literaryjunarin's reviews
469 reviews

I have always had a penchant for ancient horror. A story about a forest that traps you and seemingly out to consume you? I'm reeled in! Most of the elements of this book are to my liking. Body horror, supernatural horror, ancient monsters, survivalist horror, and messy fights. Unfortunately, I did not like the þook as a whole. First, because it's too long. It's 11 hours in audiobook! Second, the main characters are teenagers with raging hormones which can be exasperating to read about. They're unlikeable lacking any redeeming qualities. Third, the drama and sudden backstories dampened the suspense. And well, the "final girl" has been the most uninteresting final girl I have ever encountered. However, the audiobook narrator, David Bendena was amazing and made the experience quite enjoyable.

"Evil seldom takes shape immediately. It is often little more than a whisper at first. A glance. A betrayal. But then it grows and takes root, still invisible, unnoticed. Only fairy tales give evil a proper shape. The big bad wolves, the evil kings, the demons, and devils . . ."

Haven't watched the movie yet but this book was so good! At first I thought this was a children's book but it was too gory to be called one. Beautifully dark and atmospheric. The audiobook narrator was amazing too! I'll watch the movie next time.

"I was forced to acknowledge too late, much too late, that I too had loved, that I was capable of suffering and that I was human after all."

If you haven't read this book yet, it's best to dive in blind. I am left in utter despair. It's been ages since a book has prompted such intense emotions and questions in me. My existential dread is at an all-time high! This book will stay with me for a long, long time.

The narrator is 35 years old but has a voice of a 10yr old girl.

Gorgeous prose but too long winded. I just waited for it to end. And turns out, the author did not actually finish reading The Odyssey. Then why did she write this? Cause it's the hype these days? What a major turn off.

“Mothers should not expect their children to be exactly like their parents. Rather, they should fear raising a child who is exactly like them, for there will be no room for that child to grow.”

Compared to Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes, this story is much more personal.  This book covers Medusa's life from her childhood up to her sure demise.

Though there are sweet and touching moments, this is also heartbreaking. Medusa really was just an innocent maiden caught up in the gods' pettiness. She did not deserve what Athena did to her. She was not a monster the mortals deemed her to be. 

I cried so badly at the end. 

“Book club isn’t just about books.” Malcolm nodded solemnly. “It’s a brotherhood, man.”

Well, it's kinda wholesome reading about men who use regency romance novels to navigate their relationship troubles. It's just that Thea isn't exactly a likeable character. She did not make me feel like supporting her. She was mainly the cause of miscommunications, a trope which I already particularly dislike and this didn't help her case at all. 

But the men strategizing was such a nice comic relief. Them discovering Pinterest was the most fun part. 

Too confusing to follow through

Batshit crazy. The body horror is indeed horror. Slurping eyeball goo horror. Tongue eating tongue horror. The world was well-built and interesting especially the borrowing of skin thing but this book is difficult to follow in audiobook format. I know that the characters' voices are distinct if I dont get confuse with which voice is whose (even in audiobook) but on this one, I just wait for names to be called to know who was speaking. 

“I was a woman when it was convenient to blame me, and a girl when they wanted to use me.”

Ugh this was boring but I did finish it. I liked the dark academia undertones with gloomy, stormy atmosphere. However, the pace was too slow for my liking. Effy was too childish in my opinion but I liked her character improvement at the end. I was waiting for her mother's retribution but turns out there's a book 2 so maybe that'll be included in the next book. The romance was a bit meh.