Shae
Where do I begin with this book?
Don't Let The Forest In follows Andrew and Thomas, who along with Andrew's twin sister Dove, make up a group friendship. However, this school year is different. Dove is not speaking to Andrew or Thomas after a big argument the previous year, Thomas is lying to Andrew, and Andrew himself is coming apart of the seams. Andrew plays our narrator, often unreliable and skewed but exactly as I would expect a teenage boy to be. His love for Thomas is unhealthy, reckless, and brash. But at the same time innocent and made of that awestruck naivete one would expect.
“But his ribs were a cage for monsters and they cut their teeth on his bones.”
With rich, delicious prose and violent, downright horrifying imagery, CG Drews paints a story that is simultaneously beautiful, heartbreaking, and unsettling. The story winds us through dark forests, darker fairy tales, and the unrestrained and codependent love so often seen in youth. The twists and turns in the plot keep you guessing until the last few chapters, and the ending left me numb and staring at my reader in disbelief.
“Life didn't fit against his skin and it never had and sometimes everything was just too much.”
This hit my craving for horror perfectly, and is a dark fantasy fairy tale at heart, both grim and beautiful. The cast is diverse and portrays mental illness so well, as well as asexuality which is so rare in fiction. At some points, the reader has to suspend belief a bit, but let's be honest, most horror and dark fantasy are similar in that way. Overall, this has been one of my favorite books this year, and I am so eager to see what else CG Drews puts out.
“... maybe you could love someone so much you ruined them, and then you ruined yourself.”
Do you remember the late 2000s, when CreepyPasta was all the rage and one could spend hours going down the rabbit hole of horror that could be found there? That is precisely the vibe of Eye of the Ouroboros: a sometimes chaotic, sometimes horrifying, entertaining ride through a mix of horror, scifi, and human nature. None of the characters, except Quinn, are good people, and honestly I liked it that way. I loved the grief and unhealthy ways it manifested in nearly all the cast. Was Theo a drunk and borderline abusive to her friends sometimes? Sure. Was she also grieving and dealing with trauma and reacting in a very human way? Also yes.
I'll admit there were some wild plot twists, and not always in the best way. There were some odd shifts in theme and some things just came out of nowhere. But if I'm just going on vibes, this book was a lot of fun.
“You fight and fight— for what? To die valiantly ? Or to die at the hands of your own hubris?”
There are some genuinely poignant and meaningful lines throughout. The ending brought me to tears over several chapters and I wouldn't change a thing about how it ended. Not a thing.
I believe this is a debut novel for this author and if so, this is a great first impression. I'll be watching for more from Megan going forward!
Book: Chain Gang All Stars Tarot: Death, Eight of Swords, The Tower reversed
Read tandem, audio and e-book 5 stars, easily
“She forced love into this loveless space, made it the subject of her life.”
“Some truly didn't think about the fact that men and women were being murdered every day by the government their children pledged allegiance to at school.”
“Just cause you enslaved don't make you a slave. You can't ever be that.”
This particularly spoke to me about Thurwar and her setting up her Links prior to her Freedom in whatever form it may come in.
1.5 ⭐
There are many sections of this book with colorful, beautiful imagery. The overall plot and where I could tell the author was wanting to go was charming. The scenery and the myriad critters had me reminded of The Isle Of Blue Dolphins in a lovely way.
However, the pacing was very odd. The first few chapters shoved so much plot into a small portion that it lost most, if not all, emotional impact and the rest of the book fell flat for me because I didn't find myself invested without that initial work. Also, there were many editing and grammar errors throughout, which I can typically overlook if not so glaring. I felt they took away even more when matched with the pacing and plot issues. To me, this felt like a book that was built around the scenery, with the plot floating along in a very shallow way, much like Gaia snorkeling in the shallow coral. I personally would have suggested this book go through at least another pass with an editor. Truly, the heart of the story is in the right place, the writing just held it back for me.
This Wicked Fate Review
4.5 stars (same rating as This Poison Heart)
Ideal for fans of older teenage/young adult books with no spice. Found family is a pivotal part of this modern fantasy series, as well as tackling generational trauma in a creative way without being too heavy handed. The cast is very diverse in many intersectional ways, and oh my gosh the mythology! I was so invested, just like Bri, in learning the family secrets!
“I was the seed set in soil, nurtured by the love of my family, and allowed to grow, to stretch, to reach for the sun”
“I've stolen more moments than I can count, but these with you were the best of them”
Because without work and a distant goal, he did not know what else he was living for.
A smattering of beautiful prose and an incredibly unique take on the vampire myths, in the frame of a forbidden romance wrought with miscommunication.
Unfortunately I don't think I was the target audience for this book. While some of the writing was genuinely poignant, the plot lagged behind, weighed down by chapters of misunderstanding, added to by one of the more frustrating MFCs I've read in a while. Her inability to see through any eyes but her own was infuriating and I slogged through the first 200 pages waiting for the horror I went into this expecting.
This journey felt as if they were crawling through a nightmare together, a dream that tricked the helpless dreamer into thinking it had ended, only to twist in a new direction and gallop away.
we get our happy ending
He loved looking at her. He wanted her to be the last thing he ever saw, the first thing he ever saw, his heavens and his earth.
Instead of real growth, we get a flash in the pan event where Nena finally stands up to her parents, but we don't get the satisfaction of seeing her actually address their poor communication. I still don't know if Nestor was telling the truth or not about his sordid past that they'd quarreled over, since it is never again addressed. This is just one example of places where the story just trails without satisfying resolution,at least for me. And for goodness sake,the miscommunication!! The parents WERE RIGHT THERE to act as the space between Nena and Nestor, but nah let's just have Nena misunderstand or actively refuse logic again. Girl,you got some problems but you're 95% of them.
This was a beautifully written book, I simply wasn't the target audience. I found myself both missing detail and feeling like there wasn't enough. This is a short book, and I wonder if that was a flaw in that there couldn't be as much world building, mythos, etc as I usually prefer in my books. If you like your books snappy, with fairly quick emotions and very quick plot, this is likely more for you.
I've never looked up more creatures of myth than I did reading this incredible book. The stories weaved within are magical and feel old as time. Hyena is fascinating, Idir is heartbreaking, and Malik and Karina both have so much trauma to heal through that I found myself near tears from the rawness and realness of their plight. Genuinely an amazing read and I'm so excited for the next book!
If I could give this book 6 stars, or even more, I would.
I am not a scifi person, let me start there. I've rarely read scifi, and certainly not this type. Project Hail Mary kept coming up on my social media as a high rated book and eventually one has to give in to that kind of pressure with nearly no negative points. Fast forward to me reading the first chapter and then not stopping until I was done. I cried multiple times, I laughed so hard. This book is an incredible hopeful, beautiful look at humanity, life, and what lengths we'll go to in order to save ourselves and those we love. I don't know if any book this year will top this one, but I know I will be thinking about Grace (and Rocky) for months to come.
What good does it do to be valuable, if nobody values you? - Chapter 1
Severe, brutal, blatant commentary on society, racism, prejudice, the default nature of humanity to form cliques and to hell with those unlike you. And at the same time, full of unfettered joy and unrestrained pride and the beauty of humanity in all their flaws and triumphs. Unique in story and also so familiar in other ways that I found myself laughing out loud even as I had tears on my cheeks from the truth of the words.
If you've ever been to New York, you'll feel the pulse of the city in every word of this book, and if you haven't, you'll still feel it because that pulse can be found in all cities, in all towns, in all groups of people. This book is every bit a glorious love letter to the city that never sleeps, and truly all cities and humanity itself. I've rarely read something this incredibly distinctive, with each character's voice so special in its own way.
Yes, it will force you to confront your internal prejudice (and we've all got it, even you) and yes, it does not hide the message in some soft, easy metaphor. This is a clear, vibrant, loud call to arms, merciless in many ways as it shows the vitriol that minorities face, as well as the environments that foster and fuel and create that narrow minded culture that The Woman in White personified so well throughout this book. Truly a masterpiece and I'm so eager to read more by N K Jemisin now. Read this.
Creepy, uncomfy read in the best way. I wanted a fun little horror and got more than I anticipated, with a lovingly queer character and in some places a sad contemplation, alongside downright horrifying imagery. Imagining standing in a ring of undead hares watching you ‘kill' one of them is delightfully creepy, all my hair stood on end. Very good read!
I went into this book expecting a light, fun read. And it absolutely delivered. It is full of rom-com tropes, sunshine/grumpy silliness, with a twist at the end that I wasn't expecting and didn't see coming. This might be one of my favorite books I've read in the last 6 months, just for sheer fun and enjoyment. Go in expecting a romantic, fantasy comedy, expect to suspend your belief, and have fun with this one.
The audiobook narrator as well was a delight, and really embraced the energy.
I came into this book expecting a creepy, horrific ride. And, by the end, this book delivered. There's very little as horrific as the nature of man.
I was disappointed by how slow the book moved through the first half, and also the sexualization of most/all female characters in the book, though I have to wonder if some of that was from translation limitations? There were still very blatant examples but it fit the nature of the teen boys we saw most of the book through.
That aside, the ending was satisfying, creepy, and honestly one of the better horror endings I can recall in recent reads.
The subject matter itself is excellent, and truly feels important for most, if not all, of humanity to take to heart. Being more self compassionate, learning to self soothe, and giving yourself grace are all excellent ideals that are becoming ever more poignant as society moves through the years.
That said, I was a bit disappointed by some points. Firstly, there were several mentions throughout regarding the writer's autistic son, particularly about how they ‘treated' his autism, which bordered heavily on really meaning ‘curing'. While I'm sympathetic to the struggles of raising an autistic child, this seemed so at odds with the book altogether, especially from the lens of an autistic adult trying to have compassion and love for herself. Secondly, several chapters, while I get wanting to show self compassion in many facets, began to get repetitive and just a bit boring. There's only so many times one can hear ‘give yourself a hug' or other advice before it loses the original meaning. This might have been less obvious in writing versus audio book, but I found myself wanting different advice as the book went on.
Many of the ideas in this book come from Buddhist practice, and I wonder if the lessons within could be found elsewhere with deeper experience and less negativity towards mental disorders, such as in books by Thich Naht Hanh and Jack Kornfield, among others.
A Radical Guide for Women with ADHD: Embrace Neurodiversity, Live Boldly, and Break Through Barriers
While this isn't a badly written book, I do wish it had more constructive coping mechanisms and skills for dealing with adhd. It is excellent knowing we're not alone and learning to live authentically and as ourselves, but as someone trying very hard to live with adhd, I'd really hoped for more concrete skills, which I guess the authors would classify as ‘fixing' myself, which is heavily frowned upon throughout the book. And I get it, nothing is really ‘wrong' with those of us with adhd, but existing in an ever-more-capitalistic society requires some level of function and wanting to find that isn't wrong either.
That said, this is a good book for accepting yourself and finding joy in knowing you aren't alone in your struggles. It is well written, hence my rating. I only wish it had some additional skill-based chapters for coping with adhd.
Divine Rivals was a gorgeous prose with some issues with pacing. The writing, though, was so stunning that upon first read, I barely noticed, and only when I read it again did I pause to see where I wanted more story, more world building, more rivalry. I had such high hopes, then, coming into Ruthless Vows, and was more eagle eyed for similar pacing hiccups. Instead, this fitting sequel took hold in the first chapter and held me spellbound until the very last page. Gone was the slow moving early chapter and the somehow rushed slow burn romance of Divine Rivals. Here is the perfect ending, with the same incredibly poetic writing, with great pacing throughout, and a very satisfying end to a well crafted villain. Roman and Iris will linger on my thoughts long after I finish this book, and I'm so grateful for the time with them. Well and beautifully done, Miss Ross.
Beautifully written, amazing prose. On first read, I was engrossed and amazed at the poetry of Rebecca Ross's writing. However, on later reads, I was more aware of pacing issues, including lack of buildup of the rivalry into romance, a lack of greater world building especially around the gods that we are pushed to side with because of the ongoing war throughout the book, and the quickness of which Iris fell in love. Don't get me wrong, this is a stunning book with incredible writing, but I hope book two fleshes out this amazing world and gives us a bit more deep emotion.