Tag: Psychological Fiction

One * Life: Ameno by Blaze Dendukuri

~ Jolie ~ Leave a comment

Publisher:

Date of Publication: March 27th, 2022

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Fiction

Purchase Links: Kindle

Goodreads Synopsis:

A power to be able control space itself .
That is what Artorius possessed . He possessed a power akin to that of a God. But he didn’t feel like one….
Waking up, seeing himself drowning in the ocean of emptiness, Artorius saw the world that he had to confront. The governments that he had to face. Unable to die, unable to live, seeing himself devolve into obscurity, aeons went by.
Seeking the world, becoming the villain in the face of it, he is going to topple it. In the face of such an existence, how are the world leaders going to react? How is the universe going to react….

One•Life is a story that goes through the life of a lone existence that was chosen by the universe. A gripping tale of geopolitical intrigue and cosmic wonder, Artorius takes his initial stride, ready to confront the notorious terror organization, ISII, and a world teetering on the edge. Containing psychological thriller elements as well as escalating action, One•Life displays the tumultuous life that one man can lead.

First Line:

WHAT IS THE COST OF LIFE? LIFE ITSELF.

One * Life: Ameno by Blaze Dendukuri

Artorius lives in the jungles of India, a solitary and lonely existence. One day, Artorius is called to leave the jungle. Once he does, it sets off a chain of events that will kill millions. Who is Artorius, and what does he want?

When I initially decided to read and review One * Life, I was intrigued by the storyline. A geopolitical, psychological thriller was right up my alley. But then I read it, and the storyline left me confused and unfulfilled.

I will do a quick review, different from the average in-depth review I usually do. As I said above, I was confused during Artorius’s parts of the book. The author gave no background about him other than that he was part of the void and had a daughter named Thalia, who died. As for his motives, they were just as murky. I couldn’t tell if he wanted to help people or if he wanted people to die.

As for feeling unfulfilled, that is mainly aimed at the end of the book. I wanted more from this storyline. There were sparks of something good when the author wrote about the world leaders and the blogger, but it was lost under everything else.

I would recommend One * Life to anyone over 21. There is extreme and graphic violence and language, but no sexual situations.

Many thanks to Blaze Dendukurri for allowing me to read and review One*Life. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Other books by Blaze Dendukurri:

Doctor Glass by Louise Worthington

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Publisher: TCK Publishing

Date of publication: April 11th, 2022

Genre: Psychological Suspense, Thriller

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

Goodreads Synopsis:

THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU NOW.

Psychotherapist Emma-Jane Glass has prioritized work over leisure for far too long. She does whatever it takes to help her clients, and it’s bordering on professional obsession. When she publishes a controversial article about unstable mothers murdering their children, an anonymous letter arrives on her doorstep:

I will expose you.
Then, I will mutilate you…
Wait for me.

After she is abducted into the night, Doctor Glass finds herself at the mercy of a dangerous sociopath. But being a relentless doctor of the mind, she feels an urge to help her fragile captor, even if it might shatter her sanity-and her life. It becomes a game of survival, and only one mind can win.

For fans of deeply layered thrillers by Ruth Ware, Tana French, and Alex Michaelides comes the newest voice in psychological fiction.

CONTENT GUIDANCE: This novel explores aspects of psychology and mental health and contains depictions of self-harm, alcohol abuse, eating disorders, and suicide. Please read with care.

First Line:

Under the canopy of a sycamore tree, the world is a kinder place.

doctor glass by louise worthington

When I received the invite to review Doctor Glass, I was immediately intrigued by the synopsis. I am a massive fan of psychological thrillers and read any/all of that genre that I can get my hands on. So, I knew that I had to read this book between the synopsis and my love of psychological thrillers.

Doctor Glass had an engaging storyline. Emma-Jane Glass is a psychologist who had published a paper that made her very unpopular with her colleagues and clients. Doctor Glass starts receiving death threats, and very shortly after, she is kidnapped by the author of the notes. Being held captive, Doctor Glass uses her training to try and understand her captor. But that is dangerous, as Doctor Glass forms an attachment to her captor. Will she escape her captor? Will she become damaged?

I do want to warn everyone about trigger warnings. The author does mention it in the blurb so I will repeat that here along with a couple of my own. Her’s are self-harm, alcohol abuse, eating disorders, and suicide. I want to add maternal filicide and emotional abuse to the mix also. If any of these triggers you, I suggest you not read this book.

As I mentioned in the first paragraph, I am a massive fan of psychological thrillers. I love the rush that I get from reading them. I expected that from Doctor Glass, but I didn’t get it. Instead, I got more insight into grief, mental illness, and Stockholm Syndrome.

I did have a hard time following some of the secondary storylines in Doctor Glass. The couple had kinky sexual fetishes (fat fetish and smothering), the woman whose daughter died of an asthma attack, Lucy’s forays into dating, Kat’s disturbing obsession with Drew, and AJ’s relationship with Heather and Drew. They meandered around the main storyline, and honestly, only Lucy (to an extent), Kat, and AJ’s storylines added anything to the main storyline. The other two seemed like fillers to me and took away from what was happening.

Drew horrified and saddened me. I was horrified at how his actions contributed to what happened with his wife and son. I couldn’t even begin to fathom his guilt along with his grief. Emma-Jane’s paper did send him over the edge. When they were at the farmhouse, his scenes with Emma-Jane were some of the saddest that I have read. I did feel that Emma-Jane did get through to him by the end of her kidnapping, but we’ll never know.

I didn’t know how to feel about Emma-Jane. I did want to like her, and I was definitely in her court when she was kidnapped. But she came across as bland and sometimes unlikable. I also wish that the author had given more of Emma-Jane’s backstory. That way, I could have understood her a little better.

The secondary characters (as with the storylines) didn’t do anything for me. The only one that I was genuinely interested in was Kat. I was interested in her because of what came up halfway through the book. The others added nothing to the book.

The thriller angle was a little meh to me until Emma-Jane got kidnapped. At that point, it did pick up some steam but died once Lucy rescued her. I wish that the author had kept it up for a bit longer.

I mentioned above that the book gave me insight into mental illness, grief, and Stockholm Syndrome. I did enjoy those parts of the book because that is when it came alive for me. I felt that the author very well wrote the mental illness angle of the book and the grief angle almost took my breath away. I shed tears along with that character.

There was a twist in the plot that I didn’t see coming. That twist also tied together Emma-Jane and Drew’s plotline together. I will say that Kat is an evil person, and I hope she gets what she deserves!!!

The end of Doctor Glass was more introspective than anything. I’m not going to get into it, but it was almost soothing to see how Emma-Jane dealt with everything.

I would recommend Doctor Glass to anyone over 21. There is language, moderate violence, and moderate sexual scenes.

Chatroom With A View by Glenn Maynard

~ Jolie ~ 3 Comments
Chatroom with a View by [Glenn Maynard]
Chatroom with a View by Glenn Maynard

Publisher:

Date of publication: May 5th 2021

Genre: Psychological Fiction, Psychological Thriller

Purchase Links: Amazon

Format Read: Published Book

Received From: Author

Trigger Warnings: Mental Illness, Bullying, Domestic and Child Abuse

Goodreads Synopsis:

Lizzie Borden took an axe . . . and so goes the song depicting the 1892 axe murders of her father and step-mother. Research indicates that a killer gene could be passed down through generations of family members, and evidence begins with Lizzie’s ancestor who murdered his mother in 1673. Chatroom with a View opens with a bone-chilling episode, and what’s left of Troy Cullen’s dysfunctional family keeps him even further from the normal integration with society. Troy’s life further unravels when his ex-girlfriend, Veronica, announces that she is pregnant. Troy loses control and plots to do unto others as they have done unto him. When Veronica digs into his family’s past, she exposes this killer gene; she must try to balance her obsession for a family with shielding herself and their baby from evil. But Troy has his own agenda, resulting in an epic showdown.

First Line:

The wind gusts reached into the woods and sporadically shifted the little log cabin at its base, and the raindrops thumped the structure with little more vigor when they did.

Chatroom with a View by Glenn Maynard

When the author contacted me to review Chatroom With A View, I was on the fence about reviewing it. I left it hanging in my email for a couple of days while I thought over my decision. What ultimately made up my mind was the blurb. I wanted to know more about this killer gene. I am glad that I read this book, but man, was it dark.

Chatroom With A View is a fast-paced book. The author didn’t build up any backstory; instead, he chose to dive headlong into Troy Cullen’s messed up and complicated life. There was a slight lag in the middle of the book, but the author was able to get the book back on track.

Troy was a complicated character for me to connect to. I did feel bad for him because of the abuse. But as the book went on and I got to know his character, I started not to like him. The things he did were awful, and they just kept getting worse as the book went on.

The storyline with Troy and the girls (the waitresses who bullied him in school) was sad to read. Troy had so much anger from what those girls did to him. I was a little surprised how that particular storyline ended. I was expecting something more dramatic.

The storyline with Troy, his father, and the cabin was truly awful to read. I could understand why Troy was so torn about what to do about his father. I also understood his curiosity about the cabin. When Troy’s father told Veronica and Troy the story behind the cabin, it made sense.

Veronica’s storyline was a mess. She was severely mentally ill, and she started spiraling as soon as Troy broke up with her. She manipulated and lied her way to find him. Once she found him, she hit rock bottom. I won’t say much after that. I will say, though, I was surprised at how her storyline ended.

The end of Chatroom With A View disappointed me a little bit. I figured that what happened was going to happen but still. I wanted something more.

I did enjoy reading Chatroom With A View. It was well written with fleshed-out characters. I felt that everything that happened in the second half of the book was just there to be sensational. Also, I wouldn’t say I liked the end of the book. After a fast-moving plotline, I felt it was anti-climatic.

I am on the fence if I would recommend Chatroom With A View. It is a dark book that explores themes that could trigger people or, in the least, make them uncomfortable. There is sex (not graphic) and violence. There is minimal gore (at the beginning of the book).