revenge story

Teddy Bears Never Die by Cho Yeeun

~ megs14malloy

Teddy Bears Never DieTeddy Bears Never Die by Yeeun Cho
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Teddy Bears Never Die is a translated Horror novel that follows a girl set on revenge, who pairs up with a possessed teddy bear in order to get it. Sound intriguing? I agree.

Hwayoung is the young woman in question, and the revenge she seeks is in regards to her mother’s death.

There was a mass-poisoning attack at the Seaview Parc, a luxury high-rise apartment residence, and her mother was reportedly one of the victims.

The poison was said to have been transmitted via tainted rice cakes, but Hwayoung knows that her mother hated rice cakes. Like really, truly hated them. There’s no way she would have eaten rice cakes willingly.

Hwayoung is determined to find out the truth of what happened to her mother, and bring those responsible to justice. This type of thing takes money though. Something she doesn’t really have, but she’s been hustling hard, saving her pennies, and her determination is unwavering.

As for the teddy bear, you’ll need to read it to figure that out.

I enjoyed this. The concept is great and I feel like Cho Yeeun explored some very heavy topics with grace and care, however that’s where I sort of lost interest, for lack of a better way to describe it.

It’s hard to explain. I appreciate the topics explored, however for me, when I was picking this up, I thought it was going to be light, fast-paced, fun and gruesome.

Even though I’ve been told my whole life, never judge a book by its cover, clearly I do. Because of this, I had a sort of expectations versus reality face slap with this one.

Nevertheless, a 3.5-star rating is a good rating. It’s a great book, just my personal experience with it wasn’t as high as I expected. Now that I have a better understanding of the author’s style though, I think future works that I pick up from her will be a better experience for me.

I would recommend this. As mentioned the concept is great and the hard-hitting topics, if expected, I think could make this a memorable reading experience. I think this would be an excellent fit for Readers who enjoy more Literary Horror.

Thank you to the publisher, Run For It, for providing me a copy to read and review. I’m happy to have been introduced to Yeeun’s work. I’m looking forward to more.

View all my reviews

Review: Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel

~ megs14malloy

Darling Rose GoldDarling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Patty Watts was arrested and charged with poisoning her daughter, Rose Gold.

An alleged case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, Patty was purported to have been abusing Rose Gold her entire life.

As a late teenager, Rose Gold confesses some things to a neighborhood friend and the adults around her end up putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

Ultimately, Rose Gold testified against her Mother in court and she was sentenced to five years. As you can imagine, this has led to an estranged relationship.

Darling Rose Gold follow two perspectives, both Patty and Rose Gold.

We follow Patty after she is released from serving her time and Rose Gold after her Mother is prosecuted up through the present day.

As Patty is released, she is picked up outside the prison gates by Rose Gold. It seems during the interim of her time away they have begun the process of healing their relationship.

Rose Gold is now a mother herself, of little Adam, and has purchased her own home. Since Patty has nowhere to go, it is decided that she will move in with them until she can get back on her feet.

This book is full of messed up twists and keeps its intensity throughout as the timelines come closer and closer to merging.

I love this type of format. I always end up racing through so fast to get to that climatic scene at the end.

About mid-way through I knew hoped I knew where this was going. It went there and I was hella happy about it.

A revenge story is one of my favorite tropes of all time. This one satisfied me in that regard and was full of masterful manipulation.

I have often mentioned that I love a good long-game; this story had that in spades. Well played, Wrobel.

There were definitely parts that made me uncomfortable, particularly the focus on Rose Gold’s ruined teeth, but I understand where the author was coming from in framing it that way.

Rose Gold and Patty definitely shared one of the most f*ed up relationships I have ever read. It’s also one I remember for a long time.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to more from Stephanie Wrobel.

View all my reviews

Review: Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin

~ megs14malloy

Foul Is Fair (Foul Is Fair #1)Foul Is Fair by Hannah Capin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As a modern retelling of Macbeth, this is absolute genius.

‘For one fleeting second I’m proud of every bruise and every scratch–
the dark handprints on my arms and my neck and my ribs–
my broken claws–
the slash across my cheek–
–because every mark they left, everything they did, didn’t even get close to breaking me.’

On the night of her sweet sixteen, high schooler, Elle, along with her best friends, Mads, Summer and Jenny, plan to crash a St. Andrews Prep party.

They are in the highest of spirits, dressed to the nines, feeling like queens of their world. Nothing can touch them. That’s what they think anyway.

Then the golden boys, the wolf pack, of St. Andrews selects Elle as their next victim.

They chose the wrong girl.

After drugging her drink and raping her, she is left for her friends to rescue. From that moment she vows, she will not play their victim.

They have stolen her power, but she will stop at nothing to get it back.

Recreating herself, Elle, now Jade, enrolls at St. Andrews, infiltrates the golden boy’s world and plots their downfall.

She will reign, in her own world, as well as the world of St. Andrews Prep.

Seducing golden boy, Mack, he becomes her greatest pawn. She puffs his ego and works with his ambition to rattle the St. Andrews hierarchy to its core.

She promises her best friends, her coven, that she is not falling for him, but their mutual interests lie within one another. A Queen needs her King.

Y’all, I think you can tell how much I loved this book. I was so impressed with the courage it would take to write this story.

A revenge story that doesn’t apologize for going all the way. This is about a girl, stripped of her power, fighting tooth and claw to wrest back that power from those who stole it from her.

I speak from the heart when I say this is one of the most empowering stories I have ever read.

Don’t let them define you. Your role in the world is defined by you, no one else.

I fully understand that this will not be for everybody. The writing is extremely unique. I found it to be lyrical and raw.

The homage it plays to the original story of Macbeth was nothing short of brilliant, in my opinion.

So impressed with this. Will read anything else Hannah Capin chooses to write. Brava!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I have no doubt this will be on my favorites list of 2020.

View all my reviews