Author: thelibraryladiesmn

Kate’s Review: “Love in the Time of Serial Killers”

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Book: “Love in the Time of Serial Killers” by Alicia Thompson

Publishing Info: Jove Books, August 2022

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

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

Book Description: Turns out that reading nothing but true crime isn’t exactly conducive to modern dating—and one woman is going to have to learn how to give love a chance when she’s used to suspecting the worst.

PhD candidate Phoebe Walsh has always been obsessed with true crime. She’s even analyzing the genre in her dissertation—if she can manage to finish writing it. It’s hard to find the time while she spends the summer in Florida, cleaning out her childhood home, dealing with her obnoxiously good-natured younger brother, and grappling with the complicated feelings of mourning a father she hadn’t had a relationship with for years.

It doesn’t help that she’s low-key convinced that her new neighbor, Sam Dennings, is a serial killer (he may dress business casual by day, but at night he’s clearly up to something). It’s not long before Phoebe realizes that Sam might be something much scarier—a genuinely nice guy who can pierce her armor to reach her vulnerable heart.

Review: Maybe this is going to be a year end tradition for me on the blog, in that I am once again reviewing a romance novel when that isn’t usually the genre I tackle around these parts. But like last December and “The Love Hypothesis”, I just had to talk about a romance that has a lot of aspects that speak to me! Let me count the ways.

  • It’s a slow burn romance with a vague enemies to lovers beginning.
  • Our main character is snarky and weird and oh so relatable to me.
  • There is a VERY CLEAR CUT TRUE CRIME THEME.

In the words of Junji Ito’s “The Enigma of Amigara Fault”, “IT WAS MADE FOR ME!!”

“Love in the Time of Serial Killers” really felt like it was written with an awkward weirdo like me in mind, and it made for a breezy and fun read. I really loved the mix of forced proximity (as our protagonists Phoebe and Sam are new neighbors after she has moved into her recently deceased father’s home) and enemies to lovers (as Phoebe is instantly paranoid that Sam is a malicious predator because he offered her help without any invitation). Throw in the fact she’s getting her Ph.D with a focus on true crime as a genre and its impact on readers and creators alike and suddenly it finds a way to feel fresh. The dialog is fun and snappy, the characters are all enjoyable and easy to like, and the various obstacles that obviously have to get in the way of Phoebe and Sam are high stakes enough they feel weighty without feeling melodramatic and sappy. I really liked the banter between Phoebe and Sam, and I thought that the build up to their eventual romance was perfectly paced with the right kind of weird tension that makes the build up all the more delightful as we get to a steamy and sexy pay off.

But it was Phoebe’s characterization and character growth that really sold this book for me. Phoebe is written in such a way that I found her to be very engaging, endearing, and, in a lot of ways, SUPER relatable. Phoebe has a fixation on true crime as a genre, and her dissertation is on the genre itself and how people interact with it. She is also a bit anxious, has a distrustful and snarky disposition, and has a hard time being vulnerable because of past traumas and experiences related to her childhood and her parents super acrimonious divorce. I loved seeing her slowly learn to stop seeing everyone and everything through a true crime lens, and loved seeing her not only open up to Sam (whom I also really liked), but also to the younger brother she hasn’t seen much of since the divorce, and to an old friend whom she had a complicated falling out with.

But the other thing I really appreciated is that Thompson never really shames Phoebe’s interest in true crime or makes it into something so problematic she has to ‘learn a lesson’ about why her interest is bad. I think that with true crime being so ‘in’ right now (though honestly, true crime has ALWAYS been popular in American culture) there certainly is a lot to be said about consuming other people’s tragedies, but this can be done without making those interested seem like psychopaths in their own right, and Thompson does walk that line pretty well. Yes, Phoebe needs to relax a little bit, and yes, her interest in true crime is rooted in other issues in her life she hasn’t quite dealt with, but she’s never portrayed as bad or malicious for her fascination. And I really liked that angle (probably because I feel like Phoebe and I have a lot in common when it comes to hyperfocusing on true crime due to other baggage in our lives).

“Love in the Time of Serial Killers” is a frothy and fun romance with a little bit of edge. I wholly enjoyed it and if you’re looking for a fun cute read for the upcoming holidays, this might be a good choice!

Rating 8: Cute, quippy, and oh so relatable to my true crime interested self, “Love in the Time of Serial Killers” is a fun rom com for fans of a slow burn love story with quirky weirdos at the heart.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Love in the Time of Serial Killers” is included on the Goodreads list “2022 Contemporary Romance Releases”.

Serena’s Review: “A Fire Endless”

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Book: “A Fire Endless” by Rebecca Ross

Publishing Info: Harper Voyager, December 2022

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

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

Book Description: East and West. Humans and Spirits. Breccans and Tamerlaines. The Isle of Cadence has always held itself and its residents in a tenuous balance. But now Bane, the spirit of the North Wind, has pushed everyone and everything in his path off-kilter in a bid to claim dominion over all.

In the West, Adaira struggles to adjust to the more brutal, bitter ways of life among the Breccans. Striving to find her place in the clan, she swiftly realizes that it just might be the last role she desires to hold. And while magic blooms effortlessly for the Breccans in the west, the spirits continue to suffer beneath Bane’s harsh power, felt in every gust of wind.

In the East, Jack is adrift without Adaira until he sings to the ember-weak fire spirits, acquiring a dangerous mission he never expected. One that is destined to lead him westward. Likewise, Torin and Sidra are consumed by a new mystery as sickness spreads first amongst the crops, and then to the people of the Tamerlaine clan. While Sidra desperately searches for a cure, Torin dares to strike a bargain with the spirits—a precarious folly anytime, but especially now as the days grow darker.

With the island falling further out of balance, humans and spirits alike will need to join together to face Bane, and Jack’s gift with the harp will be called upon once more. Yet no one can challenge the North Wind without paying a terrible price, and the sacrifice required this time may be more than Jack, Adaira, Torin, and Sidra can bear to pay.

Previously Reviewed: “A River Enchanted”

Review: I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed “A River Enchanted” last year. Not being overly familiar with the author or super blown away by the fairly standard-sounding description, I found myself blazing through it in only a few days, gobbling up everything it had to offer. That being the case, the second book was facing the much more challenging task of now living up to the expectations set in the first one. Not to mention, December, for some reason, is always the slowest time of the year for fantasy title releases, so any book that comes out this month has to carry a lot of weight as one of my few new release reads of the month!

Not only is the land divided, with the Tamerlaines suffering from low magical but a plentiful land and the Breccans just the opposite, plenty of magic but harsh living conditions, but Adaira and the bard, Jack, find themselves, too, separated shortly after their marriage. For her part, Adaira must try to find a place for herself alongside a family she never knew and in a land she barely understands. And Jack stumbles upon a mystery that may require a sacrifice greater than he ever could have suspected. As they work to heal the land, they uncover a long hidden history that may be the key to it all.

I really enjoyed this sequel. Having largely resolved the two main romances in the first book, this story takes on themes of reimaging how one sees oneself in the world. All four of our main characters must grapple with this question in certain ways when their primary role is shaken out from beneath them. Adaira’s is obviously the most extreme seeing her relocated to an entirely new land that comes hand-in-hand with an entirely new family who has different views on ruling and leadership. Adaira’s journey is one of grappling with two versions of herself and finding a way forward that calls upon the strengths she already possessed while drawing forth new, unknown wells of strength. Jack’s journey is, perhaps, a bit more straightforward, but his choices and the mysteries around the magical power of music serve an ever growing role in the story.

This story also travels beyond the limits of the material world, with various peeks into the moving pieces in the land of spirits. Again, as the story progresses, we get more and more information on the history behind the powerful king and his influence over the other spirits. This story is definitely a slower tale, with much of the focus being on these inner character arcs and how those overlap the mystery of the Breccans and the Tamerlaines. Towards the middle, the action does pick up some more, which I found to be a bit of relief, as their was potential for things to drag with Jack and Adaira separated for too long and too many mysteries layered on top of each other.

I also really enjoyed the exploration of the relationship between parents and their grown children. Both Adaira and Jack are thrust into a situation where they are meeting parents they never knew before. With that comes a very different relationship than one built from infancy. For Adaira’s part, she must grapple with finding a place for the family she few up and loved dearly but who passed away, and this new family she never knew and barely understands, but who are now here and wanting her to be one of them. These questions were all handled in a very real-feeling way, with understanding of both the joys that can be found there but also the very real challenges and pitfalls.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Both this one and its predecessor are by no means action-packed stories, so they are largely going to appeal to readers who enjoy atmospheric stories that emphasize the inner journeys of the characters. Those who enjoyed the first book should definitely check this one out, as I think its a worthy conclusion of what turned out to be a very solid fantasy duology.

Rating 8: Centering around themes of family and self-discovery, this was a perfect conclusion to an excellent fantasy duology.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Fire Endless” isn’t on any Goodreads yet, but it should be on Original Stories . . . a Breath of Fresh Air.

Kate’s Review: “A History of Fear”


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Book: “A History of Fear” by Luke Dumas

Publishing Info: Atria Books, December 2022

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

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

Book Description: Grayson Hale, the most infamous murderer in Scotland, is better known by a different name: the Devil’s Advocate. The twenty-five-year-old American grad student rose to instant notoriety when he confessed to the slaughter of his classmate Liam Stewart, claiming the Devil made him do it.

When Hale is found hanged in his prison cell, officers uncover a handwritten manuscript that promises to answer the question that’s haunted the nation for years: was Hale a lunatic, or had he been telling the truth all along?

Unnervingly, Hale doesn’t fit the bill of a killer. The first-person narrative that centers this novel reveals an acerbic young atheist, newly enrolled at the University of Edinburgh to carry on the legacy of his recently deceased father. In need of cash, he takes a job ghostwriting a mysterious book for a dark stranger, but has misgivings when the project begins to reawaken his satanophobia, a rare condition that causes him to live in terror that the Devil is after him. As he struggles to disentangle fact from fear, Grayson’s world is turned upside-down after events force him to confront his growing suspicion that he’s working for the one he has feared all this time—and that the book is only the beginning of their partnership.​​

A History of Fear is a propulsive foray into the darkness of the human psyche, marrying dread-inducing atmosphere and heart-palpitating storytelling.

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

In the wide wide swaths of horror sub genres, many of which I tread in and out of as I go on my reading adventures, there are two that I don’t really prioritize based on my own personal preferences. The first is literary horror. It’s not that I don’t like literary horror, it’s more a visceral response that I have that is similar to cinema that uses the phrase ‘elevated’ horror; specifically that I feel like when something is bragged to be literary horror, it implies that genre horror is ‘less than’. That’s a chip on my shoulder, one hundred percent. The other is any horror that involves The Devil, and THAT is based on the fact that I have rage triggers involving Satanic Panic, and that I also just don’t believe in The Devil as The Adversary. So perhaps it was weird that I wanted to read “A History of Fear” by Luke Dumas, which is billed as literary horror about a man who claims the Devil made him murder a friend. But I guess I was feeling daring, because I requested this book and therefore committed to it. And honestly, I’m glad I took the chance, because even as two sub genres that don’t work well for me, this one did work!

There is always an undercurrent of ambiguity in this novel that adds to the disorientation and unease, due to a few different factors. The first is that the majority of the POV is through the eyes of Grayson Hale, a man who was convicted of murdering a fellow student and blaming it on the devil. As the reader reads the pages, there is already a sense of unreliability, as it is unclear as to whether Hale actually did run afoul the Devil through D.B., the man who wants him to write a book about the Devil in Scotland, or if he is a very disturbed individual who was in actuality battling against more metaphorical demons. The second is that there are snippets of interviews and commentaries from an outside party of a reporter named Daniela, who so intrigued with the tale and Hale’s memoir that she sets out to try and figure out just what DID happen. I liked how we would get Hale’s perspective, and then have it picked at and added to by Daniela’s notes. Is he really being tormented by a mysterious ‘D.B.’ who was employer turned villain? Is he really seeing flying demons? Or is it all a part of a childhood fear of the devil that has come to fruition because of untreated mental illness? It makes for a very well rounded and multi faceted tale, and makes it so the reader is both put off by Hale, but for many, many reasons finds reasons to pity him. I really loved how it allowed for bit revelations to be sprinkled in without feeling overreached in the main narrative. And on the flip side, it also means that the reader can have the rug yanked out from under their expectations.

As for horror elements, Dumas approaches it from a few different ways. As Hale’s paranoia grows, the dread really builds, and we have descriptions of shadowy beings lurking in Hale’s periphery, as well as winged beasts that he is certain are stalking him and attacking him. There are, of course, devil themes and demon themes as well, but as someone who isn’t particularly scared by the idea of The Devil it wasn’t really this main horror trope that put me off and set my teeth on edge. It was more the question of whether or not Hale is actually perhaps losing his grip on reality, and how his life experience and childhood memories of trauma and isolation and self loathing can wreak so much havoc. I would say that “A History of Fear” is very much a ‘literary’ horror novel in the sense that Dumas experiments with narrative structure and various subversions of elements, but it’s also because at its heart a meditation on what ‘evil’ is, and how it manifests in very real ways.

“A History of Fear” is a chilling read for a dark winter night. It will leave the reader with questions and doubt, and will get under one’s skin because of it.

Rating 8: A haunting, ambiguous, and ultimately tragic literary horror novel that oozes malice and unease.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A History of Fear” is included on the Goodreads list “Bring on the Creepy!”.

Highlights: December 2022

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It’s that time of year where everything speeds up as we barrel towards holiday plans and the end of the year. The snow has fallen and the temperatures have dropped, and holiday lights have gone up around our neighborhoods and temptations of Christmas cookies and promises of Hanukkah latkes are ever present. And there are, of course, new books we are looking forward to!

Serena’s Picks

Book: “A Fire Endless” by Rebecca Ross

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

Why I’m Interested: I really enjoyed “A River Enchanted” when I read it last December. And then, of course, it ended on a pretty big cliffhanger, with our recently married couple separated and each now dealing with huge revelations regarding their own parents and family history. The story also set up a looming conflict in the magical realm, where a powerful Fae lord has his eyes firmly on our young musician and his burgeoning abilities. I’m also excited to see how the book deals with these two divided and warring lands. There’s a lot to pack into this second book, but I have high hopes!

Book: “The Poison Season” by Mara Rutherford

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

Why I’m Interested: I’m always thrilled to find original fairytale fantasies. And this one is checking a lot of boxes! Leelo lives on a island with her entire family and community, surrounded on one side by a poisonous lake and on the other by a bloodthirsty forest. But what seems like horrors to others are seen as protection by these people who fear the outsiders on the other side. But when Leelo meets one of these outsiders, a young man who accidentally made his way to this strange island, she begins to question all that she knows of her people’s history. Color me intrigued!

Book: “Anastasia”

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

Why I’m Interested: I mean, I think the title says it all for this one! I have a special place in my heart for the animated “Antastasia” movie, it was definitely one of the most re-watched movies my sister and I agreed on. This story is blurbed as not only being the happily-ever-after story of this tragic character, but also a classic enemies-to-lovers romance. It’s also chocking in at a whopping 850 pages….what?? I honestly had to double check that number when I first saw it, but it seems right! So, this could either be one of those situations where you get more of a good thing or…filler city? I’m excited to find out!

Kate’s Picks

Book: “A History of Fear” by Luke Dumas

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

Why I’m Interested: We all know that when it comes to horror sub-genres, demonic possession of religious horror aren’t super high on my ‘must read’ lists. But I was definitely intrigued by the description of “A History of Fear” by Luke Dumas, if only because I do love a moody unreliable story that has a lot of ambiguity attached to it. And this book is clearly going to fit all those bills, given that it’s a fictional ‘memoir’ of a man who murdered a classmate while he was studying in Edinburgh and insisted that the Devil made him do it. The premise alone is enough to catch my attention, but you throw in Scotland and a lot of potential personal angst and I am caught hook, line, and sinker.

Book: “Witcha Gonna Do?” by Avery Flynn

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

Why I’m Interested: Yeah, okay, so romances aren’t usually the genre I cover here (though that hasn’t stopped me before and it won’t stop me going forward!), but this one just sounds cute as heck! I do love a fun witch story, and I do love a bantery and sexual tension filled enemies to lovers romance, and “Witcha Gonna Do?” sounds like it hits both of those themes, and how! A magic-powerless witch has to team up with a maddening but hot rival to try and save her family from a curse, and as they butt heads a certain attraction also starts to bloom. It just sounds like fun escapist romance, and I am hoping to check it out!

Book: “The Ingenue” by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

Why I’m Interested: While I’m not totally sure that my heart can take it right now given the implied thematics at hand, this was a book that caught my eye through promotions at ALA back in June. After Saskia, a child piano prodigy, returns to her childhood home as an adult after her mother’s death, she finds out that her mother left the house to a man from her past that had a dark impact on her life. As she tries to parse through what happened to her and the path it set her on, she has to keep from falling apart or letting her long kept secrets out. Again, it sounds like one I may need to wait on until I’m in a certain headspace, but the comparisons to both “My Dark Vanessa” and “The Queen’s Gambit” are admittedly very fascinating.

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

Serena’s Review: “The Luminaries”

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Book: “The Luminaries” by Susan Dennard

Publishing Info: Tor Teen, November 2022

Where Did I Get this Book: ALA, Edelweiss+

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

Book Description: Hemlock Falls isn’t like other towns. You won’t find it on a map, your phone won’t work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you.

Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie’s town—and the rest of humanity—from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night.

Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal—and restore her family’s good name. Or die trying.

But in order to survive, Winnie enlists the help of the one person who can help her train: Jay Friday, resident bad boy and Winnie’s ex-best friend. While Jay might be the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, he also seems to know more about the nightmares of the forest than he should. Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.

Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark.

Review: I’ve been a bit hit and miss with Susan Dennard’s work in the past. I was first introduced to her several years ago at a panel at ALA, and I really liked what she had to say about writing young adult fantasy fiction. But I’ve never quite connected to her actual work. But it had been a few years since I’ve given her a shot, and I thought this new book sounded interesting. Plus, it had the kind of dark fantasy, spooky cover that I’ve been into lately.

When Winnie’s father was exposed as a spy and a traitor, her life went off the rails. Now, she sees only one way to restore hers and her family’s reputation: she must enter the Luminary trials and reclaim her place as a hunter of monsters. But the trials themselves are deadly, even without the fraught internal politics of the hunter families. And this year, something even darker is lurking in the woods. An unknown evil that no one has faced before.

So, I’ll just get it out of the way right away: this book wasn’t a hit for me. But there were also several factors involved that skewed my opinion, so I’m definitely not saying that it was a bad book in and of itself. For one thing, when I picked this book up, I somehow missed the reference to phones in the book summary and was completely taken aback to discover it was a contemporary/urban fantasy story. So maybe it was just a mood thing or my general preference for non-contemporary fantasy stories, but right of the bat I did struggle to immerse myself in this mash up of a world with an evil forest but also kids riding around on 4-wheelers.

Secondly, the book is written in third person present tense. This has to be one of my least favorite styles of writing. It ends up with the story reading in this bizarre tone where you have sentences like “Winnie tells Mom that she’s heading to school.” That’s…just weird sounding, not least because of the strangeness of the “Mom” thing. If you’re going to do third person, then do third person! Only a first person narrator would refer to the mother as “Mom” in the general telling of the story. So, yes, as you can see, I had a hard time getting past that.

But, of course, that wasn’t really the book’s fault, and readers who enjoy contemporary/urban young adult fantasy and don’t mind this style of writing will likely not struggle in the same way I did. I will say, the summary does an effective job here. You really know about all you need to know about the book from what you see above, and the story neatly checks off plot points as it goes along. I didn’t find much in the way of shocks or real twists to the story. I thought most of the reveals were fairly telegraphed early in the book.

If I did get caught up with questions, they had more to do with some of the mechanics of the world-building. For example, it is emphasized that maintaining the population of hunters who can fight these monsters is paramount, so everyone understands they are expected to marry and have kids early. But then, on the other hand, you have teenagers participating in these deadly trials. Which…just logically makes no sense. Teenagers aren’t fully grown physically, and they also, naturally, have less experience under their belts. If there are concerns about keeping up a dwindling population, it seems counter-intuitive to choose this age for a deadly trial system, an age that sets your own kids up for a higher mortality rate.

Anyways…yes, this book wasn’t for me. But I know there are a lot of fans of this author out there, so I’m also not saying this book won’t appeal to a lot of general YA fantasy fans. The story is action-packed, and I did like the commitment to the body horror of these monsters. There’s also the rather typical YA romance at its heart, which may also appeal to many readers. If you’re a fan of YA urban fantasy and like stories focused on trials and competitions, this might be for you! If so, don’t forget to enter our giveaway to win an ARC copy!

Enter to win!

Rating 6: Perhaps if it hadn’t been written in third person present tense, I would have liked it more. But I just found myself getting caught up on too many things to enjoy this one.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Luminaries” can be found on these Goodreads lists: SFF books with a forest setting

Kate’s Review: “Number One Fan”

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

Book: “Number One Fan” by Meg Elison

Publishing Info: MIRA, August 2022

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it.

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

Book Description: She created a beautiful world. Now he wants it all.

On her way to a speaking engagement, bestselling novelist Eli Grey gets into a cab and accepts a drink from the driver, trusting that everything is fine. She wakes up chained in the stranger’s basement. With no close family or friends expecting her to check in, Eli knows she needs to save herself. She soon realizes that her abduction wasn’t random, and though she thinks she might recognize her captor, she can’t figure out what he wants. Her only clues are that he’s very familiar with her books and deeply invested in the fantastical world she creates. What follows is a test of wills as Eli pits herself against a man who believes she owes him everything—and is determined to take it from her.

Terrifying and timely, set against the backdrop of convention culture and the MeToo reckoning, Number One Fan unflinchingly examines the tension between creator and work, fandom and source material, and the rage of fans who feel they own fiction.

Review: Back during my Stephen King Binge of 8th Grade, I read his stalker fan horror story “Misery” and was absolutely unglued by it. I found a copy on a family trip to California, purchasing it at Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, and have vivid memories of reading it on the airplane home and feeling abject dread as Annie Wilkes tortured author Paul Sheldon as she held him hostage in her isolated farm house. It’s still Top 5 King for me. This year I kept hearing buzz for the book “Number One Fan” by Meg Elison, which was being touted as a gender swapped reimagining of “Misery”, but through a more modern and feminist lens. Sign me up regardless, honestly, and I was expecting it to be a critique of fandom culture and the debate of ownership of a work between creators and fans. And it’s that, to be sure. But throw some Sad and Rabid Puppies in for good measure, and that is what makes “Number One Fan” so utterly disturbing.

If you know, you know. (source)

“Number One Fan” has a pretty straight forward, multi third person perspective narrative. Our main focus is on Eli, an author whose adult fantasy series has made waves across fandom and has thrust her into the spotlight, whether she is really able to cope with it or not. While traveling for a convention, she hops into an Uber, but then passes out and finds herself trapped in an unknown basement. Her captor is somewhat familiar to her, though she can’t figure out why, but he is hellbent on usurping her fantasy world and turning her into her main character for his own obsessions. We jump from perspective to perspective, either seeing Eli’s present or her backstory that builds up to her present, or Leonard, her captor, as he plots and schemes and hopes to possess her story and his image of her. As we slowly get to know both Eli and Leonard, we get a twisted commentary on fandom, the writing world, nerds and convention culture, and the toxic brew that can come with all of it. It’s a very suspenseful story as Leonard becomes more deranged and Eli becomes more desperate, and as a few players on the outside, namely Eli’s assistant and an FBI agent he contacts when Eli goes off the grid, try to figure out what all is happening. I loved watching all of the pieces fall into place as captive and captor entangle.

But it’s the abject realism of the horrific circumstances Eli is in that really hit home “Number One Fan” for me. I’ll start with the most obvious: the fact that she is a woman who has been kidnapped and is being held against her will. Elison doesn’t hold back on the horror elements of this that make it feel all the more real and effective as a woman reader; be it the one moment she lets her guard down getting into a ride share, or the way she is gaslit by Leonard in an effort to mold her to his twisted sexual fantasy, or even just the gross realities of how disgusting and unsanitary surroundings would wreak havoc on a woman’s body (UTIs, yeast infections, what have you), the kidnapping itself is scary as hell. But there are also other elements that are scary and super real, like the way that Eli has been harassed and picked apart by others because of her existence as a woman in nerd culture, or the way that even when it is clear that something terrible has happened, that it’s dismissed by some. Or the fact that numerous other women have been targets and victims of Leonard is other ways, and it has always gone under the radar. “Misery” is scary to be sure, but its focus is more on an author whose work has been fixated on by one unhinged fan because of the work itself. In “Number One Fan”, you get the sense that the fixation is based on gender, entitlement, and misogyny. And given that things like GamerGate and, yes, the Hugo Awards Sad Puppies and Rabid Puppies Slates are still causing ripples in recent so called ‘culture wars’, it makes this feel all the more timely, and all the more unnerving. Also, content warnings are probably needed for this one. With violent misogyny comes sexual violence, and while it isn’t super explicit, the spectre of it is on the pages.

“Number One Fan” is a disturbing and well done horror novel with a feminist battle cry bent. I will be on the look out for more horror from Meg Elison.

Rating 8: A modern and deeply disturbing reimagining of “Misery” that hits misogyny and fan culture themes, “Number One Fan” is scary and timely.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Number One Fan” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror to Look Forward To in 2022”.

Giveaway: “The Luminaries”

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

Book: “The Luminaries” by Susan Dennard

Publishing Info: Tor Teen, November 2022

Where Did I Get this Book: ALA, Edelweiss+

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

Book Description: Hemlock Falls isn’t like other towns. You won’t find it on a map, your phone won’t work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you.

Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie’s town—and the rest of humanity—from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night.

Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal—and restore her family’s good name. Or die trying.

But in order to survive, Winnie enlists the help of the one person who can help her train: Jay Friday, resident bad boy and Winnie’s ex-best friend. While Jay might be the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, he also seems to know more about the nightmares of the forest than he should. Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.

Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark.

Giveaway Details: Susan Dennard is back with a contemporary fantasy with a super creepy cover. I’ll admit, the cover itself was one of the main reasons I’ve had my eyes on this one. For all that Kate is the horror expert, I do find myself leaning towards the darker stories here and there. And this type of monster-hunting fantasy story looks like just the sort to tickle that particular itch. Plus, who can say no to a bad-boy love interest?

Per the usual, this giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. The giveaway ends on December 7.

Enter now!

Kate’s Review: “Five Survive”

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Book: “Five Survive” by Holly Jackson

Publishing Info: Delacorte Press, November 2022

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

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

Book Description: Eight hours. Six friends. Five survive. A road trip turns deadly in this addictive YA thriller from the bestselling author of the worldwide phenomenon A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER.

Red Kenny is on a road trip for spring break with five friends: Her best friend – the older brother – his perfect girlfriend – a secret crush – a classmate – and a killer.

When their RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, they soon realize this is no accident. They have been trapped by someone out there in the dark, someone who clearly wants one of them dead.

With eight hours until dawn, the six friends must escape, or figure out which of them is the target. But is there a liar among them? Buried secrets will be forced to light and tensions inside the RV will reach deadly levels. Not all of them will survive the night. . . . 

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

With how much I loved the “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” Trilogy by Holly Jackson, I was waiting on pins and needles to see what she would come up with next. And lo and behold, I saw “Five Survive”, her newest YA thriller, up on NetGalley, and rejoiced. And the description was so, so intriguing: six friends on an RV trip are deliberately stranded by a dangerous stranger, who wants one of them dead and gone, with secrets coming to light and perhaps friends turning on each other. I mean come on. That’s all just catnip to me! And my high hopes were fairly well met, as “Five Survive” snagged me in and kept me going until I’d finished the book over two days time.

The breakneck pacing really works in this books favor, as the building tension that starts almost from the jump is really what kept me reading. We have our group of friends, the protagonist being Red, on a trip with her childhood friends and a couple new faces in the mix. Jackson wastes no time in cutting this trip short, as the RV is waylaid and it is clear very quickly that it is NO accident. And when they realize that a sniper is outside, demanding a secret, the people in this stranded RV go from stunned, to disbelieving, to frustrated, to horrified realization, and as the severity of their situation starts making all of them start making desperate decisions. Friends turn on friends in hopes of saving their own skins, and a fun road trip becomes nightmarish. I liked the time chunks and the way that the hours tick by and the desperation builds, and how they all start showing their true colors as secrets are revealed and the back stabbing begins. But I did like that a lot of the characters were easy to like, which made the stakes all the higher. Sure, there is one guy who is a complete asshole that is fairly two dimensional, but everyone else is explored well enough that the suspense about who was the secret holder and who wouldn’t make it out alive was palpable. After all, the title is “Five Survive”, and there are six people in the RV. And I do think that a lot of the surprises were well done and well earned. Jackson has really perfected the right formula for this kind of teen thriller, and it was neat seeing her tackle this kind of thriller as opposed to one like “Good Girls Guide” that feels more detective-y and step by step investigation.

In terms of our narrator, Red, she was a little more of a mixed bag for me for a lot of the book. A lot of her train of thought felt repetitive, and there were a lot of moments that felt need to remind us that she has a harder time than everyone in the RV and that she has had a lot of tragedy in her life. I’m not saying that there isn’t reason for this tragic backstory, or even that there isn’t reason for dwelling on it a bit, but when it does all come together it still felt a bit like it was hammered over the head perhaps a few too many times. I think that if we had more time with her in the story, and by that I mean a longer timeline than overnight, she may have been able to breathe a bit more with her angst and pathos, but crammed into one night, even if the book itself isn’t outside the average of a typical novel, it just gets a bit tedious. But there is still enough to like with her, and the supporting characters, from privileged asshat Oliver to sweet but condescending Maddy to awkward Arthur, all have satisfying moments and bring variety to a solid cast of characters.

Overall, “Five Survive” is a quick and engaging thriller, another fun read from Holly Jackson. I’m so glad that her streak is continuing, and once again I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

Rating 8: Suspenseful and tense with breakneck twists and turns, “Five Survive” is another well done YA thriller by Holly Jackson!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Five Survive” is included on the Goodreads list “2022 YA Mysteries and Thrillers”.

Not Just Books: November 2022

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

Amazon Prime Show: “The Rings of Power”

It took me a bit to get around to this show (I won’t lie, I was a bit concerned about the ambition of this project and also the fact that nothing can live up to Peter Jackson’s original three movies), but I’m really glad I finally did! Sure, I can nitpick on changes (one, in particular, kind of made me chuckle), but overall, I think it was a very enjoyable show. I thought it did very well capturing the same general tone as the original trilogy, especially with the emphasis on beautiful locations and an excellent score. The acting was all solid as well. There were a few storylines that I definitely cared less about than others, but nothing I actively disliked, and a lot that I really enjoyed!

Movie: “Don’t Worry Darling”

My husband almost talked me out of this one on movie night, listing all of the drama that went on on set and with the changes to casting. But I’ve also really loved Florence Pugh in everything I’ve seen her in, so I persevered. And I’m glad I did! I did think a few aspects of the plot were pretty familiar, but, like I said, Florence Pugh really carried it with her excellent portrayal of a young woman who begins to question her world and fear she is losing her mind. The music in this one was also very strange, which added to the building sense of unease and creepiness of the entire situation. While it’s covering a lot of familiar ground, there were a few notable deviations from previous stories of this kind. Overall, I really liked it!

Sports: Fifa World Cup 2022

Both Kate’s and my husband are very, very into soccer. We’re talking season tickets, front row seats for our local club sorts of “into” soccer. So, needless to say, soccer has been on my TV practically nonstop for the last week. Luckily, I enjoy most sports well enough, so I’ve not minded. Yes, I do find it harder to get invested in the outcome of, say, Japan vs. Costa Rica. But I also watched the abysmal performance of the US men’s team when they failed to qualify four years ago, so it’s been great watching them finally play on the world stage! And the big one is tomorrow! I have to admit, I am a bit stressed about it!

Kate’s Pick

TV Show: “Welcome to Chippendales”

This was one of my most anticipated shows of the Fall, which is probably not surprising to anyone who knows me. I mean, come on: true crime! Salacious scandal! 80s tackiness! SEEDINESS GALORE! I wasn’t familiar with a lot of the dark history of male dancer organization Chippendales, and this show is making it intriguing and trashy and you KNOW I was watching it while making food for Thanksgiving. Kumail Nanjiani plays Somen “Steve” Banerjee, an immigrant to America with dreams of making it big. He opens up the Chippendales club, a strip joint with male dancers, and thanks to his drive and the dance numbers choreographed by the flamboyant Nick de Noia it is a HUGE success. But with success comes greed and vice, and as Banerjee and de Noia butt heads, violence follows. I think Nanjiani is fantastic as Banerjee, Murray Bartlett is a stupendous de Noia, and I LOVE Juliette Lewis as brassy costume designer Denise. Also, look out for Dan Stevens, whose name in the credits made me go ‘oh!’ with anticipation… and then ‘oh no’ when I saw he was playing Paul Snider. If you know, you know.

TV Show: “Criminal Minds: Evolution”

A couple years ago I very belatedly got into “Criminal Minds” when it was available for streaming on Netflix. I didn’t do the whole run as the cast turnover started to get aggravating, but I liked it for what it was. When I saw that they had a reboot in the works, I was VERY interested, as a lot of the original cast was game to come back, and during some downtime during the holiday weekend I sat down and started it. It did not disappoint. The BAU is back, and continues to look into violent crimes and cases by serial killers or those who are budding to become serial killers. But when they find a strange connection between seemingly unrelated cases across the country, they start to realize that, due to isolation during the pandemic’s early days, a network of killers found each other online to swap tips. And now they have to try and bring down the ringleader. I’m very happy to see the likes of Prentiss and Garcia on my screen again, and I am very interested to see how this all unfolds.

Film: “The Menu”

Flashback: March 2020. I went to see “Emma” starring Anya Taylor-Joy at the local Alamo Drafthouse. Little did I know it would be the last movie I’d see in theaters for almost three years. But Thanksgiving weekend my husband said ‘I know you’re still nervous, but there’s this weird movie I’ve been hearing about that I think we should go see if you are comfortable’. And I decided that, mask and full vaccination record in tow, it was time. So I returned to the movie theater, seeing “The Menu” starring Anya Taylor-Joy at the local Alamo Drafthouse. It follows a young couple who are partaking in an exclusive foodie experience on a remote island with one of the world’s most touted chefs running the dinner. And as the courses keep coming, it becomes more and more clear that this isn’t any old dinner service, but the premise for something far darker. I REALLY enjoyed this horror-black comedy, as it’s a great send up of snooty foodie elitism combined with a slow burn dread. Taylor-Joy is great, of course, but Ralph Fiennes really stands out as the prodigious, albeit unhinged, chef.

Serena’s Review: “Tread of Angels”

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Book: “Tread of Angels” by Rebecca Roanhorse

Publishing Info: Saga Press, November 2022

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

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

Book Description: High in the remote mountains, the town of Goetia is booming as prospectors from near and far come to mine the powerful new element Divinity. Divinity is the remains of the body of the rebel Abaddon, who fell to earth during Heaven’s War, and it powers the world’s most inventive and innovative technologies, ushering in a new age of progress. However, only the descendants of those that rebelled, called Fallen, possess the ability to see the rich lodes of the precious element. That makes them a necessary evil among the good and righteous people called the Elect, and Goetia a town segregated by ancestry and class.

Celeste and Mariel are two Fallen sisters, bound by blood but raised in separate worlds. Celeste grew up with her father, passing in privileged Elect society, while Mariel stayed with their mother in the Fallen slums of Goetia. Upon her father’s death, Celeste returns to Goetia and reunites with Mariel. Mariel is a great beauty with an angelic voice, and Celeste, wracked by guilt for leaving her sister behind, becomes her fiercest protector.

When Mariel is accused of murdering a Virtue, the powerful Order of the Archangels that rule Goetia, Celeste must take on the role of Advocatus Diaboli (Devil’s Advocate) and defend her sister in the secretive courts of the Virtue. Celeste, aided by her ex-lover, Abraxas, who was once one of the rebels great generals, sets out to prove Mariel innocent. But powerful forces among the Virtues and the Elect mining barons don’t want Celeste prying into their business, and Mariel has secrets of her own. As Celeste is drawn deeper into the dark side of Goetia, she unravel a layer of lies and manipulation that may doom Mariel and puts her own immortal soul at risk, in this dark fantasy noir from the bestselling mastermind Rebecca Roanhorse.

Review: I’ve loved everything I’ve ever read by Rebecca Roanhorse. She’s one of those fantasy authors who seems to have a boundless imagination and the writing skills to properly bring those many ideas to the page in exciting, new ways. But, like many fantasy authors, she also writes a decent number of long books that require a good amount of time to get through. So, in the midst of a very busy fall full of tons of books that I wanted to get to I was relieved to see a novella heading my way.

In a society split into two sides after Heaven’s War, two sisters have tried to patch a life together for themselves. But while both are Fallen, those descended from the demons who lost the war, Celeste and Mariel grew up in very different circumstances. Celeste, largely able to pass as one of the priveleged Elect, grew up with her father in the city. Mariel was left behind, living in poverty with their mother. But now, as adults and together, they have worked to create a life for themselves, with Celeste determined to stand by the sister she feels she abandoned as a child. So when Mariel stands accused of a terrible crime, Celeste will do anything to prove her sister is innocent.

There was a lot to this novella. And that’s both a compliment and also my main complaint. On one hands, this felt like a very well-developed world, with a clear history and society. We only have glimpses here and there, but the concept of a war in heaven and the fallout that’s left behind with angels and demons is familiar enough to many readers that even without tons of details, it’s easy to understand what is going on and the dynamics at play. On the other hand, while I think the story itself works well, I did end the book feeling as if I still wanted more. More of that history. More of how this society works. More of the characters’ stories, especially their pasts that were only quickly skimmed over.

But what we do get is excellent. Celeste and Mariel were very interesting characters. Due to the nature of the story, Celeste’s is the story and character that we get more of, but through Celeste’s journey Mariel’s character becomes more and more intriguing as well, even if we don’t see her on page as much. There were a lot of excellent twists and turns to be found here. When I started the book, I quickly felt that I had a handle on what this story was going to be about, where the characters were headed and what the overall commentary and theme of the book would be. Obviously, I won’t spoil anything here, but this story turned out to be much more layered and complicated than I had initially imagined.

And while I loved these twists and turns, especially the way the story ended, this also contributed to my feeling of wanting more by the end. However, even typing that out now, I’m questioning myself. Was that feeling of wanting more due to the book or story actually lacking anything? Or was it in and of itself a commentary on storytelling, characters, and readers’ expectations? I’m not quite sure. It’s one of those cases where I think many readers will come to their own conclusions. One thing I can say with certainty is that, for as short as this book it, it really stuck with me, and I found myself thinking about it for several days after the fact. I definitely recommend it to general fantasy fans. It’s a nice short story that packs a punch with the limited page length it has.

Rating 8: Unexpected and interesting, I found myself both wishing for more but also, somehow, satisfied with this very same lack of satisfaction.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Tread of Angels” can be found on this Goodreads list:[ATY 2023] Western