Tag: horror books

Reviews

Come Closer Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Come Closer Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

A recurrent, unidentifiable noise in her apartment. A memo to her boss that’s replaced by obscene insults. Amanda—a successful architect in a happy marriage—finds her life going off kilter by degrees. She starts smoking again, and one night for no reason, without even the knowledge that she’s doing it, she burns her husband with a cigarette. The new voice in Amanda’s head, the one that tells her to steal things and talk to strange men in bars, is strange and frightening, and Amanda struggles to wrest back control of her life. Is she possessed by a demon, or is she simply insane?

I thought this book was highly engaging and very entertaining. Amanda comes across as quite ordinary and bland at the start of the book and then we start to see the gradual descent into acceptance that she is definitely being possessed. I feel like she goes through all the different stages of grief before she is truly taken over and loses all control.

I liked how almost realistic this book was. Amanda tries to come up with all of these excuses and explanations as to why she’s blacking out or how she might just be crazy and there isn’t a demon inside her. Matthew prompting her to get help and her actually trying and seeking a way for her to get better.

I think it was the perfect length to tell this story and the pacing was just right. It started off quite slow and unassuming and then as the plot continues and all these horrific acts occur you really start to feel the panic and overall manic nature of her descent into possession.

⭐️3/5 stars This was intense!

Reviews

Just Like Home Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Just Like Home Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

“Come home.” Vera’s mother called and Vera obeyed. In spite of their long estrangement, in spite of the memories — she’s come back to the home of a serial killer. Back to face the love she had for her father and the bodies he buried there. Coming home is hard enough for Vera, and to make things worse, she and her mother aren’t alone. A parasitic artist has moved into the guest house out back, and is slowly stripping Vera’s childhood for spare parts. He insists that he isn’t the one leaving notes around the house in her father’s handwriting… but who else could it possibly be?

Vera’s character was definitely an interesting one. She keeps a lot of her secrets close to the chest and you really get a gauge for just how affected she is being back at Crowder House with her mother by how unhinged she becomes as the story progresses.

I liked the dual timelines and how they each gave us insight into what actually happened that has caused this massive rift between Vera and her mother as well as why her father killed all those people. Just the fact that Vera always reminisces about her father and talks about him in such a positive way in spite of what he did to all those men did give me pause.

The way Vera keeps emphasizing that her father built Crowder House with his own hands and she feels this sense of ownership and familiarity with it should of tipped me off to just how much of a character the actual house was but alas I was surprised. I really didn’t think that this supernatural element right at the end was necessary. I think just the horrors of what her father was doing accompanied by Vera’s warped perspective on the matter would of been enough. I think the book did a good job of leading up to that twist that if it wasn’t actually in there I would of been content anyways.

⭐️3/5 stars A little too slow paced for me!

Reviews

Feed Them Silence Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Feed Them Silence Review

*Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC for review!*


What does it mean to “be-in-kind” with a nonhuman animal? Or in Dr. Sean Kell-Luddon’s case, to be in-kind with one of the last remaining wild wolves? Using a neurological interface to translate her animal subject’s perception through her own mind, Sean intends to chase both her scientific curiosity and her secret, lifelong desire to experience the intimacy and freedom of wolfishness. To see the world through animal eyes; smell the forest, thick with olfactory messages; even taste the blood and viscera of a fresh kill. And, above all, to feel the belonging of the pack.

I found Sean’s character to be a little insufferable. She’s definitely selfish and doesn’t take into account any one else’s thoughts and feelings before she acts. Which is shown countless times throughout the book but I think this was definitely intentional. The way she pushes away everyone who loves and cares about her to feed into this one-sided relationship with a wolf and her pack was bizarre.

Seeing the subtle shifts in her mannerisms and her attachment to her wolf was interesting to read about for sure and her evolution throughout the course of the plot after being sure that there was this connection to being rejected from the pack was quite entertaining.

The only thing that kept me from enjoying this book a lot more was all of the academic talk and language that was used. I kept getting pulled out of the story multiple times to try and decipher what was being said and the implications behind it. Maybe this book was just too smart for me but I had to slow my reading pace down drastically to even interpret the prose.

⭐️3/5 stars A very thought provoking, well rounded story!

Reviews

Slewfoot Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Slewfoot Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

A spirited young Englishwoman, Abitha, arrives at a Puritan colony betrothed to a stranger – only to become quickly widowed when her husband dies under mysterious circumstances. All alone in this pious and patriarchal society, Abitha fights for what little freedom she can grasp onto, while trying to stay true to herself and her past.

I just absolutely loved Abitha’s character. She’s really had to already overcome so much in her life living with an abusive father after her mother died and then being sold and shipped off to a new country to marry a man she’s never met and still trying to make the best of her situation. I liked Edward as well, he really did take Abitha’s word into consideration despite growing up in this kind of society. I felt like he was more progressive thinking and would of came around had he not died. Abitha was just trying to be independent and free of all of these rules that are placed upon her by the church and all these men.

Samson’s storyline was a tad confusing to be honest. I wasn’t as interested in finding out who he really was, it was kind of obvious he was some kind of god of the wilderness so it wasn’t a huge surprise when he did get his memories back. It was a little chaotic and hard to envision exactly what was happening around him and what was real and what wasn’t. I thought his friendship with Abitha was quite pure and almost innocent in a way. All he wanted was to help her and in turn try and find out who he was.

Puritanical society is so frustrating to read from. Having all these men in charge spouting rubbish and creating their own rules and saying it’s God’s will just makes me angry. I would never of been able to survive in this kind of world and I can fully relate to Abitha and her quest for freedom from this oppressive way of life. I think that version of society is the real horror in this book and everything that Abitha done for revenge was justified. They treated her and Sarah horrifically and when she became the witch they wanted her to be it was satisfying to see her give those men their dues.

⭐️4/5 stars horrifying, gory and such great read!

Reviews

So Happy For You Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on So Happy For You Review

Robin and Ellie have been best friends since childhood. When Robin came out, Ellie was there for her. When Ellie’s father died, Robin had her back. But when Ellie asks Robin to be her maid of honor, she is reluctant. A queer academic, Robin is dubious of the elaborate wedding rituals now sweeping the nation, which go far beyond champagne toasts and a bouquet toss. But loyalty wins out, and Robin accepts. Yet, as the wedding weekend approaches, a series of ominous occurrences lead Robin to second-guess her decision. It seems that everyone in the bridal party is out to get her. Perhaps even Ellie herself. 

Robin wasn’t particularly a likeable character, but she is definitely relatable! I liked the fact that we are given quiet an in depth look into her childhood and how it has effected her life as an adult. In particular the rift between her and her sister really impacted her mental health hard. I can definitely see how rejected and hurt she must of felt but I think she shut her out before they could sit down and maybe hash everything out.

Ellie I thought was strange from our first encounter with her. Then as we learn more about her background and friendship with Robin I couldn’t help thinking she was a bit of a toxic person. She was always so defensive when Robin would call her out and you could tell she didn’t really have a feel for who she was since we would just mimic whoever she moved on to. It was pretty obvious from the start that she was trying to kill Robin but her reasonings just didn’t feel like enough to warrant such a drastic decision.

I liked the representation and the commentary surrounding marriage and how societal expectations could literally make women crazy. As a 30 year old single woman I could definitely relate to Ellie about the pressure that is put on women to find the one and get married. I think this was a very entertaining and scarily realistic depiction of a possible future for all of us.

⭐️3/5 The fact this could happen irl is horrifying lol