Beautiful naturally, organic, wellness. Silk worms, viper venom, papaya seeds. Desire and drive to fit in, change, evolve, devolve, abuse. Sour, bitter, scared…horror. Death, fear, recognition, realization, transference. Understanding and acceptance.

This book is just wonderfully on point. I appreciated the plot and what moves it forward. I cringed and nodded as I read the evolution and see the character growth. The horrors of society are beautifully portrayed and the elements are potent.

New medical term learned- kuru disease: infectious, acquired, fatal neuro degenerative prion disease caused by cannibalism.

Gods damn! This book was infuriating.
The beginning was a bit jumbled but once it found its footing, we flew. We flew right in to the shit show that is mythology. I absolutely ate up this point of view. I was the weird mom who wanted to hug and comfort the poor girl from The Ring and I felt just as much love for Medusa and the gorgons. I will keep other feelings to myself about elements in the story that drive much of the plot so there aren’t misinterpretations. I will never be able to watch Clash of the Titans again.
Also, I’m so printing a resin tribute for the goddess who gave up and sacrificed so much.

To be given so much power and have none to save yourself. The grim and raw truth of abuse, manipulation and toxic love. So desperately our intuitions want to scream the truth, but the manipulator is good at what they do.
One victim pushes themselves past the lies and manipulation and makes the decision to break the cycle, not for herself but for the ones she loves. Harrowing decisions may lead to consequences they may or may not be able to live with and vampires live forever….don’t they?

It’s so hard for me to like a modern day vampire novel and this one truly has the elements, I feel, are needed to make such a story. The lust, the hunger, the sinister secrets and the ties that bind.

Evelyn may have been through some crap early on, but she could have taken a different path. She was too all consuming and self important to see clearly. She did not deserve Celia or Harry. She was so lucky to have gotten a daughter and the shit she pulled at the end with Monique was absolutely infuriating.
It was interesting to see some of the struggles celebrities can get themselves into. Yeah, what fame can cost you. I would never choose that life….EVER. I guess I have an untrendy and unforgiving lens for this type of story.

This was such a sad story. Poor Louie. Was he the exception? If only for a minute?
What happens when you give the human condition powers and immortality…. Chaos and suffering.

Thank you. Thank you for being a voice for us. Sharing the hardest parts, all of it. Thank you for allowing others to slip on our shoes and see what it’s like to go through the emotions, the holds of time, the haunts. Thank you for your bravery and your strength for change.

1959. This book for its time is just exquisite. I’m soooooo very upset I had seen the movies before reading the book. Heck, before knowing there was a book or the joy of knowing I could read it before the movie.
Creepy, mysterious and so very unsettling is Norman and all that he is. I’m glad I finally got my hands on a copy so I can appreciate this classic and log its elements in my bank for future reads/critiques.

King serves up a slow burn fiction that feels so real. The atmosphere is rough and jarring already before discovery of….I won’t tell. The elements are hard and thick of Covid and the times current politics which really seat the reader fully in the moment. You’re tense and it’s unfair, which is the point. People are still gonna be crazy, and sick, and….ick.

The characters (if we chose to do the full reading gambit) grow and blossom fully open during this final leg (is it final?) of the Holly hope road. Beautiful things happened. Horrible things happened, and there were even a few wounds that began to heal.

I enjoyed my journey. I enjoyed watching these characters interact and learn. I enjoyed the realism elements during the entire read: periphery character choices, reaction times, domino effect, ect.

I love that King can write horror, fantastical dark fantasy, and jarring fictional realism with great effort and care to those tones.

“A millionaire walks into a bar…..”

DNF.
There has to be a sane reason for staying when EVERYONE knows something is wrong with the house. You’ve been given a financial out, nothing is holding you there except your pride. You’ve lost my empathy.

Oh Ove...
Do we ever really know our worth to ourselves, or to others?
Men in white tees are evil. They're liars, deceivers, and out for their own gain and always seem to be there when the worse things happen to Ove.
I can't help but assume our friend is on the spectrum. This concept, while completely find and just, seems to have some crossed elements to be true enough for me to fully accept. Being in my line of work has exposed me to numerous examples of persons on the spectrum and how they function.
Love can surprise us, help change us and encourage us to accept things we may could not have before.
This book is full of hard emotions, lack of emotion, and humor. Open a door, begrudgingly Ove, and in time open your heart.

I really fell into this book. It reminded me a lot of my relationship early on with my husband of now ten years. There were a lot of witty moments that had me laugh, and the, cough cough, romance….spicy!
I liked that there were more of real world issues for the characters and the ending was smooth and not over the top sappy. Good balance of science/romance and contemplation.

Such a great classic in horror. My 2nd time reading it and having a slightly different filter now that I have kids and just more exposure to things. Good stuff!

Ooof! Talk about karma showing its pretty face of justice.
Over all, this series has been my least favorite King journey. It just feels so different from what I’m use to. End of Watch was the most familiar King of the 3, but this was stepping stones to get to Holly. I met her in The Outsider and really appreciated her character and the different tone she brought to King’s world.“The pink fish reminded me of when I was 19….”

2.5
The isolation and mental torment was the most interesting part for me. He lost me on his poorly linked science garble. Just not my thing

Good book. Awesome detail and the relationships were pretty good. Saw the 'bad guy' coming before the reveal, but it was still good.

This one was not my jam, no pun intended. How to Sell a Haunted House was a gift and I loved it so much I got myself a copy. It’s almost bizarre this is the same author. I’m sure it’s just wonderful for others. The first horde scene is just gruesome and this guy can write mega grizzly horror. It was a free listen on audible, so I couldn’t say no. Maybe it’s because I’m grunge and not metal. Happy reading ☺️

It seems so far that I can count on this series to be fulfilling with adventure, medical knowledge and wonderful romance

What the…..Fu@&!!! This book! Wheeeee! I couldn’t put it down. Finally a good thriller. Finally a good surprise. Intellectual writing, characters and situations. YES!

My favorite horror book is The Exorcist. I’ve read My Best Friends Exorcism, Come Closer, Goddess of Filth, The Omen (I think this counts for the sub genera), basically a few in the posession category. This novel was so different with its approach to posession and how the evil powers were played out. The other basic elements were still there: play on the innocent, major inner battles, doubt, sins and self hate and of course the religious just. I really enjoyed the different point of views and the inner monologues. This book was written well, without the recent trend of nautious regurgitateion of information. The chosen characters has entertaining builds and the pacing was very tasteful, as was the chosen violence (not grossly overdone and potent enough to keep that unsettling vibe going strong). This story spoke to me and I enjoyed it thoroughly and happy to have found another favorite,
I guess this really is my sub genera

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book. 5/5 solid.
A woman, a mother, a wife will do anything for her son, and that includes wanting to help so bad that she is able to go back and understand the who and why. True love transcends time regardless of what direction you travel. This story has intelligence. There’s a reason for everything and all the elements are linked appropriately. The things that are discovered and unfold are just so fascinating and entertaining. Things have to make sense for me to enjoy them and this story did it eloquently. For me, this was a new and exciting concept that was not a fantasy book.

This was gooy, sticky and just sugar coated messy. To be in love with someone for so long and have the silliest excuse to finally give things a shot. Pasts are messy, which of course complicates the heart, but my goodness….. there are some things I would change because I’m stubborn, but for a debut novel the author pretty good.

4.5/5
A book about the human condition: growing up, shattered dreams, lost relationships, ew relationships and self worth. The mosaic of characters becomes tethered by an octopus allowing change and growth, even healing old wounds.

Eeewww!!! My kids yelled every time the 2 main characters kissed

OMG, this book

Shit don't mean shit. -Holly

There's a LOT to unpack In this novel. Not a soft read in any form. Life cycles, porcelain figurines that are precious enough to be called family. Voices in the head, first person (very important), body horror and body hate. Change, regret, violence lots of violence. A secret cult? Revenge and even betrayal. I had to do this one in small servings because the horror is so harshly rooted and raw. It's well delivered and made the author's message so vivid and permanent.

Those horror stories you hear about when people run away to join the circus. The horrors here are all reflection of humanity, and it was delivered well.
Self discovery, love, betrayal and a deep affection for animals. I enjoyed the time jumps. The ending is bittersweet.

I feel sick. I want to drink….a lot, but that won’t help. I want a soul hug and to hug others. I want to cry and scream. I am thankful for even more information, no matter how painful. So much makes more sense.

When I read stories like this, I gather that my personal feelings build a vendetta bigger than the wronged afflicted. I suppose I wear my heart on my sleeve and when it's broken I pull out the brick walls and teeth. That being said, I felt the afflicted in this novel were very kind to their antagonists. I mean, the other stuff that just happen to take place in the end was warranted and maybe that was a sort of egg shell line the writer decided was best.
I was positively surprised that my subgenera was flirted with a bit in this novel, because who doesn't love a good possession. The idea behind that really drove me forward along with the intellect of the main character. This book did not go the way I thought it would, and that was quite enjoyable. I just wanted those teeth.

I don't think this was one of his best, and I've read a LOT of S.K. I did appreciate the last hurdle of the book involving Jerome and Holly. Those two really brought better character in to the story. The overall story was okay. The gut punch death, the twisted family dynamic of the guilty and the drive for the retired cop.