Bleed More, Bodymore by Ian Kirkpatrick

Title: Bleed More, Bodymore

Series: Bodymore #1

Author: Ian Kirkpatrick

Expected Publication Date: October 31, 2021

Publisher: Steak house Books

Pages: 302

Goodreads

Introduction

Baltimore smells like rot, like corpses, like death. It always has. But ever since Joey was called to collect her friend's car in Baltimore's infamous body dumping ground and found a corpse in the trunk, and her friend MIA, it's been getting worse. The city feels more grim. Ravens seem to be watching her. And where is Wayland? As she tries to find him, she's also finds out just how sinister Baltimore can be, if you just look close enough.

Writing Style

Something about this writing style missed the mark for me, There was a lot of telling, not showing, and because of that, it was very choppy and made it hard for me to feel immersed in the story.

Joey

I didn't connect to Joey as I hoped I would. Mostly because a lot of her dialogue made me cringe and made her come off younger than she was supposed to be. For example, when she is being questioned by a detective and she asks what they found on her record, the dialogue goes like this:

"What do you think I found?"

I shake my head. "Nah fam, not playing."

The insertion of the words "nah, fam." makes her feel so young to me and it was hard to take her seriously during her scenes like this. Additionally, it was hard to take her and the detective scenes seriously at all because she always acted so nonchalantly. It's like it never actually dawned on her that she could be getting herself in trouble. I understand that she's supposed to be tough and edgy and untouchable but at times it was very unrealistic.

Romance: Joey and Jag

Romance wasn't a central theme in the book by any means, but I wasn't really interested in any of what Joey and Jag had going on. I liked Jag individually, but the scenes where he and Joey were acting physically affectionate felt so out of place to me because there was never any foundation established for any kind of intimate relationship. Occasionally they kiss quickly, the moment passes, and Joey never thinks about it. As a reader you just have to accept that that's something they do without ever having any substance to go with it. This might be because their situation is so casual that Joey has no reason to think about it beyond the moments of the affection, but to me, as a reader, the relationship fell flat. I'm hoping that in the future books, if they continue to be involved in some way, it's developed a little more deeply.

Ending

The ending came together really fast. It felt like it took a little bit of a left turn from the rest of the plot in order to drive itself towards a sequel. That being said, I really liked the way it ended, it's probably my favorite aspect of the book.

Conclusion

This book was an okay introduction. Although I had trouble connecting with Joey the plot was interesting enough to keep me going through the book and I am looking forward to seeing how the plot continues, should I read the sequel.

Top Ten Tuesday (12): Secondary Characters That Deserve More Love

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week's topic is secondary characters that deserve more love. This is my second post today, and I will admit that I wasn't planning on posting a top ten tuesday today, but I have been having a bit of a busy and anxious week and writing posts helps me focus on things that aren't making me anxious. Because this post wasn't one that I planned on doing, I could only come up with five characters that I think deserve more love, but I think a half finished list is still a good effort and I wanted to share my thoughts with all of you anyway.

1. Kenji - Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi 

2. Newt - The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I'm not sure if this one counts because Newt does get a lot of love from The Maze Runner fans but I think there's always room for more.

3.  Issie - Need by Carrie Jones

Issie is  the perfect example of an upbeat quirky character done right, as in, in a way that doesn't annoy the hell out of me, and I will protect her forever.

4. Jag - Bleed More, Bodymore by Ian Kirkpatrick

I'm not sure if is a fair one to use because it's not published yet, so maybe everybody will think he deserves more love, but I'm including it anyway because I think I liked Jag more than I liked the protagonist so I don't think it's fair to leave out.

5. Marlene - Divergent by Veronica Roth

Teaser Tuesday (18): Bleed More, Bodymore by Ian Kirkpatrick

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can participate in Teaser Tuesdays. Just do the following:
• Grab your read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

This week my teasers are coming from Bleed More, Bodymore by Ian Kirkpatrick.

Goodreads

"This isn't normal, Jag. The bodies. The park. The crime scenes. Everyone's just so used to their neighbors being criminals around here. You find out girl scout three doors down beat someone to Hell? Huh. That's interesting, but not surprising. Fucking everyone in this city is thirsty for something that ends in blood."

"Trying to ask someone to understand who you are or what's bothering you or what hurts or why it hurts is a risk I never wanted to take."

Page 90.

At the time of writing this, I'm about halfway through the book. It's set to release on Halloween, so I'm counting it as the first of my mandatory spooky season reads. Once I finish, the review will be up in September :)

First Line Friday (11): Bleed More, Bodymore by Ian Kirkpatrick

First Line Friday is a bookish tag hosted over at Abstract Books that is used to showcase your favourite first lines of books.

There really is something to be said about a good first line, and I'm going to be using this tag from now on to showcase my current read's first lines.

For this week's First Line Friday I have the first line from Bleed More, Bodymore by Ian Kirkpatrick.

""You sure pick the best places to break down, don't you, Way?" I'm saying to myself in the cab of a Bodymore tow truck as I pull to the west entrance of the park."

I've only just started this book but so far I'm enjoying it! It's release date is set for Halloween this year so I'm really hoping it delivers on some spooky vibes!

Waiting on Wednesday (9): Bleed More, Bodymore by Ian Kirkpatrick

Waiting on Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. *It appears that Breaking the Spine hasn't been active since 2016, but I still want to credit them as the creators.

For my 9th Waiting on Wednesday, I want to spotlight Bleed More, Bodymore by Ian Kirkpatrick.

Publisher: Steak House Books

Expected publication:  October 31, 2021

Goodreads Synopsis

HORROR IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN EVIL OVERTAKES THE HEART.

Joey’s a mechanic. One night, she receives a call from her best friend, asking for his car to be picked up from the infamous body dumping grounds of Baltimore: Leakin Park. When she arrives, there’s little more around than a stalled-out car and a couple of ravens, so she leaves only with the car. Back at the body shop, it doesn’t take long for the smell of rot to permeate the trunk. Inside? A corpse. The cops said her friend did it. His absence is his guilt, but Joey knows better. She will find her missing friend and she will prove his innocence.

But something isn’t right in Baltimore. It’s not just the feeling that someone is always watching from the city’s abandoned buildings... Her search for her friend reveals something much worse hiding under Baltimore. A ghost town, a reaper, regret. Suddenly, the city’s rage and the stink rising out of the dirt make much more sense.

Why I Can't Wait

I get excited about Halloween starting around this time, and this is a Halloween release! Need I say more? It seems that this book will serve some spooky vibes and I can't wait to get my hands on it.