neuroqueer's Reviews (442)

Plot 💭:
* Intriguing Twists & Turns
* Engaging
* Predictable Ending

Writing Style ✍️:
* Engaging & Easy to Read 👌

Pace & Pacing  ⏱️:
* Some Starts And Stops Due to One Character

Structure 🏗️:
* Well Organized
* Third Person POV Following Main Character Samantha Harker

Setting 🌏:
* Fictional Universes of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes Combined

Characters 🎭:
* Compelling Main Characters
* Meaningful Main Character Growth
* Easy to Spot Main Villain 

Book Cover 🖼️:
* Eye-catching

Target Audience 🎯:
* Adult

Thoughts 🗣: 
* Book follows Samantha Harker, Royal Society for the Study for Abnormal Phenomena researcher, as she embarks into fieldwork for the first time with mysterious and deadly field agent Helena Moriarty. They are the daughters of the famous heroes and villain respectively 
* Sam is a channel, able to peer into the mind of monsters via visions(black ooze tears upon someone's face, bugs swarming someone's body, etc.). This ability also grants her glimpses into the final moments before a victim is killed. "Channeling a monster" supposedly can corrupt the user but Sam's purity seems to block that consequence
* Johnathan Van Helsing (son of famous vampire hunter) is the childhood friend of Sam and fellow agent. He is also Sam's unwanted shadow. His stalking, intimidation and sabotage doesn't feel necessary to a story with so much going on. Whenever he appeared, it felt like it halted the story 
* The big bad was obvious after one meeting but the murder mystery itself remained gripping. The red herrings had unique, entertaining personalities but the antagonist knowledge left the finale underwhelming 
* Despite the villain knowledge, Sam and Hel's relationship growth was a highlight. Sam's naivete and forthrightness clash with Helena's cool, gruff secrecy created a great dynamic
* Also satisfying: watching Sam grow from naive researcher to proactive worldly field agent
* I still enjoyed the book overall. It is a good female-led action mystery story with fantasy elements

Rating: A- 

Plot 💭:
* Gripping
* Well paced & engaging

 Writing Style ✍️:
* Vivid & Descriptive
* Strong somber tone
* Good tension throughout 

Pace & Pacing  ⏱️:
* Perfect Pace 👍

Structure 🏗️:
* Well Organized

Setting 🌏:
* Victorian period Netherlands

Characters 🎭:
* Compelling main characters
* Evil caricature side characters/villains

Book Cover 🖼️:
* Eye-catching

Target Audience 🎯:
* Adult

Thoughts: 
* The story POV flips between Roos telling her life story and transcripts detailing her interview with a psychiatrist. This displays Roos as an unreliable narrator 
* Roos' mother feels like a caricature of evil at times (starving Roos, locking her in a small cramped space) but does the job of making you loath the woman like nothing else 
* We get a slow-burning sapphic romance with Roos and Agnes which was enjoyable to watch grow
* Roos relationship with both Ruth & Agnes highlights co-dependency 
* The writing was wonderful and look forward to reading more by the author

Rating: A

Plot 💭:
* Simple 
* Wholesome

Artwork 🖌️:
* Adorable
* Expressive Characters

 Writing Style ✍️:
* Engaging & Easy to Read 👌
* Funny 

Pace & Pacing  ⏱️:
* Perfect Pace 👍

Structure 🏗️:
* Well Organized

Setting 🌏:
* Alternative Earth With Anthropomorphized Animals 

Characters 🎭:
* Sweet cat who just wants friends and less explosions

Book Cover 🖼️:
* Fits Book Themes/Story
* Eye-catching

Target Audience 🎯:
* Children

Thoughts: 
* Follows a cat whose cuteness makes everyone explode 
* Simple story about loneliness 
* Artist succeeded in making the cutest cat in a book 
* Would recommend for kids as a silly little read 
* I am very biased as I love cats and not ashamed to say so 

Rating: A+

Plot 💭:
* Suspenseful & Engaging
* Satisfying Tension Escalation 
* Serial Killer vs Serial Killer

Artwork 🖌️:
* Adorable even though it gets gruesome and visceral
* Expressive Characters
* Muted Colors (unless red)
* Detailed Backgrounds

Writing Style ✍️:
* Believable Dialogue

Pace & Pacing  ⏱️:
* Perfect Pace 👍

Structure 🏗️:
* Well Organized

Setting 🌏:
* Alternative Earth With Anthropomorphized Animals 
* Sleepy, cozy small town 

Characters 🎭:
* Following the villain who is technically the hero 
* Everyone else is adorable fodder

Book Cover 🖼️:
* Fits Book Themes/Story
* Eye-catching

Target Audience 🎯:
* YA (Young Adult) and above?
* DO NOT GIVE THIS TO KIDS!!!

Triggers/Content Warnings ⚠️:
* Murder
* Blood 

Thoughts: 
* The story combines small town charm, dark humor and murder mystery with beautiful art and cute animals
* Sam is an anti-hero in that she is a serial killer trying to stop another serial killer in her hometown
* I'm mixed on if I wanted to know more about Sam's thought processes or if the mystique made Sam that much more intriguing. We get a little insight to her mind towards the end though
* Really enjoyed the story and artwork and want to read more by Horvath

Rating: A

Plot 💭:     
  * Suspenseful  
    
Writing  🖌️:    
  * Clear   
    
Pace & Pacing  ⏱️:    
  * Varying paces
  * Abrupt ending
    
Structure 🏗️:    
  * Multiple POV    
    
Setting 🌏:    
  * Modern    
  * College
  * Graveyard
    
Characters 🎭:    
  * Distinct personalities yet uninteresting
    
Book Cover 🎨:    
  * Creepy   
  * Fits horror theme   
        
Target Audience 🎯:    
  * Adults    
    
Thoughts 🗣:    
  * This book would have been better if it was a novel rather than novella 
    
Rating: B

Life is too short and this book is too long and painful

Plot 💭:
* Clever & Original
* Predictable but Satisfying

Artwork 🖌️:
* Adorable
* Expressive

Writing Style ✍️:
* Clear & Concise

Pace & Pacing  ⏱️:
* Perfect Pace 👍

Structure 🏗️:
* Well Organized

Setting 🌏:
* Alternative Earth
* Modern Day With Cat People

Characters 🎭:
* Likable & Relatable

Theme & Message 💬:
* Lazy Loser Learns Life Lessons Character Arc

Book Cover 🎨🖼️:
* Fits Book Themes/Story

Target Audience 🎯:
* YA (Young Adult) and above?

Thoughts: 
* Just a really cute story that anthropomorphizes cats and does the reverse to humans.

Rating: A

Plot 💭:   
  * Predictable
  
Writing  🖌️:  
  * Clear 
  * Repetitive at points 
  
Pace & Pacing  ⏱️:  
  * Slow then ramps up 
  
Structure 🏗️:  
  * Found footage structure 
  * At times repetitive 
  
Setting 🌏:  
  * Contemporary  
  * Haunted house 
  
Characters 🎭:  
  * Unlikable & Unreliable
  * One dimensional & Flat 
  
Theme & Message 💬:  
  * No meaningful message
  
Book Cover 🎨:  
  * Creepy 
  * Fits horror theme 
      
Target Audience 🎯:  
  * Adults  
  
Thoughts 🗣:  
  * I either felt neutral or disliked all of the characters (I wonder if that's the usual feeling towards showbiz people?)
  * Claire didn't have any redeeming qualities in my eyes. She is presented as standoffish because she's a scientist but loving to her affectionate husband. Disliked her beginning to end 
  *  Wasn't Jake married? I felt like it was mentioned once and never brought up again
  * Obvious Keith heel turn was obvious. Too heavily foreshadowed. I'm not going to touch the fact that he was a cop previously with a ten foot pole 
  * I liked the progression of nothing going (like normal ghost hunting) to ghosts ramping up 
  * Some chapters rehashed a previous chapter but from a different POV. It didn't add anything to the story 
  * Overall the book grabbed my attention in the first few pages but left me underwhelmed by the last few pages
  
Rating: C+

Plot 💭: 
  * Engaging 

Writing  🖌️:
  * Clear & Concise

Pace & Pacing  ⏱️:
  * Perfect Pace 

Structure 🏗️:
  * Well organized
  * Too short

Setting 🌏:
  * Contemporary
  * Domestic abode to hot desert
  * Fits the story 

Characters 🎭:
  * Unlikable & Unreliable 

Theme & Message 💬:
  * "No honor among thieves"

Book Cover 🎨:
  * Beautiful imagery 
    
Target Audience 🎯:
  * Adults

Thoughts 🗣:
  * The main character was a bit sympathetic 
  * The unlikable/unreliable critique stands for everyone else but you aren't supposed to like them
  * This is an Amazon Original so it should be short. However, I wonder if the story could have been longer in order to add more suspense between the protagonist + antagonists. Or, could go beyond the ending to see the protagonist dealing with the aftermath and the authorities.
  * Scorpions don't really represent backstabbers like snakes do so doesn't really fit theme wise to me (they did see one in the desert though)

Rating: B-