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House at the Bottom of a Lake
House at the Bottom of a Lake | Josh Malerman
56 posts | 77 read | 99 to read
Both seventeen. Both afraid. But both saying yes. It sounded like the perfect first date: canoeing across a chain of lakes, sandwiches and beer in the cooler. But teenagers Amelia and James discover something below the water's surface that changes their lives forever. It's got two stories. It's got a garden. And the front door is open. It's a house at the bottom of a lake. For the teens, there is only one rule: no questions. And yet, how could a place so spectacular come with no price tag? While the duo plays house beneath the waves, one reality remains: Just because a house is empty, doesn't mean nobody's home.
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Nessavamusic
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Pickpick

This is a strange book of young love and a mysterious underwater house. This book has very little plot and not terribly deep character development. However, I was hypnotized by the atmosphere and pure sense of dread. I completely understand why it has a low rating because it will not be for everyone. I liked it though. 4⭐️
The only #roll100 I didn‘t dnf yay!

PuddleJumper Yay! 8mo
54 likes1 stack add1 comment
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TamTracy
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Panpan

The idea of this book was better than what it actually was for me. Seemed like a fantastic setting for a really spooky vibe but I wasn‘t really entertained much and just a little confused and left with a lot of questions at the end. ⭐️⭐️

Reggie I honestly think this got published off the strength of Bird Box. Like someone just threw up their hands and said let‘s make more money!!! This book was sooooo bad. 2y
50 likes1 comment
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Eggs
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The cover and the synopsis drew me in, but the book ultimately was a #disappointment

#IndelibleMoments @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

63 likes1 comment
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Eggs
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72 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Reggie
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Panpan

I loved Birdbox and Inspection, but this was bad. This was that YA that gives YA a bad name. There are better ways to write the special place at a special time trope. Two 17yo‘s, who have no character development, go on a first date and discover a house under a lake, make very questionable decisions, “fall in love” (roll my eyes here) and right when there might be a spark of life to this book it ends. No style to the writing. Big time pan.

LeahBergen Oh, this sounds 🤮 2y
Bookzombie Unstacked. 🙂 2y
TrishB Not selling it there Reggie 😁 (edited) 2y
See All 17 Comments
Reggie @LeahBergen @Bookzombie @TrishB I just want to say that I woke up this morning and watched a YouTube video on the new drag queens for the upcoming season of Rupauls Drag Race. There is this queen named Kornbread because she used to watch a lot of prison shows and this one woman found out her husband was cheating, served him some cornbread, and shot him while he ate it. In prison that was her nickname, Cornbread. And then I watched my favorite👇🏼 (edited) 2y
Reggie thing in sports- an upset. Illinois took out Kentucky in NCAA womens volleyball tournament. So I was in a good headspace, good mood. So this definitely wasn‘t wrong time- it was bad book. Lol 2y
LeahBergen Oh my God! Kornbread! 🤣🤣 2y
batsy Your follow up comment 😂😂 2y
Billypar I think we on Litsy are inclined to give many books the benefit of the doubt, but sometimes you have to say "It's not me, it's you." ? 2y
Tera66 That ending was the worst. 2y
Reggie @Tera66 Lolol yeah it was kind of a cruel trick after what the reader had been put through. 2y
Reggie @Billypar it has a 35% rating here on Litsy. It might be the 5th pan on here I‘ve given after close to 400 books. I have made my peace with it. Lol 2y
vivastory ?? your Kornbread comment "I took the shotgun off the wall & I fired two warning shots... into his head" 2y
Rissreads You always make me laugh! 🤣 2y
readordierachel Reggie I got your package. Your kind note made me tear up. It's been a year (for everyone, I'm sure). Thank you so much for the book! And for thinking of me. I've missed Litsy (and you) too. 2y
Reggie @readordierachel this year has sucked! Lol. I‘m glad you got it. Hope you and the kiddo are ok. We‘re (Litsy) here whenever you want to talk books or whatever. Happy Holidays! ❤️ 2y
readordierachel Happy Holidays! ❤ 2y
79 likes17 comments
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Tera66
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#Littensdressedinblood #Everybreathyoutake🫁
@MidnightBookGirl 🌚
This is a creepy, strange little book.

MidnightBookGirl That is a creepy and strange cover, so I'm interested. ;) 3y
Tera66 @MidnightBookGirl The ending is abrupt, but then book is interesting and spooky. 3y
24 likes1 stack add2 comments
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AudiobookingWithLeah
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Panpan

2¼⭐ | NARRATION 😁=Very Good
This starts out feeling like a whimsical Disney movie...and then turns into a Disney movie gone wrong. Seriously the explicit sex felt so out of place in this, and then...it ends somewhere in the freaking Twilight Zone. Unfortunately, the amazing cover and cool setting were the only redeeming aspects of this very strange short story. Oh yeah, the narration was decently performed too.

AudiobookingWithLeah @theAromaofBooks Ugh...I really forgot to tag you so many times. This was my #bookspin for August. 2y
TheAromaofBooks LOL This is actually the other reason I think the form is going to work so much better - people don't HAVE to remember to tag me, so hopefully it will be easier all around!!! Also I saw your comment that you use Google Forms to track your own reading - I'm curious how you do that?? I'm way into spreadsheets and tracking of all kind, so I'm always interested in everyone's systems!! 2y
AudiobookingWithLeah @TheAromaofBooks I think the best way to explain it is on my rating post on my Wordpress site which can be seen here ⬇

https://audiobookingwithleah.wordpress.com/my-rating-system/

it also comes with precomputed graph charts
(edited) 2y
TheAromaofBooks Ooooo thank you for sharing!!! This is a super fun chart!! 2y
24 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Rachiiebookdragon
Mehso-so

A weird book .... 3.5/5 Read for May‘s #Buzzwordathon - House/Home

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magyklyXdelish
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Pickpick

Definitely one of the strangest and most unique stories I‘ve ever read. One that will leave you wondering long after you‘ve read it.

#20in4

Free space for #BookSpinBingo

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3y
Andrew65 Doing great 👏👏👏🙌 3y
MaleficentBookDragon I have always been obsessed with flooded towns. This story was super creepy for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3y
24 likes1 stack add3 comments
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magyklyXdelish
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Moving on to the next one on my list for the #20in4 readathon. This ARC has been on my shelf for a long time now and I‘m really far behind on my ARCs. Time to help out my poor struggling ratio 😩

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rjsthumbelina
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Mehso-so

This one was weird for me. I feel like I would have liked it better if I read it, rather than listening to the audiobook. An interesting concept, but I just didn't think it was done very well. I also didn't feel like the ending was satisfying in any way

NatalieR I have the same experience with audiobooks sometimes. I read the physical copy of this book and loved it. 3y
32 likes1 comment
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candority
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this quick and eerie read, but I wish it was just a little bit longer. 4⭐️

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candority
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I have barely had time to read this week because I‘ve been busy preparing for an interview that I had today. I think it went well and now I can relax and catch up on reading with the #24in48 readathon this weekend! Who else is participating?

This is my tentative stack, but who knows if I‘ll stick to it. I also want to finish my current reads (Know My Name and If I Disappear). Hopefully a mix of audio and physical books will get me to 24 hours!

Soubhiville Yay! Nice choices. 3y
candority @Soubhiville Thank you! 🥰 3y
Jessieleah I love your plant pot 😆 3y
candority @Jessieleah Thank you! It‘s just from Walmart! 3y
104 likes4 comments
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Hooked_on_books
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Mehso-so

Two teens stumble upon an unknown lake with (spoiler alert) a submerged house within. They start exploring the house and getting to know each other. And, of course, some weird stuff happens. This is more suspenseful than scary and I didn‘t dislike it, but I was ultimately left unsatisfied by it, so I have to go with a so-so.

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DHill
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I didn‘t really care for the characters so was not very invested in the story and by the end I was just confused. 🤷🏻‍♀️

35 likes1 stack add
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DHill
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New book for a long drive. #earlymorningaudio

41 likes1 stack add
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Moonprismpower
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Pickpick

Sometimes an author is such a good writer that a short little book like this can pack a punch. There wasn‘t much in it that was scary but when you think about how we are able to create our own fear if you try to read it you may understand where I‘m coming from. I read it in the middle of the day and anytime I heard a noise I jumped so it worked for me.

38 likes3 stack adds
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Tera66
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Mehso-so

I noticed by the Goodreads reviews that several people did not think that this book should have been labeled as Horror. But fear is subjective and this book was creepy to me. The idea of being stuck underwater and not being able to get to air is one of the most terrifying situations to me. Also I think the skill the author has of describing some scenes makes you feel the eerie suspense in what is happening. Really hated the ending though. 👎

BookDragonNotWorm I felt the same way about this one. Definitely creepy, but the ending completely underwhelmed me. 3y
Tera66 @BookDragonNotWorm It was almost satisfying! lol! I read a bunch of theories of what it “meant“ but I did not get any of them. 🙄 3y
20 likes1 stack add2 comments
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BookDragonNotWorm
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Mehso-so

I was excited to receive this ARC of a YA horror book by the author of “Bird Box”. The premise sounded creepy, but while the book delivers spooks & chills, it's more speculative than horror I was a little underwhelmed. While a good, quick read, I wanted more – more depth from the YA characters, more horror in the plot, & more like I was a part of the story – the narrative didn‘t draw me in & make me feel as vested as I would have liked.

37 likes1 stack add
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TorieStorieS
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Panpan

Malerman has been rather hit-or-miss for me- I loved Bird Box, but didn‘t care for Unbury Carol. And this one sounded intriguing- a novella about a summer romance with a mysterious submerged house at the center. But I wanted a story to match the artwork above- instead, I got a head-hopping and unbelievable story. Good horror needs some detail to make it plausible and these scuba diving teens never felt real to me so I couldn‘t share in their fear.

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Sweettartlaura
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Pickpick

What a touching first love story ♥️
A haunting reminder that we need magic in our lives, and we can create it together, ourselves

34 likes1 stack add
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GidgetGrlReading

Enjoyed it - got twilight zone vibes!

1 stack add
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whimsy_rainbow
Pickpick

Weird but delightful.:)

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Jeannineth
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Weekend goals

54 likes1 stack add
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Jeannineth
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I‘m giving Josh Malerman another chance. I loved Bird Box but loathed Inspection. It‘s a short novel at a little of 100 pages so not too much of a time investment. Any thought?

allureofbeauty I liked the premise a lot but I felt like it could have been better. But the person I took the recommendation from raved so highly I think it just fell flat from that. 5y
69 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Gennic
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Pickpick

When I picked this book up from the library I admit I was a little disappointed. It‘s so thin, so short, just not enough meat to satisfy me. Boy was I wrong. This book actually had me feel that flash of fear I haven‘t felt in years. I highly recommend

11 likes4 stack adds
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Gennic
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A nice quick read before bed

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TheRiehlDeal
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Mehso-so

Had high hopes for this after reading Bird Box, but I will say, it was decent. The book focuses on two seventeen-year-old's who find (as the name of the book says), a house at the bottom of a lake, while canoeing.
The book is quite short, under 120 pages, so definitely a book you could read in a day. I'd say the thing that kept me reading was to find out what mysterious things would happen with the house.

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Night_Reader
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Pickpick

So hard to rate this book.
The concept/idea is very interesting, the set up, story & mood is very intriguing. But the ending. What happened? Maybe I'm just overthinking it. Anyone else read this book? What are your thoughts?

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Night_Reader
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Ready to delve into my next book. Wonder what I'll find....

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MarticaMustRead
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??☻???☠ #SpookyReads #FallReads #Thriller #Horror #TBR #LibraryHaul #BookCoverLove

Happy 1st of October Littens!

Picked up some #SpookyReads for the month❗

- I didn't get around to reading 'Hex' last Fall, but I'm determined to get to it this time!???‍♀️

- Heard about 'Kill Creek' on the "Books in the Freezer" thriller #podcast which I love. ??

- Lala, a fav #Booktuber raved about Malerman's novella, +that cover=yes please❕

40 likes5 stack adds
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Amanda23
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Pickpick

With only 116 pages this was easy to read in one sitting. Such an odd novella, very creepy and I found myself holding my breath at the beginning when they first started going under water. Not sure about the ending...

robinb Now this sounds creepy...and that cover! 😳😱 6y
RaimeyGallant Nice review! 6y
38 likes2 comments
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KrystleTheBookSlayer
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Pickpick

First, although creepy at times, this is not a horror novella. Nonetheless, I ended up really enjoying it. I found it to be intriguing and even enchanting at times.

Two teens discover a mysterious house at the bottom of a mysterious lake. Their love for each other grows as well as their obsession with the house. The ending was confusing and left me wanting answers, but I guess that just adds to the mystery of it all.

Kaye Sounds good. 6y
Scurvygirl I liked this one too. 6y
38 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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NatalieR
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Pickpick

I love Josh Malerman‘s stories. His writing is so creative and unique. This is a cool story about 2 teenagers who find a house at the bottom of a lake. #LitsyAtoZ #MountTBR

VinceReads This is the only one of his I haven‘t read! Love his work! 6y
ericarobynreads I loved this book!! 6y
RadicalReader @NatalieR be sure to check out can't wait for it's release!! 6y
See All 8 Comments
NatalieR @RadicalReader Thanks for the heads up! Just added it to my wishlist! 😁 6y
BiblioLitten Is that Poe? 😀 6y
NatalieR @BiblioLitten Good eye! 👁 Yes, that is a Poe doll on the shelf. 😀 6y
coreyastrom Bird Box...OMG, soooo good. There‘s a new movie out this weekend, A Quiet Place, that‘s seems to rip this book off :(. If I were Josh Malerman, I‘d be a little upset. Bird Box was so inventive and creepy and awesome!!! 6y
NatalieR @coreyastrom Yes! Bird Box is awesome!! I‘ve been hearing good things about that movie. Too bad it rips off Malerman‘s work though. 😕 6y
97 likes6 stack adds8 comments
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MBurbo
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this novella. Its definitely unique & I appreciate that. It‘s marketed as horror, & while I‘m not sure it‘s horror, I‘m not sure it‘s not. 😂 #joshmalerman #horror

2 likes2 stack adds
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HotMessJess
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Well, Chicago was great because it‘s full of great places to take photos.... not so great when your plan takes off in gale force winds and you‘re trying to read and rock out to music while internally panicking about the plane doing damn near barrel rolls.

This is a fun little book about teenage love that I read in threeish hours!

RadicalReader @HotMessJess stay on the look out for another phenomenal novel from Josh Malerman called Unbury Carol 6y
57 likes1 stack add2 comments
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MaleficentBookDragon
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I have a fascination/ obsession/ fear of flooded towns, and buildings that are underwater. I am terrified and excited to read this novella.

Smangela Ooooh Bird Box was easily one of my top reads last year. I‘m thinking @Callemarie and I need to check this one out 6y
Callemarie Yesssssssssss @Smangela im@on board 6y
71 likes5 stack adds3 comments
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parasolofdoom
Mehso-so

This was decent, LOVED the concept and imagery but the plot felt a bit half-formed (which can happen with novellas). I liked this far better than Black Mad Wheel but not nearly as much as the brilliant Bird Box or the novella Ghastle & Yule.

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parasolofdoom
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Josie
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Pickpick

I read this so quickly that I didn't even mark it as "reading" on Litsy. My mom recommended it because we both loved Bird Box. This novella was so creepy, I still don't know what to make of it. What I do know is that it intrigued me enough to not move for almost 2 hours. The ending isn't exactly satisfying, but I also can't stop thinking about it. Good or bad? You decide, I already read the book. ?

DiruVamp Sounds really intriguing! 7y
alleyfam51699 That's exactly how I read Bird Box. I did not move until I finished it. I need to get this one too. 7y
Gayan Bird Box was so good, I will have to check this out. 7y
106 likes23 stack adds3 comments
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ericarobynreads
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❤️

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ericarobynreads
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Pickpick

This little novella is an incredible book filled with charm and horror! If you're looking for an incredibly creepy read, I would highly recommend this! I was hooked immediately and absolutely could not stop reading!

My full review here: http://ericarobynreads.blogspot.com/2017/06/book-review-house-at-bottom-of-lake-...

14 likes1 stack add
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ericarobynreads
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😱

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BookDude
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Pickpick

This is a short book (116 pages), but it's really difficult to pin down what it is. Maybe an allegorical fable? It depends on what you think the house represents and if you consider it a character. The reviews seem to be love it or hate it; I liked very much. To me, it's a sweet love story with elements of horror, and the house is definitely representative of something that would be "spoilerish" if I wrote about it.

20 likes4 stack adds
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Iceangel9
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Pickpick

Ok, this was creepy - and what's with the ending?!?

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haileybean
Mehso-so

I liked it. I definitely couldn't stop reading it. I finished it in one day, there's just something I can't put my finger on definitively as to what was lacking for me. I'm not even sure I like the characters. I think what's most disappointing is that I loved Bird Box, and this one left me feeling very confused.

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Kappadeemom
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Mehso-so

Y'all. I am not sure what I read. It's like getting a spanking from your husband. You kinda like it but it's also kinda weird. WTH?

mcipher Omg. Love that analogy! 🤣 I feel like I may have read this book years ago, too. 7y
Bookladylinda 😂😂😂😂😂😂 well I busted out laughing from that analogy!!!! 7y
Bookladylinda I have this book on my TBR - that's the guy who wrote 7y
Kappadeemom @Bookladylinda it's free on Kindle Unlimited right now. I loved Bird Box but this was a little different. I liked it but weird 7y
Bookladylinda @Kappadeemom I think I will still check it out! Thanks (edited) 7y
13 likes1 stack add5 comments