Tag: books

Categories
books and reading

Black Sheep

Title: Black Sheep

Author: Rachel Harrison

Genre: Horror

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I’ve only read Cackle by Rachel Harrison and loved it. But because it was more of a cozy horror book, I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy her more hard-core horror, but this book was insanely fun. Once the fun twist is revealed (about 20% in), I was hooked and flew through this book.

Vesper has left her religious cult family behind and is living on her own in NYC. She works at a restaurant, lives a pretty boring life, but at least she can follow her own rules. However, her cousin is getting married and Vesper is invited back for the event. This is rare because once someone leaves the cult, they never get to come back. Vesper decides to attend, and the reader fully understands just what the cult is about.

This book was excellent. Vesper is a great main character, funny, strong, cynical, and sure of who she is. But her family is also strong, so she struggles with wanting to be a part of their lives but trying to distance herself from the cult. Loved this book.

Categories
books and reading

Black River Orchard

Title: Black River Orchard

Author: Chuck Wendig

Genre: Horror

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book. In my effort to read all the Stokercon final ballot books, I was pleased to see I had this one on my Kindle. I’m a big fan of Wendig’s work (see The Book of Accidents and Wanderers ) and was excited to read his newest.

I had no idea what this book was about when I read it. The fact that it was a Stoker nominee was a pretty good selling point, though. The story is told from multiple third-person perspectives: a teenage girl (Calla), a wife in a same-sex marriage, a wife in an open marriage, and a wandering man. Calla’s dad has created a new apple and soon the entire town is eating it, craving it, and will do anything to get it. Those who don’t eat the apple are witnessing terrible changes in their loved ones and friends.

This book is long, but it never felt too long. The plot is tightly written and the characters shine. Wendig is a master storyteller. I absolutely loved this book.

Categories
books and reading

Maeve Fly

Title: Maeve Fly

Author: CJ Leede

Genre: horror

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book. Wow!! This book is super intense, and graphic, and I could not put it down. I loved it. This book is on the final Stoker ballot for best debut novel. I’ve read three of the books now (the others being The Spite House and Edenville) but this one was the best of them. I plan on reading the other two nominees as well, but I’m having a hard time thinking those will top this one.

Maeve is Princess Elsa at Disneyworld. She lives with her grandma, Princess Anna (played by Kate) is her best friend, but Maeve has a dark side. Kate’s brother comes to town and becomes involved with Maeve, but little does he know when Maeve’s dark side comes out, bad things happen. This book is a modern-day take on American Psycho. It’s definitely graphic, but nowhere near as bad as AP, which is one of the most difficult books I’ve ever had to read. I had to skim a lot of that one, but I was glued to Maeve and her intensity.

Categories
books and reading

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six

Title: Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six

Author: Lisa Unger

Genre: thriller

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I have read many of her books including The Stranger Inside, but this one was my least favorite. The plot was a bit too disjointed. It explores the complexities of family, secrets, and genealogy, with a focus on the characters’ personal struggles and the eerie atmosphere of the isolated cabin. In theory, this should work, but I just couldn’t get into it. This book is mysterious, dark, medium-paced, and focuses on character flaws.

Hannah is a good character but has surrounded herself with awful people- her brother is a jerk, her best friend is vapid, her husband is keeping secrets. When they all go to a secluded cabin rumored to be haunted, with a big storm coming through, things don’t go as well as anticipated. Meanwhile, there’s an entire backstory of a seemingly unrelated character. And of course, it all comes together in the end, but this one just didn’t work for me.

Categories
books and reading

The Spite House

Title: The Spite House

Author: Johnny Compton

Genre: horror

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I love finding good horror books, but this one was just okay. Having every chapter be from a different narrator didn’t work. You ended up reading the same event but from another perspective, which was repetitive. However, if the book were third-person omniscient, that would be much less confusing. The story is also told in multiple timelines, adding to the jumble.

As for the plot, the story is fine. For some reason, Eric and his two daughters are on the run and need money. Eric finds a classified ad asking people to live in a haunted house and report what happens. Easy money. But, of course, it’s not as easy as you would think. The story isn’t just a basic haunted house story because it also involves events that occurred in the past and Eric’s family in the present.

I gave this one three starts because I did like the overall book but the multiple perspective narrators was so off-putting that I had a hard time getting past it.

Categories
books and reading

Bye, Baby

Title: Bye, Baby

Author: Carola Lovering

Genre: thriller

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book

I HATED the characters in this book. The story is about two childhood friends, Billie and Cassie, and how their lives diverged. I guess I was supposed to be sympathetic to Billie because she’s not evil, but her neediness and desperation were so off-putting. And Cassie is an influencer, and I hated her from page one.

Billie is desperate for most of the book to get Cassie’s attention, but Cassie has a new friend group who understands her lifestyle, motherhood, her newfound fame, and her husband’s financial situation. Billie grew up with Cassie, and even though Cassie has always been a gold digger, she loved her anyway.

I did finish the book because I wanted to know what happened, but I can’t recommend this one to anyone. Both characters were so wretched that I don’t want to subject others to them.

Categories
books and reading

Since We Fell

Categories
books and reading

And There He Kept Her

Title: And There He Kept Her

Author: Joshua Moehling

Genre: thriller

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book

I love discovering new authors, and I am happy to say Moehling is one I’ll read more from. I’ve already downloaded the next book in this series. This story follows Ben Packard, who returns to the town he and his family used to visit during the summer. Also, the town where his brother went missing twenty years ago. Packard is now the sheriff and is entangled in the disappearance of two teenagers.

The story is cat and mouse, and you know early on what happened to the teens, but following Packard is worth reading. He’s a great guy, and you root for him to find the truth and become the man he is in private. While this one didn’t keep me guessing because we know the fate of the teens from the start, but following the clues with Ben is a lot of fun.

Categories
books and reading

Sisters of the Lost Nation

Title: Sisters of the Lost Nation

Author: Nick Medina

Genre: thriller, mystery

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

Indigenous people of this country are severely underrepresented in publishing, so it’s great when a writer finds his voice in the industry.

From Goodreads: Anna Horn is always looking over her shoulder. For the bullies who torment her, for the entitled visitors at the reservation’s casino…and for the nameless, disembodied entity that stalks her every step—an ancient tribal myth come-to-life, one that’s intent on devouring her whole.

With strange and sinister happenings occurring around the casino, Anna starts to suspect that not all the horrors on the reservation are old. As girls begin to go missing and the tribe scrambles to find answers, Anna struggles with her place on the rez, desperately searching for the key she’s sure lies in the legends of her tribe’s past.

When Anna’s own little sister also disappears, she’ll do anything to bring Grace home. But the demons plaguing the reservation—both ancient and new—are strong, and sometimes, it’s the stories that never get told that are the most important.

Part gripping thriller and part mythological horror, author Nick Medina spins an incisive and timely novel of life as an outcast, the cost of forgetting tradition, and the courage it takes to become who you were always meant to be.

This book was clearly the writer’s first, and he needs a great editor. Too many things are happening in the plot. Anna is a good character, but she is also struggling with her identity… is she gay? is she transgender? That subplot was wholly unnecessary. As told in the third person, Anna’s parents are referred to by their first names, but the author switches to Mom and Dad on occasion. I loved the mythology behind the story.

Categories
books and reading

The Soulmate

Title: The Soulmate

Author: Sally Hepworth

Genre: thriller

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I’ve heard great things about Sally Hepworth’s books, so when I saw this pop up on NetGalley, I grabbed it. I also follow her on Instagram, where she posts delightful, fun things. However, this one fell a bit flat for me.

From GoodReads: Gabe and Pippa Gerard have just moved into their dream house: a cliffside cottage in a sleepy coastal town outside Melbourne. It’s a fresh start to their marriage and the perfect place to raise their two young daughters. But the house’s perfect façade hides something more sinister: The Spot, where the tall cliffs have become a popular place for those wishing to end their lives. After talking someone down from the ledge, Gabe becomes a local hero, saving person after person… until one night, he doesn’t. And Pippa sees Gabe the moment after it happened, standing alone at the cliff’s edge, arms outstretched, palms facing out.

The death is ruled a suicide— Gabe said it was a stranger devastated over her husband’s infidelity. But when Pippa discovers that Gabe knew the victim, she has more questions than answers. Plus, the woman’s husband swears she wouldn’t have jumped. Why would Gabe lie about not knowing her? Why would she have been at The Spot if not to jump? And did she really jump… or was she pushed? As Pippa works to uncover the truth, the foundations of the life they’ve built begin to crack, and their deepest secrets start to unravel. 

The story is told from Pippa’s perspective as well as from the person who died on the cliff, which is a bit weird. I’m not sure why it’s just not told in the third person omniscient. Not only is it from two perspectives, but it’s also in the past and present. This seems like an easy way to tell a story without giving too much away. However, using a different narrator is difficult. See the Dublin Murder Squad books for a masterclass in this style. Narrator aside, the story had some plot twists that were just crammed in there to be “interesting,” and I didn’t believe in them at all. I will probably give Hepworth another try but was underwhelmed by this one.