Tag: 7 Rating

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”.

Book Club Review: “Snapdragon”

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

Book: “Snapdragon” by Kat Leyh

Publishing Info: First Second, February 2020

Where Did We Get This Book: The library!

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

Song Inspiration: “Blasphemous Rumors” by Depeche Mode

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

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

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

Kate’s Thoughts

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

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

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

Serena’s Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

Book Club Questions

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

Reader’s Advisory

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

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

Serena’s Review: “Bittersweet in the Hollow”

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Book: “Bittersweet in the Hollow” by Kate Pearsall

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

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

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

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

Publishing Info: Keylight Books, September 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Serena’s Review: “Shield Maiden”

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Book: “Shield Maiden” by Sharon Emmerichs

Publishing Info: Redhook, October 2023

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

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

Book Description: Both epic and intimate, Sharon Emmerichs’s extraordinary debut novel reimagines  Beowulf  from the perspective of a young woman reclaiming her power. 
 
All her life, Fryda has longed to be a shield maiden, an honor reserved for Geatland’s mightiest warriors. When a childhood accident leaves her tragically injured and unfit for the battlefield, her dreams are dashed—or so she thinks. But a strange, unfathomable power is awakening within her, a power that will soon be put to the test.
 
For when foreign lords and chieftains descend upon Fryda’s home to celebrate her uncle King Beowulf’s fifty-year reign, she realizes not all their guests come with good intentions. Treachery is afoot, and Fryda must gather her courage to fight for her people…as a queen should—as a shield maiden would—and as only Fryda can.
 
But as Fryda’s power grows stronger, something ancient hears its call. For buried deep in her gilded lair, a dragon awakens…and Fryda must prove herself once and for all.

Review: I’m not overly familiar with the story of Beowolf. I know the general plot points, but I’ve never read any versions of the original, only loose re-imaginings. So, to continue that trend, I guess, I was happy to check out this book, another story that approaches the original from a unique angle, this time that of a young woman whose dreams of becoming a shield maiden have been hindered by a tragic accident when she was young.

This book was a bit of a struggle for me, which is too bad, because it was one of the fall titles that I was especially looking forward to. But first, I’ll cover some of the things that worked for me. For one thing, the overall writing I think is fairly strong. I wasn’t distracted by any strange turns of phrase, and the plot moved along smoothly, if somewhat slowly, throughout the story. I was also surprised by some of the choices the author made with perspective, especially the chapters sprinkled throughout that come from the point of view of the dragon that makes an appearance at the end of this story, as with the end of “Beowolf.”

But this last point also gets to a few of my problems with the story. While the writing was strong enough, I felt that the structure of the story was strange. Given the fact that the dragon had not one but multiple chapters of its own, I expected it to play a much larger role in the story itself. As it stands, the dragon only shows up at the end and is very succinctly dealt with, making the build up to this confrontation feel strange in hindsight.

I also struggled with the main character. I liked the exploration of her life attempting to become a shield maiden, seemingly thwarted at every turn by not only her role in life but also the devastating injury she sustain as a young girl which left her with limited use of one of her hands. But beyond these larger strokes, her choices and naivety throughout the story were increasingly difficult not to become frustrated by. She has not only one friend who is enslaved, but her love interest has also lived as a slave of the household. And yet Fryda seems largely unaware of what life is like for these two, close friends she’s known since children. Not only that, she is surprised when she learns of things they experience and the limitations of their existence.

I also struggled with the romance, which was very disappointing, as I went in with high hopes for this aspect of the story. But right from the beginning, I knew this wasn’t going to be for me. In the first scene in which we meet these two, they are obviously both into one another, but in both of their perspectives, the reader is subjected to fairly ridiculous inner thoughts and even outwards expressions of doubt about the other. At one point, they outright ask those around them if they think the other is into them! I believe this book is marketed as an adult fantasy, and this depiction of romance was incredibly juvenile, even by YA standards, a category to which this book shouldn’t belong.

All of this aside, I definitely think there is an audience for this book. For all that the romance wasn’t for me, I think it’s the kind that will appeal to a lot of other readers. If anything, I will admit that it was a breath of fresh air that both characters were rather straight-forwardly interested in each other, without either being grumpy or an “enemy” of the other. But, for me, this book was a bit of a let down.

Rating 7: Solid writing and an approachable romance will likely be a hit for many readers, but I was put off by some of the structure of the book as well as the overly YA nature of the love story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Shield Maiden” isn’t currently on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Based on Beowulf.

Serena’s Review: “A Multitude of Dreams”

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Book: “A Multitude of Dreams” by Mara Rutherford

Publishing Info: Inkyard Press, August 2023

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

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

Book Description: Princess Imogen of Goslind has lived a sheltered life for three years at the boarded-up castle—she and the rest of its inhabitants safe from the bloody mori roja plague that’s ravaged the kingdom. But Princess Imogen has a secret, and as King Stuart descends further into madness, it’s at great risk of being revealed. Rations dwindle each day, and unhappy murmurings threaten to crack the facade of the years-long charade being played within the castle walls. Nico Mott once enjoyed a comfortable life of status, but the plague took everyone and everything from him. If not for the generosity of a nearby lord, Nico may not have survived the mori roja’s aftermath. But does owing Lord Crane his life mean he owes him his silence? When Lord Crane sends Nico to search for more plague survivors in the castle, Nico collides with a princess who wants to break out. They will each have to navigate the web of lies they’ve woven if they’re going to survive the nightmares that lie ahead.

Review: I pretty much went and placed a request for this book so quickly that I failed to notice much of anything about it…other than the fact that I loved the cover art! When I slowed down and took the time to actually look into the book I was requesting, I was pleased to realize that it was another book by Mara Rutherford, the author of “The Poison Season,” a book I read last winter and very much enjoyed. I also found it very amusing that this book sounds like a medieval, fantasy version of Covid lockdowns, with one of our main characters having spent many years “sheltering in place” in a castle.

While I did have a few quibbles with this one, overall I thought it was a fun, stand-alone fantasy. I liked both of our main characters, especially Imogen. Her history and experiences in the castle were interesting and lead to a lot of great character dynamics between her, her father the king, and her three sisters. But starting here and throughout the rest of this review, most of my main quibbles were that I wish there was a just a bit more…something to this book. These relationships, built around a shared secret, were all rich and ripe for delving into the complex nature of family relationships, especially when external forces twist them. There were moments when the story tackled these concepts, brief flashes into the complicated feelings that Imogen has towards her father, in particular. But I felt like these brief brushes against deeper wells of emotions often left me feeling frustrated that we weren’t devoting more time and attention to these themes.

Nico’s story is the much more action-oriented of the two. His was also the one that lead to probably the most surprising twist of the story. I was honestly not expecting this book to take the turn that it did, but once it did, I was able to catch up quickly to the type of story we’d be reading. After that, some of the other twists and turns were more expected, but not displeasing in their own right. When Nico and Imogen meet, their relationship progresses fairly quickly. It does verge a bit too closely to “instalove” for my taste, given that the entire book takes place over a few days. But as the love story isn’t the main focus of the story, I wasn’t overly bothered by the fact that it came on so quickly.

I will say, I did struggle a bit with the use of Judaism in this book. The author mentions in her note that she wanted to explore how the Jewish population was often targeted when disasters like plague struck a region. But while I think this exploration on its own is interesting (indeed, I think it’s actually been a topic I’ve seen covered in a handful of other fantasy titles within the the last few years), I wasn’t sure that the execution worked as well here. Mostly because the inclusion of Jews made me question the world-building itself. There were no other recognizable ethnic or religious groups included. Instead, the entire world is clearly second-world fantasy (some of the twists and turns take the story to a truly fantastical place), so it was throw me off to suddenly stray across a reference to the Jewish quarter. It simply read as strange. And beyond that, again, here, this was very much a theme and section of the book that was only touched on briefly here and there. It was never truly central to the story. That being the case, to not really make the treatment of Jewish communities a true central portion of your story, the inclusion felt strange when no other recognizable parts of our world were there alongside it. It almost felt like the author had written the entire book in one draft, and then decided she wanted to cover this topic of history as well and simply went back and just inserted references to Judaism into the completed text. It was strange.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book. I read it very quickly and did enjoy the two main characters especially. However, I was also left wanting more from a lot of the themes that were briefly touched upon in the story.

Rating 7: A good read for those looking for a fresh YA fantasy, though it fails to deeply explore many of the themes it introduces.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Multitude of Dreams” can be found on this Goodreads list: Raven & Crow

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

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

Publishing Info: Viking Books for Young Readers, September 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Kate’s Review: “No Child of Mine”

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Book: “No Child of Mine” by Nichelle Giraldes

Publishing Info: Poisoned Pen Press, September 2023

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

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

Book Description: There’s something in the dark. And it’s starting to whisper…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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