The nitty-gritty: Interesting worldbuilding clashes with an overstuffed plot and slow pacing, making The City of Dusk a mixed bag. It took me almost a month to finish The City of Dusk, and I almost called it quits several times, but I finally decided to finish it out of sheer determination. As you can see […]
The nitty-gritty: Unsettling and atmospheric, I loved some of the elements, but the author’s writing style kept me from completely enjoying this story. “Hope has no place on this vessel of death and disease, aimless and everlasting in its path.” This is an odd one, folks. Flowers for the Sea is an atmospheric, angry tale […]
The nitty-gritty: A unique take on body horror, I enjoyed parts of Transmuted but some of it was too over-the-top for me. Transmuted is getting a lot of love from the horror community, and so I was eager to try it out. Unfortunately, this ended up being a mixed bag for me, and. I believe […]
The nitty-gritty: Lush, beautiful writing couldn’t quite make up for a lack of consistent pacing, so unfortunately this book didn’t quite work for me. I’m sad to say I really struggled with this book, although there were elements I really enjoyed, so in the end, this was a mixed bag for me. For the Wolf […]
The nitty-gritty: I loved Joan He’s writing and her thought-provoking ideas, but a confusing story and unexplained world building elements ultimately left me disappointed. I wish I had enjoyed this book more, especially after seeing many glowing reviews in the blogging community. There’s no denying that Joan He has a way with words, and her […]
The nitty-gritty: A bleak futuristic pandemic story that felt a little too familiar for comfort and lacked emotion and drive. I’m sorry to say this book just didn’t work that well for me, which is a shame because I loved Burke’s Semiosis. It took me a solid two weeks to read it, as I picked […]
The nitty-gritty: I loved the 90s/New Orleans/vampire mythology vibe, but the pacing was inconsistent and the final reveals were too over-the-top for me. Mina and the Undead has a lot going for it: the New Orleans setting (with plenty of references to Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire), a creepy horror mansion with lots of […]
The nitty-gritty: Lizbeth is back in this imaginative alternate history fantasy, but this installment was just too slow paced for my taste. I’m still plugging away at this series, although I have yet to enjoy a book as much as An Easy Death. Still, there are some nice moments in the Russian Cage, and I’m […]
The nitty-gritty: The Minders had lots of potential, but too many silly plot points and unlikeable characters made this a miss for me. I think your enjoyment of The Minders is going to hinge on whether or not you can get past some of the ridiculous plot elements, at least that was my experience. The […]
The nitty-gritty: Threader Origins had a lot of potential, but a sluggish middle section made this an uneven read for me. Threader Origins has a great hook: a machine called the Quantum Power Source, designed as a solution to the world’s energy needs, misfires and pushes a young undergrad into a dystopian parallel world where […]