Characters were realistic and nicely fleshed out. I really could relate to Ronny who had to deal with deep sorrow.

This book was more about drama than horror and that way not what I expected from this book. The drama was good but I didn't like mixing that with horror elements. As a horror story this wasn't that great because drama took so much space.

I think this was worth reading but not great if you're craving a good horror story.

I like Kurt but he is also quite depressing. This was pretty dark and heavy to read. There were thoughts about life, death etc. and they felt realistic. And depressing. This went under my skin.

The story was good but maybe a bit too long. The last part of the book was really thrilling but otherwise pretty slow.

Diem was sometimes too immature for my liking. I really loved Diem's brother and their relationship, it felt realistic.

I loved the surroundings and how magical the world felt. The town where Diem lived felt cozy. I would have appreciated to have more answers because things didn't feel to go forward during this book.

There were several unbelievable scenes.

For me this was entertaining enough, but quite mediocre book in this genre.

I rooted for Rin and overall loved how morally grey she felt. There were several secondary characters that weren't really fleshed out.

This book was brutal, even hard to read for all the cruelty. I think atmosphere was well created but not pleasant.

There was a lot of action, there weren't many slow moments. I think I would have loved to have a more concrete plot but I am not sure - this worked like this and somehow I loved the ending.

I couldn't really relate to Red, she was thinking same things over and over again. Other characters were pretty flat.

It took so long before things started to feel thrilling and the most part of the book people were just babbling and doing almost nothing.

I got tired of repetitive writing.

The last part of the book was good and there were some nice twists. There were still some super unbelievable things happening that felt just ridiculous.

Characters felt realistic. The family & Margaret's friendship with Diane made everything feel alive.

I loved how oppressive atmosphere was: Margaret & Casey were living alone with their father and he was acting strangely and I could feel their anxiety.

This was pretty straightforward story.

This was a great book about friendship, how it changes over time. Characters were nicely fleshed out.

I thought this would be funnier and was a bit disappointed. This was still a decent story but much more serious than what I expected.

MMC wasn't to my taste, I didn't like how and why things had ended five months ago. I still liked the ending.

Characters weren't really fleshed out but I still could relate to siblings who were main characters. When Amanda was arguing with her brother it was like walking down on memory lane 😅

The beginning wasn't as good as the last part of the book. This was a mysterious story and all the time creepier and creepier... I loved the ending, it was somehow disturbing!

This was a light read, entertaining. Not really romantic, chemistry felt a bit off.

I liked Lisen and even Teddy, but characters were a bit flat.

I didn't like some events at the last part of the book, they even felt unlogical. Pages turned quickly and I was entertained.

Characters weren't really fleshed out and can also be seen pretty stereotypical.

This was a real slasher, atmosphere was awesome and I adored the setting too. This had so much action that at some point I started to hope some slower moment where characters could make plans.

I appreciate how hard it was to guess how everything was going to end but the reason is obvious after reading the author's note.

This was a fun read!

I could relate to Jack and I loved how clever she was. The beginning of the book made me feel so much 💔 I also loved Jack's relationship with her sister.

I love this kind of thrillers - thrillers that take your breath away. This was so captivating, so intriguing and I loved this so much.

Some things I could guess but there were so many surprises that I didn't mind. I didn't love the ending but it was okay.

I know this was a novella but I still think you can have more fleshed out characters even in a shorter story. I couldn't relate to these characters.

This was pretty creepy and atmospheric, but I am just not a big fan of cosmic horror. I didn't like the writing either, it just made my mind wander and I had to concentrate really hard on reading.

I know some really love this. This was a decent story but I just prefer other horror genres.

I am not sure how believable this was but still fun & enjoyable.

Characters were really likable, I could relate to Grace who had such a humorous “voice“.

There was quite a bit of talk about technology but things were explained so well that it was still light to read. This was intriguing story, captivating.

I appreciate how there happened something all the time - that kept things interesting.

I think there was a nice group of characters but I think most of them could have been more fleshed out. I still could relate to Chris who had so much going on in her life, all those difficulties and worries. Father Karras felt also humane with him doubting his faith.

This felt more like a thriller than a horror story to me - I loved to figure things out but this didn't get me scared.

Story itself was pretty straightforward and simple.

I loved how this was actually a book about friendship - but there were so many topics handled that everyone should find some parts relatable.

The middle part was at times a bit dragging, and I didn't love how things weren't told in chronological order. It was strange because things were otherwise told in order.

Sometimes it was hard to know what was wanted to say by this book. The last part was really good & I loved it. It felt the most honest.

I really liked the writing and main character's “voice“. She was relatable/likable and I really rooted for her. In the last part of the book I started to forget who was who because there were so many new characters suddenly and we didn't know much of them.

Atmosphere was awesome and so well created.

As a story this was pretty simple but intriguing enough. This really was worth reading and I am happy how I finally read this.

I loved characters and they were so relatable. I had so much fun with them!!

This was really fun & light and I adored the setting.

Pictures aren't working anymore 😭

I can't say I felt much for the characters. They weren't really fleshed out and everything went forward so quick.

This was somehow really rushed story.

This was super slow book to read - I didn't love all those long long phrases and chapters that were as long as novellas. This was also depressing to read, but I think that was the point.

Main characters were nicely fleshed out but there was also a bunch of people that we knew by their names only.

The story itself was good but I don't know if all these pages really were necessary.

Reading this felt quite disturbing but also intriguing. Nevertheless at some point it started to feel like the story wasn't moving forward.

I felt for Vanessa and I could understand why she thought the way she did. But I was so sad for her too. Characters were nicely fleshed out.

I think I was waiting for a satisfying ending and was left without.

I loved characters! Even secondary characters were nicely fleshed out.

This was cute even though not a feelgood book. There were many thoughts about death and that made this a bit heavy to read.

This was pretty similar than the previous book but I think I liked this more. This was just quite long and somehow repetitive and I think this could have been shorter. There were things that felt quite unbelievable but somehow I still liked the story.

Characters were a bit flat, I think Persephone was most likable. I think characters should have been more fleshed out.

This was first intriguing but soon just confusing. I think this book tried to be too many things and was lacking coherence.

“Here's the truth no one ever wants to admit when death is on the horizon, or when you're deep in that grief—as long as you keep existing, you'll keep breathing, and if you're breathing, one day you'll start living again.”

I think there were too many characters, well or too many two-dimensional characters. It was hard to remember who was who, relate to them or care about them.

The beginning was pretty hilarious and intriguing but the second part was a bit much to me. There wasn't any plot to follow even though some events were fun. It was just hard to understand how everythings was connected and what was the meaning for everything happening.

I think this book should have been longer and that way have more fleshed out characters.

I think atmosphere & world could have been more intriguing but now everything felt rushed.

The plot was good enough but too rushed.

The whole story was told through letters and it was a bit hard to relate to characters first and they stayed a bit distant. All their voices were similar and sometimes you had to double check who's letter to whom were you reading.

This was a slow book, but atmosphere was nice & cozy.

This was predictable: when something important was revealed I knew immediately how this was going to end.

The world was intriguing!

Characters were well created, they made me feel. This was captivating, thrilling and enjoyable read.

This was pretty straightforward story, not as twisting as I expected. But there was still a twist that I didn't see coming and I loved the feeling.

I would have loved to spend more time with these lovely characters. This book made me almost cry, this was much more touching than the previous books.

I don't really love mysteries in these books, they seem to feel like being everywhere. That makes it easy to leave the book aside.

“We complain about life so endlessly and so bitterly, and yet we cling to it so dearly? Surely that makes no sense?”

“Days of death are days when we weigh our relationship with love in our bare hands. Days when we remember what has gone, and fear what is to come. The joy love brings, and the price we pay. When we give thanks but also pray for mercy.”

“Everyone who dies is alive. We call people “dead“ because we need a word for it, but “dead“ just means that time has stopped moving forward for that person? You understand? No one dies, not really.”

“We think time travels forward, marches on in a straight line, and so we hurry alongside it to keep up. Hurry, hurry, mustn‘t fall behind. But it doesn‘t, you see. Time just swirls around us. Everything is always present. The things we‘ve done, the people we‘ve loved, the people we‘ve hurt, they‘re all still here.”

“They say that time softens the pain, but that‘s a fairy tale. Who would ever love again if anyone actually told the truth?“

“I know from experience that grief rides alone.”

“But, however much life teaches you that nothing lasts, it is still a shock when it disappears.“

The writing made characters feel distant. At the same time I have mixed feelings about the writing - I found several amazing phrases and wrote down so many quotes.

This was pretty heavy book, but I think this was meant to be like that.

I didn't find the plot super interesting: part 1 was so different compared with part 2. It was hard to see where the story was going or why. And that made it feel like the story was dragging.

“Maybe that‘s what we‘re all doing here. Alive long enough to get that when we die it‘s home we‘re going back to, and that we came here to know that when we die it isn‘t an end but a return.”

“There is a kind of magic dogs can achieve with their innocence, their saying yes to everything and feeling so home to you so fast, and a power in the way they need you.”

I still like the characters, they are really adorable. I could have spent more time with them.

The book was cozy, but the mystery was a bit incoherent. Some things were also unbelievable.

Fun & light read.

“But with things that trick you, it‘s that you never know you‘re being tricked while you‘re being tricked, that‘s what is tricky.”

“This is the thing. You don't know what will happen to you. Everything is one way, and you think you know what that means, and then one day you come to find out that no: THIS is what life is like anymore.”

“One thing I want you to understand is that your suffering does not make you special. There‘s a voice inside everyone who suffers that says, no one else has it like this, and so much selfish action comes from listening to that voice.”

“There are many stories for what happens after you die. You become light or become the dead light of stars or you swim the river in the sky or you become the soil in the earth. Angels and demons and ghosts. Anything is a story we tell ourselves about a silence. But stories are for telling after the fact. And the one true fact about the afterlife is that nothing comes from there. Everything goes there.”

“Know that it was always true that you were the only one seeing the world the way you were seeing the world.“

I am reading these books this weekend, two are buddy reads and one is for continuing the series I have started years ago 😃

Thanks for the tag @KadaGul

I tag @MariaW @dabbe @DaveGreen7777

#weekendreads

“Stories do more than comfort. They take you away and bring you back better made.“

I loved that Eva felt so realistic, not flawless. I adored her relationship with her daughter, they had several fun conversations. Cece was a hilarious secondary character.

This was easy to read, pretty light story. Romance was cute.

The last part of the book wasn't as strong as the beginning. There was some unnecessary drama, nothing major, but I personally just hate miscommunication.

“Long ago, she'd learned that life could be bitterly disappointing if allowed. There were blows and stumbles, but your job was to stay interested in the world.”

“Girls are given the weight of the world, but nowhere to put it down.”

August was relatable and I loved her character arc. She was first introvert without friends but ended up living with her found family. I also loved secondary characters.

I was a bit surprised when I noticed how this could be a sci-fi book but I think I just enjoyed this more like this. I love mysteries.

This was pretty predictable first but I have to say I was curious about the ending.

I enjoyed this more than I had expected.