollie is less than thrilled to stay with his Nana overnight while his parents attempt to work out their relationship issues privately. He tags along to what was supposed to be a run of the mill talent show night in a retirement community. This quickly turns ominous, leaving Ollie to fend for himself during the turmoil that unfolds.

Towse did a wonderful job with this story, providing specifics that felt fully immersive while creating a fast-paced plot that made me devour the work in one sitting. Obviously, aging is not as unglamorous as described in Nana but, the way that the old people were described made me contemplate my personal unease surrounding mortality. Acute attention to detail created an aesthetic throughout the work that was sinister and unsettling, leaving me with a feeling of dread as I worked my way through. The macabre nature took me by surprise in the best way, as I would have never expected the story took the twists and turns that it did.

Thank you to Mark Towse for providing me with the ARC of Nana to read and review. The novella is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. If you are a horror fan, I highly recommend this!

I wanted one more quick read to round out my spooky season and this one did not disappoint! I loved The Return by Harrison so I’ve been excited for her second novel. In Cackle, the main character Annie sullenly moves from NYC after a breakup to a small town called Rowan. She’s living a pretty humble existence pining over her ex-boyfriend and going through the motions at work. Annie meets a woman named Sophie and it turns her experience in Rowan on its head. Sophie is well known and respected throughout town despite the fact that she lives in the woods and ~strange things happen around her~. Could Annie’s new friend be dangerous in ways she never knew possible?

Y’all I really loved this book. It wasn’t very dark and riddled with gory horror details like I usually prefer but, this worked so well! By mid-way through the book I painted fantastical images in my mind of Sophie and her dreamy woodland existence and wanted to be transported there myself. I lived for the chapters where Annie and Sophie were just hanging out doing witchy things and living my personal Stevie Nicks fantasy. I know why they had to be included but, I could have done with far less pathetic bargaining and wishing that Annie did over Sam. I was definitely on Sophie’s side during this and couldn’t see what Annie saw in him…at all. There were points where the book could have taken a darker turn and I was happy that it didn’t. I loved the themes of friendship, females forming a united front, and the *lite* spooks that ensued. There were portions of it that were cheesy in my opinion (Ralph’s entire character) but, I loved that cheese! I recommend this for light-hearted witchy fun with a dash of true spook.