The Bully by K.J. Kwon ~ #NetGalley #bookreview

 

Title: The Bully--A Paranormal Thriller   

Author: K.J. Kwon  

Publisher: KJ Books   

Publication date: April 15, 2021

Source: Publisher via NetGalley 

Purchase: Amazon 

Synopsis

Since the day I declined my boss' sexual advance, all hell has broken loose.

She has abused me with impossible assignments during our work day and haunts me as a vicious spirit at night.

I am losing my mind. I am constantly seeing my boss transforming into a vicious spirit.

Desperate to set myself free, I pay her a visit with a final plan...but even my extreme measure doesn’t provide a way out..

Maybe there is a world of demons hidden just beneath the surface of everyday life.

My Rating: 3 / 5 stars 

The Bully immediately lured me in with its synopsis. My favorite kind of horror involves demons, so if a novel, movie, or TV show has them in it, I'm there in a flash. They are by far the scariest supernatural beings to me. 

This story takes us to South Korea where the main character has just found a new job in the city and thinks he's landed the job of his dreams. But his life quickly becomes a nightmare when his female boss begins making unwanted sexual advances toward him. 

After rejecting her, his boss sets out to destroy his life, and I wondered if there would be anything left of him to continue working. She's so successful in her quest to torture him, it leaves him wondering if she's literally from hell. I know I got whiplash from how she'd praise him one minute, then tear him down the next, psychologically tormenting him. 

The Bully has an intriguing idea at its core. I liked being unsure of what was real and what wasn't. The ability to write that way is something I've always envied because it takes skill to be subtle. This is a short read, and I recommend reading it in one sitting if you can because then you get the full effect of the situation escalating out-of-control and the desperation, panic, and terror of the main character. 

When I finished reading, I became torn on what to rate this. While the idea was a good one, I wanted more of the supernatural but not necessarily a longer book. I'm having a hard time articulating exactly what it was that led to my three-star rating. I'm trusting the gut feeling I have on this one. 

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