Review: The Visitors

The Visitors by Catherine Burns
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Boy, did that book make me feel dirty, tainted, grimy... like Lady MacBeth trying to scrub off the imaginary blood that she just couldn't shake.

This book... I don't know what to say other than TWISTED. It's completely twisted. It's fantastically twisted. It'll wriggle its way into your brain and make you unable to put it down until the very end. And ironically enough, very little happens for most of the book -- but you don't realize that until you get to the real happenings. The characters are so fleshed out, and you'll start to get an idea of what's going on as the pages pass, and even knowing that, you won't be able to stop.

Highly recommended for those who like dark and twisted and character depth.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.


View all my reviews

Review: It

It by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Let's get a few things straight.
1 - Nothing I can say here is new ground. This book has been out a long time and has received countless reviews, so I'm not going to go into super detail.
2 - IT, the creature, is terrifying. Seriously terrifying. And not just because I'm extremely clown-phobic. It can read your mind. It can show up anywhere. It can show up in different forms. It can control people. It can make you see things that no one else can see. It knows your fears, deep down.
3 - Seriously? Child orgy? How is that remotely necessary to the story? And did we really need to know which of the kids REALLY filled her up more than the others? They're 11 years old. I feel dirty just TYPING that one of them has a bigger piece of meat between their legs.
4 - I guess I need to read Dark Tower to understand why there is a turtle involved in all of this?
5 - Not too pleased with the forgetfulness thing LOL.
6- I think Stephen King must have won a ritual of Chüd against his editors, and that's why so many of his books could be 400 pages shorter and tell the same story. Granted, a lot of the extra in this one helped flesh out the evil that lurks in the town, the IT... but in the chapters at the end with the final battles of both young and old, the interruptions to talk about other people in the town just ruined pacing and the climax that had been building the whole book -- the inevitable clash with the villain... and constant readus interruptus.
7 - Damn, makes me wish I had friends like these guys growing up. Other than the whole having to fight an evil entity multiple times in the same life, groups of bullies chasing them constantly, etc.
8 - I still enjoyed the book and think King is a master of storytelling and storycrafting. If you like horror, this is still highly recommended.

*walks to Joey's fridge, opens the freezer, and puts this in beside Joey's copy of The Shining*

View all my reviews

Review: The Quarterback

The Quarterback by Mackenzie Blair
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Matt Lancaster is a dream -- a fantasy. Trevor is so lucky to have one of my fantasies come true for him! :) Alas, it's not all rainbows and unicorns for these two -- they have an uphill battle in their path to love.

The writing was a little juvenile and the plotting was a little predictable and the characters were a little stereotypical... but I really enjoyed it. It was nice knowing that, even though it wasn't deep literature, the author made great efforts to show that life is hard for the LGBT community, especially in the deep south... that true families aren't always the ones we're born into... that the future is always a beacon for hope and a chance for change... and that sometimes, even through the hardest of circumstances, love can help get you through.

I'm not sure it's realistic that these two would end up together permanently... but the ending was sweet and provided happiness for now, and I think it was the way it needed to end.

I'd definitely read more from this author, because she did provide depth to the main characters and those main characters had to deal with some real life situations that happen to many LGBT young people -- myself included.

View all my reviews