Review: All Hallows

All Hallows by Christopher Golden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's for an early copy. Below you'll find my honest review.

This was my first Christopher Golden novel and it will not be my last. In All Hallows, he found a way to build character depth and history into the story without taking away from the present action. All of the characters feel fleshed out and alive on the page, and the story builds at just the right pace before all hell breaks loose. Twists galore, and no punches held back, this is one brutal horror story.

Definitely gave me some things to think about on Halloween night! You'll never look at trick or treating the same way either.

Four and a half stars, rounded to four. Highly recommended for Halloween fans and horror enthusiasts.

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Review: How to Sell a Haunted House

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this one. Much appreciated! Below you'll find my honest review.

Grady Hendrix has done it again! Yet another Stephen King-type transformation of something ordinary into something scary, gross, terrifying, and pure horror.

This one takes a normal thing - the death of parents and the subsequent "what do we do with what they left behind" and gave us a much deeper unpacking of the "what they left behind." A lifetime of baggage isn't the only thing that the Joyner siblings are having to clean up.

I don't want to spoil anything, because Hendrix's books are always a trip. But I'll never look at puppets or dolls the same way... like they weren't creepy enough already!

Definitely highly recommended for horror fans.

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Review: The Cabinet of Dr. Leng

The Cabinet of Dr. Leng by Douglas Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced copy as a gift. I really enjoyed the book! Here's my honest review:

I made clear after the last book that I felt it was one of the weakest entries in the series thus far. I found out later that it was meant to be the start of a new trilogy within the series (a trend in the long-running adventures of Pendergast - trilogies within the series are a regular thing), and amended my review to take that information into account.

This one knocked it out of the park. Absolutely loved it. It built on the history of the series, drew in concepts from one of my favorite books of all time, prior Pendergast story Cabinet of Curiosities, and really set up some new stakes.

It did end kind of abruptly, but that's normal for the second book in a trilogy, and one thing I'm really pleased about is how the authors didn't do what I expected at all. While one thing that happened was expected, there were so many things that went the opposite way I was thinking they would - especially the end. While I fully believe that the thing I thought would end this book will still happen in the second, I love that Preston and Child totally didn't take the obvious route to get there. And the surprises in store for long-time readers will be sure to shock and delight.

5 stars, and really makes me rethink my review of the last one in context of the trilogy. Highly recommended, but really, you need to have the context of the whole series. This is book 21, and you should also read Thunderhead between Reliquary and Cabinet of Curiosities.

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Review: Lost in the Moment and Found

Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for the gift of an advanced copy. Below is my honest review.

This series is something special. It really delves deeply into the human experience - pain, belonging, family, loneliness, feeling an outcast, jealousy, anger, love, pride, courage - through the use of fantasy themes and amazingly well-constructed worlds. And it does it in such short tales, which makes it all the more impressive.

This one started with a warning from the author. I was a little taken aback, as that is perhaps bordering on spoiler territory. But as I read, I was glad for that warning. This story takes on some very dark, very traumatic things, and I believe that the warning was necessary and kind.

I absolutely love this series, and I love seeing this story lead one character to where she needed to be. One of the strongest in the series, backstory-wise.

Highly recommended, but please read the rest.

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Review: City Under One Roof

City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for gifting me an early copy. Below is my honest review.

First, I have to say - I love the cover!

This is the author's debut novel, as most of her writing career has been screenwriting. I'm glad she branched out because I really enjoyed this debut.

The setting was fantastic. I love a good isolated mystery/thriller, and this one definitely was an intriguing locale. It's a tiny town in Alaska. There are multiple buildings, but most of those are closed down, and the people of the town all live in one giant condo building. There are tunnels to outer structures as well. Honestly, it's the perfect setting for a creepy thriller.

The setup was also fantastic - both the introduction of the mystery (body parts scattered on the beach!) and the introduction of the main players.

My only complaint is that the killer's identity became pretty evident, but the way the ending took turn after turn, it's not really a very big complaint!

All in all, I greatly enjoyed this one. Definitely recommended, and will absolutely pick up the sequel when it releases.

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