arys_library's reviews
84 reviews

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

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challenging mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting but even then, I still liked it. I expected a fast paced, gripping, gory horror novel. Instead it felt more like a thriller; even though the plot of the book is definitely for a horror novel. It wasn’t very gory either. I heard and saw multiple times that Grady Hendrix’s books were gory and kept you up at night, and weren’t for horror beginners. But I disagree. It was a good and gripping book but it was pretty easy for a horror novel, and there wasn’t much gore at all. 

But onto the characters. This was one of those books that even if you didn’t see the authors name, you could tell it was written by a man. The women were unlikeable and petty in this book, which is fair and a lot of books with unlikeable characters are great. But these characters had no personality at all. They were bland and petty and besides their backstories, these women can be morphed into one simply because of their lack of personality. 

SPOILERS START HERE! This book is 100% about women. But the one man in this book turns out to hate the women so much that he becomes the main focus and person behind all of this is just bad. And the girl that helped him only helped him because she was insanely love with him, which shows a lot about Hendrix’s opinions of women. That they’re petty and all the same, that they’re such followers and need a man to do everything. I feel like if the characterse were better, this could be close to a 5 star read
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The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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

5.0

This book was amazing! Truly a five star read. It was fun and mysterious, there were twists and turns, and even a bit of romance. This book was near perfect to me. 

I loved all of the puzzles and clues in the house, it showed us the history of the Hawthorne house and what the boys’ relationships with their grandfather were. 

The main character was so amazing. She was smart and stubborn, not in an annoying was like some y/a novels. She knew how to hold her ground and I loved that. 

I can’t wait for the second one!
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Luster by Raven Leilani

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emotional funny reflective medium-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

4.25

Such an incredible debut novel. In this book we follow a 23 year old black woman named Edie as she joins an open relationship with an older white couple. During her visits and experiences with the couple, she notices that have an adopted black daughter that Edie is immediately drawn to. Edie realizes that she may be the only black figure in this girls life and wants to help navigate her through the world, even though at times, Edie seems to need help doing that herself. 

I absolutely loved the narration throughout this book. It’s scattered, insecure, and inadvertently funny. The way she thinks reminds me of parts of myself, which is why it felt so familiar and how I read it in one sitting. 

The beginning of the book was funny and sexual and the relationships that were formed bordered on unhinged. It was so easy to get through. The ending half could have easily been a different story, and I mean that in a good way. The ending focuses on Edie and her relationship with herself and the family she inserted herself into. 

I loved the ending half of the book even more than the beginning. It was a bit tiring though. The writing style is beautiful, and requires you to read it slowly to absorb the information. 
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The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was such a cute book! I loved the Harry Potter references. The relationships between the main character Vivi and her family felt like the relationships in Practical Magic. So this book was very comforting and nostalgic for me. 

I think the author did a great job at blending magic into a romance book, personally I would have liked to see a bit more exciting tense magical scenes, but that’s just me and my high fantasy expectations. 

Spoiler below!!



I feel like the happily ever after ending was a little rushed and too perfect and easy. I would have liked to see more conflict or emotion throughout the characters in the ending. I also wish Rhys and Vivi brought up the fact that Rhys was engaged 9 years ago more. It was only mentioned once or twice after they reconnected, and it was so brief. An engagement is a big thing and it was kind of shrugged off. But other than those things, I loved it!
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Bunny by Mona Awad

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challenging dark funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

So this was a very strange book. It’s been a few days since finishing it and I’m still confused about it, maybe even more. It’s one of those books where when you finish it you think; “what did I just read?”. I did love this book mainly because of the weirdness and vibes alone. 

I feel like this is a dark book about female friendships, made with satire and humor that isn’t ever explicitly said. There are few jokes made throughout the book, but the actions and thoughts of the characters are funny and remind me of Mean Girls or Heathers, that kind of parody-like media. 

However, the book was a bit too confusing at times, even though it is meant to be. There were strange scenes, interactions and conversations that never got explained, which made the rest of the book more confusing. I get that it was written that way, but it was a little too much for me. 

This book reminded me of when I was in high school English classes. When the class had to read some classic book that was hard to understand and you were constantly looking up “what does it mean when [this character] did ___” “did ___ ever happen” “what is the meaning behind [insert scene]?” So yes very confusing book, you can’t go into it wanting to get an explanation of every detail. But in the end, you did enjoy it. 

I honestly want to read this again soon, because I feel like I would get a better understanding of the book and enjoy it for the vibe and characters, instead of trying to find meaning in every paragraph. 

Despite my confusion throughout this book, I did really like it. It was a very enjoyable read. It is broken apart into three parts, and the second part was just amazing. 
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Gallant by V.E. Schwab

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was my second V.E Schwab book I’ve read, and much like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, this gets 5 stars! I read this as an ebook borrowing it from my library, but I want to get a physical copy so badly now, especially to stare at the beautiful artwork throughout this book. 

V.E Schwabs writing style is so unique and I think the majority of people who don’t love her books, don’t like her writing style. To me, her style is so beautiful and graceful, it’s slow burning and so full of imagery. Fans of Coraline, this might be the book for you. 

Honestly, it’s hard for me to think of the words for how much I loved this book, it’s something that deserves more that simple words. This book was phenomenal and powerful and otherworldly. To me, it was perfect. 
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The Awakening by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I really really loved this book! A great introduction to this giant series. I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews on it and I agree with a small part of all of them. 

Someone said the first book is like a really long first chapter of a book. And while I agree, it’s a damn good first chapter. It’s an introduction to this fantasy world, but was so easy to understand, there was very little info dumping. 

I absolutely loved how all of the characters were built and their development. Their personalities, even the bad annoying characters, were so prominent it made the book so lovable and entertaining. Certain times when a character would appear I would get so excited to read their parts, no matter how small. And for a book that is mainly an introduction have that much character impact shows how great the character building and storytelling is. 

I will say I wish there was more internal turmoil between the two main characters Tori and Darcy. Their whole lives have been turned upside down and everything they’ve ever known is taken from them. And we don’t get to see much into their minds on how they are processing so much new information. It really lacked depth in that area. It was like after something incredibly strange happened, the girls thought about how weird and crazy this event was, and then just went along with it 2 minutes later. 

I loved the double povs between the twin mcs. But it would sometimes be confusing. I got a good grasp around 3/4 of the way into the book but before that I was having trouble deciphering between the two. There were many times where I was questioning which girl lived where, who has which power, etc. 

Also super random but the artwork on the beginning of each chapter was so beautiful but there were times where it wood cover up the words and I couldn’t understand what was happening. It didn’t happen every chapter but it happened enough for me to be annoyed by. 

Overall I really enjoyed this book, I’m so excited for the rest of the series so I could see more of each of the characters!
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Dangle by Avery Keelan

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adventurous lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

4.0

I really enjoyed this book! A great romance with just enough conflict and depth to not be too cliche. I loved the characters and their chemistry with eachother, but I found it hard to connect with them. 

Usually with my favorite characters I feel very emotionally invested in them and with this I wasn’t. I loved them, but they didn’t really stick with me. 
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Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover

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dark emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Colleen Hoover has done it again! This is a fantastic book. It’s so raw and real, similar to another one of her books; It Ends With Us. It’s a dark, deep, serious books, with quite a bit of romance in it, but not too much to hide the deep messages in the story. I really loved this book. 

There were points that I felt really lacked, and made me wish I loved it more. So much happened in the end 50 or so pages, it could have been spread out so much more, it felt rushed this way. I still loved the ending though I wish there was more substance. 

I think the amount of substance throughout this book was really the only thing I disliked. I wish we got more flashbacks or descriptions of Scotty. It’s hard to mourn him as a reader when there isn’t much to go off of besides the main characters’ thoughts. It would have been great to get more insight to his personality or more meaningful memories. Because of that, I didn’t feel as connected to the book as I wished to be. 

I still do feel connected to the characters and I really loved all of them, but some of the sad scenes could have been more impactful if we had more of Scotty. 

All in all, I did enjoy this book. Colleen’s storytelling is incredible, and her characters really pull at your heart. Definitely another great novel of hers!
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The Black Coats by Colleen Oakes

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

4.5

I loved this book. The first half was perfectly amazing. The last half was amazing as well, but a little cheesy and predictable. That doesn’t make a book bad though, this was a really amazing book. It makes the reader look at the differences between right snd wrong and dissect the definitions of justice and vengeance. It’s fiction, but so many women can relate to the emotions flowing through this book which is what made it so amazing. It’s not too graphic, since it’s y/a and the characters are high school characters, but it is really emotional so check trigger warnings. 
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