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toxikbubblegum · 6 years ago

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Lost Causes of Bleak Creek Review

Get your scooter leg ready because this book is a trip! The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek is the debut novel by the Youtuber's Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal and boy, was it a way start. Out of the 10 novels I have already finished this year, Lost Causes has by far been my favorite! The story takes place back in 1992 in a tiny, highly religious, southern town called Bleak Creek. Its the kind of place where everyone knows each other and has for generations. The kind of place where the biggest scandal the town has ever had was when the 2nd Baptist Church opened. But every small town has their dark side and Bleak Creek's comes in the form of the Whitewood Reform School; a place where kids either come back obedient and a shell of their former selves or they don't come back at all. Rex, Leif, and Alicia are 3 normal teenagers just trying to have some fun in their little podunk town. This fun comes in the way of filming a handy cam horror film called “Polterdog”. But when a scene goes horribly wrong in front of the entire town and Mr. Whitewood himself gets injured, the trio finds themselves of a terrifying adventure that will change their lives forever. Alicia is sent away to be reformed of her troublemaking ways and it's up to Rex and Leif to save her, exposing the town's dark underbelly along the way. Alright, Im going to try to keep this as spoiler free as possible but be warned that I may slip up a bit. I was skeptical going in to this book. I've read a few other books written by popular Youtubers and internet personalities and was sorely disappointed in the majority of them. I absolutely was not expecting the twisted and dark story that I got, especially not knowing the kind of content that the authors make normally. People always tell you to write what you know, and Rhett and Link definitely took that to heart. If you are familiar with them, it's very clear that the two main male leads are caricatures of themselves as children. I had no problem with this and really enjoyed Rex and Leif, but I know that might be a turn off for readers so I figured I'd mention it. ~Pros~ The characters are all super interesting and have personalities that really made me care about them. Rex and Leif were both portrayed as awkward, dorky teens that are still getting the hang of puberty and it's done extremely well. From Rex forgetting deodorant and having mini mental meltdown because he can smell himself to the budding feelings for Alicia that both boys develop, the cast is just very realistic. It's been a while since I've been that young but that is absolutely the kinds of things that I remember going through and thinking about. Jeanine and Donna's relationship was huge highlight for me. It really showcased how quickly familial bonds can dissolve and how hard it is to watch someone you love change for the worse. I felt so connected with Jeanine as she watched her cousin change and pull away from her for seemingly no reason and having no idea how to repair the damage. There was no girl hate! I despise when two female characters hate each other and get catty for seemingly no reason and this book had none of that. Actually, all of the female leads were likable, lifelike, and good representations of strong independent young women. Alicia was an exceptionally intelligent and witty girl that relied on her friends but also did everything in her power to save herself. Jeanine was a struggling new adult trying to pick up the pieces and find her place in the world after giving everything to a guy who just abandoned her. Even Donna is a positive example of growth and finding your own strength. I definitely did not see the twist coming! Anyone who is familiar with my reading habits and reviews knows I hate figuring out the twist early in the book. It ruins the entire novel for me. This one, though. Oh no! Couldn't have spotted that twist a mile away with a telescope. By the end of the book I honestly felt bad for Whitewood. I can't go into it much but learning his reasoning and backstory really helped cement him as more than just a chaotic evil man who hates unruly children. ~Cons~ There has to be a bit of suspension of disbelief. The way the kids are taken to the school is extremely unrealistic and makes the parent's seem abusive and uncaring. That is fixed later in the book and explained to point, but he way Alicia's parents reacted when she was being taken away turned me off. The guy who owned the restaurant was also a big negative for me. He was honestly well written but I hated the character more than the actual antagonist and I don't think that was the intention. The ending isn't exactly what I was expecting and things didn't exactly get resolved. Hoping there is a sequel to finish tying up the loose ends. Hornhat was such an odd character. He was only really there to be the reject kid trope. Because there has to be someone in school weirder and more annoying than the protags I guess? I don't know. I just didn't understand why he was even needed. He had a vital part at the end but even that sort of came out of nowhere. It also felt like the only identity the kid had was his New Kids on the Block obsession. In a book full of highly in depth characters, he just fell really flat. All in all, I think this is a fantastic debut novel and deserves far more love than its getting. It had its flaws as every book does but I think it stands on its own as a great spooky paranormal mystery.

5 Stars!

#Lostcauses bleakcreek rhettandlink rhettmclaughlin linkneal bookreview review 5stars youngadult yabooks yafiction

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toxikbubblegum · 6 years ago

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May Reading Wrap Up

I'm actually really proud of myself. I finished 13 books last month. Spent a lot of extra time away from screens and focusing on my mental health so I burned through way more than I normally would. So anyways, here's my reviews. - Also please understand that these are just my opinions and if I shit on your favorite book I'm sorry that I didn't enjoy it as much as you. Also, also Im terrible with character names.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor ⭐⭐⭐

I actually started this book at the end of April but didn't finish it til May 1st so whatever, here it is. This books is a YA urban fantasy novel about a girl with a double life. She spends half her days studying art in Europe and the other half running errands for a tooth collecting wish monger. I don't want to say a whole lot more because I dont want to spoil anything important about the plot. So, I'll try to be vague. Let me start by saying this story is amazing. I loved the writing and the world. I rated it so low solely because I can't stand the two main characters and it really dragged down what would have otherwise been an amazing novel. So yeah, great book but its a preference thing. Also took points off for the insta-love but not really insta-love shit. Idk. I have a lot of mixed feelings about this read even a month later. Gonna read the second to see if maybe my hatred of the two mains was just a fluke.

3/5 Stars

Spellbound by Rachel Hawkins

⭐⭐⭐

This is the third book in the Hex Hall trilogy. Not much to say about it. It was a meh ending to an overall pretty good series. 3/5 stars. Moving on.

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

⭐⭐⭐

Realizing now how many of my reads this month were pretty middle of the world. Hopefully next month will be filled with 4 and 5 stars. Anyways, this book was honestly a struggle for me to finish and Im not sure why. It's a YA mystery magical realism story about a tiny coastal town that is cursed by the spirits of 3 sisters who were suspected of witchcraft and drowned 2 centuries prior. Because of this, every year the sisters return from the sea to take the lives of teenage boys by luring them to the sea. We follow the life of kind of meh and standard YA girl #1. She meets a strange non tourist boy and hires him to work in the lighthouse her family owns. Her dad randomly disappeared years ago and her mom is a loon. So yeah... I dont know. I kind of felt like this story was hot garbage in places. I usually dont have any trouble with the suspense of disbelief in magical realism stories but this one just had too many plot holes. Like, I get morbid stuff becomes tourist attractions but why wouldn't someone have stepped in and evacuated the town if at least 3 teenage boys die there EVERY SINGLE YEAR without fail? I honestly feel like the FBI or some other government agency would have cleared the place out after the first 20 or so deaths. There was also the whole MC can see the ghosts of the girls possessing people but chooses not to tell anyone? Like, I get it. You dont want people to label you a freak or think you're crazy but come the fuck on. You live in a tourist trap where people flock to watch local teenage males wash up on shore and you really think the authorities arent going to take you up on the help? It wasn't an awful book by any means. It was well written and extremely descriptive. Just had major beef with some of the details. Anyways, I wont say much more so I don't spoil the whole book.

3/5 Stars

An Enchantment of Ravens by Maragret Rogerson

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Finally, I get to talk about one of my favorite reads of the month. I love anything to do with the Fae in my YAfiction and this was literally everything I wanted in a Fae novel. It takes place in a town called Whimsy, a humanish town in the world of Faerie. The fae cannot do any Craft, or what we would consider craftsmanship. Art and humans who can do it well are very precious in this world because the Fae can't ever do it themselves. We follow the adventures of a girl who has been commisioned to paint the portrait of the Autumn King and the chaos that ensues. Let me just start by saying this is one of those insta-love situations where I feel like it's genuinely ok. I might be making excuses because I loved the title so much but whatever. It's explained and I accept it. Also, I realize that Gadfly had a lovely description but my brain willl not let me picture him as anything but Mr.Waternoose from Monsters Inc.

5/5 Stars

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

⭐⭐⭐

This book started out so good and went downhill very quickly. It follows the story of these two magicians who were fated by their Master's to one day fight to the death. There were so many things I loved about this book only for the last 100 pages to just take a firey dump on my face. I loved the setting and the majority of the characters. The supporting characters were so deep and interesting that I almost cared more about them than I did Ceilia and Marko (Im proabably wrong and I dont feel like googling but I think that was his name) . I don't know. I don't want to complain about anymore meh books.

3/5 Stars

Matched by Allie Condie

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Went into this book expecting to hate it. I usually don't like contemporary love stories but this had major City of Ember meets The Giver vibes and it just appealed to that 14 year old girl in me again. That seems to happen with a lot of dystopian utopia stories. Anyways, story is about a girl who lives in this town where when you hit a certain age you are brought to a place and told who the government has chosen for you to marry. She is matched with her life long best friend and all is well. Except that her little Get To Know Your New Husband microship thing showed her two guys instead of just one. And lots of bullshit ensues. I honestly think I rated this so high because I enjoy the world and not so much whats actually happening to the kids. Like, I loved the idea that art is harmful so the government chose 100 acceptable pieces and thats all these people know. I loved the brutality of the government in general. I can't say much more without spoiling some of the twists but geez did it have me hooked. I'm going to be started the second one soonish, though my TBR for June has gotten intense so we will see.

4/5 stars

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I cannot say enough good things about this book. It is so fucking good! Not going to rant about it or anything because y'all just need to go read it immediately.

5/5 stars

Would give it every star in the sky if Im being completely honest.

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

⭐⭐

Got sucked into this book by the cover and honestly that was the best part of this book. Its about this world where necromancy is pretty highly regarded and used to resurrect the royals after they die. The only downside is that if a living person ever lays eyes on the resurrected person's skin then they turn into these horrible monsters. Maybe it's just me but like that absolutely does not seem worth the risk. Plus, in order to bring the person back, these reapers have to go into the death world and bring the spirit back. And it's HELLA DANGEROUS. So like, WHY? Anyways, there is this stupid underlying love story that I absolutely wasn't invested in. This just all around was not a good book.

2/5 stars

Monster High by Lisi Harrison

⭐⭐

Little known fact~ I'm obsessed with Monster High and Ever After High. So yeah, I realize this wasn't targeted to me as an adult but even going into it with an open mind I was disappointed. Granted I didn't read the description of the book prior. I just saw this franchise I love and grabbed it. First, if you are a fan of the mini series and the movies do not read this. It doesnt follow the cinematic canon and I think that was my biggest problem with it. Frankie's character was all wrong and I hated the whole"Normy" cast. Was really excited for these but I definitely won't be continuing the series. I don't even want to torture myself with seeing how they manage to ruin my sweet baby Draculara.

2/5 stars

Unhinged by AG Howard

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I can't say enough good things about this series. This is the second book in the trilogy and it was a fanatstic bridge book. It had me engrossed through the entire audiobook. Morpheus is still everything. If you loved Splintered I would highly reccomend continuing.

5/5 stars

Truthwitch

⭐⭐

Have had this on my TBR for a while because of how many Booktubers have hyped the series. Buy, was I disappointed. I was soooooooooo bored. Maybe it's because I don't really enjoy this type of fantasy or maybe it was just the slower paced story but I just slugged through this book. Both of the main female characters were bland to me and I didn't care about their friendship. The world was cool but not enough to keep me invested. Just wasn't my cup of tea.

2/5 stars

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

⭐⭐⭐

Picked this up because of how much I loved The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein and it didn't meet my expectations. It follows this girl who works for a paranormal gorvenment group. She has a special ability that makes her really useful to them so they are trying to groom her basically. They capture this changeling and she befriends him and there is an overarching plot that I just didn't get invested in. The friendship between the two main characters was pretty much the only thing that I enjoyed in this title. The mother figure was insufferable and I just didn't really understand the whole org that they worked for in general. Not an awful book but not fantastic.

Solid 3/5 stars.

The Siren by Kiera Cass

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Going to preface this by saying I might be biased. I love Kiera Cass and have enjoyed almost everything she has written. That said, this wasn't nearly as good as The Selection series but it was a pretty good stand alone novel. It about a girl who becomes a siren on her deathbed and spends the next 100 years serving the sea by luring people to their deaths. After doing this for 70 years, she falls in love and pretty much ruins everything. Loved the characters, especially the male lead. The insta love was a little pet peeve of mine but the love interest was so sweet and genuine that I was willing to overlook it. Pretty good read if you dig supernatural romance.

4/5 stars

June holds the Ghibli-a-thon but also lots of holidays for my family so we will see how much I actually get read. So far my tentative TBR is 5 books but we will see where the days take me.

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