C. J. Daley

Thanks to Saga Press for the physical ARC. This book has a great design and I’m happy to own one.

This book was a bit of a gamble for me. I was really interested in the blurb, had seen some early reviews that were great including other FanFiFam, but I had read one full length from the author and I hadn’t really gotten along with it. After finishing this and loving it, now I’m wondering if it was simply because I read the other when I was newer to horror. So perhaps a reread of The Only Good Indians is imminent now.

This has to be one of the most unique takes on the Slasher genre. It brings to mind another recent read for me, which was Brian McAuley’s debut, Curse of the Reaper. Where that novel blends Slasher tropes with psychological horror, Jones went completely off the rails and made a slasher memoir. And not just any memoir, but one that takes place within a world where slashers do exist. There’s definitely no wondering here why zombie stories take place in worlds where no one knows what a zombie is, Jones has offered up his teenage slasher all the reference material he needs.

In a kind of self referential nod that felt like Jamie Kennedy’s Randy from Scream/Scream 2, our main character’s best friend Amber is the launch board for all of Tolly Driver’s necessary slasher info. Her brother, a slasher fanatic, has the goods on what’s going to happen, when, how, and maybe even where, not that she’s necessarily going to share all of it. And on the inverse of maybe the ‘why’ zombie worlds don’t know of zombies, this created this really interesting tension where Tolly spends a huge portion of the book not believing what happened to him simply because his real life couldn’t become like the movies. These things existed in his world, but as fiction, they couldn’t possibly become him, right?

The detachment of Tolly from his Slasher self is another really unique dynamic to this novel. The Driver (pun intended), taking over has this supernatural angle to it that starts all the way at the beginning with the blood from the Joss kid. And just like any slasher, revenge is the driving force, right? And while the reader does live through the near death experience with Tolly, it did kind of feel like a somewhat weak reason to go around killing people. However, slashers aren’t usually known for being reasonable, rational, believable even. And it’s within that, that this story lies. There are things that seem extreme, things you’d never believe or assume, but neither did Tolly.

Multilayered and compelling, Tolly Driver is anything but a mindless killer. With notes of coming of age, of finding oneself, with angles of grief and strength, this bleeds through as a love letter to Lamesa and Texas as a whole. And I absolutely loved Tolly’s internal commentary and struggles from the passenger seat. Jones has this way about his writing, this meandering, sometimes longwinded, sometimes unconventional sentence structuring, that just lends itself so well to someone telling their own story. And, I think, especially someone trying to remember it as well. It had this really nice stark contract to another read of mine at the time, Deep Freeze by Michael C. Grumley, which had such short chapters to enhance its pace that there were over 100. Jones instead, uses long winding pieces of each day to show just how much Tolly was really going through, both trying to stop it, and failing miserably.

Poetic and heart breaking, the final 15 pages of this may break you.

I went with audio for this, and I’ll tell you, Sena Bryer knocked it out of the park for me. Some really good and completely different voices in here.

This is an interesting concept. Earth was lost, and those on Gaea are raised to train with only one thing in mind, revenge. It’s an endless war. But when the main character, Kyr finds out that her brother has gone “rogue” and that she has been sentenced to work in the nursery, a near death sentence regardless of her being a top solider, things start to become a little clearer.

This is almost like an Inception-y, Time Travel creating changes like in Loki, multiversal kind of mixture that had a great pace to it. Can the past change the future if it’s the one that already exists? The twists are present, and they’re interesting, I just kind of felt like maybe the execution was a tad off. I found things that I thought were cool or interesting, but felt like they didn’t exactly pan out, and I wasn’t as engaged as I should have been.

The idea of the nursery as a whole, a set of selected women that were chosen for life to birth the next generation of humans, could have been set up to make a hell of a statement…but it kind of just is what it is—lacking commentary? Even in the future, during an all-out war for survival, even while being the top marks solider out of all the women, you can still be seen as just a womb. And while that is kind of what it’s saying it also felt kind of flat, like they didn’t try to really get the point across. It also kind of felt off putting to me that Kyr’s brother, the large and muscly super solider was weird and different, and the way that it was played off was that he was different simply because he was gay? At least that’s how it feels. It needed to be deeper, or to not be there at all for me.

The other main issue I had, was that many, if not most, of the characters are just genuinely unlikable. It’s hard to be truly surprised, heartened, or heart broken with the twists when you don’t feel enough for those it’s happening too. So while there were things that kept me going, kept me listening on to the end, I just feel kind of somewhere in the middle on this one.

This is a short story that features cover art done by the author, which is such a cool piece of art that I had to grab it. I’ve been reading shorter pieces during dead time at work, so this fit perfectly.

The short is a kind of alt historical fantasy that features centaurs as mercenaries. And I think it’s really unique in that it actually focuses on the women, the centaurines, as the fighting force of the main character’s group. Taller, faster, stronger than humans, they are employed as the fighting forces, and I found the references to historical places to be really cool.

The main focus of the story is not war though. Our lead’s colt has died, and in the postpartum grief that follows, she’s now also battling with the loss. Lost and on uneven ground, she doesn’t quite know how to handle her situation, how to get back to her warrior spirit. So when she runs into a human orphan, one that has been sent to her tribe to work for them, she battles with every possible feeling, interior and exterior, as she tries to keep herself from latching to the boy in her grief.

An interesting tale of motherhood, loss, and grief. And while I found this quite enjoyable, I do wish there was more clarity on the relationship between humans and centaurs, especially as they seem to think lowly of humans, but also rely entirely upon them.

As always a huge thanks to Shortwave Media for this one. This is Killer VHS # 4, and as always the cover and design continues to be flawless.

Cicada is the creature feature that I never knew I wanted or needed. While not horrifically graphic, the idea alone of a giant cicada is disgusting enough!

The story is self referential and self indulgent in all the best ways. It perfectly encapsulates the cult classic horror vibe with its town full of merch and fandom coming together (for once off their message boards where they build and manipulate their own head-canon). And in those references and commentary it really reminded me of Scream 2.

While I really appreciate the cicada-wing speed of the action once it gets off the ground, I do think the story could have benefited by either a shorter opening—because as it stands it’s about 50% set up, 50% nightmare—or it could have been longer in general which would have made the opening seem shorter. Ash spends so long fighting with her boyfriend and wondering why things are weird that it became a bit noticeable for me.

The descriptions of the cicada, with its hairy legs and body, its eerily humanoid-esque head, as well as its machete length proboscis, were enough to raise the hairs on my arms. Bugs are absolutely disgusting, and especially with all the husks cicadas leave around, it was a brilliant choice to horror-fy. Can you imagine the sound a large one would be capable of? And the way the bug just kind of…drank people into their own kind of husks? Chilling.

If you’ve been a fan of the others, in this series people keep calling modern day Goosebumps for adults, then you better buckle up, because this one sits right up there with the others. Like mixing The Blair Witch Project with 1994’s Mosquito.

Grabbed up a whole bunch of these on a wild audible sale, and I’m finally getting back to it. R.C. Bray does yet another fantastic narration for the series.

I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again, but these have such a breakneck pace with so much action that they’re just so fun. I also realized during this one that I listen to my audiobooks fast, which means there’s hardly a breath between action beats.

Xavier takes to the sea, finally in sight of the paradise they so desperately seek. But sea monsters, radiation, and crazy storms aren’t the only thing that he’ll have to overcome. Tin, and the new captain will take on a different mission, this time in Cuba. The stakes are higher than ever, but the payoff is information for the reader!

Is finally finding a home in the sun worth entering an all-out war? Not to mention a war that they’re not even sure they can win…

And folks, we’ve finally got it! The full explanation as to why the world is the way it is! Remember this is an alt history scifi, where radiation is so high that the remnants of humanity have been forced to live in airships above the crazy weather patterns to survive. The need for repairs, supplies and answers, drives those willing to dive down to the surface for the sake of everyone else…the hell divers. For spoilers-sake, I won’t discuss the reason the world fell apart, but it brought to mind notes Horizon Zero Dawn and Terminator.

With new enemies and horrors, the suspense was at an all-time high, and I was just surprised to not have another run in with the sirens (at least for me, a favorite enemy). This one did feel kind of like the cliffhanger came out of nowhere I will say, kind of like we got half a climax, but I’m certainly on the edge of my seat for more. And finally we got the sea…and with it, SHARKS.

I’ve had kind of a mixed bag of experiences with King so far, having only really read shorter stuff like The Mist, and Secret Window, Secret Garden and not really loving either. But then I saw the narrator was Michael C. Hall, and I had to grab it. It helps that the other members of Fear For All love his stuff too.

First off, I thought this was fantastic. Reading something finally full length from King really allowed for the story to open up. Both growing in creepiness, and heightening those emotional touch points. Of course, it might just help that I decided to read one that is considered up there with his best, but still.

The copy I got from Audible included an introduction from the author, he spoke about how he thought this was his darkest novel, perhaps even too dark that it shouldn’t have been published. He also spoke about the origin of the spelling of Pet Sematary, its inclusion in the novel, and eventual taking over as the title. That kind of inclusion and connection really heightened my enjoyment heading into the story.

Louis accepts a new job, moving his family into the rural town of Ludlow, Maine. Their new house seems too good to be true, their neighbor Jud already showing them hospitality. But even from the earliest pages of the novel, theirs a dangerous undertone. Let alone when they get shown the cemetery behind their property where all the town’s beloved pets have been buried…I personally have pets, and although the thought of having them nearby is endearing, this is still just so creepy.

But when the road finally claims another victim, this time Louis’ daughter’s beloved cat Church, Jud tells him to wait for his call and that they’d handle it. And when Church shows back up, after being buried no less, Louis does his best to rationalize the appearance, but underneath it all, he knows better. The general creepiness of this, as well as the behavioral problems that follow with Church, should have been a clear indication of how far this novel would go, but I wasn’t ready.

The loss of a child, is often something that writers avoid like the plague, especially in horror I feel. So for King to go so far into this, so deep, especially given the year when this released originally, is a testament to him. And yeah…this really is super super dark. For me, the imagining of if it didn’t happen, and where his life could have gone, was even sadder to read than the death itself.

It does kind of feel like I’ve managed to live under a rock, as I’ve not had any of this really ruined for me, and I’ve never seen any screen adaptation so far. With the mixed bag that has come from his wide filmography, I think maybe I had started to link that directly to him, even though they are adaptations of his works? This was so eerie and riveting. It brought to mind that building dread that I loved in Nat Cassidy’s Nestlings, that ability to show that building in different ways between husband, wife, and daughter.

Michael C. Hall did such a fantastic job. I would like him to take over narrating my life now. The voices were great, the novel had life, and this once again brought to mind just how much we are missing that he has not narrated the Dexter series.

Grabbed another one by the author after finishing Dollface the other day!

Jane has been has been arrested for killing eight men during eight different snow storms, earning her the name The Snowfall Slasher. This is her psychiatric interview. From denial to gleeful pride, Jane takes the reading through various stages of discontent and discomfort. From claiming it’s not satanic worship to screaming names from the Bible, it’s quite obvious early on that nothing Jane says can be taken at face value.

The office, as well as the decision by the author to make the entire perspective an interview, brought to mind scenes from the Hannibal show, scenes from Evil when Kristen visits her therapist, little tidbits of Long Legs with the creepy antagonist, as well as plenty of its own personal flair. I can definitely see the author’s penchant from the extreme coming out in this novel as we see some seriously heinous acts described. Like The Exorcist but as a cannibal revenge story.

Well written and concise, I really enjoyed this one as it had more of a styled writing than just the extreme. All I really want to know is, how did her family not taste it all?!

Here’s another I read for my book club, the Hudson Valley Housewives, and it’s another I probably would not have read without it being someone’s pick.

This is a kind of crime mystery, but instead of a cop or detective, the main POV is a recruited children’s psychologist, Casey Walker, that specializes in autism. The mayor’s wife has been killed, and an autistic teen, Mason, son to a kind of celebrity content creator, was found at the scene covered in blood and uncontrollable.

I’ve never read this author, was unfamiliar with them, so throughout the continuously deep information dumps on autism and therapy, all I found myself thinking was, “god I hope this was well researched.” And after finishing and seeing the author’s bio, I do feel more at ease on the knowledge part, but I found villainizing a special needs teen was super risky.

I would say that the information in the above paragraph, as well as the way it was weaved into the possibility of a murder happening, was definitely one of the few things that kept me engaged and roped in. There are several attempts at unseen twists, however they are so straight forward that there’s little to no surprise with almost all of them, IE. Casey thinks the mother is doing something and the twist is…simply that she’s right??

The ending has a winding lead up to a scene right in front of a swamp, the author kind of remarks on the possibility of animals within the water, and then it literally leads to nothing at all. The final twist involves something that I do not believe was well threaded into the story, to the point where it comes out of left field. It felt wasted, or like being cheated.

The cover had me thinking that they could have been going for like a southern belle/beauty pageant thing with the crown. The watery swirls could have been some hint to the swamp at the end or something, but I think honestly, the most likely thing is that this was a real cheap stock cover that got zero thought. And while the title’s color certainly pops, I’d much rather have a cover that matches the story somehow.

Overall, I will say that I was at least never bored while reading this. A story of a mother’s love, or lack thereof, and her willingness to do anything for attention.

Grabbed this on kindle and gave it a go. My new job has little bits of time where I can read, but not quite long enough to pick up a book, so this short read was perfect.

This is an extreme horror story, which is not usually my cup of tea. And honestly, that just scratches the surface. It’s extremely horrific, that’s what it is!

An abused doll comes to life, seeking revenge on papa for everything she has seen and endured. His latest victim is still tied up in the basement, and Dollface is just in time to recruit her help—rescuing her, and possibly traumatizing her herself.

Extremely sickening, and over the top, Dollface makes papa feel each and every regret possible. This story made me have to stop reading more than once, setting it aside to focus on something else. The descriptions hit me right in the stomach, unsettling and viscous. I will never be able to view anything cherry the same.

Regardless of how horrific it can feel, remember that papa deserves what’s coming to him…so good for her.

Grabbed this a bit ago on kindle, and needed a short read for slow bits at work, so this fit perfectly.

This is a story of enslavement and loss. The ancient protectors of the land, the Chiroluna, the masters of moonlight, oversee the land, bringing their bats with them to pollinate the land and keep down the insect populations. However, they’ve been attacked, and one, Aysel, has been forced to remain in her human form for decades. The king, smitten with her human beauty, has effectively clipped her wings, forcing her to wed him, to attend him, to dine with him, but never to enjoy the moonlight again.

However, there are those that still believe in the old ways, seeking the other lost Chiroluna, and painstakingly waiting until the time is ripe to free the Queen. So while this is a dark and abusive tale, it is also one of hope, strength, and eventual freedom.

I’m impressed that in so few words the author was still able to paint multilayered characters. The King, though mislead (and manipulative) is not wholly evil. His love for his Queen is such that he can’t even see the damage caused to his lands by the absence of the Chiroluna. I truly believed that HE believed he was keeping her safe. The author makes a point to state that he used to be kind, gentle even. Perhaps the impending loss of the Queen was a gut feeling for the King, turning his anxiety to cruelty. But, giant mutating bat women have got to fly… and the Queen was a great example of persistence and strength.

This was a quick and well written read, I’d definitely suggest it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the audio ARC! Saskia Maarleveld did a great job and brought the story to life, giving the character voice kind of a Poker Face, Natasha Lyonne vibe.

After a traumatic experience as a child, in which she and her mother were forced to flee their little cabin, Anne turned to a life of crime to make ends meet. Always the professional, Anne had so far gotten away scot-free, only agreeing to one final score. However, after a bank robbery gone wrong, she may be forced back into things she’d been running from all her life.

This was a really unique blend of crime and supernatural. It really does feel like bits of It Follows, The Evil Dead, and even Smile meshed together with a criminal on the run. As Anne dodged police and public recognition, there is something eerie and slithering following her all throughout the background.

With an almost whiplash pacing, I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns in this one, only wondering how things would pan out when the climax seemed to happen too soon (it doesn’t). And of course with such a pace, it does go a bit too fast for the eerie suspense to build up, however the scenes the entity appears in were incredibly creepy, particularly the police station scene.

The only thing that stuck out for me was the police officer as a side character. Anne specifically shoots his partner in the knee, injuring him, but stating several times she did not kill him. But then the kidnapped officer says that no one will believe him that he wasn’t involved and therefore he decides to help her? It just seemed odd to me a kind of a really weak reason for him to be there. Although I did enjoy Anne being multilayered and pulling almost everyone that meets her into her orbit because she wasn’t wholly bad.

Overall, this is a very good one!

I was a huge fan of Candy Cain Kills, so when I saw this one in an audible sale, I grabbed it immediately.

As a debut, I found this to be an incredibly cohesive and well done story. Howard is getting on in years, and although he’s grown tired of signing photos for (less and less) fans, he still feels a sense of pride in being the horror star in the Night of the Reaper franchise. But when he finds out that they plan on rebooting the series, and sowing their fields with some much younger seeds, deep-seated rage grabs hold. Trevor Mane, a recovering addict that’s aspiring to retake his career, is all-too eager to snatch up the role of the Reaper from underneath him.

I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the two actors, both displaying their own end of the spectrum in Hollywood horrors. Howard, once a slasher staple, has been cast aside—the slowing stream of revenue and fans leaving him unwanted. Meanwhile Trevor, struggling with the heavy expectations of childhood acting, has fallen to drugs and alcohol to carry the heavy weight of disappointment. Neither receive the help and care from the industry they deserve, and the recasting of the Reaper has set them both on paths of destruction. Both personal and exterior, no one is coming out unscathed.

As someone relatively new to horror (couple of years now…) the Night of the Reaper parts still brought to mind the slashers of old, like Friday the 13th, Halloween, and the blurb mentioned Scream. But it also reminded me of some newer ones like Fear Street: Part Two and even last year’s Thanksgiving with its witty, borderline cringey one liners and wacky kills. The blurb linking it to The Shining is of course a great mention, as that kind of creeping psychological thriller is absolutely present with Howard. It also has that kind of The Evil Dead ‘is this really happening supernatural feel’ as well as the typical vibes you get with Cabin Fever.

What the author delivers is this unique blend of horror. Each part features a reading from one of the Reaper series entries, as well as the climax itself giving way to full blown slasher. Then that psychological aspect meshing in to make you question everything. It’s very well done. I so curious what a sequel would be like…

I’ve been eying this one since I got in as a BoTM pick, but got so busy that I only just now got to it when I saw it on sale from Audible. I’m glad I did. Gabino does a lot of work to get a light shined on indie works, so I’m glad to read his work finally.

Dark, dangerous, and absolutely beautiful; this novel is a deep dive into loss, grief, the lengths any one human can go, and striving to accept what’s happened.

In a scene all too familiar, when Mario’s daughter gets sick, the bills start stacking high, and his employer doesn’t want to continue giving him time off. In desperate need for cash, and willing to do anything for his family, Mario is forced to a life of crime in an attempt to make ends meet. After a few successful jobs, Mario is invited to one with a much bigger score. One final job. The path that follows is nothing short of spectacular—supernatural, horrific, nightmarish, and filled with turns.

The author’s writing is poetic in prose, while to the point, and packs a punch without giving way to too emotional a story. He tackles race and racism in the south, even showcasing what being an ally means through an integral character. It’s one of those reads where you’re like, “oh, that’s not what the book is about, but that’s what the book is about.” Shining a light onto something we don’t all get to experience.

The major themes of family and regret are prevalent, while the nightmares of our world collide with those of something other. At no point did I know what would happen next, and honestly I didn’t know if I wanted it to end, or continue on damaging me forever.

“You can wrap a shotgun in flowers, but that doesn’t make the blast less lethal.”

This was included on audible, so I have it a go. If you can’t tell in recent years, I’m definitely on an ocean/shark journey (Jaws, all of the Meg series, Megalodon: Bloodbath).

This was a bit confusing honestly. Where almost all of those I named above feature something other than just sharks, be it the mafia, rich overlords, drug cartels, competitor countries, and more, this novel felt almost entirely about something else. It begins with a focus on Somali pirates, where someone is hired to create a group of people that can rescue hostages. While the first mysterious siting of the beast happens here, it is then gone for such a huge portion of the story as to be forgotten.

The shark, the meg, is a clone, as of course the original species is long extinct, and while each of these books tend to search for a reason why there’s a killer beast on the loose (especially the extinct prehistoric kind) this one spent so long in getting to the point that it kind of erases the threat.

The end itself does have some of the desired killer shark energy I was so invested for, so at least I got that. It is however, kind of outlandish (even for a megalodon) in a kind of almost ‘original idea for Jurassic Park 4 plot’ way—think militarized dinosaurs…

Although it mostly lacked what I was looking for, it does have some strong characters, as well as character development, within the crew of navy seals, and it was fast paced enough to enjoy.

300 Years Before A Game of Thrones, this tells the Targaryen history from Aegon the Conquerer to Aegon III. It is both the rise of the dragons in Westeros, as well as the beginning of decline.

Honestly I picked this up simply to stop having stuff spoiled for me online after each episode of season two of House of the Dragon. If I can see it online, or google the answer myself, I might as well just read the story.

The writing in this is just simply so superb that it blows my mind. It is so well done, so meticulous, so real. Each page is like a section of a textbook, each sentence like a piece of history. And with that, it has its climactic moments, as well as its tiring ones. The conquering of Westeros, while interesting, was one of the drier parts. I’m not sure if he was just getting started, or if that just wasn’t his focus. I’m not sure how that’ll become its own show, as the burning of Harrenhal, a part that seems so extreme, actually happened in a single night. I did like that he addressed the clash of religion with the Targaryen’s incestuous nature though.

At about 50% into the story, you finally get to the crowning of Viserys and to his children. Aka the start of HotD. At about 25%+ of the book itself, this is the largest story it has to offer. The dance of dragons is long, bloody, and absolutely spilling with betrayal. Truly the amount of times Rhaenyra gets betrayed is mind blowing. And while the show seems to want to drag out every single line of dialogue possible, the book has an awful lot of dragons flying into action and fighting. I won’t say more for spoilers-sake but the fact that the show writers keep changing things for no reason doesn’t make any sense to me. Same with their desire to connect so heavily into GoT itself. The two are not really related whatsoever.

While I really enjoyed this, and I get that he’s going for a ‘time-period based’ fantasy, I just wish he spent more time on the story than on caring so much about girls’ virginities.

Huge thanks to Saga Press for the physical arc! Getting to be a part of their program is fantastic and I can’t wait to get into more books.

This is a fun mix of classical feeling fantasy, with notes of historical, epic, and even high fantasies. The younger cast has something fun and almost middle grade to it, while the action itself definitely reads as adult. It also packs all the necessary beats to be its own fairytale, with dragons, wizards, love triangles, happy endings, et al.

The King and Queen of Bellemontagne are receiving princes left and right, all in pursuit of their daughter, Princess Cerise’s, hand in marriage. Meanwhile, Robert, the kingdom’s dragon exterminator, clears out the walls of the castle to ensure it’s at its best for the arrival of a certain prince. Robert hates his job, believing that dragons are more than the vermin they are considered to be. Prince Reginald is a coward, always wanting less than his station as Prince. His father, King Krije, is a powerful and imposing figure, wanting his son to prove his worth to the realm. Fate intertwines the three, drawing them in and forcing their hands as they seek to protect their desires and each other.

Robert proves to be quite the main character. He is brave and carries strong morals. He is heroic and sacrifices, all while not wanting to be the hero. He is in essence, an iteration of the farm boy meant for so much more, and his power is required for the survival and betterment of others.

The action is at points dark, with dragon fire leaving only the bleakest hope of survival. However, when the wizard Dahr gets officially involved, I found some of the final bits to be a bit confusing, and if not confusing, just less enjoyable. Still a worthy read by all means, just some further clarity on those beats would have heightened it all!

I received this early to possibly provide a blurb, and that’s just wild to me that someone would allow me to do that??

This is compulsively readable. Concise writing that’s straight to the point and easy to read. I suggest not picking this up unless you know you have time to finish it, because you won’t be able to put it down.

A little girl prays for the return of her father, meanwhile their prophet knows better than to bother. A young woman prepares for her wedding, though her mind often wanders, thinking back to the strange woman she met by the stream. Her marriage should be heaven sent, but something is off.

Each section is led by one of the community’s tenets, which brings life to this very small feeling world, and helps to further illustrate just how controlled they all are by their prophet. Jane, the strange woman from the woods, has been biding her time—will the outcome be worth the wait?

The author managed so much in so few words! I’m impressed and I thoroughly enjoyed reading through this on my lunch break. I really enjoyed how this could be set during any time period. It’s a struggle of womanhood and religion, and it could be set in a cult-like setting like the movie the Village, modern, but cut off. Or it could be a period piece. Hell, it could even take place in its own world, the story being so secluded.

While feeling so down to earth and real, this was bloody bloody revenge.

I read this to rate for the Indie Ink Awards and I’m glad I was able to reserve it. For some reason it took me over a month to cut through, no idea why, but I’m glad to have read it.

This is a fantasy novel that takes place on a planet that has two separate species of humans on it. One lives close to the earth, hunting and surviving off the land. The other is more technologically advanced, living in a society further along than ours. Balika, an outsider, is thrust out of the only comfort she’s ever known. Sammah, also an outsider, is thrust out of his comfort zone when a friend starts getting close to him.

I loved that the two main characters mirror each other throughout the entirety of the novel. Their journeys may not be identical, but their struggles, their internal turmoil, as well as their outcomes, mirror, intermix, and come together in a really special way. And I especially appreciated the author’s ability to write the character of Balika as different while not making her seem inferior. While her people might have thought the construction machines were giant beasts, not understanding technology, there is nuance and intellect described throughout that highlights very well as just different, not dumb.

In a sense, I will say that the two storylines did not mesh all that well for me. As in, they just didn’t gell for me, and for most of the novel, I wasn’t sure where the build up would take me. It certainly pays off in a big way, it just took a while for me to catch up.

As much as this is a scifi fantasy, it also has notes of eco-horror too. Protecting the world from destruction, as well as repairing what’s been done. There’s also all the necessary dystopian scifi notes of a world that’s too attached to the simplicities that technology bring. All in all a solid mixture.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for this one. The audio by Imani Jade Powers was well done and a part I definitely enjoyed.

This was a unique story and take on the vampire. Not your conventional vamps, I really liked that the author mixed historical lore on vampires, demons, devils, and also just made up some of his own stuff. Overall they were the driving force that kept my enjoyment. They are brutal, commanding, savage even. And described in a way I’ve never experienced.

The novel itself though, features Sarita as the main character—oh and her hulking protector, called Angelo. He has saved her from drowning, from party kids getting a little too drunk, from going to the wrong places at the wrong times, and of course from someone she loved very much? Although later there is a reason given for why this happened, it just felt too random/weird too fast, and the description of why just never really caught up for me.

This was a little too all over the place. The pacing of which, with its horrendously repetitive pondering of why this was happening to Sarita, was far too slow, and then the sprinkling in of hyper-violence, just didn’t make sense for me. I was bored, then really engaged, and then it’d dissipate again. The big bad was described as this all powerful being, just to really not be all that climactic. It just had some unfortunate shortcomings.

With such a cool cover, I really wanted to love this one, and while I was kept on the line with the vampire stuff, the story was a bit of a loss for me.

Another one that I read for book club that I would not have necessarily picked up otherwise. Honestly, I’m a bit conflicted with it.

The novel is about two agents on opposite sides of the war. What may have started as an attempt to turn each other, eventually leads to a budding romance of a sort. Through their correspondences, they are truly free, truly themselves, and therefore it’s all the more alluring. Not only must they hide the letters to each other throughout time and space, they must also shield their minds from the leaders that would surely turn them in.

The correspondences, as well as why they are feeling the way they are, are quite beautiful. The nature of needing more and finding it in the strangest place is perhaps a cliche, however it’s completely modified by them being fully crafted, time traveling soldiers. They visit strands of time (the description of which brought to mind the Marvel show Loki for me) stealing, kidnapping, killing, and pretty much whatever else is required of them. So them finding each other, and sharing these desires, is practically impossible. Yet it happened all the same. That’s what I really liked.

What I struggled with, was the lack of everything else. While it wasn’t necessarily the fact that it was missing, it could be awfully confusing when little snippets were dropped. I wanted more. More description, more explanation, more scifi craziness. Without it, and it being so short, I found it to be kind of lacking. It just needed a bit more to glue it all together for me.

Went with the audio by Connor Brannigan and its very well done.

This is a very bizarre story. Franklin received a set of random texts from a neighbor he doesn’t know. He’s lonely, so he accepts her offer to come over and hang out. Regardless of the red flags, in which there are numerous, he finds himself staying. She contradicts herself, claiming he’s wrong even when it was a comment she made only moments before—clearly gaslighting him. She seems to mistake him for someone else, and over time it only gets worse. After ignoring a text to take her medicine, Franklin invites Lynda over in hopes of shaking her out of it in a new setting.

Unfortunately, things only get worse. The night is fueled by arguments, misunderstands, the need for reassurance, sexual endeavors, and even self harm. I do feel like bits of his loneliness and his ability to brush things off resonated with me as at least ‘possible,’ even though I would have gotten the hell out of there wayyyy earlier. I do feel like Lynda’s assaults were not that deftly handled though, as some of her triggers seemed to be the opposite of expectations.

Regardless, the ending is even more out of left field than the entire story, and the insanity is catching.

I received this to judge for the Indie Ink Awards for two different kinds of rep, disability and Latinx. I already owned the kindle version.

This has one hell of an opening. Jamarnid was sleeping with a harlequin. Well, he thought she was human, which was still a crime, but this one’s even worse. She became pregnant, which is treason, and he was sentenced to death. The entire opening is a whirlwind of lore, action, and torture. He is willing to die for his crimes, but not everyone may agree. It’s fast and strong and you feel it even though you’re still learning characters.

Otherwise though, I do wish that it was labeled as the prologue, rather than chapter one, as it’s really the only chapter that truly takes place in the past. It kind of made the rest of it harder to follow, as the pace never quite speeds up that much again.

This is a multiple POV fantasy that features different races and ages. Full blood elves, harlequins, half bloods, and humans (mostly just mentioned). After the opening, the exiled members have fallen victim to two different purges from the full blood elves. Those that survived made their own city, Almjarhad, where all they want is to live self sufficiently. The POVs, as the blurb states, showcase the hero, the seer, the child, and the condemned, and with that of course, peace is never that simple. I really enjoyed each character and how the author had them operate with each other, especially when they appeared in each others chapters.

There is a very cool and well written sword fight in this, but other than that, this did want for action in my opinion. With the large and intense opening, I guess I expected something to come and outdo that, and there isn’t anything. Although, I will say that this is only book one and it does end with practically everything in a cliffhanger. So I assume the build to action is what follows.

The narration by Connor Brannigan is good and has a tone that works well for the subject matter.

I’m not really too sure how to describe this, but ‘weird fantasy’ is what came to mind throughout listening. I think that’s kind of fitting honestly. It’s dark in nature, but it’s also missing common fantasy and horror notes. This is something different.

The penumbra men are seeking answers. Answers that were lost to them, as well as their faith. Vvlna, was the name of their sun, but they’ve lost a use for it in this new world. And as the blurb states, they will find those answers in the house of wolves, but not all of them will make it there.

To me this read like a short section of a history textbook. It’s not exactly any kind of linear tale, but the tone of it speaks to mythology or lore. This is a chronicle of the penumbra men. I felt it was well written and I really enjoyed the voice, but it’s not really long enough to open up into anything, but maybe that’s actually the point.

A first for me from both authors, but it’s a quick, unique read that I’d recommend.

The audio done by Dan Lawson was fantastic. Quick, clean audio, and good distinction for each character.

The novel begins with the narrator, Mark Prewitt, telling the reader that there is a house with a ghost, and that he fell in love with a witch. It worked perfectly as set up for me, as for the remainder of the book, it was like looking over my shoulder waiting for the exact moment those reveals would have an effect.

Mark just wants to make enough money this summer to get his car running. That, and to have as much fun with his friends as possible. But when a prank goes too far, Mark is forced to cross paths with the Farrow sisters in the hopes of making amends, but there’s also a dirty secret that may create a problem of its own.

The Farrow sisters are the town pariahs. Their parents pulled them from school after the death of their eldest sister, and now they’re seldom seen, and wholeheartedly hated. But as Mark meets George (short for Georgia) he realizes that while the family is strange, they’re mostly misunderstood. A friendship, and possibly more, blossoms.

Part of why I loved the opening is because the novel doesn’t really have much in the way of action. Mark goes to work, and he has two jobs. Otherwise he rides his bike to his friends or to see George. That knowledge that something’s coming stays right in the back of your head the whole time.

It’s also a great coming of age story, with super strong dialogue. Although I am born five years after the novel is set, I feel like the 90s were truly the last generation of kids to have that walk/bike everywhere feel. Especially the ‘go wherever you want as long as you’re not in your parents house’ attitude. So that felt nostalgic while reading.

This might be a first of its kind for me, but this is like reading a horror/romance? The possible intrusion of the ghost, a seance gone bad, the witch antics, the almost Addams family plus abusive dysfunction of the Farrow family, all while George and Mark are growing closer, was a unique blend.

I particularly liked the dissection of high school classism, as Mark battles between his heart and his head. He wants to see more of George, desires to be with her, but what would that do to him if anyone found out? Could he afford to become a ghost as well? To become another town pariah? Sometimes, especially with the fickleness of kids, you don't get a choice.

The ending does pick up, has stakes, and losses. And I really enjoyed the open ending. This was a great read and a first for me from the author.

The last of the series for me that was waiting to be completed. When the others were all free, this one wasn’t, and as a novella, I didn’t think it was worth a credit. But it was part of that last audible sale for only $2 so I grabbed it.

This is a novella that showcases the struggles behind getting the Tanaka Institute up and running after the capture of the meg pup at the end of book 1.

They are struggling with electrical problems, management problems, and especially financial problems. They have no money and the megalodon’s pen needs an awful lot of work. Just like with many real large sharks in captivity, there isn’t enough circulating water for her, and she struggles to survive. Which is obviously a huge issue in itself, but they also have no money to feed her.

The set up itself is kind of cool, and I’ll be honest, I was definitely thinking about more of the series after some time away from it, but this wasn’t all that great. It seems like the author just can’t leave stuff alone. Outside the institute, one side is covered in sea lions, the other, filled with surfers looking to take advantage of the large waves. Naturally theres a huge great white attacking them. Oh, and a cookie cutter shark bites a diver…because you know, the megalodon isn't enough. Every shark is just super blood thirsty.

The Meg pup gets some food finally and then they are unexpectedly saved by a huge donor. It just kind of tells you how it ends without revealing anything, which makes it super bland.

Apparently this story is actually a part one, with at least two more supposed to be coming out, but that seems to have not happened. Or at least not yet. I saw a reviewer on goodreads saying this is just for completionists, and honestly it isn’t necessary at all, so that’s true.