Author: thelibraryladiesmn

Kate’s Review: “Your Lonely Nights Are Over”

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Book: “Your Lonely Nights Are Over” by Adam Sass

Publishing Info: Viking Books for Young Readers, September 2023

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

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

Book Description: Scream meets Clueless in this YA horror from Adam Sass in which two gay teen BFFs find their friendship tested when a serial killer starts targeting their school’s Queer Club.

Dearie and Cole are inseparable, unlikeable, and (in bad luck for them) totally unbelievable. From the day they met, Dearie and Cole have been two against the world. But whenever something bad happens at Stone Grove High School, they get blamed. Why? They’re beautiful, flirtatious, dangerously clever queen bees, and they’re always ready to call out their fellow students. But they’ve never faced a bigger threat than surviving senior year, when Mr. Sandman, a famous, never-caught serial killer emerges from a long retirement—and his hunting ground is their school Queer Club.

As evidence and bodies begin piling up and suspicion points at Dearie and Cole, they will need to do whatever it takes to unmask the real killer before they and the rest of Queer Club are taken down. But they’re not getting away from the killer without a fight.

Along the way, they must confront dark truths hidden beneath the surface of their small desert community. When the world is stacked against them and every flop they know is a suspect, can Dearie and Cole stop Mr. Sandman’s rampage? Or will their lonely nights soon be over . . .

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

If there is a surefire way to catch my attention when it comes to a book’s description, it’s to compare it to a piece of media or other book that I absolutely adore. It can be a bit of a gamble! The more I love the referenced TV show/movie/book, the higher hopes I have for the book at hand, and if it doesn’t live up to my expectations, I am going to probably ding the book at hand a bit more than I might otherwise. So talk about a huge gamble for “Your Lonely Nights Are Over” by Adam Sass. Not only does it reference one of my most formative horror movies, “Scream”, it also references one of my all time favorite movies, “Clueless”. And the thought of mashing them up? OH MY GOSH. GIVE IT TO ME. I definitely went in wary that the comparison would fall flat and therein influence my feelings. And while “Your Lonely Nights Are Over” didn’t quite meet the potential that I had hoped for it, it had other unexpected things within that really did work for me.

This is one of those odd times where I’m going to talk about what didn’t work for me before I go into what absolutely worked, because I want to end on a high note because there were things that REALLY clicked. But I WILL say that as someone who has consumed horror for years and years, I pretty much called almost all of the twists and called the killer long before any of these things were revealed. This very well may be just because I have seen and read so many horror things that I can spot twists and turns, but it definitely pulled some of the suspense from the story. I was invested in both Cole and Dearie, and liked how Sass wrote both of them and gave them unique voices that really got their experiences and perspectives across. I think they read less like the “Clueless” comparisons, however, and more like “Mean Girls” in some ways, but they did have me laughing a bit with their bantering and snark.

But what really, really shines in this book is how Sass tackles and explores the theme of loneliness, especially when it comes to the unique loneliness that can come with being a queer person. Dearie and Cole are both VERY close and have a relationship that transcends romantic and platonic, but there are still aspects about each of them during this book that does isolate themselves from each other. On top of that we also get the loneliness of being closeted for some characters, or the loneliness of gay people from generations where coming out came later in life, or just the loneliness of being a queer teenager trying to navigate through life. I loved how Sass dissected this idea and unabashedly puts forth that solidarity between queer people is a way to combat that loneliness and the horrors that it can bring, whether it’s a slasher killer in a story like this, or the real life horrors of bigotry, self loathing, and isolation.

“Your Lonely Nights Are Over” may have been a little predictable for this longtime horror fan, but I really enjoyed other parts of it. It will surely thrill its target demographic, and it should be on YA Halloween book lists this October.

Rating 7: The characters are fun but the mystery is a bit predictable. But I loved the message about loneliness in the queer community and how finding your people can combat it.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Your Lonely Nights Are Over” is included on the Goodreads lists “Queer Horror”, and “YA Serial Killers”.

Serena’s Review: “Witch of Wild Things”

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

Book: “Witch of Wild Things” by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

Publishing Info: Berkley, September 2023

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

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

Book Description: Legend goes that long ago a Flores woman offended the old gods, and their family was cursed as a result. Now, every woman born to the family has a touch of magic.

Sage Flores has been running from her family—and their “gifts”—ever since her younger sister Sky died. Eight years later, Sage reluctantly returns to her hometown. Like slipping into an old, comforting sweater, Sage takes back her job at Cranberry Rose Company and uses her ability to communicate with plants to discover unusual heritage specimens in the surrounding lands.

What should be a simple task is complicated by her partner in botany sleuthing: Tennessee Reyes. He broke her heart in high school, and she never fully recovered. Working together is reminding her of all their past tender, genuine moments—and new feelings for this mature sexy man are starting to take root in her heart.

With rare plants to find, a dead sister who keeps bringing her coffee, and another sister whose anger fills the sky with lightning, Sage doesn’t have time for romance. But being with Tenn is like standing in the middle of a field on the cusp of a summer thunderstorm—supercharged and inevitable.

Review: Cozy fantasy is a term that I both am a bit skeptical of (it seems like another way of differentiating “serious” SFF from “that woman stuff” which I don’t think benefits anyone) and a subgenre that I’ve struggled to enjoy. But I do like romances and I do like sister drama and I do like low-level family magic, so I thought this one was definitely worth a shot. However, in the end, I don’t think this is the best example of any of these themes.

But I’ll start with what I did like. For the most part, the main character was a good lead. I enjoyed her voice, and in particular, her relationships with a few of the women in her life were very interesting and explored a level of complexity that I hadn’t expected. For example, Sage has a close friend who has a struggling marriage, and I appreciated the care that went into the balancing act that is supporting a friend in this situation where, to an outsider, the problem and solution seems easy, but to the friend whose life is in the balance, things are much more complicated. I also really appreciated the exploration of Sage’s relationship with the woman who took over the care of Sage and her sisters when they were young. There were some very nice points about grief and the burdens we can place on those around us when caught up in devastating positions. But, even here, there were moments where the depiction of this relationship took a bit of jarring turn towards the simplistic, with Sage taking on a rather “perfect victim” persona that left me wanting.

And this speaks to many of my problems with the other relationships in this books. Many of the characters, including Sage herself at times, came across as simple and without any real depth of character. The romantic hero is the most bland example of handsome perfection that I’ve come across in a long time. Pick out some romance hero tropes, and he checks them all of neatly, right in a row. And then the relationship between Sage and her angry younger sister, Teal, verged on the ridiculous at times, with Teal coming across as an unbelievable caricature of irrational anger.

Beyond this, I struggled with the overall tone of the novel. At times, Sage definitely took on a more YA sounding voice, testing my ability to believe her to be a 29 year old woman who has actually lived in the world. This isn’t helped by the inclusion of some truly cringe-worthy AOL conversations from her teenage years. And, unfortunately, these blasts from the internet-past can’t be simply skipped as they are key to understanding the unfolding relationship between Tenn and Sage in the present day.

There were bits and pieces of the story that I liked, which did help me get through it. But I often found myself struggling to really invest in any of these characters or care about the romance at the heart of it. I do think there are readers who will enjoy this, but I think the biggest failure lies with its inability to depict adult characters who…well…behave and think like adults.

Rating 6: Not for me, though I do think the depictions of the beautiful location and some of the lyrical moments had merit.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Witch of Wild Things” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Mushrooms, Toadstools, Fungus and The Witches.

Kate’s Review: “No Child of Mine”

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Book: “No Child of Mine” by Nichelle Giraldes

Publishing Info: Poisoned Pen Press, 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: There’s something in the dark. And it’s starting to whisper…

Essie Kaur has defined herself by her ambitions, a fiercely independent woman whose only soft spot is her husband, Sanjay. She never imagined herself as a mother. It was never a part of the plan. But then she finds out she’s pregnant. As her difficult pregnancy transforms her body and life into something she barely recognizes, her husband spends the nights pacing in the attic, slowly becoming a stranger, and the house begins to whisper.

As Essie’s pregnancy progresses, both her and Sanjay’s lives are warped by a curse that has haunted her family for generations, leaving a string of fatherless daughters in its wake. When she’s put on bedrest, Essie trades the last aspects of her carefully planned life for isolation in what should be a welcoming home, but she isn’t alone. There’s something here that means to take everything from her…

Review: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for sending me an ARC of this novel!

Here we are again, taking on a horror novel that has pregnancy horror as one of its big themes. I’ve said it many a time, but it’s no shock this is a big trend in horror right now, given that there are many real life horror stories being told about pregnancy in the shadow of reproductive rights being attacked in this country left and right. “No Child of Mine” by Nichelle Giraldes is in good company as it reflects the darkness and bleakness we in the U.S. are dealing with, some places far worse than others. That isn’t to say that “No Child of Mine” is run of the mill or cookie cutter. It has some new things to say, and this time we have a family curse at hand!

What sets “No Child of Mine” aside from other pregnancy horror related stories that have come out this year is that the horror aspects are actually existing outside of the fetus/child. You don’t get the sense that Essie is growing something malevolent inside of her, or that once this child arrives she will become a danger to herself or others. But that doesn’t mean that this book is any less intense when it comes to Essie’s pregnancy, and showing the scary stuff that can come with it. Whether it’s intense morning sickness that can’t be quelled, or the inconvenient timing upending Essie’s dreams of becoming an attorney (dreams that she had already delayed so that her loving husband Sanjay could do grad school first), or just how pregnancy can make a person feel like little more than a vessel and incubator, Giraldes does a great job of showing how freaking isolating and scary pregnancy can be. Hell, even as someone who had planned for her pregnancy and was actively trying for it, I found SO MUCH of Essie’s frustrations and worries relatable. Maybe it’s people expecting her to be elated and joyful, maybe it’s Sanjay seemingly more concerned with how the baby is doing versus how Essie is doing, maybe it’s the assumption that her mourning her independence means she’s a shitty mom, all of these things were SO apt it raised my hackles as I read.

I do think that I wanted a bit more expansion for the antagonist and the explanation of the family curse that has haunted Essie’s bloodline, however. I really liked the set up for it, and seeing the many different ways that women in her family have had their lovers taken away shortly after having a baby girl. It also made for a tense build up as to what was going on with Sanjay, as he becomes more and more distant and terse as her pregnancy progresses, and how that too had perhaps been seen in the generations before. But by the time some reveals come out, I realized that the foundation we were working with was pretty shaky, and that the curse was needed to drive the story but wasn’t really drawn out into whys and hows. On top of that, the resolution to the whole thing went pretty fast and seemed to be an afterthought, almost too easily resolved and wrapped up with a bow. I wasn’t mad at how it shook out, but it just went really fast in comparison to the build up.

All in all, I’m always down for horror tales that talk about pregnancy and motherhood. “No Child of Mine” is another reflection of the time we are living in in the United States, with societal expectations and medical issues being potentially more difficult to vanquish than a family death curse. What a time to be alive, huh?

Rating 7: Another all too real horror tale about the dark side of pregnancy and the expectations that come with it. I wanted a bit more explanation and a less rushed ending, but it felt pretty damn relatable.

Reader’s Advisory:

“No Child of Mine” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror to Look Forward to in 2023”.

Book Club Review: “The Wee Free Men”

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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: “The Wee Free Men” by Terry Pratchett

Publishing Info: Doubleday, May 2003

Where Did We Get This Book: The library!

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

Song Inspiration: “Fairies Wear Boots” by Black Sabbath

Book Description: Armed only with a frying pan and her common sense, Tiffany Aching, a young witch-to-be, is all that stands between the monsters of Fairyland and the warm, green Chalk country that is her home. Forced into Fairyland to seek her kidnapped brother, Tiffany allies herself with the Chalk’s local Nac Mac Feegle – aka the Wee Free Men – a clan of sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch-high blue men who are as fierce as they are funny. Together they battle through an eerie and ever-shifting landscape, fighting brutal flying fairies, dream-spinning dromes, and grimhounds – black dogs with eyes of fire and teeth of razors – before ultimately confronting the Queen of the Elves, absolute ruler of a world in which reality intertwines with nightmare. And in the final showdown, Tiffany must face her cruel power alone…

In a riveting narrative that is equal parts suspense and humor, Carnegie Medalist Terry Pratchett returns to his internationally popular Discworld with a breathtaking tale certain to leave fans, new and old, enthralled.

Kate’s Thoughts

We all know full well by now that I am not the biggest fantasy fan, genre wise. It just usually doesn’t hit for me, so I came into this rendition of book club with not a lot of experience with Terry Pratchett. I have read “Good Omens”, the super fun novel he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman, but I haven’t read any of his “Discworld” series. I did, however, love the humor and cheekiness of “Good Omens”, so I was excited to have a chance to see Practchett on his own. “The Wee Free Men” was my second experience with him, and I found his voice absolutely delightful.

“The Wee Free Men” is part witch tale, part coming of age, part humor filled romp. There were multiple laugh out loud moments for me, with Pratchett just excelling in quippy moments and dialogue that cracked me up while also having genuinely heartwarming beats about family and growing up. I liked Tiffany and I liked her journey of learning about her role as a witch (a role that has been in her family, whether overtly known or not), and while there were still fantasy pitfalls that I don’t connect with as much, it wasn’t so overwrought that I lost interest. I liked the mythos involving the Wee Free Men, the fairies, and other mystical beings that show up (I was cackling when there was mention of Headless Horsemen, so many fun references to other fantasy tales!) to shine or cause trouble. But I alsoliked watching Tiffany have to overcome obstacles in hopes of finding her younger brother and saving him from a cruel queen. And oh man, the Wee Free Men. How feisty and how charming!

“The Wee Free Men” is a goofy and delightful fantasy story from Terry Pratchett, an author who is deeply missed in the genre. I could see myself reading more “Discworld” due to his voice and whimsy. It’s a fun book.

Serena’s Thoughts

As much as I am the fantasy reader for this blog, I, too, am not overly familiar with Terry Pratchett’s work. I’ve read a few stand-alone books here and there, but, like Kate, I haven’t read any of the books in his famous “Discworld” series. Honestly, I’m kind of intimidated by the entire idea! But if this book is any indication, I should definitely check it out.

In a lot of ways, it reminded me of Catherynne M. Valente’s “Fairlyand” series. Not only did Tiffany’s straight-forward approach to courage and adaptability to the strangeness around her remind me of September, but the overall tone of the story was very similar. There was a whimsical style to the storytelling that is very engaging. And the laugh-out-loud witty moments were often paralleled neatly beside incredibly insightful reflections on human nature and relationships. Like Kate mentioned, there are also a lot of fun references and Easter Egg like nods to various other fantasy elements and tropes. It’s the kind of story that, tonally, can read like it’s meant for a younger audience, but then when you really dive in, many of the jokes and quips depend on the deeper well of knowledge present in adults.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was, quite simply, a fun time. And the type of fun where the book almost tricks you into missing the fact that it actually has a lot of deeper thoughts to convey.

Kate’s Rating 7: A cute and at times poignant fantasy tale from a cheeky author who is greatly missed, “The Wee Free Men” is funny and endearing.

Serena’s Rating 8: Fun and creative, this book will likely appeal to fantasy readers who enjoy the absurd but reflective nature of authors like Catherynne M. Valente and her ilk.

Book Club Questions

  1. Have you read any other Discworld books before this one? If so, as it’s a Young Adult targeted novel, how does it compare to the other books in the series?
  2. What did you think of the mythology that Pratchett created for this story? Did you like certain characters or beings more than others?
  3. Terry Pratchett is known for being a big tongue in cheek with his fantasy stories Do you like the tone that he used for this book?
  4. What did you think of Tiffany’s journey in the novel?
  5. Did you catch any homages or tributes to other fantasy stories in this book?
  6. What did you think of the description of Fairyland?
  7. Do you think you would read any more Tiffany Aching books? Any other Discworld books?

Reader’s Advisory

“The Wee Free Men” is included on the Goodreads lists “Best Heroine in a Fantasy Book”, and “Wise Women, Witches, Midwives, Healers, and Strong Girls”.

Next Book Club Pick: “Snapdragon” by Kat Leyh

Serena’s Review: “Together We Rot”

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Book: “Together We Rot” by Skyla Arndt

Publishing Info: Viking Books for Young Readers, August 2023

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

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

Book Description: Wil Greene’s mom has been missing for over a year, and the police are ready to call the case closed–they claim she skipped town and you can’t find a woman who wants to disappear. But she knows her mom wouldn’t just leave…and she knows the family of her former best friend, Elwood Clarke, has something to do with it.

Elwood has been counting down the days until his 18th birthday–in dread. It marks leaving school and joining his pastor father in dedicating his life to their congregation, the Garden of Adam. But when he comes home after one night of after a final goodbye with his friends, already self-flagellating for the sins of drinking and disobeying his father, he discovers his path is not as virtuous as he thought. He’s not his father’s successor, but his sacrifice. For the woods he’s grown up with are thirsty, and must be paid in blood.

Now on the run from a family that wants him dead, he turns to the only one who will believe him: Wil. Together, they form a reluctant partnership; she’ll help him hide if he helps her find evidence that his family killed her mother. But in the end they dig up more secrets than they bargained for, unraveling decades of dark cult dealings in their town, led by the Clarke family.

And there’s a reason they need Elwood’s blood for their satanic rituals. Something inhuman is growing inside of him. Everywhere he goes, the plants come alive and the forest calls to him, and Wil isn’t sure if she can save the boy she can’t help but love.

Review: This is definitely one of those books that crosses genres between what Kate and I both like to read. She, of course, would be drawn by the creepy nature of the story, especially the focus on the dark cult. While I like the paranormal aspect of it, and the spooky, haunted forest that sounds right out of the best kinds of fairytales. I think I can safely say that we both liked the cover. Through some snooping on Kate’s personal Goodreads, she also read this book and liked it, overall. For me, it was a bit more hit and miss.

But let’s start with what did work. And the first thing that comes to mind is the atmospheric nature of the story. As I said, I was partially drawn in by the mention of a cursed woods, and man, that cursed woods really hits well. Not only do large chunks of the story take place in the woods themselves, but the author has a real talent for evocative writing, making the trees themselves come alive. This same skillful writing also very much works with the more creepy aspects of the story. There were definitely some scenes and descriptions that were truly horrific, but some of these same scenes were also rather beautiful? While others were simply gruesome. Either way, the author’s writing style definitely leant itself to these more descriptive, lyrical moments of the story.

I struggled more with the pacing and the characterization of the two main POV characters, and, to lesser extents, the side characters. Both of these quibbles come down to the same thing, I think: this is an incredibly short book. On one hand, I always want to applaud authors who don’t feel the need to write massive tomes. But on the other hand, there is also a point where a book can suffer for its brevity, and that’s the case here. While Wil and Elwood had the makings of excellent characters, there simply wasn’t enough time in the book to really flesh each of them out, let alone the complicated nature of their relationship. For all that we are told that they used to be close, they had a fight, and then this book sees them coming together again, the reader is never truly given enough of this history to invest in this changing relationship. Instead, where there was room for a lot of depth of feeling and growth, we are left with a story that goes from “enemies” to “lovers” in the blink of an eye, undermining the supposed seriousness of their original falling out.

The same problem shows up in the overall pacing of the story. Because the book is so short, the reader is jumping from one scene to the next quite quickly. The entire story also only takes place over a few days, adding to this rather frenetic reading experience. While I think books that tell a story that plays out in a short time span can work, they still rely on enough substance to be woven in to allow the reader to fully invest in the characters and the situations they are experiencing. And unfortunately, some of that greater substance was lacking.

Overall, I think this book had a lot of potential, and even fifty or so more pages added on could have bounced this up to an 8 rating for me. As it stands, I think the author has a real skill for lyrical, evocative storytelling, so I’m definitely interested to see what she does next! Fans of contemporary paranormal horror will likely enjoy this one, but go in more for the creepy forest and religious cult than for the characters.

Rating 7: A sure hand on the lyrical style of her writing, I simply wish Ardnt had allowed us more of it than what we got here in this shorter, paranormal horror story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Together We Rot” can be found on these Goodreads lists: YA Folk Horror and Moody stories about small towns with secrets and magic.

Serena’s Review: “Murder at Midnight”

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

Book: “Murder at Midnight” by Katharine Schellman

Publishing Info: Crooked Lane Books, September 2023

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

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

Previously Reviewed: “The Body in the Garden” and “Silence in the Library” and “Death at the Manor”

Book Description: Perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn and Ashley Weaver, when a body is found shot to death after an unexpected snowstorm, Lily Adler quickly realizes that some people will stop at nothing to bury their secrets this holiday season.

Regency widow Lily Adler is looking forward to returning to Hertfordshire to spend time with the family of her late husband. She is also excited that Captain Jack Hartley, her friend and confidante, will be visiting his own family after a long voyage at sea. With winter quickly approaching, Lily is most excited at the prospect of a relaxing and enjoyable Christmastide season away from the schemes and secrets she witnessed daily in London.

At a neighborhood ball, she soon becomes reacquainted with a friend of her late husband, Peter Coleridge, a wealthy man who not only manages Irish investments, but also a fund that most of the locals of Hertfordshire take part in. There, she also learns Jack’s sister, Amelia, is the subject of much of the neighborhood gossip—although Amelia refuses to explain if there is any truth to it. For a brief moment, Lily wonders if she ever really left London.

When a snowstorm forces several guests, including both the Adlers and the Hartleys, to stay the night, Lily quickly deduces that all is not well this holiday season. In the morning, a maid discovers the body of a guest in the poultry yard, shot to death—and he is the same man that is scandalously linked to Amelia.

Lily accepts the offer to assist in the investigation, but will she find more than what she bargained for the more she digs? Or will she herself be buried deep within the snow?

Review: Time for another historical mystery review! At this point, I’m really only up-to-date with this series and Sherry Thomas’s “Charlotte Holmes” series. There’s just not enough time in the day to get to all of the books I want, and, unfortunately when push comes to shove, I’ll often prioritize SFF over historical fiction and mysteries. But I do seem to be able to manage to keep up with these two series. I was particularly interested in this latest Lily Adler book due to the fact that while I had enjoyed all of the books up to that point, I had real problems with the latest one. So in my mind, the quality of this latest book would be really telling for my continued enjoyment of the series! And I’m happy to report that while we may not have recaptured the highs of the first book or two, this one is a solid entry in the series and enough of a return to form to ensure my continued reading of these books.

There was a lot to like in this new Lily Adler book. For one thing, I really love this style of mystery, where a large group of suspects (and victims!) are trapped in a location together and must solve a murder. The format allows for a large cast of characters, tons of red herrings that are believable, and much emphasis placed on interpersonal relationships, something that I always focus on in my reading. I also enjoyed the exploration of the group dynamic, which we see done expertly here. As Lily and her companions go longer and longer trapped together in this house, we see the breakdown of conventions and norms, the reduction of individuals to their more basic instincts, and the tendency for people to circle the wagons and “other” anyone who doesn’t fit within strict definitions of right and wrong. For her part, Lily Adler sweeps through these tensions with grace and a practical eye for how these dynamics can relate to guilt and innocence, misplaced fear or rightfully felt concern to hide one’s involvement in a crime. I also really enjoyed the fact that while I was able to piece together some clues to the mystery, there were many other twists and turns that I didn’t spot coming!

I also really enjoyed the continued interpersonal and romantic dynamics. In the previous book, a new love interest was introduced, and while I didn’t have any issues with this character on his own, I was already firmly in the corner of Lily and Jack. So of course I was beyond pleased when Jack himself returned in this book and played a fairly central role. But I also was surprised by how much I enjoyed the continued exploration of Lily’s relationship with this other suitor. The relationship took a few surprising turns, and I was impressed by the way the author used this relationship to highlight the true choices that women faced in this time, even when partnered to a good man by every definition.

I also really enjoyed meeting some new characters, notably Jack’s younger sister Amelia who plays a central role in this story. We also get some POV chapters from her, which I very much enjoyed. Fans of the series are sure to enjoy this one!

Rating 8: All in all, this was an excellent entry in the series. I was glad to see the return of fan favorite characters, and was pleased to see an improvement in the mystery itself.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Murder at Midnight” can be found on this Goodreads list: Historical Mystery 2023

Kate’s Review: “What Kind of Mother”


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

Book: “What Kind of Mother” by Clay McLeod Chapman

Publishing Info: Quirk Books, 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: After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her seventeen-year-old daughter. With nothing to her name, she scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market.

It’s there that she connects with old high school flame Henry McCabe, now a reclusive local fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. Everyone in town is sure Skyler is dead, but when Madi reads Henry’s palm, she’s haunted by strange and disturbing visions that suggest otherwise. As she follows the thread of these visions, Madi discovers a terrifying nightmare waiting at the center of the labyrinth—and it’s coming for everyone she holds dear.

Combining supernatural horror with domestic suspense into a visceral exploration of parental grief, What Kind of Mother cements Clay McLeod Chapman’s reputation as a “star” (Vulture) and “the twenty-first century’s Richard Matheson” (Richard Chizmar, Chasing the Boogeyman.)

Review: Thank you to Quirk Books for providing me with this ARC at ALAAC23!

One of my missions at ALAAC this past summer was to see if I could get my hands on an ARC of Clay McLeod Chapman’s “What Kind of Mother”. After reading “Ghost Eaters” and being wholly blown away and freaked out, his newest book was a must read. I was very happy when I did, indeed, get an ARC, and while I knew it was a high priority read, I would have to prepare myself. For one, Chapman is absolutely no holds barred brutal in his horror stories when he wants to be, whether that be seen through horrifying imagery, or soul shattering pathos. And for another, the themes of this story include a missing and presumed dead child. So combine the two and I’m probably going to be wrecked. But hey, with enough emotional preparation and steeling of oneself, surely I could come out of this relatively emotionally unscathed, right?

Ha ha ha, WRONG. (source)

Chapman has once again knocked me off my feet because his ability to pull out so many elements of multiple genres and apply it to this horror tale is so, so phenomenal. I knew that this was at its heart a horror story, but he also effortlessly brings in glimmers of dark fantasy thriller, with our protagonist Madi. Madi is down on her luck and trying to start over back in her home town, with her teenage daughter in tow (the daughter whose impending birth made a pregnant and teenage Madi flee this town in the first place). She sets up shop reading palms and cold reading clients to tell them what they want to hear. But when she reconnects with old flame Henry, whose own son Skyler disappeared a few years prior when he was a baby, she realizes that she is having actual visions of Skyler, and may be able to find him. As a dark fantasy thriller this is already great. So when Chapman also added in a slight pathos driven romance between the former lovers, as they are both at the end of their ropes and connecting over Skyler’s potential presence. I liked seeing these two desperate characters and seeing them team up, and fall into something potentially emotionally unhealthy. Madi and Henry both have a lot of pain that manifests in different ways, and their complicated personalities and relationship echoes what I expect from gritty complex woman centered thrillers. That alone drew me in. It’s suspenseful and poignant, as the idea of a child going missing is a complete nightmare to me and it felt like Henry’s grief and guilt was pretty spot on.

And then Chapman threw me for a loop that I didn’t at all expect, and it completely fucked me up. I don’t want to go into any spoilers here because I think that it needs to be a surprise. But I will talk about the horror elements in some terms that keep it a bit close to the vest. Firstly, so much nasty body horror. And what I loved about it was that this book isn’t super gory, but Chapman still made me cringe and squirm with some of the descriptions. It’s also incredibly creative in the direction it goes and what it means for the characters who are dealing with it. So the imagery is definitely freaky and unsettling. But then there is the more visceral and personal horror of this book, and that is the grief, fear, and guilt that comes with a missing child for any parent that is going to be reading this story. Chapman really taps into that deep seated horror (one that I absolutely have when it comes to my daughter) and twists the knife, creating moments that are gut wrenching either because of the despair involved, or because as a parent there were moments where something just awful was happening… and I couldn’t really assure myself that I wouldn’t be behaving in a similar way were I in a similar situation. These were the moments that just gutted me, and as the story unfolded in a new way that explored parental devotion and inability to either seek or accept closure, the more disturbed I became. This one is going to sit with me for a long time because of these moments. Goddamn you, Clay McLeod Chapman (I say that mostly in awe of you, sir).

“What Kind of Mother” is just brutal, but it’s a must read for horror fans. Clay McLeod Chapman is an up and coming powerhouse in horror literature, and if you haven’t checked him out yet, now is the time. But be warned: you aren’t going to see crabs the same way after reading this.

Rating 9: Devastating, horrifying, and a brutal depiction of parental grief, guilt, and devotion. I’ll be thinking about “What Kind of Mother” for awhile.

Reader’s Advisory:

“What Kind of Mother” is included on the Goodreads lists “2023 Gothic”, and “Horror to Look Forward to in 2023”.

Serena’s Review: “Godkiller”

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Book: “Godkiller” by Hannah Kaner

Publishing Info: Harper Voyager, September 2023

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

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

Book Description: Kissen kills gods for a living, and she enjoys it. That is until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skediceth, god of white lies, who is connected to a little noble girl on the run.

Elogast fought in the god war, and helped purge the city of a thousand shrines before laying down his sword. A mysterious request from the King sends him racing back to the city he destroyed.

On the way he meets a godkiller, a little girl and a littler god, who cannot find out about his quest.

Review: I was drawn in by the fantastic cover art for this novel, but I stayed for the book description of a young woman whose mission in life is hunting down gods. I’m always a sucker for fantasy novels that deal with wars with gods as I think the themes of religion and fantasy play so well together, each dealing with belief and how that shapes an individual, for good and bad. And this one definitely lived up to my expectations!

While the above book description mentions both Kissen and Elogast, I still went into it with the expectation that this was a single POV story, probably because the title implies that the godkiller, Kissen, would be the main character. And, while I would argue that she still is, the story is in fact not only a dual POV between Kissen and Elogast, but also includes the young girl, Inara, and, surprisingly, the god Skedi as well!

And while Skedi by far has the fewest chapters, I do think his inclusion was integral to the success behind the general premise of this story. The prologue and Kissen’s story set up one clear narrative with regards to gods: they are dangerous and bring only harm to those around them. But Elogast’s history and perspective, and Skedi’s very existence, complicate this narrative. What’s more, Skedi is not a perfect rebuttal, being a very flawed individual in his own right. Instead, his POV serves to highlight the chaotic nature of the gods in this world and to blow wide the discussion regarding inherent nature and how that plays into the ways we regard those around us.

I also really enjoyed the relationships that are built up in this story between all of the different characters. Yes, there is the slow-burn romance between Kissen and Elogast, always a winning feature for me who enjoys a love story included in my fantasy. But all of the characters had nuanced and interesting relationships between them as well! Kissen and Inara, with Kissen’s long-standing dislike of children being slowly worn down in the face of Inara’s strength and persistence. Between Inara and Skedi, we see a long-standing friendship tested with betrayal and misunderstanding. Between Skedi and Kissen, we see how immediate distrust and bias can push people (and gods!) into harming those around them and betraying their own most basic moral baselines. For his part, Elogast’s relationships to all of these characters was the most straight-forward. But I think his more steady character type served as a necessary foundation upon which to anchor much of the chaos created by those around him.

I will say, however, that my one big quibble came down to the geography of this world. This is such a weird, obsessive point that I know many people won’t even care about, but for me, I kept hyper fixating on it throughout the book. The story includes a map in the beginning (yay maps!) and it lays out one of the major cities as across a large body of water from the rest of the world. And then much of the story itself it taken up with the characters travelling to this city. And yet, it seemed like they travelled completely by land, were able to spot the city from quite a distance across land, and generally never acknowledged the layout of the map. I could very well have been missing something, but throughout the book, I kept getting confused about their actual route and looking at the map and just being even more confused. I did read an ARC, so maybe the artwork or these references weren’t finalized (though the word “references” underplays how much the geography plays into the main storyline). Weird quibble, but I couldn’t complete my review without mentioning it as it did take up a serious amount of my reading time, flipping back and forth between the text and the map.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It felt refreshing in an often-crowded genre, while also relying on some tried and true character types. There were some legitimately surprising twists and turns towards the end of the novel that lay out an interesting path forward for the next book.

Rating 8: A deceptively simple premise belies the depths to be found in this fantastic fantasy debut tackling themes of religion, family, and what makes up one’s very nature.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Godkiller” isn’t on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Gods and Goddesses Books

Kate’s Review: “Beneath the Surface”

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Book: “Beneath the Surface” by Kaira Rouda

Publishing Info: Thomas & Mercer, 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: On a weekend voyage, the power-hungry children of an aging billionaire are unprepared for a storm of deceptions in a novel about ruthless family ambition by USA Today bestselling author Kaira Rouda.

You are cordially invited to an overnight voyage on the Splendid Seas.

An invitation to Catalina Island from billionaire CEO Richard Kingsley. For his sons, Ted and John, and their wives, it’s an opportunity to curry favor, gain control of a real estate empire, and secure their family’s futures. For the controlling patriarch, succession is a contest. He and his newest wife won’t make it an easy win.

Then Richard’s estranged live-wire daughter, Sibley, crashes the party. She’s the least of the night’s surprises. As the stakes for the inheritance of the Kingsley legacy are raised, the beautiful waters of the Pacific look more like a menacing illusion.

Let the games begin for a family who has everything money can buy, and has used lies, deception, and more to keep it. This weekend one of them will be crowned heir. One is in line to lose everything. That’s the plan. But in the coming storm, so much can go dangerously wrong.

Review: Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for sending me an ARC of this novel!

Though I was late to the game when it came to the show “Succession”, my husband and I have been making our way through and enjoying it as a show that we can watch together and be captivated and mortified by the horribleness of the billionaire class. We haven’t finished it but I know basically everything thanks to the Internet, and it boggles the mind how there is pretty much no one to like, and yet I am so invested in their nonsense. So when “Beneath the Surface” by Kaira Rouda came my way and had comparisons to “Succession” to boot, I knew that I wanted to read this book. Bring on more wealthy people behaving just abhorrently, evidently I can’t get enough.

You mean jumping into a thriller with toxic family dynamics and gratuitous displays of wealth to compensate? Yes Roman, we ARE doing this. (source)

If you are still kind of suffering from “Succession” withdrawals, I do think that “Beneath the Surface” will scratch that itch at least a little bit. It’s a similar set up of an uber-wealthy family dealing with the impending stepping aside of the head of the family company, and the children who all want the coveted CEO spot. In this case it’s real estate tycoon Richard Kingsley, and his children are uptight John, charismatic but duplicitous Ted, and the estranged and wild Sibley. While it only takes place over one weekend and doesn’t rise to the same complex and unnerving heights as the Roys in many ways, I did like seeing the awful kids try and gain favor with their awful father while his awful fourth wife looks on with superiority as well as her own duplicity. I mean, I love this kind of soapy and catty drama as bad people are bad to each other, and “Beneath the Surface” is fun enough that it reads fast and kept me going and awaiting every twist and turn with bated breath. I just really enjoy all the drama that comes with rich people behaving badly (unless we get a “Boar on the Floor” kinda deal like on “Succession” and then I just get uncomfortable), and “Beneath the Surface” has a lot of that.

I will say that the characters, however, could have been more fleshed out. We had a few first person perspective from a few of the characters. There’s Paige, the wife of second son Ted who has been supportive and patient for years, putting her own career on hold to raise their children and to bolster her husband. There’s John, the oldest son who feels like the company should be his birthright but has stumbled enough that his father is disappointed and reluctant. There’s Serena, Richard’s fourth wife who is comfortable being a trophy wife but has her own reasons to want security and power within the company hierarchy. And Richard himself, who enjoys pitting his children against each other. And none of them really move beyond two dimensional archetypes of what we would expect from characters such as these. I think that Paige was the most well rounded and complicated, as I greatly enjoyed her chapters and found her to be the most engaging, but most everyone else hit each point of their roles without growth, or if not growth, glimpses into the layers that we are being made privy to on this tense and high stakes yacht weekend. And as for the supporting characters who don’t have perspective chapters, they are pretty standard and static.

All in all, “Beneath the Surface” is entertaining and fast paced. I enjoyed the plot, and while I needed more from the characters, if this does indeed turn into a series I would PROBABLY keep reading just to see where some of these characters end up, and how their story trajectory changes.

Rating 7: A catty and sudsy plot make for an engaging read, although none of the characters really moved outside the boxes they started in.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Beneath the Surface” is included on the Goodreads list “Can’t Wait Books of 2023”.

Highlights: September 2023

The official signal of summer winding down has happened hear in Minnesota. No, not Labor Day, the end of the Minnesota State Fair. When the ridiculous amounts of fried food, farm animals, and quirky crafts wrap up, you can officially feel Fall in the air. For Kate that means the start of the beloved spooky season. For Serena that means bracing herself for the not so far away winter. And for both of them it means school starting for some of their kids! Regardless, it also means a new list of books we’re looking forward to!

Serena’s Picks

Book: “Godkiller” by Hannah Kaner

Publication Date: September 12, 2023

Why I’m Interested: Um, the cover is awesome? Also, I just love fantasy stories that deal with gods and wars and fantasy religions. There just such a depth of potential in plots like these. Add a tough-as-nails godkiller, a young girl who just happens to be tethered to a small god, and disillusioned knight and I’m all in! This one has been out in the UK since January, so there is already a decent amount of positive buzz around it, which just makes me all the more excited!

Book: “A Study in Drowning” by Ava Reid

Publication Date: September 19, 2023

Why I’m Interested: While I struggled with some of the darkness of Reid’s most recent fantasy novel, I still very much enjoy her writing style in general. Add to that a few tags like “gothic fantasy” and “academic rivals” and this was a no brainer for me! The story follows a young woman who is commissioned to come to a mysterious manor to work on architectural designs. While there, however, dark and confusing things begin happening and the only one available to help is her academic rival. Expect a review of this one soon!

Book: “The Fragile Threads of Magic” by V. E. Schwab

Publication Date: September 26, 2023

Why I’m Interested: I feel like I’ve been going on and on about beautiful covers a lot recently. Well, here I am to balance that out. Man, do I not like this cover. Not only do I not like it in its own right, but its one of those covers that makes me mad because the entire first trilogy was done in a style that I really loved! So not only are they going a lesser route here, but now my books won’t match! And no, absolutely NOT will I be persuaded to “upgrade” my entire series to this style. All of that of course has nothing to do with the fact that this is probably my most anticipated book of the year. I absolutely adored “The Shades of Magic” trilogy, and it ended in such a satisfying way that I was frankly shocked to discover that Schwab was not only returning to this world but to the same characters, several years later! Can’t wait for this one!

Kate’s Picks

Book: “Your Lonely Nights Are Over” by Adam Sass

Publication Date: September 12, 2023

Why I’m Interested: I really enjoyed Adam Sass’s thriller “Surrender Your Sons”, and when I saw that he was writing a queer teen slasher novel I, of course, had to get my hands on it! Along with that, anything described as “Scream” meets “Clueless” is going to be on my radar. Enter “Your Lonely Nights Are Over”! Dearie and Cole are queer best friends who feel two against the world in their high school, their friendship notorious, especially after ruffling feathers in the school’s Queer Club. But when a long dormant serial killer known as Mr. Sandman starts killing again, and is targeting the other members of the Queer Club, Dearie and Cole have to use their wits to try and find out who is behind the murders. Not only as potential victims, but as people that others think aren’t so innocent. It sounds promising!

Book: “Earthdivers (Vol. 1): Kill Columbus” by Stephen Graham Jones and Davide Gianfelice (Ill.)

Publication Date: September 19, 2023

Why I’m Interested: Obviously one big factor is that Stephen Graham Jones is one of my favorite horror authors. But another is that this is his foray into graphic novels! I also got to not only get this book at ALAAC23, but I got to meet Jones and he was a delight. So yes, “Earthdivers (Vol. 1): Kill Columbus” is definitely a book I’ve been looking forward to. In a not super distant future on a dying Earth, a group of Indigenous people find a strange cave that can transport people back in time. They research and realize that the moment things went wrong is when America was founded, and one of them is chosen to sent back in time to stop it from happening. Which means he has to kill Christopher Columbus. Jones sure isn’t holding back, and I know that it’s going to be amazing.

Book: “What Kind of Mother” by Clay McLeod Chapman

Publication Date: September 12, 2023

Why I’m Interested: “Ghost Eaters” was a favorite read of mine last year, and I knew that I was going to jump all over whatever Clay McLeod Chapman followed it up with. So I was amped when I saw “What Kind of Mother” hitting the book spheres. And also terrified. Because I know that Chapman goes hard. And I knew that it had themes that can get under my skin. Madi returns to her hometown after leaving during her teenage pregnancy years before, making ends meet by palm reading. When she reconnects with old boyfriend Henry, she learns that his own son Skyler disappeared a few years before when he was just a baby. Then she starts having visions of Skyler, and wonders if she can actually find him. But this is Clay McLeod Chapman, and you just know it’s going to be far more than that.

What books are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!