The nitty-gritty: Cottagecore turns bloody in this uneven slasher/romance. I’ve been looking forward to another book by Delilah S. Dawson ever since I read and loved The Violence. Bloom seemed promising, with it’s beautiful but disturbing cover, but unfortunately this was just OK for me. Maybe the novella length had something to do with that, […]
The nitty-gritty: A skillfully constructed story-within-a-story full of emotion, tension and magic, Dreambound is one of my favorite books of the year. Dreambound is every bit as good as people are saying, and trust me, this is one 2023 release you’re not going to want to miss. Dan Frey has stepped up his game from […]
The nitty-gritty: An atmospheric, eerie tale with a fairy tale vibe, Starling House will delight readers with its fantastical mysteries, subtle romance and heartfelt friendships. “It’s something about the way the shadows fell in Eden, after Eleanor died. It’s the way everything soured: the river ran darker and the clouds hung lower; rich coal seams […]
The nitty-gritty: Two paranormal mercenaries for hire try to outwit a demon in this short but lively story with plenty of humor and heart. This is my first Richard Kadrey book, and I’m not sure why I waited so long to check him out. The Pale House Devil is a fun, funny paranormal story with a […]
The nitty-gritty: An ambitious SF dystopian tale with plenty of interesting characters and situations gets bogged down under some basic writing mistakes. I badly wanted to love Stars Like Acid, especially since my review copy came directly from the author. And the reviews on Goodreads are mostly rave reviews, so I’ll admit my expectations were […]
The nitty-gritty: Evil apples take on the residents of a small town in Chuck Wendig’s latest, a tension-filled, bloody tale of survival. “This is the apple in your hand. Some would say it is so red that it looks black, but that’s not quite right. It’s the color of wine and offal, of liver soaked […]
The nitty-gritty: Vivid imagery, body horror and the terrors of parenthood combine in this bizarre and heartbreaking mystery. “You looked like a ghost in your sonogram. The second I saw the foggy outline of your lima bean body, I remember wondering to myself, Is this boy gonna end up haunting me? Your mother thought you […]
The nitty-gritty: Being a radio DJ is a killer job in this lively, bloody and humorous take on slasher movies. This might be the first horror story I’ve read that revolves around a radio show, and I thought Maria Lewis did a great job of taking the slasher trope and making it fresh and new. […]
The nitty-gritty: Supervillains are super fun in this laugh-out-loud tale with sentient cats and dolphins, a secret lair and plenty of the author’s trademark social commentary. Scalzi takes on supervillains—sort of—in his latest comedic offering, and boy was this a bunch of fun. I think if I’d read this blind without knowing who the author […]
The nitty-gritty: An unexpected and bloody homecoming awaits the protagonist of Black Sheep, Rachel Harrison’s latest, a thoroughly entertaining surprise of a story. “All happy families are alike, I thought. Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Once again, Rachel Harrison has surprised and delighted me with an outstanding story that did not […]