Scan barcode
lindsaylhunter's reviews
165 reviews
Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
dark
tense
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? Yes
3.0
Pretty enjoyable little book. Very easy to binge-read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Torture
They Never Learn by Layne Fargo
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Dark, twisted, propulsive. I finished this one in record time!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Murder
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The first of this book's three parts had me hooked. I found though that my lack of awareness of anything relating to Greek mythology made this for hard and (I hate to say it) boring reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Murder, and War
Confessions by Kanae Minato
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A captivating little read! The translation to English makes it very stilted and unnatural-sounding but I read the vast majority of this in a couple of hours.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really don't know where to start with this book. However beautifully Yanagihara writes, I can't ignore that this book is a grotesquerie masquerading as what many would say is the next great American novel.
I believe that all forms of media that tell a story—be it a book, a movie or a play—need to allow their respective audiences to bask in truly joyful moments, however brief, but there was almost no reprieve from the miseries thrown at the main character in this book, and even his "happy" moments were undercut by his perpetual self-loathing. I understand that the author wanted to showcase the limits of human suffering (and the seemingly endless content warnings attached seem to prove that), but I can't in good conscience give this one any higher a rating than I have done. It truly reached a point where each new misery brought a sense of tedium to the story.
All that said, I enjoyed the shuffling of narratives and being left to guess who was doing the speaking. I'll never deny the author the credit she deserves for making so many people feel so deeply for fictional characters.
I believe that all forms of media that tell a story—be it a book, a movie or a play—need to allow their respective audiences to bask in truly joyful moments, however brief, but there was almost no reprieve from the miseries thrown at the main character in this book, and even his "happy" moments were undercut by his perpetual self-loathing. I understand that the author wanted to showcase the limits of human suffering (and the seemingly endless content warnings attached seem to prove that), but I can't in good conscience give this one any higher a rating than I have done. It truly reached a point where each new misery brought a sense of tedium to the story.
All that said, I enjoyed the shuffling of narratives and being left to guess who was doing the speaking. I'll never deny the author the credit she deserves for making so many people feel so deeply for fictional characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Drug abuse, Violence, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
Did not finish book. Stopped at 54%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 54%.
I genuinely can't believe this one is a DNF for me. With every passing story, I told myself that I'd probably like the next one, or the one after that, but this book dragged along until the moment I put it down.
Tell Me an Ending by Jo Harkin
Did not finish book. Stopped at 34%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 34%.
I've never read as much of a book and felt such ambivalence to the characters. Five hours in to a 16 hour long book and I stopped caring. I would maybe give it another go in print form rather than the audiobook, but I was happy to leave this down.
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Much like with Homegoing, Gyasi writes with incredible sincerity about topics of substance. She is the voice of a generation, and I hope that voice only gets louder and stronger as the years go by.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Racism, and Grief
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Death of parent
Brutes by Dizz Tate
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I have to go middle of the road for this one. Tate has a gift with words, but I'm not sure she has a similar gift for story-telling. What I mean to say is that, much like a lot of other reviewers, I had no idea what I was reading most of the time, which led to a feeling of true disappointment by the novel's end. Maybe I need to give it another read to make more sense of it, but not for a long while yet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia and Toxic friendship
The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J. Walker
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
I aspire to never read another novel centred around a whiny man baby ever again. How one-dimensional do you have to make your female character for her to stay with such a useless sack of a man?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death