eggcatsreads's reviews
456 reviews

 

I really wish I liked this book more than I did, and to be fair - the parts I did enjoy I had fun with! - but the other issues just took me so far out of the book that overall the enjoyment was tainted. 

Now, I want to be clear. I in no way believe or want to imply that victims of assault cannot see themselves in romance novels, or that they don’t deserve to see themselves finding love and happiness in them. I’ve read romance books where the main character had been assaulted and didn’t end the book feeling as off about it as I did in this one. (The Ice Planet Barbarians book focusing on Tiffany I think does this fairly well in both addressing her trauma and having the physical relationship move in a realistic - and sexy - way.) So, believe me when I say my issues don’t stem from a main character having a specific trauma.

I think the biggest issue with this book is the dramatic tone shifting between Tess’ trauma after her assault - and the schloppy romance “spending days in bed having sex” plots. Having both be directly next to one another feels wrong, and there is a specific scene where Tess relates - in explicit detail - her trauma, and then immediately after her and the guy she’s with have marathon sex where, it’s explicitly stated, she doesn’t have any issues or triggers to avoid. And this book is filled with these wild tone shifts, where it can’t figure out a happy-medium between fun romcom lightheadedness and the seriousness of the assault, and the end result leaves the reader feeling overall uncomfortable even in lighthearted scenes. 

Also, I think the scenes where Tess is dealing with her trauma kind of verge from storytelling and flowing in a plot, to “character says the best and most correct thing” here, and in many ways it felt less like a conversation happening and more like “this is a good character because they are saying the correct thing, regardless if this is how a conversation between people works,” type of deal. It wasn’t the biggest issue I had, but it was very noticeable during the conversation where Tess gets with her love interest. He says something to make her think she can’t trust him, and then he barely says anything to get her to trust him, and suddenly she does? And then they’re having marathon sex with no issues? (Also, the sex scene itself was underwhelming, which is fine but I did find it odd that the male love interest has a whole internal monologue about not wanting Tess to think she has to force herself to come, but when she does being like “I’m so happy she trusts me like this.” I will admit to being like, “Huh?” during this part.)

I also felt some of the descriptions to be odd, with similar ones being used for loved interests as well as men who we think may attempt to assault Tess. 

These quotes are taken from a digital ARC copy, and may not be in the final product. I had only highlighted them in my copy because the first description made me a bit uncomfortable, which was only confirmed when the second description happened and I was like “Wait, wasn’t this almost exact thing said about a love interest?”

“...with every aspect of this hulking brute of a man. He was easily a foot taller than she was, thick with muscle…” - a scene describing a sexy romp within the world of the books this novel is about.

“He was big - like, linebacker big…” - a scene of a man trapping Tess in a hallway and potentially wanting to force himself on her. 

Finally, this doesn’t really mean anything, but the brief interludes of the characters and scenes within the books this novel is about really took me out of the story. The writing style in these books was very Harlequin-style, trashy romance and every scene we were forced to read of this world just made me wonder why on earth these books would be popular. The plots and storylines shown, as well as the writing, in these “books” made the popularity of these books make no sense to me, and I could not understand how the main character not only read all 3 books but regularly re-read them for enjoyment. 

Overall, I did enjoy this book and found the plot and romances to be fun and typical within a romance novel - nothing too surprising in one way or the other - and didn’t have an issue with any of it. However, the constant tonal shifts between Tess falling into bed with her love interest for days on end, and then having a complete 180 while she deals with her trauma and it becomes very serious, severely limited the enjoyment I felt while reading. The overall feeling was a kind of lukewarm, mildly uncomfortable mix that made the romance feel weak, and also made it hard to simply accept some of the sillier plot going on in the background. It’s not that this author didn’t handle the assault and trauma with care, but that it felt like an entirely separate book that was simply mashed together, rather than a cohesive story. Also, this is entirely just me, but if I wasn’t already going to give this 3 stars because of the overall mess of the book, I would have had to seriously consider knocking off a star <i>anyway</i> because apparently one character is named for a stupid Taylor Swift reference, and I’d like to go one single time reading an urban fantasy romance without having to deal with a stupid and unnecessary Swift reference. For once. 

 

A fun and entertaining installment in the Murder and Magic series, this book can be enjoyed both as a standalone, as well as for anyone hoping for more of this world. While I’ll admit to being a bit disappointed that this book doesn’t focus on Hetty and Benjy like the earlier books in this series, Velma quickly grabbed my attention and I was soon on board with how her adventures would stack up instead. I also loved being able to see some of the characters we had known and loved in the other two books, as well as seeing how the family had grown since we had last been in this world. 

While I kind of thought this book had a slower start, once the story kicked off I was invested until the last page. Once Velma and Dillon began their investigation together - snarking at each other the entire time - I was having a blast. The investigation is in-depth and intricate, and up until the pieces started to come together I had no idea how everything would fit. The worldbuilding in these books is also fascinating, as this book expands upon how the 1920-1930s looks with the magical alternate universe - but in a very grounded way to where everything feels realistic and possible. 

One thing I always really appreciate with Nicole Glover’s writing is how well the romances are done in her books. I will admit, I was a bit hesitant once I learned that this would be a more of an enemies-to-lovers type of deal, since I find the trope tedious if poorly done. However, I was pleasantly surprised to love every bit of conversation as well as the entire dynamic between Velma and Dillon, and that they felt natural and real as they slowly became closer. While different from how Hetty and Benjy slowly realized they simply just “fit” together, a lot of how naturally the two fit together was the same. I realize some others might prefer heart-pounding and “love at first sight” or much more dramatic romances, but that’s never been something I’ve been able to relate to and I much prefer the natural progression done within these novels. 

I really enjoyed this book, and I think it could easily be enjoyed by anyone just getting into the world created by Nicole Glover. If you haven’t read The Conductors I highly recommend it, and if you’ve read her previous duology I highly recommend getting back into that world with The Improvisers. Full of magic, twists, betrayals, murder and just a dash of romance - this book is a great escape into the magical historical fiction fantasy world of Nicole Glover. 

 

With the rise of social media, streaming, and living one’s life online - the internet has been a place sorely lacking in good horror content focused solely on that. There’s been a few decent games and ARG’s I can think of that focus on the internet as the birthplace of the horror (the game Simulacra comes to mind), but as a whole I find it difficult to find many ventures into this genre to be both believable and entertaining. 

Deadstream, in my opinion, has a wonderful start to how the horror begins - slowly, and with increasing believability. With our main character recovering from the death of her friend after a car crash, she’s become agoraphobic and only gets her socialization online - typically through either streaming herself, or watching others stream. As someone who watches a lot of streamers, and has for a few years, I found these parts of the novel to be realistic and believable - the live chat, the reactions, the streamers content and speaking voice - all of which, made it remarkably easy for me to imagine I was also watching this stream and was involved in the chat. 

However, I will admit that a majority of my 4 star rating has come more from this beginning than how this book ended, as once the “reveal” of what exactly was happening was done I was less invested and found the entire thing to (somehow) become less believable. While the idea of something that haunted streamers and sent them catatonic was an interesting take, I think - once we (as the main character) knew the cause, it was suddenly less frightening or interesting. Not to spoil anything, but there was one scene with a character in a car that felt absolutely ridiculous and by that point I was just reading to finish the book, to be completely honest. 

While I understood our main character’s anxiety, I didn’t personally think that there was a serious need to have the background of her dead friend being the cause of her agoraphobia - at times it felt out of place, and since this aspect is never fully explored I didn’t think it was necessary. There are many reasons a person may become, or already is, agoraphobic, and I think any could have been explored with our main character and nothing would have changed. The parts in this book that focused on this section of our main character’s past felt less explored or thought out than the rest of the book, and it personally felt to me like a last-minute addition to give a “reason” for her behavior. 

I also kind of found the ending to have, while an interesting take on the entire thing, to have felt a bit too cheesy and not for me. However, considering the reasoning for the entire paranormal stream activity in the first place, it does - in a way - fit, but it personally took me out of the story by the time I reached it.

However - as a whole, I found this book to be a fun exploration of horror set in a modern digital age, with the focus being on streaming and the many doors that can - unintentionally - open, both to those streaming and those watching. While I think that this book had a strong start and may have missed the mark near the end, I do recommend it if you were looking for some fast-paced campy modern digital horror, as the premise was extremely well done and (at least for the parts focusing in the streaming) it never cut my immersion. 

 

I, uh. Think maybe if I was ex-Catholic all the repetitive religious unlearning of dogma would have resonated more, but unfortunately I was raised Protestant and am currently an atheist and I don't have any of that good old Catholic guilt. The horror is honestly such a background in this book that removing it entirely would not have changed a thing. 

I think, based on Maeve Fly and the description, I was hoping for a main character more on par with Maeve - someone whose transformation is entirely new and different and very in charge of her own destiny. As it is, in my opinion, the main character is kind of stagnant the entire novel, and she finishes the book with basically the same mental narrative and beliefs as she started it. Like, okay, yes, she decides not to be religious anymore - but the entire book, including the end, involves her relating everything to God and demons and other religious figures. 

Also, so much of this book is based on step-by-step unlearning religious dogma in such a "Baby's First Look Into Not Being Catholic" that it almost felt insulting (and certainly boring) to read through. I didn't care. The main character was so flat and wooden that she didn't make me care. In many ways, it felt like a checklist of "Have her read/think something controversial" followed immediately by her reverting to following her teachings growing up, and THAT followed immediately by "but wait! what if?" as she wishy-washy chooses both options. And in the meantime, nothing of note is happening. 

I understand how much of this book focused on not feeling shame for sexual exploration - especially as women - but so much of it falls apart when 

A) nothing can actually be explored in a safe way considering the rape virus going on, forcing every conversation of sexual arousal to also have an underlying "are you even actually feeling that or are you infected?" which CAN'T be good for the "sexual deviation is demons possessing you" when that's actually happening, except instead of demons, it's a virus. 

B) the inappropriate attraction between a girl who turns 17 during the events of the novel and a fully adult man in his 20s. Her being attracted to him is whatever, but why is him having feelings of attraction and arousal towards her never addressed properly? Like, I'm sorry, but that absolutely should be repressed and felt guilty about, and I'm not even Catholic I'm just not attracted to teenagers. 

C) SPOILER FOR THIS ONE - the main character never actually acts on these feelings of attraction. We just get a lot of (boring) flowy language about her being attracted to people, and then by the end she's like "I've transformed into someone in charge of her own sexuality 😊" when. Nothing has actually happened. 

So much of the horror of a virus that makes people quite literally rape others is so washed out that it almost felt fetishized as a concept - we get many descriptions of people being assaulted, but (somehow 🙄) it never fully affects our main character. One scene near the beginning I remember because it rubbed me the wrong way involved a man assaulting another man, being beaten to near death, breaking into the main character's car, but then sensing and attacking some random woman who got out of her car to see what was going on - and this being only described as "she screamed for a long while." It just? Felt superfluous. 

The way the world so quickly ended, and the response of the religious cult that popped up, seemed like it just copy-pasted a zombie film and didn't bother with worldbuilding or making things make sense. I think maybe the virus making people sexually assault others and making them extra strong and violent was a hard sell - especially since it's so barely explored, and even when it is, it doesn't feel realistic. 

This isn't a real criticism, but maybe if I knew the locations being described I'd have enjoyed them more, but as it is I started skimming when I got to the house of weird music and religious figures where the main character runs around in because everything was so coated in weird religious descriptions in a place that sounds made up that my eyes glossed over during those parts. 

None of the characters made me care about them. The main character is a wooden caricature that just has things happen to her, none of the other characters she meets meant anything to me - and I was waiting for half of them to be infected (or the main character herself to be), that when they weren't made me question them as people. 

Maybe it's because I'm aroace, but all of the "romances" were nothing, went nowhere, and were pointless. (they weren't even romances, the entire thing was "Oh no, my 'secret place' feels warm - am I infected? Wait, no, I decided this was Normal and I'm going to embrace it on someone completely inappropriate for me!") The only reason the main character ends up with who she does is because they survived together - legitimately if anyone else had survived with her I don't think the ending would have changed. 

Also! The one romantic interest was literally introduced as being friends with skeevy boys who were harassing her for being "innocent" and a "virgin" and this is never brought up as something to be alarmed about? Even when she learns that he himself speculated that she was a virgin, it's never seen as a negative. The entire time, I was waiting for a heel-turn of him getting close to her just to have sex with her and leave her. Because those are the kinds of boys he's hanging out with! Why is he, then, portrayed as someone healthy who liked her long before the outbreak, when they'd barely spoken any words together - and the entire time they do it's when she's realized her clothes/bra are too tight and her clothes are soaked through and almost see-through (leading credence to him only being interested in sex with her) but once they reunite all his slightly-red flag behavior is glossed entirely over?

Basically all the deaths that happened around the main character were pointless. There is one scene of an attack that is almost beat for beat identical to the previous attack, so much so that I was wondering why we were just repeating the same thing over again if only to extend the word count. 

As a whole, this book wasn't Bad but it wasn't what I expected - the only reason this book is horror is because of the random inclusion of rape, assault, and murder and nothing else. This would better be classified under something about unlearning toxic religious upbringing, but this is done in such a surface level way that I don't really think it could be enjoyed from that aspect either. I really wished I liked this book more, as I was so excited for it, but unfortunately it was not for me.

 

With a premise that hooked me from the start, Whiteout is an Antarctic survival thriller set during the end of the world, that makes you question how much you’d be willing to fight to survive even in the most dire of circumstances. 

I love thriller and horror set in the cold barren wastes of the Antarctic, since it makes every little thing that happens much more deadly and serious. In most survival scenarios, the main protagonist could, in theory, leave to go somewhere else. Not so, when doing so will almost guarantee their death within a few hours in subzero weather. This raises all the stakes when things go wrong, since our main character has to determine how to survive both her current circumstances - as well as the unforgiving polar night. 

The one thing that didn’t quite work for me in this book was the family drama that was interspersed throughout the book, as I personally couldn't care less about the potential fracturing of our main character’s marriage or her missing her daughter. While this is important for the motivations of our main character, I just am not someone who cares about family drama in novels, and so when these chapters were spread throughout I will admit to only half-paying attention to them. I don’t think the book would have been any different had the main character and her husband not had some issues, as in both scenarios she’s mourning their potential death during a potential nuclear war. 

However, the main overall intensity and pace of this book kept me interested until the last page, and there were quite a few twists that I did see coming - and one I only realized before the last page during its reveal. If you were looking for a quick survival thriller, with a main character who does everything she can to survive despite both the circumstances and the bleak reality she’s found herself in, I would recommend picking up this book. 

 

A fast-paced and captivating tale that will pull you in from the first page and doesn’t let up until the very end. Filled with romance and political intrigue, you can never be too sure who you can trust - or if love can truly outlast even lifetimes. 

Somehow, this book caught me even better than Daughter of the Moon Goddess, and I don’t say that lightly as someone who devoured that duology. I cannot even properly explain this book, other than the fact that it kept me entranced from the moment I began reading and once I started I couldn’t stop. If you loved Sue Lynn Tan’s debut duology, then trust me her writing has only (somehow) improved in Immortal, and you need to pick up this book. 

The romance was so amazingly well done I spent the entire novel hoping that it would survive against all odds. I am so unbelievably picky when it comes to main romance plots in fantasy novels, and this was so well executed I was hanging on the edge of my seat the entire time. The chemistry between Liyen and Zhangwei was so well done I was rooting for them even when I knew I shouldn't. 

The writing in this book is so beautiful I can’t even properly describe it, but the world in this book is so lush and amazing no matter where our characters are in the story. Our main character, Liyen, is a passionate and caring ruler, and I loved sharing her POV throughout this novel. She does her best to help and protect her people, and as I was reading I felt like her betrayals were also my betrayals alongside her. 

Sometimes when I love a book too much I find it so hard to properly describe my feelings for a review, and this is one of those books. The time flew by as I was reading this book, and despite the 5-6 hours it took for me to finish this book, at no point did it feel like it was dragging on or did I truly feel the page count. 

I know this book says it takes place during the same world as in Daughter of the Moon Goddess, but in all honesty it felt like a brand new story set in the same beautiful landscape - but with entirely new characters and experiences. While I do highly recommend everyone read the Celestial Kingdom duology, in no way would you have to read that first before diving into Immortal. I didn’t find anything in this book that required or expected you to have previous knowledge of her other books, and so if you were looking for a single-book exploration into Sue Lynn Tan’s writing, I cannot recommend this book enough. Immortal is atmospheric and intense, with a romance that will keep you captivated until the last page. 

 

 Intense and atmospheric, this novel expertly weaves secret religious sects, underground government agencies, and black magic into a tale that will have you believing the events could have really happened up until the last page. This novel would fit right in with those famous novels of the classics in gothic horror, like Dracula and Frankenstein. With a story that slowly creeps up on you as we explore the lives and experiences of the characters within, this book isn’t one to skip. 

I would almost recommend this more to those who like historical fiction and don’t mind when horror elements are added, as opposed to someone expecting to dive into this story and expecting immediately for the horror aspects to kick off. This book is extremely well-researched, and (while I myself have no knowledge of Buddhism or any of the topics discussed in this novel) it felt like it was teaching me along the way, so that when later these things were referenced we (the reader) could still accurately predict the events of the novel without any issues understanding the historical context. However, at no point did I feel like I was simply being “info-dumped” onto, and my attention never wavered even during these sections when nothing was “really” going on at that moment. 

Mostly told through letters, confessional, and journal entries, if you were looking for a quick-paced and action packed novel I would suggest looking elsewhere. This book is very slow and does a great deal of meandering throughout - but at no point was I bored. I personally loved the writing format, as well as the in-depth education of the historical worldbuilding, so even during events when nothing explicitly “scary” was happening I was still glued to the page. 

I really thought the writing really sold me on the time period this novel takes place, as at no point did I feel like characters were “too modern” and took me out of the book. I feel like I write this too often, but for once I think the blurb is perfect for this book as it almost tells you nothing - which is how much information I think you should go into this story having. 

Even though this book dives into black magic and the supernatural, at no point did I feel like something that was happening was too outlandish to actually be occurring. Somehow despite the absolutely out-of-this-world events in this novel, everything still felt realistic and grounded in reality to the point that I was almost believing these things to have actually occurred. 

If you were looking for a queer gothic horror that absolutely transports you to the events of this story, and leaves you horrified by our characters’ experiences, I highly recommend this novel. 

Thank you to the author, Netgalley, and Redhook Books for a copy of this e-ARC.

 Gory. Terrifying. Haunting. This is a book that will suck you in from the intensity of the first chapter, and leave you gasping for air by the end. Even when I thought I knew where this book was going, a new twist would happen that would completely change everything that was going on.

If you love horror, and you don’t mind a little blood and gore along the way, this is a book that you need to pick up and experience for yourself. As the walls around our main character slowly begin closing in, soon she’ll realize that the answers she seeks aren’t as cut and dry as she hopes - and that sometimes there are no answers to your questions. I ended this book wishing that I could have some real resolutions to the events of this novel - but the very premise is about how you might not get all - or any - of the answers you’re seeking. (But I still wish I could have had them!)

Somehow, Kylie Lee Baker combines the reality of Covid-19, anti-Asian racism, and a supernatural that is more terrifyingly real than our main character ever expected, into an edge-of-your-seat horror that cannot be missed. I loved this book so much I’m unsure how to even describe what I read or how to accurately review it, as I think this book goes best with going into it essentially blind. This is a juggernaut into the horror genre, and I so desperately hope she writes more horror as this was as fresh as cleaning a crime scene where the body is still present.

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.