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sarahweyand's reviews
389 reviews
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
You know what? Hell yeah. I need a physical copy of this book and a highlighter and a reread because my mind won't stop racing.
This book isn't going to be for everyone. If you didn't like I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS or HOUSE OF LEAVES, don't bother. If you want a book that spells everything out for you with clear and tidy endings, skip this for sure. This also isn't a ringing endorsement of Kliewer's prose; at times, it was heavy on telling over showing, and you can tell he got his start writing Reddit horror stories.
BUT. There is so much here. So much to discuss and reread and theorize on and ponder. I tore through this on audio and was not kidding above that I'm going to buy a copy so I can annotate it to pieces. I'm spending hours on Reddit and YouTube and just thinking, and I'm not sure when this book will be out of my mind but it won't be anytime soon.
This book isn't going to be for everyone. If you didn't like I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS or HOUSE OF LEAVES, don't bother. If you want a book that spells everything out for you with clear and tidy endings, skip this for sure. This also isn't a ringing endorsement of Kliewer's prose; at times, it was heavy on telling over showing, and you can tell he got his start writing Reddit horror stories.
BUT. There is so much here. So much to discuss and reread and theorize on and ponder. I tore through this on audio and was not kidding above that I'm going to buy a copy so I can annotate it to pieces. I'm spending hours on Reddit and YouTube and just thinking, and I'm not sure when this book will be out of my mind but it won't be anytime soon.
Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
this is unrealistic Duolingo propaganda and also I wanted the whole family to die. Unfortunate.
Private Rites by Julia Armfield
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feedback are my own.
After reading OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA and now PRIVATE RITES, it's pretty clear Julia Armfield has her bread and butter - gay folks and water metaphors that get marketed as horror books but are not. Which, slay. She does it well. Armfield writes great prose and I enjoy how she develops relationships in her plots. This book was no different. I thought this premise was very interesting (as someone who doesn't read a lot of cli-fi).
The pace here was definitely on the slower side and I didn't find any of the characters to be overly likeable (although they were very realistic). The one thing that threw me here was the last 20 or so pages of the book where the genre takes a wild left turn that I wasn't expecting and didn't particularly care for; it left me with more questions than answers and felt like a rather abrupt way to end a very slow paced, low-action plot.
I think OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA was slightly superior to this novel, but this is by no means a bad work. If you enjoyed one, you will likely enjoy the other. Excited to see what Armfield does in the future.
After reading OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA and now PRIVATE RITES, it's pretty clear Julia Armfield has her bread and butter - gay folks and water metaphors that get marketed as horror books but are not. Which, slay. She does it well. Armfield writes great prose and I enjoy how she develops relationships in her plots. This book was no different. I thought this premise was very interesting (as someone who doesn't read a lot of cli-fi).
The pace here was definitely on the slower side and I didn't find any of the characters to be overly likeable (although they were very realistic). The one thing that threw me here was the last 20 or so pages of the book where the genre takes a wild left turn that I wasn't expecting and didn't particularly care for; it left me with more questions than answers and felt like a rather abrupt way to end a very slow paced, low-action plot.
I think OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA was slightly superior to this novel, but this is by no means a bad work. If you enjoyed one, you will likely enjoy the other. Excited to see what Armfield does in the future.
Burn by Peter Heller
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
An interesting juxtaposition of the destruction of a secessionist part of the United States with the destruction of a family with some parts I found really compelling in metaphor. But does than mean it was good?
We Love the Nightlife by Rachel Koller Croft
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
For a book about a toxic friendship this book doesn't take enough care to set up the actual friendship for the reader. I was left wondering how Amber would ever find herself in this situation since there never seemed to be any benefits for her. All highly unlikeable characters with a twist that didn't particularly matter, but nightclub vampires is a pretty great vibe.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Harry sucks.
Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
challenging
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Tore through this one in 48 hours. At first I thought this seemed a little like fearmongering, but it became clear that Jacobsen has done so much extensive research that this book isn't fearmongering as much as it's telling you about a very real, horrifying possibility. I learned a lot while listening and really appreciate the time and consideration the author gave to her research and storytelling.
This book is listed at an 11 hour audiobook time but Jacobsen - who narrates the book herself, my favorite style of audiobook - speaks so slowly you can tear through this thing at 1.75x speed no problem. Definitely a dark and scary read that leaves you feeling powerless, but very informative if you can dissociate enough to soak in any of her extensive interviewing and research.
This book is listed at an 11 hour audiobook time but Jacobsen - who narrates the book herself, my favorite style of audiobook - speaks so slowly you can tear through this thing at 1.75x speed no problem. Definitely a dark and scary read that leaves you feeling powerless, but very informative if you can dissociate enough to soak in any of her extensive interviewing and research.
Columbine by Dave Cullen
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
This has been on my TBR for a long time and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. A really interesting account of a day that has been mischaracterized and incorrectly recounted by the media and popular culture. The timeline was a little all over the place and I wish we had gotten a better deep dive as to how misinformation was perpetrated by the media during the initial hours of the tragedy.
Overall though I think this was a well-written, tactful story that did justice to the victims and the situation. If you're interested in this day, what happened, why it happened, and its long-lasting events on media and culture, this is the place to start.
Overall though I think this was a well-written, tactful story that did justice to the victims and the situation. If you're interested in this day, what happened, why it happened, and its long-lasting events on media and culture, this is the place to start.
Past Crimes by Jason Pinter
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I thought this was an incredibly interesting premise, especially with how true crime is treated in our society today. I really liked a lot of this - quick pace, interesting characters, fun (if predictable) twists. Just a couple of things I would have liked to see considered:
- The commodification of true crime in this extreme of a way would have much more severe impacts on society than what was developed in this novel. We can see today the crimes and atrocities people commit for notoriety and attention; this would only be exacerbated by the existence of Past Crimes even without a monetary aspect. The impact of this technology on how society functions could have been developed more.
- West Valley City does not have a subway system and this book pays enough attention to real-life detail that that seemed like a glaring error to me.
- I hate when fiction references current day media, trends, and people. I didn't mind Ted Bundy or Abe Lincoln or Jonestown being mentioned because that was relevant to this book. But Donald Trump Jr. running for president? One of our characters reads THE INIVISBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE? Thanks I hate it.
I still thought this was a good thriller and and interesting premise, but could have been fleshed out a little more.
- The commodification of true crime in this extreme of a way would have much more severe impacts on society than what was developed in this novel. We can see today the crimes and atrocities people commit for notoriety and attention; this would only be exacerbated by the existence of Past Crimes even without a monetary aspect. The impact of this technology on how society functions could have been developed more.
- West Valley City does not have a subway system and this book pays enough attention to real-life detail that that seemed like a glaring error to me.
- I hate when fiction references current day media, trends, and people. I didn't mind Ted Bundy or Abe Lincoln or Jonestown being mentioned because that was relevant to this book. But Donald Trump Jr. running for president? One of our characters reads THE INIVISBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE? Thanks I hate it.
I still thought this was a good thriller and and interesting premise, but could have been fleshed out a little more.
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really liked the writing style but also what was the point