Book Club Pick – World of Bai

Book Review: “The Spite House” By Johnny Compton

I read this book for my Book Club Pick in the month of May. This book was Co Hosted by my Best Friend Bree and My best Bookish Friend Ireland. The Live Book Discussion is on 06/03/23 at 5 Pm MST.

About The Book

Author: Johnny Compton

Publisher: Tor

Published Date: February 7th, 2023

Page Count: 261 Pages

Main Genres: Horror, Gothic, Paranormal

GoodReads Rating: 3.54

Format: Physical Book

Synopsis

Eric Ross is on the run from a mysterious past with his two daughters in tow. Having left his wife, his house, his whole life behind in Maryland, he’s desperate for money–it’s not easy to find safe work when you can’t provide references, you can’t stay in one place for long, and you’re paranoid that your past is creeping back up on you.

When he comes across the strange ad for the Masson House in Degener, Texas, Eric thinks they may have finally caught a lucky break. The Masson property, notorious for being one of the most haunted places in Texas, needs a caretaker of sorts. The owner is looking for proof of paranormal activity. All they need to do is stay in the house and keep a detailed record of everything that happens there. Provided the house’s horrors don’t drive them all mad, like the caretakers before them.

The job calls to Eric, not just because there’s a huge payout if they can make it through, but because he wants to explore the secrets of the spite house. If it is indeed haunted, maybe it’ll help him understand the uncanny power that clings to his family, driving them from town to town, making them afraid to stop running. A terrifying Gothic thriller about grief and death and the depths of a father’s love, Johnny Compton’s The Spite House is a stunning debut by a horror master in the making.

Synopsis From GoodReads

Rating

Review

This book was neither a hit or a miss. I honestly have pretty neutral feelings towards this book. I loved the paranormal aspect to this read as I have been dying to find a spooky read that makes me questions if spirits are truly there or not and this book did give that! But I did have a few things that brought more questions than answers. With that being said I think if this book was just 50 pages longer I think this book would have ended nicely or even a second book about the family now that all this has happened.

This book had so many POV’s, in fact I think you get a POV from all main characters. I can count at least 9 POV’s from the top of my head. This caused a lot of confusion for me but was honestly needed for the book to make any sense. The Spite House has an Extensive history and without the Multiple POV’s I don’t think we as readers would have been able to grasp what was going on throughout the entire book. But having Multiple POV’s also left me wanting to learn more about each and every character.

Overall I am glad I read this book but I could have lived without ever reading it. This really gave off Stephen King Vibes such as The Shinning and Pet Semetary, so if those are your vibes you might like this book. Lasty, If there was a second book ever made about Stacy I would read it as I cared about her character the most and would love to know more about her situation.

“You can do anything you want, you just have to make it happen.”
Johnny Compton, The Spite House

QOTD: What is the best paranormal book you have ever read?

Book Review: “Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow” By Gabrielle Zevin

This was my Book Club pick for April and if I am completely honest with you I probably wouldn’t have ever picked this book up if it wasn’t for my Co-Host Picking this out for April’s Book Club Pick. Also If you are interested in the book club check out this previous post for more information.

“If this were a game, he could hit pause. He could restart, say different things, the right ones this time. He could search his inventory for the item that would make Sadie not leave.”
Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

About The Book

Author: Gabrielle Zevin

Publisher: Knopf

Published Date: July 5th, 2022

Page Count: 416 Pages

Main Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4,26

Format: Physical Book

“How much of your life had been happenstance? How much of your life had been a roll of the big polyhedral die in the sky? But then, weren’t all lives that way? Who could say, in the end, that they had chosen any of it?”
Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Synopsis

On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn’t heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won’t protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“If you’re always aiming for perfection, you won’t make anything at all.”
Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Rating

Review

Before I dive deep into this review I have a few things I would like to mention. One, If this was not for MY Book Club I would have DNF’d this book real quick. Two, I should have looked up trigger warnings for this before having my book club pick this up as it has practically every trigger warning under the sun. Three, Because this was for MY Book Club I think it’s the only reason I actually had any enjoyment for it as I really dove deep to understand all the little things so I can provide a good discussion for the book club .

This book starts off extremally slow and probably doesn’t pick up till around page 200 but I personally think it was worth my time and I am so happy I went forward with this book and finished it. If you go into this book knowing that this is not truly a romance book and more of a slow burn friendship I think you will have more enjoyment while reading.

As mentioned above this book has so many trigger warnings such as; Suicide, General Depression/Anxiety, Gun Violence, abortion, and more. So please take care of yourself if you decide to read this. Because of all of these trigger warnings this was a really difficult book to read but honestly left such a powerful message that really reflects on our day to day life and I applaud the author for bringing awareness to these things.

One Issue with this book I would like to bring up was the formatting of the chapters and the overall timeline. This was broken up into many different parts each with their own separate chapters so when discussing this book with others I couldn’t say oh yeah I am on chapter 5 because their were multiple chapter 5’s which is not a big deal but a bit inconvenient. But the big thing was all the timeline jumps out of no where, it felt like I was constantly guessing what age these characters were and it did take me out of the book several times because it felt weird. Again this isn’t a huge issue and overall it ended up making sense in the end of the book but I struggle with things like this I suppose.

Overall I am glad I read this book but I can’t say that it is a book for everyone so check the trigger warnings and other reviews before committing to this one.

“She had once read in a book about consciousness that over the years, the human brain makes an AI version of your loved ones. The brain collects data, and within your brain, you host a virtual version of that person. Upon the person’s death, your brain still believes the virtual person exists, because, in a sense, the person still does. After a while, though, the memory fades, and each year, you are left with an increasingly diminished version of the AI you had made when the person was alive.”
Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

QOTD: Have you read this book? I need to know if you think the same way I do!

“Long relationships might be richer, but relatively brief, relatively uncomplicated encounters with interesting people could be lovely as well. Every person you knew, every person you loved even, did not have to consume you for the time to have been worthwhile.”
Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Book Review: “The Sun Down Motel” By Simone St. James

This book was my Book Clubs pick for the month of October and I don’t think we could have picked a better book for the spooky season! I know a lot of my book Club peeps were busy this month so not many of us were able to finish but that is perfectly fine because we are friends first before a Book Club. Over all I really enjoyed this book and I can’t wait to tell you my thoughts.

“For the odd girls, the nerdy girls, and the murderinos. This one is yours.”
Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

About The Book

Author: Simone St. James

Publisher: Berkley

Published Date: February 18th, 2020

Page Count: 327 Pages

Main Genres: Mystery, Horror, Thriller

GoodReads Rating. 4.03

Format: Physical Book

“I think it’s instructive to be awake in the middle of the night every once in a while. To really see what you’re missing while you’re usually sleeping.”
Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

Synopsis

Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn’t right at the Sun Down, and before long she’s determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…

Synopsis From GoodReads

“I’m the one you didn’t kill,”
Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

Rating

Review

This book started a bit slow to me and took maybe 150 pages to really get into. But by the time I met that 150 page mark I was hooked and did not want to put it down!

At the beginning of this book everything just felt too perfect, like she was out of money and had no where to stay but then she finds a rich roommate, like what? Why was it so perfect? That kind of story telling really gets under my skin. But honestly you forget about how perfect this book started after a little while and just get sucked into the atmosphere of The Sun Down Motel and the story of all the missing girls. You really want to help them figure out the truth!

I did really enjoy all of the characters in this book, and there were many. They all played a pretty important part in this book and really made the story. Carly made some really good friendships which was a really cute part that I enjoyed a lot, I was afraid she wouldn’t know anyone and be doing all this research on her own.

If you are looking for a paranormal book that actually gives you chills, I highly recommend picking up this book.

“The person who could be truly alone, in the company of no one but oneself and one’s own thoughts—that person was stronger than anyone else. More ready. More prepared.”
Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

QOTD: What are some good paranormal books?