Amity
A sweet, quick read; however, I would have liked to spend a bit more time with these characters. More development of their relationship and personal arcs would have made this closer to a 5-star read and made it feel less didactic in parts. Regardless, I loved Annie and Bebe and felt the crisp, colorful art matched the overall gentle tone of the story, so it was a mostly satisfying one-sitting read for me. 3.5 60s screamo cover bands out of 5, rounded up.
Antsy is one of the newer students at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children and possesses a unique talent: the ability to find almost anything that has been lost. Her fellow students, all longing for the doorways that led them to their true homes, soon find out about this ability, and some of them will stop at nothing before they make her open doors against her will. When Antsy and her friends must escape, they find themselves traversing through various worlds, all leading back to the people who stole Antsy's childhood.
This was a thoroughly engaging and whimsical entry into the franchise, with McGuire's usual knack for balancing humor and emotion. There was a clear theme of breaking cycles of abuse, which is, of course, powerful and necessary. Still, I did feel that the action would often stop for various characters to monologue about both that and the feeling of belonging they found in their portal worlds. At this point in the series, we understand that the characters went where they felt most at home. This one is too steeped in lore from the other books to act as an entry point, so I'm not sure it was necessary. Overall, though, I was happy to revisit Antsy, and honestly, I want Kade to have a Good Day sometime in the very near future. 3.5 talking magpies out of 5.
In this book's defense, I shouldn't have taken a (very long) break from reading it to re-read The Hunger Games series; that was definitely a disservice to the story. That being said, I ended up reading the bulk of it in one sitting, and found myself appreciating the atmosphere and creepy imagery. My main issue was a disconnect from the plot and characters, as neither really worked for me. Again, that could 100% be my fault for taking such a long reading vacation to instead fill my eyeballs with teens fighting to the death and starting a revolution and doing big kisses, but overall I would give this read 3 shipwrecks out of 5.
I'm really digging this arc so far; both the human and monster antagonists are nice and creepy! Gabi is not as outwardly loveable as James as far as kid sidekicks go, but I think her prickly nature is justified and I still quite like her overall. She might throw it back in my face, but I would still offer her a blanket and cocoa for comfort. Lowkey kind of hope Riqui and Erica do a big smooch because they both need some happiness in their lives, too. Overall, 4 evil dolls out of 5 - looking forward to the next volume!
I just ADORED basically everything about this - the characters, the world-building, the magic system, the beautiful prose, the ~yearning~ between the two idiots, and the lovely cover! HOWEVER, I am disheartened to find out that the rest of the series does not follow Edwin and Robin, as I thought their particular relationships with the Big Bads, plus their individual character journeys, would have been fascinating to explore further. And for me, it's difficult to find a better pairing than sunshine himbo/grumpy librarian. HOWEVER AGAIN, I really love Maud and I'm intrigued to see how things progress, so I will be finishing the series at some point.
One final note: normally, someone saying that a book is ~spicy~ means very little to me, since the absurd amount of fanfic I've consumed in my life has warped my brain, but....yeah, this is spicy! Definitely don't read if you prefer fade-to-black, closed door romance.
Overall, 4.5 magic cradles out of 5, rounded up.
Hmm, I was surprisingly on board with this book for the first half, or maybe even the first 2/3, but the last part just...dragged...on....
Really, my main complaint is that it's just too dang long and then suddenly the last like, chapter or so goes by so fast? There was also way too much singing, to the point where I expected Tom Bombadil to show up and start laying down some sick beats about Goldberry.
Complaints aside, I went into this with somewhat middling expectations, so I ended up liking it more than expected. Seeing the early stages of the Games, and how they ended up the way there were in the original trilogy, and just more of the Capitol in general was all interesting to me. AND I liked that Snow wasn't given some tragic background that would act as an excuse for why he became a villain. Dude was basically just evil, turns out! Several options for redemption in his life, and he picked the road that led to the Dark Side every time. Overall, 3.5 delicious baked goods from Ma out of 5, rounded up.
Revisiting my childhood for the 2023 Halloween Season Reading Challenge! This was never a particular favorite even in my youth, but at least it gave me an excuse to reread my favorite Goosebumps blog of yesteryear, Blogger Beware. So basically, double the nostalgia! Overall, a very low 2 Early 90s Cultural References out of 5.
This was decent but I really just don't care about werewolves as external threats; I much prefer it when they're tragic protagonists:
But I liked the general premise and the art was GREAT, though positioned in the text in such a way that it often spoiled the end of each story. Still, I love that the average resident of a Stephen King town is like “oh, yeah, this is definitely a supernatural entity and we're gonna take it down and/or get outta dodge” instead of denying the obvious. Overall, 3 life-saving firecrackers out of 5.
I feel like this could have benefited from being less of a retelling of [b:Carrie 10592 Carrie Stephen King https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1166254258l/10592.SY75.jpg 1552134] and focused a bit more on Maddy as a character, but it was still a good Halloween read and one I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to YA readers. 3 old-timey movie references out of 5.
Jerusalem's LotThis was good, but I prefer my ‘Salem's Lot with vampires. 3/5 Graveyard Shift Pretty much all I could think of was: Still, there is a lot of effective imagery here. 3/5Night SurfI really love [b:The Stand 87591651 The Stand Stephen King https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674820514l/87591651.SX50.jpg 1742269] so this one worked for me. 3/5I Am the DoorwayDidn't dig this at the beginning, but then it got pretty spoopy. 3.5/5The Mangler“It tried to fold everything.” ABSOLUTELY NOPE! A silly premise executed so well. 3.5/5The BoogeymanVery eerie and so sad...4.5/5Gray Matter4/5BattlegroundAnother silly one with a fun finale, 3/5TrucksStephen King was really all about inanimate objects turning on us in this collection. Very creepy final line, though - he's so good at wham lines. 3/5Sometimes They Come BackNot a huge fan of the constant fridging of women or the kitty death in this one, but otherwise it was great. 4/5Strawberry SpringPredictable ending but the atmosphere in this one is chef's kiss 3/5The LedgeAgain, not a fan of the fridgingbut still compelling. 3.5/5The Lawnmower ManI mean it's probably better than the movie, but this one just didn't land for me. I think I'd just be grateful that someone was mowing the lawn and not question anything else tbh 2/5Quitters, Inc.This one was okay; I don't have a lot to say about it. 3/5I Know What You NeedThere was a lot of good build up in this, and a decent amount of tension, but then it just...fizzled out. 2.5/5Children of the CornVicky deserved better, she was being very reasonable and Burt can kick rocks. But overall, very creepy. 3.5/5The Last Rung on the LadderOh gosh, so good and so sad. 3.5/5The Man Who Loved FlowersThis was another one that was just fine, nothing super memorable. 3/5One for the RoadUgh, I just love ‘Salem's Lot. 3.5/5The Woman in the RoomWhen I initially finished this, I didn't think it was the strongest finish; however, I think I will adjust my rating because it was quite good (and so, so sad). 3.5/5Overall, a generally consistently good collection with some King classics. 4 possessed bits of technology with a lust for blood out of 5.
Wasn't sure how I felt about this one at first, but once I settled in, I ended up enjoying it. Well, “enjoying” it, I guess, as it is terribly sad at parts. It gets a bit fanservice-y (though, as a Constant Reader, I was of course the Leo Pointing Meme the entire time) and I'm sure if I would ever actually finish reading The Dark Tower series I would have gotten more out of it, but at the end of the day, I like Gwendy as a character and that's enough for me. A mostly satisfying, bittersweet conclusion to a somewhat uneven trilogy. 3.5 deus ex scorpions out of 5, rounded up.
There was so much I loved about this book: its surface-level similarities to IT (childhood friends reuniting decades later to face the literal demons from their youth and also maybe some of them will kiss??) by way of creepypasta (I was particularly reminded of Candle Cove), the constant online speculation of the show via reddit threads, blogs, and even fanfic, i.e. all stuff that appeals to me specifically!
However, I thought the last maybe 20% got a little muddled and a teeny bit repetitive. It was also unsubtle at times but hey, some anvils need to be dropped. Overall, I really liked it! 4 tasty colors out of 5.
This was a decent follow-up to Gwendy's original story, but it kind of fizzled out at the end? Not to be a total King fangirl, considering I have read some Chizmar as well and also like him, but I do feel like it was missing their collaborative touch. Still, King is right that Chizmar nails that small-town-gone-wrong vibe.
I'm still interested (and I still want those chocolates) so I will finish the trilogy, but this one wasn't quite as gripping as the first. 3 buttons out of 5.
At seventeen, Lenora HopeHung her sister with a ropeStabbed her father with a knifeTook her mother's happy life“It wasn't me,” Lenora saidBut she's the only one not dead
I hope you like this rhyme, as it is repeated approximately 70 kazillion times in the first half this book!
Okay, I kid, I kid; it's a great, creepy rhyme but it did start to lose its oomph after being repeated so many times. And really, so much of this book just seemed repetitive to me.
Also, this will make me sound like a jerk, but I think Riley Sager might be paid per line.
Because all of Kit's internal dialogue was formatted like this.
Each new thought needs a line.
It really didn't vibe with this particular reader.
I'm being overly negative. There's a lot to like here! Great gothic setting, fun mystery, lots of twists and turns at the end...I don't know, I'm definitely the outlier here. It was a compelling story and I didn't hate it (although I did think Kit was kind of a drip), but this is still a fairly low 3 red herrings out of 5.
Well...okay, I liked the first half quite a bit. The complexities of female friendships, the difficulties of writing, and the forced creative process of the titular retreat were all interesting + intriguing. But as soon as one mystery is revealed, pretty much everything is revealed and you're left with very little tension and a muddled, anticlimactic ending. I still liked it well enough and would read another book by Bartz, but this one fizzled out for me. I think in my heart it is a 2.5, but it made me want to start writing again so I'm giving it 3 unpublished manuscripts out of 5.
Mindy McGinnis does it again. Compelling characters and an authentic small-town feel, all tied together with an intriguing mystery. My only complaint is that I wanted Lydia and Bristal to smooch, but I guess we can't have everything. 4 bad days out of 5.
EDIT: I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT TO MENTION UNEVEN STEVEN! Definitely in my top favorite fictional felines. He gets 80 fafillion stars out of 5.