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576 reviews
The Night House by Jo Nesbø
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
What makes a good horror? I honestly have no idea. Every time I try to write a review my brain starts short-circuiting. This book was just so trippy!!!! The temporal disorientation and the unreliable narrator and all things weird and bizarre and incomprehensible had my mind turning itself into knots. It's been a while since I read a good horror (or even a bad horror), so this was a thrilling shock to the system! It reminded me of the Goosebumps books I devoured as a kid. I would not recommend this book to kids though. It's what Freud would call... the uncanny. And it made for the perfect late night spooky season thriller!
If you're a fan of Stranger Things, Goosebumps, and books that go bump in the night, this may just be the book for you.
If you're a fan of Stranger Things, Goosebumps, and books that go bump in the night, this may just be the book for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Bullying
Masters of Death by Olivie Blake
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
There is a game that the immortals play. There is only one rule. Don't lose.
read this if you want:
- multiple povs and timelines
- a colourful cast of supernatural characters
- found family!!! but they all hate each other (or so they say)
- lots of sarcasm, banter, and sardonic humour... all that good stuff!
- a reimagining of myths, legends and folkloric creatures from around the world
- the kind of complicated, tragic love that only immortals are capable of (especially when said immortal falls in love with a mortal)
- a nonlinear narrative that keeps you guessing till the very end
This is my first Olivie Blake book and I'm not sure if it was madness or genius. One thing I do know is that there's A LOT going on. And it's addictive.
I don't know how Ms Blake did this, but she somehow managed to combine as many mythologies, folklores, and belief systems as possible. As a nerd for all things mythical, I may have gotten a bit too excited.
The writing is slightly pretentious, but only for the pretentious characters - which just so happens to be almost all of them (they're my people). The plot itself is perplexing and unpredictable. I spent most of the time reading this in a state of "idk what's going on, I'm just vibing". A lot of it had me grinning from ear to ear, Olive Blake has a good way with dialogue!! However, at a certain point, the banter got a bit *too much* for me. I never thought there could be such a thing as too much banter and frivolity, but I started to feel that way eventually... Could just be a me thing. If you asked me to explain the 'game' to you, I would tell you to go read this book. Honestly, I still don't understand it completely myself. I might have to give this a reread.
If you're looking to take the spooky vibes with you now that spooky season is over, give this book a try! It's got an old-fashioned gothicness to it that makes for some good escapism.
read this if you want:
- multiple povs and timelines
- a colourful cast of supernatural characters
- found family!!! but they all hate each other (or so they say)
- lots of sarcasm, banter, and sardonic humour... all that good stuff!
- a reimagining of myths, legends and folkloric creatures from around the world
- the kind of complicated, tragic love that only immortals are capable of (especially when said immortal falls in love with a mortal)
- a nonlinear narrative that keeps you guessing till the very end
This is my first Olivie Blake book and I'm not sure if it was madness or genius. One thing I do know is that there's A LOT going on. And it's addictive.
I don't know how Ms Blake did this, but she somehow managed to combine as many mythologies, folklores, and belief systems as possible. As a nerd for all things mythical, I may have gotten a bit too excited.
The writing is slightly pretentious, but only for the pretentious characters - which just so happens to be almost all of them (they're my people). The plot itself is perplexing and unpredictable. I spent most of the time reading this in a state of "idk what's going on, I'm just vibing". A lot of it had me grinning from ear to ear, Olive Blake has a good way with dialogue!! However, at a certain point, the banter got a bit *too much* for me. I never thought there could be such a thing as too much banter and frivolity, but I started to feel that way eventually... Could just be a me thing. If you asked me to explain the 'game' to you, I would tell you to go read this book. Honestly, I still don't understand it completely myself. I might have to give this a reread.
If you're looking to take the spooky vibes with you now that spooky season is over, give this book a try! It's got an old-fashioned gothicness to it that makes for some good escapism.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death