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My Darkest Prayer by S.A. Cosby
Not to sound dramatic but I feel betrayed. Blacktop Wasteland and Razorblade Tears managed to be gripping and gritty reads that managed to pack an emotional punch. The only nice thing I can say about My Darkest Prayer is that it attests to Cosby having grown as an author. My Darkest Prayer reads like a…
1st pov, 2 STARS, Adult, amateur detective, America, Black & Black heritage authors, Contemporary, CRIME, funeral homes, grit lit, male authors, men who are sleazy, men who do not seem to know how to write women, MURDER, My Darkest Prayer, MYSTERY, Noir, published in 2019, read in 2023, S.A. Cosby, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, Southern America, THRILLER, violence -
The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy
“I think a lot of people would elect to be dead if they didnt have to die.” By turns, blunt and meandering The Passenger presents its readers with an unsparing tale permeated by existential angst. Cormac McCarthy’s prose is uncompromising: much of the narrative consists of dialogues: rambling conversations, mystifying backwards and forwards, sharp repartees,…
1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 3rd pov, 4 STARS, addiction, ageing, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, ambivalent mood, America, atmospheric, bad love, bars & restaurants, Cormac McCarthy, dead girls, DEATH, desire, dialogue heavy, endless monologues, existentialism, experimental, feverish, FLORIDA, GRIEF, grit lit, GUILT, hallucinations, hauntings, history, i don’t think happiness is for me, Ibiza, Idaho, incest, introspective, ISLAND, Kafkaesque, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, literary references, Longing, Louisiana, madness, MEMORY, mental health, Mississippi, morality, MYSTERY, nature, New Orleans, no plot just vibes, no quotations marks, obsession, paranoia, philosophical, PSYCHIATRISTS & THERAPISTS, psychological, psychology, published in 2022, read in 2022, road trip, schizophrenia, science, scientists & co, sea, siblings, Southern America, spain, suicide, survival, terrific prose, The Passenger, tragedy, trans side characters, war, western -
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
aaaand Cosby’s done it again! “Tears ran from his eyes and stung his cheeks. Tears for his son. Tears for his wife. Tears for the little girl they had to raise. Tears for who they were and what they all had lost. Each drop felt like it was slicing his face open like a razorblade.”…
3rd pov, 4 STARS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, CRIME, DEATH, fathers & sons, favourite authors, forgiveness, gay side characters, GRIEF, grit lit, GUILT, lgbtq+ side, m/m side, male authors, MURDER, My reviews, MYSTERY, Poverty, prison, published in 2021, RACE, read in 2021, reading, revenge, S.A. Cosby, social issues, Southern America, summer reads, terrific prose, THRILLER, trans side characters, violence, virginia -
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
“You were never out of the Life completely. You were always looking over your shoulder. You always kept a gun within reach.” Blacktop Wasteland is a thrilling, adrenaline-fueled read that gives a fresh new take on the One Last Job™ premise. S.A. Cosby’s pitch-perfect sophomore novel is brutal, twisty, and very gritty. Blacktop Wasteland will…
3rd pov, 4.5 STARS, adrenaline fuelled reads, Adult, American, Black & Black heritage authors, Blacktop Wasteland, cars, Contemporary, CRIME, DEATH, family, fatherhood, fathers & sons, grit lit, heist, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, male authors, Noir, published in 2020, read in 2020, rural setting, S.A. Cosby, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, Southern America, SUSPENSE, terrific prose, THRILLER, violence, virginia -
The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel — book review
“We can be sad, distraught, confused, pleading, forgiving. But not furious. Fury is reserved for other people. The worst thing you can be is an angry woman, an angry mother.” Once again I find myself in the minority but I just didn’t find The Familiar Dark to be a very riveting read. From its gratuitous…
1st pov, 3 STARS, abuse, addiction, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, dark, dead girls, DEATH, family, female authors, GRIEF, grit lit, missouri, motherhood, mothers & daughters, MURDER, Ozarks, Poverty, psychological, published in 2020, read in 2020, revenge, rural setting, siblings, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, Southern America, survival, SUSPENSE, The Familiar Dark, trauma, violence -
The More They Disappear by Jesse Donaldson
Perhaps I was expecting The More They Disappear to be more of a mystery. We know from the very start that Mary Jane is the one who shoots sheriff Lew Mattock. Mary Jane is a young drug-addict. She loathes both herself and her parents. Her boyfriend is the only one person she cares for, and…
2 STARS, addiction, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Contemporary, CRIME, DETECTIVE, grit lit, Jesse Donaldson, Kentucky, male authors, murder mystery, MYSTERY, Poverty, published in 2016, rural setting, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, social issues, Southern America, SUSPENSE, The More They Disappear, THRILLER -
Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell
“This is how sudden things happened that haunted forever.” Equal parts poetic and stark, Winter’s Bone is a short and compelling read. It follows sixteen-year old Ree Dolly who, after her father skips his bail, risks losing her home. “Fading light buttered the ridges until shadows licked them clean and they were lost to nightfall.”…
3rd pov, 4 STARS, addiction, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Contemporary, CRIME, DANIEL WOODRELL, grit lit, LITERARY FICTION, male authors, missing fathers, missing persons, missouri, Noir, Ozarks, Poverty, read in 2017, rural setting, small town crime, Southern America, survival, winter reads, WINTER’S BONE -
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti
A compelling heartfelt story that delivers a solid emotional punch. Focusing on the dynamics between Hawley and Loo, a father and her daugher, this novel brings to life both everyday instances and more charged scenes, such as the ones given in Hawley’s ‘bullets’ chapters.The writing itself reads smoothly, and is perhaps reminiscent of the one…
luce [is reading] 