The nitty-gritty: An apocalyptic virus, eldritch horrors, brain eaters and more, Sister, Maiden, Monster feels like the literary equivalent of thrash metal, and that’s a compliment:-) “Living with her is breathtakingly terrifying. She seems aware, occasionally, that she’s become a complete maniac. If you crossed a savant with a perfect predator, gave that hybrid a […]
The nitty-gritty: A multi-generational story of the ties that bind a family of women together, with a bit of magic thrown in for good measure. “She looked happy, hand in hand with her husband. Perhaps she was, then. Or perhaps I was standing too far away. A great many things look different from a distance. […]
The nitty-gritty: A feel good story with lovable characters, World Running Down is an engaging dystopian that offers plenty of food for thought. Despite the gloomy title, World Running Down was a breath of fresh air, an upbeat and optimistic story that tackles some heavy themes in an accessible way, and it was simply a […]
The nitty-gritty: Surreal and heart-wrenching, The Crane Husband is a short but emotional tale of trauma and survival. “My mom was sleeping with a crane who was sometimes a man. Or a man who was sometimes a crane. My mom was sleeping with a person who hit her. Both of these things felt too awful—too […]
The nitty-gritty: Complex characters, buckets of blood, and an intriguing mystery make Don’t Fear the Reaper a worthy sequel. Stephen Graham Jones returns to Proofrock, Idaho in this second installment of The Lake Witch Trilogy, which takes place four years after the bloody finale of My Heart is a Chainsaw. I ended up loving parts […]
The nitty-gritty: C.J. Tudor’s latest is an action-packed dystopian thriller that rubs elbows with the horror genre. Tense, scary and atmospheric, this was a fun one! To call this story “crazy” would be an understatement, but perhaps if you’ve read C.J. Tudor’s books before, you’ll know what I mean. This was my first book by […]
The nitty-gritty: Secrets, lies and shocking plot twists will have readers scrambling to find out the truth in this excellent thriller. What Lies in the Woods is a slow burn mystery that was nearly impossible to put down. With this book, Kate Alice Marshall has made it onto my auto-buy list of authors, it was […]
The nitty-gritty: The gang is back in this second book in Kendare Blake’s Buffy-inspired series, with plenty of action, laughs and monsters. I love when the second book in a series hits its stride and improves on the first book, and that was my experience with One Girl in All the World. I’ll admit I […]
The nitty-gritty: Intricate world-building and sparkling dialog make The Keeper’s Six a must read for fans looking for a fantasy adventure on the lighter side. “A Keep knows its Keeper, and a Keeper knows their Keep. The two are bound by threads of unbreakable magic, a connection to the unnamable Source, one of the strongest […]
The nitty-gritty: Less horror and more family drama, Bad Cree is a beautifully written examination of family ties and emotions, with just a touch of otherworldly horror. The bad inside me was spreading, eating me up. So I left. I left them all. And now I’m supposed to enter that house again. Where the loss […]