shawna_reads's Reviews (471)

"They say new souls are born from the fragments of the old. We are drops of water, evaporated from a sea, reconstituted, and released from rain clouds." 

Kid is a foster care survivor turned courier for an organization called The White Lotus. Alice is a teen from the Young School for violent psychics called travelers who can traverse to a parallel universe called The Dream. Kid and Alice's paths cross when a run goes wrong, where he is faced with stalkers and creatures made of nightmares. They must work together in order to survive and help save humanity. 

I'm going to start off by saying this book was absolutely fucking amazing and everyone should read it. Is that review enough? 😆 

It was evident that Godsey put his heart and soul into this book. The world building and character development was phenomenal. The prose was beautiful and the dialogue felt real. He did an amazing job weaving horror, fantasy, sci-fi, and supernatural elements all in one story. 

It was also an emotional read with the exploration of the foster system, broken relationships, and simply trying to survive life. My heart grew heavy for Kid and I was rooting for him the entire time. He is definitely a new favourite character 🖤 

For a chunky book, there were no dull moments and I found myself fully invested from start to finish. This was an adventurous, unique story that has already cemented its spot in my favourites of the year!

"Sometimes loving eyes don't see what they don't want to see."

A man is found dead off the coast of Maine with no ID. Local journalists Vince and Dave, and their grad student Stephanie, discuss what could have possibly happened to him. However, the more clues they reveal the more of a mystery it is.

I liked the way the story was set up, with Vince, Dave, and Stephanie sitting down together as the men recounted an unsolved mystery they encountered in their past. Despite their age differences, the characters got along well and I really liked their personalities. I found myself thinking of clues alongside the group to see if I could figure it all out myself 😅

As for the mystery itself, it was definitely peculiar. Who was this man? Where did he come from? Why was he found at this specific beach? Was he murdered or was his death accidental? So many questions, which some were answered, but the story itself was ambiguous.

This was a simple, cozy, little mystery with fun illustrations. As much as I enjoyed the setting and characters, there wasn't a whole lot beyond that. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it.

"We'll always be here together, won't we, Constance?"
"Don't you ever want to leave here, Merricat?"
"Where could we go?" I asked her. "What place would be better for us than this? Who wants us, outside? The world is full of terrible people." 

Merricat Blackwood lives with her sister Constance and her uncle Julian on their family's secluded estate. Constance has been accused of supposedly murdering members of the family, and the town has shunned them. One day, their cousin arrives at the estate and starts causing problems. 

I'm going to be honest and tell you that nothing really happened, yet I enjoyed the writing and the characters. I really liked Merricat for her bizarre personality. Constance was boring, yet sweet, and their uncle Julian was quirky and determined with his ranting and raving. The relationship between the sisters was cute as the story followed their day to day lives at the estate. 

Constance suffered from agoraphobia and their uncle was wheelchair bound, so Merricat ran all the errands and risked facing verbal abuse from the people in town. With each passing day, more information was revealed about what kind of family the Blackwoods were and what happened on that fateful day when their parents, brother, and Julian's wife died. The reader then begins to understand why everyone in town either hated or feared them. 

This was an atmospheric, dark story full of mystery.

"I hate the sound of my footsteps. They indicate my presence in the world. I want to be a thing without mass, devoid of matter, drained of all substance. I want to become nothing."

After her weight loss, Helen becomes a fashion model obsessed with money, confidence, attention, and being skinny. After an encounter with a more beautiful model, her confidence is shattered, leading to an addiction to starvation, taking her life on a downward spiral.

This is a harrowing and bleak story about a woman's life spiraling out of control due to societal pressures of being beautiful. The reader sees life through Helen's eyes and her skewed perception of what beauty is and how to maintain it. It doesn't help that the people around her enable these behaviours by reinforcing her thoughts with compliments and unnecessary comments, causing her to further deteriorate.

Morrison does an amazing job tackling a sensitive topic with so much heart and emotion. The writing is beautiful and really effects you on so many levels. Following Helen's journey is like a punch to the gut because it is shocking and unsettling and emotional. 

"Beauty is the only commodity that matters."

"The answer, he suddenly realizes, is not Bryn's pathetic war against the world; the answer is making peace with himself." 

Owen's life is falling apart. He's a virgin in his 30s living with his aunt, recently suspended from his job due to accusations of sexual misconduct. Across the street lives the Fours family, where Cate and her daughter think Owen is creepy as she swears he followed her one night. Meanwhile, Saffyre who is a former client of Cate's husband Roan, stalks the family to maintain a connection with him. And then she goes missing. 

That is the best condensed summary I can give as there is a lot going on in this book. The story is told through multiple POVs that eventually tie in together. We follow Owen and his troubles, Cate and her worries, and Saffyre and her stalking behaviours. Within each POV, there are a lot of other characters who are all pertinent to the story. I definitely preferred Saffyre's POV as it was the most interesting. 

There were a lot of red herrings that built up the suspense. Every time I thought I knew what was going on - BAM. Something else happened to change my thoughts. As simple as the writing was, this was well done as it was thrilling, mysterious, and engaging. It had me continuously guessing throughout the entire book. 

Overall, I enjoyed Invisible Girl. I've read two of Jewell's books now and I find them to be a nice pallete cleanser in between all the horror I read.  

"You'd be surprised, the things you can do to a person with a little pain. Make them shed their pride, forget their humanity. Break them until they've disavowed who they are and you can build them back up again in your own image, a slave for all time." 

After the death of his mother, Travis leaves the navy to start a new chapter of his life. However, a series of coincidences occur, drawing the attention of a government agency called the Bureau. Travis is faced with a secret from his past as he is confronted with forces beyond his control. 

This was an original story blending horror and speculative fiction. One of those books where I had no idea what direction it was going, but I was fully invested. The plot was unique and full of mystery. I really liked the characters as they were funny and loveable, and the villains were brutal and egotistical. There was also a surprising amount of gore, which of course I loved. 

I wish the Bureau and their secrets were explored more, however, it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment. This was a suspenseful, captivating horror tale.

"There was only me to save me because no one else cared." 

The Scholomance is a school for the magically gifted. Survival is important. Failure means death. The students cannot leave until graduation, and there are monsters lurking everywhere. El possesses a dark power that has prepared her for the dangers within the school. 

The book follows our protagonist, Galadriel aka El, and how she navigates the Scholomance for survival. There are no professors and the school exists in some kind of void as there is nothing but darkness all around. Everyone follows their studies and must fight to survive their graduation in order to leave. 

The dialogue is a little cringe, but I didn't mind the characters. El is strong and powerful and chooses to be a loner, but realizes she needs allies if she is going to make it out alive. Orion is the heart-throbbing hero that everyone has on a pedestal. The two are an unlikely pair, but I liked the growth of their friendship. 

Due to the first person narrative, I feel like there was a lot of info dumping. I enjoy the complexity of learning a new magic system, but it should be experienced through prose and action. I understand the reason for it here, but there was too much tell and not enough show imo. 

Overall, I enjoyed A Deadly Education. The setting was perfect with arcane elements. It's a trilogy so I think I will eventually get the other two books to see how it all plays out. 

"A wise person once told me: time stops for no man. No man, not even death himself." 

It is 1987 and Weston Mercer is indulging himself in sex, drugs, and music. He is worried about his rock star cousin, Prentice, who seems to be spiraling out of control. He must find a way to help him before it's too late. 

I won't lie. I was initially confused when I first started reading this because I couldn't tell reality from the drug induced hazes, but as I kept going, it all slowly fell in to place. The characters were well written and it was interesting to follow their self-destructive behaviours as it all felt real with raw emotions. 

I wasn't expecting the supernatural elements because well, I didn't know where the story was going 😅 But the writing was immersive and done well so I was captivated nonetheless. 

This was a bleak, yet beautiful coming of age story.

"This town worships the dead, but it has no respect for the living." 

The mysterious town of HOME is where people go to be with their dead loved ones. Wenqi and her family move to a haunted house to bring forth her brother's spirit so they can live together as a happy family again. These houses are in such high demand that people known as "lingerers" will camp out on lawns until a house becomes available. 

This was a really unique story about grief and the lengths one would go to be with family. Everyone was so grief-stricken that they neglected their living family members because they struggled to let go of their dead loved ones. At one point, the plot even took a violent turn, which was shocking given the circumstances. 

I enjoyed the different POVs from Wenqi's experiences in the house with her family to Liam's experience as a lingerer to the elderly woman in town. Each character was very compelling and kept the story fresh. 

This was haunting and emotional, yet beautifully written.

"Why should my heart ache for anyone but myself? If anyone was trapped and suffering and abused, it was me. I was the only one whose pain was real. Mine." 

An older Eileen Dunlop recounts her life in the 60s as a disturbed young woman working as a secretary at a prison for boys. She fills her mundane life with shoplifting, fantasies, dreams of escaping to the big city, and taking care of her alcoholic father. When Rebecca arrives as the new counselor at the prison, Eileen is enamored and a relationship is formed. However, this newfound friendship leads down a twisted path. 

I absolutely love Moshfegh's writing and how she creates such enigmatic, disturbed characters that, in some way or another, us readers can relate to. The story is told through first person narration, following Eileen's intrusive thoughts and experiences firsthand. The way she sees herself and others, her perspective of the world, and the way her hatred and grotesqueness forms her personality is so intriguing and had me enthralled. 

Then enter Rebecca, the complete opposite of Eileen yet similar in aspects. The woman that changes the course of her life. This isn't a spoiler as the synopsis and narration of the story details Eileen's life trajectory so this is known to the reader throughout. Anyway, I was interested in their relationship as Eileen moved on from her old obsessions to a new one - her friendship with Rebecca. 

The whole story leads to a crazy ending which I am still unsure how I feel about it. It caught me off guard, but it worked. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. Overall, another great book by Moshfegh!