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Hi I finished reading a new-to-me book today! Non-spoiler impressions below…

Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.

This book is not a usual Stephen King book, but I kept hearing good things about it and the whole nostalia feel, so I checked it out via Libby when I saw it was available! I ended up liking it more than I expected, actually! It’s kind of an easy read and very short as well.

It reads differently than his usual novels and I found that most of the characters were likeable, which is rare to me (following Cujo, that’s a nice feeling to have since I… didn’t like any characters in that story, even though normally I like a level of unlikeable characters). I really didn’t care for the romance parts but I rather enjoyed reading the rest of it, and I think Devin Jones especially is such a likeable character, and, Mike, of course Ahhh the ending had me a bit emotional… I think this would be a fun read for a summer beach lounge!

The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.

Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn’t right at the Sun Down, and before long she’s determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…

I read this book a few days before Joyland by audio. It’s a bit like a mystery thriller rather than a horror. Actually, I don’t think I’d describe it as horror really, but it is a bit dark (topics of violence on women). The narration style is interesting as you flash back between the two girls’s perspectives and watch as their stories unfold together. There were a lot of twists I didn’t expect as I thought it would be more of a typical mystery!

Also, it got quite thrilling at some parts and I almost wanted to not finish it (I’m not very good with suspense) I’m glad I finished it, though I kinda didn’t like the ending itself. Overall I had a thrill reading it even though it’s not exactly what I usually read!