hyzie's reviews
5024 reviews

Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina

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challenging dark slow-paced
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

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funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Phantasma by Kaylie Smith

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adventurous dark reflective medium-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? Yes

4.75

Deadstream by Mar Romasco-Moore

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I enjoyed this. It was creepy and funny and maybe more relatable than I'm comfortable with. I don't think I've actually seen anyone do streaming horror in novel form (there are some found footage films that handle it), and it was neat to see it. 

Our main character is sometimes a bit frustrating, though there is a lot going on there with her. The story starts getting eerie pretty early on and holds pretty well with that. Watching the character melt down and then pull herself through it was compelling. 

The author seemed like they were actually familiar with the world of online streaming, which I was not completely expecting, so those bits rang true with what I've seen with people I know. It did a good job of showing it as a positive force in people's lives, though definitely not without being able to cause problems. Sometimes a LOT of problems. 

I didn't love the ending. It was...okay? It at least had a real ending, which is sometimes a trend in horror where books just kind of stop. At least King knows to set things on fire to show you it's over! This, again, did end, but it wrapped up a bit more cleanly than I thought made sense. I wasn't surprised by the way certain relationships shifted like I know some people were -- it seemed obvious that's where it was going, though not in a bad way. 

Overall, if the idea of the book strikes you as interesting (or you like found footage horror, which was why I snagged it), I do recommend. 

(I got this book for free from Netgalley. This did not affect the content of my review or opinions.)
Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee by Mary G. Thompson

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.
Another book I just can't care enough about to pick back up after the library return.
Road of Bones by Christopher Golden

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 62%.
I just can't imagine picking this back up. Ever. I look at it and go "oh, yeah, I was reading that before it was returned to the library. Huh." Not bad, just cannot be excited at all about it.
That's Not My Name by Megan Lally

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 49%.
I just don't care. The plot is pretty obvious, and there's nothing about the writing that makes me think there's something being hidden, nothing that's leaving me second-guessing, nothing that makes me excited to travel to the end with these characters. 
Edit, 11/30: I was correct. There was too big a slip too early on. I went and read spoilers. It was exactly what I thought, and apparently the characters never got any better. Was curious, but glad I got out.