Time for another round of Yvonne’s Shorties! This time an urban fantasy read I had so much fun reading, and a thriller read that was a total dud.

Title: The Girl Who Could Move Shit With Her Mind
(The Frost Files #1)
Author: Jackson Ford
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction
First published: June 18th 2019
Publisher: Orbit
Finished reading: October 27th 2022 
Pages: 497

“People are stupid, things go wrong, plans fall apart. Shit doesn’t work like you want it to. But there’s always a way out.”


REVIEW

I’ve had this title on my radar for quite some time now… There was just something about the title and blurb that clicked, and my instincts said that I would have a great time reading The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind. It took me longer than expected to actually get to it, but I can now say that my instincts weren’t wrong. This book is basically completely over the top, batshit crazy and completely bonkers, but at the same time SO. MUCH. FUN. Do you ever feel like reading a story simply because of its entertainment factor, giving your brain a break and enjoying every minute of the ride? The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind is your book. Teagan makes for such a great main character, and I had a blast spending time with her and the rest of the China Shop gang. The sarcastic and at times dark humor was spot on for me, and the banter itself was excellent as well. The writing in general is definitely part of the reason why this story works so well! I could have done without Jake’s POV, which was a lot less successful for me and basically the reason I knocked off a star. That said, I still loved my time with this story and I will definitely be picking up the sequel ASAP.

Title: Survive The Night
Author: Riley Sager
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Horror
First published: June 29th 2021
Publisher: Dutton
Finished reading: October 29th 2022
Pages: 335

“No one tells women that none of it is their fault. That the blame falls squarely on the awful men who do terrible things and the fucked-up society that raises them, molds them, makes excuses for them.”


REVIEW

I know, I know, I should have known better. Riley Sager‘s books are a bit of a mixed bag for me in the first place, so I probably should have stayed away from Survive The Night after seeing so many negative reviews. The thing is… I always have a hard time resisting a story with a serial killer angle, and there was just something about the premise with the main character possibly being trapped inside a car with a killer that made it impossible to stay away. I kind of regret that now, because I will never get those hours I spent reading this story back. Oh yes, unfortunately I ended up agreeing with the negative reviews. I don’t usually mind stories being over the top if it delivers on an entertainment level, but not only were the plot and its twists both cliche and completely ridiculous, I was also bored and frustrated during most of the ride. I mean, the whole thing this plot is based on is the fact that Charlie accepts a lift from a complete stranger not long after her friend was brutally murdered and the killer was never caught. Who on earth would do that?!?! And she keeps taking extremely stupid decision after the other, making me wish someone would just kill her already so the story could be over. I mean, she wouldn’t have lasted five minutes in your regular horror movie! There was also a lack of cast and possible suspects, making it really easy to figure everything out. Ok, maybe not everything, but most of the major twists I saw coming from a mile away. I was also really annoyed by the chapter headers; I’m not sure why and I know its use is explained in the end, but it just really irked me. The ending itself was a huge disappointment and not credible at all, but by then I was already getting used to that feeling. I’m starting to wonder if I should just leave his books be… Don’t get me wrong, I loved Home Before Dark and I enjoyed The Last Time I Lied, but the rest of the books have been duds so far for me (I haven’t read his newest yet).

You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Bloglovin’.