3 Mini Book Reviews
1 bop and 2 flops…
Diavola by Jennifer Thorne
Genre & Themes: horror, literary fiction, black sheep family member, humor, ghosts and hauntings, difficult family dynamics
Teaser: Anna has two rules for the annual Pace family destination vacations: Tread lightly and survive. It isn’t easy when she’s the only one in the family who doesn’t quite fit in. A gorgeous, remote villa in tiny Monteperso, Italy seems like a perfect place to endure so much family togetherness, until things start going off the rails—the strange noises at night, the unsettling warnings from the local villagers, and the dark, violent past of the villa itself.
Thoughts: Yes, yes, yes. First off, I absolutely loved the tone and the writing. It’s funny and relatable while also terrifying the shit out of me. Completely atmospheric and throws you into the setting of small town Italy. There were many times throughout this book that I wanted to SCREAM and not only out of pure terror. The tension and horror comes from the potential ghost and also the painful family dynamics. Anna’s family is endlessly frustrating. They blame every issue that comes up on the trip, and in their lives generally, on Anna while also refusing to accept the signs that something is not right in this house. Could not put this one down and still think about it even though I read it a month ago. Highly recommend this book if that wasn’t clear enough.
Maeve Fly by CJ Leede
Genre & Themes: horror, gore, strange romance, Disneyland (if you can believe it), feeling “other,” American Psycho-vibes
Teaser: By day, Maeve Fly works at the happiest place in the world as every child’s favorite ice princess. By the neon night glow of the Sunset Strip, Maeve haunts the dive bars with a drink in one hand and a book in the other, imitating her misanthropic literary heroes. But when Gideon Green - her best friend’s brother - moves to town, he awakens something dangerous within her, and the world she knows suddenly shifts beneath her feet.
Thoughts: This had all the trappings (accidental fly trap pun not intended) of a book that I would love: a horror book that romanticizes of LA and features a totally insane female main character. It’s been described as “a female American Psycho.” Now that I’m thinking about it though, I didn’t like American Psycho. For a book about murder, AP was quite slow and internal. And that’s exactly how I felt about Maeve Fly, unfortunately. Wild concept on paper, but there wasn’t enough forward propulsion to keep me invested. I’ve been saying this a lot lately, but I realized I don’t love really internal books. A lot of this book takes place in Maeve’s head. But many other people loved this one, so maybe you would too!
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
Genre & Themes: thriller, mystery, solving a murder
Teaser: A twisty thriller about a young woman trying to solve her own murder. In seven days Jet Mason will be dead. She’s been attached by an unseen intruder that left her with a catastrophic head injury. An injury that will kill her within a week. Jet’s now forced to look at everyone in a new light: her family, her former best friend turned sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend. She has at most seven days and only her childhood friend Billy for help to solve her own murder.
Thoughts: Unfortunately, no :( Holly Jackson is known for her Young Adult trilogy: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, which was turned into a Netflix series*.* I read those books and did really enjoy the first one (the second was ok and the third was not my cup of tea). Not Quite Dead Yet is Jackson’s first Adult novel. The premise pulled me IN. A woman who sets out to solver her own murder? 1. how?, but 2. I’m so down for that. Disappointingly, it didn’t come together for me. The writing still felt YA even though the book is not categorized as such. Yes, it is about adults, but the main character acts like a teenager. Her immaturity, sarcasm, and need to be contrarian got tiring after the first few chapters. I never connected with her. The story is also too slow. This may have a symptom of the length. The book stands at almost 400 pages, and I don’t see the story warranting such a long page count. I could see a cut-down version of this book really working for me as a page-turner thriller—even considering my issues with the main character. Wanted to really like this one, but I didn’t and that’s ok!
https://weirdpasta.substack.com/p/3-mini-book-reviews-1-hit-and-2-misses
