Kyle

Nothing groundbreaking, but has a dark sense of humor I enjoyed.

The repetitive nature of the plot did make it difficult for me to stay engaged, but I can see how it would maybe be an intentional choice, just not one I felt was the most entertaining.

Drenched in melancholy, spanning continents and years, this is an odd little book about grief, the nature of humanity and memory, repression.

I think the repetitive sentence structure and more plain writing style at times hurt the flow of the writing and sometimes left a degree of emotional detachment I would've liked breached more often, but it's a really strong novel.

Admittedly one of the funnier Freida books I've read.

I did find this to be a slight improvement over the first book, but ultimately this story fails to make me care or feel invested in any of the characters. They're too one-note and lack any sufficient depth or nuance for this to stand out in my mind.

It's paced well and entertaining enough, but this feels like a story that should read as more enthralling than it does.

2.75 stars

There were some really great moments in this one that were genuinely nice to read, but still just felt a little too rushed and anticlimactic at the end.

It's crazy that after 10 years I finally finished the series- a lot of bumps in the road during this latter half of the books, but I really did enjoy the first 6.

Interesting start to the series, which feels like a step in the right direction compared to the latter EiT books, but still contains some of the elements that I struggled with during the back half of the series.

Kind of didn't really go anywhere that it felt like it was building up to.

Back half of this series was more of a disappointment for me personally, but it was a nice (if not cheesy) epilogue.

2.5 stars

I really think pulling the curtain back on Dex's POV really took a lot of the magic out of this series for me. I'm pushing through strictly because of completionism, but it has become a bit of a chore.

The story really peaked around Books 4-5 and seems to just sort of be plodding along. There's an interesting cliffhanger, but I'm not sure how invested I am in what is happening regardless.

3.5 starsThis clearly reads as more of a debut, but it still has all of the trademarks that have made S.A. Cosby's later novels so strong. I found myself less interested in the central mystery, but there's an engaging cast of characters, with a lot of the “archetypes” Cosby employs in many of his novels- this one feels deeply entwined with his most recent one in particular, [b:King of Ashes 219833252 King of Ashes S.A. Cosby https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1732223678l/219833252.SY75.jpg 226765060].I would probably recommend someone to read this one earlier than a KoA, Razorblade Tears, or All the Sinners Bleed, but it's a solid novel that should give someone a good taste of what he will develop into as a writer.

Brutal, unforgiving, thematically resonant, with fully realized characters.

I have small quips here and there but I think this is S.A. Cosby's masterpiece. A wild ride from start to finish with mounting tension and dread that feels palpable.

This was unfortunately just not very good and made me actively dislike Dex. His perspective was just not very well written and read as someone much younger than he was supposed to be.

Any character development felt forced and unearned. Just very baffled at how dated his portrayal felt. The sarcasm definitely was expected but how unlikable he continued to be throughout was extremely off putting to believing in him as a love interest.

Takes a little bit of time for the story to start coming together, but a very satisfying exploration of revenge.

Character work was very well done. These characters feel very “lived-in,” even when they receive less page time than others. The story is structured in an interesting way that helps ramp up the tension and suspense, even if it is a slightly less conventional narrative structure that starts and stops every so often.

3.5 stars

Welcome return to the series. It's a bit of a guilty pleasure read, as the story sometimes feels a bit dated and certain elements aren't always the strongest.

I do enjoy the dynamic between Perry and Dex though and am always happy to see where their story goes next.

An interesting story, a bit more predictable than I'd expected, but it kept me engaged throughout.

I felt like the writing was too much telling vs. showing, resulting in me not feeling as connected to the characters as I was hoping, along with some unnatural dialogue.

This one was a miss for me, unfortunately. Appreciated the setting and some of the attempts at trying something unconventional, but was pretty dull otherwise.

I didn't care much for any of the characters or the writing, but I definitely think Leah is the more interesting of the two main characters and their story showed most of the promise. It maybe would've been a more interesting story if it didn't focus on Bernie (and explored more of their dynamic where the story ended, rather than the actual plot being told).

4.5 stars

An extremely visceral, often bleak, novel that touches on so many themes and topics that I never anticipated when I first picked this one up after hearing a basic premise.

While I think the book loses its footing a bit in the last third or so, with so much happening so fast, I think this book was tremendous and I want to read more from Parks-Ramage. Jonah felt like a fully realized, complex character overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges.

The blend of class, power, sexuality, faith (lost and found), and family (lost and found) really worked for me.

I also really enjoyed the discussion with the author at the end of my edition.

Satisfying conclusion, although I did wish we got more fleshed out characterizations from most of the supporting cast.

I found the overall plot enjoyable, but it wasn't the most enthralling direction and the final confrontation falls a bit flat.

The best parts of this book are definitely the beginning portions with Danny and some of his later rumination.

I flew through this one. I did enjoy it, but there are some uncomfortable moments towards the end that I'm not sure I fully ~GET~. I feel like there had to be something more beneath the surface, but I'm not sure what the author's intention was with that dynamic.

I also wish there was more resolution to a couple of other plot points, but it's an enjoyable read with some interesting things to chew on. Not 100% sure how I feel about the Slack gimmick overall, but some genuinely funny workplace interactions.

I found this one deeply disappointing.

While I did enjoy the ending overall, I really struggled with this one. I found it poorly written, with horrible dialogue, with an unbelievable romance at the center of it. Some of the family drama elements were more intriguing, but it just wasn't enough to save this one for me.

I really thought this would be a 5-star read given how highly people spoke of this one, but I really feel like I read a completely different book.

I found this one to be more on the predictable side for Freida, but it's one of the ones I've enjoyed more.

Difficult to put down, felt somewhat refreshing compared to most of her other books, had more of the dark comedic tone I enjoyed from The Housemaid.

Has all of the usual Freida issues that come with her books (bad writing, ridiculous plot twists, flat characters, etc.) but was still a fun ride nonetheless. Her books always make for a great weekend binge.

0.25 stars

Overly long, poorly written, repetitive, uninteresting characters, etc. I've actually enjoyed Colleen Hoover in small doses in the past but I think this is definitively my least favorite of what I've read.

I was curious what she could do in the suspense genre, but this clearly is not the genre her storytelling is equipped for. Still will give it a quarter star because I did fly through it, even while bored.

3.25 stars

I started out liking this one a lot, and ended it feeling a bit more mixed than I'd expected. I loved learning so much about the history and setting of the time, but I struggled with Trey's character development and the structure (which felt hand-in-hand at times).

The way this blends historical fiction with so many historical figures as significant characters or footnotes felt jarring as we are led into seemingly more and more improbable involvement from Trey, which perhaps blended the line between reality and fiction too much for myself, personally. It felt somewhat tonally jarring.

Blackmailing a Congressman, getting away with having someone impersonate an ACLU lawyer to Fred Trump, being approached as an informant by the FBI, etc. It feels like a lot all for one person. Those last 3 pages in particular feel so rushed and I felt robbed of the end of the arc between Gregory and Trey that the story initially is so tied to.

What I really enjoyed about the beginning was the way it weaved this personal story with the historical context of the time, and while I often agreed with many of the political takeaways the novel leaves you with, it didn't always feel natural coming from Trey and sometimes felt at odds with other aspects of his character from what we would be shown in his personal life.

I feel my thoughts are bit a jumbled on this one, but fall to slightly more mixed, hence the slightly lower rating, while still feeling positive overall about the experience.

I do think Newson has a lot of promise and I'd love to read something else by him that plays to a slightly more conventional narrative structure. Not at all a bad book and glad my book club put it on my radar.

3.5 stars

Quick, entertaining read, darkly humorous. Managed to surprise me in some places, predictable in others.

Overall enjoyed and would recommend to help with a reading slump!

Fantastic final 20 or so pages to wrap this series up beautifully, even if the sequels never quite reach the heights of the first book. I think this final installment is a little overstuffed and convoluted, but I did find the story easier to follow with fewer POV characters. The way SGJ handles his reveals is a bit odd, and perhaps a lot of the outlandishness is in line with mimicking a slasher, but it does at times introduce a lot of confusion into what the actual story is. I think Jade Daniels is one of the greatest protagonists I've read in a series, her arc throughout each individual installment and the trilogy as a whole was beautiful and so satisfying to read. I also loved the homage to the ending of [b:It 830502 It Stephen King https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334416842l/830502.SY75.jpg 150259][b:It 830502 It Stephen King https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334416842l/830502.SY75.jpg 150259], and it was a nice touch getting Stephen King on the audiobook. SGJ really creates a multilayered, complicated, real main character to follow, and while your mileage may vary with the story itself, I think that her character makes all of the downsides worthwhile. Structurally, this was a dramatic improvement over [b:Don't Fear the Reaper 59366246 Don't Fear the Reaper (The Indian Lake Trilogy, #2) Stephen Graham Jones https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1673499594l/59366246.SY75.jpg 93537111], as the constant switching of POVs really detracted from Jade's story, and I loved that we switched to predominantly first person for this final installment. My momentum of this one was really detracted by a reading slump and other personal life commitments that made it difficult to focus on this one until the last third, which isn't the fault of the book but did impact my reading experience overall. I think both the second and third books would benefit greatly from a re-read, with more realistic expectations and clear eyes. I'm not sure if any of his other characters will ever be able to match Jade, but I'm excited to read more from Stephen Graham Jones.