shane_the_reading_rat's Reviews (1.21k)

had a random day of my old special interest in marvel returning, read this, and it’s so cute <3
the world of Black Panther is still so cool

dnf at 72 percent cause i cant fucking take this book anymore
these two idiot boys calling each other duchess and lonely hearts :/ im sorry to use the word cringe but that is one of the most cringey things i have ever read in my life like bro ik at 16 we all kinda think we’re so cool and mysterious and edgy but them repeatedly calling each other those nicknames is just too far for me
also

HOW DOES A SECRET SOCIETY JUST REPEATEDLY GET AWAY WITH KIDNAPPING CHILDREN OF HIGH UP GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS? LIKE IM SORRY BUT YOURE ASKING ME TO NOT JUST SUSPEND MY DISBELIEF BUT PROCEED TO SEND MY DISBELIEF TO THE MOON TO BE ABLE TO GET OVER THAT ONE

hanna alkaf, the rare author who can make me enjoy a thriller

lovingly this is really boring :/ and i like video games and find them fascinating, but this just is very dry and not keeping me interested

thank you so much to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for this ARC! 
HAPPY RELEASE DAY TO MODEL HOME !!!
this book is intense, and i’m still not completely sure how to feel about it. this is one of those horror novels that is very much “the real horror was the childhood trauma along the way”. 
it’s about three siblings: Ezri (our main character), Eve, and Emmanuelle, who all grew up in a rich texas neighborhood (this neighborhood is also extremely white). they all have been trying to escape the trauma of their childhoods and what this house has (possibly?) done to them.
i love this spin on the haunted house story, i know that the real horror being the childhood trauma is a tad cliche anymore but i thought this take on it was done very well. i also love the subtle shifts when switching from the present day to when Ezri was a child, as in the latter sections all quotation marks in dialogue disappear. i thought that was a super interesting way to feel more like we’re in their head.

i do have a couple of nitpicks, my main one being how little Elijah (Ezri’s daughter) was used. she was such an interesting character in her own right and i really feel like she could have been more present and active in the story. she technically does have a subplot, but it mainly features in the final ~5 percent and only seems to really affect Ezri.
another nitpick is one i feel less strongly about, i just feel like the climax could have been better done. it felt like it was building up to end with a bang and then just sort of fizzled out :/

again thank you to Netgalley for this ARC and HAPPY RELEASE DAY🎉

THIS WAS SO COOL????? i do not understand why this is like 3.7 stars on goodreads and 3.8 stars here this rocked
world building was awesome (honestly might be my favorite dragon book ever!!!), main character is a Woman With Sword (my one true weakness), had a hell of a fucking twist at the end, and just all around was awesome
yknow what i was originally giving this 4 stars but fuck that i rate on vibes and vibes alone and this gets a 5 from me
<3 love this book its awesome

the gay uncle and shīfù were the best part of this

so campy so perfect <3

this was really cool :0
i ended up skipping most of the fiction since the nonfiction was what i liked, and basically every essay here was a banger!! (a standout was hanif abdurraqib’s essay, dude i have never read him before and that essay blew me away)
i also now have a lot of bands/artists to go listen to :D