TL;DR: My kind of weird, vampires meets parasitic bugs. Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Sonia is hired to illustrate a guide to bugs but the professor is definitely up to something. Characters: Some were definitely stronger than others but the plot was more the focus here. Setting: 1889 back woods,... Continue Reading →
Cabaret in Flames by Hache Pueyo
TL;DR: Good but not quite five stars.Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Ariadne is looking for her missing mentor and gets caught in a bigger web. Characters: Interesting but not super unique. Setting: Not much can be said about the setting, it served well but it wasn’t a strong part of... Continue Reading →
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
TL;DR: An absolute fantastic book. Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: We follow Good Stab after he becomes a ‘cat man’ and decides upon a path of revenge. Characters: I loved all of them. Unlikeable and horrible as some of them were. Setting: The horror of this time period really did... Continue Reading →
Bloodfire, Baby by Eirinie Carson
TL;DR: This was not a hit for me sadly but it definitely could work for others. Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Sofia slowly descends into post partum psychosis, haunted by the ghosts of her ancestors. Characters: Sofia is our only real character of note and she is a mess throughout... Continue Reading →
For Human Use by Sarah G. Pierce
TL;DR: What a WIERD book… in the best way. Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: A dating app for corpses and humans (and this isn’t paranormal). Characters: Very flawed but felt real in that way. Setting: Definitely not the focus of this one. Horror: This is the type of horror that’s... Continue Reading →
On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah-Yah Scholfield
TL;DR: Fantastic exploration of breaking generational trauma. Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Judith has to flee and come to grips with her own life and her history. Characters: Flawed and fantastic, I enjoyed everyone here. Setting: This was dark, gothic, moving, and horrifying in equal measure. Horror: The body and... Continue Reading →
The Possession of Alba Diaz by Isabel Cañas
TL;DR: A book in halves for me. Half I loved, half I didn’t. Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Alba tricks her way into an engagement and then finds herself possessed at a mine. Characters: I really enjoyed everyone here. Setting: A lovely setting but I kind of wish we had... Continue Reading →
The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw
TL;DR: Absolutely loved the idea but this needed so much more meat on it's bones. Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Take a twisted magical school and put a bunch of very unhinged characters inside. Fun times follow. Characters: They had a lot of potential for me! But ultimately we didn’t... Continue Reading →
Herculine by Grace Byron
TL;DR: This writing style just didn’t work for me, it was exhausting. Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: Our narrator gets trapped in a cult, demons abound! Characters: A bit of a mess to be honest. We’re so trapped in our narrator that no one felt real. Setting: The cult’s headquarters felt... Continue Reading →
You Weren’t Meant To Be Human by Andrew Joseph White
TL;DR: Really… what and wow? Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: A transman finds himself pregnant and at the mercy of a worm cult… it was intense. Characters: A mess. All of them.Setting: Dark and atmospheric, it felt somewhat true to the location though I wish we had more. Horror: This checks... Continue Reading →