ryinwonderland's Reviews (892)

Pandemic Ghost Horror! Systemic racism, crime scene cleaners, hungry ghosts, and a serial killer. 

Moms! They’re complicated! Sometimes they suck! Sometimes it’s even worse than that! Jewish horror, possession, mother/daughter relationships.

There are some aspects of this book and story that I like, but they are overshadowed by the writing. Zero showing, all telling. The author takes a whole page to say something that could have (should have) been a sentence. You will be reminded three thousand times that the only woman in the story was raped by a shapeshifter and got pregnant. This book is too long and rambly. And to be clear, I am so down for a storytelling framework. I adore Name of the Wind. But this is too many people removed for no reason and it’s exhausting. There is only ONE woman in this story and she is only a victim, an object, even when she’s a “goddess of the woods”, she’s not revered or even feared, she’s looked down on because of her choices. If this book was written in the last couple of years I think it would be tighter and better, but alas, it is like twenty chapters too long and too boring. Bummer. 

It took me a couple of tries to get into this book (not the book’s fault, I kept zoning out and missing context) but when I finally locked in, this book unfolded in the most gruesomely beautiful love story adventure. 

Very cool Haitian-American twist on Zombie folklore with some excellent fuck the rich wish fulfillment. 

Gory! Scary! Unhinged! I cringed so many times reading this! 
I might never go inside a convenience store ever again. 

We’ve all got our demons, some more literal than others. 

Clio’s got a dead alcoholic narcissistic mother and a possessed house. 

Rachel Harrison’s latest horror novel sunk its claws into my neck and dragged me into the shadows to drink down my fear and when I finally emerged, I was covered in glitter. 

Play Nice is a brilliant and vibrant take on the classic haunted house novel. It pulses neon, it bleeds black, it pokes at bruises and reopens old wounds. Clio is messy and chaotic and beautiful and sharp and I love her, I love her, I love her. This is Rachel Harrison’s best, scariest, most fun book yet, and it’s going to stick with me for a long time. 

I couldn’t put it down, and neither will you. 

This demon doesn’t like to give up its favorite toys. 

That was awesome. A collection of vignettes that are actually all connected. Mysteries tied to strange pictures. Loved how it all tied together. So creepy and unsettling and great.

This was lovely, like having BBC Radio on in the background, just listening to Jekka teach people about herbs. 

I love Emily Henry. 
This one is about two journalists competing to win the honor of writing the biography of a woman who was once one of the most famous women in the world until she vanished from the public eye. 
This book is framed around the journalists falling in love and the story of the woman they’re learning more and more about. 
Single POV: FMC. 
Not as spicy as her other books, 4/5 on the Steam Scale.