The Call by Peadar Ó Guilín

Summary:

Imagine a world where you might disappear any minute, only to find yourself alone in a grey sickly land, with more horrors in it than you would ever wish to know about. And then you hear a horn and you know that whoever lives in this hell has got your scent and the hunt has already begun.

Could you survive the Call?

– from Goodreads

Review (with minimal spoilers):

I actually listened to the audiobook version of The Call, which was wonderful! It only took me a few days to get through the book (I usually take at least a week to get through an audiobook).

The Call takes place in Ireland, where teenagers disappear randomly at any moment and then appear in a fairy world…but these fairies are nothing like Tinkerbell or even the charming fairies of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. These fairies will torture and mutilate you. I actually read this book only a few weeks after finishing A Court of Mist and Fury (also by Sarah J. Maas) and every once in a while I would think, “Yeah, but what if one of the fairies is actually good? What if so and so (insert character name, I wasn’t picky) fell in love with one?” because that was still my mindset when it came to fairies. YEAH, NO! Don’t think like that. There’s nothing sweet or charming about these fairies.

This book reminded me a bit of the way I felt while reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Horrified, but I couldn’t stop listening/reading. Picture The Hunger Games but more descriptive about gore and mutilation and also throw in the terrifying fact that each teenager is alone in the fairyland and that it is almost guaranteed that each teenager will be called at some point. You only have to survive one day in this hell, but the chances of you surviving are very slim and even if you do survive, you will still be scarred, either physically, mentally, or both, for the rest of your life.

I had one friend tell me that she did not want to read this book because it was in the horror genre. And I can’t blame her for that. If you are not a fan of horror, thrillers, gory scenes, or really anything that may keep you up at night, I’m not sure you would like this book. Although you may appreciate a condensed version without some of the descriptions, because the story itself is really good!

On the flip side, if you enjoy horror, thrillers, gory scenes, or books that may give you nightmares, I would recommend this book! Add in the fantasy element and it is a really fun read!

Overall, I would rate The Call 4/5 stars!

 

You by Caroline Kepnes

Summary:

When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.

There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.

As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.

– from Goodreads

Review:

You by Caroline Kepnes is unlike any book that I’ve ever read. Joe Goldberg reminds me of Dexter a bit – except I prefer Dexter much more. Joe’s narrative is entertaining but unnerving and I believe the author did a marvellous job portraying the mind of an obsessive stalker. I liked this book, but I did find it very slow at times which affected my overall enjoyment.

Basically, You is about a man who is, for lack of a better term, insane. He is very smart, manipulative, and obsessive. When you look at a lot of books in the romance genre today, I think there is a fine line between what is accepted as “romantic” obsessive (and believe me, I feel weird even just wording it that way) and dangerous/insane obsessive. In fact, many would would argue that there really isn’t much of a line to separate the two because any sort of obsession with another person is unhealthy. I’m going to throw a name out there real quick just to further prove my point: Christian Grey. There are so many people who believe that the relationship between Christian Grey and Anastatia Steele is romantic, while in contrast there so many others who claim it is wrong to categorize it as romance. I’m not even going to go any further with that debate.

My point is, in today’s society many may believe that having a man be obsessesive towards a woman can be sexy and romantic. With this book – it’s just not. It’s downright creepy.

And of course, there are some who still think that this book falls under the romance genre, but I was not getting the sexy and romantic feels at all when I read it and I honestly don’t believe that the author intended for the book to be labelled as “romance”. I’m not saying that this book is like Fifty Shades of Grey at all. Joe goes beyond obsession and the reader quickly finds out that he is dangerous. I constantly feel bad for Beck, his target.

This book, as mentioned previously, was a bit of a slow read for me. I found a lot of information to be unnecessary, although I know many people would prefer to have the extra detail.

If you like psychological thrillers or enjoy novels that feature borderline crazy romance and want to cross over to the disturbing obsession that this novel includes, then this book may be for you!

Overall, I would rate You by Caroline Kepnes 3/5 stars. I enjoyed it because it was different to anything else that I have ever read before, but I didn’t actually enjoy it all that much…if that makes sense.