Hail of Brimstone was a cinematic experience disguised as a book. J.R. White brilliantly depicts action-packed violence, raw emotion, and moments of hilarity throughout the novel. Each and every sentence delivers a promise of intensity - pick this book up and you will not want to put it back down until you've read every page. 

Just rereading this, I've lost count of how many times this book and movie have made me cry. I wanted a rerun of it before I read All This Time. Such a beautiful book, one of my favorites, always. 

"But still they ran, giddy and breathless, the pieces of June's life dropping away bit by bit, until she was nothing but legs in motion, arms, a heart, a hand, held. A body, stumbling, tripping, almost falling. Except she wouldn't fall, that's the thing. Delia wouldn't let her."

"Delia stayed away from the fire. She always did. Fire was the only thing on earth she was scared of."

"He doesn't have access to a certain part of the world that maybe I do, a certain kind of darkness that I have been trying so hard to shed."

Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls was not knock-your-socks-off material. In my opinion, it was far from a "thriller." But the psychological twists were compelling enough for me to read it quite quickly. While I didn't enjoy the interpretative ending, I never could guess what was going to happen next. I think when the novel switches from just June's point of view, to alternating between Delia and June is where the significant shift takes place. You see who Delia was, who June is capable of being when guided by Delia. Delia is fire, and her plans to kindle flames in June are effortlessly creepy as the story progresses. On the outside, Weingarten presents us with a sapphic murder mystery...but beneath the veil is dark obsessions and elusive secrets. In Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls, Weingarten skillfully crafts a story full of deceit and a fiery passion. There were downfalls, room for improvement....But in my opinion, this book was more than worth the read. 

I hardly ever read the synopsis of a book, so I often go in blindly just based on an interesting cover or vaguely remembered recommendation. Sometimes this turns out well for me, sometimes...not. If I had read the synopsis along with the title, I wouldn't have read the book - too cliché, another one of those sappy, wanna-be renditions of Fault in Our Stars or Five Feet Apart (both of which I enjoyed, but c'mon...it's an overused trope, now). But I feel as if Cammie McGovern did put a uniqueness into this novel; Just Breathe has concepts in it that similar books don't address, and therefore made an unoriginal plot seem more original...at first. That being said, I wanted to rate this higher, I really did - the first hundred pages or so held most of the story's charm. I thought it was going to be deeper, I thought it would strike something in me. But closer to part two, the depth was lost and the out-of-body experience wasn't particularly enjoyable to me, honestly. Which is a shame, because I admired the fact that McGovern incorporated elements you don't often see approached that well in these YA novels - Eileen being a glass child, acting out to vy for the attention she didn't get, the affect it had having her parents be so overbearing to David because he was sick but treating her passively, the affect it had on both her and David. Jamie and Eileen, their differences and how they could relate to each other. Suicide, how mental health impacted not only Jamie's father and herself, but everyone else around her. Physical sickness versus mental sickness. But somehow it veered off, and two thirds of the novel just seemed forced. I wanted emotional, heart wrenching, angst... And ended up with the opposite by the end, something disingenuous. I feel like Just Breathe had a lot of potential, but fooled me into thinking it was going to be better than it was. It wasn't awful...but I wished for more, especially with the way it started off so well...

"Paul Dexter had thought himself to be a puppeteering god commanding the city. But he knew nothing. He controlled little save for coincidences and terror. He was the hand gripping a barely controlled mass of chaos. 

This time the chaos will take shape, grow jaws and sharp teeth, prowl the corners for any opportunity to attack. 

And it will have the city dance on its strings." 

"Lovers turned to strangers, and it cut deep enough to bleed." 

"...She would rather die at Roma's hand than be the cause of his death." 

"...No one learns to fight in one day." 

Unsurprisingly, I enjoyed Chloe Gong's Our Violent Ends just as much as the debut These Violent Delights. In this sequel, Gong continues the riveting enemies-to-lovers (back-to-enemies, back-to-lovers) storyline, with a similar slow-burn. The downfall is the length - while I didn't mind it so much with These Violent Ends, I feel like it didn't need to be as long as it's preceding novel. Some seemingly unnecessary details made it a bit harder to follow, and therefore a tad less enjoyable than These Violent Delights. However, Gong still did a brilliant job of keeping the plot interesting. While I was able to anticipate the circumstances in regards to Rosalind, I did not expect the twist involving Marshall Seo at all. I was quite impressed when that was revealed. Though the deterioration of the relationship between Juliette and her father was expected, I was still disappointed because I had some false hope that her father would follow her in whatever she did. And while I did not much enjoy the ending, I do understand that it ended the way it did to allow for more to be written on the story. Roma and Juliette's tale is compelling, one that you don't ever want to conclude entirely. If Gong can continue her heated writing style in her next books, then I will be delighted to read them, even if I have to skim over some of the irrelevancies. A longer book doesn't make it a better book...but again, a decent, enjoyable read. 

"I'm not a religious person but I do sometimes think God made you for me." 

"Would every stage of her life continue to reveal itself as the same thing, again and again, the same remorseless contest for dominance?" 

This book was... interesting, to say the least. 

No amount of time progressed in the storyline without significant change. There seems to be a stark contrast between Marianne and Connell, who are both developing and regressing interchangeably throughout the novel, like yin-yang. The style of writing is hard to follow at times, but it's that complexity that ends up pulling you in. Every page is like a gut punch, and the ending I found very frustrating; the dynamics of Marianne and Connell are all too realistic for two young, troubled adults. Watching them navigate through the struggles of internal alienation and unresolved adequacy issues is painful, but beautiful, too. I would rate it higher if it wasn't so depressing, and if the ending handed been interpretive. Regardless, Sally Rooney's unique novel Normal People was shockingly good and I ate it right up. 

"One murder. So many victims." 

It Should Have Been You by Lynn Slaughter was a middle ground for YA mystery, in my opinion. It was succinct and not unsatisfying to read, but...it left a lot to be desired. Slaughter's writing style with this novel lacked depth and description. Rather than being elusive and dark, it was a fairly quick investigation, revolving around a lot of dialogue. I would have liked to see more depth and development in the characters, especially Clara. Even with the social justice aspect - which could have been such a good factor - it just didn't hit. It seemed...cliche and rushed. I do disagree with some reviews indicating predictability - maybe because Slaughter didn't give the reader much to go on with the suspects and non suspects, but I couldn't place who the killer might've been until over halfway through. Which was beneficial, because it kept me passively interested. By no means did I feel a suspenseful engagement in the book, but I enjoyed reading it despite not having a heavy investment in the characters or the ending. It just was too simple, too straightforward, too quick...too lacking for me. The 'twist' at the end was... unique, but honestly seemed a little farfetched. I might try out some of her other books, though. I won't let the mediocrity that was It Should Have Been You ward me from this author entirely, because it does seem as though they have potential as a YA author. This novel was just underwhelming, to say the least. 

I went far out on a limb reading this book. To me, the Romeo and Juliet trope is an immediate book turn-off. It's not often at all that I enjoy the Shakespearean retelling genre, or anything of the like, but 2024 is the year to get out of my comfort zone, and I'm glad I did with These Violent Delights. Based in 1920s Shanghai, "a lawless place where governments came both to be born and to die," the novel starts out strong. Chapter one jumps right into the thick of gang rivalries and alludes right away to the "Guài wù," the "chudovishche," - that there is monster afoot. Then there is also an immediate passionate tension between Roma and Juliette that hooks you, because you want to know right away what happened at the core of their former relationship to cause such hostility between them years later. The imagery Gong uses is mostly simple and modern, yet no page lacks in intensity. Through the terse moments of sexism, nepotism, violence, and ruthlessness, there is also room for humor. 

"'That's not a necklace, is it?'
'It is not, Bàba.'
'That's a garrote wire, isn't it?'
'Indeed it is, Bàba.'
'How many other weapons have you concealed on yourself?'
'Five, Bàba.'
Lord Cai pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered, 'Wôde māyā, have mercy on my soul.'
Juliette smiled like she had been complimented." 

I would give five stars if it weren't for the pace - while I felt like it progressed quick enough, at certain points it felt like some chapters were completely unnecessary and just there as fluff/filler. The political aspects were also drawn out - it would've been a perfectly fine plot without such a heavy focus on politics and communism, etc, etc. 

With over 400 pages, These Violent Delights managed to keep me on the edge of my seat, biting my nails the whole time. I look forward to seeing how the rest of this story unravels in Chloe Gong's next book, Our Violent Ends. 

This was my second reading of this book, and I wish I'd known how I felt about it the first time so I could compare how I felt then/now, but I only vaguely remembered reading it in the first place. I'd say it was worth reading again. It is a quick, heartfelt novel, centering around racism, murder, child abuse, and grief. The spirituality and symbolism is what draws you in and keeps you reading with The Things She's Seen. While I feel like with any other 'mystery' novel, the conclusion would have been obvious from the start, the symbolism with colors and crows and Fetchers from Catching's perspective keeps the mystery alive. At times the novel unravels in a rather convoluted manner, however I feel as though it was a great way to approach some of the darker secrets revealed in the novel. 

"...He'd say there was no such thing as monsters. There were ... But [we] had only seen the men." 

The story has the capability of moving you if you approach it with the right mindset, or if you enjoy a book that runs a little off skew to the typical mystery novel. 

Asparagus, snakes, white oak, acorns and pills, elves and wolves. Family, motherhood, sisterhood, womanhood, the rotting penises of manhood. This book makes sense in a way that doesn't entirely make sense. You kind of just have to go with it, to ride it out and either end up loving it or end up not loving it. I loved it. I thought it was a slurry of vagueness/depth, apathy/emotion, humbleness/pride. I seethed and cried and laughed with the characters, and yearned for more.