Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates REVIEW

 Summary:

Meet Quentin P. He is a problem for his professor father and his loving mother, though of course they do not believe the charge of sexual molestation of a minor that got him in that bit of trouble.

He is a challenge for his court-appointed psychiatrist, who nonetheless is encouraged by the increasingly affirmative quality of his dreams and his openness in discussing them.

He is a thoroughly sweet young man for his wealthy grandmother, who gives him more and more, and can deny him less and less.

My Thoughts:

I almost DNFed this book, as the beginning is quite slow.

Quentin is not a likeable character, and Oates doesn't try to make him one. He is a thoroughly terrible person that is not at all sympathetic. I like that. Too many people make their villains sympathetic and likeable. 

The narration is from Quentin's POV and we get a look into his disturbed mind.

I honestly wish that the book was longer, because there isn't really much of a conclusion.

My Rating: 3 stars

The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon REVIEW

 Summary:

When social worker Jax receives nine missed calls from her older sister, Lexie, she assumes it's just another one of her sister's episodes. Manic and increasingly out of touch with reality, Lexie has pushed Jax away for over a year. But the next day, Lexie is dead, drowned in the pool at their grandmother's estate. When Jax arrives at the house to go through her sister's things, she learns that Lexie was researching the history of their family and the property. She dives deeper into the research herself and discovers that the land holds a far darker past than she could have every imagined.

In 1929, thirty-seven-year-old newly wed Ethel Monroe hopes desperately for a baby. In an effort to distract her, Ethel's husband whisks her away on a trip to Vermont, where a natural spring showcased by the newest and most modern hotel in the Northeast. Once there, Ethel learns that the water is rumored to grant wishes, never suspecting that the spring takes in equal measure to what it gives.

My Thoughts:

I adored this book and read it in only a few hours. The characters are outstandingly fleshed out and the writing is beautifully done.

Jax used to be close to her sister when she was younger, but the condition of her spread them apart. She knows next to nothing about the family and property's history, which she finds out later on. Her aunt and father are there with her when she returns for the funeral.

Ethel wants a baby so badly. When she hears that the water grants wishes, Ethel figures it wouldn't hurt to try, unaware of the coming consequences with her baby being extremely sick when she is born. We later find out that Ethel is Jax's great-grandmother.

The characters' relation to each other is so seamlessly woven. The ending is tragic yet beautiful.

Overall, I would definitely recommend giving this a read.

My Rating: 5 stars

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis REVIEW

 Summary:

Patrick Bateman is handsome, well educated, intelligent. He works by day on Wall Street, earning a fortune to complement the one he was born with. His nights he spends in ways we cannot begin to fathom. He is twenty-six years old and living his own American Dream.

My Thoughts:

I did see the movie first, and I enjoyed it enough that it made me want to read the book.

There are descriptions upon descriptions of designer clothing and accessories and random album reviews, which is an interesting look into Patrick's head.

This book definitely has some disturbing elements, but I have read far more disturbing books, so it did not really phase me.

I like that Patrick is the narrator and we see everything through his eyes rather than an outsider's eyes. Not only does it make the story more interesting, but we see more character development as well as knowing that he is an unreliable narrator since he is the 'bad guy' of the story.

The ending is just as odd and open to interpretation as the movie's ending, which is interesting. While I like it, I kind of also wish that we knew whether or not everything that happened was in Bateman's head.

My Rating: 4 stars

Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones REVIEW

 Summary:

One last laugh for the summer as it winds down. One last prank just to scare a friend. Bringing a mannequin into a theater is just some harmless fun, right? Until it wakes up. Until it starts killing.

Luckily, Sawyer has a plan. He'll be a hero. He'll save everyone to the best of his ability. He'll kill as many people as he needs to so he can save the day. That's the thing about heroes - sometimes you have to become a monster first.

My Thoughts:

The title is misleading. There is only one mannequin, and that was disappointing. Other than that, the book was a fun short ride.

Sawyer and his friends bring an old friend (Manny) out of the garage to prank their friend who works at a movie theater. But Manny just walks out and leaves, and no one notices except Sawyer. Soon after, one of his friends and her family ends up dead, in an accident. Sawyer doesn't think that it's an accident though. He thinks that Manny is killing them out of revenge for being left alone for all those years in the garage.

(Spoilers) it's not true. Sawyer is imagining this, thinking of the worst. And because of this, he kills all of his remaining friends in an attempt to "save" their families from dying.

I think that the twist at the end was done really well. Normally, I wouldn't like it, but it's done very well here.  If you're looking for a short horror read for fun, I would recommend it!

My Rating: 4 stars

Body Art by Kristopher Triana REVIEW

 Summary:

Art comes in many forms.

A disturbed undertaker.

Famous pornographers from the Golden Age of adult films.

And a couple of high school graduates looking for a good time.

Brought together by a mysterious red dust, these unique artists will collaborate on the most terrifying work of art known to man...

My Thoughts:

The story is slow at first, and I almost put it down completely, but then I just couldn't stop reading it.

Harold is an undertaker, in the business with his sister, but he doesn't like her interfering in his part of the job. It's work as normal until the next few bodies that he must prepare are former lovers of his. Something takes over him, and he keeps certain parts of each body, eventually stitching them together to make them into one body. Though I am still confused about how his part in the ending happens. He's definitely my favorite character here.

Kandi is an older porn star who ends up with her old film director, Rutger, on a secret project. She's basically the voice of reason in this book, along with Toby. Rutger just wants to film the project and then leave the industry.

Toby and Jessica are the graduates on vacation for the summer. They coincidentally end up in the next house over to the filming, and go to investigate. They get invited to join, but only Jessica agrees. The more Jessica films scenes, the more bloodthirsty she gets, and becomes a sort of conduit for the weird thing that's lingering around.

The whole supernatural aspect was very poorly constructed, which made it hard to understand.

You can definitely tell that this was written by a man, the way that the female characters are described. 

It is a pretty disturbing book (in terms of like violence and gore). I doubt that this was intentional, but it could be read as the dark side of pornography and maybe an argument as to why it's bad.

I'm glad that I read it, but I doubt that I'll pick it up again.

My Rating: 3 stars

The Haunted Vagina by Carlton Mellick III REVIEW

 Summary:

Steve is madly in love with his eccentric girlfriend, Stacy. Unfortunately, their sex life has been suffering as of late, because Steve is worried about the odd noises that have been coming from Stacy's pubic region. She says that her vagina is haunted. She doesn't think it's that big of a deal. Steve, on the other hand, completely disagrees.

When a living corpse climbs out of her during an awkward night of sex, Stacy learns that her vagina is actually a doorway to another world. She persuades Steve to climb inside of her to explore this strange new place. But once inside, Steve finds it difficult to return...especially once he meets an oddly attractive woman named Fig, who lives within the lonely haunted world between Stacy's legs.

My Thoughts:

Yes, I bought this book just because of the title lol. Definitely a very odd concept, but very interesting. There's not much character development, but the book is pretty short.

Unlike Steve, I would not have minded lol. 

I don't even know what to say about this book, except that if you like bizarre  books, give it a try!

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica REVIEW

 Summary:

Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans - though no one calls them that anymore. His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries no to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the "Transition". Now, eating human meat - "special meat" - is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing.

Then one day he's given a gift: a live specimen of the finest quality. Though he's aware that any form of personal contact is forbidden on pain of death, little by little he starts to treat her like a human being. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost - and what might still be saved.

My Thoughts:

When I first started reading this book, I didn't think that I would be able to finish it. But I did, so here we are.

From the start, you can tell that Marcos is not super happy with the way society is treating the "special meat", or as they call them, "heads". And his uneasiness grows throughout the book. That is what makes him such an interesting character.

Because of this, as well as probably missing someone to connect to, Marcos takes the gifted head and brings her into his home, treating her like a human being and even giving her a name: Jasmine.

His sister is the complete opposite of Marcos; she believes everything that the government says without question. She's annoying, but it makes sense to have a character like her in the story.

The ending was weird. He spent all this time humanizing Jasmine only to kill her in the end, which didn't make much sense.

Overall, this was an interesting concept to read about.

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Dead Inside by Chandler Morrison REVIEW

 Summary:

A young hospital security guard with a disturbingly unique taste in woman. A maternity doctor with a horrifically unusual appetite. When the two of them meet, they embark on a journey of self-discovery while shattering societal norms and engaging in the destructively aberrant behavior. As they unwittingly help each other understand a world in which neither of them seems to belong, they begin to realize what it truly means to be alive...and that it might not always be a good thing.

My Thoughts:

This book is beautifully fucked up. The main character is a necrophile, and the other main character is a cannibal who only eats dead babies.

I think that it is an interesting that the main character's name is never mentioned. The inner conflict that he developed throughout the novel is very well done. Because at the beginning, he can't get it up with living women, but he starts to catch feelings and stuff for the doctor (her name is Helen). At first, he is very solid in his beliefs about himself and the world, but by the end, he's questioning himself. This is mirrored by the fact that Helen originally is questioning herself, but by the end, she accepts herself as she is and no longer questions. I did not expect this book to get this deep.

While I personally enjoyed reading this (I finished it in one sitting), it's definitely not for the faint of heart. It's very dark, and with graphic descriptions. There are mentions of sexual assault as well.

However...

My Rating: 5 stars

In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami REVIEW

 Summary:

It is just before New Year's.

Frank, an overweight American tourist, has hired Kenji to take him on a guided tour of Tokyo's sleazy nightlife on three successive evenings. But Frank's behavior is so strange that Kenji begins to entertain a horrible suspicion: that his new client is in fact the serial killer currently terrorizing the city. It isn't until the second night, however, in a scene that will shock you and make you laugh and make you hate yourself for laughing, that Kenji learns exactly how much he has to fear and how irrevocably his encounter with this great white whale of an American will change his life.

Kenji's intimate knowledge of Tokyo's sex industry, his thoughtful observations and wisecracks about the emptiness and hypocrisy of contemporary Japan, and his insights into the shockingly widespread phenomena of "compensated dating" and "selling it" among Japanese schoolgirls, give us plenty to think about on every page. Kenji is our likable, if far from innocent, guide to the inferno of violence and evil into which he unwillingly descends - and from which only Jun, his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, can possibly save him...

My Thoughts:

This is such a wonderfully written novel. The style of writing is so different to what I am used to, but makes me intrigued. 

Kenji, while not relatable in the job/life experience area, is definitely relatable once he starts to suspect Frank of murder. Being utterly convinced that he's a killer and being scared of him while at the same time having seen or heard any actual evidence.

He does end up being right though. While I didn't really laugh at the scene alluded to in the summary, I did quite enjoy reading it.

Frank's character is very interesting. You want to believe that he's innocent, but there's too many coincidences and contradictions that make you suspect him. Even by the end of the novel, you don't end up hating him despite the horrible things he has done.

Kenji's refusal to go to the police about it, while annoying, is also kind of understandable.

All in all, I definitely enjoyed reading this and would recommend others do the same.

My Rating: 5 stars

Infinite Retribution by Robert Stadnik REVIEW

 Summary:

After nearly a century of oppression, the human race can finally explore the stars. Now part of a newly-formed alien alliance, the military commemorates this new age by building their first generation of starships to explore the unknown.

When the crew of the Infinity embarks on the starship's maiden voyage, they're primed for a mission of exploration and discovery - not confrontation. But when an unimaginable threat derails their plans, they're forced to rethink everything they believe to be true...and question where their loyalties lie. With time running out, they must make a life-and-death decision: surrender to their basic instincts, or face an even greater danger that threatens them from within.

My Thoughts:

It took me a long time to get invested in the story and the characters, and that made me almost walk away from this. But I'm so glad that I didn't.

The Prologue is useful, but you don't understand the importance of it until much, much later in the novel.

I found myself really liking Annette, despite the fact that we're not really supposed to. Despite the rumors that turned out to be true, she's a flawed but very intriguing and likable character.

Jacob seems to be a very minor character, but he becomes more important later on.

Throughout the story, I have been conflicted about Frank. He's likable and interesting, but I also don't like some of the decisions he made later on in the book.

The alien characters were very interesting; I wish that they were a larger part of the novel.

The ending was very conflicting. On one hand, I thought that what happened was the best of two bad options, but on the other, it would have been nice to have captured the enemy race instead of wiping them out.

Overall, I liked it. If you like stories set in space in the future with moral dilemmas, this book is for you.

My Rating: 3.5 stars 

Tools of a Thief by D. Hale Rambo REVIEW

 My Thoughts:

Zizy is an intriguing character. Her magic abilities and mysterious family ties are central to the story. I would love to know more about her aunt and why her aunt is the way she is. I would also love to know why she doesn't want other people to know that she is a gnome.

Laysa is probably my favorite character here. She works at a library and is very curious about the world around her, as well as Zizy's magic.

Pace is an annoying character, and he doesn't do anything for the story. It would probably have been the same without him.

I'm really interested in learning more about Carmela and the rivalry between her and Emba. 

I like the relationship between Zizy and Laysa. I hope to see it grow throughout the series.

Some things were hard to understand. There is an odd scene with a moving/possibly living statue that makes zero sense at all. An explanation would have been nice. There are mentions of deities but no information is really given at all.

If you are looking for a quick fantasy read, definitely check this one out!

My Rating: 3 stars

Asylum by Madeleine Roux REVIEW

 Summary:

For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, the New Hampshire College Prep program is the chance of a lifetime. Except that when Dan arrives, he finds that the usual summer housing has been closed, forcing students to stay in the crumbling Brookline Dorm--formerly a psychiatric hospital. As Dan and his new friends Abby and Jordan start exploring Brookline's twisty halls and hidden basement, they uncover disturbing secrets about what really went on here . . . secrets that link Dan and his friends to the asylum's dark past. Because it turns out Brookline was no ordinary psych ward. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

My Thoughts:

I absolutely LOVED this book. I read it all in one sitting.

Dan is an interesting character to choose to focus on. Reading the book made me think that Abby was more of main character material then he was. He shares the name of the notoriously terrible warden that experimented on and sacrificed patients, which makes asking people who live in the area freak out. Hopefully in the sequel we get to find out if they are actually related. Also, he has a mild dissociative disorder, which is cool because it's usually the killer who has it, not one of their targets.

Jordan was also interesting, but he had less of a part in the search for answers, which didn't go well for his character development; he wasn't included in a lot of important scenes and revelations. He is a gay teen who escaped from being sent to a conversion camp. I hope we find out more about him in the sequel as well.

Abby's character was arguably the most interesting. She had an aunt who was sent to the asylum back when it was open. And it turns out that the aunt is still alive, living in the town. Her dad gets angry whenever she tries to ask him about her.

READ! THIS! BOOK! I know I'm like eight years late to this, but it was so good.

My Rating: 5 stars

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas REVIEW

 Summary:

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal but Tamlin--one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As Feyre dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility to a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it...or doom Tamlin--and his world--forever. 

My Thoughts:

I had intended to read this back when it first came out, but never did until my girlfriend basically forced me to read it. And I am so glad that I did.

It starts out with Feyre hunting to help her family survive. They used to be rich, but fell on hard times sometime after her mother died. She has two sisters, one who is sweet and the other who is, well, a bitch. Her father is crippled and can't do anything to make money to provide for his daughters.

The wolf she kills turns out to be some kind of Fae, which comes with the consequence of either death or being brought back to their land. The latter is what happens.

There she meets Tamlin, a High Lord, who is a bit of an asshole for about half of the book, and Lucien, who is also an asshole, but for good reason: the Fae she killed was his friend.

Feyre ends up falling for Tamlin, and then things go to shit. He and his people are kidnapped by another being, and she is the only one who can save them. Spoiler alert: she does.

While it was originally hard to get into, the more I read, the more I got invested in the characters, the land, and the story. I will definitely continue reading this series.

My Rating: 5 stars

The Descent of the Drowned by Ana Lal Din REVIEW

 Summary:

As the sacred slave of a goddess, Roma is of a lower caste that serves patrons to sustain the balance between gods and men. What she wants is her freedom, but deserters are hunted and hanged, and Roma only knows how to survive in her village where women are vessels without a voice. When her younger brother is condemned to the same wretched fate as hers, Roma must choose between silence and rebellion.

Leviathan is the bastard son of an immortal tyrant. Raised in a military city where everyone knows of his blood relation to the persecuted clans, Leviathan is considered casteless. Lowest of the low. Graduating as one of the deadliest soldiers, he executes in his father's name, displaying his worth. When he faces judgement from his mother's people--the clans--Leviathan must confront his demons and forge his own path, if he ever hopes to reclaim his soul.

But in the struggle to protect the people they love and rebuild their identities, Roma's and Leviathan's desires interlock as the immortal tyrant hunts an ancient treasure that will doom humankind should it come into his possession--a living treasure to which Roma and Leviathan are the ultimate key.

My Thoughts:

I LOVED this book! It's so well written too, for it being the author's first novel.

Roma is such a strong character. She endures so much suffering under the caste system as a slave. Despite being considered not human and closer to goddess, they aren't treated very well. Not to mention the fact that they are sold off to men as a kind of higher prostitute. When Roma realizes the truth of this, she, understandably, gets angry. And it sets her off in the direction of possibly running away. (Spoiler Alert) she turns out to be the sort of vessel of the treasure, hinted throughout as she sometimes unknowingly releases her powers. I wish we got to know more about her powers.

Leviathan is well developed as well. In some ways, you sympathize with him. He hates seeing wardens beat up, rape, and kill people of the lower caste. He wants to turn the system around, whether from the inside or outside. But he has flaws. He will do anything for the cause, even if it hurts other innocent people, like Roma. We got to learn about his past, which is nice.

The ending seemed very rushed. I hope that maybe the author would consider writing a sequel or something, because it left me wanting more.

My Rating: 5 stars