Posted on by bookreviews628

My Favorites of 2024

Hey everyone! Welcome to my annual favorites list! I intended to post another review but decided to leave that for next month/year. I fully intended to post more reviews in December, but life/the holidays/health/other things got in the way. I did get a bunch of books for Christmas that I am looking forward to reading and reviewing, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my annual favorites list. Happy New Year! I can’t wait to see you all in 2025!

Books

  • The Winter Soldier: Cold Front by Mackenzi Lee
  • The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwyne
  • All’s Well by Mona Awad
  • The Employees by Olga Ravn
  • Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval
  • Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
  • Brutes by Dizz Tate
  • Monstrillio by Gerardo Samano Cordova
  • The Deep by Alma Katsu
  • How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
  • Intercepts by TJ Payne
  • Godkiller and Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner
  • Sign Here by Claudia Lux
  • The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
  • Rouge by Mona Awad
  • Several People are Typing by Calvin Kasulke
  • Angels Before Man and Angels & Man by Rafael Nichols
  • The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
  • Out by Natsuo Kirino
  • Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy
  • Eynhallow by Tim McGregor
  • Night Film by Marisha Pessl
  • The Ascendancy Trilogy by Timothy Zahn
  • Bliss Montage by Ling Ma
  • The Obelisk Gate and The Stone Sky by NK Jemisin
  • Last Days by Brian Evenson
  • A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock
  • Chlorine by Jade Song
  • Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
  • Boy Parts by Eliza Clark
  • Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle
  • Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh
  • The Way of the Kings and Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
  • The Shadow of Perseus by Claire Heywood
  • All Systems Red by Martha Wells
  • Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
  • The Vegetarian by Han Kang
  • Theme Music by T. Marie Vandelly
  • They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe

Movies

  • Wicked (dir. Jon M. Chu)
  • Deadpool and Wolverine (dir. Shawn Levy)
  • Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (dir. Tim Burton)
  • Inside Out 2 (dir. Kelsey Mann)
  • I Saw the TV Glow (dir. Jane Schoenburn)

TV Shows

  • House of the Dragon: Season 2 (Max)
  • The Legend of Vox Machina: Seasons 1 and 2 (Prime)
  • The Boys: Season 4 (Prime)
  • Arcane: Seasons 1 and 2 (Netflix)
  • Interview with the Vampire: Season 2 (Prime)
  • Squid Games: Season 2 (Netflix)
  • Agatha All Along: Season. 1 (Disney+)
  • Star Wars: The Acolyte: Season 1 (Disney+)
  • Hazbin Hotel: Season 1 (Prime)

Music

  • Unheard by Hozier (EP)
  • Epic: The Concept Album by Jorge Rivera-Herrans (album)
  • THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY by Taylor Swift (album)
  • HIT ME SOFT AND HARD by Billie Eilish (album)
  • Clancy by Twenty One Pilots (album)
  • Cacophony by Paris Paloma (album)
  • Beyond Beyond Beyond by The Crane Wives (album)
  • OBSERVATIONS FROM A CROWDED ROOM by Joy Oladakun (album)
  • Ampersand by Bastille (album)
  • The Great Impersonator by Halsey (album)
  • The Secret of Us by Gracie Abrams (album)
  • JOYRIDE by Kesha (single)
  • Harpy Hare by Yaelokre (single)
  • Short n’ Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter (album)
  • Punish by Ethel Cain (single)
  • Sailor Song by Gigi Perez (single)
  • Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar (single)
  • GNX by Kendrick Lamar (album)
Posted on by bookreviews628

I pretend I am a different kind of monster: Reviewing The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay

Hey everyone! I hope you are doing well this holiday season! I think I can get out at least one or two more reviews before the end of the year. I’ve been a little busy, but I swear I’m not neglecting this blog. I’ve actually been doing a lot of my own writing in my spare time. Hopefully, something will come of it in the future. If it does then you all will know. Before you check out this review, you can check out my other reviews of Paul Tremblay’s books. In the meantime, let’s talk about The Pallbearers Club.

Content Warning: Disturbing Imagery, Strong Language, Grief and Mourning

Art Babara was a bit of a loser in high school. He had no friends, a scoliosis-riddled spine, and a love of hair metal. He decided to start an odd new extracurricular club to meet people just as weird as him. That was how the Pallbearers Club was created. The members consisted of Art, Eddie, and a strange girl named Mercy. Art and Mercy quickly bonded over Mercy’s love of photography and weird obsession with New England folklore. Weird things happened, though, whenever Mercy was around. Art tried his best to ignore these things, and eventually, they parted ways. Decades later, Art decides to try his hand at writing his memoir. Mysteriously, Mercy re-enters his life and decides to offer her own constructive criticism. The line between fiction and reality blurs as Art tries to figure out what really happened all of those years ago.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Admittedly, I liked Tremblay’s other two books more. The Pallbearers Club does offer a unique format as this book has two narrators, each offering a different perspective of this story. It made the book feel much more personal and interesting. With that being said, I also thought the book was very long-winded and rambling when it could have used more focus. I understand that that is what Tremblay was probably going for, but I found myself skimming for the supernatural/horror elements. Tremblay still delivers with interesting scares, so that motivated me to continue reading. Overall, The Pallbearers Club was interesting but not for me. I think that someone else could appreciate it a bit more than me. I have, however, definitely become a Paul Tremblay fan.

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Posted on by bookreviews628

Death is not your end: Reviewing The Coven by Harper L. Woods

Hey everyone! Wow, I was gone for far longer than I had intended. Life got in the way of me reading more. You all know how it is with the holidays. I was so tired that I could barely make myself read. In fact, I actually fully intended to finish this book in October. It’s no matter now. I am here, alive, and I have another book review for you. Thank you so much for reading my blog. I appreciate all of your support and will link the donation form below. Let me not make any further excuses and let’s talk about The Coven.

Content Warning: Violence, Explicit Sexual Content, Harsh Language, Graphic Descriptions of Bodily Harm, Abuse, Dubious Consent

Willow Madizza was raised to be a weapon by her father. Her duty is to her coven, but she is torn between her duty and protecting her younger brother. After her mother passes, she has no choice but to travel to the secret town of Crystal Hollow to attend Hollow’s Grove University, a prestigious school for young witches. Willow faces an entirely new problem: her attraction to the devilishly handsome Headmaster Alaric Grayson Thorne. Just as Willow finds herself settled into Hollow’s Grove, murders of students begin to happen. As Willow investigates, she realizes that there is a larger plot happening that could doom all witches and humans alike and only she can stop it.

As far as dark fantasy/dark romance goes, this is one of the better books I have read in this genre. The plot and worldbuilding were interesting enough to keep my attention. The steamy scenes were well-written, and I appreciate the tension between Willow and Gray. Where it fell flat for me is that it can be a little cheesy. Willow is very much “not like other girls,” which can be annoying to read at times. The book honestly felt like it was trying to be something akin to The Vampire Diaries, which is all fine and dandy until it snags itself on tropes that are common in the dark “romantasy” genre. Was it a bad book, though? No. In fact, I actually have the second book, and I fully intend to read it. What I’m saying is that this is my soft recommendation for The Coven.

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