This was super cute and quick to read.

I feel so conflicted. On one hand, this is probably the best trials based fantasy book I’ve read in a while. On the other, I feel like the magic system in world building could’ve used work. The system didn’t make much sense, at least with respect to Lotte, who should’ve been able to do magic without the use of her blood. I also couldn’t picture how the circles/district worked. Also, it felt like a blend of modern and fantastical, because cars and yachts and magical charmed devices exist, but the knights are still using swords? 

As for the POV‘s, I loved Nora‘s self-awareness, her love and loyalty to those closest to her, and looking back, at the way, we get insight into how her mom raised her. Lotte was annoying at first, but I actually ended up loving her so much. I don’t think Theo‘s or August’s POV‘s were needed to be honest. Theo felt like the classic “my family or my honor” archetype and August was too much of a blank slate for me to feel any real sort of emotion about him. I will be reading book 2 when it comes out though.

I thought this was gonna be queer based on the cover. This was not queer. Nor did the boys actually have sharp teeth. I didn’t particularly care for the writing style but I got through it. Marin felt like the “I’m not like other girls” type. Henry and Adrian both felt kind of flat. Also the plot felt super predictable and it couldn’t keep my interest. The “relationships” felt very flat, as did Marin’s connection with her cousin. Another book I wish I had read before buying a physical copy of it.

I need men to get out of horror because it seems like the only thing they do is be misogynistic and call it a day. This fucking sucked. The plot was less horror and more mystery with a heavy dose of raping women and homophobia. This was a sexual porn version of The Haunting of Hill House and is nowhere near as good or atmospheric as the original. Also, don’t forget that the religious white woman had a heavily stereotyped indigenous man as her “spirit guide.” So anyways, sex is bad, being queer is bad, and women belong in the home /sarc. I don’t care, this was clearly porn self insert fanfic. 

I really enjoy Japanese horror/ghost stories and I heard this was a classic, so I went in *mostly* blind. Unfortunately, I was unimpressed. I became irritated with how misogynistic it was. I wish I had cared about any of it. Perhaps, it was a bad translation, but the writing felt bland and the plot felt like a battle for who is the worst man present. The tape didn’t didn’t feel scary, and I felt myself sympathizing with Sadako. Also the end bit about her being intersex felt really off.

I didn’t realize that this was nonfic at first because it didn’t read that way at all. Even with the writing style of a fictional story, it dragged so much that I had to force my way through it. The plot was interesting, of course, being based on a true story, but the characters didn’t feel like real people, even though most of the characters, the author, met himself. The story didn’t leave much of an impact and the attempt at embellishment on a true story fell flat.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was so strange /pos. I wasn’t expecting multiple POVs or time periods. It almost felt like a bunch of connected short stories in its organization. I think it was a heavy undertaking, because there were so many characters and stories woven in. And while the story was atmospheric and gloomy and eerie, the multiple POVs dissolved some of that tension and made the overall plot feel disjointed. The ending also felt a bit lackluster and while the majority of the story is deeply moving, the ending lacks any sort of impact.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was such an interesting premise. I love books that are mythology/folklore based outside of the greek/roman pantheon. The prose was rich and immersive and I lost my sense of time while reading. There was a haunting and wild sense of beauty and Ferrier did a fantastic job of creating an atmospheric setting. I think the themes of acceptance in communities and the constraints on woman were well explored and the body horror was a 10/10.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

This was my first Bora Chung book and I LOVED it. This was a collection of ghost stories that were told within the guise of a larger story. It was so eerie without being gory. I loved how the stories all tied into each other and the spin that Chung put on traditional Korean horror/ghost stories. It was thought provoking with the larger themes in each story and I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I feel conflicted about this book. On one hand, I couldn’t put it down. On the other hand, I was mildly annoyed the whole time I was reading. I liked that the world building and the explanation of the magic system felt natural as the story progressed. Vic was well developed but annoying. It didn’t feel like she was in her 20s but it’s possible that it’s because she was adultified as a child. I felt very meh about the romance and the progression of time felt unclear. The last 20% of the book felt much faster paced than the rest but I’m willing to read the next one.