I'd like to thank NetGalley and The Book Guild for the opportunity to read "Rot"!
"Rot" is a story that is filled with dread. It's Advance Reader Copy
I'd like to thank NetGalley and The Book Guild for the opportunity to read "Rot"!
"Rot" is a story that is filled with dread. It's to the point that it is practically oozing out of every page. Coiley does a wonderful job at setting up a simple premise that not only stays intriguing during the short read, but manages to conjure up a pretty sinister atmosphere. Following a nurse as she deals with her physical ailments, during the pandemic, which happens to occur during a snowstorm, we get to feel the isolation that this woman is feeling, brining back all-too familiar memories of what it was like during quarantine. As the story progresses, you don't quite know what is around the next corner, what Coiley is going to do next, which made for a very fun read. There is a lot of lead-up to the conclusion of this tale, which I was hoping was going to be a Big Bang, but rather fizzled. I just felt like the last chapter needed a bit more time to get to, maybe one more chapter to set the scene before we got to the conclusion. It's not a bad ending by any means, it just felt a tad underdeveloped. That being said, overall, this book was a ton of fun to read, and I honestly had such a good time with it. The cover is what drew me to request this book, and I was hoping that it would live up to the great cover, and I'm very happy to report that you can judge this book by it's cover and know that it's well worth the read. ...more
Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this!
“Shark Night” reads just like many of Advance Reader Copy
Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this!
“Shark Night” reads just like many of the other R.L. Stine stand-alone novels, fully fleshing out a story, while staying highly entertaining. It’s no wonder that he has stayed relevant within children’s literature, and “Shark Night” shows just why.
To say this is a whirlwind of a story is an understatement. It starts off strong, and literally never lets up; chapter after chapter, this novel brings more and more action and adventure. With that, there are sections of the book that can feel a bit confusing, especially as you make your way to the middle of the book. For those who may not be fully paying attention to what they’re reading may end up being a bit confused if they’re not paying close enough attention.
With that in mind, this was still a very, very fun and entertaining read. I had such a good time getting to go back into one of Stine’s worlds, which makes me miss reading some of his classic novels like “Beach House” or “The Babysitter”. ...more
This is an easy to follow read, focusing on a myriad of horror tales from around the world. The flow oARC
Wow, what a fun time this graphic novel was!
This is an easy to follow read, focusing on a myriad of horror tales from around the world. The flow of the stories go well together, easily leading into each other (which makes me excited to read the stories that were not included in this edition that are being saved for the day-of release!). There are just enough details in the stories to let your imagination do a lot of work, and when paired with the stunning artwork, this makes for a very fun and spooky read.
I'd say that this is honestly more tame than the likes of "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" with their original artwork, so I know that this would be an easy read for almost any age who wants to get in some spooky tales. I honestly am really excited to get my hands on a physical copy of this one, since I had such a good time with the digital edition! I'd love to listen to the audiobook eventually, only to further put myself into these stories!
Thank you to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for the chance to give this a read! ...more
“All About Yvie: Into the Oddity” is a candid look into Yvie Oddly’s world, pulling back the curtain on their upbringing, relationships, and time oARC
“All About Yvie: Into the Oddity” is a candid look into Yvie Oddly’s world, pulling back the curtain on their upbringing, relationships, and time on “RuPaul’s Drag Race”. This memoir offers context for their brand of drag, tracing the roots within their personal life that lead them to become the star they are. There is a surprising amount of vulnerability here, especially when discussing their time in production on the television series.
My biggest qualm with this memoir was the fact that, for the most part, it felt impersonal. It feels more like an extensive interview, told in a third person perspective, rather than first person. With this, we lose a lot of personality, which does shine in the quoted sections, but is missing from the rest of the memoir. I understand there was another person helping with the writing, but it would have been nice to feel like we were inside Yvie’s world, rather than being an outsider looking in.
Overall, this is a fun read for those wanting to know a bit more about one of Drag Race’s oddest contestants. I love Yvie and have had the wonderful opportunity of seeing them perform, so this really was a pleasure to read. ...more
There's some interesting ideas with "Dog Men", particularly the drive to survive, despite the challenges that you are faced with. The lead characteARC
There's some interesting ideas with "Dog Men", particularly the drive to survive, despite the challenges that you are faced with. The lead character, Chris, is put through literal hell throughout this novel, highlighted by the brutality that these men are willing to inflict on a total stranger. The characterization of the brutes throughout the novel is interesting, focusing on their physical attributes to define them, sacrificing their names to become pieces of meat, rather than genuine characters. That was one of my biggest issues with this novel - none of these characters felt remotely like anyone you'd experience on a day-to-day basis. Granted, this is an extreme horror novel, but even from the others that I have read, there is some grounding in reality with the characters, even if they're some of the most despicable people around. Chris is the only character that has any sort of backstory, and even that story isn't fully fleshed out, as we're given bare-bones details of his life before entering into this hell. As the story went along, I found myself unfortunately getting a little tired of the redundancy. Every chapter seemed to have a "villain-of-the-week" vibe, where you knew something else was likely coming in the next chapter, which he'd prevail through, then have to go through another trail. It became a bit exhausting to know what might come next, rather than be surprised at what was to come. The only thing that kept this novel truly interesting was the last quarter, which explained what was happening, making the rest of the events feel a bit more connected. Still, it took a majority of the novel to genuinely become interesting, and was something that I personally saw coming. Overall, "Dog Men" has an interesting premise, and does have potential with the concept, but the final outcome left a bit to be desired. I'd still love to read more from Torvik, since he does have interesting ideas, they just unfortunately did not seem to come to fruition here. ...more
“Silent, Dark, and Deep” is a wildly entertaining coming-of-age tale, filled either the musings of a young man coming into adulthood in a time of dARC
“Silent, Dark, and Deep” is a wildly entertaining coming-of-age tale, filled either the musings of a young man coming into adulthood in a time of desperation and change. I found this to be an extremely well-written story, with detailed and layered characters, which felt like you were reading a memoir, rather than a horror novel. This is a highly atmospheric read, which would fit into anyone’s October to-read list. It’s a slow-burning novel, but has a payoff that I think is worth the effort....more
Thank you to NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for the chance to give this a read!
"A Dark and Endless Sea” is a surprisingly quAdvance Reader Copy
Thank you to NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for the chance to give this a read!
"A Dark and Endless Sea” is a surprisingly quick read, one that I found to be very engaging and, honestly, a pretty fun read. Daigle’s writing makes this read very smooth, which made the transition from each part feel seamless. There is some good writing here, which allowed me to transport myself into this world, feeling the rock of the crabbing ship, feel the chill of the stormy air. I only wish that there had been even more descriptors used, since it would have enhanced the read even more. There are moments that feel a bit surreal, but are a bit too grounded in reality for me to truly be unnerved by them. This is an atmospheric read, but unfortunately doesn’t have much punch when it’s needed. That being said, I still really enjoyed this read, and I’m very intrugied to see what else Daigle has in store in the future....more
“The Rip” is a run of the mill mystery/thriller that honestly doesn’t bring much new to the table, featuring some of the most infuriating characteARC
“The Rip” is a run of the mill mystery/thriller that honestly doesn’t bring much new to the table, featuring some of the most infuriating characters I’ve read in a while. It’s a slow burn, taking nearly half of the book for the mystery to actually begin, with the payoff at the end not being worth the setup unfortunately. I really wanted to enjoy this book, but it just wasn’t for me. It’s an easy beach read that’s entertaining enough, but if you’re wanting to find something fast paced and stimulating, this may not be the read for you....more
“The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years” is a spellbinding and heartbreaking saga, following two young women as they both navigate loss and grief, all at ARC
“The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years” is a spellbinding and heartbreaking saga, following two young women as they both navigate loss and grief, all at different points in time within the same house. Khan’s storytelling ability is wonderful, crafting two distinct worlds that parallel each other to weave into a truly beautiful, albeit sad, story. Sana and Meena are two very interesting characters, both complementing each other’s stories as they unfold, with the Djinn’s perspective allowing us to dive deeper into the emotional core of the story, as they serve as a middle ground for both Sana and Meena’s stories. I found this novel to be absolutely captivating, honestly getting the full novel read in nearly a single sitting. I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to read this early, thanks to Viking on NetGalley. This is definitely a novel worth checking out when it’s released next month....more
“Grey Dog” made for an intriguing read, albeit a mildly frustrating but interesting one. At its core, this is a horror story of feminine rage, withARC
“Grey Dog” made for an intriguing read, albeit a mildly frustrating but interesting one. At its core, this is a horror story of feminine rage, with the latter being highlighted, and the horror seemingly left on the back-burner. A handful of scenes with surrealist elements makes not a horror story, so I was left a bit disappointed that the horror aspects weren’t leaned into as heavily. I’m not terribly sure that styling this story as journal entries was the most effective way to tell this story - rather than gaining deeper insight into the lead character Ada’s mindset, it read like a standard narrative that needed to be broken up somehow. This story easily could’ve been broken into three parts, each told with minor time jumps and would have worked much better than the journal entries. Though I had some problems with the novel, I still found it to be highly interesting, which made for a quick and entertaining read. I was unsure where the plot was going, which left a lot of room for guessing, resulting in a very fast-paced read, as I wanted to know what was going to happen next. For a debut novel, this certainly is far from horrible, I just wish there were some tweaks that would have made this story stand out and flow better....more
You know, it has been a long, long time since I last touched a Goosebumps book. You could say that these books are the reason I got into horror, anARC
You know, it has been a long, long time since I last touched a Goosebumps book. You could say that these books are the reason I got into horror, and are the reason I have such a love for the genre. R. L. Stine opened doors for me that would change my life as a reader. Coming back, as many years as it has been, and revisiting Goosebumps is so much fun, and I am so glad I had the chance to check out “Goblin Monday”.
From what I can recall, I don’t remember Goosebumps books being particularly violent, so this book surprised me with the amount of violence within it. I can understand why there needed to be these scenes, but it was wild reading some of these scenes in a book meant for younger audiences. With that, the characters were fun, even if there wasn’t much there in characterization for any of them. It’s a quick paced book, and with as many twists and turns as it has, it’s no surprise that this was a book you easily could finish in a single sitting.
While the general plot of the book wasn’t my favorite, and the characters themselves weren’t terribly flushed out, I still had a lot of fun reading this. It’s wild coming back to a series I read as a child and getting to see what is new for Stine, and just how easy it is to bring me back to my childhood....more
“That Night in the Woods” is a gripping horror novel, offering up some genuinely frightening sequences that crawl under your skin and fester. It’s a v“That Night in the Woods” is a gripping horror novel, offering up some genuinely frightening sequences that crawl under your skin and fester. It’s a very fun read, with a great cast of characters and a chilling plot. While the end of the book falls into the realm of predictability, the rest of the novel is far from it. I had a great time reading this, and am excited to explore the other works from Triana. ...more
“The Horror at Pleasant Brook” is an atmospheric read, one that starts strong and never lets up. There’s characters here that are so lovable, which ma“The Horror at Pleasant Brook” is an atmospheric read, one that starts strong and never lets up. There’s characters here that are so lovable, which makes the events of this book feel even more dramatic. It’s a smooth read, making large chunks of the book feel like a breeze to get through. It’s a dark novel, and is bleak as hell. Overall, this was a great read, especially when we’re already so close to the Halloween season. ...more
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