Category: Gallery Pocket Books

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

~ Jolie ~ 2 Comments
The Only Good Indians by [Jones, Stephen Graham]

3 Stars

Publisher: Gallery Pocket Books, Gallery/Saga Press

Date of publication: May 19th, 2020

Genre: Horror

Where you can find The Only Good Indians: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | BookBub

Book Synopsis:

The creeping horror of Paul Tremblay meets Tommy Orange’s There There in a dark novel of revenge, cultural identity, and the cost of breaking from tradition in this latest novel from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones.

Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.

First Line:

The headline for Richard Boss Ribs would be Indian Man Killed in Dispute Outside Bar.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

My Review:

I was surprised when the publisher granted my wish on NetGalley for this book. I wished for it based on the cover (the side view of the elk) and the blurb. I was looking for a book that would scare me. While The Only Good Indians did scare me, in certain parts of the book, it also bored me.

The Only Good Indians plotline had two paces. It went between going fast and slow. I wished that it had stayed either fast or slow. The constant slowing down of the plotline made it hard to read. I did like that there were no dropped characters or storylines.

The characters in The Only Good Indians were well written. I did have a problem connecting with the characters. I can pinpoint why I couldn’t connect with them.

I loved the main plotline in The Only Good Indians. I loved that the author used Native American folklore and wove it into the plotline. I liked the build-up to the final encounter was well written. But, I do wish that there was a glossary at the end of the book. It would have helped with some of the Native American terms used in the book.

The horror angle of the book was well written. I did think that it was drawn out towards the end of the book.

The end of The Only Good Indians was interesting. I get that the cycle had to come full circle. I also wasn’t prepared for who Denorah’s stepfather was.

I would give The Only Good Indian an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I am on the fence if I would reread The Only Good Indian. I am on the fence if I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Follow Me by Kathleen Barber

~ Jolie ~ 1 Comment
Follow Me by [Barber, Kathleen]

4 Stars

Publisher: Gallery Pocket Books, Gallery Books

Date of publication: February 25th, 2020

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Where you can find Follow Me: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | BookBub

Book Synopsis:

From the author of Truth Be Told (formerly titled Are You Sleeping)—now an Apple TV series of the same name—comes a cautionary tale of oversharing in the social media age for fans of Jessica Knoll and Caroline Kepnes’s You.

Everyone wants new followers…until they follow you home.

Audrey Miller has an enviable new job at the Smithsonian, a body by reformer Pilates, an apartment door with a broken lock, and hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers to bear witness to it all. Having just moved to Washington, DC, Audrey busies herself impressing her new boss, interacting with her online fan base, and staving off a creepy upstairs neighbor with the help of the only two people she knows in town: an ex-boyfriend she can’t stay away from and a sorority sister with a high-powered job and a mysterious past.

But Audrey’s faulty door may be the least of her security concerns. Unbeknownst to her, her move has brought her within striking distance of someone who’s obsessively followed her social media presence for years—from her first WordPress blog to her most recent Instagram Story. No longer content to simply follow her carefully curated life from a distance, he consults the dark web for advice on how to make Audrey his and his alone. In his quest to win her heart, nothing is off-limits—and nothing is private.

First Line:

Everyone on the internet is a liar.

Follow Me by Kathleen Barber

My Review:

I had to take a few minutes to process what I had read when I finished Follow Me. The entire story chilled me. I should have known that the book was going to be creepy when I read the author’s foreword about the RAT’s and the whole secret community that envelopes it. Talk about scary!!

Follow Me had a medium-paced plotline. For the type of book it was, I was expecting the plotline to be a little faster. But, then again, if it did go more quickly, some of the smaller clues (about who “Him” was, Cat’s mental state…etc) would have been passed over.

I liked the flow of the book too. Usually, I don’t like it when there are more than two POVs’ in a book. The flow of the book is often thrown off. Not in this case. The author was able to switch between Cat, Him, and Audrey effortlessly. That made for a better reading experience for me.

I didn’t like Audrey. Her preoccupation with her Instagram, followers, filters, and brand was almost too much at times. She drove away her friends because of that. Even Cat wanted nothing to do with her by the end of the book. But, as much as I didn’t like her, I did feel bad for Audrey. She didn’t deserve what happened to her.

I didn’t know what to think of Cat at first. But, as the book went on, I began to understand her character. In her way, Cat was just as obsessed with Audrey as Him was. Her deteriorating mental state was apparent in the latter half of the book. I do wish that Cat’s secret was discussed earlier in the book. But, I can see why the author held it back until the last half of the book. It made sense.

I loved that the author kept Him’s true identity a secret until almost the end of the book. It made his chapters scarier to read. Him was completely obsessed with Audrey. It sickened me how easy it was for him to track her. He was able to use spyware to watch her at home. He knew everything about her. What scared me even more about Him was that he was unhinged. He imagined killing his family and decorating the house with their intestines. I wish that the author spent more time on that, but at the same time, I am grateful she didn’t.

The suspense/mystery angle of the book was wonderfully written. The author did a great job of keeping Audrey off balance and showing Him and Cat’s deteriorating mental states. She also did a great job of keeping Him’s real identity under wrap until the end of the book. Four people were on my list, and it was the last person I thought it would be.

The end of Follow Me was chilling. I did figure what happened between Him and Audrey was going to happen. Not to the degree, it happened, but I guessed that basic. But I wasn’t expecting Cat to do what she did. That threw me for a loop. But, it was the very end of the book that chilled me to the bone.

I would give Follow Me an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I am on the fence if I would reread Follow Me. I am also on the fence if I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**