Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Good morning fellow book lovers! I had a great long weekend here in Canada and am feeling a little bit more refreshed to face the new week. Been learning how to let go of some of the expectations to post often on the blog and keep up to date with my new bookstagram, and just be content with why I started all this in the first place, you know?
Today’s TTT is a great topic. I personally do gravitate towards certain books more based on where they are set, and I definitely buy those books more often because of it.
How many of these do you enjoy as well?
1. Boarding Schools
2. Magical Schools
3. High fantasy lands with proper world building
4. Urban fantasy cities
5. Victorian/Regency Era
6. Early 1900s city
7. School campuses with secret societies
8. Abroad (aka outside of North America)
9. World War II
Are any of these your favourites? Or are there some you really enjoy not on this list? Let’s discuss below!
Makani Young thought she’d left her dark past behind her in Hawaii, settling in with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska. She’s found new friends and has even started to fall for mysterious outsider Ollie Larsson. But her past isn’t far behind.
Then, one by one, the students of Osborne High begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasingly grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and her feelings for Ollie intensify, Makani is forced to confront her own dark secrets.
For a horror book, this isn’t the worst I’ve come across (among the few I’ve touched). But in reality, this book could’ve been a lot better too.
Makani Young was a good protagonist to follow. Although we get the omniscient POV wherein we witness the last moments of each victim of the brutal killer in Osborne, there are still some things we don’t know. Like Makani’s mysterious past that led to her exile from Hawaii to the Midwestern US. Things like her secret definitely kept you on your toes and wanting to reach the end sooner than later.
I also really loved the pacing. This was such a fast read, and it doesn’t feel like a lot of time has passed to get through it. I read it in one sitting (late at night, unfortunately), and the flow kept me going when I otherwise probably would’ve set it down.
The mystery behind the slasher is also interesting enough. I absolutely had no suspects in mind. But the identity of the culprit is given away around the mid point of the book and that is either something you really like or don’t. There was a reason for it, but the book then morphed from a whodunnit to a manhunt. The suspense was still present – you never know when the killer would strike next regardless if you know the name/face – but the atmosphere of the book definitely changed.
I’m normally a girl who loves guessing the culprit in mysteries, but what kept me from getting bored (besides a still-active killer loose) was trying to guess the motive. To predict who could be a next potential target, one needs to think like a killer. *insert theme song of Criminal Minds*
There’s also romance in this! I’m not sure if that’s normal for this genre but I enjoyed the interactions between Makani and Ollie. Sometimes death and the scary stuff in life can show us what’s important to grasp now than save for later. At least these moments were great respites from all the death and chaos.
But in all honesty, horrors aren’t fully my thing, especially slasher horrors. The descriptions of the murders weren’t super graphic but they weren’t nothing either. Also, I don’t love the needless amount of slayings that occurred. Sometimes I reached a page and thought, noooo, not this person too.
The ending felt abrupt and unexpected. The climax delivered, I will admit, but the fall from that peak just cut off so quickly. I was so surprised to reach the Acknowledgement page because it didn’t feel like I had closure with these characters, especially Makani. How does one deal with the aftermath of such colossal tragedy in a small town like this? An epilogue here would’ve been great, you know?
Maybe I’m just not cut out for this genre and everything I’ve nitpicked was my own bias. My rating does reflect that it was enjoyable enough for a horror so if that’s what you’re purely looking for, Stephanie Perkins’ jump from cute and swoony rom-coms to slasher horrors was done well enough.
Overall Recommendation:
There’s Someone Inside Your House is your common slasher horror book with plenty of gruesome deaths and suspense dripping throughout. Our MC, Makani, has her own sordid past to unravel as we follow her through the aftermath of these tragedies. But with her own life potentially at risk of the killer’s path, it could be anyone who is out terrorizing this small town. Not to fear that it’s just endless killing, there is also a sweet romance between Makani and Ollie as they face everything together with her group of friends. There were too many unnecessary killings in my opinion at times, and we figure out the culprit earlier than I expected, but this wasn’t the worst of horrors that I’ve come across. It holds up in this genre if that’s what you like, so if that’s your thing or you want to explore the genre a little, I’d say this book isn’t a bad one to browse.
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.
OCTOBER 8: CUT AND PASTE CHARACTER ARCHETYPES (DANI)
Prompts: Are there any characters you feel like you’re seeing over and over again recently? The same love interest in multiple romances? The same protagonist over and over? I’ve seen a lot of complaints about Rhysand-like characters recently so I’d love to hear what characters you’ve seen too much of.
Welcome to another LTB in October everyone! Today we’ve got a prompt from our very own Dani at The Literary Lion. If you don’t already follow her on her blog (linked in the quote above) please go check her content out! She posts consistently and is always a source of bookish content. Thanks to her (and Rukky) once again for hosting this wonderful meme.
First admission, I don’t know who Rhysand is! But looking him up on google…I’m not surprised that his type of character appears often. Some character types are just too good not to have repeated I suppose – whether that’s a good or bad thing though, I can’t really say. I haven’t personally really noticed the same character types popping up in my own series. It’s usually the same old, same old, but nothing that’s particularly repetitive to the point where I start rolling my eyes.
The same love interest in multiple romances would be a common theme though. I haven’t read any romances recently, but back when I did more, there were always the same kinds of love interests – mainly the good-looking but bad-for-you types. But I suppose that’s kind of what people read it for, and so… in that sense it’s okay? Honestly not sure what else I’d like to see, but for sure creativity these days would be much appreciated. The more reading and books I get under my belt, the more I love when there’s something new that I haven’t seen (which of course gets more rare as the days go by).
If I could have the same(ish) protagonist over and over, I honestly wouldn’t mind too much. But that’s probably because I generally read books looking for that same kind of powerful (on the inside) protagonist who struggles and (mostly) triumphs despite all odds. Because I tend to like the same kind of story, I tend to want the same type of protagonist, except facing different scenarios with more and more impossible choices. Is it just me? Maybe I’m weird for liking the same type of thing all the time.
In mysteries and thrillers there are definitely common characters that appear all the time, but it’s more about the way they are written than about who they actually are. There are always those “suspicious” characters, some of which are downright thrown in your face as a suspect, and others who are portrayed as innocent (which in itself makes you suspicious), or those who are completely unrelated (which also makes you suspicious). The “formula” for how these kinds of books are written are often not too far off – although when a trope is good, why change it? I definitely appreciate the authors who can use these tried and true archetypes to great effect.
What do you all think about seeing the “same” characters throughout different books? Yay or nay? Let me know in the comments below!
Down the Rabbit Hole 