I received a copy from Netgalley.

If I could give this book 0 or minus starts I would, it was really that bad.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book I have actively hated so much. I’m all for diving into dark fiction every now and then but this book was one of the worst, most absurd things I have ever read. It made no sense whatsoever.

Normally I would just say to hell with it if I don’t like it and DNF, which made it all the more irritating because even though I hated the story and loathed the characters, I wondered if A) it would get any better or B) I would be able to work out what the fuck was going on.

Unfortunately, neither of these things happened.

The premise was what caught my attention, I’ve read a previous book by the same author, which was a little weird, but I liked it. As I said, I do like dark fiction every now and then. So why not try it? The story follows New York based teenage twins Everett and Ruby whose eldest brother Dashiell died recently of an overdose.

Ruby was completely besotted with Dashiell to something boarding on reverence. (I’m half convinced there was something else going on there as well.) They were both totally obsessed with each other. Ruby was completely blind to Dashiell’s flaws. He was an addict, charming and manipulative and could convince her to do anything, long after he’d been thrown out of the house. The father was a workaholic, their mother left years ago. Ruby was an idiot. A sycophantic moron who couldn’t see the danger around them. Her brother Everett was possibly the only remotely likeable character in this. The more straightforward, sensible of the pair.

Something seems to allow Dashiell to come back from the dead in a spirit form where he can possess a body if he murders it and can live in it’s skin. At least that was my understanding. So naturally Ruby is the first person he goes to. Which is squicky enough in itself. Yet when Everett notices something off about Ruby and when she’s not possessed she tells him Dash came back he thinks she’s lot the plot. And before long Dashiell has convinced Everett whilst possessing Ruby that he could possess him instead. He can have one or the other.

And does some pretty vile things whilst wearing Everett – including visiting his old girlfriend whilst in Everett’s body and getting her into bed. She doesn’t know Everett is possessed, of course. Which is pretty much rape – she consented to Everett, not Dashiell. If she doesn’t know Dashiell is the one riding the front she gets no say in that. And that’s pretty fucking disgusting.

On top of all this there’s some of sort Land of the Dead plot where other ghosts are walking around, and Dashiell has pissed off the Big Bad who runs the show. And comes after him for revenge.

The whole thing was bizarre, twisted. Way too many characters, all of whom had no personality and were just pretty horrible people. It was beyond fucked up and just an awful, awful novel. Nothing made sense and it was pretty much one of the worst things I have ever read.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan-Tor/Forge for approving my request to view the title.

So...

Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter. I'm sorry if this review hurts someones feelings!

I did not like this book. It took me quite awhile to read this book because I just couldn't understand what was happening throughout the book. The whole concept of the book was interesting though,I'll give the author that.

This is the type of book I wouldn't normally buy myself, this was the book that I received in the a book subscription service.The other items in the book I found quite cool, the books description I thought was cool and interesting a different from what I normally read. 

Once I started reading I knew that I was going to struggle with it. It had these weird characters like this moving hands, a building that had chicken feet at night the would his the store into the air because it's magic. Literally anyone that left the store was going to be killed. Vassa had a magic doll as well. Just the whole idea of the book made me want to DNf it but I didn't I finished the book and it was painful. I'm sorry if other people enjoyed this book but I didn't. I'm sorry if the author ever finds this book review, I guess not all books are for you, this book just wasn't my cup of tea but I'm sure other people enjoyed it. 

This was nothing like what I was expecting. At all. I can't emphasize that enough. I thought this would be an interesting story about ghosts and new take on what happens when someone dies. At the very least, I thought there would be a kind of family theme going on since the blurb leads me to believe it's going to be all about family. If I could sum up this book, I would have to just say that it's weird. I don't know what else I could possibly say because honestly I'm not sure what I just read. 

One of the most confusing things about this book is definitely the plot. For the first half of the book, it's entirely Dashiell possessing Ruby and Everett for what seems like no reason at all. There's no explanation for why any of this is happening. There's also a villain of the story, but his motives are really muddled and ultimately don't make that much sense. Why bother going through so much trouble over one family? What was the goal of possessing Everett and Ruby? Just to possess them? Yeah Aloysius was evil and a bad person, but his character lacked any depth or emotion. There's no story to why he's bad, he's just that way because he's the villain.

There characters felt like a mess to me, primarily because they lack human reactions and reasoning skills. None of the characters really seemed that surprised that it's possible for a ghost to possess a living body. Everett does at the beginning, but it doesn't last very long. Not only is there a lack of surprise or disbelief from any of the characters, but all of them fail to have the normal reaction of running away screaming when you hear a dead man talking through a sixteen year old girl or at least trying to commit said girl to an insane asylum. I felt no connection to them. I didn't care if they lived or died because they weren't realistic enough. There were many different points of view and characters thrown into the story, but the side characters felt like props and I didn't understand why there were so many points of view. Two or three max would have worked better in my opinion.

The romance was cringe worthy and not just because there was some incest going on. Everett and Ruby both have terrible self images. Neither believes that anyone pays any attention to them, Everett even more than Ruby. But wait, turns out that a girl that Everett likes has been secretly in love with him for what seems to be no reason at all, other than to make him feel good about himself. There's also a very weird scene, that could possibly be considered rape because the woman involved thought she was having sex with someone, but that person was being possessed. This is discussed very briefly by the person who's body was used by the ghost, but eventually it's pushed to the side. I found the whole situation quite uncomfortable. Then there's the incest that I had mistaken for sibling love, but oh was I wrong.

One of my biggest issues when it comes to writing is when an author tells instead of shows. I felt like there was a lot of that in this book. It made it difficult to imagine certain scenes and characters. The reader is told that Dash is loved by everyone and basically perfect, aside from his drug addiction. I didn't see a reason for Ruby to trust or love Dash as much as she does. I actually thought there were more reasons for her to do the exact opposite. I would have liked to see more descriptions and maybe some more flashbacks to good times with Dash and his siblings in order for me to become invested in the story. 

I thought the idea behind this book was really interesting and that's why I wanted to read this in the first place, but the execution was all off. This just wasn't for me. It was too weird and for a primarily character driven novel, the characters weren't likable. 

*I received this via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a lovely weekend!

I thought I'd share some of the books I bought this month. Some I already read and I have yet to post reviews and some I'm currently reading, like "The three dark crowns" which so far is a snooze fest...

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted @BreakingtheSpine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick is "Vassa in the Night" by Roshani Chokshi

Expected Publication: April 26th 2016

Synopsis:
In the enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, the fashionable people put on cute shoes, go to parties in warehouses, drink on rooftops at sunset, and tell themselves they’ve arrived. A whole lot of Brooklyn is like that now—but not Vassa’s working-class neighborhood. In Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters—and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission. But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and a ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won’t be playing fair. . . . Inspired by the Russian folktale Vassilissa the Beautiful and Sarah Porter’s years of experience teaching creative writing to New York City students.