This book has so many rave reviews and is a bestseller, so of course I had to pick it up. Unfortunately, I couldn't read more than a few chapters and This book has so many rave reviews and is a bestseller, so of course I had to pick it up. Unfortunately, I couldn't read more than a few chapters and don't understand why others seem to love this. The main characters are serial killers targeting other serial killers and bad guys. After a chance meeting, they fall in love and then I guess they have to escape something, but I didn't get that far because I couldn't stand reading any more of this.
The main characters were so unlikeable (yes, I know they're murderers, but they're supposed to be "good" ones, and if I'm reading a book, I need to not hate the main characters) and the weird mix of horror and romance absolutely did not work. This felt like it was trying too hard to be in both categories, and I did not enjoy any part of either. ...more
This is set in the 1950's and features a young black man named Atticus who goes on a road trip through racist America to rescue his estranged father, This is set in the 1950's and features a young black man named Atticus who goes on a road trip through racist America to rescue his estranged father, who's gone missing. He arrives at a mansion and is treated as a guest, but he knows something isn't right. Sure enough, he's informed that there's a secret society gathered there with plans that require him to be in the middle of everything.
I'd heard so much buzz about this book and had wanted to read it for a long time before finally getting around to it. Some of my friends read and loved it, and HBO even made a series based on this, which I figured I'd watch after finishing this book. Unfortunately, the book just did not resonate with me for whatever reason. I kept reading, hoping I'd get into the characters or the story, but it never happened. It was such a chore to keep picking up this book to read on, and eventually I decided I couldn't do it anymore. I think I read a little over a quarter in total, maybe a third.
The best scenes of the book, to me, were the more "normal" scenes showing what a road trip looked like for a black man at this time and how unprotected Atticus was due to his skin color. I felt nervous for him as he drove through certain towns and frustrated by the delays he encountered due to nearby auto shops refusing to help him when he had car trouble, leading him to have to be patient while he waited pretty much the whole day for a more remote place to drive over to help him. It's interesting to think about how much has changed since then and how much has not. This definitely brought more savory aspects of history to life well!
The main storyline, however, just didn't hold my interest. I had a hard time staying focused on it, and the writing seemed a bit choppy. There are multiple sections in this novel, each focusing on a different main character and was, it seemed, basically a separate short story (at least from what I read) and this kept me from feeling aligned with any particular character or any particular story. I liked the idea and concept behind this book more than I enjoyed the actual execution of it. ...more
Noemi is a headstrong young woman who's summoned from her home in Mexico City to High Place, a manor in the countryside where her cousin, Catalina, moNoemi is a headstrong young woman who's summoned from her home in Mexico City to High Place, a manor in the countryside where her cousin, Catalina, moved after getting married. Catalina recently sent a bizarre letter, raving about needing to be saved and the doom there, and Noemi's task is to check up on her and make sure everything is okay. Noemi isn't thrilled about her role, but when she arrives, she finds that the place is gloomy, almost alive, and Catalina is definitely not herself. The longer Noemi stays there, the more the house seems to grab hold of her, but she doesn't know how to escape with her cousin, especially since she doesn't fully understand what's going on or what is real.
It's been a long time since I read a gothic novel, and this one was highly recommended to me by someone a few years ago, so I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. The writing in here was excellent and the story pulsed forward with mystery and intrigue, especially since it wasn't even fully clear to me as the reader what was going on or what Noemi was actually experiencing. I had hoped that this wasn't going to take some supernatural route as an explanation for all the weird happenings, and I was grateful that it did not! I'm pretty sure there was plenty that I didn't completely understand, but I followed the main plot and explanation, which I thought were quite clever and interesting.
I liked Noemi as a main character and the ways she interacted with those around her. It was frustrating at times to see her lack of autonomy due to being a woman, but this was handled quite well and helped give the story a sense of time. The other characters were interesting as well and many of them were definitely creepy (as they were meant to be). There were a few scenes where I felt like there was more telling than showing, especially when it came to the backstory of why everyone thought High Place was cursed, but overall, the story worked well and kept me interested....more
I liked the way this book was written and found the story interesting, including how the author put it together, but ultimately I had a difficult timeI liked the way this book was written and found the story interesting, including how the author put it together, but ultimately I had a difficult time staying interested and didn't end up finishing this. This has two parallel timelines: in 1902, a few students at Brookhants die in mysterious ways before the school is closed for good. In present day, a book has been written about the mysteries at Brookhants and is now being turned into a movie, and as this film project gets underway, the stars of it become entangled in the mysteries of Brookhants and its apparent curse.
The writing style in here was fun, and clearly the author has a lot of talent. This was written in both a formal way that kept me, the reader, at a slight distance, while also having a very conspiratorial tone to it, complete with footnotes here and there, specifically written for the reader's benefit. It was well put together, and once I got used to this style, I found it fairly engaging. I also was interested in both the storylines, curious how the old mysteries and supposed curse at Brookhants would unfold and how they would impact the women in the present day.
For all the initial intrigue, however, the story never seemed to really get off the ground for me. I kept waiting for something more to happen, reading on to find out when the story would start instead of reading on because I cared about what had happened so far. There were scenes here and there that interested me, but the pacing felt off and kept me from ever getting hooked.
The characters alone didn't keep me engaged either. While I was somewhat curious about where all the stories would go, especially after they intersected with each other, no one seemed that much different from anyone else, so everyone kind of blended together. I never felt a real sense of urgency from any of the characters for their personal struggles or what they wanted out of life, so it kept me from caring about what really happened to them. Also, I found it a bit strange that pretty much every single character in here was gay, or at the very least bi; it seemed odd that this was the norm for everyone, regardless of time they lived in (the relationships in 1902 were written off as something everyone accepted that girls did to experiment while at an all-girls school). This felt like something you'd find in fan fiction instead of in reality. Perhaps if I'd been looking for a gothic read with an all-gay cast (or something close to that), it'd have resonated more with me.
I'd heard so much hype about this book, and I was really excited to read this. I expected to enjoy this a lot, and while there was a lot of potential in here, it never really got off the ground for me. The writing was fine, the story was fine... but on the other hand, it was all just "fine". I feel like this is the kind of book that will hit all the right spots for some reasons while completely missing for others. ...more
2.5 stars. Kris used to be the guitarist in Durt Wurk, a heavy metal band on the brink of breaking out, but then the singer, Terry, went solo and rock2.5 stars. Kris used to be the guitarist in Durt Wurk, a heavy metal band on the brink of breaking out, but then the singer, Terry, went solo and rocketed to stardom while the other members were left behind. She now works at a motel, dreaming of the days she used to play music, and unable to shake the feeling that something happened that she can't remember. When Terry announces that his band, Koffin, is going to play one final string of shows, something snaps inside of Kris and she's determined to get the rest of the band back together so they can confront Terry. It's harder than expected, though, since apparently Terry has eyes and ears everywhere and their souls are on the line.
I liked the idea behind this book and was excited to start reading it, unaware until I picked it up that this was technically classified as "horror." I can see why that's how this book would be categorized, due to the topics included in here, but it really wasn't particularly scary or gruesome (which I liked). Instead, this was mostly a homage to heavy metal and depicted a road trip by former band members trying to figure out what had happened to their band and to their last album.
There was a bit of humor in here too, which was a lot of fun, as I enjoyed the author's wit and the sentences here and there that poked fun at how ridiculous people and society can be. It made for good entertainment. As a whole, however, the book didn't truly resonate with me the way it apparently did with a lot of others (judging by the reviews here on Goodreads). I liked the premise, and the characters were entertaining enough, but the plot itself got to be confusing and there were parts where I simply did not understand what was going on or how things had come to be. For example, the whole subplot of what had happened to their final album and why it threatened Terry so much - the explanation just left me with more questions.
Based on all the rave reviews this book seems to be getting, it seems like I'm in the minoring not connecting with it overall. It was entertaining and had a lot of promise, but as the book went on, I think I just got lost and felt less and less of a connection to the characters and the world. I did finish it, curious how everything would wrap up, but despite there being parts that I enjoyed, a lot of it simply fell flat. ...more
I just finished this book yesterday and I've already forgotten much of it, which is probably a good indicator how I felt about this book. Told with thI just finished this book yesterday and I've already forgotten much of it, which is probably a good indicator how I felt about this book. Told with three alternating narrators, this is the story of Rebecca, a teen who moves from London to the small and creepy town of Winterfold. There, she makes one friend, Ferelith, who's odd and a bit creepy and might be human or might be something else. The two of them explore the town together, even though Ferelith already knows everything about it. There's also a third narrator who ruminates, in an old diary, about life in 1798. I'm not quite sure what else to say about the plot except that it was barely existent.
There were one or two bits in here that I enjoyed. There was one sentence about Rebecca exploring the town and how it took her 20 minutes, so she tells herself to not be a big city snob and so she explores it again and it takes her 25 minutes. That was cute and the only part I actually remember in any detail. The majority of the book was just such a mess that I didn't enjoy it, nor did I always even understand what I was reading. On the plus side, it was a short book so it didn't take long to speed through it.
The narration jumps around from Rebecca, Ferelith, and the 1798 diary. I could easily distinguish between the girls' narratives and the one in 1798, not only because the 1798 diary entries all started with a date but because the actually writing was much different (and, to me, much less enjoyable). On the other hand, the narrative jumped from Rebecca to Ferelith without warning and seemingly without purpose. The jumps were so sudden and awkward that I was constantly confused whose head I was supposed to be in or how I was viewing a scene. The transitions were extremely clumsy. I didn't think the multiple narrators worked at all, nor were they even necessary.
Meanwhile, the plot.... well, there wasn't much of it past Rebecca trying to figure out Ferelith, their friendship, and the town. I constantly felt like I was reading without it going anywhere. Additionally, much of the writing seemed very clunky and kept me unconvinced that I was actually reading about people. I just felt like I was being told about a story I didn't really care that much about. I wish I had gotten more into the characters or the setting. Instead, I just felt bored. There were a lot of parts I ended up skimming due to it seeming to go nowhere. I kept waiting for something big to happen and on a couple of occasions there was a scene that intrigued me, only to quickly disappoint when the build up didn't continue. I finished the book very unsatisfied - not just because I spent the time reading a book I didn't like, but also because the story itself wrapped up with lots of plot holes. Very disappointing. ...more