teeny

Death Becomes Her meets Goop.

I had a fun time reading this, but I'm not entirely sure that it did what it set out to do. The present-day story was fun and the writing held my interest, though the horror was pretty light for something that is described as a horror novel. The split timelines didn't really add anything for me. I didn't see what purpose the flashbacks served, since they didn't really clarify anything about our protagonists character, nor were any of her issues really resolved by the end of the book. Overall enjoyable but forgettable.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC :)

I enjoyed this memoir about a women trying to figure out what to do with her life when her marriage ends and her job has changed. I initially found it a little slow going, with some of the descriptions of the meetups feeling a little shallow, but I got more absorbed as I got into it and I really enjoyed the latter half a lot more.

I also really loved that there's a section at the end that lists every book recommended throughout each chapter!

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC

Absolutely loved the premise for this one, and it did not disappoint. Incredibly vivid and engaging, I meant to start it before bed and finish tomorrow but couldn't put it down! The characters felt real and distinct, and the body horror was subtle and well done. The way Ji-Won described George's eyes in contrast to him as a person, the beauty and disgust, it makes me shudder to think about it.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC

I liked the idea of this book, but the execution just felt a bit shallow? It's titled parasocial and supposedly about obsession but we barely see any evidence of either of those things. The only interactions between the narrator and the focus of her “obsession” that we see are a couple of short IM back and forths. We're told rather than shown.

Would have been much more enjoyable, for me, if it was a longer book with more of a slow burn build up demonstrating the growing obsession before the confrontation and the one-two punch of “oh she's a catfish” followed by “ohhhh she's a psychopathic witch.”

The horror bits were very fun though, I enjoyed the second half of the book a lot more than the first.

I find it kinda strange that the blurb, the marketing and barely any reviews mention race and its relation to beauty standards, because that was one of the biggest themes jumping out at me while reading this.

Flew through this book in two sittings (would have been one if sleep wasn't unfortunately necessary at 6am)

I don't have a lot to add to the other positive reviews, the things I liked about the book are well covered. Based on the more negative or lukewarm reviews, I think the main sticking point is what you want to get out of the book. I don't really consume true crime content, and I picked this up because in general I mostly read books focused on women's perspectives. I suspect that many of the people who did not enjoy this book so much were fairly familiar with the case going in, and I can see why a blend of true crime and fiction would be offputting or lack tension in that context, but I didn't have that issue.

I think if you're looking for a traditional thriller, this probably is not a book for you, because it is not that. But if you enjoy books focused on women, their perspectives and inner lives, the ways in which male violence and incompetence affects them, etc, then you will get a lot out of this book.