The Starless Sea
by Erin Morgenstern
Genres:
Fantasy, Fiction, LGBTQIA+, Romance
Review:
Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a regular graduate student until he discovers a mysterious book that contains a detailed description of an event in his childhood. While trying to figure out more about the book he discovers a mysterious underground library and a place known as the Starless Sea.
The Starless Sea was a fantastical, whimsical book about stories and the role we play in them. I really liked the main character, Zachary. I could connect with his way of thinking, especially how introverted he is and how much his thoughts revolve around books, video games and storytelling in general.
The way the different stories within the book were presented and connected at the end was also very nicely done.
I think the story takes a while to get going and the events towards the end get a little confusing
Der Erdbeerpflücker
by Monika Feth
Genres:
Thriller, Fiction
Review:
This is the first book in the Jette Weingärtner Series.
Jette Weingärtner is a student living together with her two roommates, Caro and Merle. The three of them are also best friends. When Caro is murdered, Jette publicly swears to find and bring the killer to justice. On hera search, she meets and befriends him. She doesn't know how she's talking to, while he already knows everything about her.
Let's start by talking about the characters. I liked Jette as a main character. She has a voice and I find she cares a lot about her friends. I especially enjoyed the relationship that is seen between the three girls. However, what bothered me was the whole romance angle between Jette and the killer. I thought that it didn't make sense for the relationship between the characters to develop as fast as it did. Jette meets this guy pretty late in the book (a little after the halfway point) and is almost immediately falls in love with him. I know she is only 18, but I feel like it still doesn't make sense for her, as she is shown to be quite level-headed before that. The connection also wasn't written in a compelling way.
There are multiple perspectives in the story that I didn't feel like added much substance to the plot. For example, we see the perspective of Jette's mother. I feel like what is seen about her relationship with Jette could have also easily been discussed from Jette's perspective directly. The police officer also doesn't really add anything in my opinion, as he doesn't really do much in the way of solving the case.
Overall, the book is alright. Although it isn't the best mystery novel in the world, I enjoyed following the story, and I'm still interested into reading more books about Jette and the cases she gets into.
my darling dreadful thing
by Johanna Van Veen
Genres
Fiction, Horror, LGBTQIA+
Review:
Roos Beckman is a medium. Her spirit companion, Ruth, is the only thing helping her get through the day despite her mother's continuous abuse. Until one day she's taken in by a rich widow, Agnes, to live in her estate. The attraction between Roos and Agnes becomes stronger and stronger.
Then somebody is murdered and Roos is the prime suspect. She is then forced to not only prove herself innocent but sane as well.
The thing I loved the most about this book is the writing and the atmosphere. It really sucked me into the time period and setting of the story.
Furthermore, I was able to really emphasize with Roos and Agnes. Their trauma and mutual understanding of each other was really well explored. Their romance was also very cute.
The plot was intriguing and kept me wondering what happened, even though the ending was told to us at the very beginning of the novel.
The only problems I had with the book was the pacing and the execution of the ending. I thought the middle part was dragging a little bit and the ending felt a little rushed and the conclusion wasn't especially satisfying.
Die Einladung
by Sebastian Fitzek
Genres:
Fiction, Thriller
Review:
Marla Lindberg is looking forward to a class reunion in the Alps. However, when she arrives, none of her classmates are around. As she's looking for them, she's haunted by monsters from her past
The beginning of the story was fascinating. I liked how it introduced the story of Marla and the mystery of what happened to her in the clinic.
Besides that, it wasn't that great. The story went from plot twist to plot twist. I also felt like the ending really made sense, and I also didn't really care for the characters.
Five Dark Fates
by Kendare Blake
Genres:
Fantasy, Fiktion
Review:
The last book in the "Three Dark Crowns Series". This series takes place on the island of Fennbirn. Every generation, a set of triplets is born, each with unique abilities. We follow the sisters Mirabella, Katharine and Arsinoe. The sisters are destined to kill each other, as only one of them can become the true queen of Fennbirn. Five Dark Fates concludes the story of the Sisters
The book had both good and bad parts to it. It isn't the ending I would have desired for this series, but it could have gotten a lot worse in my opinion.
For the things I enjoyed: I loved how the story showed the relationship between the sisters and queen's struggle, especially with reveals made in past books.
Furthermore, there were also some interesting story sections.
I felt like some of the characters' story were ended in a way that isn't really fulfilling.
We Love You, Bunny
by Mona Awad
Genres:
Horror, Literary, Magic-Realism
Review:
We love you, Bunny is the long-awaited sequel to Mona Awads highly acclaimed book Bunny.
Bunny follows the antisocial student at the highly acclaimed MFA academy. She is in a writing course with a group of girls that only spend time together and refer to each other as Bunny. Samantha isn't a fan of them until they invite her into their salon and everything changes.
Reading from the Point of View of the Bunnies was quite an interesting change from the first novel. I most of all liked how different their voices were from each other. The chapters written from Aerius were also fascinating to read. I thought his relationship with Jonah was really cute.
I felt that the chapters were quite dragging in the middle. Not all subchapters on Aerius journey felt all that necessary to the book.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
by Grady Hendrix
Genres:
Historical, Horror
Review:
Wellwood House in St. Augustine is a place where unmarried girls are sent to have their babies in secret, where they will then be given up for adoption so that the families can move on from this.
15-year-old Fern is one of these girls is sent to the Wellwood house by her father. She is surrounded by adults that have strict rules about every part of her life, while also not really telling her anything about what is going on with her body.
Things suddenly change when a mysterious librarian shows up, giving Fern a book about Witchcraft. What she and her friend don't know is that magic always requires a price. The book was a huge disappointment for me. The biggest issue was the witchcraft aspect and how it was used in the story. I felt like the main characters barely utilized the craft, which is the opposite of what the title suggested. I also feel like the character arcs were not resolved in an especially interesting way. Most of them just fizzled out at one point. Also, I didn't like how this book seemed to expect me to feel for and see eye to eye with the caretakers that were tight-lipped and emotionally unavailable at best and downright abusive and manipulative at worst. Like I said, big disappointment, especially since I have loved books from this author before.
The book was a huge disappointment for me. The biggest issue was the witchcraft aspect and how it was used in the story. I felt like the main characters barely utilized the craft, which is the opposite of what the title suggested. I also feel like the character arcs were not resolved in an especially interesting way. Most of them just fizzled out at one point. Also, I didn't like how this book seemed to expect me to feel for and see eye to eye with the caretakers that were tight-lipped and emotionally unavailable at best and downright abusive and manipulative at worst.
Like I said, big disappointment, especially since I have loved books from this author before.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
by Stephen Graham Jones
Genres:
Fantasy, Fiction, Historical, Horror
Review:
Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a historical horror set in 1912 America. It follows a Lutheran Priest transcribing the life of a vampire, a Blackfeet called Good Stab, that is still wandering his reservation looking for justice.
I really loved this book.
The best part of the story was the different points of view. The storytelling was so distinct for every one of them, and every one of them felt very true to not just the characters time period but also their respective cultures and history.
This book also has a very interesting vampire concept. I loved how it used the idea of how consumption of different animals and people can fundamentally change the vampire. Not just physically but also mentally and even spiritually.
Lastly, I also really enjoyed how Good Stab's story was slowly revealed over the course of the book.
The Burning God
by R.F. Kuang
Genres:
Fantasy, Historical
Review:
This is the final book in the Poppy War Trilogy.
The story takes place in the fictional country of Nikara which is heavily based on China during the 20th Century. The story follows a war orphan called Rin. Against all odds she aces the most difficult examen in the empire, allowing her to go to the prestigious Sinegard military Academy. However, things are not better than when she lived with her abusive foster family. She quickly learns that a person that looks like her with a background like her is not welcome among the elite of the academy.
This finale was fantastic and devastating.
The best part was how everything that has happened in this book but also in the previous novels has built up to this ending. The politics, the characters, the story: everything has come together to this point. Especially the main characters flaws, mistakes, and negative habits had a big impact on how everything went down, which I enjoyed a lot. The ending was sad, but it felt like things could never have gone any other way.
Geteiltes Blut: Bitter & Sweet
by Linea Harris
Genres:
Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Review:
Book two in the Bitter & Sweet Series.
We follow 17-year-old Jillian, who, after being attacked by a mysterious creature, finds out that she is a witch. She is subsequently sent to a special academy to learn how to use her powers. There she not only learns that she sticks out even among other witches but also gets on the trail of a sinister conspiracy at the heart of the academy.
This series is a fun little ride to me. The world, the magic, and the characters are very charming in my opinion. Even if everything is a little shallow and predictable. The only thing I really can't stand is the teacher-student romance featured in both books. It's just not for me.
What Stalks the Deep
by T.Kingfisher
Genres:
Fiction, Horror, LGBTQIA+
Review:
The 3rd installment of the Sworn Soldier Series by T. Kingfisher.
Alex Easton goes to a deep mine in America despite not being especially keen on either. They are there to help their friend Dr. Denton find his cousin, who went missing after searching this mine.
The description of the mine and traveling it was very effective and creepy. I also liked how the mystery and the creature behind it were set up, and the concept is very interesting.
I think the mystery behind the cousin and his disappearance was not resolved in a very interesting way, though.
Local Heavens
by K.M. Fajardo
Genres:
Dystopia, LGBTQIA+, Science Fiction
Review:
A sci-fi reimagining of the classic novel "The Great Gatsby".
In 2075, the Filipino American corporate hacker Nick Carraway is sent to investigate the new upstart Jay Gatsby. As he gets entangled in Gatsby's world, he must rethink what is most important to him: love or the truth.
Dreadful Company
by Vivian Shaw
Genre:
Fiction, Fantasy
Review:
The second book in the Greta Helsing series. Dr. Greta Helsing, doctor to all things supernatural, travels to Paris for a medical conference. Unfortunately, she is kidnapped by a coven of vampires. This forces her to brave the depths of the Paris catacombs.
The Phantom of the Opera
by Gaston Leroux
Genres:
Classics, Horror, Mystery
Review:
One of the horror classics. A phantom is going around behind the scenes of the Paris Opera. It seems to be especially enamored with one Christine Daée, one of the opera singers. This book seeks to reveal the truth behind the phantom's identity and his schemes in the opera.