Month: October 2024

Kate’s Review: “It Will Only Hurt For A Moment”

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Book: “It Will Only Hurt For A Moment” by Delilah S. Dawson

Publishing Info: Del Rey, October 2024

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley.

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

Book Description: In this highly atmospheric thriller from the Bram Stoker Award–nominated author of The Violence, a young woman hopes to reinvent herself at an isolated artists’ colony . . . only to be drawn into its dark, twisted past.

Sarah Carpenter is starting over. She’s on the run—leaving behind her unsupportive, narcissistic ex-boyfriend and alcoholic, abusive mother—and headed for a new beginning at Tranquil Falls, a secluded artists’ colony on the grounds of a closed hotel. There, with no cell signal or internet to distract her, she hopes to rediscover her love for pottery and put the broken pieces of her life back together.

But when Sarah uncovers the body of a young woman while digging a hole for a pit kiln, things start to fall apart. Her fellow artists begin to act in troubling ways. The eccentric fiber artist knits an endless scarf. The musician plays the same carousel song over and over until his fingers bleed. The calligrapher grins with ink-stained teeth. Not to mention the haunting dreams Sarah has night after night.

When she discovers glass shards in her clay, Sarah wonders if someone is out to get her—or if she’s losing her grip on reality out here in the wilds, where the pounding of the waterfall never, ever fades. As she investigates the beautiful valley and the crumbling resort looming over them all, she unearths a chilling past that refuses to remain buried . . .

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel!

I gotta say, this Halloween season went by way too fast. I had a Halloween party this past weekend and a number of my friends and I were lamenting that October went by so fast, especially since the election is next week and none of us feel totally ready to see how that is going to shake out. Hell, my anxieties about that has plagued me pretty much all year, no doubt contributing to my near mental breakdown this past summer, some health problems, and the fact that I am SO behind on my reading as we enter the last two months of the year. But the horror I’ve read this month as been great, and I am SO thrilled to end my favorite month with Delilah S. Dawson’s newest novel “It Will Only Hurt for a Moment”. I loved her book “The Violence”, and this new one sounded like a perfect Halloween read. And it definitely scratched not only the scary itch, but also the dread that I’ve been feeling as of late thanks to the pulsing feminine rage this book has. Because same, girl.

Actual footage of me the past month. Months. Years.. (source)

As a horror novel it ticks a lot of the boxes that I really enjoy. Is there an isolated setting? Check. Is there a dark history to said isolated setting? Check. Is there a wide swath of strange characters who could be hiding something? Check. Are there ghosts? Big ol’ check. We follow Sarah, an artist who has been selected to join an artist’s colony/program located in the woods and at the site of an old fancy hotel, who just wants to be able to process some trauma by delving into pottery and having some self reflection time. But her fellow artists start acting strange, she starts having bad dreams, and she finds a long buried corpse that went unnoticed, and who appears to have tried to claw her way out of her coffin. I really enjoyed the way that Dawson slowly pieces together the mystery and slowly turns the dial of tension up so that the scares build and creep up slowly until they burst. The descriptions of the weird things that her fellow artists were doing, or the strange dreams that she was experiencing, were strange and surreal and unnerving to be sure.

But what worked best for me in this was the way that Dawson compares and contrasts the kinds of misogyny and abuse that women have had to contend with throughout history to that which they have to contend with today, peeling back insidious ways that the treatments have, in some ways, become more insidious and clandestine. In the modern time Sarah is reeling from the end of a long term relationship with her boyfriend Kyle, who she had come to realize was manipulative and emotionally abusive towards her. As she looks back at the relationship she sees the way he’s isolate her, how he’s denigrate her interests and separate her from her circle of friends, how he made sure that she was always dependent on him and felt the need to put him before herself. As she starts to learn the dark secrets of Tranquil Falls, and the history of the site and the way that women there were trapped within the confines of the era in which it was at its height, we find out horrors of women who were discarded, silenced, abused, and locked away for treading outside the expectations of their gender. There are some VERY upsetting moments portrayed in this book that could definitely be triggering for some people, so take that into account. But the rage and the fighting back that Sarah does, and the ghosts of the women who were subjected to such madness and violence make their rage and resistance known as well. I found it to both amplify my very present anxieties regarding next week, but to also give it a catharsis in some ways. Shitty men rarely get away with their shittiness in a Delilah S. Dawson novel, and I, for one, really needed to see that play out. Even if it terrified me at times and set me on edge.

“It Will Only Hurt For a Moment” is another stellar horror novel from Delilah S. Dawson, brimming with secrets and understandable anger. It’s not too late to pick it up for one last horror tale for the season.

And with that, Horrorpalooza comes to an end once more. And it feels like the right read to end with this year. I’m still feeling so much dread and terror about how next week’s election is going to go. But it’s good to see that there are other people who are making art to reflect similar feelings. Happy Halloween everyone. I hope that you all have a safe and fun and spooky holiday tonight. I hope that I can leave my personal terrors behind and it stays limited to this most wonderful holiday.

Rating 8: Filled with an eerie build up and many bursts of feminine rage, “It Will Only Hurt for a Moment” is a seething horror novel about misogyny, both old and new.

Reader’s Advisory:

“It Will Only Hurt for a Moment” is included on the Goodreads list “October 2024 Horror”.

Serena’s Review: “Blood Over Bright Haven”

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Book: “Blood Over Bright Haven” by M.L. Want

Publishing Info: Del Rey, October 2024

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

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

Book Description: An orphan since the age of four, Sciona has always had more to prove than her fellow students. For twenty years, she has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry. When she finally claws her way up the ranks to become a highmage, however, she finds that her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues will stop at nothing to let her know she is unwelcome, beginning with giving her a janitor instead of a qualified lab assistant.

What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was once more than a janitor; before he mopped floors for the mages, Thomil was a nomadic hunter from beyond Tiran’s magical barrier. Ten years have passed since he survived the perilous crossing that killed his family. But working for a highmage, he sees the opportunity to finally understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the Tiranish in power.

Through their fractious relationship, mage and outsider uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first. Sciona has defined her life by the pursuit of truth, but how much is one truth worth with the fate of civilization in the balance?

Review: I haven’t gotten around to reading it, but I can’t count the number of times I’ve had the book “The Sword of Kaigen” pop up as a recommended title. So much so that I went ahead and ordered a copy through the recent Kickstarter that was live recently even though I still haven’t read it! All of this to say, I was very excited when I found an ARC of this title at ALA and immediately scheduled it down as one to review this fall. Let’s dive in!

As I said, it’s been unavoidable to not hear all of the praises sung for Wang’s previous novel. This left me with quite a high bar of expectation going into this one, and I’m happy to say that it largely lived up to this! So many aspects of this book were masterfully done, from the gaslamp/dark academia world-building, to the deep characterization of our two main characters, to the careful and thorough exploration of themes of misogyny, prejudice, ambition, and the careful balance between one’s intentions and the corresponding results.

As characters are always at the forefront for me, let’s start there. I really enjoyed both of our main POV characters. Sciona’s story, however, stood out. She begins as what I have to believe is an intentionally unlikable character, full of ambition and self-interest. Given the barriers that have been placed before her, however, it’s also easy to see how she has become the person she is. To succeed, she has had to “buy in” more fully than any of her peers, face added challenges, and constantly push through the prejudices of those around her. In doing so, she has needed to fully entrench herself in the culture into which she is trying to make headway. As her story unfolds, and she discovers more about her world, we see her grapple with the shocking revelations buried beneath much of her existence.

The story also grapples with many challenging topics. I was especially impressed with how carefully and thoroughly these themes were explored. Nothing was presented on a platter to the reader with a simple platitude or a bright arrow pointing towards “THE RIGHT WAY.” Instead, the book presents situations and conflicts, from the practical to the more abstract, and lets the reader, alongside the characters, struggle with the morality of it all. How far does one’s intentions take you when the results are bad? Or the opposite?

By the time we get to the end, I was deep in all of the feelings. As is expected, given the themes, the story goes to some dark places and there are no easy answers to be found here. However, I also can’t say that it doesn’t resolve in a way that felt earned and also necessary. Overall, I thought this was an excellent read and I’m excited to check out the author’s previous book when I finally get my hands on a copy!

Rating 8: Detailed world-building, intricate character work, and a thorough exploration of difficult but important themes all cement Wang’s place as a fantasy author to keep one’s eye on!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Blood Over Bright Haven” can be found on this Goodreads list: 2024 Dark Academia Releases

Kate’s Review: “All The Hearts You Eat”

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

Book: “All The Hearts You Eat” by Hailey Piper

Publishing Info: Titan Books, October 2024

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley.

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

Book Description: A visceral and heartbreaking work of gothic horror about small town mysteries, local folklore and the things we leave behind when we’re gone, from the Bram Stoker Award winning author of Queen of Teeth.

What really happened to Cabrina Brite?

Ivory’s life changes irrevocably when she discovers the body of Cabrina Brite on the sands of Cape Morning, along with a mysterious poem. How did she die, and why does it seem she was trying to swim to Ghost Cat Island, the centre of so many local mysteries?

Desperate to uncover the answers surrounding Cabrina’s death, and haunted by her discovery, Ivory begins to see the pale ghost of Cabrina, only to shake it off as a mere hallucination. But Ivory is not alone. Cabrina’s closest friends have also seen a similar apparition, and as they toy with occult possibilities, they begin to unravel the truth behind Cabrina’s death.

Because Cape Morning isn’t a ghost town, but a town filled with ghosts, and Ivory is about to discover just what happens when you let one in.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel!

We have truly been blessed this past year or so with some great vampire horror. I feel like I’ve read, reviewed, and enjoyed more vampire horror lately than in years past, and I have another title for you to add to the collection of solid vampire lore. I hadn’t read any Hailey Piper before I picked up “All The Hearts You Eat”, though she had been on my radar for a bit with lots of horror people I like really singing her praises. And it seemed this would be the perfect moment to do so.

So first off I want to talk about the vampire mythos in this. I really liked the way that Piper takes it on a creates something super creative and haunting. I was reminded quite a bit of old school vampire legends with transmogrifying powers, but also the heavy air of melancholy and dread that was seen in “Midnight Mass”. I don’t want to give too much away, but the little snippets and glimpses of something supernatural that our characters see are creepy, as are some of the full fledged reveals of what the vampires look like and how they function is so different from what we tend to see in vampire stories as of late. Themes of transformation are abundant, and I really appreciated this take and the scary beats and moments Piper pulls from it all. And the language the Piper uses to describe not only the scary bits but also just the entire atmosphere was so vibrant and rich I was totally swept away by it, like on a wave to Ghost Cat Island.

But what really resonated most with me in this story is how Piper juxtaposes the common emotional themes we see in a vampire story, such as identity, transformation, loneliness, and isolation, with stories of multiple trans characters, whether it’s Cabrina Bright who lost her life and left behind her queer and trans friends (as well as her cold and transphobic politician mother), said friends Xi and Rex who had very different experiences than their now deceased friend when it comes to their queerness and the people who support them, and Ivory, a trans woman who finds Cabrina’s body and is suddenly and understandably obsessed with finding out what happened to the dead girl, and stumbling into some darkness that she never could have anticipated… and wonders if embracing it could possibly be a better reality than the one she is living. Piper fleshes out all of these characters, including Cabrina through her diary, and I felt like I wholly understood all of them and how their trans identities shape the story and their arcs, and how it makes the longing that so many vampires in romanticism laden stories isn’t so hard to understand for these characters because of their gender identities. I found it very bittersweet, but also hopeful in the way it depicts finding the people who make you feel loved and wanted and like you belong.

“All The Hearts You Eat” is a unique vampire story that I greatly enjoyed. It’s time for me to dig into more stories by Hailey Piper.

Rating 8: An eerie and bittersweet vampire tale that takes on identity, transformation, and loneliness in ways that moved me deeply.

Reader’s Advisory:

“All the Hearts You Eat” is included on the Goodreads lists “Queer Horror”, and “2024 Transfem Books”.

Not Just Books: October 2024

While we do love us some books, believe it not, we do have a life outside of reading. So to highlight our other pop culture interests, on the last Monday of each month, we each will highlight three other “happenings” from the last month. Big events on favorite TV shows, new movies we’ve watched, old movies we’ve “discovered,” etc. Pretty much whatever we found of particular interest outside of the book world during the last month. Share your own favorite things in the comments!

Serena’s Picks

TV Show: “The Tourist”

I had to admit, I have had a similar reaction/timeline to Jamie Dornan as I’ve had for Robert Pattinson. Both made the mistake (as far as I’m concerned, and perhaps as far as their careers are concerned) with involving themselves with “Twilight” and “Twilight” fanfic movies, and thus neatly slotted into the “not serious actors” category in my head. More fool me, however, as I’ve now watched several things with both actors and enjoy both of their acting quite a lot! I watched this show on a bit of a whim and not only did I enjoy it, but I’ve also mentally slotted it in as a show to re-watch with my mom when she visits as I think its action-packed, wacky story is just the sort of thing she’d enjoy! And I like it well enough to want to watch it again!

AppleTV Movie: “Wolfs”

I am the audience member who proves movie producers right: yes, I will watch your movie based only on the fact that you cast George Clooney and Brad Pitt together again in a thriller/comedy movie! The story follows two “clean up” guys who end up having to worth together and many shenanigans ensue. It’s a fairly simple concept and it’s not subtle about the fact that it’s almost purely relying on Clooney and Pitt to sell the entire thing. But that’s why they are A list stars! They can, in fact, single-handedly carry a fairly simple movie on their backs! It was funny, action-packed, and made the wise decision to not fall into the numerous “low hanging fruit” traps that were presented throughout. Instead, it didn’t try to be more than it was and was all the better for it!

TV Show: “The Great British Baking Show”

Yep, it’s that time of year again! I feature this show every fall and I probably will for the foreseeable future, or until they cancel the show (how DARE you even suggest it!). As usual, my husband and I picked our top two choices for who will win. Luckily for me, one of his picks crashed and burned on the third episode, so the odds are currently in my favor. That said, this entire batch seems incredibly strong, and there are a few dark horse candidates that were definitely off our radar in the first episode when we were picking. The start up of this show also happens to coincide with my youngest’s birthday every year, which often serves as a stark reminder that yes, baking actually is that hard when we try to make his birthday cake. (See: our failed attempts at both caramel and raspberry coulis, both of which my husband is attempting re-make as I type this.)

Kate’s Picks

Film: “Woman of the Hour”

One of the more disturbing serial killer stories from the 20th Century, to me, is that of Rodney Alcala, aka ‘The Dating Game Killer’, who was murdering women and girls for decades and also happened to appear on the gameshow “The Dating Game” in a creepy twist of fate. So when I saw that Anna Kendrick was not only starring in but also directing a film about Alcala and his infamous appearance, I was very interested to check it out. Kendrick plays the woman who chose Alacala as her winning bachelor after appearing on the show, and as we see her story unfold we also see snippets from a few of the murders he committed and how he manipulated women, but also evaded authorities for reasons that are absolutely rage inducing. I will say that the film isn’t SUPER accurate, as it takes a lot of liberties with various aspects of the narrative to make it more thriller like. But that didn’t really matter to me as I was watching because the changes that WERE made didn’t feel disrespectful towards his victims, and they were more to really hit home the fact that this monster was able to get away with seven confirmed murders (but true numbers could be as high as 130!) because of misogyny and a culture that is more interested in writing women off as hysterical or mistaken. It’s a solid directorial debut from Kendrick for sure!

Film: “Smile 2”

What better way for our Terror Tuesday crew to make a successful Alamo Drafthouse return (after our local franchised one closed for the summer before being absorbed by the parent company, it was a whole thing) than to pick the sequel to the movie that really messed us up? Yep, we went and saw “Smile 2”, and it was JUST AS FUCKED as the first one! It basically asks ‘what if the Smile Demon wanted to go on the Eras Tour?’ Skye Riley is a pop superstar who is starting a huge world tour, her first one after a horrific accident turned her life upside down. But when she goes to her dealer to get a fix, he commits a brutal suicide in front of her, and shortly after he smiles at her in a demonic sort of way. Now Skye is seeing that horrible smile everywhere, and feels like her life is falling apart as this demon gets more and more into her head. I WILL say that the end didn’t quite work for me, but overall I found this sequel to be fun, creepy, and a great Halloween movie!

Concept Album: “Warriors”

One of my favorite movies is the late 70s cult masterpiece “The Warriors”, an action movie about a gang from Coney Island having to make their way back home from the Bronx after they are falsely accused of assassinating a well respected gang leader named Cyrus. It’s campy and brutal and sometimes goofy and SO fun, and when I heard that Lin Manuel Miranda made a concept album musical based on this movie I WAS SO STOKED. And yeah, it’s a really fun reimagining of the film, with gender bent characters, a complex and catchy soundtrack, throwbacks to the film, and a whole new take on the story. I really enjoy Miranda’s musical style and it really fits with the story, and having the main characters be women instead of men is a pretty great change. It also highly improves the romance between Swan and Mercy, which I was VERY happy about, and on top of that there are cameos from a couple of the actors from the movie (James Remar and David Patrick Kelly specifically, two standouts) as corrupt cops. I really loved it.

Serena’s Review: “Bloodguard”

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

Book: “Bloodguard” by Cecy Robson

Publishing Info: Red Tower Books, October 2024

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

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

Book Description: One hundred years. Tens of thousands of gladiators. And today, only one will rise…

Everything in the Kingdom of Arrow is a lie.

Leith of Grey thought coming to this new land and volunteering to fight in the gladiator arena—vicious, bloodthirsty tournaments where only the strongest survive—would earn him enough gold to save his dying sister. He thought there was nothing left to lose.

He was wrong—and they took everything. His hope. His freedom. His very humanity.

All Leith has left is his battle-scarred body, fueled by rage and hardened from years of fighting for the right to live another day.

Then Leith meets Maeve, an elven royal who is everything he despises. Everything he should hate. Until the alluring princess offers him the one thing he needs most: a chance to win the coveted title of Bloodguard—and his freedom.

But in a kingdom built on secrets and lies, hope doesn’t come cheap.

Nor will his ultimate revenge…

Review: While I think it’s clear now that I often tend to gravitate towards book told from a female POV, I always like to check out titles that present from a man’s perspective. It’s even more rare to find a book that focuses on a male POV in the romantasy genre, so I was excited to read this book when it was offered for review!

Since I already brought up POV characters, I maybe shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was to find out that Leith does in fact share page time with Maeve who has her own perspective chapters. While I didn’t have a problem with either individual on their own, I still do think it would have been an interesting choice to remain in Leith’s head the entire time. Especially in a romantasy title!

This book was a bit of a mixed bag, however, as I continued to read. It’s biggest strength is in its action and in some of the dialogue. The book starts off with a bang, throwing Leith right into the gladiator action, fighting for his life. Whenever the plot called for action scenes like this, I found myself immediately more drawn in. The writing style was at its best in these moments, propelling the story forward at a relentless pace that, at times, reminded me of Pierce Brown’s writing style (high praise indeed, as I love Brown’s books!). The dialogue was also a strong suit. Not only did it read naturally (this feels like it should be a given for novels, but so often it is not), but there were also some very funny exchanges.

However, when the story slowed down from the action scenes, I did find myself struggling to piece together how everything worked in this world. Maybe I was just missing things, but it was unclear to me how Leith had been a gladiator for as long as he had been, but hadn’t died or moved up the tattoo-based ranking system. It was explained several times that fighters won elements of their tattoo by winning matches, but then only one grizzled veteran had any tattoo piece at all. So did everyone just die in their very first fight all the time? And how has Leith been fighting for as long as he has, but starts without any tattoos? Are there lesser fights they do most of the time? I don’t know. I could have missed things, but for as often as it was talked about, I struggled to piece it all together.

Some of Maive’s plotting and scheming similarly suffered. For all that the action is written so well, the story structure itself felt pieced together, with characters making decisions rather randomly. There were also clunky descriptive bits when the story was languishing between dialogue and action. It was odd, because there are lines of dialogue that I still remember now as being funny. But there are also lines of text that I still remember now as cringe-worthy.

That said, I do think the author has a lot of potential. And the strength of the idea and action-oriented writing make it well worth checking out if you’re a romantasy reader looking for something that feels completely unique from the current trends.

Rating 7: The writing would shine one moment and then feel awkwardly formed at another, which lead to a rather jarring reading experience. But I’ll still check out what’s next!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Bloodguard” isn’t on any relevant Goodreads lists, but it should be on Gladiators.

Serena’s Review: “Pride and Prejudice in Space”

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

Book: “Pride and Prejudice in Space” by Alexis Lampley

Publishing Info: Union Square & Co, October 2024

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

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

Book Description: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is arguably the forerunner of all romantic comedies and certainly one of her most popular and irreverent works. And now, graphic designer and Nerdy Ink co-owner—and obsessive fan of Pride and Prejudice—Alexis Lampley gives this timeless, classic, Regency-era romance a new twist, setting it among the stars in a futuristic universe where spaceships and interplanetary travel is the daily norm. Featuring 50+ color illustrations of the Londinium Lunar System, drawings of gowns by Lydia Bennet, and spaceship designs by Elizabeth Bennet, this is a futuristic take on a classic by a dedicated Jane Austen fan, for Austen newbies and super-fans alike.

Review: While I have to draw the line somewhere (usually around the realm of contemporary romance), I try to read as many Jane Austen re-tellings as I can! This one had immediate appeal as it combined both a “Pride and Prejudice” re-telling with science fiction, one of my favorite genres! There was also the promise of beautiful illustrations to spur me forward!

There was a lot to like about this book! However, I do think that readers might not be properly prepped for the sort of story this is meant to me. When I first picked it up, I was expecting a loose re-telling in which the main characters and plot are the same, but the story itself is written over again in a wholly original manner. Instead, this falls much more in line with re-tellings like “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” where the majority of the text is directly pulled from the original book. Now, the original book is obviously brilliant, and once I understood what we were doing, it was fine. But I do think some readers may be surprised to find themselves largely reading the original version of “Pride and Prejudice” all over again with a few tweaks here and there. Some of those tweaks, of course, were fairly straightforward changes. Instead of travelling by carriages, they would trap in space ships. The villages were not towns, but different planets and moons. There was also a very useful map included in the beginning which really helped with this new layout.

However, the book diverged further from the original novel by including chapters from other characters’ perspectives (like Jane’s) as well as various communications between characters (texts and emails and such). I think, overall, the latter was more successful than the former. With the messages and communications of that sort, the style was clearly different from the novel portions, so the change in language served to enhance the added information we were getting. However, when the book would switch from Jane Austen’s original text to a wholly original chapter from Jane’s perspective, for example, it was a bit jarring to mentally switch over. The author makes a strong attempt, but doesn’t quite capture the same tone as Austen’s writing, making these switches feel a bit clunky. They also felt largely unnecessary. This is, perhaps, one of those situations where less is more, and the book would have been better served to remain largely as a slightly adjusted re-imagining of the original, with the addition of the epistolary sections for extra flair and insight.

The unfortunate thing about reading this book in its ARC format was that I was cruelly teased with regards to the art. The cover, of course, is fantastic. And as I was reading, there were numerous spreads of art throughout. Unfortunately, this was all in greyscale, so I wasn’t able to fully appreciate what I’m sure were excellent pieces of art.

Overall, I thought this was a very fun re-telling of the classic tale. I do wish that it had perhaps committed a bit more fully one way or the other. Either, remain using mostly only the original language with only little flairs of unique text here and there. Or re-write the entire thing in the author’s own words. As it is, the story was a bit clunky and broken up at times switching between the two. However, fans of Jane Austen who are looking for a new version of this story should definitely give it a go!

Rating 8: Who knew that what we really needed was a version of “Pride and Prejudice” where Darcy and Elizabeth whizz around in space ships?? Well, we did, and this was great fun all around!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Pride and Prejudice in Space” isn’t on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on “Pride and Prejudice Retellings.”

Kate’s Review: “The Demon”

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

Book: “The Demon” by Victory Witherkeigh

Publishing Info: BookBaby, October 2024

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC via NetGalley from the publicist.

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

Review: Thank you to Books Forward for sending me an eARC of this novel via NetGalley!

I can’t believe that we are about two thirds of the way through October already. We’ve tackled a few sub genres this Horrorpalooza, from vampires, to ghosts, to serial killers, to the apocalypse, and now we are taking on another popular horror trope: demonic possession. It’s not a trope that I read that much, but if there is a generally tantalizing hook with a story I will give it a go, and “The Demon” by Victory Witherkeigh has that hook: A creature called the Demon has recently possessed the body of the Girl, but cannot remember why it has done so, and now has to figure out what it’s mission is, while also dealing with a true human horror: freshman year of college.

The horror… the horror… (source)

It was a roll of the dice, as it’s a sub genre I’m wary of and it was a book I hadn’t heard of, but that hook, man. I couldn’t pass it up. And the hook was everything I wanted it to be! There were other aspects, however, that didn’t work as well.

First thing I will do is talk about what I did like about this book, and that is the fact that the premise is strong as hell and that a lot of the time we got some really solid moments with this premise in mind. I have always loved a story about an otherworldly being taking on the body/identity of a human and having to learn to live like a human, from Jeff Bridges in “Starman” to the demi goddess character Illyria on the show “Angel” (absolutely rotten than the show was cancelled so shortly after her character debut; I just loved her). So I absolutely loved the way that The Demon is having to not only adjust to living in a human body, but also having to maneuver through college of all things. So many great moments happened with this concept, whether it was the Demon dealing with roommates, student groups, or having to get a prescription for birth control. I also liked seeing the Demon make connections with other humans, be they awkward and romantic, or gentle and familial with one of the few actually okay people in The Girl’s family, namely her grandmother. All of these beats worked really well for me, being a huge sucker for this kind of trope. I also liked the way that Witherkeigh addresses themes like colonialism of the Philippines and racism that comes with that.

On the flip side, I wasn’t aware that “The Demon” was a sequel to another book called “The Girl” until I had started reading it and began to wonder if I was missing some context due to how much info wasn’t really established. Since I hadn’t read the first one in the series, I was definitely missing some context as to the Demon’s motivations, her relationship with Death, and the ins and outs of The Girl’s family and her relationships and their motivations. It was like diving into a story starting in the middle, and that made things confusing. Admittedly this isn’t really the fault of the book as the assumption would obviously be that I WOULD have that context, but in this situation I didn’t. So that isn’t necessarily a ding on the story as a whole, but it did affect my personal experience with it. The other thing was that at times this book did feel a little meandering and unfocused, with a structure that felt a bit like a set of vignettes that had a thread through that could have been stronger and more taut.

So this was a bit of a unique situation and I don’t know if I can fully review “The Demon” as I didn’t approach it with the context that is assumed to be had by a reader. But I did really enjoy the moments of a fish out of water as the Demon tries to survive college.

Rating 6: A really cool premise with some really fun moments, but I definitely missed some context and some of it felt unfocused.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Demon” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on the list “Demonic Possession”.

Serena’s Review: “The Last Dragon of the East”

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Book: “The Last Dragon of the East” by Katrina Kwan

Publishing Info: S&S/Saga Press, October 2024

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

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

Book Description: At the spry young age of twenty-five, Sai has led a quiet life, keeping the family teahouse up and running—even if that means ignoring the past-due notices—and taking care of his ailing mother. But he has a not-so-secret gift that he’s parlayed into a side career: he was born with the ability see the red threads of fate between soulmates, which lends itself nicely to matchmaking. Sai has thus far been content not to follow his own thread, the only one he’s ever seen that’s gray and fraying.

But Sai’s ordinary existence is about to be turned upside-down by a pair of shining dragon scales. When his mother’s doctor sells them to him, claiming them as a miracle cure, Sai is pretty sure he’s being scammed. When the medicine actually works—and the terrifying, ruthless emperor catches wind—Sai is thrust into the search for a dragon long thought extinct that will lead him into the throes of a brewing war and deep into foreign lands, facing down challenges both magical and mortal on an unexpected adventure. And for the very first time, as his own thread of fate begins to move, he may be able to solve the mystery of his Fated One on the other end of the line.

Review: I was very interested in checking this one out when the publisher reached out about a potential review. For one thing, it’s rare that I see fantasy titles like this that are centered from the man’s perspective (I typically prefer a female POV, but some of my favorite books are from male POVs, too!). For another, I’ve read a few other stories that explored the concept of the red thread of fate, and I was curious to see how this author would tackle this topic. Plus, you know…dragons.

Overall, there was a lot to like about this one! As I’m often primarily a character reader, I’ll start with our main characters themselves. Sai was an excellent POV character, with all the charm and laughs that one could want. Yes, this did the tone of his narration did sit awkward with some of the more gruesome and gory descriptive moments. But on its own, he was a fun main character to follow. I also enjoyed the juxtaposition of his more light-hearted character type against the female love interest, Jyn’s, more stoic personality. It was a nice switch-up to the typical roles we often seen in romantic pairings like this. I perhaps wished there had been a bit more character exploration given to this character, but as the story picked up towards the latter half of the book, the character arcs took a bit of a back seat to the lore and romance anyways.

I don’t want to go into any spoilers here, but I very much enjoyed the dragon aspects of this story. I’m not sure what I really had in mind, but the story definitely took a few twists that I wasn’t expecting. Once I realized what was going on, I was definitely all in. However, again, even here I wish that the story had lingered a bit longer over this history and how it affected our characters. Much of the plot gets stuck in an escape adventure which starts to overshadow some of these details. And while exciting enough on its own, the dragon history was incredibly compelling, and I think the book would have been better served to just fully lean in on that part.

This was a fun, fast read! I think fans of adventure fantasy will definitely enjoy this, though the romance does play a prominent role (which I, for one, very much liked) towards the second half of the book. I’ll definitely look forward to whatever this author comes out with next!

Rating 8: An excellent exploration of Chines mythology and dragon lore, one that will likely appeal to many adventure fantasy fans!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Last Dragon of the East” can be found on these Goodreads lists: East Asian Fantasy and Asian Mythology Inspired Books.

Kate’s Review: “Night of the Grizzlies”

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Book: “Night of the Grizzlies” by Jack Olsen

Publishing Info: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, June 1969

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it on Audiobook.

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

Book Description: Jack Olsen’s true account, traces the causes of the tragic night in August 1967 when two separate and unrelated campers, a distance apart, were savagely mangled and killed by enraged bears. 

Review: Given that I have tried to read more non-fiction this year, I thought that it could be fun to devote one day of Horrorpalooza to a horror story that is true. After all, true stories can be scarier than fictional ones, and while I didn’t really want to do a true crime story for Halloween as it seemed a LITTLE ghoulish, I was inspired by the Tooth and Claw Podcast to instead do a book about the horrors of nature. I decided to go with “Night of the Grizzlies” by Jack Olsen, which is the story of two horrifying grizzly bear attacks in 1967 in Glacier National Park, in which two women were brutally killed by two separate bears in two separate incidents on the same night. It’s probably one of the more well known American animal attack stories, and certainly one of the most well known when it comes to grizzly bears, and it had been on my list for a long time. After listening to the Tooth and Claw episode about the attacks, I decided that the time to read it had come.

“Night of the Grizzlies” is very straight forward in its narrative, telling the story of the two grizzly attacks in Glacier National Park in that one evening, starting with bear incidents that went generally ignored in the park in the weeks leading up to it, and then focusing on the night of the attacks itself, ending with the aftermath. We follow different people and the roles that they play, from naturalists who work for the park to other visitors to the Chalet to park rangers to the victims themselves. Olsen isn’t particularly sensational with his language and storytelling, though he does make the story very easy to read and incredibly gripping. I knew the story going in, but still found it engaging and suspenseful. I liked how he would follow different characters and give us their backgrounds, and I felt like I got to know them without him making any assumptions or taking liberties in their stories. It’s written in a way that is very narrative non-fiction, and it was a quick read that kept at a brisk pace. The stories of the two women killed by these bears are deeply upsetting at their core, as their deaths were shocking, violent, and probably due to the way that the park would throw garbage out for the grizzlies to feed them, which made the bears not only unafraid of humans, but also associating humans with food sources. I also appreciated that before we even get to that story, Olsen gives a lot of straight up facts about grizzly bears not only in Glacier, but in the United States, and the history of them being encroached upon by huge throngs of humans as colonizers moved west and started to spend more and more time in their habitats without having any clue on how to do so safely.

But something to keep in mind about this book is that it is almost sixty years old, and therefore it’s a BIT out of date when it comes to the facts about nature, bear behavior, and other scientific things. There is also some outdated language, and I ALSO felt that Olsen may have been a little harsh on the National Park Service as a whole when it seems like Glacier’s lax policies about bears and feeding bears garbage were a Glacier problem versus the Park Service as a whole. Definitely don’t let bears eat garbage, people. And I will say that that the National Parks do a GREAT job of being informative about the fauna in the parks and how to be safe around them. This is really just a matter of reflecting the time that it was written, and should be absorbed with that in mind. AND ALSO, Olsen sure seems convinced that the rangers killed both bears responsible for the attacks, but I am NOT in agreement based on what we know now about bear behavior and even based on what they found out about the bear after its death. But still, I did find myself thinking perhaps an updated edition could be good, though the demand is probably not exactly clamoring for that…

All in all I found “Night of the Grizzlies” to be absolutely harrowing, interesting, and a scary true story that just solidifies my ‘no thanks’ approach to camping. I’m glad I finally read it!

Rating 7: A gripping and straightforward timeline of the infamous bear attacks at Glacier National Park that changed ideas about the grizzlies there, “Night of the Grizzlies” is well done, thought also a bit outdated.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Night of the Grizzlies” isn’t on any relevant Goodreads lists (the one I found was a general ‘bears’ list and had the likes of “Little Bear” and “The Berenstain Bears”), but it would fit in on “Animal Attacks”.

Another Take: Fall 2024

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

Don’t just take it from us, other readers like these books, too! And we have decided that we would like to showcase other reviewers and bloggers that have their own thoughts and feelings about books that we have loved. Here are a few of the books we’ve enjoyed recently and what other bloggers have to say about them.

Book: “Letters to the Purple Satin Killer” by Joshua Chaplinksy

Book Description: Jonas Williker is considered one of the most sadistic serial murderers of the modern era. This epistolary novel explores the aftermath of his arrest and the psychological trauma of those who lived through it. The Pennsylvania native brutalized his way into the zeitgeist during the early part of the new millennium, leaving a trail of corpses across five states before his eventual arrest. All told, Williker was responsible for the rape and murder of 23 women, and is suspected in the deaths of dozens more. His calling card—a torn piece of fabric found on or inside the bodies of his victims—helped popularize his now ubiquitous nickname. The Purple Satin Killer.  In the years following his arrest, Jonas Williker received hundreds of letters in prison. Collected here, these letters offer a unique glimpse into a depraved mind through a human lens, including contributions from family, the bereaved, and self-professed “fans.” They represent a chilling portrait of the American psyche, skewering a media obsessed culture where murderers are celebrities to revere. What you learn about the man from these letters will shock you, but not as much as what you learn about yourself.

Kate’s Review (9 Rating)

Fiendfully Reading

FanFiAddict

Heavy Feather Review

Book: “Tiny Threads” by Lilliam Rivera

Book Description: Fashion-obsessed Samara finally has the life she’s always dreamed of: a high-powered job with legendary designer Antonio Mota. A new home in sunny California, far away from those drab Jersey winters. And an intriguing love interest, Brandon, a wealthy investor in Mota’s fashion line.

But it’s not long before Samara’s dream life begins to turn into a living nightmare, as Mota’s big fashion show approaches and the pressure on Samara turns crushing. Perhaps that’s why Samara begins hearing voices in the dark in her room at night—and seeing strange things that can’t be explained away by stress and anxiety, or by the number of drinks she consumes every night.

And it may not only be Samara’s unraveling psyche, because she soon discovers hints that her new city—and the house of Mota—may have been built on a foundation of secrets and lies. Now Samara must uncover what hideous truths lurk in the shadows of this illusory world of glamor and beauty, before those shadows claim her…

Kate’s Review (8 Rating)

Books, Bones & Buffy (3.5/4 Stars)

The Wilderness Road

Just Read It Already! (3.5/5 Stars)

Book: “This Cursed House” by Del Sandeen

Book Description: In the fall of 1962, twenty-seven-year-old Jemma Barker is desperate to escape her life in Chicago—and the spirits she has always been able to see. When she receives an unexpected job offer from the Duchon family in New Orleans, she accepts, thinking it is her chance to start over. 

But Jemma discovers that the Duchon family isn’t what it seems. Light enough to pass as white, the Black family members look down on brown-skinned Jemma. Their tenuous hold on reality extends to all the members of their eccentric clan, from haughty grandmother Honorine to beautiful yet inscrutable cousin Fosette. And soon the shocking truth comes The Duchons are under a curse. And they think Jemma has the power to break it.

As Jemma wrestles with the gift she’s run from all her life, she unravels deeper and more disturbing secrets about the mysterious Duchons. Secrets that stretch back over a century. Secrets that bind her to their fate if she fails.

Kate’s Review (8 Rating)

Jessicamap Reviews (5/5 Stars)

Jen Med’s Book Reviews

DG Reads (4/5)

Book: “Black Tide Son” by H.M. Long

Book Description: A captured pirate reveals shocking news to Mary and Samuel that sends them in urgent pursuit of Samuel’s twin brother, Benedict, but their search uncovers much more than they bargained for. While evading a cunning new foe, Mary and Samuel must navigate the complexities of their own growing bond as they launch a rescue mission within one of the most secure fortresses on the Mereish Coast.

Serena’s Review (9 Rating)

Wicked Witch’s Blog (5 Stars)

One Book More (4 Stars)

One Reading Nurse (4 Stars)

Book: “A Sorceress Comes to Call” by T. Kingfisher

Book Description: Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms, and her mother doesn’t allow Cordelia to have a single friend—unless you count Falada, her mother’s beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t sorcerers.

After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, riding away on Falada’s sturdy back, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage, and Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister.

Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother, how the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind.

Serena’s Review (9 Rating)

Blogging with Dragons (4 Stars)

Books, Bones, and Buffy (4 Stars)

The Novel Character

Book: “Tomb of the Sun King” by Jacquelyn Benson

Book Description: Archivist and suffragette Ellie Mallory always dreamed of putting her scholarly skills to work in the ancient sands of Egypt. She never imagined she would be doing so in order to save an object of legendary power from a batch of ruthless villains. Racing baddies to an arcanum of Biblical proportions is only one of Ellie’s problems. Her hopelessly academic and perpetually mortified step-brother, Dr. Neil Fairfax, is about to learn that she’s been gallivanting around the globe with his danger-magnet best friend, Adam Bates—the roguish surveyor for whom Ellie harbors increasingly complicated feelings. Add the petite and terrifyingly fearless Constance Tyrrell to the mix, and Ellie either has a crack team of artifact-saving experts to hand… or a recipe for disaster. Together, they’ll need to follow a trail of three-thousand-year-old clues from the necropolis of Saqqara to the temples of Luxor and beyond, where the ruined capital of a heretic pharaoh hides a secret with the potential to upend history. To keep an earth-shattering magic from falling into the wrong hands, Ellie will need to pull out all the stops—even if that means resorting to fisticuffs, ignoring proper archaeological processes… and facing a terrible choice between doing what she knows is right or breaking her own heart.

Serena’s Review (8 Rating)

Hidden in Pages (5 Stars)

Literature and Leaves (5 Stars)