Tag: horror

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

Reviews

The Final Girl Support Group Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on The Final Girl Support Group Review

*SOME SPOILERS AHEAD*

Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she’s not alone. For more than a decade she’s been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette’s worst fears are realized–someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.

Lynette as our main character felt like a realistic portrayal of a victim. Had I have lived through the same situation she has I don’t know how I would of coped so her mannerisms and ultra awareness gave the book depth for me. I of course think she went too far in her quest to find out ‘who’ is trying to kill them and came across as a little out of touch but in the end her experience as a final girl is what pulled her through.

It was a little difficult to differentiate between all of the women. I kept forgetting who was who and how what happened to each of them. We are definitely given a back story on each of them and where they have ended up now but this was glossed over too quickly for me to feel a connection to any of them.

There was a steady build up of anticipation and mystery surrounding who was trying to kill them all, but in the end everything just felt a little rushed. I needed more of an explanation as to why that person decided to go ahead and kill all of these final girls. What motivated them to groom their accomplice and put together this elaborate plan and kill so many people.

In the end this was very entertaining and thrilling. I thought it was a pretty quick read and the twists and reveals definitely kept me engaged. I think I was expecting a lot more blood and gore though. Just being told about all of the horrifying things that happened to these women instead of being in that moment was a little anticlimactic for me. The majority of the story was just Lynette on the run and brainstorming who was behind everything, there wasn’t very much action until right at the very end.

⭐️3/5 stars I was expecting more…

Reviews

All’s Well Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on All’s Well Review

Miranda Fitch’s life is a waking nightmare. The accident that ended her burgeoning acting career left her with excruciating, chronic back pain, a failed marriage, and a deepening dependence on painkillers. And now she’s on the verge of losing her job as a college theatre director. Determined to put on Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well, the play that promised, and cost, her everything, she faces a mutinous cast hellbent on staging Macbeth instead. Miranda sees her chance at redemption slip through her fingers.

Miranda as our main protagonist isn’t the most likeable of characters. She’s quite a miserable person and doesn’t really ensnare me as a reader. But rightly so because of the debilitating nature of her pain. I think the commentary surrounding the medical field not believing woman when they say they are in pain was a great inclusion in this book and was a great topic to explore.

The way Miranda devolves during the course of the plot left me quite confused. I didn’t know what she was talking about half the time and didn’t know what was real or if she was just imagining most of her interactions.

I really want to know Mark’s intentions when he was treating Miranda. Did he really just not believe in her pain or was he just being intentionally harmful to her. She expressed to him a few times in her sessions that he was hurting her and the stretches weren’t helping and he would still persist. I can understand her frustrations for sure and I was somewhat satisfied when she projected her pain onto him or whatever it was that she did.

I think what I didn’t really enjoy about the book was that there was no explanation. How the three men gave her the powers and healed her of her pain and how she was able to transfer it to the others. Did she suck out their energy and vitality and used that to heal herself or did she just give them her pain. At the end of my read I’m still left with questions and I’m just not feeling satisfied.

⭐️2/5 stars Regrettably forgettable!