Review: A Divided Duty

A Divided Duty by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor for the pre-release copy of Seanan McGuire's A Divided Duty. Below is my honest review.

Well, Seanan's done it again. Another grand Toby adventure full of found family, the ties that bind, and a lot of bleeding. LOL

The Raysel, Sylvester, Luna storyline has been really well done. She's really plumbed the depths of these characters to show the darkest and brightest sides of personhood and how each can express in the same person.

In this one, we get a little more closure on some of the fronts - a little more of Blind Michael's lands and victims, a little more for Raysel's penance, a little more for Luna's obsession, and some touches of how changed characters are after the big Titania world-shifting spell storyline.

I absolutely love this series, and really hate waiting for new ones. *sigh*

The attached short story/novella brings some serious character study for Quentin after Titania's spell, and for showing a hint of The Luidaeg's vulnerable side, which were both welcome and well done.

Five stars, and I highly recommend, but you can't just jump in on this one if you want all the meat of the story. This is book 20 after all. BOOK 20!!!

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Review: Sometimes I Scare Myself: A Collection of Horror

Sometimes I Scare Myself: A Collection of Horror by Jeneva Rose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Blackstone for the pre-release copy of Sometimes I Scare Myself: A Collection of Horror by Jeneva Rose. Below is my honest review.

Wow, this was my first taste of Jeneva Rose but won't be my last!

Never Kill the Medium - a case of possession gone very, very wrong. Wasn't my favorite story, but was definitely entertaining and would make a great movie. 4 stars

The Nightmare House - dang, this haunted house is BAD NEWS. I loved this one. Dark, twisted, and definitely explains the title of the collection. Jeneva Rose, your mind is twisted! 4.5 stars

All Curses Are Final - feel REALLY bad for the young adults in this one. Some jokes just aren't funny, especially when they stop being jokes (if they ever even were). 4.5 stars

Overall, I'd give it four stars and say if you like horror and shorties, give this one a shot. All of them would make great movies and I'd be first in line to buy my tickets!

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Review: How to Write a Murder

How to Write a Murder by Jessica Brody
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Bantam for the pre-release copy of How to Write a Murder by Jessica Brody. Below is my honest review.

Jessica Brody has out-meta'd the meta. She wrote a mystery with so many twists and turns, both obvious and subtle, with one misdirect after another. I don't want to spoil anything, but as the cast starts to realize they're trapped and the poo starts hitting the fan, things get chaotic in the best ways.

I might have figured out one of the big twists, but I still loved reading how it all played out. This was SO SO SO much fun.

Highly recommended for fans of mystery, fans of meta twists, and fans of turning their favorite genre on its head.

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Review: Daggerbound

Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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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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