donttrustthe_bea – Page 2 – Cannonball Read 17

Rouge: this was a fever dream

Rouge by Mona Awad

May 9, 2024 by donttrustthe_bea Leave a Comment

mood music: Possede – emma peters I really enjoyed this book. It was a strange combination of Snow White meets Alice in Wonderland meets Eyes Wide Shut. The nonlinear structure of the story works well due to Awad’s ability to bring the reader into the dream-like experience happening to the protagonist, rather than feeling like an observer of a very confusing situation. Plot synopsis-wise, I’ll be brief because this book is a little hard to describe if you haven’t already read it. The story follows […]

Here in the Dark: go to rehab!

Here in the Dark by Alexis Soloski

May 9, 2024 by donttrustthe_bea Leave a Comment

mood music: High – tove lo The ending of this book was so annoying. I have made a decision that going forward, any new book I pick up that contains the tropes of a loner female protagonist with substance abuse issues and a dead parent, I am not finishing it. I blame The Girl on the Train. Vivian Perry is a theatre critic in NYC; she’s a failed theatre actress who now reviews the very plays she wanted to be a part of. She survives […]

Helpmeet: the little book of surrealistic body horror

Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum

April 13, 2024 by donttrustthe_bea Leave a Comment

mood music: Me and My Husband – mitksi At a cool 94 pages, Helpmeet was a quick read. Still, in even such a short novella it packs a punch with detailed descriptions of body disfigurement and decay as we follow the complex marriage of a couple living in 1900s New York City. We are introduced to Louise Wilk, a former nurse, as she is packing up the final items of her home in preparation for her move to her husband’s childhood home in Buffalo, New York. […]

Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult: a memoir

Sure, I'll Join Your Cult by Maria Bamford

April 7, 2024 by donttrustthe_bea Leave a Comment

mood music: Shake It Out – florence and the machine A strikingly sharp, tragicomedy-style memoir about grappling with lifelong mental illness, Bamford delivers a powerful life story through her unique lens. I am unfamiliar with her standup, but did watch a few episodes of Lady Dynamite, so I was familiar with some parts of her comedic work. But this was something that I went into mostly blind, my expectations fairly neutral although several podcasts I listen to recommended the memoir as a must-read. I have […]

Silver Nitrate: a return to horror

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

March 8, 2024 by donttrustthe_bea 2 Comments

mood music: Luzbel – pasaporte al infierno Reminiscent of Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno Garcia returns to her Lovecraftian roots with Silver Nitrate. Set in Mexico during the early 1990s, the reader follows Montserrat (Momo), an audio engineer, and Tristan, a washed-up telenovela actor, whose chance encounter with a golden-era director leads them down a path of occultism and nazi worship. Shortly after moving into his apartment, Tristan meets his new neighbor, cult horror director Abel Urueta, after accidentally receiving his mail and delivering it to […]

Legitimate Kid: an intimate self portrait

Legitimate Kid by Aida Rodriguez

February 22, 2024 by donttrustthe_bea Leave a Comment

mood music: Hector Lavoe – el dia de mi suerte Aida Rodriguez’s Legitimate Kid is a beautifully written, heartbreaking memoir that recounts her life from childhood to motherhood. Raised in Miami, Rodriguez discusses the animosity she faced in her community and how these struggles affected her. This includes colorism within the Latine community, sexism from the men in her life, and even disparaging remarks from women who look down upon her as a “bastard child.” Rodriguez details being raised by a mother who did not know […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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