apaperhaven's reviews
111 reviews

Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

WOW.

Blood On Her Tongue is a very gothic, macabre horror set in 1887. Our main character Lucy's twin sister Sarah, becomes violently unwell not long after becoming obsessed with a mostly decomposed body, unearthed on her and her husbands estate.

This book is written beautifully, so skillfully so that I gagged reading one scene and winced at others. It is rife with bloody horror.
It is also diverse, each character interesting and fully fledged, with their own flaws and personalities and motivations.

There could definitely be great book club discussions about the allegory to mental health, the treatment of women, and how life is for different members of society (I particularly enjoyed interactions between Miss Lucy and Magda) but all in all, you can still sit and gorge yourself on this as a mad horror story.

I loved this so much. Digusting, moving, eerie work that I think might be my new favourite. I will absolutely be checking out more of this authors other work.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this as an arc!
Strange Pictures by Uketsu

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

If you're okay with wading through 100+ pages of poorly paced sludge, it gets better and the characters eventually get their personality back. Ends on such a groundbreaking high note, but god I felt like the author made us work for it. 
This Time Tomorrow and other stories by Eleanor Wells

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Thrilling and Melancholic. A speedy read and easy recommendation for anyone who loves a bit of thriller, horror, and heartbreak-what a wonderful book to read. 
The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Missing Girl by Shirley Jackson

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challenging mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Bored Gay Werewolf by Tony Santorella

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense fast-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

5.0

The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Beautiful. Hits you right in the heart and lodges itself there. 

Long and detailed, so much so that there's definitely parts I missed so it's not completely a 5☆ for me. That being said, I love this book so much.

A multi generation tragedy and mystery wrapped up together.
Want by Gillian Anderson

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

The most human book you will ever read