Tag: have you read it

  • Have You Read it? Riley Sager

    If you haven’t heard of Riley Sager you might be THE ONLY ONE LEFT!

    Riley Sager

    Riley Sager is part of my summer tradition, and if you’ve never heard of him, you might be the only one left. I have read a Riley Sager novel every summer for the last seven summers. I’ve come to depend on him for a thrilling ride. Every one of his books is different although similarities run between them. Below I will go through a quick snapshot of each novel, give you pointers on which one might be for you. I tell you which one is my favorite, which is my least, how they all rank, and which one you should read right now. If you haven’t already. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. As always, thanks for being a reader of my blog. Let’s do it! Have you read Riley Sager?

    The Review.

    FINAL GIRLS Goodreads Rating: 3.84 My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ranked #3 The one that started it all. It stars Quincy. Quincy experienced something awful and horrible ten years ago. Quincy went on vacation with five friends and was the only one to come back. She is a Final Girl. And now years later Quincy is struggling to put her life back together. Part of a Final Girl group she spends her time popping Xanax and baking her life away. Until one day one of the Final Girls, Lisa, is found dead. This sends another Final Girl, Sam, right to Quincy’s front door. Can Quincy and Sam solve the mystery of Lisa’s death before the again become one of the Final Girls left? Read if you: ⭐️ Are a purist and want to start at the beginning ⭐️ Know what a Final Girl is and especially if you don’t. ⭐️ Take a stiff drink sans ice THE LAST TIME I LIED Goodreads Rating: 4.05 My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ranked #7 Two truths, one lie: In THE LAST TIME WE LIED we’re following an artist named Emma who paints the things that haunt her. This is my least favorite Riley Sager of all. I’ve read this one the most. In THE LAST TIME I LIED we’re following Emma now an artist running from her haunted past. Many years ago at summer camp Emma watched as fellow campers snuck out in the middle of the night. Never to return. Emma has always regretted that night. For what happened, how it unfolded and her role in it. Today Emma’s paintings garner the attention of the owner, Francesca White, of the camp from so many years ago. Camp Nightingale. She is given the opportunity to come back, this time as a counselor with an opportunity to make right all of those wrongs from years ago. Read if you: ⭐️ Often root for the underdog. ⭐️ Love a thriller that verges on horror. ⭐️ Have nightmares from that one year at summer camp. LOCK EVERY DOOR Goodreads Rating: 3.91 My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ranked: #5 Set in New York and starring Jules Larsen. She is desperate for a fresh start and hopelessly ignoring all the red flags. She was just hired as the newest apartment sitter for THE BARTHOLOMEW in the upper west side. This one is creepier the second time around when you know what’s coming. Read if you: ⭐️ Are alone ⭐️ Don’t live in New York ⭐️ Don’t take things too seriously HOME BEFORE DARK Goodreads Rating: 4.08 My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ranked: #6 In HOME BEFORE DARK we are following Maggie who now at her fathers death owns her childhood home of Baneberry Hall. Baneberry Hall is a once famous real life haunted house. When Maggie was younger she and her parents lived at Baneberry Hall. An experience Maggie would rather forget. It ended with them leaving in the middle of the night and a best-selling “nonfiction” book accounting their experiences. HOME BEFORE DARK is about Maggie finding out the truth about the infamous book and the haunted house. If she can make it HOME BEFORE DARK she’ll solve the mystery that surrounds the book and relinquish the hold Baneberry Hall has on her. Read if you: ⭐️ Love to tour haunted houses and cemeteries. ⭐️ Can name all of the movies in THE CONJURING UNIVERSE in chronological order. ⭐️ Like gothic vibes. SURVIVE THE NIGHT Goodreads Rating: 3.52 My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ranked: #1 Favorite The scene is set shall we say. It occurs over one night. Charlie Meets Josh at the ride board at her local campus. She needs a ride he needs someone to split the cost of gas. They agree to meet at 9pm. Charlie shows up with a lot more baggage than Josh expects and Josh has more to hide than he let on at first. Can Charlie SURVIVE THE NIGHT? Read if you: ⭐️ Love a movie reference ⭐️ Think a stranger is a friend you haven’t met yet ⭐️ Like to read books in one sitting THE HOUSE ACROSS THE LAKE Goodreads Rating: 3.58 My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ranked #4 Casey is an actor with a serious drinking problem and just enough secrets to keep her glass full and her eyes wary. She is staying at her family lake house to hide from the press. One of her pastimes at the lake house is to watch her neighbors Katherine and Tom, across the lake. Soon enough she strikes up a friendship with Katherine. And then one evening she thinks she sees something happen between Katherine and Tom that makes her think Katherine is in danger. She becomes a very sloshy sleuth from there. Read if you: ⭐️ Know how to order a drink the way you like it ⭐️ Love to people-watch ⭐️ Have watched and liked REAR WINDOW THE ONLY ONE LEFT Goodreads Rating: 4.24 My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ranked: #2 In THE ONLY ONE LEFT we are following Kit. Kit needs a job and there is a position at HOPES END that needs filling. The Hope House is well known for being the house on the cliff where Lenora Hope allegedly murdered her entire family. It is hard to get someone in position to care for Lenora considering it’s history, her history and for some reason people who do get hired keep disappearing. Kit thinks she’s up for the task though actually she finds herself particularly apt for this position. Once hired she forms a bond with Lenora and one day Lenora starts to confess to Kit all of the bad things she has done including that infamous incident where her entire family ended up dead. Read if you: ⭐️ Have a past that haunts you ⭐️ Love a good horror trope ⭐️ Prefer reliability over spontaneity Let me know in the comments: Have you read Riley Sager?

    Screen Pairing

    Rear Window (1954) Movie Classic

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    For this title I recommend: Still & Co. NV Merlot, Yakima Valley

    Book Pairing

    If you liked this review…you might like: THE ONLY ONE LEFT by Riley Sager Full Review of: The House Across the Lake Full Review of: The Only One Left
  • Have you read it? Ottessa Moshfegh

    Of all the OTTESSAS in the world, OTTESSA MOSHFEGH is my favorite!

    Ottessa Moshfegh

    Have you read Ottessa Moshfegh? Her books are unique. And her books are a lot of fun. No two read the same. She is an auto-buy author for me. And even when I hate her plot and deplore her characters, her shit still lives rent-free in my head.

    The Books.

    My favorite of the four that I’ve read: MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION Goodreads rating 3.69 (ouch) My rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you’ve ever mapped your route from the couch, to the medicine cabinet, to the kitchen, and back to the couch, you’ll appreciate this one. The best characters and the one I recommend the most: EILEEN Goodreds rating 3.55 My rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you’ve ever done something, you’re ashamed of, but then you did it again…I recommend this one. The one I liked the least, but still enamored with: DEATH IN HER HANDS Goodreads rating 3.21 My rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you’ve ever wondered what its like for an author to frustrate you for 260 pages. And then leave you feeling empty inside and fearing miserly old women. Check this one out! The one with all of the trigger warnings! LAPVONA Goodreads rating: 3.58 My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is the one I recommend if you’re familiar with Moshfegh, with all cautions! My plan is to read LESS THAN ZERO next, where she co-writes with Bret Easton Ellis. Unless you think I should try something else. Let me know… Do you have a favorite author with a handful of different ratings?

    Screen Pairing

    Eileen Drama Crime (2023)

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    For this title I recommend: Munro Leaf’s Ferdinand 2020 Vino Tinto from Spain

    Book Pairing

    If you liked this review…you might like: Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh Full Review