C. J. Daley

I won the special edition hardcover during a Twitter giveaway and decided to bump it up my TBR to add another read in for May. The hardcover has this great cover art, and the chapter pages had a nice fox image to match the story.

This is a grief horror that mixes backwoods magic with a story of revenge. Our main character is seeking vengeance for wrongs done to her family, but she doesn’t want to do so alone. Therefore she uses her herbal magic and an undead fox to bring back part of the soul of her father. I enjoyed as the story unpeeled how the magic was done, using water from behind the family home, and herbs from where he was buried to link the ceremony together.

But how much he remembers, and how well he will take this resurrection into the body of an animal, are up in the air. And will he be an accessory to the vengeance, or the unwanted voice of reason?

In a short number of pages, the author does a great job of creating such a bleak world and atmosphere. In that way, it reminded me of one of my favorite zombie reads, Worse Than Dying by Brett Van Valkenburg. While Undead Folk is post apocalyptic, there hasn’t been an entire eradication of the human race, though humanity can be awfully dark. Our main has to face this darkness, while trying to manage her own grief, and certainly some darkness of her own, all in the name of survival.

While this does take the reader through different phases of the main’s grief, I was surprised that it was a bit less sad than I was expecting, but then again, it did have a big focus on revenge. Either way, it certainly sits on the shelf of grief horror with the likes of Clay McLeod Chapman’s latest, Stay on the Line.

Another of her Amazon original short stories, I honestly love seeing these pop up randomly.

Years ago, one of the friends made an enemy of an up and coming writer by not including him in their anthology. The scorned writer then launched a campaign of hate that spanned an entire friend group and multiple years.

Now, much older, and some of them even grandmothers, they tend to reminisce over drinks and cheeses…oh and discuss murder. The short story that follows is one of revenge, nostalgia, and grudges held. Atwood continues her craft with lightning quick prose and witty writing.

They might never get all the way up to murder, but laxative filled hash brownies is awfully funny.

Thank you to the author for the audio code for my enjoyment!

If the cover art and title haven’t signified enough for you yet, this is cozy fantasy. A newly popular genre, with releases like Legends and Lattes and Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea, however I had yet to dip my toes into it. So Quaint Creatures was a first, and I went in knowing next to nothing other than what the word ‘cozy’ meant. I was pleasantly surprised, and I greatly enjoyed it.

Norrik Softstep is a magical animal veterinarian, oh and a giant…but he’s awfully gentle! With visits from the likes of drakes, chimeras, and gryphons, and a slew of creatures I can only imagine came from the mind of the author, this felt like a much better managed concept of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. And yet I loved how it differentiated itself with a world full of different creatures and beings too. Like Minotaurs, frost fairies, orcs and elves, to even the unlikely with skeletons, zombies and ghosts. It was refreshing and unique, and the author is one hell of a narrator.

I also really liked that the novel features an undertone of a mystery as well. It opens up with the main character being asked to inspect a mysterious and magical crate that was confiscated. Norrik and his wife are also still investigating their home, as the halls and tunnels seem never ending. It’s not without tension, nor is it lacking action, it just has this laidback, friendly approach to its writing that makes it as smooth sailing as it is page turning.

I would highly recommend bumping this up your TBR regardless of if you are new like me, or already a fan of the sub genre.

So this is a reread for me. I recall listening to it and reviewing it, and as I just finished season two the other day I remembered this and looked for it and it was entirely gone. No review on audible, Goodreads, or my instagram. So maybe I dreamed it. Oddly fitting.

Tangle in the Dark is a prequel to the Amazon Original show. It features Tourmaline Larou (whose actor, Karla Crome, does the narration for this...quite well too) as the main character, her time as a student at university, and the beginnings of her relationship with Vignette. It serves to further deepen the characters, especially as this deals with some of the world's classism between even the same races, before the show itself starts to show the darker side of the world's feelings between the races. As a student, budding poet, and nighttime partygoer, Tourmaline has to learn to overcome some of her preconceived notions about those that maybe are outside of her own social class. It makes their relationship seem more real, as their attraction to each other also teaches them about themselves. It's also interesting to see simply because the world they are in, and the lives they are living, in the show are so drastically different from what we read here. It gives off possible ideas for what the show could have looked like during peace times (if we can even believe those are possible).

Enjoyable, a bit refreshing in how different it is, and quick.

Thanks again to the authors for the audible code! The narration by Jennifer Pratt, who took over with book 2, really sells the story and her voice work is great.

This is the third and final book in The Prophecies of Ragnarok trilogy. The first, Hotel Fen, is almost like a fantasy/romance mixed with hotel horror. The second, Monster Ridge, amps up the fantasy content, really bringing out the Norse Mythology, and getting more into the characters’ pasts. And this third one, really takes off from there. The consequences of book two have started The Great Winter, bringing all of earth to survival basics, and Ragnarok has begun.

Our star-crossed and forever-(ill)fated lovers, Victor and Silje, are still just trying to make it work. Why does that always seem to involve someone chasing them, attacking or kidnapping them, or them having to try to save the world/universe?

There is character growth in this one even though it’s pretty all-out action. Their past-selves bleed more and more into their present-selves, bringing with it strengths and abilities long forgotten. Angers too.

I was pleasantly surprised by the action in this one. While molded by Norse Mythology, the authors clearly weren’t afraid to write this as their own. I think it’s probably because of the recent Thor movies (naturally) but this feels like almost ‘superhero level’ action—and I mean that in a good way. And with that, there is of course sacrifice…to save everything, something or someone is gonna have to give. It felt worth it, it felt earned, and yes it hurt like hell (Hel). And I’m still so happy that it wrapped up with just a dash of hope.

These two authors have cooked up a well done trilogy, and I would love to see more people talking about it!

Thanks to Shortwave Media for the physical arc!

Read this in a single sitting, which as a novelette might not be that crazy, but I’ve been having trouble focusing for periods of time. So this one really grasped me and I ran with it.

A hurricane hits a small coastal town, taking the lives of multiple loved ones, and yet not damaging the long-dead payphone. When folks start looking for a way to grieve, to move on, to speak to them one more time, they may just find what they need in the phone booth, but will it be enough…Or even too much?

As much as this is a drama and a story of loss, this really fits into what I’ve come to think of as grief horror (which I may or may not have picked up from author Katherine Silva?). Beats of the unthinkable, perhaps supernatural, tinged with people dealing with horrible loss. It could all be taken as in the heads of those grieving, but what if it’s not? Not to mention the crazy black and white illustrations throughout by Trevor Henderson definitely add an additional layer of darkness to the story.

And big shout out to Shortwave for the quality of this one. For the art it has these nice thick pages and the book itself felt solid. Just like an old school Scholastic Goosebumps book.

Revived my book club this month, and luckily enough my suggestion got picked!

This one was suggested for my Intro to Indie Horror + Representation post that I did in April under trans rep, and it has been on my radar since posting. Naturally I’m stoked it got to jump up my TBR with the book club selecting it.

With that being said, I actually didn’t read the blurb, just went straight in. I was pleasantly surprised to head right into a supernatural mystery. Emberly and Conner are tasked with investigating a rather atypical circumstance that befell their boss’ son. And I absolutely loved the fact that they kind of were forced to become their own type of detectives. When a trip to Cranberry Cove turns up more questions than answers, Emberly is sent on a journey to unravel what’s inside.

There’s something about the 2’s, and like room 217 at The Overlook, Cranberry Cove’s 2A is the latest haunted hotel room that will keep you up at night waiting for a knock. Why are only men attacked or disappearing? Where is the person or entity even coming from?

I really enjoyed how the author made a point to spell out how their boss had gone out of his way to take care of Emberly’s needs, and to ensure that everyone treated her as the woman she was. Meanwhile the novella itself is tackling themes of toxic masculinity and gender ideas. Conner feels a need to ensure Emberly’s safety, however he doesn’t seem to understand that that feeling can come from caring, and not because he’s the man. And clearly Emberly is prepared to care for herself!

A quick, spooky, and unique read. Worth checking out.