Tag: 7 Rating

Kate’s Review: “Secrets Gnaw at the Flesh”

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Book: “Secrets Gnaw at the Flesh” by C.J. Weiss

Publishing Info: Self Published, October 2023

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

Where You Can Get This Book: Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: A historically malevolent haunted house threatens to end a line of paranormal guardians. Will the family’s latest addition tip the scales in their favor or hurtle them toward their demise?

Garrett Mueller proposes to his girlfriend, Marie Renault. She rejects him, distressing him until he learns why. Her family watches over a haunted house, where every several years a Breach opens to the world of the dead. Everyone related by blood or oath must return, or the Breach widens, endangering the family and world at large. To marry Marie, he must also bind himself to that house.

The Renaults estimate a week until the Breach opens, offering Garrett a short trial period. Despite the risks, he will try it for the woman he loves. The Renaults are professionals when it comes to the supernatural, and they’ve always prevailed. Only, as the week progresses, the family discovers this Breach is shaping up to be one of historically dangerous proportions. Risks mount higher as secrets leak out, threatening to divide the family. And even if Garrett changes his mind, it might be too late to leave.

Secrets Gnaw at the Flesh combines atmospheric haunted house horror with dark family drama, topped with a layer of unsettling worldbuilding. Readers who like smart characters taking on smart foes, deep delves into the supernatural, and twisty psychological narratives will feel right at home. This novel is part of the Virulent Nightmare Origins series and can be read as a standalone or as part of the series in any order.

Review: Thank you to C.J. Weiss for sending me an eARC of this novel!

I was definitely interested in “Secrets Gnaw at the Flesh” by C.J. Weiss, a story about a young man named Garrett, whose proposal to his girlfriend Marie goes awry when she says no. But when she tells him it’s because her family has to hold back supernatural forces from a Breach every few years, and it means dropping EVERYTHING to try and keep these things at bay, Garrett doesn’t really believe her, and agrees to attend the newest Breach period with her family if it means she will give him another chance. That alone sounds interesting and unique. And then when it sounded like family dysfunction and trauma was a huge component a la Mike Flanagan’s “The Haunting of Hill House”, I was all the more intrigued! Bring on the messiness of human relationships to make the ghost problem that much more complicated. So I jumped in and was interested in what I would find.

The ghost mythos and world building is pretty well done in this book! It helps having a newcomer to the Renault Family in Garrett, as him being wholly unfamiliar with The Breach, mekari (aka demonic entities), and all the other supernatural aspects means that he is going to get a crash course that we as the readers get to see first hand. We get a good family connection to The Breach, as well as some creative different subtypes of haunts, be they ghosts or demons, and the ways they can mess with those trying to keep them out. I enjoyed the uncertainty that we were seeing through Garrett, as the assurance is that you will spot a possessed person vis a vis their behavior being off or strange doesn’t REALLY help someone who has just met this family outside of new fiancee Marie. It’s an effective way to build suspense, and it makes the tension build relentlessly at times. There are plenty of moments that come completely out of nowhere as well, and as The Breach gets more and more powerful the horror elements all come to a suspenseful and scary head.

But adding to the tension is the fact that all is not well in the Renault Family during this historical Breach, and that family secrets are starting to come tumbling out as more and more danger comes forth. Not only between immediately family members, but also between lovebirds Garrett and Marie. I will say that I found Garrett to be completely nuts putting EVERYTHING in his life on hold for Marie after they had been together for a kind of brief amount of time, but it kind of works because it shows that he is making a HUGE, unknown commitment for a woman that he doesn’t know all sides of, and how sometimes that can lead to trouble. And trouble comes calling as the Renaults start to turn on each other, lash out, and reveal betrayals that could put all of them in danger as it chips away at their untied front in this ghostly service that leaves the world in the balance. I love a good family drama, so seeing all of these very human problems start to tumble out and cause even more problems was a nice combination. I do like my horror stories to have some nice real world metaphors, and while sometimes this could feel like it stilted the pacing a bit (or just reinforced my disdain at Garrett impetuously going all in on Marie, as well as with her for letting him do so without some fully informed consent until it was too late), it worked well in this. I wish we’d had a little more exploration of all the family members, as some felt more fleshed out than others.

With a good mix of well conceived horror mythology and family drama, “Secrets Gnaw at the Flesh” is a fun and spooky haunted house story. And just remember, your family may have some dysfunction, but at least you don’t have to battle ghosts on top of all that. It’s the little things.

Rating 7: A haunted house story that is also filled with family secrets and drama, “Secrets Gnaw at the Flesh” is a nerve wracking read, and not just because of the ghosts.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Secret’s Gnaw at the Flesh” isn’t included on any Goodreads lists as of now, but I think it would fit in on “Haunted House Stories”.

Serena’s Review: “Fall of Ruin and Wrath”

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

Book: “Fall of Wrath and Ruin” by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publishing Info: Bramble, September 2023

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

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

Book Description: Long ago, the world was destroyed by gods. Only nine cities were spared. Separated by vast wilderness teeming with monsters and unimaginable dangers, each city is now ruled by a guardian―royalty who feed on mortal pleasure.

Born with an intuition that never fails, Calista knows her talents are of great value to the power-hungry of the world, so she lives hidden as a courtesan of the Baron of Archwood. In exchange for his protection, she grants him information.

When her intuition leads her to save a traveling prince in dire trouble, the voice inside her blazes with warning―and promise. Today he’ll bring her joy. One day he’ll be her doom.

When the Baron takes an interest in the traveling prince and the prince takes an interest in Calista, she becomes the prince’s temporary companion. But the city simmers with rebellion, and with knights and monsters at her city gates and a hungry prince in her bed, intuition may not be enough to keep her safe.

Calista must follow her intuition to safety or follow her heart to her downfall.

Review: I’ve used this gif before in my “Great Animorphs Re-Read” several years ago, but it’s just to apropos for my feelings now whenever I see that Jennifer Armentrout is coming out with a new romantasy title:

Am I expecting a work of art? No. Am I concerned that, even if I enjoy the first book, the series as a whole will quickly nose dive into nonsense? Yes. But will I still pick it up out of sheer, self-destructive curiosity? Yeah, probably. Plus, Bramble picked up this series, and I was curious to see how Armentrout did in the hands of a large publishing house. Would they be able to wrangle in her use of ellipses? (Spoiler: no, no they could not.)

This is another tough review to write, simply because I did enjoy myself reading this book, but I also can look at it critically and see a good number of flaws. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about Armentrout’s style, or her near perfect understanding of how to best employ romance tropes, that always manages to reel me in, almost despite myself as a critical reader. So let’s start with the obvious pros, and the first one is just that: readability. I whipped through this book in no time. Partly this is because much of the world-building, characters, and magic felt very familiar from other books and didn’t require much thought from me. But the other part is that the style of writing is very approachable and sure to suck readers in. The story could be funny when it wanted, dramatic when it needed to be, and even suspenseful as the action picked up towards the ends.

I will also say that if you enjoy spicy romance, this is the book for you. Conversely, if you don’t enjoy smutty books, this is NOT the book for you. While there is a plot, if you dig around and really look, this book is definitely more focused on its characters and the steamy situations they get themselves into. Perhaps even more so than the other books I’ve read, this book leans in on these scenes, sometimes unnecessarily so, I felt. There was one moment I can remember from early in the book where the main character is having a conversation with one of her friends, and of course they can’t just talk together, they have to be messing around at the same time. This is where the spiciness was a bit much for me. This scene wasn’t part of the central romance, these two characters were actually discussing important things, but for some reason we needed to up the ante and add erotica to the situation.

I did enjoy the central romance, however. Yes, it will feel very familiar to fans of Armentrout’s other books, but it was also satisfying in a similar way. This dynamic between romantic characters clearly works, and I’m definitely a “don’t fix what’s not broken” type of person. That said, the love story, like the characters and the world-building did feel almost TOO familiar at times. As I was reading this book, there were aspects of the world and its magic that honestly felt like “cut and paste” copies of Armentrout’s “Blood and Ash” series. The types of beings that populate the world, Calista’s role as a “special person” with hints of “super specialness” being laid down heavily, even some of the supernatural threats felt like almost exact carbon copies of ones I’ve seen before from her. So, while I was having a fun time and all, I also couldn’t get over the feeling that the author had picked up scraps from her other books and cobbled them into a new story here. Not only did this all seem familiar, but I feel like I can easily see the road this series will travel and, man, does that look familiar, too.

And, alas, the ellipses. I had real hopes that the editors over at Bramble could have exerted some more copyediting control and beaten this writing tic into submission. And yet I feel like there are even more here than in other books! And the more you notice it, the worse it gets. There are, you know, words that can be used to convey hesitation, caution, uncertainty. But instead, every time, she falls back on simply inserting ellipses before, between, and after words. I know she’s a best-selling, popular author. But there’s always room for improvement and this is where professional editors are needed most, places where writers are stuck in certain habits.

So where does this leave us. Like I said, for all of its flaws, my level of enjoyment was mostly around an 8. This is the definition of a “guilty pleasure” read for me. I liked it probably more than it deserves, and I’m fully prepared to flame out on it the same way I did with her other series. On the other hand, objectively, this book felt very familiar to other books she’s written, the spice-levels were verging on ridiculous, and some of her writing bad habits were on full display. So this would probably land it around a 6. To be fair, we’re giving it a solid 7, and you can do with that what you will!

Rating 7: I enjoyed the heck out of this book and judged myself for it the entire time.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Fall of Ruin and Wrath” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Deja Title: _ of _ and _ and 2023 – September Fantasy Releases

Serena’s Review: “Foxglove”

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Book: “Foxglove” by Adalyn Grace

Publishing Info:Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, August 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: own it!

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

Book Description: The captivating sequel to the Gothic-infused Belladonna, in which Signa and Death face a supernatural foe determined to tear them apart.

A duke has been murdered. The lord of Thorn Grove has been framed. And Fate, the elusive brother of Death, has taken up residence in a sumptuous estate nearby. He’s hellbent on revenge after Death took the life of the woman he loved many years ago…and now he’s determined to have Signa for himself, no matter the cost.

Signa and her cousin Blythe are certain that Fate can save Elijah Hawthorne from prison if they will entertain his presence. But the more time the girls spend with Fate, the more frightening their reality becomes as Signa exhibits dramatic new powers that link her to Fate’s past. With mysteries and danger around every corner, the cousins must decide if they can trust one another as they navigate their futures in high society, unravel the murders that haunt their family, and play Fate’s unexpected games—all with their destinies hanging in the balance.

Dangerous, suspenseful, and seductive, this sequel to Signa and Death’s story is as utterly romantic as it is perfectly deadly.

Review: After loving “Belladonna” when I read it two summers ago, this was one of my most anticipated reads for this year. But as you may have noticed, this was published back in August and here I am only just getting to a review in November. Well, that’s because I have very complicated feelings regarding this book, and even while composing this review, I’m not quite sure how I feel about it all. So, let’s just see where things take us.

One thing I can easily say without qualification is that overall quality of the writing remains excellent in this book. The author has a natural, seamless style to her writing that excels at both painting vivid settings as well as describing deep wells of emotion. My struggles with this book were definitely not down to any lack of ability or talent. Ultimately, I think it’s the structure of the book that failed it. And even saying that, I don’t necessarily have a good solution to the problem, which is probably why I’ve held off on reviewing this one for so long. It’s hard to write a critical review when you can also look at it and understand why all of the choices were made and not have many alternative options to offer for improvement. It’s the rock-meets-hard-place of reviews!

The book is essentially now trying to tell two stories, and that is most notably demonstrated by the fact that the POV is now split between Signa and Blythe. Unfortunately, the needs of either character’s arc individually negatively affected the outcomes of the other character’s story throughout the book. For example, we meet Fate at the very end of the first book. Much of this book is made up of Signa and Death attempting to out-maneuver Fate who, for his own reasons, is out to claim Signa for his own. Thusly, Fate is very much the antagonist of this tale and can be truly despicable at times. Conversely, from Blythe’s perspective we see the fairly obvious set up for book three that is placing these two in a distinctive “enemies-to-lovers” position. So here you have Fate who has been (rightly!) a villain for most of this book also being set up as a romantic interest for the other main character. It’s an uncomfortable and awkward experience when trying to establish how you’re meant to feel about this character.

Further, there’s a great mystery at the heart of this book about Signa’s own identity and Fate’s interest in her. But the very nature of this mystery is at its core one that undercuts much of the progress made in the previous book. “Belladonna” was a perfect exploration of Signa’s identity and abilities, so to have that all regurgitated here was both frustrating and disappointing. Especially when, given the nature of other story decisions, much of the explanation for this mystery felt very obvious right from the start to anyone who was paying attention. I will say, I very much appreciated how the author avoided allowing any of this upheaval to undercut the love story between Signa and Death. There is a very real way that this could have played out differently in a much more angsty, disappointing manner. On the other hand, while what we got from these two was ultimately very good, there also wasn’t very much of it, again because the story was trying to do too much. Death barely showed up on the page at all, it seemed.

The interesting part of this all is that I didn’t dislike Blythe’s chapters. It would be easy to look at this book and think that the solution would be to simply cut out her POV and allow the story more breathing room to finish up Signa’s story. But, as much as I loved Signa in the first book, she was also a fairly passive, frustrating character in this book. There’s another murder mystery (here is the REAL part of the story that could perhaps have been cut somehow) and yet while Signa is constantly saying that she is working on figuring this murder out, Blythe is the one who takes action. Much of this book is Signa reacting to what is going on around her and Blythe, for better or worse, charging in full speed to do something, anything about the madness swirling around her. And, while Fate is made out largely as a villain in this book, the few glimpses we get of him and Blythe outside of this arena were very compelling. For example, they play a game of croquet and I was getting major Anthony/Kate vibes from Fate and Bythe’s competive nature.

Fate angry clapping as a human woman outplays an immortal at croquet

So, where does this mess of a review (and book, honestly) leave us? I’m not sure. The story we get for Signa and Death is necessary to wrap up their own tale. And the introduction to Fate and Blythe is necessary to set-up what I imagine will be solely their story in book three. But these two stories don’t sit well together at all, often actively undercutting the success of the other. I was probably most disappointed with the change in Signa from the spunky, coming-into-her-own woman we had in the last book to the much more passive character we had here, one who is again retreading tired ground about her powers and identity. But I’m also super excited about Blythe’s story going forward, so in that way, the book was definitely a success as I’ll be first in line to get my hands on that one. Ultimately, I think that this book will be a bit disappointing to fans of the first book. That said, I also strongly recommend reading it to those same fans as I’m hopeful that some of the discomfort of this book will pay off in the potential strength of the next.

Rating 7: Weighed down by added characters and lore, “Foxglove” fails to live up to the high that was “Belladonna.” That said, it introduces a lot of strong potential for the third book, and I’ll definitely be checking that one out when it arrives!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Foxglove” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Flower Faces and Death as a Character.

Kate’s Review: “The Professor”

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Book: “The Professor” by Lauren Nossett

Publishing Info: Flatiron Books, November 2023

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

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

Book Description: On a spring afternoon in Athens, Georgia, Ethan Haddock is discovered in his apartment, dead, apparently by his own hand. His fatality immediately garners media not because his death reflects the troubling increase of depression and mental health issues among college students, but because the media has caught the whiff of a scandal. His professor, Dr. Verena Sobek, has been taken in for questioning, and there are rumors his death is the result of a bad romance. A Title IX investigation is opened, the professor is suspended, and social media crusaders and trolls alike are out for blood.

Marlitt Kaplan never investigated love affairs. A former detective turned research assistant, she misses the excitement of her old job, but most of all the friendship of her partner, Teddy. When her mother, a professor at the university and colleague of the accused professor, asks for her help, she finds herself in the impossible position of proving something didn’t happen. Without the credentials to interview suspects or access phone records, she will have to get closer to a victim’s life than ever before. And she quickly finds herself in his apartment, having dinner with his roommates, even sleeping in his bed. But is she too close to see the truth?

In her relentless pursuit to uncover the mystery behind Ethan’s death, Marlitt will be forced to confront the power structures ingrained in the classroom against the backdrop of a historic campus and an institution that sometimes fails its most vulnerable members.

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

Now that we are out of October I’m trying to catch up on my other genres outside of horror. I feel like even outside of Horrorpalooza I’ve been neglecting my thriller tastes, and am actively trying to turn that around. So after “The Intern”, we now turn to another thriller with a professional label in the title: “The Professor” by Lauren Nossett. I do love a juicy scandalous read, and on paper it seemed like this book would deliver on that. Disgraced former detective? An academic scandal? A potential affair? Well all of that sounds pretty sudsy to me! But “The Professor” didn’t really go in that direction. Which was mostly a good thing.

As a thriller, “The Professor” checks a lot of boxes I’ve come to expect and it generally does them pretty well. As our protagonist Marlitt investigates a potential affair in the aftermath of a college student’s suicide, we learn about her disgraced departure as a detective and how she feels a need to prove herself as well as feels a need to do a favor for her mother, who is a colleague of a professor who is under investigation in the aftermath of the student’s death. As she tries to learn more about Verena, the professor who is surrounded by rumors, and tries to learn about Ethan, the student who ended up dead, she treads closer and closer to obsession. Marlitt has a lot of the features of a damaged female protagonist of the genre, but I liked that we don’t dwell on it too much within the narrative, nor did we get a lot of repetitive moments of how she’s damaged and why she’s damaged and OH LOOK HOW DAMAGED SHE IS. Her actions can be reckless, but they speak for themselves and never feel overwrought. I also found myself surprised by a number of reveals within the mystery of what happened to Ethan, be it from Marlitt’s investigation or the perspective chapters we would get from both Ethan and Verena in flashback form. Nossett lays out the clues and knows when to reveal them or piece them together. I will say, however, that sometimes the pace was a little slow and the story could drag, getting bogged down in these different investigations. But that said, things do speed up the closer we get to the big climax.

But the theme that really resonated with me in this book is how we slowly get to see just what was going on with Verena, and how due to who she was and the prejudices that come with that made her the perfect target for gossip and hostility in the wake of her student’s death. Through flashbacks we get to know Verena as a new German professor, and how her heritage of being Turkish and German and as an immigrant to America Other her not only with her students, but also with the public when rumors start to swirl. Marlitt’s investigation is being done at her mother’s behest, and as she learns more and as we learn more about Verena through her own experiences and flashbacks one starts to wonder if the hostility towards her is possibly due to misogyny and xenophobia and the way that academia hasn’t quite reckoned with the ways that it enforces these things. It’s an interesting angle that I don’t always expect from thrillers of this nature, and I found that refreshing.

“The Professor” is a solid thriller that goes outside the box in unexpected ways. It’s a bit slow at times, but I did think that the payoff was ultimately worth it.

Rating 7: Some pretty good reveals, a complicated protagonist, and a look at the toxicity thrown due to rumors and prejudices make for an enjoyable thriller (albeit at times a slow one).

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Professor” is included on the Goodreads list “2023 Dark Academia Releases”.

Serena’s Review: “The Hunting Moon”

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

Book: “The Hunting Moon” by Susan Dennard

Publishing Info: Tor Teen, November 2023

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

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

Book Description: Winnie Wednesday has gotten everything she thought she wanted. She passed the deadly hunter trials, her family has been welcomed back into the Luminaries, and overnight, she has become a local celebrity.

The Girl Who Jumped. The Girl Who Got Bitten.

Unfortunately, it all feels wrong. For one, nobody will believe her about the new nightmare called the Whisperer that’s killing hunters each night. Everyone blames the werewolf, even though Winnie is certain the wolf is innocent.

On top of that, following her dad’s convoluted clues about the Dianas, their magic, and what happened in Hemlock Falls four years ago is leaving her with more questions than answers.

Then to complicate it all, there is still only one person who can help her: Jay Friday, the boy with plenty of problems all his own.

As bodies and secrets pile up around town, Winnie finds herself questioning what it means to be a true Wednesday and a true Luminary—and also where her fierce-hearted loyalties might ultimately have to lie.

Previously Reviewed: “The Luminaries”

Review: So, it may surprise some of you that I’m even reviewing this book given how little I enjoyed the first book. But as I have liked books from Dennard in the past, I wanted to give this series another go. Some of my negative reaction to the first book came down to aspects of the plot and the writing that I wasn’t expecting. Namely, the fact that it was a contemporary fantasy story and the style of writing itself. Knowing both of those factors now, I wanted to see what my experience of the second book in this series would be like. And, while it still wasn’t a huge success for me, I did end up liking this one more than the first.

Let’s start with what I did like! While the YA and adult fantasy genre has been having a moment in the sun for the last few years, I think this book stands out from the pack in the heavy focus on magical creatures and various monsters. Usually, you have a book that has one monster/mythical creature (like the “Mothman” books we’ve seen this fall), but not a book like this that includes a number of different supernatural beings. Speaking of supernatural, this aspect of the storytelling definitely reminded me of the TV show, “Supernatural,” and that’s a pretty high compliment as far as I’m concerned!

As for the plot itself, I was able to stay mostly invested, however I wasn’t overly surprised by any of the twists and turns that we saw. In fact, there was one particular “reveal” that I thought was so obvious that surely there was something else going on, that characters did in fact know this thing and simply weren’t really addressing it for a mysterious reason, or something! I even went back and looked at my ebook of the first book to confirm that no, I guess this particularly thing wasn’t revealed and was, indeed, still a “mystery.”

Much of Winnie’s story and the romance were just OK for me, too. Having a better sense of the type of book that I was going to read did help set my expectations more appropriately. But this book did highlight that while I can still enjoy YA books, sometimes greatly so, there are distinct examples where a book is not going to fit for the simple fact that I am well past the target age group. The love story, in particular, felt very young, even for YA. And while many of Winnie’s thoughts and feelings read as true to a teenage girl, they were not the sorts of struggles that I personally find as compelling to read about anymore.

All of that said, if you enjoyed the first book, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one. On the other hand, if the first book didn’t work for you as well, this one probably isn’t going to be turning that opinion fully around, even if it was stronger in some aspects.

Rating 7: While a bit predictable as far as the plot goes, this book will likely appeal to readers who enjoyed this world and these characters, particularly its emphasis on supernatural beings.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Hunting Moon” can be found on this (who knew there was a list for this?) Goodreads list: Animal Sculls on Cover.

Serena’s Review: “The Queen of Days”

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

Book: “The Queen of Days” by Greta Kelly

Publishing Info: Harper Voyager, October 2023

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

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

Book Description: For Balthazar and his family of thieves, stealing a statue during the annual celebration of the god Karanis was just a good bit of fun…or a way to stick it to the governor who murdered his parents. And yeah, the small fortune in reward doesn’t hurt—even if his boss also hired the mysterious Queen of Days to join the crew as “the weapon of last resort…”

Whatever that means.

But Bal doesn’t know the ceremony isn’t simply empty words and dusty tradition; it’s true magic. The kind of magic that rips open a portal for the god himself. Only the idol that Karanis planned on using for a body now lies broken at the Queen of Days’ feet. And half of it is missing.

With the aid of a lovable brawler, a society lady turned bomb maker, a disgraced soldier, and a time-eating demon, Bal must hunt down the missing half of the statue if he has any hope of earning his money, keeping his crew alive…and perhaps even saving all of humanity. But as his journey sends him racing through the city—and across realities—he discovers that doing all this might just doom the city.

The city be damned. It’s time to kill a god.

Review: Heaven knows I’ve had an up and down experience with these multi-POV heist books. And yet I keep coming back! I guess it simply feels like one of those situations where if multi-POV is going to work, a heist book is the place to find it! And I’ve read the good, the bad, and man oh man, the ugly. This one stood out, however, in that it has been marketed as an adult high fantasy novel, rather than the typical YA fare that we’ve usually seen. So, let’s see how it stands up to all the other books like this!

I’ll just lead with the bad news: while this wasn’t the bad or the ugly, it was also just on the edge of good for me. In that, I enjoyed this book overall, but the reading experience was also frustrating at times and left me feeling a bit let down in the end. But let’s get into what did work. First off, the writing was strong, vividly depicting the rich world-building that went into this story. It was easy for me to quickly settle myself in this world and look forward to what was to come. I also appreciated the style choice to use both first person and third person to distinguish between a few of the view points. As I mentioned in my review for “Starling House,” I think this “one simple trick” can do a lot to help elevate a multi-POV book into a more interesting reading experience all around.

That said, I’m not sure that the first person style helped with some of the characters themselves. Bal, the leader of the group, reads as the main character of the book, something that the first person tense further emphasizes. However, he was also the most frustrating character, often making choices that seemed to prioritize his own goals while risking the safety of his crew. Using the first person perspective, the reader has an up close and personal look at some of the inner workings of these decisions, and, frankly, that didn’t help matters as he fixated on his ex-fiancé and other similarly frustrating topics. On the other hand, I did enjoy the other characters more, something that was probably helped by the more omniscient view from the third person perspective. Plus, cool magical powers are always a draw!

This was also one of those rather frustrating reads where I was able to get into the book quite quickly but struggled to maintain my focus over the course of the book. Much of the plot and pacing felt very familiar, and I wasn’t truly surprised by any of the twists and turns the story took. Of course, a book doesn’t need to be surprising to be a success, but something about the reading experience felt familiar in a bland way, for me. That said, if you’re a high fantasy reader who really enjoys multi-POV books, this one may be worth checking out!

Rating 7: While the world-building was compelling, I struggled to maintain my interest in a story that felt very familiar.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Queen of Days” can be found on this Goodreads list: Best books of October, 2023

Serena’s Review: “All That Consumes Us”

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

Book: “All That Consumes Us” by Erica Waters

Publishing Info: HarperTeen, October 2023

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

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

Book Description: Ninth House meets The Dead and the Dark in this gothic dark academia novel that delves into the human capacity for great love, great art, and great evil.   Magni animi numquam moriuntur. Great minds never die.  

The students in Corbin College’s elite academic society, Magni Viri, have it all—free tuition, inspirational professors, and dream jobs once they graduate. When first-gen college student Tara is offered a chance to enroll, she doesn’t hesitate.?  Except once she’s settled into the gorgeous Victorian dormitory, something strange starts to happen. She’s finally writing, but her stories are dark and twisted. Her dreams feel as if they could bury her alive. An unseen presence seems to stalk her through the halls.  And a chilling secret awaits Tara at the heart of Magni Viri—one that just might turn her nightmares into reality; one that might destroy her before she has a chance to escape. 

All That Consumes Us will pull readers into a hypnotizing, dark reverie that blurs the lines of reality and shows that the addictive nature of ambition—and its inevitable price—always claims its due.  

Review: I’ve really loved this current trend in fantasy towards dark academia. It’s no surprise, but many librarians are just the sort to have fond memories of upper education, so sprinkle in a bit of magic, and you’re really onto something! I also really love this cover, as I think it perfectly conveys the overall tone of this book before you even crack open the book. Unfortunately, the story itself didn’t work for me quite as well as the artwork did.

While I ultimately was left frustrated with this read, let’s start with what I did like. As I was putting together this post, I saw one reviewer compare the overall tone of this book to an episode of “Supernatural.” As a huge “Supernatural” fan, not only do I think this is a massive compliment, I also think it’s fairly spot-on as far as the theme and plot of the book. Like the show, the story builds up a creepy, looming presence that focuses on ghosts, possession, and the main character’s slow realization that she may not be in full control of her own actions. There’s a level of psychological horror that works very well, and the writing was very successful at illustrating the spooky nature of the events going on at the school. I particularly enjoyed the growing sense of paranoia and confusion that builds towards the book’s conclusion.

Unfortunately, the book fell apart with the main character herself. I really tried to like Tara, but things didn’t start off well when she immediately threw off strong “not like other girls” vibes when she meets her roommate and with how she generally presents herself to the reader. And then, throughout the novel, she made decision after decision that I just couldn’t understand. Not only were the decisions themselves incomprehensible, but she would literally flip and flop her mind between one thing and another, sometimes within only a few pages of each other. It made for a frustrating read and left Tara a fairly unlikable character. This could be a case of me simply not being the target audience for a YA character, but I do think teenagers can be written better than this.

I didn’t love this book, but I do think that it will appeal to a lot of YA fantasy readers. The pacing is quick and the writing is solid. If you start out the book and find yourself enjoying Tara, than you’re probably through the woods on what bothered me the most. But if you’re an adult reader who is character focused, this may not be the right read for you.

Rating 7: A lot of atmosphere and a creepy build of tension and paranoia were enjoyable, but I struggled to enjoy the book due to my frustrations with the main character.

Reader’s Advisory:

“All That Consumes Us” can be found on this Goodreads list: Best books of October, 2023

Serena’s Review: “Our Divine Mischief”

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Book: “Our Divine Mischief” by Hanna C. Howard

Publishing Info: Blink YA, October 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher

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

Book Description: The Goddess Trial is designed to push young people to their edge and mark their coming of age, but Áila LacInis is ready for whatever it brings. She sets sail from her small fishing village to the island of the goddess Yslet, fully expecting a divine encounter, but what she finds is … nothing at all. The goddess is completely absent, and the only thing on the island is a dirty, mangy dog. Suddenly, everything Áila has ever known and believed is upended and her future becomes shrouded in uncertainty.

Hew already completed the Goddess Trial and received the designation of Unblessed. He is an outcast in the village, until he is tasked with assisting Áila through a series of Ordeals the town elders designed to compensate for her failed Trial. For the first time, he has hope he can make something of his life.

Orail isn’t quite sure who or what she is. She remembers little before Áila’s arrival on the island, and now all she knows is that she’ll never leave Áila’s side. But as she begins to realize and remember, she discovers powers—and an identity—she never could have imagined.

Review: I was definitely interested in this book the first time I saw it. There are a lot of similar sounding books floating around in YA fantasy right now, and this one definitely came across as a breath of fresh air. I was even more intrigued when I cracked my copy open and realized that while, yes, this was a dual POV book between the heroine and hero, there was a third POV from the dog, written in a poetry style. What a creative and intriguing choice! Let’s dive in to the review.

This was one of those interesting reads where I enjoyed quite a lot of it, but I think a few style changes or refocusing in certain plot points really would have elevated it to another level. But let’s start with the unequivocal good things first. I enjoyed the world-building we were given here, with its mix of historical fiction based on Irish folklore and its fantasy elements, that of a Goddess who intercedes in her peoples’ lives and gives them their direction. Both of these elements, the historical and the fantasy, were well-balanced. There were moments that read like a fairytale, with Aila undergoing trials with magical solutions, and others that read more like straight historical fiction, with a focus on the political machinations of a foreign prince.

I also really enjoyed Aila as a main character. Her arch is fairly straight forward, but even as her faith in her Goddess waivers, she discovers new strength within herself to face a world that is much more complex that she originally believed. I also really enjoyed the dog, Orail’s, chapters. The use of poetry was very creative as it gave voice to the changing awareness that Orail goes through as she remembers her past, from the simple thoughts of a puppy to the more complex understanding of a fully realized being.

I also enjoyed Hew’s story, but this also gets into what I think held this book back from its full potential. The love story between Hew and Aila was very sweet, and while Hew did have his own storyline, I feel like his chapters ultimately took away from the development of Orail and Aila’s relationship. It’s clear that the author wanted to write a love letter to the relationship between a beloved pet and its owner, and that does come through. But this is a fairly short book, and ultimately, the balance felt off between the three perspectives. Simply removing Hew’s POV chapters, but keeping him as a character with a love story told through Aila’s perspective, would have allowed Orail and Aila’s own story to become more central, which ultimately is more important to the greater arc of the overall story. As it was, Orail’s love and attachment to Aila develops too quickly to truly hit the way it needs to in the climax of the story. By giving more page time to develop this relationship, and keeping Hew as an important character, albeit one without a POV of his own, I think the book could have reached a more successful balance in its ultimate themes and resolution.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. However, it was one of those rather frustrating reads where it had all the right pieces, but it almost feels like the author wasn’t brave enough to write the story that she really wanted. There is an unfortunate trend in YA fantasy where it’s almost expected that if you have a love story, your book must be dual POV for it to be effective. This is absolutely not the case. And beyond that, here, even if the love story is sweet, the relationship between dog and owner is the more important one. You can sense that the author felt this way too, and yet it wasn’t given the prominent position it deserved. It’s one of those cases where I almost wonder if there was publisher pressure to adjust the story. Either way, I’ll definitely check out other books by this author as she has real skill. And even if this one had potential to be stronger, it’s still an enjoyable read as it is written.

Rating 7: A sweet fantasy novel with a truly lovely look at the relationship between a beloved pet and its owner, though this theme was undercut by an unnecessary POV for the love interest.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Our Divine Mischief” can be found on this Goodreads list: YA Novels of 2023

Serena’s Review: “Flower and Thorn”

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Book: “Flower and Thorn” by Rati Mehrotra

Publishing Info: Wednesday Books, October 2023

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

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

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

Until Irinya is tricked by an attractive imposter.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Kate’s Review: “Edenville”

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Book: “Edenville” by Sam Rebelein

Publishing Info: William Morrow, October 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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