What_Kel_Reads

This one is an absolute DELIGHT! Clueless is my favorite Emma retelling, but this is a very close second. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this is a debut novel given based on how well they handled the original story while adding their own spin to make the story feel fresh. I absolutely loved the dialogue. The characters are all so well written and easy to love. Having this set in NYC was brilliant. It allowed the setting to feel both grand and intimate at the same time. I can’t say enough things about this book. It was truly delightful.  If you plan on reading this, I would recommend the audiobook! I switched to it after seeing Teddy Hamilton and Brittany Pressley were the narrators and I have absolutely no regrets about that.  

 

 I got this book from a friend and didn’t read it for the longest time because I was intimidated by it. I didn’t know a lot about this case and wanted to be in the right headspace to read it. This book was really interesting in the way it was formatted. You learn so much about the victims and their families, and almost nothing about the actual murderer. I actually preferred this. These were real people with real lives, real families, and real dreams cut short by a monster. I would highly recommend the audiobook if you’re looking into reading this one. There was an interview with the author and narrator at the end of mine that was a really interesting listen.

Imagine Happy Death Day and I Know What You Did Last Summer had a baby - it would be this book. There was a LOT going on constantly and it did make the story hard to follow until I got more comfortable with all of the characters and their subplots. The ending could have been better, but that’s a minor complaint. This was a really fast read, and it was nice to have the break from reality for awhile. If you can go into this book and suspend logic, I would definitely recommend it.  

 This book gutted me in the best way possible. I went in, not really sure what to expect, and I was absolutely blown away. Each story in this book is heartbreaking. The lives of all the characters are so intricately woven together. It felt like I was holding my breath for the entire book. Duchess is absolutely devastating, from the way she takes care of her brother to the way she refers to herself as an outlaw in order to maintain some kind of self preservation. I was hooked from the beginning to the end. I shed more than a few tears over several people in this story. I can’t really review this much further without revealing more things within the plot that I think you should get to experience firsthand. Please go read this. It will stay with you forever.

I was really excited to start this book because the spooky vibes, cult controlling the town, and monsters roaming the woods sounded fantastic to me. I did really like the vibes of this book, but the story dragged a bit more than I would have liked. The last third of the book was really fast-paced, and I just wish the entire book felt like that. I’m still going to continue with the series, but I just wish the first 2/3 of the book wasn’t so slow-burny. That’s just not really my thing. I’m sat for more witch and demon stories though!