Julie Chan is Dead - Liann Zhang // Book Review

Julie Chan is Dead

Liann Zhang || Publication Date - 29.04.2025

"I want to begin by saying, I did not kill my sister..."

Fiction | Thriller

Affiliate Link - https://bookshop.org/a/110173/9781668067895

Julie Chan is living her worst life. She's a cashier at a supermarket that she hates, her aunty is abusive and all she's trying to do is make ends meet, and not keep tabs on her twin sister Chloe Van Huusen. It's very easy to do, to cyberstalk her twin sister however, considering Chloe's an incredibly popular influencer. Garnering hundreds of thousands of views on social media. One day Chloe randomly appears at her workplace and surprises her by buying her a house as the subject of an #emotional YouTube video.

This leads to a phone call which viscerally changes Julie's life forever. After discovering Chloe dead in her high rise apartment in New York, Julie has a choice to make: go on with her boring, and uneventful existence as Julie Chan? Or take over the life of her twin sister Chloe and live in the luxury she's always dreamed.

The Review (may contain spoilers)

Okay... so I have a lot of thoughts about this book. Firstly the premise was wild, like a good time through a really weird dream type of wild. It went from morally apprehensible decisions, to a fever dream of luxury and indulgence fuelled by the likes and comments of strangers, to discovering and wiping out a generational cult.

If all of the above sounds like a good time to you, well you're in luck! This book is available and on shelves for you to experience yourself.

This book made me question a lot about my own life, honestly. I work what a lot of people would call a standard job, nothing fancy, but it pays the bills. If you were to see my house, it's definitely not extravagant. And I'm grateful enough to be living within my means that I don't need to steal supermarket sandwiches. All that being said, if I did have an estranged twin sister that lived the life of luxury I'd always dreamed and found her dead... would I take her place should the outrageous opportunity arose?

The other aspect which poked in my brain a little was also the social media facet. I'm not millions of followers deep to be fair, but the life which can be made just by being lucky, or even knowing the right people, can be luxurious. The way that Liann portrays this lifestyle is sickeningly positive, and I love how this contradicts Julie's previously negative and depressing life prior. It's giving drug addiction, and I'm living for it.

I also have to praise the writing. It was conversational in a way, while also being completely unhinged. Please see below, probably one of my favourite quotes to come from literature...

I love my girls so much I can identify each of them by their teeth, their Cupid's bow, and how many cc's of lip filler accentuate their perfect pouts.

Like hello? What the fuck!? 😂 

Overall Thoughts

My first thought when I'd finished this book was 'What the fuck did I just read?'. I've seen this novel compared to 'Bunny' which is another on my TBR - and if the comparison is accurate, I'm sure I will devour that book too. I had such a good time, it went as deranged as I had thought it would and for that, Liann, I thank you. She's definitely been put on my author watch list, and considering this was her debut, what a banger to kick off your career.

I recommend this book for anyone who wants a good time, especially unhinged existential chaos. I had such a great time with it, and reading as a part of a book club had the benefits of enjoying everything the book had to offer with others.

Breathe In, Bleed Out - Brian McAuley // Book Review

Breathe In, Bleed Out

Brian McAuley || Publication Date - 29.04.2025

Can you really be free from your past haunting you?

Fiction | Thriller | Horror

Affiliate Link - https://bookshop.org/a/110173/9781464238208

Hannah is dragging the deceased corpse of her fiancé trying to get back to some form of civilisation after a holiday ended up going horribly wrong. She's trying to come to terms with his death and the guilt she feels being unable to save him. As a result, she's haunted by the events of that day, and his ghost.

Due to a near fatal nursing mistake at work, Hannah is forced on leave from her job and is working with her therapist closely to try and get to the bottom of her guilt and subsequent hallucinations.

Hannah and a group of her friends whisk her away to a wellness retreat. Supposedly so exclusive and successful, it almost feels like a cult... and when Hannah's friends start to go missing, she's torn between her feelings of going insane or if there really is something sinister going on at this retreat.

The Review (may contain spoilers)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me early access to this eARC for an honest review!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this novel. I was purely drawn to the style of the cover, and I am so glad I was.

Brian's writing is so easy to read and immersive. As I'd been reading it's like a movie was playing out in my head. The characters feel so oddly detailed, when really there's only a brief description of them as they're first introduced. They're intricate and funny, and their banter is perfectly written to give the impression they have genuinely known each other for years.

I'm obsessed with the creepy vibes through the novel. It starts off with a banger of a chapter, and has a tendency to throw in horrific scenes at random. I never truly know when something will happen, and it's always executed in a seamless way. Poor Hannah having already dealt with the death of her fiancé, is now experiencing the random trauma of hallucinating his restless corpse and being haunted by him. As scary and traumatic that would be for her, for me it's a damn good time 😂

The true unsettling nature was knowing this is supposed to be a horror/thriller, but there's absolutely no indication where this will trigger. It was deeply eerie and provided the perfect level of isolated confusion I was anticipating.

Overall Thoughts

Definitely an unexpected favourite coming into this novel. I had a blast with the story, the characters and the conclusion was impeccably satisfying. Brian's writing was immersive and easy to read, which was awesome as I ploughed trough this book. The writing was eerie, atmospheric and funny which kept me engaged the whole time to find out what the heck was going on through the book.

Unfortunately for me the twist was predictable, however that still didn't take away from the enjoyment I had reading the novel.

If you're looking for a thriller that's easy to read and has some amazing characters - look no further than this one. Genuinely had a great time reading and I'm definitely adding Brian McAuley to my author watch list.