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kinglee

lee 🦦 he/they 🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ reading is how i stay sane lit fic • horror • thriller • fantasy

5202 points

0% overlap
Horror Starter Pack Vol I
Dia de los Muertos 2025
Every Villain is a Hero
My Taste
Bloom
Our Wives Under the Sea
Convenience Store Woman
Don't Let the Forest In
Sunburn
Reading...
The Magical Language of Others
23%
Anna Karenina
3%
There There
74%
Two Left Feet
66%
  • I Am the Monster Under the Bed
    Sep 15, 2026
    I Am the Monster Under the BedEmily Zinnikas
    2.5
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:
    🌲
    👩‍🎨
    👻

    I Am the Monster Under the Bed has such a promising premise that drew me in, but unfortunately this didn’t hit the marks I was hoping it would hit.

    It starts off slow. We get to know Willa who was the lone survivor of a massacre, is now a painter and trying to leave her past behind her. She also had a monster under her bed who was her book bestie. Yet, when things get unearthed and she learns that her favorite teacher dies, Willa goes back home to pay tribute and face her past.

    There is a lot that Zinnikas wanted to tackle in this novel and I believe that was the downfall for me. Between the monster under the bed, the people in the basement, and the forest I think that could have been a good amount to focus on paired with the massacre. Yet, none of that really had room to breath and be explored properly. Not all of that needed a clearcut explanation, but a little more of something to have it make a little more sense would have been really nice.

    When everything was so stretched thin, it left some things to be desired. I was trying to fill in the gaps that were there and make sense of the parts I didn’t feel had enough information. By the end, it left me not as interested in seeing everything play out.

    I also will say, there was a plot twist in here that I really hated and only kept reading because I thought that surely it was wrong.

    For a debut, the writing is good. I’m curious about what else Zinnikas is going to do and will be looking out for her sophomore novel. With the number of things Zinnikas was trying to accomplish throughout I Am the Monster Under the Bed, this wasn’t for me, but it wasn’t a complete turnoff.

    While this didn’t work for me, I would say if it sounds interesting to you to give it a chance.

    Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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    kinglee started reading...

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    Two Left Feet

    Two Left Feet

    Kallie Emblidge

    A Premier League football star must defend his roster spot—and his heart—when a threateningly talented and handsome midfielder joins his team in this utterly charming debut romance, a profound love letter to the world’s most popular sport.Oliver Harris is football royalty in London. Ordinarily the star of the Camden Roses is calm, cool, and collected, keeping his club relevant with his prowess in the midfield and mighty left foot. But this season, the threats There’s Camden’s management to contend with—complete with a new, prickly Dutch coach, eager for better results—and a mid-season injury, which sidelines him when his team needs him most. When a recruit is called up to fill in, Oliver fears he’ll be replaced. If he can mentor this younger talent, then they might just have a chance at winning, together.After a string of lackluster performances in his native Spain, Leonardo Davis-Villanueva is looking for one last shot at the club he always dreamed of, where he once played in the youth academy. Oliver immediately finds confident, eager Leo irritating. He can barely go through the motions, let alone coach him, without outright hostility. When he comes to admire Leo’s skill and warms to his humor and energy, though, he begins to see Leo as a friend—and then, to his mounting horror, as something more.Leo craves Oliver’s attention and partnership; Oliver can’t afford to fall in love with his teammate. He’s always kept a tight lid on his sexuality in a league that’s never had a player come out. As the season heats up, a lot more than football hangs in the balance. Can Oliver—and Leo—win when it counts most?

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  • Grief Eater
    Sep 12, 2026
    Grief EaterEmma Osborne
    5.0
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:
    🏳️‍🌈
    🧟‍♀️

    Grief Eater is one of those books that I found, saw the word zombie and didn’t need to know anything else. Immediately searched to see if Libby had it, luckily, they did and I started to dive in—I ended up falling in love.

    As with the name, grief is an important part of this novella. The complexities of it are there which makes it more hauntingly beautiful. It’s easy to understand her hatred and how love can still sit with it.

    Osborne does an excellent job weaving in emotions throughout this. With flashbacks to the past and the present moment. There is not a moment or chapter that won’t tug at the heartstrings in one way or another. In less than a hundred pages, it’s easy to root for Kristina and easier to ache for her.

    I think my favorite aspect of this novella was seeing everything from the eyes of a zombie. It was so fresh for me and seeing the take on what they would be like was fascinating. I really loved to see that explored.

    Grief Eater made me cry more than once. It ripped my heart open time and time again, but it is one that I’m still thinking about and holding dear. This is one that is going to stick with me for a while and one I will come back to read again and again. Check the warnings, and if none of those are too much I couldn’t recommend this enough.

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  • What Hunger
    Sep 12, 2026
    What HungerCatherine Dang
    4.0
    Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 4.5Characters: 4.5Plot: 4.0Audiobook: 4.0
    🇻🇳

    Female rage and good for her books is one of my favorite genres, and What Hunger has found it’s way into every growing list of books I enjoyed within that genre.

    What Hunger takes it time to build. It starts off slow, full of love and then for a moment it comes to a standstill. I know that isn’t going to sound like a positive thing, but it is. The exploration of grief and how it was written was beautiful. Ronny’s pain oozed from the pages leaving my heart aching for her. Then, came the rage.

    Grief mixed with rage can be such a powerful combination, especially if it’s long overdue, which Ronny’s seemed to be, and oh does her rage build. Everything she has been holding in starts to leek out, consuming her. It becomes all she can think about as all those injustices seem to be highlighted for her now.

    Dang also takes time to explore complexities in immigrant families where the kids don’t understand everything their parents are doing. This plays such a big part in a number of moments and it was nice to see how easily woven in it was, moment after moment.

    I will say, don’t go into this expecting cannibalism. It is there, but in brief flashes rather than a full, core part of this story. If your like The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim, I’d say pick this one up. The family dynamics and unhinged parts make it a story that will linger with you.

    What Hunger is a coming for age tale that will leave you saying, good for her.

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