Scan barcode
bookishgoob's reviews
162 reviews
No Exit by Taylor Adams
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
a college girl ends up a rest stop with 4 other strangers during a blizzard.
The suspense in this book starts immediately with the MC, Darby, realizing she forgot her phone charger, had no signal, and was caught in a blizzard and it doesn’t slow down from there. Having no cell signal in a room full of strangers on a terribly cold night is one thing, but that phone having only about 4% battery is the cherry on top of this anxiety inducing realization. The racial slurs were completely unnecessary. There are better ways to sue that your bad guy is a bad guy than using a racial slur, especially as a white author. I also think that the way the POV’s switched so abruptly was a bit confusing. I’m not a huge fan of men writing thrillers because of the way that their stories have the most awful, stomach churning, and sadistic things happening to their characters. I will say that the constant plot twists were incredibly exhausting. The first couple were so creepy and bamboozling but after the third and fourth it became a mind boggling enigma. That’s something I didn’t enjoy about it. There was so much that happened that I couldn’t fully take in because of the plot twist after plot twist writing Adams displayed in this story. I did enjoy it, I read it in about 4 hours so it was a very quick read. It had me holding my breath and biting my nails from the suspense. all in all I think it deserves a 3.5/5 star rating.
POSSIBLE TRIGGERS:
Death of a parent
cancer
body horror
blood
ableist slurs
racial slurs
attempted suffocation
confinement
vomit
kidnapping
implied sexual assault
implied human trafficking
implied pedophilia
violence against women
dark inner monologue about women
sadism
snow storm
freezing
gun violence
amputation
vomit
medical trauma
medical needs not able to be met
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
There’s a reason this book is rated so highly in the booktok community… it’s because it’s good. it’s adorable and lovely and i had major butterflies all the way through. fake dating is my absolute favorite trope of all and this was done so perfectly. The build up of Olive and Adam’s relationship was so amazing and believable and made me feel like /I/ was the one fake dating. The grumpy/sunshine aspect was also done so well. I loved everything about this book. It was filled to the brim with happiness and love and funny moments. I absolutely highly recommend this book if you’re looking for something easy to read, digestible, and with minimal triggers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Misogyny, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I would have rated this higher had the ending been a little different. the motives of the ending didn’t really make a whole lot of sense to me but i didn’t hate it! it was a little predictable but i liked that it was still mysterious and tense so the predictability didn’t ruin the story. the atmosphere was amazing, the descriptions of every thing down to how the sun felt was absolutely beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the aesthetic of it. a thriller set in the sunlight and beauty of an island was so unnerving and i haven’t really read anything like it! i highly recommend it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets by Chelsea Ichaso
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wow! what an incredible ride this was! feeling the confusion the mc felt was so interesting and fun. having savannah be such an unreliable narrator added so much to the atmosphere! not knowing who we could trust the entire time made this a nail biting, muscle tensing read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This was such a great beauty and the beast retelling. beauty and the beast has always been my least favorite disney story, just because others were better to me. but this story made me realize how much i actually like this story. i am upset with the inkling of a love triangle. love triangles are my least favorite trope, and having a love triangle brew between harper, rhen, and gray made me want to stop reading a few times. I would much rather have harper and gray be besties and have an intense pining love between rhen and harper than the hunt that gray and harper have feelings for each other. i can’t wait to start the second book, as soon as the my hood at the library becomes available!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I've Got My Eyes on You by Mary Higgins Clark
mysterious
fast-paced
1.0
awful. the use of a disabled character in the way mhc did made my stomach churn. i thought it was lousy writing and it felt more like an outline than an actual story. she switched from third and first person often like she didn’t know which she wanted to go with and it just got confusing. annoying. do not recommend.
Bunny by Mona Awad
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
what a ride this book was. so incredibly written and dark and creepy and uncomfortable and a dark take on female friendships. the main character really doesn’t feel like she fits in and she feels abandoned and i think that’s why she initially hates the bunnies. seeing in them what she can’t seem to find herself. so she dehumanizes them with nicknames. in a way it felt like a dark found family take. i really enjoyed this book and how creepy and unnerving it was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Enjoy Me among My Ruins by Juniper Fitzgerald
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
by 32 pages in, i’ve already gone through a handful of emotions. terror, horror, sickness, nausea, sadness, happiness, and so on. the fact that i, and many other women have had similar experiences is something i will never get over. it shakes me to my core even now knowing that there are people out there who have experienced this type of abuse and horror and that we shame ourselves for these things instead of shaming the people who did it to us.
her letter to her child was so intimate and heartbreaking, i resonate with both juniper and her child in more way than one while reading that letter. The way that she gaslights herself as a teenager by telling herself it wasn’t dirty what the dad she babysits for did, or that she needs to stop “playing the victim” is so hard to read and yet so prevalent in young teenagers minds. i remember being that age and younger and trying to convince myself that what older men were doing and saying and how they were looking at me was just me in my head, when in actuality there was disgusting and malicious intent. the ending of this book was so beautifully written and full circle in a way. watching her child in the way that she wishes she could have been watched. not with a lustful gaze but with a loving one. to see a child as just that, a child. i could hardly make it through this read at some points but i’m so glad that i did. it’s an experience that i haven’t fully been through, but a lot of the parts i have. make sure you pick it up on the release date.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail