Review: Unwind

Unwind by Neal Shusterman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, I needed a while to recover from the end of this book. Still not sure what I want to say.

It's an interesting storyline. Scary to think that the government would allow an atrocity like unwinding, but we have allowed plenty of other awful things to happen that look abhorrent in hindsight. Good, likable characters, with baddies you love to hate. And a really memorable scene towards the end that I want to talk about once you finish, so get reading.

Off to track down book 2.

View all my reviews

Review: Thicker Than Blood

Thicker Than Blood by Madeline Sheehan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well, I must be weird. I have never had a friendship like these two. Always holding hands, and embracing, and kissing each other "hard" on the lips. It makes me think I haven't had a true friend. Their depth of commitment to each other made the story not ring true for me. Or maybe I'm a robot.

I know, I know. It's a zombie book. It's the apocalypse. No one knows because we haven't been there. But the strangeness of the relationship kept pulling me out of the story. I don't think I would have reacted like either of them at any step of the story.

Anyway, I wanted to love you but I think you are just ok. It's not you, it's me. 2 1/2 stars.

View all my reviews

Review: The First Days

The First Days by Rhiannon Frater
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This book was not good. I mean, it started out ok, then fell apart like paper in a rainstorm.

I really thought it would be my jam. Survival, zombies, and what should have been kick-ass heroines. Alas, it was not.

I wanted to love you, book, I really did. It's probably not you based on the other glowing reviews, it's me.

View all my reviews

Review: Frankenstein: Or The Modern Prometheus

Frankenstein: Or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wanted to love it, but I just liked it. Maybe it was the audio, but I think it would be three stars either way.

I'm sure you know the basic story, because duh, it's a classic. Victor Frankenstein cobbles together a creature from body parts, and brings it to life with what I assume was electricity (the book was a bit vague here, so use your imagination). The monster just wants to be loved and accepted, like everyone. But he isn't, and he is fueled by anger and seeks revenge on Victor. The story winds from Geneva to the Arctic Circle, and runs the gamut of emotions. I personally think Victor brought all of this on himself, and made so many ridiculous missteps that he reaped what he sowed.

A classic everyone should read at some point. Three stars.

View all my reviews

Review: The Troop

The Troop by Nick Cutter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book was scary and gross. Definitely a good one to recommend to horror fans.

Basically you take a scout troop and strand them on an island alone with their Scoutmaster to earn some survival badges. An infected man comes and hilarity ensues. (Not really, I was crying in my pillow I was so scared. And grossed out.) Did I mention not to eat while reading this book? Go ahead, do it. See what happens.

The characters aren't very likable but I think that adds to the horror. 3 1/2 stars.



View all my reviews

Review: Bird Box

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Wow. Let me unscrew my mind for a minute. I still don't have a clue what was happening in this book.

If you like creepy psychological horror/mystery/dystopia, you should give this book a try. I refuse to tell you beyond what you can get from the book description, because you should go in blind (see what I did there?)

Just do it. But don't read the part in the bar at night. Or read it and don't cry to me later. You've been warned.



View all my reviews

The Library at Mount Char

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Do not listen to this on audio. Just don't. There is too much going on and you will miss things, no matter how hard you try.

I started out not understanding what was happening. It was hard to continue on in parts because the book doesn't really give you a proper setup. I'm clearly not alone in this, as the reviews are filled with "DNFs" and "Abandoned" and "I hated this book because it was frustrating and didn't make sense." But stick with it if you like complicated stories with a mostly satisfying payoff at the end. I will eventually go back and read this one, because I can't be sure I didn't miss something cool or relevant. It's just too complicated of a plot for my work commute.

I'm sticking with three stars because I liked it, but I have reservations about it as well. Fits a lot of genres so if you stick with it you will probably like it by the end.



View all my reviews

The Grove

The Grove by John Rector

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I'm not 100% sure how to rate or review this book. You know how it is when you read something so outside of your norm that you are left scratching your head? That's me right now.

It's horror for one, and I rarely read horror. The main character is completely crazy. You spend half of your time doubting his narrative and the other half shaking your head because he. is. crazy. And I listened to it on audio, which changes the experience. So overall I'm landing on a two 1/2, because it was strange and I have a lot of mixed feelings about the book and the characters. So I guess the author did his job.



View all my reviews

Emma: Part One (Outpost Nine #1)

Emma: Part One by Lolita Lopez

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Hmmm. I saw this was on someone else's list and it was highly rated. Romance plus zombies? Sounds good to me.

This book (really the first segment in a serial) is ok. Some sex, (2 boys--simply shocking *eye roll) but even with that added flavor it's very tame. I like Emma, mostly. I mean, I want to like her. She has been living all alone in her stockade surviving the zombies. Plus there are cyborgs, and I have never ventured down the cyborg / human romance path. But something was missing, and it kept it from getting to the "3 star good book" rating for me. I think it was because of the serialized format. We don't get enough insight into Emma, her life, really any of it.

Small taste of what could be good with lots of interesting pieces to it. Overall, underwhelmed. 2 stars, but since I am a masochist I will read the second installment.



View all my reviews

A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book! So many feels. I have a knot in my chest a day later just thinking about it.

I run the risk of spoiling this story if I say too much, but it's about a boy who is coming to terms with his mother's cancer. It's amazing. The illustrations are haunting and perfect. The balance of grief, anger, and hope is perfectly struck. It seems like a children's book, but wait! It's so much more. Layered and deep and nearly perfect. Mothers will relate. Anyone whose life has been touched by cancer will relate. Read it. Read it slowly, immerse yourself in the illustrations, and then grab a box of tissues and read it again.



View all my reviews

I Am Legend

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Did you see the movie? If yes, forget what you watched and read this book. If no, don't watch the movie and instead read this book.

Different, and infinitely better, this book will take you on an emotional ride. Imagine you are the last uninfected human on earth. Vampires are everywhere. You spend your days scavenging around, taking what you can find from the remains the dead left behind. You spend your nights holed up in your house, listening to the infected attempting to get in. Imagine you find a friend, a companion. A sliver of hope. But life is unpredictable, and so is this book.

Read it, but have something happy to read immediately afterwards to cleanse your soul. I chose "Yes Please" by Amy Poehler, but you can choose whatever you would like, as long as it makes you happy.



View all my reviews

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Continuing my quest to read through the classics. I can't believe I've not read this one before.

Art. Vanity. Hedonism. Sin. Murder. This book runs the gamut of debauchery. It was quite scandalous in 1890. Written by Oscar "Buck" Wilde, it was part of the evidence in his gross indecency trial and conviction.
So many tragic ends in this one. Poor Sybil Vane! Poor James Vane! Poor Basil Hallward! No one who crosses Dorian's path comes out ok. Not even Dorian.

Enjoy this piece of classic horror, and if an artist friend asks you to sit for a portrait, tell him, "no thanks".




View all my reviews

The Winter People

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


An interesting book, and not anything I would typically read.

A story with two intertwining timelines, we journey in the past with Sara Harrison Shea, who was found dead after the death of her five-year-old daughter, Gertie. In the present day, we journey with Ruthie, who now lives with her family in Sara Harrison Shea's farmhouse in Vermont. After her mother disappears, Ruthie and her little sister Fawn find a copy of Sara's diary hidden in the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie searches for her mother, the past and the present collide and the truth comes out.


Suspenseful and a little scary, the story left me guessing at every turn. I don't usually read the horror genre, but enjoyed this one.



View all my reviews