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Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez
“You have something of mine, I passed on something of me to you, and hopefully it isn’t cursed, I don’t know if I can leave you something that isn’t dirty, that isn’t dark, our share of night” Although I have previously quoted Lady Gaga’s iconic “talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same,…
1980s, 1990s, 4 STARS, abuse, Adult, ALIENATION, all of the trigger warnings, argentina, argentinian author, atmospheric, big books, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, boyhood, child abuse, CHILDHOOD, coming of age, creepy setting, cults, dark, DEATH, england, FANTASY, fathers & sons, female authors, friendships, gay side characters, graphic content, GRIEF, grotesque, growing up, GUILT, haunted house, HISTORICAL FICTION, HORROR, illness, latin america, lgbtq+, loneliness, Mariana Enríquez, missing girls, missing persons, morality, occult, orphans, otherness, Our Share of Night, parallel universes, PARANORMAL, POWERS, published in 2019, queer, read in 2022, road trip, sexual assault/abuse/rape, strong sense of place, summer reads, SUPERNATURAL, toxic relationships, tragedy, TRANSLATED FICTION, trauma, unrequited love, violence -
Gallant by V.E. Schwab
Although I remember liking books by V. E. Schwab when I was a teenager the last couple of books I’ve picked up by her left me feeling rather underwhelmed. My reading tastes have definitely changed over the years but I hoped that I would always be able to appreciate her storytelling. I was sold on…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, all girls school, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, england, FANTASY, female authors, Gallant, ghosts/spirits, GOTHIC, hauntings, HISTORICAL FICTION, manor/big house, My reviews, Not Like Other Girls, orphans, parallel universes, PARANORMAL, portal fantasy, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, slow pacing, style over character, V.E. Schwab, YOUNG ADULT -
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
The first time I read Coraline I was 10 or so and I won’t lie, it scared the bejesus out of me. I mean, the Other Mother has buttons for eyes. Buttons. And she wants to sew buttons into Coraline’s eyes. Wtf.Anyway, this is a great piece of fiction. The story revolves around Coraline, a…
3rd pov, 4 STARS, adventure, atmospheric, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, British author, CHILDHOOD, childhood reads, childrens classics, Contemporary, Coraline, creepy setting, england, fairytalesque prose, FANTASY, favourite authors, great storytelling, HORROR, MAGICAL DOORS, male authors, middle school, mothers & daughters, My reviews, Neil Gaiman, parallel universes, PARANORMAL, published in 2002, re-reads, read in 2021, reading, SUPERNATURAL -
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
The Hollow Places is a thoroughly entertaining novel that plays around with parallel worlds, portal fantasy and cosmic horror. When our narrator, Kara, moves back to her hometown (Hog Chapel, North Carolina) she is still reeling from her divorce. To avoid sharing a house with her mother she volunteers to work in her uncle’s peculiar…
1st pov, 3.5 STARS, Adult, adventure, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Contemporary, FANTASY, female authors, friendships, gay side characters, HORROR, HUMOR, lgbtq+ side, MAGICAL DOORS, monsters, museums, North Carolina, parallel universes, PARANORMAL, portal fantasy, published in 2020, read in 2020, SPECULATIVE FICTION, SUSPENSE, T. Kingfisher, The Hollow Places, weird -
Version Control by Dexter Palmer
Version Control is going to be tough to review as I have never felt so conflicted about a book. There were some scenes in Part I that were pure genius. But once I delved into Part II I was forced to reevaluate my first impressions of this book.Imagine walking into some art gallery and coming…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, affairs, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, big books, Black & Black heritage authors, Dexter Palmer, existentialism, family, labs, male authors, MARRIAGE, men who do not seem to know how to write women, mothers & sons, near future/alternate reality, new jersey, parallel universes, philosophical, published in 2016, RACE, read in 2020, SCI-FI, science, scientists & co, social issues, SPECULATIVE FICTION, time travel, Version Control, what ifs -
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
“You have as many lives as you have possibilities. There are lives where you make different choices. And those choices lead to different outcomes. If you had done just one thing differently, you would have a different life story. And they all exist in the Midnight Library. They are all as real as this…
3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, afterlife, books about books, British author, Contemporary, DEATH, DEPRESSION, england, family, FANTASY, GRIEF, identity, illness, librarians, libraries/bookshops, MAGICAL REALISM, male authors, Matt Haig, mental health, music, musicians, parallel universes, published in 2020, read in 2020, siblings, social issues, SPECULATIVE FICTION, suicide, The Midnight Library, uplifting reads, what ifs -
If, Then : Book Review
If, Then by Kate Hope Day ★★✰✰✰ 2 stars If, Then is yet another example of ‘great concept, poor execution‘. Maybe I wouldn’t have minded as much if the story had been told in a less uninvolved narrative. The story features on a group of neighbours who begin seeing “what ifs“. One sees herself romantically…
luce [is reading] 