I think playground is so popular is because it's as close to mainstream as extreme horror as extreme horror is gonna get, I know it got super popular on booktok. I know a lot of people were talking about "page 40" which is pretty tame when it comes to his writing
Your reading tastes have changed so much, and I love to watch it. I would be so curious to see if some of your favorites are still favorites now, considering your evolving taste. For example, one of the worst books I have ever read in my life was Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris. I know you love and recommend that one. Not saying you wouldn't still, but l would so love to see a video that showcases things you have changed your mind on, if that makes sense. Your opinions never fail to fascinate.
Hey Meg! Do you plan to do a full video on grief horror recs? While I didn’t hate Monstrillio, it truly left me wanting more of what I expected - real grief horror. Thanks for the laughs as always! lol the bit about Richard Laymon cracked me up 😹
lol thank you! Idk if I have enough for a full video yet I would love to discover more. I really loved Crossroads, Pet Semetary, and I would even classify The Harr as grief horror as well.
@ thank you for the recommendations ❤️ I have been wanting to check out Crossroads! I get what you mean, I’d like to discover more too. There’s plenty of fiction with grief elements but not many horror related. Thanks I’ll add these to my list! 👻
So, the fact that Taylor Swift has a chokehold in the entire industry.... And no matter how much I try ... I just don't get it... I realized that I may just not like what everyone else likes.... FOURTH WING IS HORRIBLE
@@LightningMcqu33f 😭 you didn't even try. I'm reaching that point cause like 11 albums later I'm still confused lol. But 4th wing being the top fantasy tells me all I need to know about the masses...😂
It's not just that I did not enjoy Normal People. It's that I don't understand what people liked about it and I refuse to try a second book by the author 😝
Yessss completely wrong expectations going in because it’s marketed so wrong and people’s reviews are very deceiving lol I was in the mood to be emotionally destroyed
Yes, The Eyes are the Best Part was so disappointing! I can take things not being as intense as expected but the writing was so bland! Also the ending just makes everything worse.
MORE OF THESE VIDEOS! I think we have a Netgalley/ARC problem. I no longer trust any book that was on netgalley or had a lot of ARC reviews because reviewers are circlejerking all of the authors.
THANK YOU!...totally agree about SGJ...absolute GARBAGE...MY HEART IS A SHITSHOW is another example...how he ever got PUBLISHED is beyond me, let alone "popular"...for me PENPAL was the most over-rated/hyped this year...zzz
Thank you for talking about the poor writing in Playground, a lot of people got offended by the content so that's all they talk about but to me the poor quality of the writing (considering the amount of novels the author had previously written) was the most egregious part of it all.
Yes for me it’s the fact that the writing in so many of these books is just POOR and like you said it gets to a point in your career where you should be doing better than this
The eyes are the best part is one of the worst books I read this year. I had never so bored in my entire life. The characters are so stereotyped and basics, and the writing is actually very confusing. I know some scene were meant to confuse the reader but it was clearly poorly executed imo. And the ending was just..... bad. As for Playground, I think that the author is a bad writer in general. Splatterpunk can be really funny to me when it's correctly executed but this one was pretty much irritating at best. The kills were hilarious but the characters were just one dimensional, didn't care for anyone and the ending was just meh. Thanks for the video Meg
I literally have an entire video coming out about the eyes are the best part I think because all your points are my exact thoughts. That is the one book I genuinely do not understand what people are freaking out about. I feel like I read a totally different book. And I completely agree with you with playground as well!
The thing with overhyped books is that getting so many rave reviews immediately raise expectations. So if the book turns out to be anything less than mind-blowing it inevitably feels like a let down. And once the hype train gains momentum, I feel people are sometimes afraid to offer a dissenting opinion. As if they feel that saying something negative would lead to them being vilified. So what I appreciate about your reviews is that you're always honest and offer an alternative perspective. Tbh I tend to get suspicious if all a book seems to receive is 5⭐ reviews! Thanks for an entertaining video 🙂.
@ReadingWithMeg a conspiracy indeed! Maybe the sticky-fingered Jeff Bezos is behind it all, perpetuating the hype so he can sell loads of crap books to unsuspecting peeps 🤔....😂
Thank you for normalizing not liking popular book. I've had the same issues for a lot of books you talked about and felt so alone for so long ^^' You're the best Meg!
Okay I’m so glad I want the only one who didn’t understand the only good Indians!! It was so hard to get into because I had no idea how to understand the writing style.
Meg! Please don't stop reading horror. Try a book that isn't hyped first. I never read a horror book unless one of my favorite book tubers raves about it. You are not the only content creator that regrets reading these; so many have commented on it. Sometimes I think people must have been paid to yack about awful books. Your videos are so great, I hope you don't give up on the genre. Vivian
I won’t I am just reading whatever I feel like and trying different things. I am no longer trusting these overhyped reviews I’m seeing everywhere I definitely feel like some kind of conspiracy is going on lol
very much agree w/maeve fly ... what a bogus book that not only spoiled the story of the eye book, it references American psycho's rat scene and basically says go read that book if you wanna know what happens to another character... horrible. i liked her work stuff, but that was it... stephen graham jones is the most confusing writer i've read ... i enjoyed "my heart is a chainsaw" but that it's that's the only book of his i enjoyed ... his afterwords in audiobooks are better than his books. i challenge you to read "Wild Animus" I defy you to make sense of that book, it will be an incredible show
"the babysitter lives" by stephen graham jones was pretty good in my opinion but it's only an audiobook. that's the only book i've read by him. also hi meg!!! love your videos :)
@@ReadingWithMeg it's an interesting book! super dark, memorable characters. a real sense of evil and dread. ghosts that scared me to the point where i was getting paranoid that one was waiting in my hallway. no idea why it's not out as a physical book yet, like bruh... stephen graham jones should know it would probably do better if it was out in a physical copy. if anyone knows why it's only an audiobook?????let me know????lol. his writing style is not my favorite but it's good writing at least in this book....and it was definitely good enough to make me binge the audiobook. a real page-turner. (DESPITE IT NOT HAVING PAGES)
I did a full 1 hour review video on Maeve Fly and I just kept laughing the entire time I was reviewing it. It was outrageous, but that did not translate to a great book. I thought it was just ok. I did have a lot of fun reading it though.
I stand in solidarity for Meg with all her brave and daring controversial opinions. if only she was a man like me to get zero hate for daring to opine the eyes are the best part is garbage
Idk if Stephen graham jones or Paul tremblay are overhyped because I feel like the majority of people I see talking about them do not like most of their works. I think those that like them are hardcore fans, but that doesn’t necessarily mean overhyped. Just means they have a cult following or whatever lol
I see so many people online obsessed with them and constantly promoting their books so they feel super overhyped to me but yes I agree it’s mostly a weird cult following lol
@@ReadingWithMeg I also despise Diavola. It's barely a horror tho. It's literally felt like I'm reading Kardashians. All of the family was the same character basically, no motivation behind the toxicity. It feels like ppl who gave it 5/5 got paid well or have zero to none taste
ACOTAR was a snooze fest. My God! I don’t get it. I got halfway through the first one and it was an easy DNF. I finished Playground and was like, “Okkaaay, and?” 🙄
i feel exactly the same way about maeve fly and the eyes are the best part. they were so disappointing. maybe they were just poorly advertised but i was expecting true female rage and social horror and they both fell short.
Yep same here. The way people made them sound I was expecting something totally different and I just ended up feeling so disappointed. I’m definitely going into horror with low expectations now when books are this hyped lol
I was so excited for The eyes are the best part but I went in to it thinking it would be adult so that was the first dissapointment. It dit not get better. I have always been a ya fantasy fan so I could enjoy Fourth Wing when just thinking about it being junk food. It's bad but enjoyable. Again hated the ya-ness tho. I love the Acotar series however I did read this when it first came out, I was a bit younger then and just coming back into reading so at this point it's mostly nostalgic. I do really have to agree that it get's a lot better in book two tho! Playground was my first extreme horror, it's the reason I even know about the genre to be honest. I did not enjoy the writing but I really liked the fact that there was this such tabboo book (childeren getting slaughtered) and I just needed to read. It did get me hooked on extreme horror so it did something right 😇
And all your points are completely valid! Sometimes it’s nice to just enjoy a “junk food” book but yes the YA-ness when you’re expecting adult is such a let down.
Such a great list and entertaining video. You're one of the best and most honest reviewers here. I've never read Richard L. but I've heard the breast comments a lot. 😂
Playground is def not Beauregards best. I’ve heard that his best book is Yellow, which I own but haven’t read yet. And personally my favorite by him is the Wedding Day Massacre. If you like gore… that book is so fucking insane, it’s up there as one of the goriest books I’ve ever read (and I’ve read a lot of fucked up shit lol). It wasn’t groundbreaking plot wise but it was a fun and easy read
I think playground is so popular is because it's as close to mainstream as extreme horror as extreme horror is gonna get, I know it got super popular on booktok. I know a lot of people were talking about "page 40" which is pretty tame when it comes to his writing
Yeah all these popular extreme horror books blow up on tiktok and it’s usually because people are being melodramatic lolol
Paid reviews is the reason why these books get overhyped
Agree
Your reading tastes have changed so much, and I love to watch it. I would be so curious to see if some of your favorites are still favorites now, considering your evolving taste. For example, one of the worst books I have ever read in my life was Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris. I know you love and recommend that one. Not saying you wouldn't still, but l would so love to see a video that showcases things you have changed your mind on, if that makes sense. Your opinions never fail to fascinate.
Thank you!! I was definitely thinking of making videos like this in the future re-reading some books. That is one I dont think I would still like 😂
Hey Meg! Do you plan to do a full video on grief horror recs? While I didn’t hate Monstrillio, it truly left me wanting more of what I expected - real grief horror. Thanks for the laughs as always! lol the bit about Richard Laymon cracked me up 😹
lol thank you! Idk if I have enough for a full video yet I would love to discover more. I really loved Crossroads, Pet Semetary, and I would even classify The Harr as grief horror as well.
@ thank you for the recommendations ❤️ I have been wanting to check out Crossroads! I get what you mean, I’d like to discover more too. There’s plenty of fiction with grief elements but not many horror related. Thanks I’ll add these to my list! 👻
So, the fact that Taylor Swift has a chokehold in the entire industry.... And no matter how much I try ... I just don't get it... I realized that I may just not like what everyone else likes.... FOURTH WING IS HORRIBLE
But to be fair ... I love Maeve fly and The Only Good Indians ❤
No im the same way about Taylor swift. However I don’t even try to get it lmao.
I totally agree with you lol
@@LightningMcqu33f 😭 you didn't even try. I'm reaching that point cause like 11 albums later I'm still confused lol. But 4th wing being the top fantasy tells me all I need to know about the masses...😂
I would love to see a version of this video where you talk about books that lived up to the hype for you, or books that you feel need more hype.
That’s already on my list to film so it’s coming! ☺️
The eyes are the best part?......no......the end is the best part! 💙
Thanks for the title of my next video 💙
It's not just that I did not enjoy Normal People. It's that I don't understand what people liked about it and I refuse to try a second book by the author 😝
Ugh I hear you! Honestly her newest one isn’t bad. I just hate her writing style.
I agree with you on Monstrilio. I expected to be wrecked and when I wasn’t, I was confused. But I liked it as lit fic with magical realism for sure.
Yessss completely wrong expectations going in because it’s marketed so wrong and people’s reviews are very deceiving lol I was in the mood to be emotionally destroyed
@ exactlyyy. And me too! I mean, the ending kinda made my eyes water a liiiiittle, but I wanted to be sobbing 😂
Yes, The Eyes are the Best Part was so disappointing! I can take things not being as intense as expected but the writing was so bland! Also the ending just makes everything worse.
Yes I had so many problems with it I made an entire video about it lol the writing was so boring
I totally agree! Also, We Used To Live Here! It sounded so good and people said it was, but it was so BORING!
I liked it when I read it but I completely understand why you think this lol
MORE OF THESE VIDEOS!
I think we have a Netgalley/ARC problem. I no longer trust any book that was on netgalley or had a lot of ARC reviews because reviewers are circlejerking all of the authors.
Ugh I know I stopped requesting a majority of ARCs because all of the early reviews are just people straight up LYING
Thank you Meg for the honesty !!! 🥰💖
Of course 🩷
THANK YOU!...totally agree about SGJ...absolute GARBAGE...MY HEART IS A SHITSHOW is another example...how he ever got PUBLISHED is beyond me, let alone "popular"...for me PENPAL was the most over-rated/hyped this year...zzz
Hahaha dying at this comment. It’s beyond me also.
Omg...this video is better than Black Friday deals...LOVE your rants...thank you...
Omg I am HONORED thank you so much 🩷
Thank you for talking about the poor writing in Playground, a lot of people got offended by the content so that's all they talk about but to me the poor quality of the writing (considering the amount of novels the author had previously written) was the most egregious part of it all.
Yes for me it’s the fact that the writing in so many of these books is just POOR and like you said it gets to a point in your career where you should be doing better than this
The eyes are the best part is one of the worst books I read this year. I had never so bored in my entire life. The characters are so stereotyped and basics, and the writing is actually very confusing. I know some scene were meant to confuse the reader but it was clearly poorly executed imo. And the ending was just..... bad.
As for Playground, I think that the author is a bad writer in general. Splatterpunk can be really funny to me when it's correctly executed but this one was pretty much irritating at best. The kills were hilarious but the characters were just one dimensional, didn't care for anyone and the ending was just meh.
Thanks for the video Meg
I literally have an entire video coming out about the eyes are the best part I think because all your points are my exact thoughts. That is the one book I genuinely do not understand what people are freaking out about. I feel like I read a totally different book.
And I completely agree with you with playground as well!
“I wish it would have put me to sleep permanently” lmao that cracked me up. And that Richard Laymon book, ugh.
Lolol UGH IS RIGHT
The thing with overhyped books is that getting so many rave reviews immediately raise expectations. So if the book turns out to be anything less than mind-blowing it inevitably feels like a let down. And once the hype train gains momentum, I feel people are sometimes afraid to offer a dissenting opinion. As if they feel that saying something negative would lead to them being vilified. So what I appreciate about your reviews is that you're always honest and offer an alternative perspective. Tbh I tend to get suspicious if all a book seems to receive is 5⭐ reviews!
Thanks for an entertaining video 🙂.
Thank you!! Yes I constantly feel like a lot of people are giving 5 star reviews for no reason. It’s a conspiracy I swear.
@ReadingWithMeg a conspiracy indeed! Maybe the sticky-fingered Jeff Bezos is behind it all, perpetuating the hype so he can sell loads of crap books to unsuspecting peeps 🤔....😂
Thank you for normalizing not liking popular book.
I've had the same issues for a lot of books you talked about and felt so alone for so long ^^'
You're the best Meg!
So many books are overhyped all the time and I truly don’t get it. That’s why I’m trying to branch out and read different things. Thank you so much!!
Okay I’m so glad I want the only one who didn’t understand the only good Indians!! It was so hard to get into because I had no idea how to understand the writing style.
His writing is so beyond confusing. I thought I was dumb at first but so many people say the same thing lol
FINALLY someone else who gave the eyes are the best part 1 star!!! That book was ass.
Omg I TRULY DONT UNDERSTAND!!!!!!
Meg! Please don't stop reading horror. Try a book that isn't hyped first. I never read a horror book unless one of my favorite book tubers raves about it.
You are not the only content creator that regrets reading these; so many have commented on it. Sometimes I think people must have been paid to yack about awful books. Your videos are so great, I hope you don't give up on the genre.
Vivian
I won’t I am just reading whatever I feel like and trying different things. I am no longer trusting these overhyped reviews I’m seeing everywhere I definitely feel like some kind of conspiracy is going on lol
very much agree w/maeve fly ... what a bogus book that not only spoiled the story of the eye book, it references American psycho's rat scene and basically says go read that book if you wanna know what happens to another character... horrible.
i liked her work stuff, but that was it...
stephen graham jones is the most confusing writer i've read ... i enjoyed "my heart is a chainsaw" but that it's that's the only
book of his i enjoyed ... his afterwords in audiobooks are better than his books.
i challenge you to read "Wild Animus" I defy you to make sense of that book, it will be an incredible show
STORY OF THE EYE is what I was thinking of! Lol
Yeah Stephen graham jones is so confusing I do not understand the cult following
"the babysitter lives" by stephen graham jones was pretty good in my opinion but it's only an audiobook. that's the only book i've read by him. also hi meg!!! love your videos :)
I haven’t heard of that one maybe people should be talking about this instead then lol hi thank you!!
@@ReadingWithMeg it's an interesting book! super dark, memorable characters. a real sense of evil and dread. ghosts that scared me to the point where i was getting paranoid that one was waiting in my hallway. no idea why it's not out as a physical book yet, like bruh... stephen graham jones should know it would probably do better if it was out in a physical copy. if anyone knows why it's only an audiobook?????let me know????lol. his writing style is not my favorite but it's good writing at least in this book....and it was definitely good enough to make me binge the audiobook. a real page-turner. (DESPITE IT NOT HAVING PAGES)
Monstrilio was truly one of my worst books of this year.
Such a let down!
hi Meg I think the link to your instagram page is broken! whats up with that?
In the description? It’s working for me. Idk what’s going on with that lol but it’s @ heymeghin
Love your channel! Keep being honest 🥰
Thank you! 🩷
I did a full 1 hour review video on Maeve Fly and I just kept laughing the entire time I was reviewing it. It was outrageous, but that did not translate to a great book. I thought it was just ok. I did have a lot of fun reading it though.
Omg I need to go watch this lol I completely agree with you but I’m glad you had fun!
Thanks to you "horror movie" is still collecting dust on my bookshelf lol
It’s a collectors item at this point
I read maevefly it was okay not my favorite book though and I was gonna DNF the book but I had to read it and annotated for the book club
To be fair, Richard Laymon is the breast author :D
Hahahaha dead
Totally agree about Maeve fly, didn’t love it
I stand in solidarity for Meg with all her brave and daring controversial opinions. if only she was a man like me to get zero hate for daring to opine the eyes are the best part is garbage
Lolol exactly. Us women are god’s strongest soldiers
Idk if Stephen graham jones or Paul tremblay are overhyped because I feel like the majority of people I see talking about them do not like most of their works. I think those that like them are hardcore fans, but that doesn’t necessarily mean overhyped. Just means they have a cult following or whatever lol
I see so many people online obsessed with them and constantly promoting their books so they feel super overhyped to me but yes I agree it’s mostly a weird cult following lol
Sally Rooney is soooooooo boring i dont understand what people are so impressed with !
Ugh her writing style puts me to sleep tbh. Her newest book wasn’t bad but I still hated the writing style.
my favorite book would be berserk
I appreciate Laymon for the beast house series, but you're right... obsessed with breasts lol
CONSTANTLY lol
Here for the BREASTS
You are ALWAYS here for the BREASTS
Maeve Fly was such a disappointment for me too. Extreme horror where?
Exactly!
@@ReadingWithMeg I also despise Diavola. It's barely a horror tho. It's literally felt like I'm reading Kardashians. All of the family was the same character basically, no motivation behind the toxicity. It feels like ppl who gave it 5/5 got paid well or have zero to none taste
ACOTAR was a snooze fest. My God! I don’t get it. I got halfway through the first one and it was an easy DNF. I finished Playground and was like, “Okkaaay, and?” 🙄
Exactly same here! “OKAY AND?”
The only one I’ve read is ACOTAR lol
Good you’re better off 😂
im an old man now so i get sometimes a little confused with what the girls writing: maybe you could add the actual numbers those best-sellers sold...
i feel exactly the same way about maeve fly and the eyes are the best part. they were so disappointing. maybe they were just poorly advertised but i was expecting true female rage and social horror and they both fell short.
Yep same here. The way people made them sound I was expecting something totally different and I just ended up feeling so disappointed. I’m definitely going into horror with low expectations now when books are this hyped lol
"...the breasts are the best part..." is this a sequel to The Eyes Are The Best Part?!
Yes that’s coming next summer
Haven’t read Maeve fly, but did read American Rapture by the same author and thought it was phenomenal.
I own this one so I’m really hoping I like it more!
I was so excited for The eyes are the best part but I went in to it thinking it would be adult so that was the first dissapointment. It dit not get better.
I have always been a ya fantasy fan so I could enjoy Fourth Wing when just thinking about it being junk food. It's bad but enjoyable. Again hated the ya-ness tho.
I love the Acotar series however I did read this when it first came out, I was a bit younger then and just coming back into reading so at this point it's mostly nostalgic. I do really have to agree that it get's a lot better in book two tho!
Playground was my first extreme horror, it's the reason I even know about the genre to be honest. I did not enjoy the writing but I really liked the fact that there was this such tabboo book (childeren getting slaughtered) and I just needed to read. It did get me hooked on extreme horror so it did something right 😇
And all your points are completely valid! Sometimes it’s nice to just enjoy a “junk food” book but yes the YA-ness when you’re expecting adult is such a let down.
Such a great list and entertaining video. You're one of the best and most honest reviewers here.
I've never read Richard L. but I've heard the breast comments a lot. 😂
Thank you so much!! 🥹🩷
Playground is def not Beauregards best. I’ve heard that his best book is Yellow, which I own but haven’t read yet. And personally my favorite by him is the Wedding Day Massacre. If you like gore… that book is so fucking insane, it’s up there as one of the goriest books I’ve ever read (and I’ve read a lot of fucked up shit lol). It wasn’t groundbreaking plot wise but it was a fun and easy read
Yeah I have just come to accept that he is not an author for me lol
@@ReadingWithMeg that’s fair 😂
Maeve Fly was weird for the sake of being weird.
I ended up saying “okay?” constantly lol
I DIDNT LIKED PLAYGROUND BY BEAUREGARD AT ALL 😑
THANK YOUUUUUUU