Tag: horror

Reviews

My Heart is a Chainsaw Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on My Heart is a Chainsaw Review

*SOME SPOILERS*

Jade Daniels is an angry, half-Indian outcast with an abusive father, an absent mother, and an entire town that wants nothing to do with her. She lives in her own world, a world in which protection comes from an unusual source: horror movies…especially the ones where a masked killer seeks revenge on a world that wronged them. And Jade narrates the quirky history of Proofrock as if it is one of those movies. But when blood actually starts to spill into the waters of Indian Lake, she pulls us into her dizzying, encyclopedic mind of blood and masked murderers, and predicts exactly how the plot will unfold.

Jade as our main protagonist is very interesting. She very much pulls you into this world of slashers and she is the kind of character that you can form a bond for pretty quickly. There’s a sense of mystery surrounding her and her circumstances about why she chose to try to commit suicide right at the start of the book and her obsession with slashers. Her relationship with her father and mother were also an interesting aspect of the story and even though it isn’t fully explored we definitely get a sense of what went on earlier in Jade’s life.

I understand how her essay’s to Mr Harvey that are inserted are a way to give us more context as to Jade’s frame of mind and just how ingrained these movies are into her psyche but they pulled me out of the story. I skimmed through the majority of them simply because after the first two or three I wasn’t interested in what she was saying. I was kind of bored and wanted to get back to the actual plot and figuring out who this killer was.

Even though the other characters are the main protagonists in Jade’s slasher plot she keeps a majority of them at a distance so we don’t get to know a lot of them in depth. I didn’t feel connected to any of them and when the killings actually started I wasn’t all that horrified that these people had died. Sure their injuries were gruesome and the descriptions certainly didn’t shy away from all the nitty gritty but because the connection wasn’t there the stakes were low.

I don’t know whether it’s Stephen Graham Jones’ writing style or just Jade’s perspective in particular but I was confused as to what was happening for the majority of the story. Where she was and what she was doing and also who she was talking to, it was framed in a way that was a bit too chaotic for me. She was kind of devolving slowly but also as people kept dying she was become more assured of her predictions. It was very much a stream of consciousness style of writing and I couldn’t really follow along and appreciate it as much as others seem to.

⭐️2/5 stars Just not for me…

Reviews

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires Review

*SPOILERY!*

Set in the ’90s about a women’s book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious and handsome stranger who turns out to be a blood-sucking fiend.

Patricia was a great perspective throughout the course of the storyline. She undergoes such a transformation and even though some of her actions are questionable there is no doubt that she is highly entertaining. She’s a proud, dedicated, resolute woman and even though James did his best to undermine and gaslight Patricia at every turn but she stuck to her guns and did whatever she thought was necessary to protect her children.

James’ character was definitely intriguing! I liked how we get a bit of context about his character from Miss Anna and her explanation about what happened with her daddy and how James inevitable killed him. I would of appreciated if we were given a more comprehensive history of James and how he came to be. He boasted at the end how he was one of a kind and there was no one who could compare to him, but I want to know why. Why is he the only ‘vampire’ out there and who created him?

Right at the start meeting all the different ladies was a little confusing. I couldn’t really differentiate between them all, but as the story continued each of the women started evolving and we get more of each of their story. They all felt like real, relatable characters that you would find in that time period, not really taken seriously by their husbands who think they don’t do anything all day. It’s frustrating in that aspect that these women have to just simply drop everything and cater to their husbands whims, but again very much applicable to the time period. I love how the book highlighted that these woman are just supposed to be ‘housewives’ that aren’t capable of anything, but when their community/families are in danger the lengths to which they will go to in order to protect what is theirs.

There was the perfect amount of build-up of anticipation in my opinion. The twists were perfectly timed to ensure I was continually intrigued and wanting to know more! I knew this was a horror book and there were some scenes that had me on the edge of my seat for sure, but for some reason I was expecting a little more blood and gore. I was very much invested in the story and seeing how everything was going to play out and I wasn’t disappointed!

⭐️4/5 stars A thrilling, tense and entertaining read!

Reviews

House of Hollow Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on House of Hollow Review

*SOME SPOILERS BEWARE*

Seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats.

I really found myself attached to Iris’s character and highly intrigued by her sisters. Immediately I was ensnared by the introduction of this book and the way Iris explained how her and her sisters were weird and strange. I liked the fact that they were all so discernible from each other and had different personalities even though they were so close.

The mystery aspect surrounding Grey’s disappearance and how Iris and Vivi have to try and piece together the clues she left behind whilst also trying to escape from the man who is chasing them was highly entertaining. It kept me engaged and wanting to read on and find out what was going to happen next. It was definitely a roller coaster ride of a plot and I was surprised at every turn.

From what we learn about Grey I didn’t really like her all that much. I appreciated the lengths she would go to to help and protect her sister’s but she kind of went too far at times. Her secretive nature and how much she supposedly didn’t tell her sisters even though they promised not to investigate what happened to them all those years ago, really didn’t give me a reason to trust her at all. Which I guess my instincts were kind of right in the end.

I really felt like Tyler’s character wasn’t all that necessary, if he wasn’t in the story at all I probably would of enjoyed the book all the same. I think his involvement in the mystery came out of nowhere and I didn’t think he was that important as a character when we are first introduced to him. I still have unanswered questions as to why he wasn’t affected by their gifts and why he is drawn so much to Grey but then didn’t come when she called to his soul.

Overall I highly enjoyed this book. I felt like the premise was highly original and entertaining and the twist at the end about what happened when they disappeared was shocking and unexpected to say the least. The prose was highly descriptive and I was able just to get lost in the story and enjoy the ride!

⭐️4/5 stars creepy, bizarre & gripping

Reviews

The Only Good Indians Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on The Only Good Indians Review

*Some spoilers below*

The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.

It took me a solid 100 pages or so to understand what was even happening in this book. The writing just didn’t really gel with me and I had a hard time comprehending the prose. The story was definitely compelling and shocking but I didn’t feel as invested in these characters as what I probably could have been.

The book just launches into Ricky’s point of view and I was lost. I didn’t know whether or not what was happening to him was real and I was almost indifferent to his death. Lewis I felt more of a connection to and was actually invested in his character and the subsequent demise of his state of mind. The guilt he carried around all these years and the paranoia surrounding that day and how the elk was coming for him felt real and raw. I was shocked to see how far he would go to try to rid himself from the elk woman and how apathetic he was afterwards, reasoning with himself that he did what was necessary.

Again I didn’t really feel a connection to Cass or Gabe, I didn’t get enough time with either or them to forge that connection either. Which I guess kind of makes sense in terms of the plot. Ricky got a majority of the time because he was the one who killed the mother and the baby elk and was tortured the most, Cass and Gabe are just getting the repercussions because they were there that day as well. Leaning about the sweat was definitely interesting and I liked that they added Nate’s character into the mix as a way to explain what was happening and how the would resort back to these ancient methods on the Res.

Overall this was not what I was expecting at all! I almost forgot going into it that it was a horror and surprised by the graphic scenes, but it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting to know what is going to happen next. I almost wish it was longer, but then I feel like overcomplicating this premise would of made it less intriguing. So it is what it is.

⭐️3/5 stars brutal, haunting and visceral