C. J. Daley

This was offered on Audible for free and happened to be the follow up to my last read, so I gave it a go. It’s easy to follow, seasonal and semi-cozy, and Allyson Ryan is such an easy narrator to follow.

Unfortunately, it’s a year later for Holly, and things haven’t been great between her and the Bostonian sheriff. He’s distant, and she doesn’t know why. With Christmas looming, she’s gearing up for another busy week of reindeer games at the family tree farm in Mistletoe, Maine. The construction of an inn on the family property is going well, and the man in charge looks and sounds just a bit like Santa.

Over the last year of being home, Holly has become best friends with Caroline, near inseparable, but after a fight with a man got out of hand and filmed, it ended up on the news…only making things worse when he was found dead the next day. The clues all seemingly point to Caroline, so it’s up to Holly to once again ask around, to infuriate the sheriff, and to draw unwanted attention to herself, perhaps at a large personal cost. Will Caroline be proved innocent? Can Holly and the sheriff reconcile?

While this one still featured a romance subplot, the mystery was far better established in my opinion. With actual red herrings, misdirects, and some well thought out investigation. For me, that was quite the build off the last one, and not for nothing, this one’s a bit darker too, and chillier too, given the season. Not quite so cozy, however the author continues to offer up seasonal cheer and sugar comas galore. And I really love that it took most of book two for someone to finally label Holly as an amateur sleuth, cause really she’s just being nosy. Sadly, the others aren’t included, and I don’t have credits.

This was offered on Audible for free, so I gave it a shot looking for an in between spooky and Christmas seasons read.

This was surprisingly something I really needed. It’s refreshingly cozy, and although that’s not something I ever go for, it was kind of a compulsive read for me. I let myself get sucked in, and the journey was pretty enjoyable. Holly returns home to her family tree farm in historic Mistletoe, Maine. While going through a serious breakup, this turns out to be just the atmosphere she needs as Christmastime is nigh. From tree decorating and snowball competitions, to horse drawn sleigh rides, this town’s magic could make anyone forget the bad. However, there’s a bit of a mixup as Holly comes across a body one night. The death, terrible on its own, now threatens her family business, the safety of the town, and perhaps even Holly’s life.

Because this is supposed to be a kind of cozy and feel good read, it sort of just glosses over a lot of things. Holly was meant to get married this Christmas season, and although the breakup is the reason for her return home, there is next to zero grief in this novel. She’s much more interested in having fun, perhaps flirting with the new sheriff, and investigating the death on her own. There’s also multiple mentions of waking up and checking breath but zero mentions on showering? And the diabetic-inducing level diet these people have!

Still, if you let yourself just be in the moment with the story, it’s a fun read. Kind of Hallmark movie like, especially with the romantic side story that read as much more the point of the novel than the murder. A Christmas romance with a dash of murder, but the twist wasn’t bad. Sadly though, this was missing 11 deaths to live up to its title. For me, the hardest part to believe was the author trying to convince us that a man with a Boston accent was an attractive thing…

Huge thanks to Princeton University Press, NetGalley, and HighBridge Audio for the ARC. Graham Mack did a solid job, with a studious voice to match the subject matter. Although I wish I owned a physical so that I could have followed along with the examples!

Every once in a while, I find myself in need of something nonfiction to really clean the palette. But if I can manage to do so while also learning about dinosaurs, that’s even better. So when I saw the audio on NetGalley, I had to request it. The thing that struck me first and foremost about this, was the author’s aim to give as realistic of a viewing of dinosaurs as possible. While the date of when the first dinosaur fossil was discovered is often debated, did you know that we’ve learned shockingly little since then?

Of course for years people have heard that the dinosaurs on display in the Jurassic Park series are not entirely accurate. The type of raptors they claimed they were for example would be shorter and much more feathered apparently. Then there’s the even less believable movie, 65, starring Adam Driver, that not only showed a slew of dinosaurs together that were not even alive at the same time, but also seemingly made up their own as well. But did you know that shows the likes of Netflix’s Life On Our Planet, and Apple’s Prehistoric Planet aren’t entirely accurate either?

Due to the fact that none of these creatures still exist, it means that none of them can ever truly be studied, and therefore scientists are left with tons of guess work, inferring, and extrapolating. Most of which, has lead to what is considered to be correct today, but as the author points out, could just as easily be disproved tomorrow. The author points out how Trex eggs and nests have never been found, so not only do we not truly know how they mated and reproduced, but we cannot truly know if they guarded their nests or protected their young. Nor can we know if a single parent stayed or both (something popularized in The Lost World…). It just goes to show how little we really know. Even the concepts on group behavior could easily be disproved as the author points out that we cannot even prove that this was standard practice, something coming together due to happenstance, or tracks fossilized over time that weren’t even a group, just different passerby.

The author does a good job of displaying what we know and how we know it, while not knocking the thousands of others that have tried to learn more. As technology changes, and more fossils are inevitably discovered, that knowledge and guessing will continue on ad nauseam. It’s incredible to me just how much goes into, and how hard it is, being a scientist of any kind of.

The author very kindly offered me a review copy of his debut, and I’m glad he did. We actually swapped books!

Oh boy. What can I say that won’t be a spoiler for this one, while at the same time will be enough to make it a review? This book is anything but what you think it is, whether you read the blurb or not. And it’s simply fantastic. With characters you’ll realize are real and pop off the page. With stakes that have more weight than the words describing them. With more heart and desire for escapism than most.

Nathaniel is a reader. Capable of entering certain stories and actually living out their events. While exhilarating, it can be awfully discombobulating on the reentry to normal life. This is first shown after an explosive chapter in a hit sci-fi novel. Nathaniel makes the mistake of entering while in a bookshop with his girlfriend. A girlfriend he hardly remembers at first. And while portal fantasy isn’t all that new, I found this to be a refreshing and unique take on one with meshed elements of urban fantasy.

When the family is clearing out their late grandfather’s home, Nate comes across his unfinished manuscript and it calls to him. The following trip takes months in real time, as well as probably years off his life due to the stress. Nathaniel must overcome incredible odds to overthrow the one that plagues his grandfather’s tale, with stakes that weigh heavily on those in the outside world.

The author weaves such a brutal and heart-wrenching tale, and yet it is so filled with warmth and courage. The ability to find oneself, as well as prove themselves while they’re at it. The chance to be seen and feel seen. And the chance to rewrite yourself. Isn’t that exactly what escapism is all about? This one needs more readers.

Finally popped open my box set of Vol1-3. After finishing the show, I knew it was time to get to the source material finally.

If anything, this comic is more off the rails than the show! Which does make sense, but the show was pretty out there to begin with. A group of babies are all born at the same time, mostly to women that were not noticeably pregnant beforehand. For some reason, Reginald Hargreaves sets out to adopt as many of them as he can, eventually succeeding with 7. As he raises them, it’s apparent that he doesn’t do so out of the kindness of his heart, as each child is only bestowed with a number as a name. And eventually he launching them as their own children led superhero group. It’s apparent that they have their own rogues gallery, as well as some serious successes (and losses, aka Ben) but this is focusing on the adult versions of them.

00.05 has been stuck in the future, desperately trying to solve how to return. When he finally does, something wrong happens, and he is stuck inside his body from boyhood. His return is nothing if not timely, as they have just days to stop the end of the world.

While much of this is like season 1 of the show, it differs in some subtle ways, and in some major ways when it comes to 00.07. There are some absolutely explosive and brutal panels in this, with blood and gore that surprised even me, and it was really cool to see them in full color (reading through TWD had the volumes’ covers in color, but the panels in black and white). The main thing that stood out to me was how much more of the characters you get in the show. There beats and banter is clearly taken from the source material, but its format doesn’t allow for them to open up as much, and that’s where the show really shone for me. But that is the necessary differences when you are reading short form, so I cannot wait to get into vol2 so that I can get into more of who they are. It’s such a fun read.

Thanks so much to Page Street Publishing for the physical ARC. This is the type of thing that HAS to be read in a physical form!

A truly magical and vivid read that mixes the fantastical with mythology and history. This collection of mythological creatures will have you drooling with its in-depth creature designs, its watercolor beauty, and its heavily researched yet inventive histories for each being. There’s something so special about how deeply magic this feels while also somehow feeling grounded in our world history. I thoroughly enjoyed how different cultures and parts of the world were portrayed has different relatives/branches of creatures, with none of them being depicted as first or more real.

The author delivers this beauty in parts. From creatures of the air, sea, forests, and the plains, this showcases just how wide the range of creation is in this world. While dragons will always be a personal favorite, it’s crazy to me just how many kinds of flying mythological beasts exist, and just how different they can be. I kept thinking while reading through these how so many different places in the world shared some of the same depictions and ideas and yet we’re to believe none of these existed?!

I feel like this book will scratch the itch for those that were upset by the direction the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series went. It’s educational, with tidbits from the author and other ‘mythologists’ that have evidence of, or are lacking it, to prove or disprove previous conceptions or claims. It really is such a fun and unique read. Fantasy and mythology fans will love it, and with its vivid imagery and coloration, so will children.

Grabbed this on kindle as soon as I saw it was being released.

Two best friends have decided to move together. A fresh start in a new place, but at least they won’t be completely alone. But, of course they found a deal on the rental truck, and now it’s broken down. To kill time as they await the arrival of the mechanic, they come up with stories about the weird wood carving near them. A wolfbear with antlers, they make up reasons why it was wanted, how it was bid for and the job won, even how there was only a single tree available to make it. They really thought of everything…and wow the mechanic is really taking such a long time.

As night arrives, the two take a peer-attended pee break (for safety), and the atmosphere continues to build as they get more freaked out by the minute. When they make it back to the truck, now their refuge, they find a brand new slushy—the same kind they shared earlier—right in the cupholder. From there, they get more and more freaked out as they begin to learn that maybe not everything they thought they’d made up was make believe.

I enjoyed the relationship and banter between the friends, with whiplash quick dialogue from the author, and as a single location short story this was pretty enjoyable. With it being so short, the ‘build up’ of atmosphere is a little thin, but the ending was certainly creepy.

I’ve seen so many positive reviews for the author this year that I finally grabbed one of their books. I did the audio, and Kristen Sieh did a fantastic job with it.

On the surface, this is the quintessential werewolf story. A mysterious attack that ends in a bite. Strange healing, new appetite, an aversion to silver, and then of course, that first full moon, incredible pain, fur, and waking up bloody. But what the author has layered here is anything but typical. What could virtually function as a familial contemporary drama has been layered within this werewolf horror. Rory has returned home for a few months to help her twin sister out with the end of her pregnancy. She’s in need of something new, a change, a transformation, but the one she gets is anything but what she had in mind. And as she begins to work through the past she thought she had left behind, old friends and even old flings begin to make themselves known.

An additional layer that I thoroughly enjoyed throughout was the novel’s humor. The author has imbued this story, and even some of its more serious moments with some really great, tongue-in-cheek turns. From Rory’s dark, sarcastic millennial attitude, to her almost entirely meat driven diet, there is a sense of comic relief even when the beats turn emotional. I think as a novel taking on the werewolf trope that was a really wise and well done choice.

And while there are some darker notes here, especially those around sexual assault and compounded family trauma, the novel in essence is about bodily autonomy and choice. The mirroring of Rory losing her choice and freedom to this monstrous change to her sister’s fear and loss as she’s about to give birth and virtually have to completely relearn the idea of “self” really can’t be understated. The fact that they are twins, one with a past of trauma and the other without, really drives home that closeness as well. And together they learn that they can forgive and grow, to move forward.

The romantic side story in this did move a bit fast, but when you keep in mind their past together, it’s pretty understandable. His ability to see past her imperfections, including the monthly side with fangs, ties back into choice and the ability to move on. I will definitely read more from the author!

Helen McAlpine once again knocks it out of the park. The quality of the voices done is incredible.

Taking place right after the first, Saralene has to deal with the curses of her predecessor in a trial that leads her to the underworld. As the blurb states this is a mix of Orpheus and A Natural History of Dragons, with a vivid and bustling depiction of life after death. For some reason, underworld scenes always bring to mind the number taking scene from Beetlejuice, and while this novella doesn’t depict the souls there as horrific/harmed beings, there still is that added layer where you know they’re dead in the back of your mind.

The biggest plot point that gets moved along here is the relationship budding between Saralene and her protector, Maddileh. As her champion, they shouldn’t be seen together in that light, but as they go through twists and turns in the underworld, literally fighting for survival, sometimes plans go belly up, and the only thing left to embrace is those you truly love.

The sequel also continued the trend of the first with epigraph-like chapters giving the world lore and background information for the story. While these worked a bit less for me this time around, as I felt like they take up just as much space as the actual story, I still found the novella to be enjoyable overall. I think the main thing that stood out to me is how straightforward everything is. With it being short, there’s little room for deliberation or thought, and everything happens in a sometimes too neat row, including the combat beats. However, if you found enjoyment in the first, you absolutely will enjoy the sequel.

Loved the red and yellow of the cover, so I had to get myself a paperback for this one.

Alex is down on her luck, running away from her abusive boyfriend, and looking for a place to stay while she makes some money. With an incoming baby, she really needs to find someplace safe and quick. As the caregiver to a stroke patient, and with only mildly forged credentials, Alex begins to settle into a new role. But as the blanket of false security begins to settle over her, things begin to show themselves as anything but what they originally appeared. I loved how the granddaughter pulled at Alex’s heartstrings, appealing to her better nature, as she was trying to survive abuse already herself. For me it made it all more believable.

The opening of this for me felt very reminiscent of Riley Sager’s The Only One Left, with its down on her luck main character that’s forced into a perhaps less than desirable role in order to make ends meet. From there it diverges as this creeping, atmospheric blend of horror and mythology, that makes for one hell of a creature feature. The author uses beautifully (and horrifically) described features for the creatures and their shifting that had my skin crawling. And the tie back in the end was one I was begging the author to do!

While I did feel a bit like this closed up within only a few pages that could have perhaps been more climactic—IE the robed sisterhood could have been a bit more included—this did include several edge of your seat beats that kept me itching to get back to reading after my lunch break had ended.

Didn’t quite make this one fit into October, but the beginning of November is just as good!

This is a collection of 5 short stories that the cover boasts will be eerie, tragic & macabre. The author certainly delivers, and what I liked the most is how each has at least some kind of small twist that is unexpected, even if the subject matter is something we’ve seen before.

A group of three grave robbers find more than they bargained for in the basement of an abandoned church. Two lovers, destined to be pulled apart, will do anything for their love of each other and their home to stay intact. Two survivors during a zombie apocalypse take in a final sunset together. An occult specialist is hired to remove an entity from the beach, and having never failed before, they figure it’ll be run of the mill. A serial killer that’s anything but a newbie is being followed, or haunted, by more than just his victim.

I enjoyed each story and I look forward to reading something in a longer form by the author. The story about the lovers brought to mind the spooky house vibes of like Crimson Peak or The Little Stranger, with that willingness to hold on that was almost Hocus Pocus-y. The zombie apocalypse story had unique zombies that definitely felt like the demons from the new movie Azrael that I quite enjoyed. A worthy one to pick up for a quick read!

Needed a kindle read to finish off October, and decided to give Mark another read!

A small harbor town has slowly been sinking into mundanity. The residents that remain have little hopes that the town will continue to survive at the rate things are going. The pub is closing and people are giving up. So when a hole opens up in the ground, spewing a thick mist while the sky rains blood, no one has any idea where to go. And the town’s dog population goes nuts, howling and baying at the phenomenon.

I really enjoyed how the story opens with super short character chapters, giving us their names, personalities, where they are at on the street, and a bit of their opinions on the other residents. It felt like a great pace and a solid way to give us an intro to the multi-POV quickly. I did worry a bit when things picked up when the chapters started combining POVs, however the characters quickly end up in one location, so it’s not an issue.

Very reminiscent of Stephen King’s the Mist, however instead of a supermarket, our cast of characters find themselves in the soon-to-be-closed pub together. And unlike The Mist’s biblical horrors, Gone to the Dogs’ eerie pit and mist spit out horrors from each character’s past. And while Towse does do a fantastic job of building the tension and anxiety of his cast, the main difference between the two is this groups ability to remain a singular unit, solidarity until the very end.

That positivity and collective made this a really strong read for me. There was one point early on where the group shares a laugh. The author makes a point to say that it drew them closer together, growing their bond through happenstance, and I remember thinking that it was a really important scene to include. My only gripe, though tiny, is that with it being a novella, the reader themselves doesn’t really feel that much for each of them by that point.

Out of the pit of horrors, what would go too far? A dark past with a family pet, an enemy soldier from a war long ago, a drug deal gone wrong, an abusive husband and a pregnancy scare are all things that could pop out of the pit. What’s your dark past, what could come crawling back for you?

Huge thanks to NetGalley, Tor Nightfire, and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. Stephanie Németh-Parker and Shahjehan Khan both do a fantastic job delivering their character work.

Ruby Tucker has run into some problems, and while she usually lets her anger out, rather than bottling it up, she’s just trying to course correct so she can move on. After her court mandated volunteering, she makes a bit of money on the side helping her disabled and eccentric neighbor. But while cleaning up and organizing his collection of religious relics, Ruby comes into contact with a possessed, demonic ring. Attaching itself to her finger, there’s little she can do to get it off. I enjoyed the use of Jewish mythology for the story, especially as it’s not something I’ve experienced before.

I’ve seen a lot of things label this as fantasy, and I have to say the mythology parts certainly had a fantasy otherworldly feel to them, but if anything it’s definitely urban fantasy/mythology based in horror.

While most of this read as kind of an unserious novel, the author actually does a pretty solid job combining a large number of elements. Personal and familial drama, possession and demonic influence, a rogue serial killer, and a time in which rock-n-roll was fueling the news and nation into a Satanic panic.

Not only is the ring vying for control of Ruby’s mind, but there is an actual entity bodily inhabiting her. Sent by the demon controller of the ring, his momentary freedom allows for him to try to steer Ruby to freedom as well. While the first attempts release demon spawn, at the very least one of them can play the drums. These kind of silly things kept me engaged with the plot line that was a bit more far out, and it did build into a nice emotional connection with the otherworldly characters.

The ending for me wasn’t entirely a win, it didn’t stick the landing. It certainly does subvert expectations, but it just seemed too much like giving up…spend the entire novel fighting it and looking for a way out and then you just give in? I won’t say more as I want to avoid spoilers, but that’s my gripe with this one. There is also an original song that plays throughout the novel, representing the song that Ruby must get people to sing to build the magic that will save her. Definitely not my cup of tea, I found it kind of corny, although it was for sure stuck in my head by the end. Regardless, this is one I will be thinking over for a while for sure.

You know I had to include a GB in my October TBR of spooky reads, and why not one from the new series?

I found this to be perfectly timed for me. Its middle grade nature was refreshing, palette cleansing almost. It’s such a quick read that it’s compulsively readable, and I enjoyed that there was a longer buildup to this one, allowing for some tension and self doubt, even though I didn’t really have to worry about the stakes.

Grandpa Tweety is a storyteller, so when Mario gets invited to their house, he has no idea if he’s supposed to believe him or not. Todd and Jewel, his own grandchildren, don’t know if the stories are made up either. But when the siblings’ parents go missing during a snow storm, things start to accelerate. Grampa Tweety and MomMom don’t seem that concerned, urging to kids to play and have fun—this happens more than once, urging the reader to wonder why they’re being so lackadaisical. Mario thinks he catches something on his camera but doesn’t, and his friends just think he’s spooked. He has to wonder if maybe he is just scaring himself.

Naturally in Stine fashion, Mario is not just spooked, and it’s a very twisty-turny Goblin Monday for everyone. I found the goblins to be pretty creepy, and the fact that they were described as being almost as large as the teens grossed me out for some reason (maybe I was thinking of Gremlins). A pretty standard—although never any less fun and satisfying—Stine ending with a twist right after the twist. I didn’t guess the first.

This author has become a regular during my October TBR for spooky season, and I’m glad I grabbed a paperback to read.

Six short stories all featuring art in some way. ‘Sometimes They See Me,’ the opening story and possibly more of a novelette+, explores what parts of each of us are art itself and where we bleed together. Two self destructive lovers meet on the night they planned to take their lives. Instead, they continue on, intertwined in their reckless abandon, taking in art as if it’s its own mix of drugs.

My favorite short of the collection, ‘The Binding,’ finds a man waking up while bound to a chair. He’s trapped within an art gallery, all the art featuring tortures. This felt almost like the opening of a Saw trap, with the character coming to and having no idea how they got there, but being completely immobile. It starts with disbelief, the man figuring it’s a joke, a prank, or some kind of mistake. But it’s not, and the reveal honestly made me want to write something of my own!

Another of particular enjoyment features a couple thieves intent on robbing a comic book store. While inside, one of the thieves finds a comic seemingly depicting their exact robbery. And while he stands still with the comic, his accomplice is still moving, urging the comic panels on in ‘The Barbed Lady Wants for Nothing.’

The final short, ‘The Amp,’ felt like the otherworldly feels of the band from Jennifer’s Body, but instead of demons, the entity is the musicians amplifier! It plays music that doesn’t match what the guitarist plays, it plays even when stringless, and it’s bringing about something unstoppable.

Another quick, enjoyable, and unique read.

Grabbed the audio for this on sale, and Kimberly Farr does a fantastic job bringing the cast to life.

This was unique and I’m so happy it was what I was looking for. It mixed all of the traditional haunted house tropes you’ve ever read—bleeding walls, moaning and screaming voices in the night, past residence remaining, spooky basement to avoid, bible pages tapped to doors, missing items, even kamikaze birds and more—with something that felt entirely new. It’s cozy and silly, even humorous at times, with the perfect mix of an older main character, but it’s also not without its darkness, featuring gory descriptions and haunting pasts. Margaret has finally, at long last, made it into her dream home. No way she’s leaving. So when some things start to get a little strange, it’s not such a big deal as long as she follows the rules. Her steadfast attitude that she will not be bothered was so enjoyable and fresh. Things crumbling around her? What a nice place, at least there’s an enviable wraparound porch!

While I also recently read Model Home, which didn’t exactly work for me, this was really more along the lines of what I expected from a new take on the haunted house. However, the two of them together did explore the darker pasts of their families, and what it means to be ‘haunted’. I was a bit shocked that Margaret only mentions the abuse of her husband quite a chunk into the story, as I figured that would be a huge part of your lives together, but I think overall it may have been to feed back into the character’s strength at remaining unnerved.

What I particularly enjoyed was that all of these things are woven together with a fantastic voice. The author knew exactly what they wanted and they nailed it. All of the twists are manifested right from the beginning when you are told that the house is haunted. These things are happening, have happened, but get especially bad in September. It allows for those layers of funny and scary in a way I’ve not read before.

The ending is a whirlwind of stress. I was listening on the edge of my seat. As it seemed the daughter started to unravel the house’s mystery in an entirely human way, I was really wondering if this would stick the landing. Luckily, twist after twist kept me guessing as to whether this would end in an almost psychological Shutter Island reveal or something more supernatural. And while this did take an almost too-neat turn for me, it did land well.

Another paperback I’ve had for a while that I wanted to ensure got read for my October TBR. The spooky reads are in full swing.

This novella is an ode to the nostalgic Friday nights of old. Getting out of school and getting your mom to drive you to the local video store, to Blockbuster. Browsing the aisles of those cardboard movie poster-ended racks of VHS tapes until you found the perfect one.

It also has the feel of playing into the nostalgia of old horror movies. The two page staticky play screen reminding me of the design in Shortwave Media’s Killer VHS series, and the endless references brought the entire story to life for me. If you can recall those nights, that feeling of picking the right watch, then you’ll understand why Evan Grey opened Rewind Video. To chase not only that feeling, but his dream.

It is also, an incredibly bleak examination of survival in a capitalist world. Ever growing rent, car payments, even medicine. The desire to just survive while the changing world only exacerbates the problem. Evan has sank his funds, his savings, into chasing his dream with this store. But when Evan finds an old tube tv on the sign of the road marked ‘free,’ he feels as if his opening day is off to a really good start. He grabs the tv, figuring he can get an old VHS machine running, playing movies all day long for the browsing shoppers, but things begin to spiral.

After a disastrous opening day, with next to no customers, an argument with his best friend and employee, and a weirdo stalking the back curtained area, all Evan can hear is the static from the tube tv. And the further he slips into the void, voices. He has always hated his step father, who has never been proud of him, but is that really enough here?

The ending is a bit of a revenge story mixed with Groundhog Day, and a bit of a Saw-esque new lease on life. It’s brutal in its descent, and awfully bloody. This was an enjoyable one that mixed some unique ideas!

Another paperback I’ve had for a while that I wanted to ensure got read for my October TBR. The spooky reads are in full swing.

After losing his job right in the opening pages, one that he was so recently promised a promotion at, there’s no surprise that this is a of revenge story. But not only has he been terminated, he’s recently found out that his wife was sleeping around behind his back, having a full on affair with the very man that just fired him. As if that added layer wouldn’t push him over, he also found texts on his wife’s phone that his in-laws were in full support of their daughter and her plan to leave him right before Christmas. It’s no surprise here that he saw red. Much like my recent read of Neal Cassidy’s Schroeder, the reader is not surprised at all by this misled attempt at what he feels is retribution.

This is an incredibly vivid, descriptive, and propulsive read. Red is what’s promised, and it’s certainly delivered. Although I can’t get behind the motive, the revenge is well constructed, it’s well played out, and I absolutely loved just how vampiric this is. While not necessarily a typical vampire story, the details peppered throughout are there, and I drank up every one. The play on the character’s trauma story, which his wife and boss both downplayed as a grab for attention (yet another reason for him seeking revenge), which later mirrors his moves throughout was a really nice touch. And that layer of supernatural, that otherness, was also something I enjoyed.

I didn’t know when going into this read that it took place over Christmas, but I loved the mentions of songs in the background and parties, and shoppers in the streets. Of course the mention of different wines, as well as blood, were delivering on red, but I pictured the reds of Christmas and Santa placed throughout the setting which may or may have not been intentional!

I really wanted to give this a go for its 50th anniversary year, and after loving Pet Sematary, I knew I had to bump this one up. Believe it or not, I’ve been alive for 32 of those 50 years and managed to avoid pretty much all spoilers.

While reading this, which I didn’t know was any form of religious, I also happened to be listening to C.J. Leede’s American Rapture—which is an extreme examination on religion. Both of them start with a kind of deep dive into the bounds in which Catholicism is designed to hold down and punish women simply for existing. While Sophie’s family is simply force feeding her guilt on a biblical scale, Carrie’s mother seems to be well off the deep end. While Sophie is showcased to be so far removed that she truly doesn’t even know how the world itself functions, Carrie is so religiously uneducated in womanhood that she is unaware of menstruation, not even knowing herself. While AR showcases how religious families can be hurtful even within the Bible, Carrie’s mother using god like a hammer. Much more on the side of torture than praising.

I was surprised by how thoroughly this goes into the high school level of bullying. Because she is so sheltered, the other girls view her as weird, because she isn’t allowed to dress normal or use makeup, isn’t super skinny, they consider her ugly. The opening scene of the novel they throw tampons and sanitary napkins at her instead of helping her, solidifying just how other they view her. She is ostracized from her fellow classmates while she can’t even seek solace at home. Kind of similar to Neal Cassidy’s Schroeder that I just finished as well, that level of bullying could be seen as more than enough to push someone over the edge, and yet King’s novel adds an additional layer.

Right from the beginning, the reader understands that Carrie has telekinetic powers. She is not sure how exactly they work, or why she has them, nor are they very strong, but it’s something within her that she can explore. The novel mixes Carrie’s own discoveries with excerpts from scientific research and journals surrounding the phenomenon in a way that almost felt like King was creating his own superpower or mutant gene, even though that is not at all the direction of the novel. And Carrie is anything but a superhero.

And while there are definitely some issues where this is dated—primarily the descriptions of young girls, women in general, and some racial terms—I found it interesting that Chris’ boyfriend is displayed as the quintessential bad guy, his mistreatment of women being the main thing on display. It’s almost a commentary while missing his own mistakes?

And with that being said, Chris is the villain here. As a ringleader from the opening shower scene, she becomes wholeheartedly hellbent of ruining Carrie’s life…mostly because she got in trouble for doing a terrible thing? As the daughter of a lawyer, who is also displayed as an entitled idiot, it’s no surprise that Chris would blame someone else rather than doing some soul searching. This hellbent desire to get back at Carrie is the straw that breaks the camels back. The ending is fast, violent, and gruesome in a way I don’t think I’ve ever read before.

This is a short story that I grabbed a paperback copy of, kind of cool that that’s even an option, and I loved that it’s like pocket sized similar to Evening of the Mutated Undead by E. Reyes and The Gatherings by Jeremy Ray. I read it in a single sitting, so no need for pocket storage, but the option’s always there.

Jay’s father is a man of rules, a harsh corrector when the rules get broken. One of his biggest rules is to never enter the garage, which is most often locked, and the memory of the one time Jay’s brother disobeyed is well engrained in their memory. So when Jay’s father tells him to follow him, and he seems to be headed for the garage, Jay doesn’t know what to think. Where is his family? And why is his father being stranger than usual?

This was a quick read but it still packed a punch. While not exactly long enough for me to sink my teeth into as a revenge story, it’s certainly short and sweet. A family heirloom, an axe, makes Jay feel strong, makes him feel like he’s up for the task of taking on his dad. All his father wanted was to be obeyed, but he’s done things unforgivable. In a kind of rule of two ending, the student may become the master. And I loved the barrels, they made me think of Breaking Bad.

Had to give this horror short story a go for my spooky season TBR.

This mixed some religious horror tropes with some almost Lovecraftian monster vibes. An abusive mother of three takes out her anger on her boys. She hoards things making their home life cramped, less sanitary, starves them, and physically abuses them too. Their father is aware, but can do little to stop it. Zach, the oldest, tends to get the brunt of things, and as he runs his mouth to her, she says he’s earned it.

But when the boys come home from a weekend with their father, they find the house cleaned, cleared, dinner made, and a completely changed mother. She is kinder, affectionate even, and at first the boys don’t know how to react. She claims she made a friend who invited her to a new church, and that she would like them to go with her. I absolutely loved the kind of examination of an abusive mother finding something to believe in, changing her behavior in faith, just to lead her family into something possibly worse, darker.

The community aspect of the church and the way they dressed, made me think of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village. And honestly, with the way the community kind of takes them in and makes it seem like they can’t leave, that isn’t too far off. Now the person they pray to, as this is not a Christian story, is anything but normal. The gelatinous, bulbous descriptors brought to mind the likes of The Blob That Ate Everyone by R. L. Stine, but with a much more cosmic twist. The monstrous tongue, as well as the jelly Eucharist, made me so uncomfortable. This is a quick and enjoyable little horror short! There’s not really a way to go further without spoiling so I won’t!

Thanks to Tor Nightfire, NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. Holy shit, this was fantastic.

While listening to this, which I knew would be an extreme examination of religion, I also happened to start reading Stephen King’s Carrie—which I had somehow avoided all spoilers for, and did not know it was involving religion as well. Both of them start with a kind of deep dive into the bounds in which Catholicism is designed to hold down and punish women simply for existing. While Carrie’s mother seems to be well off the deep end, Sophie’s family is simply force feeding her guilt on a biblical scale. While Carrie is so religiously uneducated in womanhood that she is unaware of menstruation, Sophie is showcased to be so far removed that she truly doesn’t even know how the world itself functions. And while she secrets away forbidden books, she still lacks that openness that comes from being allowed to explore. While my own experiences can never truly impart in me the same struggles as a girl or woman in the same religion, I did note much of the same experiences and darkness that sermons secret away as the word of god.

The truly unimaginable depths the author builds—the abyssal pits of paranoia and despair—create such a vivid atmosphere throughout the entirety of the book. I am endlessly impressed at how the author has managed to create this dual horror narrative. While Sophia struggles with guilt, sin, and existing in a world where men of all ages notice a pretty face, she also has to exist through the genuine terror of a venereal apocalypse. Men and women alike are becoming enraged, animalistic, and predatorily sexualized. The near scares of sexual assault and rape mirror Sophie’s own base desires, and while her curiosity is innocent, they’re conflating her guilt. She cannot let in to her desires, though she may try, for fear of becoming infected—and isn’t that the same thing her parents have been spoon feeding her her entire life?

The novel is also, functionally, a powerhouse of a survivalist story as well. Even if the religious factors were dialed back, there is this reminiscence of Bird Box and Your Shadow Half Remains where although not undead, the population is virtually divided and then slowly eradicated all the same. The continuous desire to group together keeping the looming threat of outbreak ever present. And this novel hits all the notes of zombie breakout perfectly. The separation or loss of loved one, the unsuspecting hero turned important member of any group, a gymnasium turned tomb scene, even the quintessential stop-for-fuel gas station mistake. The fact that these two sides represent the same coin is still blowing my mind even after finishing.

The crux of the story is that to survive, to cross whatever hurtles exist between Sophie and her twin brother Noah, she must first survive the examination and brutality of accepting herself. If she cannot find and truly accept that inner self, she can never overcome the trials before her—whether they’re Christian guilt or mindless beings. And maybe, within that, they’re all already infected.

The author very kindly offered me a physical ARC. And after reading a Grind reference 7 pages in, I knew I made a good decision. And then later an Underoath reference. And the G-2 07 Pilot is truly the best pen. I hope these are references where I am like the author, cause otherwise it means I’m like Schroeder…

This novel is a psychological trip of stream of consciousness. With winding, incredibly longwinded sentences, paragraphs, chapters even. It took some getting used to, but I’m absolutely enthralled by how the author was able to go on such runs. I can only assume he spent huge chunks of time just thinking, watching, being. And the way he was able to make it almost compulsive to read, while often the character himself is even losing the strain, is truly something.

Schroeder is riding his bike through town, making pit stops, and ending lives. He’s described as a kind of normal guy, but all I could think of was how much stamina he had for biking all day long. Not to mention the other exercising he was stopping to do. It’s clear that he’s a pretty traumatized person, as who else would do the things he does, however he has a pretty positive outlook on the world it seems, or perhaps it’s because he knows what he’s doing. A day long bike ride that’s a propulsive revenge tale.

The one thing I struggled a bit with was the why. At first I thought it was strange that I didn’t really understand why he was doing these things, and then I understood that it was a decided choice from the writer. And as my curiosity continued to peak, I arrived at the end of the novel, which features a great deal of explanation and heartbreak. It works well, but I wonder if it would have made the earlier bits just that much stronger if these tidbits were making themselves present during all his musings on the bike? I for one, never get far before my troubles make themselves present at the forefront of my mind.

I think the biggest win here for me, is the fact that the author takes you through Shroeder’s musings for pages on end, and then they are broken up with these almost blissful moments for him while he’s doing harm to others. Harm that is bordering on extreme or even the splatterpunk edge, without going too nasty for readers. It’s this fine edge of walking that line between extremes—the extreme of thought, and the extreme of revenge. It works quite well. And while I wouldn’t say I necessarily agree with him, I do understand the lengths he’s been pushed.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Solaris, and Tantor audio for the ARC. The narration by both Emily Woo Zeller and David Lee Huynh were great!

This is a celebration of all things Chinese horror, which is fantastic. As this is audio, and I was listening at work without accompanying text, it was hard to note any of the story titles themselves, as they were in Chinese! But there were a few that stood out to me. The editor does a great job of adding notes and translations, however how some of them would pop up as footnotes right in the audio did add a slight layer of confusion for me, as they would repeat the Chinese phrase multiple times before commenting on it. It’s both necessary to define the terms used, but also took me out of the stories a lot.

One story that stood out was a mixture of ghost story, as well as a commentary on the pricing crisis on land that’s happening. An entire housing complex, which our main characters were not aware of when moving in, is mostly being used to house the ashes of the dead. While awake one night, a boyfriend finds a coin in the mouth of his girlfriend, a token used to help the dead. He freaks out and of course they desire to move. The twist that followed was not one I was expecting, and it was well done for something so short. The commentary on land, taking care of loved ones, and placing them to rest, reminded me of this year’s Korean film Exhuma.

Another I particularly enjoyed found a man and woman waking up inside an apartment. With no way out, they are trapped, and as their kidnapper knocked them out, they don’t even know where. Through various phone calls, the person on the other line offers them ways out through various tasks or tricks. I listened to this story right after watching Saw II and the comparisons cannot be understated. While there are no contraptions, the life and death possibility of being trapped, as well as the choices to save each other, does have a kind of Jigsaw feel with the person on the other end of the line. It also feels very reminiscent of those earlier 2000s movies where all the trapped person has is a phone.

Otherwise, with this being kind of mixed, as it includes short stories, novelettes, and novellas, I did struggle a bit with the different lengths, as sometimes I’d get used to a specific voice and then the story would promptly end. Then you’d start all over. I feel like collections of all shorts are a bit easier, but there were none that I disliked! As the editor notes several times throughout, some of these were what would be considered very Classical Chinese horror…which kind of felt like differing stories with the same ending of, “they were dead the whole time!” Not really displeasing, but I think it’s why I enjoyed the ones that differed the most.

Thanks to the author for the e-ARC! This short story collection was a lot of fun.

Investation is the story of a man that invested his inheritance into purchasing a solar system. One way out of the way, but with the hopes of wealth sometime in the future. That sometime happens to come up much faster for them than expected, and with wealth comes problems. This felt kind of like Childhood’s End, just somewhat flipped, and taken to its extreme.

Rememory is a futuristic story, taking place in what felt like a Blade Runner-esque Japan, where memory has become the only form of currency. And just like with dollars and cents, where there’s profit, there’s always someone wanting more. The rich covet, investing in people who are referred to as Hard-Drivers, aka those kept safe like a piggy bank of others memories. This has some thriller notes that were reminiscent of the film In Time, and some of the more scifi notes involving memory recall/replay that are hit upon in the movie of the same name, Rememory.

The Hunter Remains reminded me of The Land Before Time or the book Hunted, in that the author here has personified dinosaurs. Their is still a hierarchy of hunters and pray, but they have thought throughout. Unlike the two examples though, this is kind of an adult, violent, dinosaur-fueled Noah’s Ark.

Good As Gold features the city, New Yesterday, which is also the name of one of the author’s novels. So I can only assume this is related, which is exciting, as this was an awesome concept. A city where anything can be ‘retrograded’, any past can be rewritten. This is a bank robbery gone wrong in a shifting personal perspective that felt very a la Inception.

Dragonpiercer is an interesting one. A man and his helping lover create, at long last, a potion with the power to change him into dragon. It’s a dream he’s been chasing since birth. It’s somehow both super scifi and fantasy as one. Both castle Dracula vibes and monster Frankenstein.

The Forgotten Melody is a real quick one. A musician and a beautician seek to awaken statues with a partially stolen song.

Postcards From Another World was one of my favorites! It reminded me of my friend’s release, I Tried Calling, in that it features a story entirely told through transcriptions. This was a quick scifi read, but it dealt with parenthood, loss, grief, and finding peace again.

Hear No Evil is a fantastic supernatural/superpower story that meshes with detective crime! An officer that can collect evidence through unusual means is caught in the web of the wrong person. All I can say is that I want a full novel of this asap.

The Caretaker is the story of a silicon based copy of military persons given to their families to help with the distance. The story has the war taking place off world, so assumably quite far. Very reminiscent of The Black Mirror episode, Be Right Back, with notes of Detroit Become Human and A Sorrow Named Joy by Sarah Chorn. With an ending that made me wish it was only the beginning.

Skybound is another story that’s more than likely novelette length. It is an eco-scifi/horror that’s a little too near-future for me. The destruction of the planet is worse than ever, and by 2030, weather is uncontrollable. Kind of like the scientists of today, they look to space as the answer. Reminiscent of statements made by Elon Musk, and the film Interstellar.

A Stitch Between Worlds isn’t exactly a sequel story to Rememory, but it is kind of an adjacent one. An agent is pulled off of investigating Felix and Jock to work a new case. This case involves a man that can seemingly create dreamscapes that appear to be real. The only problem is, they just might me. This was a really awesome way to wrap up the entire collection, interlocking each.

All in all, I absolutely loved every single story included in this collection. Strong writing, well thought out concepts, and super fast paces. This might be one of my favorite collections I’ve ever read.