The nitty-gritty: An ambitious, entertaining and bloody tale about publishing, demons and the lengths one woman will go to for success. “Hopefully, you’re stronger than I was. Not so easily carried away. Still, you might want to grip the book a little tighter at this point. For this is your horror story now. The reader […]
The nitty-gritty: A woman is forced to relive her traumatic childhood in Darcy Coates’ latest, a bloody, scary slasher with surprises around every corner. Darcy Coates is such a solid writer, and it’s always a pleasure to read one of her books. In How Bad Things Can Get she tackles cults, social media and trauma […]
The nitty-gritty: A magical AI program is the catalyst for this high stakes tale, complete with humor, spice and engaging characters. # I AM MAGIC. ASK ME ANYTHING I follow Liz Shipton on Instagram, so I knew what I was in for when I picked up her latest. And I was not disappointed! Dot Slash […]
The nitty-gritty: A dangerous game of cat and mouse, a maze-like house, and a family curse—all these elements and more make up House of Monstrous Women, an excellent horror story rooted in Filipino folklore. “The Ranoco house wasn’t a normal house, by anyone’s definition. It sprawled on the outside. But inside? She felt like she […]
The nitty-gritty: Family secrets, unreliable narrators and a tell-all memoir make up the bones of this twisty, deliciously entertaining tale. I’m happy to say that The Dead Husband Cookbook hit many of the same highs for me as Danielle Valentine’s Delicate Condition, a book I absolutely loved. In her latest, the author has taken two […]
The nitty-gritty: Powerful, visceral and immersive, Angel Down explores war and angels, life and death, desires and miracles, in a surprising format that echoes the chaos of war. “and Goodspeed’s theory has a logic Bagger can’t quip aside, for if you were to forge new kinds of weapons, and those weapons flew farther and sailed […]
The nitty-gritty: A twisty haunted house story with lots of surprises, It Was Her House First is a suspenseful thriller with engaging characters—both living and dead. “Every stair, every step, Venita dragged 1932 behind her like the train on a wedding veil. Everything her wake touched lit up and returned to its original state. The […]
The nitty-gritty: The dark academia trope is turned on its head in Cassandra Khaw’s latest, a bloody feast with Gothic imagery, lush prose and ravenous characters. “Oleander and nightshade grew in pastel eruptions, Rosary peas sprawled everywhere, ladybug-patterned in their gray husks, vivid as a fresh heart. No small amount of the school’s namesake bloomed […]
The nitty-gritty: Unexpected twists and laugh-out-loud humor make this assassins-turned-good guys story an excellent sequel. “’Yo, snakes are attracted to sound,’ Booker says. ‘You a herpetologist now?’ I ask. ‘No, but remember that episode of The Simpsons where Lisa used stereo speakers to attract the snakes?’ ‘Okay, you are not a herpetologist. We don’t make […]
The nitty-gritty: A high-stakes, thrilling adventure, Shield of Sparrows is a well-balanced, well written fantasy, perfect for fans of Fourth Wing. Come for the monsters, stay for the delicious slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romance. “I was surrounded by monsters.” Shield of Sparrows seems to be the buzzy book of the season, and count me in on […]