ŷ������

49. Maybe I’ve watched too many old movies, but I thought “The Hotsy Totsy�� chapter was very well done. I could picture the setting, the characters, the raid. You?

im the opposite, i havent watched that many, or read that many, or had anything to do with it. i pictured dick tracy a lot. with uncle will as the private dick, and evie as his girl friday. the slang threw me, aggravated me, and made me wonder if 100 years from now people will read our books of today and be like "why do they talk like that?? what does fo shizzle mean anyways? why do they sometimes say true? at the end of a statement?" (for future people out there..tubular is a 80s term for awesome..awesome means fantastic!)

50. BOOK QUOTE: Did any of them have a power so frightening it had to be kept locked down tight? -- Did I miss something? Isn’t this the first inkling we’ve had that Theta has powers?

of course theta has powers, they all do, uncle will has some too I bet, or used to. or something.


51. Looks like Theta and Memphis are attracted to one another. I didn’t see that coming, either. Do you think they match up well? They certainly have something to talk about �� the exact same dream! Any thoughts on what it means?

i didnt see it coming. and in that day in age, i cant see it happening either. hello, its the day of the KKK and all that, slaves were just freed like yesterday. and we're going to have a flapper and a black guy hooking it up? not believable.

52. Well, Naughty John’s victims are certainly diverse. Why did he take Eugene Meriwether’s feet? Is this really just a “build a body�� thing, or is it related to specific offerings?

related to specific offerings, but consumes the body parts to make himself more solid. i cant figure out how he chooses his victims though.


53. Were you surprised that Uncle Will decided to send Evie back to Ohio after one infraction �� even given it was as severe as it was. On the heels of that came Mabel calling her selfish. Think these things will help Evie grow up and think before she acts impulsively?

nope, shes gunna be perpetually stupid. until she goes through more, life or death situations, then shes going to start being more wise, and lead the world to safety.

54. So…Uncle Will had no idea of Evie’s powers. Comments on the glove reveal scene? Who was the woman Evie saw? What was her relationship to Uncle Will?

i bet he really knew. the woman was an ex of uncle will, someone he lost, that made him become the nutty professor.

55. We get a little more on Jericho’s past: infantile paralysis, time in an iron lung, and the eventual desertion by his family, his ability to forgive, and his lack of belief in miracles. Comments? BOOKQUOTE: How about his cryptic comment, “They tried something new. I was lucky; it worked.�� Whatever was it that really worked?

the cryptic thing just proves my point. he's a stick up the mud with zero personality. he's part robot with no emotions.

56. Oh, poor Evie. What a terrible thing to discover about how you mother feels about you. Explains her acting out. And we discover that her ability came after James�� death. Comments. However, just when I think she’s growing up, she lies about Reporter Woodhouse’s article and poses for the shutterbug.

shes an attention grubbing child, something hurts her, she lashes out by doing the posing thing.

57. Could you have done what Evie did with Eugene Meriwether’s ring? What are the headaches about? Will Uncle Will know?

i think i would have, id want to help somehow. i think using powers can drain energy, especially since she is so untrained with it.

June 7 --ya'll were answering these questions on my BIRTHDAY!:)

The Wrong Person--The Angel GabrielPg.310-376

58. So a bit more information about Isaiah, and that crow was back. I was screaming at Isaiah to STOP TALKING to Gabe! haha Blind Bill Johnson sounds interesting - it is kind of the opposite gift to Memphis. Guesses on how Blind Bill's story will link in? I wonder if it is the same people that cured Jericho?

isaiah is a kid, he hasnt been burned by the fact that he has a gift yet, he doesnt know any better. its annoying that he doesnt cause you do want him to just shut up about it.

59. Theta's new number, and the crowd going to the museum with "Pentacle Killer Fever" reminded me of the musical Chicago. Do you see the similarities today with people obsessing over serial killers/sensational crime?

i do see similarities. i think its the same with anything though. rotten.com, driving slow to see if theres a death at a car crash. people are just morbidly curious.

60. What do you think about Evie and Sam's entrepreneurial spirit at the museum? Are they "creating an atmosphere" and giving people what they want, or are they just being charletons?

i think they are creating an atmospher. i thought this part was charming. it gave life to the museum that seemed to be nothing more than a glorified library before. it kinda reminded me of ripleys believe it or not.

61. So Memphis and Evie finally meet. Did you think Unc lied, and he actually did recognise the symbol? He seemed pretty abrupt.

i think he did recognize it. something mysterious in demark there.

62. A few people have mentioned before that this book doesn't feel very YA Fiction with the spiritual themes and murders. And now we have the storyline of Theta and Memphis being frowned upon as they seem to be a mixed race couple. What do you think - is it important for YA to explore these kinds of themes or is it just too adult?

i think the book is more adult than YA, but on the flipside of that, the same people who read this, will be playing zombie games on xbox shooting people, watching tv that regularly has wierd stuff. at least this book has more of a historical sense about things.

63. Miss Addie and Lillian were very interesting. What do you think Miss Addie meant by "Such a terrible choice to have to make"?

i still have no idea who these people are. diviners from 50 years ago?

64. So it sounds like John Hobbes is on his way back as 'The Beast' in two weeks. Margaret Walker must have a connection with Unc and have been in this situation before "It's coming back". Predictions on how he may be stopped, or do you think in this book he will come back? Btw, I googled Solomon's comet and it doesnt get any worthwhile hits, although Salomon's comet are mens hiking boots..lol

i cant answer this question, only because i know what happens in the end.

65. Do you think Project Buffalo, Blind Bill Johnson, Sam's mother and Jericho are somehow connected?

yes I do, all of it, yeah. total connections.

66. Poor Gabe! Do you think he manages to get away, as he is not under the bridge yet, or is he done-ski?

what is with the ski thing? every single time i saw that i thought of actual ski'ing. and then do you notice how the ski's are in the beginning of the book, but you rarely saw it at the end

@ Kim

#51 - Oh, I can see it happening. The forbidden is always a turn on to some in any given era.

#60 - Good analogy.

#66 - Ski? You lost me.

@lisa

#66 done-ski

Ah! Got it.

DQs for June 9: Knowles' End----The One Who Works with Both Hands: Pg.377-433, Submitted by Ashley Marie

1) It seems like Jacob Call is trying to cover for the real Naughty John to me. Do you agree? Why do you think he's taking the fall for the murders? Do you think he knows more about everything going on than he's letting on to Evie?

i think he tried to take the fall for the murders to protect the real murderer. if the coppers think he done it, they wouldnt be looking too hard at anyone or anything else.


2) Evie and Mabel are crazy to go into that house alone! I was yelling them not to go in - don't they watch horror films?!?!?! Surprisingly enough, they didn't listen to me. ;) Do you think this adventure will be worth it and Evie will get enough from Ida's journal to help with the case? Why did Ida hide it under the floorboard in the first place?

ida hid it, towards the end she knew what was going on, it was bad things going on, maybe if she ended up dissapearing someone would find it and know what happened. it surprised me that mabel agreed to go in. mabel seems very reserved. didn't surprise me that evie did, shes very impulsive

3) Yikes! What *was* happening in the cellar? Do you think the bodies the police found 50 years ago really were medical cadavers, or were they victims of Mr. Hobbes? How is Mary White involved in this? Do you think she knows about Mr. Hobbes' offerings, or is she what she seems on the surface - a fake medium?

they were totally victims. mary white was kinda like the followers of waco.. totally blind to anything but the fantastic lies spewing out of this wonderful charismatic man

4) Evie certainly gets back at anyone who crosses her! What do you think of the trick she played on T.S. Woodhouse?

it was entertaining. i wouldnt be surprised if it blows up in her face in the future though.

5) Uncle Will seems very comfortable and confident in his ability to help Evie manage her object reading, which seems like a weird skill to have. Thoughts?

he's got background, i guarantee it. goverment stuff. he was part of something, the buffalo thing?

6) So now we know for certain! John Hobbes is definitely Naughty John. Are you surprised? Do you think the ending will have a rational explanation for the supernatural happenings (like the ending of an episode of Scooby Doo), or do we really have a ghost killer?

not surprised, i think the similar names kinda gave it away for me. i think with the supernatural superpowers in the book, it'll be a supernatural ending.

7) Uncle Will immediately believes Evie that Naughty John is a vengeful ghost. Don't you think he'd be at least a little bit skeptical at first? Jericho seems to have the hardest time with what's happening. Why do you think that is?

i think again, uncle will has background. he's seen and done stuff that no one can explain. so yeah, he'll believe it.


8) Poor Theta! My heart just broke for her when we finally learned what she ran away from. So much abuse. What do you think her gift really is? How will her relationship with Memphis change her life with Henry?

i think her gift is the touch. she can kill what tries to harm her.

9) Oh, Gabe :(. What a terrible way to die! How do you think his death fits into the larger story? What do you think the meaning of his warning to Memphis was?

i think his death was just part of the ritual. im not sure we'll see him again after the warning

Okay, my first time at trying this so here goes.

DQs for June 9: False Idols----Brethren: Pg.434-498, Submitted by Turtlecollector

76. Well, after the way the last section ended I was surprised at who died. But does anyone have more clues as to what Theta’s power is?

her power is the death touch. the ray of death that shoots out of her hands when shes threatened.

77. What about how Evie tells the reporter the truth in the police station and he doesn’t believe her after her wild goose chase? Should Uncle Will and/or Detective Malloy be mad at her for leaking information?

if you can't beat em, join em. not many people would believe something as crazy as that, especially someone who has no supernatural inclinations.


78. So Mary White is still alive and living with her daughter. What do you think about her story? Do you think any of this would have happened if she didn’t keep the house?

i think she had no choice but to keep the house. if she'd let it go, this book wouldnt have really made much sense as far as closure to this arc.

79. Cannibalism as ancient magic!!! Yuck, I can’t ever see myself eating parts of my enemies to gain victory over them. Did the poster of the circus trigger his epiphany about who John Hobbes was?

i have no clue what you're talking about, i think i read it, but didnt really absorb it.

80. What do you think about what Evie sees when she holds the ring? Does the treatment of him as a child change how you think about Naughty John? Should she be using her power so frequently now that there is a connection between her and Naughty John? I am intrigued about what John Hobbes has left and taken at the museum.

it doesnt really change much, because he seemed to be a cruel child. i felt a tingle of sympathy, i believe the lack of nurturing and realiszing that he was born for a specific purpose, made him the way he was. he had no choice but to be evil.


81. Eugenics is not what I expected to find at a state fair. At first I thought that might be part of the ‘cult�� and then I thought ‘Project Buffalo�� and how the group tried to find the people with special powers. Anyone else have comments on the fair?

i got confused about this. the only thing i could think of was that they were testing random people looking for diviners to capture and kill or something

82. Which side is Blind Bill on? It seemed that he somehow knew that Isaiah would be going home by himself. Did he set up Memphis to be arrested for his own purposes? Would Isaiah be dead or just badly hurt if the Good Samaritan hadn’t intervened?

he seems to be a power sucker. hes so blinded by rage for revenge or whatever made him blind, that he doesn't see much outside of that (lol love my puns!)

83. The cult has come back to the original site to keep vigil over their fallen leader where they believe he will come and set them free. This is contradictory with Mary White saying she needed to keep the house because he would be coming there. Where do you think he may go if he manages to come back? Or are they just there to make sure he still has a body waiting even if it has been decomposing for years?

he probably will manifest in the house, use it to become all powerful,by doing the ritual killing things, then go to all of his sheep.

84. It is creepy that they are digging up the body just to get the pendant he is wearing. Now that they have the pendant, do you think Evie is going to ‘read�� it?

im surprised she didnt try right away, but something like that would really take a toll i think. especially if he was killed wearing it.

85. Now what do you think Jericho’s experiment is? The mechanical items seen in the injury are interesting to me. I still want to know what that blue liquid is.

im not sure. i bet its something like iron man, where he has to have it to live. if he doesnt, then he'll go nuts and die.

86. Mary White is revealed to have killed her husband, and we get her backstory with Hobbes. She is certain he is going make her the Lady Sun. Were you surprised when he didn't keep his word?

nope. i cant see the lady sun being some really old lady. she would cramp his style as the all powerful beast. he'd have to stop killing the world to change her diaper or something.

87. Jericho tells Evie his tale and of how the experiments mostly failed. I'm wondering to what extent he's in danger of "failing" at some point. Thoughts?

i think if his serum stops, he'll fail

88. The story of how Jericho helped his friend commit suicide is heartbreaking. This is such a moral dilemma. At first I was horrified that he did this, but I can understand why. Would his friend had died anyway? Did this change anyone's opinion about Jericho?

i dont think his friend would have died anyways. i think he'd be placed somewhere to stare at walls the rest of his life. they wouldnt risk him going out in public and telling people.

89. Do you think Evie will allow the romance with Jericho to blossom, or will her feelings toward Mabel take precedence? How will Sam handle this? Do you believe he will try to win her for himself?

im just not feeling this romance. while he seemed a little more human after his story. theres just too many things that would make it not end very well.

90.So, how did the shoe buckle get into the museum? Did Hobbes plant it?

hobbes totally planted it

91. Surprised when Evie decided to go to Knowles house to confront Hobbes? I would think after the last episode I would stay as far away as possible. And, how does a 17-year-old party girl figure out all this stuff when the police, reporters, and other seasoned investigators can't?

of course she went. she's kinda like the impulsive know it all that is invinsible. plus the book wouldnt have progressed very well any other way.

92. Very scary scene with Evie and Hobbes. I thought she was very brave (again, I'm thinking...she's only 17!) She gives up her brother's pendant (her most prized possession) to bind Hobbes. Thoughts on this scene? Have we seen the last of Hobbes?

i think we've seen the last of hobbes. he's gone. the next baddie will come in the next book, we'll start to see more of who the buffalos are and why "they" are coming.

93.Memphis' healing powers return. I didn't really understand what affect it had on Isaiah. When Blind Bill tries to get info from Isaiah's mind, it makes him gag. Did Memphis put some kind of protection on Isaiah?

im not understanding either. the only thing i can think of is some protection with the healing. we'll probably find out four books from now.

94. What did you think of Evie publicly admitting her powers? I've said this before, I think it's a very bad idea for the wrong people to know about this

i think its wierd. why? what is the point in this, unless it sets the stage for the next book, maybe evie will be a target because the buffalo people are looking for supernaturals

95. Do you think Evie experienced any character growth over the course of the novel?

i think the author tried to make it seem like it, and it would have worked, had she not blabbed in an attempt to get attention after uncle will told her she was going back to ohio.

96. Final thoughts on the book? Will you read the next in the series?

my final thoughts.. this book wasn't an easy read. mostly because of the lack of information. the abundance of other information, i was either bored stiff of reading descriptions, or wondering what something had to do with anything. this book, even with the hints of a group of diviners doing something to save the world, it really didnt have any sort of start to the diviner group doing anything like that. I would have expected that they would have all been together at the end, ready to face whatever, because they know about their abilities. I heard the next book comes out march 2014, if I remember about the series, I probably would read it.

Nice work Kim getting to the end! I felt similar to you about the book. I would like to give the next one a go, but I'm just not sure I'd remember enough of this one to be able to properly give it a go! (and I'm certainly not reading this again...lol)

Whoa. Kim. Very impressive. I got a chuckle over several of you answers. I'm not feeling the romance between Jericho and Evie, either.

I wanted to read this book for a while and I kept putting it off. I was please to find out this was the book of the month for the group so I HAD to read it now. I can honestly say that I loved the book but I wish they had left off the last couple chapters. Those just didn't seem to blend in with the rest unless it is to set up a sequel. I was really looking forward to something that would not become one of a trilogy. I found the book vibrant and realistic even with the paranormal elements. Great job to Libba Bray!

I think you are right Shelley, it is setting up the sequel for the oft-used YA love triangle ;)

Glad you loved the book!

Yeah, you're right, Shelley.

I really enjoyed reading this. Good characters and interesting concept. I recommend it.

I enjoyed this book very much. It was a great escape from reality. A suspenseful paranormal mystery with a female hero!

I never finished with the questions :-(

I'm a bit on the fence ...... the pacing of the book was very odd. I was pulled into the serial killer aspects but there were a lot of side stories which are set-up for the future that threw off the pacing.

I think that Bray tried too hard on getting some of the historical details accurate. For example, Agatha Christie is Evie's fav writer, but she only started publishing in 1923 so I'm not sure that a small town girl from Ohio would have heard about an english mystery writer. I do think that Bray wrote for the movie that plays in my head :-D There were times where you could see the "montage" of scenes with background music (or perhaps the just the wind whipping us from scene to scene).

Unfortunately, I did not particularly care for Evie -- although she did get a tad bit better. I know I'm in the minority on this. I am interested to see what happens to Theo and Memphis so I might read the next book, but hopefully it has a better editor :-D

I'm not so different to you JoLene. There was just a bit much crammed into this book to create a plot line for future books. I'm not a *huge* fan of series that do that. You'e right about Agatha Christie. I guess it is possible, but unlikely

Evie was very annoying! I doubt I will read the next one unless it is a BR/BOM and I feel motivated to read along with others :)

I got this as an e-book from the library. I don't think I'll be able to finish it as it has given me some pretty wicked nightmares! I've been reading it slowly

I'm finally getting ready to read this book. Hopefully someone that read it a year ago will want to chat with me about it. Don't be surprised if I randomly start answering old questions :)

Better late than never ;)

The next book is out in April, so I'll chat with you as you may remind me of the book in time to read the next one :)

Karen wrote: "Better late than never ;)

The next book is out in April, so I'll chat with you as you may remind me of the book in time to read the next one :)"

I had no idea it was a series when I picked it up. Right now I'm frustrated at the info dumping but I'm in it for the long haul.

When I first attempted this I gave up about a third through. I restarted it with this group read, and although I'm glad I did finish, it still wasn't a "great" book in my opinion. Not awful though so I'm likely to read book 2

It's definitely different from her other books. I find I can read a little and then have to stop before I lose complete interest. Things are finally happening but it's very slow.

I finished it. I am really not sure that I care enough to pick up book 2. I think that there were too many characters and A LOT of setup which tends to make my interest wane. The only thing I'm really interested to know is (view spoiler)[what's up with James (hide spoiler)] which I hope is addressed in Book 2. I think if it wasn't sooooo long, I would have had an easier time with the book.

Lauren wrote: "didnt really like all that much. slow and tedious, characters werent very likable and plot was iffy. whenever you throw in religion and mysticy stuff and prophecies, its all very artsy and not rela..."

My thoughts as well. I think Bray tried too hard.

Stacie wrote: "I finished it. I am really not sure that I care enough to pick up book 2. I think that there were too many characters and A LOT of setup which tends to make my interest wane. The only thing I'm ..."

I agree, the book takes a very long time to get anything to happen. I think there is too much set up and not enough happening ; which means it will probably improve in subsequent books

The 2nd Diviners novel is being published in august, but is now available on Netgalley:


It says US and Canadian reviewers are preferred, but I just got accepted, so it is worth a try if you read the first one


Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

We're revisiting this previous BOM as a buddy read for Tower Teams VI.
Join us July 15, 2018
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I've been wanting to read this for ages but I don't like reading unfinished series much so I haven’t let myself start until now... but this is the perfect opportunity to do it anyway & I just got the audiobook from the library, too!

I've heard so many good things about this and I loved the Gemma Doyle series way back when I read it (like 10 years ago).

I'm not far in yet but I’m already liking the setting and the two characters we've been introduced to in the first couple of chapters! (The audiobook narrator is super good as well, by the way!)

i'm planning on starting it later today. i've only read Beauty Queens by this author before and i've heard this is just completely different so not sure exactly what to expect

so i read up through the chapter with ruta/ruby, which is about 12% of the way through. i can tell it's gonna take me awhile to get through this just because it's longer than what i normally read but i like evie and the other characters so far and i like the writing style [a lot of the time it bothers when the author tries too hard to use old timey slang but i'm actually liking it here] so i'm excited to continue.

23% - Basically a quarter of the way through and I think I can slowly see where this is heading! I'm really enjoying the style as well - I think her 1920s-isms aren't overdone, they just match the overall atmosphere quite well.

i'm also at 23% and yeah you can definitely see where things are starting to connect. also i really like how she is kind of exploring different parts of new york and including poc and a queer character and like talking about some of the political things that are going on at the time because i hate when authors act like anything set in the past has to be 100% straight and white [especially when it's in a place like new york city lol]

Devann wrote: "i'm also at 23% and yeah you can definitely see where things are starting to connect. also i really like how she is kind of exploring different parts of new york and including poc and a queer chara..."

Yeah I completely agree, that's one of the things I really enjoy about this book as well! So good to see so many perspectives in this story.

I'm also really loving how all the things I'm learning at Uni in my American studies program come in handy here - there are so many things mentioned I only understand because of that (just to mention a few: Chinese Exclusion Act, Sacco & Vanzetti, Scopes Trial) and this makes the book soooooo much better for me!

btw I'm at 56%, and this is getting even better. Some of the characters now met! I'm so excited to see what'll happen next and how they'll find each other again

I liked that part when Mabel was so pissed off with Evie and told her that, too�� Evie has been (more than) a bit self-obsessed, but I think there’s lots of room for improvement! 😅 And she definitely has all these people around her now who won’t put up with her shit - that can only be good.

Those chapters with Naughty John are sooooo creepy... and I also really wonder about that scene when Jericho met with this wealthy businessman (I forgot the name), there was something strange about that.

i'm up to 36% now and don't really have much new to say. i mean i'm still enjoying it but my biggest complaint is that it's pretty slow going. i did like the part where the klan guy was like 'we're for pure americanism' or whatever and sam said 'what tribe' lmao too good. it's got a lot of nice little bits like that but i need for the plot to pick up substantially.

Devann wrote: "i'm up to 36% now and don't really have much new to say. i mean i'm still enjoying it but my biggest complaint is that it's pretty slow going. i did like the part where the klan guy was like 'we're..."

That was so funny 😂😂😂

I really don't mind that it's a little slow! I've recently realized that I apparently like that more than when everything is super fast and rushed (and stressful).

i'm 50% of the way through [next chapter is called the boogeyman i think] and wow two whole unrelated characters have met at this point ;) lol i am enjoying it even with the slow pace though. i agree that it's good that people are starting to tell evie off because as much as i like her she really has kind of had her head up her ass most of the time so i agree that can only be good. although honestly there are starting to get to be too many characters for me to keep track of. they keep introducing a new pov and i'm like WHOMST???

Devann wrote: "i'm 50% of the way through [next chapter is called the boogeyman i think] and wow two whole unrelated characters have met at this point ;) lol i am enjoying it even with the slow pace though. i agr..."

Yeah I see what you mean about the new characters, although most of them die at the end of their POV cause they're murder victims 😂

I got up to 75% last night but then there were very creepy things happening (view spoiler)[the scene with Memphis and Gabe's ghost in the graveyard - the voice the narrator does is soooooo scary (hide spoiler)] and things I don't want to be happening and I stopped - I can only face these things in daylight!

i'm doing about 12-13% a day so i won't be caught up to where you are now until tomorrow lol

I'm at 88% now so I think I'm gonna finish today 😅 lots of slow days at work with only transferring data from one spreadsheet to the next gives me quite some time (and brain capacity) for audiobook listening.

But I'll definitely stay here until you're done as well!

yeah i'm only reading this one for about an hour a day now but maybe if it picks up i will get more into it and read it faster lol

Ok this isn't happening tonight after all cause RL just took wayyyy longer than I thought but tomorrow morning! It's happening! (And I can't BELIEVE the scene I had to stop this in the middle of HOW am I even doing this)

i'm at 63% now - think the next chapter is called the angel gabriel? - and ...i mean it's okay but i'm still not especially excited about it. still really no idea who is doing it either. well i mean obviously something is possessed but as to who ...i am getting kind of suspicious about (view spoiler)[jericho. maybe whatever that medicine is is making him black out and he doesn't realize he's doing it or something? bc i don't see him being fully aware of it but SOMETHING is definitely up with him (hide spoiler)]

I know what you mean about (view spoiler)[Jericho, there is definitely something strange going on there! (hide spoiler)]

And I'm done! I really enjoyed this overall, though it was sometimes a little too creepy for my tastes - I don't like scary murder stuff at allllll... but I loved the setting and all the historical references and I liked the characters too - so interested to see where they're all headed next!

haha i feel like there is something wrong with me because i always seem to be buddy reading with people and their reaction to something is 'this is too messed up for me!' and i'm like 'this is too boring for me ..' and i'm just like mmmmm #oooops? lol although i've still got a large chunk of it left so it could get more messed up to me.

anyway i might try to read a bit more tonight and tomorrow so i can finish tomorrow so we'll see soon!

Hahaha whooops! More likely though that I'm just extremely squeamish 😂 there's a reason I generally don't read/watch any crime/mystery/horror stuff 🤷‍♀��

haha maybe it's a bit of both because it's definitely happened to me multiple times before. i forget what book it was ...oh! it was The Museum of Dr. Moses: Tales of Mystery and Suspense and like i read through a ton of reviews and most of the one and two star reviews for it were like 'it's too dark and messed up! what is wrong with this author!' while my feelings were more 'this was so mind-numbingly dull I could hardly keep my eyes focused enough to actually get through it'. soooooo yeah there's definitely some desensitization going on there