Month: October 2023

Serena’s Review: “Starling House”

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Book: “Starling House” by Alix E. Harrow

Publishing Info: Tor, October 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland–and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

Review: This was a book I was always going to read. The cover is right up my alley, of course. But the description of the story with its references to gothic houses and brooding men was also ticking all of the right boxes. On top of all of that, this is the same author who wrote “The Ten Thousand Doors of January,” a book I absolutely adored. Now, all of that said, I was a bit concerned going in due to the fact that this is a contemporary fantasy novel set in our modern world. For whatever reason, I’m very picky about this subgenre of fantasy. But it’s also just a tall task to write a compelling story that introduces magical elements into a world that in every other way is the same as our own. One or the other often is lacking in believability, either the magic or the description of our current society, leading to a disjointed weave where neither element really works with the other. But, frankly, this book served as a relief and reassurance: there ARE contemporary fantasy novels out there that work for me!

There was so much to love about this book, but I think I have to start with the voice of the main character. Yes, the book is broken up between two POVs, but it is not an even split, with Opal narrating the majority of the book. I won’t go off again on my main rants about the success of failure of multi-POV books, but I will note that Harrow takes advantage of an approach that I think vastly helps in this endeavor, and one that is often overlooked by authors. Opal, the primary narrator, tells her story in first person, while Arthur’s chapters are told from third person. Such a simple solution, but one that makes them easily distinguishable from one another without falling into the common trap of writing two voices that sound nearly identical. Third person storytelling is also the dominant form of storytelling across genres for a reason in that it allows a greater lens of commentary and description of events and scenes. So using this method, we are centered in Opal’s very distinctive voice, but through Arthur’s chapters, we are given a wider view of the greater circumstances.

But let’s get back to Opal. First person is a hard writing style to tackle, and one that I feel few authors truly master, often feeling that many books would be elevated form the mundane to the more exceptional had a simple change of tense been employed. But Harrow proves here how successful first person storytelling can be when done right. Opal’s voice is fierce, unique, and so clearly her own from the very start that the reader will immediately feel as if they know the exact type of person narrating the story before many details are even revealed. What’s more, Opal’s narration is clearly that of a somewhat unreliable narrator, which I think is the only honest way to truly do first person narration. When a character can only evaluate people and events from the perspective of their own world-view, their understanding colored by their own insecurities and past experiences, OF COURSE their narration is unreliable! Such is Opal’s story, an honest, and at time heart breaking, look at the harsh realities of poverty and small town life, but one that is also told from the perspective a young woman who has fought every day to make a life for herself and her brother. Opal isn’t a perfect person, but her story is one of self-acceptance, and learning the true nature of trust and family. It’s bracing at times, but ultimately beautiful.

Arthur’s story also covers some deep themes, such as duty, responsibility, choice, and, similar to Opal, family and grief. Of course, tied between them is a lovely slow-burn romance of the exact variety that I prefer. Firstly, their relationship is secondary to the overall story. And secondly, it develops in a natural manner full of small, every day moments and delayed realizations. Beyond these two, the house itself played a very unexpected role. I definitely went into the book expecting a certain type of haunted house story, and while some of this held true, I was also surprised and very pleased with the nuance brought to the house itself. In many ways, it served as an important third character all on its own.

I also loved the setting and overall story. The pacing was steady and gripping from the very start, never once lulling or letting the reader free from its captivating grip. Pieces to the larger mystery are slowly unspooled, all while greater and greater tension brews in the looming conflict between the house, its caretakers, and those who exist beyond it. Every time I felt like I had a good grasp on exactly where this story was going, it would abruptly swerve into an entirely different lane. The end, especially, took a turn I wasn’t expecting at all, but ended up really enjoying.

Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about this book. It’s stayed with me every since I finished it, and it’s definitely been one of those “ruiner” reads where I’ve struggled picking up my next few books because my mind keeps drifting back to this one. This is the sort of book that I think will appeal to a wide range of readers. It is fantasy, of course, but it also has elements of horror and historical fiction. Beyond this, it delves deeply into themes of power, privilege, and rage, topics that I think will interest many readers. And, of course, any fans of Harrow’s work previously should definitely check this one out.

Rating 10: Haunting in the true sense of the word, this book will stick with you long after you’ve finished the last page.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Starling House” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Hansel and Gretel Stories

Kate’s Review: “Find Him Where You Left Him Dead”

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Book: “Find Him Where You Left Him Dead” by Kristen Simmons

Publishing Info: Tor Teen, September 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC at ALAAC23

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Four years ago, five kids started a game. Not all of them survived.

Now, at the end of their senior year of high school, the survivors―Owen, Madeline, Emerson, and Dax―have reunited for one strange and terrible they’ve been summoned by the ghost of Ian, the friend they left for dead.

Together they return to the place where their friendship ended with one find Ian and bring him home. So they restart the deadly game they never finished―an innocent card-matching challenge called Meido. A game without instructions.

As soon as they begin, they’re dragged out of their reality and into an eerie hellscape of Japanese underworlds, more horrifying than even the darkest folktales that Owen’s grandmother told him. There, they meet Shinigami, an old wise woman who explains the rules: They have one night to complete seven challenges or they’ll all be stuck in this world forever.

Once inseparable, the survivors now can’t stand each other, but the challenges demand they work together, think quickly, and make sacrifices―blood, clothes, secrets, memories, and worse. And once again, not everyone will make it out alive.

Review: Thank you to Tor Teen for providing me with an ARC of this novel at ALAAC23!

After not feeling like there was much programming or promotionals for the horror genre at ALAAC in 2022, the conference in 2023 had a LOT of really great horror centered stuff! There were a good amount of horror ARCs available and multiple panels about the genre with authors of the genre giving their insights. During one of these panels I received a signed ARC of “Find Him Where You Left Him Dead” by Kristen Simmons, and after hearing her talk about the book and the inspiration she took from Japanese mythology I was very much interested to see what she did with it. I had pretty high hopes, and, unfortunately, the book didn’t quite live up to them.

But first what I did like. The comparisons to “Jumanji” are absolutely spot on. As someone who has had a special place in her heart for that movie ever since she saw it in theaters (I’ve dated myself), I really like how “Find Him Where You Left Him Dead” brings in a game element that these teens have to play, while steeped in the dangerous beings from Japanese folklore and mythology. And that is a great segue into the other thing that I really liked about this book: the Japanese folklore and mythology! Simmons finds some of the more disturbing yōkai and oni to showcase, which makes for some solid horror scenes. There was one in particular with a creature that was hoping to make clothing out of a very nasty item that really set me on edge. When the yōkai are placed front and center and are tormenting the friend group, it makes for unique and interesting reading. It’s also always cool seeing non-Western mythologies and folktales serve and inspiration for fantasy or horror or any genre that looks to stories of the past to influence stories of today, and seeing authors from those cultures have the opportunities to tweak and tinker with it to tell a new story.

But on the flip side, I had a really hard time investing in and getting into the characters. We have multiple POVs in this book, focusing on the friend group of Madeline, Emerson, Owen, and Dax, who played a strange game with their friend Ian four years prior and then left him behind in a cave and no one has seen him since. Now they join back together to play again after Ian’s ghost visits them all, and they know that they have to finish it or they will be trapped forever. It’s a solid build up, but their voices are pretty flat and not very distinct. Sure, all of them are dealing with their trauma in their own ways, but I never really got invested in any of them, which made the stakes of getting out of this alternate world not very high for me. There were also a lot of times they spoke less like teenagers in conversation and more like lessons the audience is meant to learn, and while I agreed with what they were trying to say, it could come off as stilted and throw off the pace of the book. I think that had we had fewer POVs to jump between and had we really gotten to know them better, they probably would have been more interesting to me, but as they were they were just kind of there. Which was a shame because it made the read not as entertaining as I had hoped it would be.

“Find Him Where You Left Him Dead” was a bit of a letdown. The folklore inspiration was spot on, but the rest of the book was pretty run of the mill.

Rating 6: I really loved the Japanese folklore elements of this horror tale, but the characters in “Find Him Where You Left Him Dead” were a bit flat and made it hard to invest in their fates.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Find Him Where You Left Him Dead” is included on the Goodreads lists “YA Asian Horror”, and “A 2023 Halloween Spooky Reads List”.

Serena’s Review: “Flower and Thorn”

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Book: “Flower and Thorn” by Rati Mehrotra

Publishing Info: Wednesday Books, October 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Irinya has wanted to be a flower hunter ever since her mother disappeared into the mysterious mist of the Rann salt flats one night. Now seventeen, Irinya uses her knowledge of magical flowers to help her caravan survive in the harsh desert. When her handsome hunting partner and childhood friend finds a priceless silver spider lily–said to be able to tear down kingdoms and defeat an entire army–Irinya knows this is their chance for a better life.

Until Irinya is tricked by an attractive imposter.

Irinya’s fight to recover the priceless flower and to fix what she’s done takes her on a dangerous journey, one she’s not sure she’ll survive. She has no choice but to endure it if she hopes to return home and mend the broken heart of the boy she’s left behind.

Review: Rati Mehrotra is a rather hit and miss author for me. I’ve read several books by her over the last few years, often without realizing they were written by the same author. Too often I get sucked in by a great book description before I check who actually wrote the book! And, while none of those books really hit the spot for me, there’s just no denying the creative world-building and storytelling at the heart of these books. Indeed, it was these very concepts that drew me in to begin with! And such was the case here, again. In both matters, unfortunately.

But let’s start with what I did like. As with her other books, the world-building and fantasy elements of this story were quite intriguing. I love a desert setting in my fantasy, and this landscape was utilized well in the descriptions of the life and culture of the people who made it their home. I also really loved the idea of magical flowers, with each having different properties, some more powerful than others, and some much more rare. I enjoyed the descriptions of the life of a flower hunter with dangers of hunting items so highly sought after by many different parties. As the story unfolds, this world felt alive and populated. And while the story is firmly a fantasy novel, I did enjoy the nods towards 16th century India and the inclusion of cultural and historical elements form that time and place.

The story also moves along at a fast clip, with various plot elements popping up within the first few chapters and setting our characters off on their various adventures. But while I could recognize that the story was moving at a fast clip, I did struggle to stayed connected to this story. This has been a problem with all of the books I’ve read by this author and I still struggle to put my finger on exactly what the problem is. Partly, I always have a hard time truly connecting to the main characters. Like the previous books I’ve read, objectively, I could recognize that Irinya was a good leading lady, full of spunk and wit. But I just couldn’t really care about her. Something about the voice and tone of the characters feels slightly removed, holding the reader at a bit of a distance rather than drawing you in.

As for the pacing, I also felt that while the story moved fairly quickly, there were also parts that lingered too long on unimportant scenes and descriptions that didn’t add to the overall story and, instead, threw me out of the book. I found myself repeatedly putting the book down and having to pick it up again and make myself keep going. Not because I was actively disliking it, but simply because it couldn’t manage to hold my attention fully. I also found a lot of the twists and surprises fairly predictable, which didn’t help my struggles to connect to the story.

At this point, I think there is something about this author’s style of writing that just doesn’t connect with me. That said, she does have creative ideas for fantasy novels and if you’re a fan of her work, you’ll likely enjoy this one too!

Rating 7: A unique world with intriguing fantasy elements, but I struggled to connect to the characters or the story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Flower and Thorn” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Indian Inspired Fantasy Books and South Asian Fantasy.

Kate’s Review: “Edenville”

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Book: “Edenville” by Sam Rebelein

Publishing Info: William Morrow, October 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher at ALAAC23.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: An unsettling, immersive, and wildly entertaining debut novel from an exciting new voice in horror for fans of Paul Tremblay and Stephen Graham Jones.

After publishing his debut novel, The Shattered Man, to disappointing sales and reviews, Campbell P. Marion is struggling to find inspiration for a follow-up. When Edenville College invites him to join as a writer-in-residence, he’s convinced that his bad luck has finally taken a turn.

His girlfriend Quinn isn’t so sure—she grew up near Edenville and has good reasons for not wanting to move back. Cam disregards her skepticism and accepts the job, with Quinn reluctantly following along. But there’s something wrong in Edenville. Despite the charming old ladies milling about Main Street and picturesque sunflowers dotting the sidewalks, poison lurks beneath the surface. As a series of strange and ominous events escalate among Edenville and its residents, Cam and Quinn find themselves entangled in a dark and disturbing history. Told with equal parts horror and humor,  Edenville  explores the urban legends that fuel our nightmares and the ways in which ambition can overshadow our best instincts. Sam Rebelein is an exciting, sharp new voice, sure to terrify readers for years to come.

Review: Thank you to William Morrow for providing me with an ARC of this novel at ALAAC23!

One of the books I was on the look out for at ALAAC23 was “Edenville” by Sam Rebelein. It had been showing up in the various horror lit social media circles I like to frequent, and was getting a fair amount of hype. So I was very happy when they did, in fact, have ARCs available, and made sure to get my hands on one (shout out to Serena for snagging it for me). I saved it for October, as it was a highly anticipated horror read and great for a Horrorpalooza review, and when I did finally sit down with it, it was… not what I expected? But not in a bad way!

As someone who isn’t as into Cosmic Horror as a sub genre, I was a little wary going into this one even though I was anticipating it due to the hype. But I thought that “Edenville” was pretty fun as well as SUPER weird, particularly for our protagonists Cam and Quinn, a couple who have moved to Edenville to pursue Cam’s career as an author as a new writer in residence at the local university. Cam’s debut novel was an overall flop, and feeling stung in his failure this opportunity is too good to pass up, even though girlfriend Quinn is quite nervous about it. I always like small towns with sinister secrets, and I felt that Rebelein really captured that aspect of Edenville itself as well as the surrounding area of Renfield County and the urban legends it harbors. The eerie sense that something isn’t quite right in the town, whether it’s the strange residents themselves who are just a little off, or the fact that new writer in residence Cam is seemingly connected to the history of the town in spite of never having been there before, or Quinn having grown up close by and having her own weird previous experiences and knowledge of urban legends that may have some truth, Rebelein makes the unease and uncanniness build up in a well paced way and then completely yanks the rug out from under the reader. Both Cam and Quinn are enjoyable in the parts that they play, with Cam being slowly taken in by his perceived importance and Quinn knowing that something is really wrong, and it makes for high stakes as we barrel towards the climax. There is a lot of pretty gnarly body horror in this book as well, whether it’s Cam’s eyes leaking a viscous goo that sounds suspiciously like it has a semen-like consistency, or some of the moments later in the book that I don’t really want to spoil here because MAN are they gross but kinda fun at the same time. And yes, while this sometimes did go a little far into cosmic horror for my own personal tastes, there was always something to kind of bring me back and ground me.

But what bumped my reading experience up a notch was just how funny this book could be at times. The town of Edenville is definitely sinister and creepy, but there were also a lot of moments that had me cackling, whether it’s snark from the weirdo townspeople, or just off the cuff observations, or even just the satirical look at the pretentiousness of academia and those who strive to excel within that community. This is especially evident with Cam as he aches to fit in within his new academic setting, and deals with other faculty who are less than welcoming (and not just inside the context of this being a horror story; some of the interactions feel VERY real and especially biting), and brushes off things that are VERY wrong in this desperation to be important in the community after feeling like a failure in the past. There were so many things in this book that had me thinking back to the podcast “Welcome to Nightvale”, but if Nightvale was less of a quirky town with supernatural charm and more if it was a deeply menacing community with ill intent. But it had that kind of tone at times that really grabbed the humor amidst all the gore and scares.

Overall, “Edenville” was enjoyable. It could get a little weird for me, but I think that if you want a horror novel that goes places that we don’t see that often, and one that will almost assuredly make you laugh, this could be a good choice!

Rating 7: Supremely weird, sometimes gross, and a lot of the time funny, “Edenville” is an ambitious and wild ride about small town secrets, cosmic horror, and the pitfalls of Academia.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Edenville” is included on the Goodreads lists “Horror to Look Forward to in 2023”, and “2023 Dark Academia Releases”.

Book Club Review: “Snapdragon”

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We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. Our current theme is song inspirations, where we were given a random song from a random genre and had to pick a book based on the song.  For this blog, we will post a joint review of each book we read for book club. We’ll also post the next book coming up in book club. So feel free to read along with us or use our book selections and questions in your own book club!

Book: “Snapdragon” by Kat Leyh

Publishing Info: First Second, February 2020

Where Did We Get This Book: The library!

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Song Inspiration: “Blasphemous Rumors” by Depeche Mode

Book Description: Kat Leyh’s Snapdragon is a magical realist graphic novel about a young girl who befriends her town’s witch and discovers the strange magic within herself.

Snap’s town had a witch. At least, that’s how the rumor goes. But in reality, Jacks is just a Crocs-wearing, internet-savvy old lady who sells roadkill skeletons online. It’s creepy, sure, but Snap thinks it’s kind of cool, too.

Snap needs a favor from this old woman, though, so she begins helping Jacks with her strange work. Snap gets to know her and realizes that Jacks may in fact have real magic—and an unlikely connection to Snap’s family’s past.

Kate’s Thoughts

Sometimes people can forget that the Halloween season doesn’t have to be all about the scares! There are plenty of non-scary stories that still feel like they fit in in the season, and “Snapdragon” is one of those stories. Why yes there is a witch and why yes there are bones and skeletons, but this middle grade graphic novel about a girl befriending a rumored witch is a very cozy and charming story about friendship and found family, all with a magical twist.

I thought this was a super cute read, with our intrepid protagonist Snap meeting Jacks, a rumored witch who teaches her about taxidermy and also a little bit of magic. I loved the friendship between Snap and Jacks, as Snap is a LOT and Jacks is very patient. I loved getting to know both of them individually but also through them getting to know each other. I really liked the mentor-mentee relationship, and I liked seeing Snap get to know Jacks and, therein, also getting to know herself AND to learn some things about her family’s past through her friendship with this supposed and friendly witch. The themes of friendship and found family were well presented for the audience, as well as themes of general family love and acceptance and love, whether it’s single mothers doing the best they can, or trans kids finding acceptance from their loved ones as well as their friend circles. You have all these things along with humor and some witchy magic and you have a recipe for a very sweet middle grade fantasy tale!

If you are looking for some adorable witchy fun for your middle grader reader, or even yourself, “Snapdragon” is a breezy and not so spooky choice!

Serena’s Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed this read. Middle grade fiction was never a real favorite of mine, even when I was a middle grader, but I can definitely see the appeal of this book. In many ways, while it covers important and sometimes heavy topics, this is very much a cozy, feel-good fantasy novel. Snap is a fantastic lead character and probably my favorite part of the book. She was simply a fun person to follow through the story!

I also really liked the inclusion of intergenerational relationships. The story focuses on the relationships between many different characters, but this one stood out to me the most as one that we rarely see on the page, let alone in middle grade fiction that is often focused on peer relationships and maybe parents.

That said, I did struggle a bit with this particular art style. I found it rather clunky and difficult to parse facial expressions and other important aspects of the scenes. As a fantasy reader, I also found myself wish there had been a bit more with regards to just how the magic works in this world. I’m all for just going with the flow, but for me, this could have used a bit more fleshing out.

Overall, I think this book would appeal to many middle grade readers. However, if middle grade fiction or graphic novels aren’t your natural wheelhouse, you might feel a bit more disconnected from this one, like I did.

Kate’s Rating 7: A sweet and charming story about being yourself and found family, “Snapdragon” is a nice middle grade novel that could be fun for Halloween reading!

Serena’s Rating 7: A lovely little story that explores themes important to the middle graders while presenting a world of wonder and whimsy.

Book Club Questions

  1. The prompt for this book was “Blasphemous Rumors”, as Jacks has a lot of rumors surrounding her. Can you think of another book or story that has a character with rumors about them that may or may not be true?
  2. What did you think about Snap as a main character?
  3. What were your thoughts on the magical systems in this book? Do you think it was well conceived? Did you need more explanation?
  4. Did you like the artwork and character design in this book?
  5. Were there any side characters that you liked? What was it about them that you enjoyed?
  6. What did you think about Jacks’s backstory and connection to Snap’s family?

Reader’s Advisory

“Snapdragon” is included on the Goodreads lists “Comics for Witches”, and “Witchy Middle Grade & Tween”.

Next Book Club Pick: “Born a Crime” by Trevor Noah

Serena’s Review: “A Season of Monstrous Conceptions”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “A Season of Monstrous Conceptions” by Lina Rather

Publishing Info: Tor, October 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: In 17th-century London, unnatural babies are being born: some with eyes made for the dark, others with webbed fingers and toes better suited to the sea.

Sarah Davis is intimately familiar with such strangeness—she herself was born marked by uncanniness. Having hidden her nature all her life and fled to London under suspicious circumstances, Sarah starts over as a midwife’s apprentice, hoping to carve out for herself an independent life. As a member of the illegal Worshipful Company of Midwives, Sarah learns to reach across the thinning boundary between her world and another, drawing on its power to heal and protect the women she serves.

When the wealthy Lady Wren hires her to see her through her pregnancy, Sarah quickly becomes a favorite of her husband, the famous architect Lord Christopher Wren, whose interest in the uncanny borders on obsession. Sarah soon finds herself caught in a web of magic and intrigue created by those who would use the magic of the Other World to gain power for themselves, and whose pursuits threaten to unmake the earth itself.

Review: As Kate has mentioned in some of her reviews, there’s definitely a current trend regarding horror and fantasy stories tackling motherhood, pregnancy, and birth. Pretty obvious why, given the national debate around the topic! Plus, regardless of contemporary happenings, there is a long history of birth and motherhood that has veered wildly between the mystical and the horrific. This novella tackles the same subject but adds actual monstrosities to the mix!

I really enjoy books like this that blend genres so effectively. Not only do we have the horror and fantasy elements, but the story takes place in an alternate 17th century London. This allowed the story to utilize not only its fantastical elements, that children are being born with monstrous traits, but also its historical time period as commentary on many aspects of human life. And, while I liked the fantasy aspects, I think the historical setting of this book is its real strength. At times, some of the magic and horror of what was actually going on was a bit hand-waved away with very little explanation. This is a novella, so I do understand not wanting to get too in-depth with some of these elements, but there were times that I was left questioning.

On the other hand, the historical setting felt very alive and drove much of the story. I particularly liked the group of midwives who were covertly running their own operation, attempting to record what was going on before the more official agencies got in to cover things up. Obviously, this isn’t really anything like the show “Call the Midwife” but it also did have similar vibes, especially with the cast of women we meet along the way.

I also really liked our main character. As an outsider in many ways, she had a unique perspective on the challenges tackled in this story. Obviously, having monstrous characteristics herself, her investment in the future of these children and the mothers who birth them is very close to her. If anything, the richness of her own story and the interesting and complex world we briefly explored left me a bit disappointed by the short length of this story. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a novella and not always having to commit to a massive tome (especially as a fantasy reader, a genre that is known for its hefty wordcounts!). But I do think that this book is an example of a concept that was limited by its page count, rather than aided. There was just so much here, I wish we had more time to explore it all!

Rating 8: Creepy, but thought-provoking, my primary complaint is that I wanted more of it!

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Season of Monstrous Conceptions” can be found on this Goodreads list: Queer Horror

Serena’s Review: “Night of the Witch”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Night of the Witch” by Sara Raasch and Beth Revis

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Fire, October 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: A witch and a hunter. Vengeance is their mission. Love is their destiny.

Fritzi is a witch. A survivor of a brutal attack on her coven, she’s determined to find her only surviving family member and bring the hexenjägers—zealot witch hunters—to justice for the lives they ended. To do this, she will need to take down their leader—Kommandant Dieter Kirch.

Otto is a hexenjäger and a captain, the second in command to Dieter Kirch—but that’s just his cover. Years ago, the hexenjagers burned his innocent mother alive and since then, he has been planning a move against the witch hunters that tore his family apart. And now the time has come for them to pay for what they’ve done.

When Fritzi and Otto are unexpectedly thrown together, neither is sure they can trust the other, despite their common enemy. But all they have is one another, and they both crave revenge. As truths come to light and trust shifts, Fritzi and Otto uncover a far more horrifying plot at the center of the hexenjäger attacks . . . but their own growing feelings for each other may be the most powerful magic of all.

Review: I was able to meet the authors and snag a signed ARC of this way back at the ALA convention in June. Since then, I’ve been regularly pulling it out and trying to decide how early is too early to start reading a book that doesn’t release until October. But the day finally arrived, and this book, while not exactly what I was expecting, definitely lived up to my wildest dreams!

I don’t know why I had this in my head, but I definitely thought this was going to be a single POV book. Now, reading the book description, it seems pretty obvious that it was not going to be that. Honestly, I probably went in with a more optimistic attitude because of this misconception, as dual POV YA fantasy books rarely really work for me. But I’m happy to always be reminded that there are exceptions to that rule! Here, we see the proper equation to creating a dynamic dual POV book.

First, it starts with voice. It was supremely easy to tell the difference in narrative style between Fritzi and Otto. This doesn’t come down to any quirks in dialect or anything like that, but more the clearly different ways the two characters observe and relate to the world around them. Their senses of humor, levels of cynicism, and the various weights of emotional baggage are clearly different from one another, allowing readers to feel fully immersed both characters’ head.

Second, they each have a distinctive arc from one another, without one over-shadowing the other or their combined arcs turning out to be essentially the same story. Yes, they experience many of the same events, but their motivations, choices, and priorities are very much built up on the many years of life they bring to the current situation, lives that were very different from one another. While they find themselves with common enemies, they each have been coming at the problem from unique perspectives. What’s more, they have very, VERY, different relationships with the players involved, affecting how they each process and respond to certain situations.

Third, they have a joint arc that perfectly ties together their separate story lines and weaves a greater overarching plot line. I really appreciated the slow-burn nature of the romance, with each having to slowly come to trust and rely on the other. It’s never believable when I read these “enemy to lovers” stories where the pair immediately seems to get over whatever made them “enemies” to begin with and then just jump easily to “lovers” with no stumbling blocks of distrust, betrayal, or misunderstanding to be found. Here, these characters must quite naturally, over time, come to understand what makes up the other, and thus grow to love and respect them. It also helps that the “enemy” portion of their storyline is largely built on a misunderstanding, albeit it a natural and, in fact, necessary one. It would be truly hard to buy any story that saw a witch fall in love with an actual witch hunter. Instead, the authors found a clever way of side-stepping the issue while still getting at the juicy drama of it all.

I also am really enjoying this current trend towards Germanic fantasy and folklore. (Spoilers, I’ll be reading another Germanic fantasy here in another few weeks!) This book, specifically, included a lot of references to the historical and religious influences that played a role in the region, as well as a good dose of actual German words and phrases. While much of this was on the periphery of the main story, I appreciated these small touches.

I also liked the magic, fantasy, and witchy-ness of this story. While I was able to guess a few of the major reveals about this magic and the players involved, it was all interesting enough to keep me fully engaged with the story throughout. My one major complaint comes down to the ending of the book. It felt like the story had come to a nice, natural conclusion, leaving us with the rare, unicorn of a stand-alone YA fantasy. But alas, at the very last minute, and I mean very last minute, we get a reveal that effectively undoes this resolution. While I’m happy to return to these characters and this world, I’m not sure this ending actually benefited this book on its own merit.

Rating 8: Stellar! Full of danger, intrigue, and forbidden romance, this is how you do enemies-to-lovers stories right!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Night of the Witch” isn’t on any good Goodreads books, really, but it should be on Witchy YA.

Kate’s Review: “Black River Orchard”

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Book: “Black River Orchard” by Chuck Wendig

Publishing Info: Del Rey, September 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley and an ARC from the publisher at ALAAC23.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: It’s autumn in the town of Harrow, but something else is changing in the town besides the season. Because in that town there is an orchard, and in that orchard, seven most unusual trees. And from those trees grows a new sort of apple: Strange, beautiful, with skin so red it’s nearly black.

Take a bite of one of these apples and you will desire only to devour another. And another. You will become stronger. More vital. More yourself, you will believe. But then your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growing—and become darker.

This is what happens when the townsfolk discover the secret of the orchard. Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples… and what’s the harm, if it is making them all happier, more confident, more powerful? And even if buried in the orchard is something else besides the seeds of this extraordinary tree: a bloody history whose roots reach back the very origins of the town.

But now the leaves are falling. The days grow darker. And a stranger has come to town, a stranger who knows Harrow’s secrets. Because it’s harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with my eARC and ARC!

One of my favorite things to do in Autumn is going to an apple orchard. There are some good ones outside of the Twin Cities if you are willing to drive a bit, and some of my favorite places have not just apples but also Halloween themed attractions and apple themed baked goods. I mean, what’s not to love? I’m also an alum of the U of MN, which is known for apples given that it created species like the Zestar and the Honeycrisp. We know apples here. And I was thinking about all of these things as I read Chuck Wendig’s newest horror novel “Black River Orchard”, which takes the idea of apples and makes them downright evil. So obviously it is the PERFECT read for the Halloween season!!

So yes, this is a big book, like many of Wendig’s books are, but like his previous novels “Black River Orchard” is paced so well and is so addictive that it reads very, very fast. This nearly 700 page books took me maybe four days to finish because if I wasn’t dealing with the day to day responsibilities of my life, I was reading. We have multiple character perspectives and multiple interludes that add context to a complex but well thought out story, and I felt like it all came together really well even though there were so many threads that needed to interlock. I loved the variation in voices that our characters got, whether it’s Dan, the ambitious and increasingly sinister orchard owner, or his daughter Calla who can see him changing after his new Ruby Slipper apple hypnotizes the community, or newcomer Emily whose marriage is teetering on the brink, or John, a mysterious apple enthusiast who has reason to try and find out as much as he can about these mysterious and heavily sought out new apples. All of their perspectives (and more) were well fleshed out and I never found myself bored with a character chapter because they were all interesting to me.

And in terms of the horror elements of this story, Wendig really does earn the comparisons he gets to the likes of Stephen King, in that the horror is creepy and immersive, but there is almost always some hope and humanity there. Seeing the frog in the pot of boiling water scenario as Dan’s new Ruby Slippers start taking over the town, and turning those who eat them into fanatical and sinister shells of their former selves slowly but surely, is deeply unsettling and pulls the tension tight. Wendig takes his time to show how these apples are affecting people, sort of similar to “The Fly” in that it first seems all positive, with ailments being healed and confidence being boosted, but then we start to realize with a few other characters that no, things are going very, very wrong. We get hints of the strangeness in between chunks of the story at hand, whether it’s flashbacks to the town history or weird perspectives from animals on the property, and by the time we get to the big reveal and crux of what is at stake the body horror, groupthink violence, and psychological terror is all there and it is thriving. I was a tension filled mess in the last chapters, worried about how it was all going to shake out. Hell, even in some of the earlier chapters with moments of mere high strangeness I was in need of setting the book down for a bit. There is just something about the description of an apple skin mask that really, really gets under my skin. Wendig can make things like this seem absolutely terrifying!

“Black River Orchard” is another horror triumph from Chuck Wendig! I am always eager to see where his twisty but optimistic mind is going to go next, and this is a must read for the season. Maybe not if you plan to go to an apple orchard. Or maybe especially if you plan to go to an apple orchard!

Rating 9: Creepy as hell with many well conceived plot points that thread together, “Black River Orchard” is another winner from Chuck Wendig!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Black River Orchard” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror to Look Forward to in 2023”!

Serena’s Review: “Bittersweet in the Hollow”

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Book: “Bittersweet in the Hollow” by Kate Pearsall

Publishing Info: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, October 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: In rural Caball Hollow, surrounded by the vast National Forest, the James women serve up more than fried green tomatoes at the Harvest Moon diner, where the family recipes are not the only secrets.

Like her sisters, Linden was born with an unusual ability. She can taste what others are feeling, but this so-called gift soured her relationship with the vexingly attractive Cole Spencer one fateful night a year ago . . . A night when Linden vanished into the depths of the Forest and returned with no memories of what happened, just a litany of questions–and a haze of nightmares that suggest there’s more to her story than simply getting lost.

Now, during the hottest summer on record, another girl in town is gone, and the similarities to last year’s events are striking. Except, this time the missing girl doesn’t make it home, and when her body is discovered, the scene unmistakably spells murder.

As tempers boil over, Linden enlists the help of her sisters to find what’s hiding in the forest . . . before it finds her. But as she starts digging for truth–about the Moth-Winged Man rumored to haunt the Hollow, about her bitter rift with Cole, and even about her family–she must question if some secrets are best left buried.

Review: Somehow I managed to read two Mothman books in the same number of months? And then, even more strangely, I’m the one reviewing them here on the blog even though Kate’s the big Mothman fan of the two of us! Mostly, that’s because I was trying to get in a few of the more spooky but still fantasy YA novels this fall, and I guess Mothman is having a moment, because that’s what we got! While I had some quibbles with “Together We Rot,” I did like it overall, so I was definitely curious to see what another version of the famous cryptid would present!

Unfortunately, this book didn’t quite work for me, but I do think this is largely down to my own personal preferences in reading more than any major flaws in the book itself. I’ll start with what I did like, as always, but fans of contemporary YA thriller/dark fantasy/horror may want to take the rest of it with a grain of salt as well. So, what I liked. Like the other Mothman book, I felt like this one really nailed its sense of place. Not only did the forest feel as if it was almost a character in its own right, but the entire town and region felt very unique as a culture. I also thought the style of writing was very successful with its building tension and pervasive sense of doom. I mean, I obviously have a fairly low bar for creepiness, definitely as compared to true horror fans like Kate, but if you’re looking for low level horror, I think this definitely has it.

As the book started, I felt like I was going to really like it. I was intrigued by Linden and her magical skill of tasting others’ feelings. And, surprising no one, I was very interested in the sister relationships that were being introduced, with each sister having her own abilities and role in the family. I was also intrigued by the romance that was first introduced, with the character of Cole, a young man who used to be closer with Linden before the events of the summer before (also, I just have to say, there’s something odd about the fact that both Mothman books I’ve read now featured very, very similar romance arcs…what’s with that??). Unfortunately, as the story continued, I found myself becoming less and less invested or interested in the book itself.

Many of the characters and relationships that were introduced quickly fell off the page or failed to deliver on the promises hinted at in the early parts of the books. The sisters quickly became hard to differentiate from one another, that is when we saw them at all. The relationship between Cole and Linden also became increasingly inexplicable. Linden spends a lot of time telling the reader that they have all of this beef between them, but their actual interactions on the page sees Cole being pretty much exclusively pleasant and nice to her.

The pacing also begins to drag quite a bit. It takes a long time for the murder to actually happen, or any pieces to the puzzle of Linden’s lost memories to fall into place. What’s more, once Linden supposedly starts trying to piece together this mystery, the clues seem to more fall into her lap that come about due to any actions on her part. And then, after what became painfully slow pacing through out much of the story, the resolution came charging in in the last 50 or so pages, leaving me with a feeling of whiplash when the story ended.

Honestly, while I was reading this book, I spent quite a bit of time setting it down and wondering whether I just really am not a fan of contemporary fantasy/horror. Even now, it’s hard for me to say whether this review comes from legitimate critiques of the story, or whether many of the things that didn’t work well for me are simply staples of the contemporary genre and I just don’t prefer them. I feel like the pacing is definitely a problem area, but my disconnect with the characters could have come down to a dislike for modern, contemporary characters. If you’re a big fan of YA horror/thrillers, this one might be for you, but I do think it’s on the slower side of things.

Rating 7: Definitely has some spooky moments and I appreciated the sense of place established, but the slower pacing and fairly flat characters left me feeling largely disconnected from this story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Bittersweet in the Hollow” can be found on this Goodreads list: YA Releases October 2023

Kate’s Review: “Pre-Approved for Haunting”

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Book: “Pre-Approved for Haunting: And Other Stories” by Patrick Barb

Publishing Info: Keylight Books, September 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: A collection of weird, dark stories and millennial anxieties. In this new collection, Patrick Barb explores themes of family found and lost, media consumption and the dangers of runaway nostalgia, the supernatural in our lives, and the impact of violence in both the long- and short-term. From rural backwoods to Park Slope brownstones, Barb’s characters face impossible, awful situations, testing their inner strength and understanding of reality. Covering quiet horror, weird fiction, supernatural horror, slasher horror, topical dark fiction, and more, these stories spotlight supposedly familiar terrors and fears in new and unexpected ways.

Review: Thank you to Turner Publishing and Keylight Books for sending me an ARC of this collection!

Though I do see myself as an avid horror fan (probably more than avid if we are encompassing all of my pastimes and interests), I am always discovering creators that are new to me, either because they are also new, or more likely because I just haven’t tuned into them yet. It’s always fun to have a new horror author end up in my path, and “Pre-Approved for Haunting: And Other Stories” by Patrick Barb (who is also a local author for us Minnesota people!) is the newest example of that. I had never heard of Barb before, but the description of his works in this collection definitely had my attention from the jump. A short story collection is a great way to get a feel for a new to me author, and I can definitely say that this book is a good example of that. Holy varied works, Batman!

As always with short stories collections, I shall focus on my favorite three stories and then review the collection as a whole.

“Casual”: This was a story pretty early in the collection, and it was the first one to make me say ‘okay, this guy knows what he’s doing’. Talk about a twisted take on a pretty well worn concept! Jack and Lizzie are meeting for the first time in person after meeting online, choosing a quiet bar to get to know each other a little bit… and to do their first dual murder together. From the jump you know that these two young people are here to do something terrible, but it’s written in a way that feels like a cozy meet cute between two people who have similar interests and sparkling chemistry. I really liked the subversion, and how even though you know how it’s going to go you can’t help but kind of like the banter and flirtation as they get to know each other, and feel the poignancy of the end.

“I Will Not Read Your Haunted Script”: As a person who enjoys an urban legend, especially ones that involve haunted Hollywood and cursed movies, this one had a lot going for it out the gate. A screenwriter is sick of people approaching them with supposedly haunted and cursed screenplays, as their own notorious script may or may not have cursed an entire production, leaving them the last person involved alive. But this newest one may be the exception, and not because the writer has any say. I love the construction of this one, being somewhat second person from the screenwriter’s POV, and how it vacillates between a rant with exposition, and bits from a screenplay. I loved the frenzied build up and the absolute bonkers unraveling of it all.

“Iggy Crane and the Headless Horse Girl”: I’m pretty certain this was my favorite in the book, as I love anything related to “Sleepy Hollow” and I REALLY loved the way that Barb updated it and made it fit into a modern framework. Iggy Crane is the new riding instructor at the prestigious Sleepy Hollow Girls’ Preparatory Academy. She is drawn to headmistress Cat Van Tussel, but finds some of her students, specifically the Bones Girls Clique, difficult. And when she sees a viral video involving a girl who pretends to be a horse, things get all the stranger. I really, really loved this story, and how Barb takes the ideas of superstition and lore and translates it into viral videos and idle gossip. It feels like “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” without trying too hard, and I adored how it all lines up with the original tale while still being pretty novel and unique.

As for the collection as a whole, it was probably pretty evenly distributed between the three I loved, then the ones that were pretty good, okay, and not really for me. I did like the overall unease of these tales, and I definitely see the tweaked and twisted take on certain aspects of Millennial nostalgia in a good number of them (I’m specifically thinking of “The Other Half of the Battle”, which, without giving too much away, was making me flashback to both the ‘Pork Chop Sandwiches!’ meme and my G.I. Joe sleeping bag from when I was but a child. MAN did that tap into multiple layers of nostalgia memories). A few were a little much for my triggers and horror boundaries, so it’s probably a good idea to know what your triggers are and know that there will probably be a few content warnings that would be good to be aware of (child harm, some body horror aspects, some gendered horror but not in an exploitative way). At the end of the day there is variety here and it touches upon multiple genres, multiple tones, and multiple entry points for horror fans of all types.

“Pre-Approved for Haunting” is a weird and sometimes nasty collection that is a good introduction to an author I was unfamiliar with. I will be looking for more from Patrick Barb in the future.

Rating 7: A varied and macabre collection of horror stories for many different horror tastes, “Pre-Approved for Haunting: And Other Stories” is a spooky and at times terrifying treat.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Pre-Approved for Haunting: And Other Stories” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of yet, but it would fit in on “Best Dark Fiction Short Story Collections”.