Tag: 8 Rating

Serena’s Review: “Fallen City”

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Book: “Fallen City” by Adrienne Young

Publishing Info: Saturday Books, November 2025

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

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

Book Description: Luca Matius has one purpose—to carry on the family name, maintaining its presence in the Forum once his powerful and cruel uncle dies. But his noviceship with the city’s Philosopher places him in the middle of a catastrophe that will alter the destiny of his people.

Maris Casoeria was raised amidst the strategic maneuvers of the Citadel’s inner workings, and she knows what her future holds—a lifetime of service to a corrupt city. But her years of serving as a novice to the last Priestess who possesses the stolen magic of the Old War has made her envision a different kind of future for the city. When she meets Luca, a fated chain of events is set into motion that will divinely entangle their lives.

As a secret comes to light and throws the city into chaos, Luca and Maris hatch a plot to create a calculated alliance that could tip the scales of power. But when an execution forces Luca to become the symbol of rebellion, he and Maris are thrown onto opposite sides of a holy war. As their fates diverge, they learn they are at the center of a story the gods are writing. And even if they can find their way back to each other, there may be nothing left.

Review: I’m a big fan of Adrienne Young and have read most of her books by this point. And now, having read so many of her stories, I’ve noticed something particular about her approach to love stories and romance (all the books I’ve read by her have some form of romance): she seems to gravitate toward “second chance” style love stories where characters have an established history and relationship but have been separated or estranged for some reason and must now come together again within this story. And I think the strengths and weaknesses of this book directly parallel this specific preference of Young’s.

So, the story roughly alternates between both POV characters in the past and then them both now in the present. The strengths of Young’s approach to romance and the story as a whole are definitely seen best in the portions of the story that take place in the present. Our two characters are separated through much of this, but this makes all of the tension and yearning and slow hints as to the full extent of their past all the better. It was easy enough to guess at some of the twists that took place in the past, making all of these hints all the more enjoyable in the present. While the few scenes with the characters together are, of course, bangers, it’s always impressive how well some of the moments when they are separated and reflecting on the other are the most romantic. Young knows well how to write unfulfilled yearning and two characters whose relationship is deep but strained by external factors.

I also enjoyed the storyline of the present more than that of the past. Events take place over only a few days in the present timeline, but that was more than enough time to fully depict a city in the middle of tearing itself apart, full of fear of the future and dread of the past. There was a lot of politics explored in this story, and I appreciated the honest look at the harsh realities of revolution. Tolerating corruption is, of course, impossible, but the book doesn’t shy away from the fact that revolution doesn’t automatically guarantee something better—and can often be much, much worse in the meantime.

I also really liked the history and magic of this world. It took a bit for me to fully grasp how this was all linking together, but by the end, it was clear that Young had been carefully laying the groundwork for her ultimate twist. Readers may have to be patient to see it all come together, but come together it definitely does.

Now, the weaknesses of the story definitely come into play in the portions of the book that take place in the past. Here, we see our two main characters meet and fall in love. And this is where we see the weaker side of Young’s ability to write romances. She’s absolutely excellent at the “second chance” portion, but the initial development of the relationship left something to be desired. Indeed, this was very close to insta-love in a lot of ways. Because the author is such a strong writer, it was easier to read through this quick progression of a relationship (even more so because it was broken up with jumps back to the present), but things still evolved very quickly and with very little development given on the page. These two pretty much just meet each other’s eyes and fall deeply in love, fully trusting one another fairly quickly when they really have zero reason to and much personal history on both sides that should instead make them incredibly wary. The story is definitely a retelling, of sorts, of Romeo and Juliet, so I get how this depiction of the timeline and plot beats of their relationship lines up, but it was still a bit frustrating to get so little actual development of the early portions of their relationship.

However, the strengths of the present timeline, the lovely depictions of our main characters’ relationship at this point, and the increasing conflict that leads to an explosive twist at the end were still more than enough to leave me happy with this book. I’m all the more excited for the next one, which presumably will take place fully in the present time period, doing away with the weaker plotline of this book entirely. Fans of Adrienne Young and political, romantic fantasy should definitely give this one a shot!

Rating 8: Full of pining and romantic tension, this book nicely blends political fantasy with a heart-wrenching love story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Fallen City” can be found on these Goodreads lists: 2025 Romance Duets and High/epic Fantasy by female authors.

Kate’s Review: “Let Me In Your Window”

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Book: “Let Me In Your Window” by Adam Ellis

Publishing Info: Andrews McMeel Publishing, September 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it

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

Book Description: This sequel to Adam Ellis’s New York Times bestselling Bad Dreams in the Night is packed with terrifying twists, haunted houses, urban legends, and delightfully horrifying stories—like your own personal campfire ghost stories packed into a graphic novel. Each story will make you scream for more!

This brand-new collection of delightful horror comics includes nine new thrilling and terrifying stories that will keep readers on the edge of their seats and peering out their windows in fright. Adam Ellis, one of the biggest stars in webcomics, brings his unique blend of humor and horror to life with stunning illustrations and gripping narratives. Stories include Sleepwalker, about a terrifying and unexplained incident at a youth hostel, Old Machines, about receiving instant messages from a friend who has been dead for years, and Sunken Express, which chronicles a paranormal journey on a phantom subway car. Whether it’s a ghostly encounter, a creepy urban legend, or a supernatural mystery, Let Me In Your Window is guaranteed to give you the creeps.

Review: This past summer I reviewed Adam Ellis’s horror graphic collection “Bad Dreams in the Night”, and had mentioned that he had a new collection coming out this Fall. It probably comes as no surprise that I decided that I wanted to pick this one up as well given that I enjoyed the first one so much, and now that “Let Me in Your Window” is here I once again devoured the entire thing in one sitting. I just couldn’t help myself! Ellis’s horror stories are so quick and fun!

Like I do with most short stories collections I will talk about my three favorite stories first, then look at the collection as a whole.

“Little Kingdom”: We once again have the first story in the collection roping me in from the jump, which is always a great way to start. Two documentarians travel to a remote island that has a community that wanted to stay away from modern society, but birthed strange children who don’t seem like they are of this world. Unable to find success after this first film, they decide to go back to recapture another hit, but find something horrific instead. I love a documentary gone wrong story, and enjoyed the references and inspiration points, from North Sentinel Island to “Grey Gardens” to “Cannibal Holocaust”. Also an interesting question is raised about the ethics of making documentaries that could tread towards exploitation.

“Sunken Express”: I’m kind of seeing a similar pattern in the stories that stood out to me in this collection, as I first talked about the first story that really set the scene, and now I’m talking about the least horror-oriented story that had a little more bittersweetness to it. A man has heard an urban legend about an old subway stop that could possibly get you a ticket on a mysterious train that can take you to wherever your heart most desires. If you mess up the ritual, you may be stuck forever. You are supposed to be alone on the train…. except when he boards, he isn’t. Again, this isn’t a super scary story, it’s more about isolation, loneliness, the hope for redemption, and connection when you least expect it. I love a little emotion with my spooky stories.

“ReBrand”: AGAIN, following the same pattern as the first collection, as this was the last story in the book and it ended on a SUPREMELY CREEPY note! An aspiring model is frustrated when a mysterious digital billboard goes up across from her apartment, as the lights are keeping her awake at night. But one of the advertisements catches her eye: a youtube channel for a woman named Maarja Verine, who doesn’t seem to have much of a presence…. But she just has to keep checking back on her…. This one genuinely caught me off guard by the ending, and I was so shocked I immediately felt a need to go back and see if the clues were there. And they sure were! I really liked this one. It may have been my favorite in the collection.

An as a whole, I think that the stories in this book were all pretty solid! There were a couple that didn’t really connect with me (“Apple Head” felt a bit hokey, honestly), but none of them were BAD, per se. Ellis also has a fun style for his stories, able to have a charming and cute aesthetic that can shift into the grotesque on a dime. He has a real talent for these kinds of collections.

“Let Me in Your Window” was another enjoyable bundle of horror comics from Adam Ellis! It’s two for two for me, and I am going to manifest that we get more as time goes on!

Rating 8: Another fun horror comic collection from Adam Ellis! So fun and twisted.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Let Me in Your Window” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “Horror Comics Anthologies”.

Serena’s Review: “Murder at Donwell Abbey”

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Book: “Murder at Donwell Abbey” by Vanessa Kelly

Publishing Info: Kensington Books, November 2025

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

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

Book Description: Emma’s spirits are elevated after she and husband George Knightley host a joyful holiday celebration at the Hartfield estate. But it’s instantly a bitter January when her father makes an unexpected announcement—he and Miss Hetty Bates have decided to marry. Not only must Emma relinquish her role as mistress of the household, but also accept the reality that the excitable Miss Bates will become her stepmother . . .

More unwanted news arrives during an extravagant betrothal ball at Donwell Abbey, the grand Knightley estate where Emma and George will soon permanently reside. Nearly every villager in Highbury revels in the dazzling affair—except Emma’s hardworking lady’s maid, Prudence Parr. To Emma’s horror, Prudence is found dead, sprawled across the stones of the library terrace . . .

The woman’s tragic fall is quickly ruled a terrible accident and whispers circulate around personal troubles leading up to her untimely demise. But Emma’s instincts tell her that something far more sinister is at play. Now, Highbury’s matchmaker-turned-sleuth vows to outwit a cunning criminal before an innocent man loses his freedom—or Donwell Abbey plunges into a darker mystery . . .

Previously Reviewed: “Murder in Highbury”

Review: It’s kind of funny that the two mystery series that I’m currently keeping up to date on are both based on reinterpretations of Jane Austen characters! They’re also very different, which is probably what makes the entire situation doable! Given how much I enjoyed the first book in this series, I was excited to see how the sequel would turn out.

Ultimately, I didn’t love this one quite as much as the first one, but it was also a solid read overall! For one thing, this book begins to firmly move the characters and story beyond the bounds of what we were given in the original Emma. There were hints that Miss Bates and Mr. Woodhouse were moving into new territory at the end of the first book, but here we get confirmation with the announcement of their engagement. With this upcoming change, Emma and Mr. Knightley are free to begin moving back to Knightley’s home of Donwell Abbey, and the location of much of the action of this book. It was great fun getting to see a new side of Emma and Knightley as they navigate a new phase of their marriage. Emma, in particular, was quick to rise to the challenge of becoming the mistress of a new household.

With this relocation, we also were introduced to a whole host of new characters, both side characters and the victim and potential suspects. There were both pros and cons to this influx of new characters. For the positives, I really liked all of the new additions. They all felt like characters who could have existed in Austen’s original story but simply hadn’t been mentioned. I particularly enjoyed the housekeeper of Donwell and her team-ups with Emma at various points. However, the downside of all of these new additions was the simple fact that by having so many new characters, the book had less time to focus on the beloved originals.

While I enjoyed the Emma/Knightley scenes we had, I do wish we had more. I also would have liked to see more of Harriet and Mrs. Weston as well. That said, Miss Bates played a surprisingly large role in the story. I do think that some of her actions/reactions were a bit out of character (indeed, Vanessa Kelly didn’t devote entire pages to blocks of rambling dialogue from her, but I guess I can excuse that), but I still enjoyed seeing her in this sidekick role.

I also think the mystery itself was a bit predictable. Pretty much right from the start, I had a finger on who was involved in this entire situation. There were a few twists and turns throughout, but many of the major beats were telegraphed fairly clearly. That said, I really liked the numerous action scenes, something I wasn’t really expecting to find in this sort of historical mystery book.

Overall, this was an excellent entry in the series! I enjoyed the fact that it began to move the story beyond the confines of what we have from the original, and I’m excited to see even more of that in future books!

Rating 8: The mystery was a bit predictable, but I was mostly here for all the great Emma action, and that I got in spades!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Murder at Donwell Abbey” isn’t currently on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Jane Austen Mysteries.

Book Club Review: “My Best Friend’s Exorcism”

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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. Re-visiting some of our past themes, we’re once again pulling genres from a hatch and matching them together in one book. 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: “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” by Grady Hendrix

Publishing Info: Quirk Books, May 2016

Where Did We Get This Book: Kate owns it

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

Mix-and-Match Genres: Horror and Humor

Book Description: Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties, and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school, things change. Gretchen begins to act….different. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre behavior start to pile up, Abby realizes there’s only one possible explanation: Gretchen, her favorite person in the world, has a demon living inside her. And Abby is not about to let anyone or anything come between her and her best friend. With help from some unlikely allies, Abby embarks on a quest to save Gretchen. But is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?

Kate’s Thoughts

This was a re-read for me, and I was VERY curious to see how book club would like it given that I’m one of the few people who likes horror in our group. Well, it wasn’t a favorite, but it gave me an excuse to go on long diatribes about possession horror and demon horror and how its heydays line up with times of religious anxiety in this country, whether it’s Satanic Panic or the implementation of Vatican II or countless other examples. So, I had a fun time re-reading it and going into a TED talk for all of my oh so patient friends.

Me going on about Vatican II, the Warrens, and how the book version of “The Exorcist” was basically saying Reagan was taken over by a demon because Blatty wanted the world to know her Mom was a WHORE BECAUSE SHE WAS DIVORCED! (source)

This was a re-read for me, as I originally read it back in 2016 when it first came out, and it was fun to go back to it for a few reasons. For one, I still enjoy the story, and think that it’s a really enjoyable deconstruction of the possession trope by making the hero of the day not a religious authority, but a teenage girl who loves her best friend and wants to help her. I also still enjoy how Hendrix can capture the voice of teen girl characters, and how he made interesting comparisons between demons being cruel and teenage girls doing the same. And the 80s aesthetic is still fun (these days it may be a bit more played out than it was nine years ago). But it’s also interesting because after a re-read I realized that “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” probably isn’t my favorite Hendrix novel anymore even though up until my re-read I thought that it was. It’s still fun! It’s also very much a Gen X white guy fumbling some themes, but it’s also interesting because I noticed this because of the growth we’ve seen in his stories when it comes to these things. And it still has some truly scary beats while also being a bit bubblegum and joyful. It’s still a fun read.

“My Best Friend’s Exorcism” was a fun choice for book club that fostered a fair amount of conversation in our group.

Kate’s Rating 8: A fun re-read that still does a solid deconstruction of the possession trope with the power of female friendship at the forefront.

Book Club Questions

  1. How does this book compare to other demonic possession stories you have read or seen?
  2. What did you think of Gretchen and Abby’s friendship in the way it was written? Did it feel like a realistic teen girl relationship?
  3. Did the time period of the 1980s and the references bolster the story up, or did you find it to be a hindrance to the story overall?
  4. Hendrix has said that he rooted this story in the time of his youth. What do you think this story would look like if it had been set in a different time period?
  5. This book was picked because of the prompts horror and humor. What parts stood out as scariest to you? What parts did you find funny?
  6. Who would you recommend this book to?

Reader’s Advisory

“My Best Friend’s Exorcism” is included on the Goodreads lists “80s Flashback (Current Books with 1980s Settings)”, and “Horror With Retro Vibes”.

Next Book Club Pick: “The Bletchley Riddle” by Ruta Sepetys & Steven Sheinkin

Kate’s Review: “The Mad Wife”

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Book: “The Mad Wife” by Meagan Church

Publishing Info: S0urcebooks Landmark, September 2025

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: They called it hysteria. She called it survival.

Lulu Mayfield has spent the last five years molding herself into the perfect 1950s housewife. Despite the tragic memories that haunt her and the weight of exhausting expectations, she keeps her husband happy, her household running, and her gelatin salads the talk of the neighborhood. But after she gives birth to her second child, Lulu’s carefully crafted life begins to unravel.

When a new neighbor, Bitsy, moves in, Lulu suspects that something darker lurks behind the woman’s constant smile. As her fixation on Bitsy deepens, Lulu is drawn into a web of unsettling truths that threaten to expose the cracks in her own life. The more she uncovers about Bitsy, the more she questions everything she thought she knew―and soon, others begin questioning her sanity. But is Lulu truly losing her mind? Or is she on the verge of discovering a reality too terrifying to accept?

In the vein of The Bell Jar and The Hours, The Mad Wife weaves domestic drama with psychological suspense, so poignant and immersive, you won’t want to put it down.

Review: Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for sending me an ARC of this novel!

I have watched “Mad Men” a couple of times with my husband (I haven’t seen the full series like he has but I’ve seen plenty), and one of my favorite characters is Betty Draper. I like her so much I named one of our kittens after her. I love how messy she is, I love how complex she is, I don’t love how she treats her kids but it fits with her characterization, and I ultimately feel super, super bad for her. Because the great tragedy of her is that she is a person who was forced into a lifestyle she didn’t want as a homemaker with little to no agency (plus all the trauma from her childhood. Cycles keep on cycling!). Which wasn’t uncommon for many of the women in those positions during that time period. I kept thinking about Betty Draper as I read “The Mad Wife” by Meagan Church, which is also about a homemaker being forced to put on a pleasant face and a perfect facade, until it starts to break her.

There is a bit of a mystery here in this historical fiction thriller. Lulu is a 1950s housewife living in an idyllic suburban community, and while her outer veneer is perfection, she feels incredible pressure to keep a tidy house, keep a high standing in the social circle, and to keep her husband and son happy with her support, love, and care. Right around the time she gives birth to her second child, new neighbors move into the neighborhood, and Lulu thinks that something strange is going on with them, especially the wife, Bitsy. It’s a plot ripe for the picking when it comes to domestic thriller, and Lulu is a great protagonist because while we are inside her head and are seeing the strange things she is seeing, she is also more and more unreliable as the story goes on as all of the pressures of idealized 1950s femininity and homemaking start to catch up with her. It makes for some well done suspense and tension, and getting further into Lulu’s unraveling also ups the unease to make it all the more unnerving.

But it’s Lulu’s plight trying to be the perfect wife in a suburban nuclear family that really made this work for me, as we are constantly reminded and shown how little agency she has as a wife, as a mother, and even as a woman just trying to live her life. So much of her identity is wrapped up in perfection that she can just barely achieve (or not achieve, as no one is perfect even when society wants them to be with threat of judgement and shunning if they are not) that when things do start to come undone, not only is she worried about losing her friends, or her marriage, she also has to worry about other horrifying consequences as a ‘hysterical’ woman. There are talks about pills with no real explanation as to what to expect, involuntary psych holds, and even lobotomies for women who are deemed mentally unfit, as well as women who feel so trapped that they end up killing themselves to escape it all. I found myself fearing for Lulu, especially as more details are slowly revealed (one bit which I KIND of saw coming, but still absolutely gutted me). It’s a start reminder that these supposed ‘good old days’ that so many people want to force us back were really not so good for so many people.

“The Mad Wife” is harrowing and a well done thriller tale about a woman who is treading towards the end of her rope. I quite enjoyed it.

Rating 8: A slow burn of unease and a commentary on the housewife ideal from decades ago (as it makes an insidious comeback in modern times), “The Mad Wife” is haunting and suspenseful and a well done domestic thriller.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Mad Wife” is included on the Goodreads lists “Uncanny 1950s Ladies”, and “Novels about Motherhood”.

Serena’s Review: “Road of Bones”

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Book: “The Road of Bones” by Demi Winters

Publishing Info: Delacorte Press, November 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: Silla Nordvig is running for her life.

The Queen of Íseldur has sent warriors to bring Silla to Sunnavík, where death awaits her. When her father is killed, his last words set Silla on a perilous travel the treacherous Road of Bones–a thousand-mile stretch haunted by warbands, creatures of darkness, and a mysterious murderer–and go to Kopa, where a shield-house awaits her.

After barely surviving the first stretch of road, a desperate Silla sneaks into a supply wagon belonging to the notorious Bloodaxe Crew. To make it to Kopa, she must win over Axe Eyes, the brooding leader of the Crew, while avoiding the Wolf, his distractingly handsome right-hand man. But the queen’s ruthless assassin has other plans and hunts Silla obsessively.

Will Silla make it safely to Kopa? Or will she fall prey to the perils of the Road of Bones?

Review: I knew very little about this book when I picked it up this month other than the fact that it had been long neglected on my NetGalley backlist and maybe had something to do with Vikings? Turned out, I’d been sitting on a real winner! (The other side of this, of course, is that now I’m committed to a series that is already up to three books and seems to be continuing on!)

There was a lot to like about this one! For one thing, I always appreciate it when I pick up a fantasy romance that is written in third person and not the pervasive first person that has taken over the genre recently. Beyond that, the author included several POVs beyond Silla herself. We get into the heads of two of the men of the Bloodaxe Crew as well as see through the eyes of the ruthless woman hunting her down. This kind of variety not only lessens the weight of the high page count, but through it, the story and world were expanded in a way that pushed the narrative toward an epic-like feel. Always a good thing to see in a fantasy series that is setting out for a long-ish run!

Silla is the main character, however, and I really enjoyed her. There were a few secrets presented early in the story that are, perhaps, a bit predictable if you’re familiar with the conventions of the genre. But as the story doesn’t lean too heavily on these mysteries (or, indeed, even recognize them much as mysteries at all!), I was OK with a few easily anticipated twists. Beyond that, I enjoyed the fact that Silla was a rather unique leading lady, or at least unique to the sort we often see nowadays. She’s not a badass fighter. She’s not overly snarky. Instead, her strength lies in her persistence in the face of terrible odds and her courage when thrown into situations far above her pay grade.

There were also hints that Silla is being set up as the “sunshine” side of a potential “grumpy x sunshine” romance. And that being the case, I appreciated that the “sunniness” wasn’t overdone. She can be optimistic and have moments of pep, but she wasn’t foolish or silly, traits that all too often are mistaken for a “sunny” disposition.

I also enjoyed the other POVs we had. Both men were interesting, though I didn’t love even the bare strokes of a love triangle that was set up. Luckily, that wasn’t overly emphasized, and it ended up going in the direction I expected, which made it much more tolerable in the meantime. I also always love getting to see inside the head of the “villain” of the story and really appreciated that aspect of this book. Beyond adding greater complexity to the stakes, this character’s POV gave us even greater insights into some of the larger political dynamics going on.

For all of that, this is a long book. There was a lot of action in the first third of the book, but things did start to drag a bit toward the middle. This also coincided with some of my least favorite bits with the relationship dynamics between Silla and the two male leads. However, there was still enough going on (and I haven’t even touched on the other crew members of this little gang) that I didn’t get overly bogged down in the slower pacing.

In the end, I really enjoyed this one. All of the “reveals” at the end set up even greater stakes for the books to come, and I’m excited to see where all of our characters go from here!

Rating 8: A great start to a new fantasy series with an excellent cast of characters at its heart!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Road of Bones” can be found on this Goodreads list: Best Paranormal & Fantasy Romances.

Kate’s Review: “The Brood”

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

Book: “The Brood” by Rebecca Baum

Publishing Info: Thomas & Mercer, October 2025

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

Where You Can Get This Book: Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: A fascinating blend of horror and magical realism, this spine-tingling thriller explores the complex relationship between women, their bodies, and the natural world.

Cutthroat NYC lawyer Mary Whelton just buried her problematic old mentor. But as she leaves the mourners and protesters behind, the press stays hot on her heels. Desperate to escape, she unwittingly barrels deep into a remote forest in upstate New York. Until a collision—with a buzzing, oozing throng of cicadas—stops her dead in her tracks.

She awakens in a crude cabin, held captive by Girl, a simple, hulking woman who mistakes Mary for her derelict mother and obsesses over a mysterious Brood. While tortured echoes from Mary’s past feed her growing sense of fear, it becomes clear that she’s destined to bear an unthinkable role in the cicadas’ cyclical reemergence. But when Girl’s grisly past comes back to haunt them both, Mary is thrust into a violent battle of wills.

Confoundingly creepy and atmospheric, The Brood peels back the hurt and pain of the female experience, laying bare the messy necessity for transformation and growth.

Review: Thank you to Rebecca Baum for sending me an ARC of this novel!

We are starting to wind down our Horrorpalooza celebration, as Halloween is on Friday and October is almost at its end. I’m always sad when it comes time to wrap up this fun review theme, but don’t worry. We still have two more horror focused reviews for the celebration (and obviously there will be more horror reviews from me because that’s my jam all year round). And I am coming in hot with the second to last entry for Horrorpalooza 2025! Rebecca Baum asked me if I’d be interested in reading her body horror novel “The Brood”, and I was admittedly a bit squeamish at the premise. Body horror freaks me out, and parasitic body horror REALLY freaks me out. But the premise caught my attention, and I wanted to take a chance on it because it sounded quite promising. And I’m glad that I did, because I found “The Brood” to be a well done body horror tale. And VERY disgusting.

This was basically my reaction to so much of this book. (source)

The atmosphere and building dread in this book is top notch. Mary is a high powered attorney who has become a bit of a ruthless ‘fixer’, and after a car crash while leaving a funeral in the remote backwoods she is taken captive by a hulking, strange woman who is only known as ‘Girl’. Girl is convinced that Mary is her long lost mother, and keeps her hostage so a cicada swarm she calls ‘The Brood’ can lay eggs and gestate in Mary’s body. SO, first I want to talk about the backwoods horror, as that is a sub-genre I really like. The isolation, the inability to escape, the lurking cave that may or may not have some kind of greater horror that won’t let Mary leave, it’s all creepy and strange and suffocating. Girl is both foreboding but also sympathetic for a litany of reasons, and as she and Mary (more on her in a bit) interact they spar, butt heads, but also kind of learn to understand each other. She’s more than the stereotypes of your typical ‘backwoods malevolent hillbilly’ trope, and I found her to be a scary AND sympathetic foil for Mary.

Okay. The body horror. With parasitic themes. I will come out and say first and foremost that I have a REALLY hard time with this kind of horror sub-genre, and always have. I full we knew going into this book that this was the kind of thing I was signing up for, and I knew that I was going to have a hard time with it. And I did. SO MUCH PUSS!! But I want to talk about why I still enjoyed(?) it, or at least appreciated it, as a person who has such a huge case of the willies with this kind of thing, and that is that this kind of horror story is always going to be reminiscent of losing bodily autonomy, which especially these days is a real life horror that many face (even if it isn’t cicadas taking over the body) and is terribly relevant. The way that Girl prioritizes the cicada clutch growing in Mary’s body and how that in turn leads to some pretty horrifying moments even beyond the body horror bits (case in point with few spoilers, a hunger strike Mary implements that Girl is QUICK to snuff out. I had to pause my reading for a little bit because man, force feeding is SO brutal and Baum really captures it). It’s scary enough thinking about insects growing under your skin. It’s even worse when it mirrors the way that pregnant people who don’t want to be pregnant are sometimes forced to carry a pregnancy no matter the cost to their bodies and minds. Be warned: this book goes hard. It did for me anyway.

But there was also a surprising undercurrent of ache and sorrow when it comes to Mary’s backstory that slowly bubbles up, and concludes in a way that had me crying for the last couple chapters of the book. Mary is a very cold and damaged woman when we meet her, and she doesn’t REALLY soften at all, at least not in expected ways, as the story goes on and she has to endure her kidnapping, torture, and being a reluctant vessel for an insect clutch in her body. She’s done some terrible things in her frenzy to become successful. But at the same time, we learn that she has a deep, deep trauma due to being abandoned to an orphanage as a five year old, and being abused for a lot of her life, and shows how these things affect her path. Baum is sure not to make excuses for the terrible harm she caused at one point. But she does help the reader understand why she did what she did, and it makes it a nuanced take that has a very emotional resolution.

“The Brood” is probably not for the squeamish, but for those who love some disgusting body horror that doesn’t hold back (and does lean way into the metaphors in an effective way), it will be a gross and enjoyable read.

Rating 8: Disgusting and visceral body horror combined with feminist themes of bodily autonomy make for a nasty but relevant read. It also made me cry unexpectedly!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Brood” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of yet, but it would fit in on “Books with Creepy Crawlers”!

Serena’s Review: “Kill the Beast”

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Book: “Kill the Beast” by Serra Swift

Publishing Info: Tor Books, October 2025

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

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

Book Description: The night Lyssa Cadogan’s brother was murdered by a faerie-made monster known as the Beast, she made him a promise: she would find a way to destroy the immortal creature and avenge his death. For thirteen years, she has been hunting faeries and the abominations they created. But in all that time, the one Beast she is most desperate to find has never resurfaced.

Until she meets Alderic Casimir de Laurent, a melodramatic dandy with a coin purse bigger than his brain. Somehow, he has found the monster’s lair, and―even more surprising―retrieved one of its claws. A claw Lyssa needs in order to forge a sword that can kill the Beast.

When the witch Ragnhild decrees that Alderic and Lyssa must gather the other ingredients to forge the weapon together, or else the spell will fail, Lyssa gets more than she bargained for. Alderic is ill-equipped for the task at hand, and almost guaranteed to get himself killed.

But as the two of them search for the materials that will be the Beast’s undoing, Alderic reveals hidden depths: dark secrets that he guards as carefully as Lyssa guards hers. Before long, and against Lyssa’s better judgment, they begin to forge a blooming friendship―one that will either lead to the culmination of Lyssa’s quest for vengeance, or spell doom for them both.

Review: Between the “Beauty and the Beast”-esque title and the lovely cover art on the front, it was a no-brainer that I would check this one out! But, surprise surprise, reading through the book description, this one sounded like something very different than yet another fairytale retelling (as much as I do love them).

I think this turned out to be a fairly decent debut book. It didn’t blow me away, but it also presented a solid story, an interesting world, and a refreshingly different male lead character. One of the biggest themes of the story revolves around rage and how this can drive a person past the point of wise decision-making. Our main character, Lyssa, is almost entirely driven by anger. At times, yes, this did make her character feel a bit one-dimensional, and I don’t know if there was enough focus on the end results of her violence, but I also thought that the author picked a lane here and committed to it, which I always appreciate.

As I said, I really liked Alaric. We’ve all read the million and one brooding “shadow daddies” that seem to pop up in every fantasy book you read nowadays. So it’s always refreshing to see an MMC who breaks that mold. What’s more, I appreciated the fact that the relationship that builds between Alaric and Lyssa was different from the sort that we typically find in this sort of book. That said, I do think most readers will look at the title, the genre, and the book description and, perhaps, have expectations for how things will play out that may not be met.

The writing and pacing were also good. I was able to easily slide into this world and felt fairly connected to the story throughout. Like I said, it wasn’t blowing me away (and I think some of the comparisons to T. Kingfisher and Naomi Novik might be doing more harm than good), but I think it all showed great promise for an author whose next work could be even better. I’ll definitely be giving it a shot!

Rating 8: Full of rage and wit, this one had just enough twists from what we’ve come to expect from fairytale fantasy to feel fresh and new!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Kill the Beast” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Gorgeous covers I love and Novels with Bisexual Protagonists.

Serena’s Review: “Druid Cursed”

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Book: “Druid Cursed” by C. J. Burright

Publishing Info: Entangled: Amara, October 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: from the publisher!

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

Book Description: Every fifty years, Kellen Ravenwood escapes his magical prison for seven days. This Samhain is his last chance to break the curse, or he’ll be bound forever. All he needs is a sacrifice: the blood of Maggie O’Malley, the last living descendant of the witch who cursed him.

Maggie, desperate for cash after a brutal divorce, jumps at the chance to win a $500,000 prize at a mysterious Irish estate. She never expected ancient rituals, strange magic, or Kellen, the dangerously charming man who claims she’s the key to his freedom.

But Maggie won’t be anyone’s sacrifice. And if there’s another way to break the curse, she’ll find it.

Because some destinies are meant to be rewritten.

And some love stories are worth defying fate for.

Review: I was excited to check out this book when I was approached by the publicist. I think it always would have been interesting to me, but it just so happened that I was in the middle of a run of “Baldur’s Gate 3” where I was romancing the druid, Halsin, and bemoaning the fact that druids really aren’t seen in fantasy books all that much. And low and behold, here we get a book referencing druids right there in the title!

I really like the cover on this one, but I have to say, I do think it’s a bit misleading for the type of book you’re picking up. At some point I knew this was a paranormal romance, but by the time I picked it up, when I glanced at the cover, I was assuming we were back in good ole “second world” fantasy. Nope! Main character is a divorcée out to win big cash and get on her with her life. What she doesn’t expect, of course, is to find herself caught up in an ancient curse and drawn into another romantic entanglement right off the bat.

To that last point, while I ultimately really enjoyed this book for what it is (a fun paranormal romance!), I do think that the instalove straight after divorce thing was a bit much. The story was saved by its fun writing and solid characters, but from afar, the love story happened incredibly quickly and was all the more strange for the fact that she had just gotten divorced and would, rightly, probably need a bit of a break from love.

That said, the story was so fast paced and full of action and romance that I barely had time to really linger on the timing of it all. For one thing, there is a certain tone to paranormal romances that lends them a sort of propulsive energy. Thins happen quickly, and that’s all for the best!

The book also had a tough sell trying to straddle the worlds of dark, gothic fantasy and fun, cozy romance. I perhaps would have liked to lean in a bit more towards the gothic side of things at times, but overall, I was impressed the author was able to pull off this balancing act at all! This duality was best expressed in the dialogue, switching between the modern lingo that Maggie uses and the more old-fashioned and formal way of speaking that Kellen employs.

Overall, I thought this was a fun paranormal romance. I think the combination of gothic, Irish estate full of strange magic alongside a more lighthearted character and romance worked well. I also really enjoyed the side characters (perhaps more than the main characters??). If you’re looking for a fun, fast read, I think this is definitely one to check out this spooky season!

Rating 8: Curses, magic, and romance, oh my! Quite the balancing act to pull off combining dark, gothic vibes and cozy romantasy, but this book does it!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Druid Cursed” isn’t currently on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Paranormal Romance Outside the Box.

Serena’s Review: “The Faerie Morgana”

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Book: “The Faerie Morgana” b y Louisa Morgan

Publishing Info: Redhook, September 2025

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

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

Book Description: To the other priestesses of the Nine, a powerful council at the Lady’s Temple, Morgana is haughty and arrogant as she performs feats of magic no human should be capable of. Rumors start that she must be a fearsome fae.
 
To King Arthur, Morgana is a trusted and devoted advisor, but his court is wary of her and her prodigious talent at divination. But his wife sees Morgana as a rival and a malevolent witch.
 
To Braithe, Morgana’s faithful acolyte, she is simply the most powerful priestess Camelot has seen.
 
Morgana doesn’t know why she’s so different from everyone else, and she doesn’t much care. But when she aids Arthur to ascend the throne before his time, she sets off a series of events that will change everything Morgana believes about her power.

Review: There are a million and one Arthurian books out there, and yet I always pick up the next one when I see a new title enter the field. This one was particularly interesting with its re-focusing the story on Morgan Le Fay, this time as the priestess Morgana.

And I will say, this is a heavily character-driven story, so you’re investment in not only Morgana but the other characters that surround her will likely heavily influence your enjoyment of this story. Morgana herself could be frustrating for me at times; she seems to start out as incredibly powerful and than simply remains so throughout the story. That being the case, some of her plot felt more like a “day in the life” story than much of an actual character arch.

However, I did enjoy many of the other characters. As always, for fans of Arthurian legends, half of the fun in exploring new interpretations of these tales is seeing different versions of these characters come to life. I think most of these are approachable enough to even those with only a passing knowledge of Arthurian legends, but, of course, the more you know, the more you’ll get here. I also really enjoyed a new side character, Braithe. Unlike Morgana, we see more of a transformation in this characters, as she grows from a fairly naive to more confident in herself.

Most of all, I enjoyed the writing. This was a very lyrical, atmospheric style of story. In many ways, this neatly aligns with the character-driven nature of the story, with less emphasis placed on an action-packed plot (indeed, many of these sorts of scenes take place off page) and more focus on quieter reflection. Again, I think this is the sort of stylistic choice that will really work for readers who are a fan of this kind of writing (like me) but perhaps less so for those looking for a more plot-driven story.

Overall, I enjoyed this one! I perhaps would have liked to see more development for Morgana herself, but I appreciated the quieter nature of the story being told. Fans of lyrical writing and Arthurian tales in general should definitely give this one a go!

Rating 8: With a nice mixture of new interpretations and familiar faces, this lyrical take on the Arturian legend will be a hit for many readers!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Faerie Morgana” can be found on this Goodreads list: All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in September 2025.