Ashley

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Ashley is Currently Reading

Ashley is currently reading

Anathema

by Keri Lake (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in June 2025

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Ashley said: " 4.25 stars

As someone who isn't big into "romance" novels, I went into this book with mediocre expectations, but ended up really enjoying myself. As someone who loves horror, this was actually more along the lines of those books I read, so I ate this 4.25 stars

As someone who isn't big into "romance" novels, I went into this book with mediocre expectations, but ended up really enjoying myself. As someone who loves horror, this was actually more along the lines of those books I read, so I ate this up (so to speak).

This book was dark, disturbing, and full of violence and gore. It really had a strong gothic horror vibe throughout, which paired well with the slow burn of the story and the romance. There were some genuinely terrifying elements which I loved, and the gore was actually pretty extreme, similar to other extreme horror/splatterpunk novels I've read and enjoyed. I honestly felt like the romance aspect was a bit more of a subplot, which is probably why I wasn't cringing too much and felt like I really got into the characters and the overall storylines, since I wasn't rolling my eyes through cheesy pickup lines (sorry if you read this review and enjoy those types of romance books - I'm just not a romantic unless it's a romcom). I particularly liked the female characters, they all were really well-rounded and I had a strong connection with most of them, more so than most of the male characters. The magic system was really elaborate/complex, and I must say that I liked it a lot more than other magic systems I've read about.

I would have liked a bit more world-building, so hopefully there will be more of that in book two. I also just never seem to have an interest in the MMCs - so while I did like Zevander, he just reminded me a lot of the tall, dark, handsome, and brooding/grumpy bad boy "shadow daddies" in most romantacy novels these days. However, like I said the romance didn't come across as important (at least yet) to the plot as all the other events happening, so it didn't bother me. I did feel bad for him with his tragic backstory.

This book was extremely dark, with a lot of themes of SA and child abuse in particular, so check the trigger warnings prior to reading if you're sensitive to those. If that's something that you can manage to read through, this also had a lot of references/vibes to many of my childhood favorites, such as the Hunger Games, Divergent, Beauty and the Beast, Willow, Harry Potter...without feeling like she was copying any of their plots. I really enjoyed this book more than I expected to, and I'm looking forward to the sequel. ...more "

progress:

(47%)
— 18 hours, 55 min ago

18 hours, 55 min ago · see review

Ashley is currently reading

Victorian Psycho

by Virginia Feito

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in January 2025

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Ashley said: " 3.5 rounded down to 3.

Thanks to NetGalley and Liveright Publishing for an advanced copy of Victorian Psycho in exchange for an honest review.

Victorian Psycho follows Winifred Notty, a governess for the Pounds family at Ensor House. However, she isn' 3.5 rounded down to 3.

Thanks to NetGalley and Liveright Publishing for an advanced copy of Victorian Psycho in exchange for an honest review.

Victorian Psycho follows Winifred Notty, a governess for the Pounds family at Ensor House. However, she isn't a typical governess, due to some of her violent quirks...

I had trouble rating this one. On one hand, the story revolving around Winifred was very intriguing. Through various flashbacks, we learn more about her upbringing and why she is the way she is (to an extent). The author did not hold back with the violence and gore, either - lots of animal and child deaths (in detail), so this one is definitely not for everyone. The writing style was also very literary and I felt like it really put me into this period in time, which was pretty neat. It was gory but beautifully written, which was a jarring contrast that I enjoyed. The ending was also perfectly fitting for this story, and there were a couple little twists I didn't see coming at all, so it ended for me on a high note.

On the other hand, a lot of the writing was a bit on the difficult side for me to follow at times - I'm not familiar with some of the terminology used, so the dictionary was extremely helpful. However, having to do that took me out of the moment because I had to stop to figure out what some of the wording meant. And although there was a lot of darkness and violence, I found myself kind of bored. The flowery descriptions for mundane everyday activities were a little bit much for me, personally. I think about 60% in, I was hooked because that's when it all hit the fan and everything came together.

I truly wish I could give this a 3.5 rating, because I don't think it warrants 3-stars, but it's not quite a 4-star review from me either. Overall, this was a unique and dark story. It reminded me a bit of Lizzie Borden in a way, but very vaguely. It also has a Shirley Jackson vibe, with the gothic horror aspect and writing style. I do think it's worth a read, however I advise that readers be aware of how violent this story is. I'm not sure if there were any content warnings listed but just be aware that nothing and no one is safe from the violence of Winifred Notty. ...more "

progress:

(71%)
— Oct 31, 2026 12:02PM

Oct 31, 2026 12:02PM · see review

Ashley’s Quotes

“she daydreamed about who she could be without us weighing her down like a brick. It’s not easy for everyone. Even if you think it’s what you wanted.”
― Ashley Audrain, The Whispers

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