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Something by Shelby Lamb - Book Review

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BOOK DETAILS:

Something
by Shelby Lamb
(Wisteria, #1)
Publication date: March 7th 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, New Adult

Blurb:
“I will find true love and everything will be okay. I will find true love and everything will be okay…” she chanted.
They say be careful what you read. Something is wrong. Something is very wrong. It can happen to anyone. This is just four teenagers’ story. Aubrey Golding hates her face, her body, and is devastated after Nathan Silva leaves her. Alone, suicidal, and desperate for love, she discovers a book called Something and unknowingly links others to a dark and terrifying curse that is beginning to consume her. Nathan is glad to be moving on with someone new and can hardly believe what is happening now. Wild child and amateur porn star, Bella Broadhurst, loves bullying that “emo whore” Aubrey with the other girls, but mostly she loves partying, hookups, and plain ol’ drama when terror arises. And Kendra Coke is just a new teen mother working on a delicate relationship when things start becoming utterly bizarre. Chilling sleep disturbances and figures hiding in the corners of their rooms are just warnings of what is to come. Be careful what you read, they say. Tread carefully.

 Buy Links
B&N (paperback)


Editorial Review:
Something (Wisteria 1) is a New Adult fiction novel in the horror, fantasy, and mystery genres. It takes dark humor, good writing, and frightening and controversial subject matter to give a unique twist on its chosen categories. The nail-biting idea of a curse being spread by reading a book will make readers feel a part of the story, and more connected to the diverse and interesting characters, including a young woman diving head-first into the adult industry and a wholesome mamma’s boy named Nathan Silva. I found it to be a very exciting concept that is reminiscent of the 2012 popular American horror film, The Ring. Aubrey Golding, who is at the center of this story, is a self-harmer who fantasizes about suicide. She dabbles in drugs, alcohol, and risky sex. While she manages to inadvertently spread the curse around like an STD, she is hell-bent on winning back her love interest, Nathan, who is shagging her best friend behind her back. I just could not put down this book.


My Review 
 DNF @ 48%.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. There was just SOMETHING (haha, bad pun) about it that intrigued me. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it through the entirety of the story. I hate leaving books unread, so I may eventually come back to it and finish it later on, but that's unlikely right now. Too many other books on my plate.

Something is kinda like The Ring, but with a book instead of a movie. Strange creatures appear, and weird happenings, well, happen. However, I found that not even that could hold my interest. Horror is one of my favorite genres, but nothing about this book really made me feel that sense of doom or scariness.

There were way too many characters to keep track of in Something. I kept forgetting who was who, especially when the story came back to Bella and her friends. I also felt they were a bit one-dimensional. Aubrey was super emo and suicidal, Bella was a drunken slut, Kendra was a teen mom who was also a bit emo/depressed, etc. They were all sort of stereotypical, and there was little development going for any of them. I didn't care about any of them; they all just sort of annoyed me.

I also noticed some editing errors along the way, which sort of detracted from any sort of enjoyment I might've gotten from reading the book.

Overall, I was a bit disappointed that Something wasn't what I thought it was going to be. It wasn't scary or even suspenseful like horror novels should be, and the characters were overly dramatic stereotypes that I can't imagine anyone really liking. Plus, there were too many thrown into the mix, and figuring out who was who became difficult.

Unfortunately, I gave up and didn't finish. I have to give the book two stars. 


Author Bio
Shelby Lamb is an author who loves exploring the weird and unsettling. She writes fiction from her own personal life experiences and from the depths of her imagination and the inspiration around her. Something (Wisteria 1) is her debut work. She lives in Toronto, Canada.

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