The nitty-gritty: Monsters, magic and murder take center stage in this trio of wild, weird and bloody stories. I love a good weird western, and I have to say these stories scratched that itch for me. West of Hell contains three short novellas written by three different authors, and while I didn’t enjoy all of […]
The nitty-gritty: Eric LaRocca’s strange brand of horror is in full force in We Can Never Leave This Place, an emotional and at times upsetting glimpse into a young girl’s dangerous world. If there’s one thing you can count on with an Eric LaRocca book, it’s to expect the unexpected. We Can Never Leave This […]
The nitty-gritty: Anne Heltzel brings several tried and true horror tropes to her latest novel, including cults, creepy dolls and motherhood. Just Like Mother was creepy and shocking, and yes, over-the-top at times. But I have to admit, despite it’s flaws, I had a lot of fun with it. Parts of it made me mad, […]
The nitty-gritty: An unusual sci-fi mystery with quirky characters, Rosebud is both entertaining and mind-bending. I’ve read some weird books in my time, but Rosebud might be the very weirdest! And I say that with fondness, because I really did enjoy it. Paul Cornell takes ideas like how an individual’s history shapes them, mixes in […]
The nitty-gritty: A fun mystery with interesting characters and relationships, The Paradox Hotel was full of good ideas but ended up confusing me more than anything. This was a strange little story, but I ended up really enjoying it after a bit of a rocky start. I thought the book was going to focus more […]
The nitty-gritty: A solid series opener, Hunt the Stars focuses on character development rather than world building and pacing, but I still had a good time. I was a big fan of Jessie Mihalik’s Consortium Rebellion series, and I’ve been excited for this new series for months. I enjoyed this first installment, but I have […]
The nitty-gritty: An ancient evil terrorizes a small town in this ambitious new novel from Bram Stoker finalist JG Faherty. If you’re a fan of The Exorcist, you might want to check out The Wakening, which takes inspiration from the classic horror story but adds unique elements to the mix as well. This is a […]
The nitty-gritty: While I loved Cosby’s gritty and violent revenge scenario, I had some issues with the overall plot and dialog, ultimately making this a mixed bag for me. That was the thing about violence. When you went looking for it you definitely were going to find it. It just wouldn’t be at a time […]
The nitty-gritty: Dan Hanks blends 80s nostalgia, portal fantasy and parenthood in this fun romp/quest to save the world. Swashbucklers was a lot of crazy fun, and I do mean crazy—think Ghostbusters meets Stranger Things. Dan Hanks does a good job of combining humor, action and nostalgia, and he even tugged on my heartstrings a […]
The nitty-gritty: The Offset presents a grim future, but gives readers plenty of food for thought. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I picked up this book, but it ended up surprising me in many ways. This is a dark, gritty look at a future where things are so bad that extreme measures […]