Review: The Bestseller

The Bestseller by Jenny Knightsby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Headline for the pre-release copy of The Bestseller by Jenny Knightsby. Below you'll find my honest review.

This was a debut?! Jenny, I feel like I should hate you a little on principle! No debut should be THIS GOOD.

I couldn't put this one down. Literally, I started it and read all the way through in one sitting, all 400 pages.

The characters were deep. The twists were twisty. The darkness was palpable. And the tension, buildup, and pacing were perfection.

Massive round of applause for Jenny Knightsby. No pressure, dear, but you've set the standard high. Can't wait to see what you come up with next.

Five stars, highly recommended to those who like dark twisty thrillers. Just be warned there are a few trigger possibilities with this one going in, though if you're a fan of dark thrillers, you'll probably be okay. If your tastes range from Frieda McFadden and Lisa Jewell to Karin Slaughter, you'll love this one.

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Review: A Thousand Monstrous Forms

A Thousand Monstrous Forms by Saratoga Schaefer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane for the pre-release copy of A Thousand Monstrous Forms by Saratoga Schaefer. Below is my honest review.

ALL THE STARS. If I could give more than five, I would. I'd give them all.

This one was SO GOOD. A modern day sapphic retelling of Bluebeard isn't at all what I would have expected to be one of my favorite reads of the year, but it absolutely was. I loved Schaefer's Serial Killer Support Group, and this one makes that one look downright average (and it's not average at all!). I skipped Trad Wife because it didn't seem up my alley, but Schaefer is two for two for me at this point, so I think I'll have to go back and catch up on that one. She's going on my "absolutely heck yeah insta-request/insta-buy" list.

The characters were deep. The atmosphere was IMPECCABLE. The tension was palpable. The buildup and pacing were perfection.

Highly recommend. HIGHLY.

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Review: Fear Farm

Fear Farm by Vincent Ralph
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks so much to Netgalley and St. Martin's Wednesday books for the pre-release copy of Fear Farm by Vincent Ralph. Below is my honest review.

I'm really sad that this is the final book in the series. Surely there are more bloody, scary, creepy tales from the town of Bleak Haven that you guys can contract Ralph for, right? Please?

This one is more in line with the first two in terms of quality for me, having been let down by book three a little.

We've got the scary farm where a lady runs a haunt attraction and bad things keep happening. We've got the mysterious warnings and "accidents" where people get hurt. We've got fake weapons turning out to be real weapons, big name movie stars coming back to town for a visit, and all sorts of shenanigans with blood. Once the real murder starts, there's no letting up until the end.

My favorite part about this one is that the twist is SO OBVIOUS and I missed it entirely. There's a good amount of "look over there" and "no wait, look that way instead" but most of that is clear misdirection, but then the actual reveal happened and I was stunned that I missed it. And I feel like many would miss it alongside me. Or at least I'm telling myself that.

It's not often that a mystery pulls one over on me so well, so I'm pleased with my reading experience. :)

Five stars, read the rest if you enjoy creepy YA horror in the vein of Fear Street and Goosebumps with some Scream/Friday the 13th style slashery-ness and Stephen King "this stuff keeps happening in the same town" vibes thrown in for good measure.

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Review: Corpse Creek

Corpse Creek by Vincent Ralph
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Wednesday for the pre-release copy of Vincent Ralph's Corpse Creek. Below you'll find my honest review.

I was really intrigued by this one and interested in seeing where it ended up, especially once the... bargain... was introduced as part of the story. But the ending wasn't really satisfying. It felt quick, left too much hanging, and didn't really provide any closure. So while the rest of the book had decent pacing and a good plot, the end left a lot to be desired.

3.5 stars rounded down. Recommended for YA horror fans and people who have been following the loosely connected Bleak Haven books.

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Review: Pictures of You

Pictures of You by Josh Malerman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Del Rey for the pre-release copy of Pictures of You by Josh Malerman. Below is my honest review.

Not sure how I feel about this one. I enjoyed it. The tension was good, the buildup was strong, and the characters were decent. But I also didn't enjoy it. It got very repetitive and the ending wasn't super satisfying.

I've read some of his other books, and Bird Box and Incidents Around the House were both so good that I had high expectations going into this one, and I think that might have clouded my enjoyment a little.

Three stars. I'd still recommend it, but people need to know it's not really horror.

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Review: Kiss Slay Replay

Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the pre-release copy of Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison. Below is my honest review.

Rachel Harrison has done it again. Kept me up late into the night multiple nights in a row. Made me love and root for her main character. And wrote an absolute banger. She’s quickly become one of my must-buy must-read must-recommend authors.

This one involves a former summer camp (horror trope!), a time loops with gruesome death/murders (horror trope!), etc but finds a way to make those tropes new and interesting. It's actually kind of easy to root for the main character, because it's easy to understand her and empathize, especially if you've gone through some hard times and come out the other side feeling lost and adrift.

I freaking LOVED this one, guys. LOVED.

Check this one out if you like horror with meaning behind it. And her other books too! They’re all great!

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Review: Little Red Death

Little Red Death by A.K. Benedict
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the pre-release copy of Little Red Death by Alexandra Benedict. Below is my honest review.

I really enjoyed a book of Benedict's that I read back in December, The Christmas Murder Game. It was a great mystery, twisty and turny in the right ways and with a setting that really established the mood and tone.

I felt that same energy for the first 60% or so of this one, but then THE TWIST happened, and my feelings got conflicted. Was the twist original? Yeah, pretty much. I can think of a movie that kind of did something similar but not in a thriller-y way. But was the twist SATISFYING? Not really. Once the twist went "meta," I felt like the charm and theme of the mystery was lost in the attempt to explain how things happened to be the way they were, and an inner monologue on existence became the focus.

So I can say I really enjoyed the first half and am unsure on the second half, leaving me settling at a 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.

I still enjoyed the book, but I felt like I was taken out of the story for all the meta part. If you like twisty mysteries with weird things going on (like, say, The 7 and 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle) then you'll enjoy this one I think. I'd still recommend it as a fun read.

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