Welcome to Litsy!

Holy $h!t this was good! And anxiety inducing. And infuriating. This felt almost more horror than thriller to me. I couldn‘t put it down / turn it off. It was a read some, listen some for me because I couldn‘t just read all weekend. So glad a friend on IG posted about it since I‘d never heard of it before.

a concept which has quite a lot of potential- Get Out meets social commentary about gentrification and a thriller vibe. I understood what Cole was trying to do here, the execution was off for me. The exposition is laboured and as a result the social commentary elements felt really didactic and overdone. The action arrives is late and is over in the flash. Although its the most exciting part of the novel it came across as absurd in my reading.

This plot felt pretty reasonable tbh. Good story, a bit meh at times but I‘d say it‘s a relevant read. I felt they made it seem like it was completely out there, crazy, but I wish they didn‘t. In a way it is a scary read, but I wish I had actually gotten scared reading it. What I mean is: story was good, but it didn‘t make me “jumpy” as I was expecting.

Story follows Brooklyn born and bred Sydney as she struggles to hold onto her mother‘s home, garden and her neighbors as gentrification infiltrates. Recently divorced, previously gaslit and institutionalized, when neighbors start disappearing, she starts to question if it‘s a coincidence or something more sinister.

The characters 💯
The history/social studies lesson 💯
Setting 👩‍🍳💋
The ending 🤔

#screamthon
#scarathlon2021 #teamslaughter

❤️ been there.

@4thhouseontheleft #Screamathon week 2 prompt “diversify your book shelve”

#Scarathlon2021 #TeamSlaughter @Clwojick

Which #neighbors can you trust? #ConflictedWorlds
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I‘ve been slacking on this round of #lpmbc

Finally getting started…

1. East coast of Canada
2. Same place- New Brunswick, Canada
3. 1, younger brother
4. I forget the title but it was about a goldfish who kept growing

and growing and grew bigger than the house. Loved that book!

Thanks for the tag @eggs! @dinomom, @DebbieGrillo - wanna play?

Thank you for the heads-up, Cindy! 😊

I did indeed have an email letting me know about the 2-for-1 sale that I had (of course) ignored this morning and I think I walked away with some pretty good choices!

@Cinfhen

#audiobooksale #thisisaudible

A book for every borough! #NYC #LitsySpringBreak
@TheKidUpstairs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Jumping back into this one on this cold rainy evening. Loving it so far

Strange, not the thriller I was expecting but important

I finished this audiobook sometime a week ago but forgot to post it. I did enjoy this one but it was one that also just upsets me, too. It is about this historically black neighborhood that is being taken over by very sinister, upper class white people. It's sickening, shows racism, gentrification, and made me want to scream at times. I hated it and loved it too. The ending seemed a bit too much but overall a good read.

Book has mixed reviews. I will say that 3/4 parts of the book was real action as a “thriller”. It kept my interest bc author integrated topics of discrimination and social-political situations with the action of the novel. But the last 1/3 part was rushed, it was like a dystopian or sci fi or something that you need to read it. For me was like 3.3⭐️But it will be perfect for a movie adaptation. Im glad I read it. I was tense in those 3/4 parts. ⬇️

Holy cow, was this fantastic! A true popcorn horror thriller in the vein of “Get Out” that treads the line between believable & unbelievable flawlessly. I devoured this. Phenomenal.

Well, ploughed through that in a day.
Un-put-down-able. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
#blackvoices

This is finally happening. I've been meaning to get to it for too long. #blackvoices
Heading out with the audio for some fresh air.

Wow. I am speechless. This thriller was so good and very eye opening. @lovely.murrell ‘s pick for her monthly digital book club. Sinister Gentrification of a mostly black community . What is really happening ? Who do you trust ? Twist , turns, action. Had me hooked from start to finish.

I‘ve seen conversations claiming this isn‘t really a thriller or it isn‘t scary but I‘m going to have to disagree. This story is incredibly unsettling. Alyssa Cole‘s writing creates a sense of unease throughout the narrative and the pacing adds to a constant feeling of fear. Themes of gentrification, community, and more come together to create a book that I haven‘t seen more deserving of the “thriller” genre in years.

This takes on the very real issue of gentrification, of which I knew very little of, and brings it to the forefront for the world to see with an added touch of mystery hiding something even more sinister than just the “sprucing up” of a neighborhood in a section of Brooklyn New York. The ending was a bit rushed and felt like a little too much to swallow but overall it was compelling, and I would even go so far as to say it was enlightening.

Wowza! This book was intense!

This book is so much more than just another mystery thriller. I loved that it included gentrification and redlining into the story and makes it so sinister. Let‘s get real tho that shit is sinister. I loved the drama that unfolded and how it unfolded towards the end. I can‘t wait to read more from this author.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Saw @Laughterhp 's weekly roundup post and decided to try my hand at one. Excited to (hopefully) start in on some of my #NewYearWhoDis picks this week, too @monalyisha

#BookReport - Somehow I finished 7 books this week. 2 were audiobooks and 1 graphic novel.

I decided to bail on Memory Called Empire. I just couldn‘t get into it and didn‘t want to pick it up. Sorry #BBBBC

Currently reading the new Jane Harper. I‘ve put Blazewrath Games on hold. I was so excited to read it, but it‘s sooo YA 🤦‍♀️

#WeeklyForecast - Start a couple more #NewYearWhoDis books.

Some audio knitting featuring a dirty chai and pup this afternoon

This book does a good job illustrating the devastating effects of gentrification as well as being a good neighborhood thriller. It is a slow burn in the beginning and well worth the wait for the story to pick up.

#AnyWayYouReadathon
Book 1 finished

@kimmypete1 @MidnightBookGirl

Wow, this book was intense. I was so anxious the whole time reading it and had to stay up late to finish. I basically read this book in a day. I started it last year and read like maybe 10 pages and finished the rest yesterday. And I used my new book journal for the first time. I‘m only using it for books I really like!

#BookSpinBingo - box 8

This is going to drive me nuts if Sydney continually calls her mother, Mommy. I don‘t know why, but it‘s annoying me so much!

Maybe because I can‘t picture a 30 year old woman calling her mom, mommy.... 🤷🏻‍♀️

This was COMPLETELY different from my expectation but I was quite pleasantly surprised. This is a wickedly insightful satire/mild horror story about the ills of gentrification. One of the “twists” I did suss out fairly early on but I found myself nodding knowingly at the portrayals of some of these folks - like the neighbor who has an 8x10 portrait of Michelle Obama in her house but then spews racist garbage on the book‘s version of NextDoor. 🙄

Just saw this on US Kindle sale for $3.99 if anyone is interested.

A very unique take on the genre and topic - gentrification- that was equally educational and horrifying.

November #bookreport
📚I really enjoyed Sarah Moss‘s latest
🎧 When No One is Watching and One by One (not pictured) were both decent thrillers
📗I didn‘t love Anxious People, but I did love Happy and You Know It

That‘s it for me this month. Can I finish a few more 2020 favorites before the year is out? Loving everyone‘s best of lists!

Wow. Alyssa Cole's When No One Is Watching is such a ride. I've been a fan of Cole's romance novels for years, so when I saw she was moving in to thriller territory, I pre-ordered immediately. This book did not disappoint. It's filled with suspense, with twists and turns, AND with important social issues.

Alternating between the perspectives of Sydney, a Black woman living in her mother's Brooklyn brownstone, ⬇️

Decided to pick this up because the hold time for the ebook on CloudLibrary is like a year long. I‘ve only read the first few chapters but it‘s making my skin crawl!

While I enjoyed this book, the ending felt very rushed and lackluster for me. The story was unique and very relevant. I enjoyed the characters and their development. Some of the plot lines felt underdeveloped and unresolved.

I feel like this book has some flaws, but I couldn't put it down. It's pretty slow-paced until the end, and the ending is rather far-fetched. I liked the setting and characters, although I disliked that the potential unreliability of one narrator was based on vague hints and possible mental health issues.

Jeezus. Wow. Angry. My thoughts as I finished this one. I waited weeks to get this from the library & just blew through it in 2 days. It‘s a thriller, good pace, likable characters, gets your heart beating & keeps you turning the page. Brooklyn, tight knit neighborhood, gentrification, people start disappearing, a whole lot more ‘casual racism‘ from the new neighbors. Rich white folk taking over. I‘m going to be processing this one a while....

Treated myself at Barnes & Noble earlier this week after a dentist appointment. I've only heard of the tagged book. Hope the other two are good!

My heart might recover by the time Cole publishes her next Thriller, which I WILL be picking up! With a few exceptions, I don‘t read Thrillers anymore. I used to devour them. But I over did it. And, some of the common elements of the genre, like gaslighting, became too real. It‘s something that makes me want to burn the world down. Definitely messes with me. And while the gaslighting in this book gave me fits, all I can say is “Worth it!”

Friday night thrills

Apparently thrillers are stressful? But I loved the topics of gentrification and racial neighbourhood history, and Sydney, a prickly, smart woman come home to Brooklyn to take care of her mom. Dull white dude Theo, a 2nd POV, I could have done without. I found the tonal shift to violence at the end abrupt and the wrap-up rushed. But I appreciate the villainy is not card carrying KKK racists, but liberal rich white people. Spooky because it's real!

Going to give this one a shot. It has really mixed reviews. Love #thatcovertho

Plowing my way through this weekend reading stack. Amy favorites of yours pictured here? #currentlyreading

Made an appointment at my indie bookstore to celebrate my birthday! I‘m pretty happy with my #bookhaul And I had a $10 coupon!

The top book is a Sherlock Holmes escape room puzzle book that looked fun for the winter! And now I don‘t have to wait 3 months to read the new Alyssa Cole!

I'm not normally a thriller reader, but I accidentally read the whole book yesterday (and then had trouble sleeping). Highly engaging and terrifying.

My only problem is that after reading The City We Became earlier this year, I kept expecting tentacle monsters to show up, because that's what happens in NYC gentrification stories, right?

My partner read this one first, and enjoyed it, but he can't seem to remember the title to save his life! First it was “When No One Can See You,“ and then it morphed into “Where No One Can Hear You.“

...anyway, I'm off to read “Why No One Can Smell You“ 😂

Happy weekend Littens! I volunteered at my local food bank this afternoon and have virtual game night with friends later tonight but while the chili is cooking, I'm sneaking away to read some more of this slow-burn thriller. How was your week?

Yup.

#firstlinefridays
#currentlyreading

@ShyBookOwl

DNF at 24%. Nothing has happened yet and other reviewers have said that the pacing is off for the whole book. I‘m disappointed because the premise sounds so good 😭

Just discovered libro.fm, an audiobook service that is the same price as Audible ($15/month, one credit), but supports actual bookstores. Very cool. Great library. Thinking of making this my first listen with them