shereadytoread's Reviews (806)

I really enjoyed this book. I will say I am not a "weenie" and absolutely love horror movies so I was already familiar with all of the films discussed in this book.  As someone that loves horror movies, I thought that I might find this boring, but it was quite the opposite. It was great to revisit many of my favorite movies and the additional discussions around each movie was great. It was like listening to one of my favorite horror movie podcasts. There is a detailed plot overview as well as the importance of each film in film and horror history.

I loved that the author added a recommended reading list to end of each chapter if someone is too nervous to watch the movie or if they want similar vibes in books. The author includes "you could probably watch this if ..." and "you'll want to avoid this movie if ..." recommendations for those who are scared to watch but maybe want to give some of the movies a try. It also includes fun facts to jump into horror movie conversations that don't require you having seen the movie.

I am not sure if the print version has movie illustrations but I hope so! I'll be looking for a print copy soon. The narrator is great as well. My only drawback (and it's personal preference) was there are some slang? (if you want to call it that) statements at some point that felt odd from this narrator, but wouldn't bother me if I was reading the print.

Disclaimer: I received a free ALC from Netgalley.

I loved this. No complaints. No notes. The romance was great. The paranormal show aspect was good. Both characters had good growth and tension in their individual plot lines. 

Disclaimer: I received a gifted finished copy from the publisher.

This is a book that proves YA horror can be just as horrific as adult horror. It starts with a bang of a cold open and then we see it unfold. Something I loved about this book is there are no simple characters. All of the teens are complicated and doubt themselves and their place within their friend groups and lives. We never get the self-assured final girl, but one whose fear doesn’t stop her from doing what needs to be done. There are awkward missteps and moments that felt very true to the high school experience! 

I really liked having the perspective of the villain and heroine though out the story. This is not a book that shies away from violence or toned down the serious topics. But it felt purposeful and not gratuitous. 

A book that definitely makes you feel SOMETHING, even if it's confusion at times. This was a rough read at times not as much because of the emotional aspect (which is extremely heavy) but there is also a lot of body horror pieces and injury detail that I did not expect based on the story up to that point. I think this book definitely succeeds at demonstrating the helplessness and hopelessness of being both emotionally and physically stuck. It's not a book that has a lot of levity in any way. The descriptions of the structure were very detailed and made you feel just how enclosed yet massive the space is. I think the end will definitely be divisive. You'll hate it or you'll love it, but you will definitely have an opinion on it. I can see why it is a turn off for many readers, but I think it adds another element of disorienting the reader. I can't describe it without a spoiler so I won't even try. Ringing in under 200 pages, I think this is definitely worth the read.

Disclaimer: I received a free finished copy of this book from the publisher. No review was required and all opinions are my own.

This book didn't deliver on its premise. At it's core, it is about the HSK (Highway Serial Killings) Initiative in the FBI, but it didn't have enough information to sustain that premise for even the short 250+ page book. Seven of the 20 chapters, are just the author riding the highways with a trucker named Mike. Mike is a bit misogynistic and as the author reminds us, knows nothing about highway killers and seems to forget that's what the author is researching part of the time. There is a lot of filler about sex work on the highways (which is at least related to the typical victim profile) and interviews with women who were involved in truck-stop sex work in the past.

The information about actual Highway Killers is very surface level and the information about the investigations is pretty limited. The book is primarily a look at long-haul trucking and the different people that are connected to it in various ways which the author then connects back to the HSK. There was some interesting information about interstate investigations and how limited it is because providing the information is optional and tedious. It felt like the author wanted to write a book about the HSK but didn't have enough information to fill a book, and just gave other trucking and crime-related information to fill it out. 

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher. 

This book was lots of fun. The entire novel is plot device, which I thought was a great addition to the story. We are reading a story of a writer, writing a story and conferring with her beta reader as the mystery unfolds. I was not a fan of the abruptness of the ending (for both the novel and the novel in the novel) but I did really enjoy everything up to that point and the end was still satisfying and wrapped up the story. 

This book was the selection for the Book Lovers month of our Diversify Your Reading book club. Join us here:  https://bookclubs.com/diversify-your-reading-2/join/

This was a fun, humorous romance with some serious and darker moments. It touches on mental health issues, has some violence (fantasy violence) and difficulties with balancing dating and personal values. I have seen a lot of reviews that touch on some dubious moments of consent (two specific interactions). They did not read that way to me in the moment but I think it is fair to include that potential impact. 

I think the story get a great job of balancing angst and light moments. I think the internal struggle of the FMC on her feelings about marriage could have been expanded a bit. She seems to have a lot of strong principles or questions that are immediately moved past, but it didn't bother me too much with the pacing of the story. I do think that the story leaned too hard into the magic elements at the end of the story and it felt like it should have happened earlier in the story or there should have been more then. 

In the end, I really enjoyed this read and I will be checking out this author's other works. 

This was an interesting turn from the last book. It once again features mushrooms strongly, but it is more of a folk horror with some real world influence. It features Easton's struggle with PTSD from the war and events of the previous book, as well as influences of a real war in history. I enjoyed the continued friendship with Miss Potter, and the edition of the new superstitions and traditions presented throughout the book. 

I think this one is much heavier on the traditional horror elements rather than the slow burn gothic tale of the first book.

This is probably my second favorite in the series behind the first book. I found this storyline to be a little more natural and flowed easily. It was easy to root for the characters and their romance and chemistry was good. I think this book had less spice than the first two books but is pretty equal with the 3rd. I really enjoyed the coparenting aspect of the MMC and how they balanced boundary setting with the romance of the book. This one I think was a bit more realistic than the previous book in the series so I was able to enjoy that a lot more. 

I am excited to finish out the series in the next installment.

This book was incredibly dull. Nothing made me want to root for any of the characters. The dialogue did not match the time period.