neuroqueer's Reviews (442)

It's interesting but just haven't gotten back to it yet. I will at some point

Overall: A+

You need a certain type of humor for this book and I'm glad I gel with it. I enjoyed the information that was given. Some I've heard before like zebras are frigging terrible or black widows aren't as deadly as people make them out to be. 

Others I just never heard of. Apparently  blue ring octopi are considered cute but you really should stay the hell away from them.

The narrator is the author himself and his delivery was entertaining and kept me interested. It's a good book for someone who is fine with facts delivered in a candid dark humor kind of way. 

Overall: D+

I'm so confused about the high ratings for this book.

This is "Saw" but make it based on Escape Rooms. 

BUT...it's not gory or tense or scary or interesting. 

The chapters jump around between characters but for me it fails because the characters are either annoying or uninteresting. 

I hate Lexy with a passion. I understand her motivations and her feelings but sympathy does not mean I should like a character. She's rude, judgemental and unlikeable. Off the bat, she clocks Beau as arrogant just from looking at him.  I'm assuming she's projecting. 

Beau isn't arrogant...just self-absorbed (there is a difference). He does relate everything to experiences he has as a singer which gets annoying. But its just boring. 

Zora is just there and is used as a plot device that does nothing. 

I do feel some sympathy for Tess as she has mental health issues but there's nothing to her either. 

For horror like this to work, you have to convince the audience that the characters are in danger. There has to be a chance that dire consequences might happen to them. I don't want to spoil anything really but one of the chapters pretty much ruins that feeling. 

The positives of this book are the traps themselves were intersting and had potential. The narrators for the audio did a awesome job. I like the author's message about mental health. 

But so far, this is the worst book that I've read this year. It's rushed. It's forced. It's at times cliche. I can't give it slack just because it is young adult book because there are novels in that genre that do horror well. 

Has an interesting premise but it was so boring, long and cliche

Will circle back to this. Is a good book but want to focus on other things

Overall: B-

Honestly, this book should have ended at Part 1 rather than making this a 3-parter.

Part 1 is a good horror story. The unlikable new kid in town is the main suspect in the disappearance of two of his classmates. He claims their disappearances are from supernatural means but could they really just be the lies of a psychopath? I like that I was questioning if he was an unreliable narrator. I liked how Part 1 ended! It wasn't groundbreaking by any means but was enjoyable.

Then I was wondering why there was a Part 2. Where else could you go from here? Was it an Stephen King "It" situation?

Nope. I don't want to get into spoilers but just know it was disappointing. Part 2 is still horror filled. It still has good writing just like Part 2. It just felt pointless. 

Part 3 can just **** off with that cliche crap. 

The writing, plot, and the main character drew me in from Chapter 1 all the way to Chapter 23. Part 2 could have just been a different story on it's own. Part 3.....ugh.

I think Jo Nesbo is known more for mystery-crime stories rather than horror (correct me if I'm wrong) and I'm unsure if this is his first foray into this genre. I liked the writing though so I will check out other works by them. 

Overall: B

Nice short satire in the vein of "A Modest Proposal". 

Overall Score: A

I really enjoyed this novella. This a Gothic horror set in an alternative history 1920s where humans have access to the moon.

Also on the moon?

Spiders.

The writing is great. The characters are interesting. The plot and flow of the story is really nice. There are "flashback" scenes but they are done so well and actually have point. I devoured this book and will most likely devour the next one as well!

Maybe I will try again in the future but I am not interested 

Overall: C+

"Scorched Grace" has an interesting premise that kept me reading but ultimately, this isn't a great book. The draw to the book was main character Sister Holiday, a cigarette smoking queer nun with a dark past. When a murder occurs at her school, she goes from nun to nun-detective. The problem is I can't tell if she's a good or bad detective. In one way, it makes sense because she's not a trained detective. However, sometimes her decisions are just dumb.

There are flashbacks from her previous life back in New York that include her and her former flame/best friend Nina. The flashbacks display how important this woman is to Sister Holiday. Nina actually comes down to visit Sister Holiday and you would think it would add something important would happen but...it added nothing. I don't even remember if there was a resolution to her visit. It was that forgettable. 

The writing is fine. Sister Holiday tends to philosophize a bit too much and comes across as edgy. There is strong men/women binarism. Men in power are typically assholes (Diocese and cops) while there is a bit more depth or quirkiness with women characters. The Louisiana setting was a good choice but doesn't feel that explored. The plot is fine but the resolution is anti-climatic. 

I think I powered through this and the sequel because I liked the concept of character but the execution was not great.