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drakaina16's reviews
2013 reviews
Fears: Tales of Psychological Horror by Ellen Datlow
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
I found so many of the stories boring that I just gave up. That's never happened with a Datlow anthology before, but they can't all be winners.
Levitating: Stories by Gage Greenwood
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Thank you to the author for providing a review copy.
I'm on the struggle bus right now, so I'm having a hard time articulating everything I'd really like to. Gage Greenwood has a way of making horror so intimate and so human - even when the horror is supernatural. I'm continually blown away by the quality of the writing. Some sentences were so beautiful, I read them again and again. 5 stars
Two Shows on Saturday ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
A Series of Attacks ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Now Hiring ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Dunes ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I Am Not Me Anymore ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Glawackus ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Brock Hesford: Film Critic ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Winter's First Myth ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Levitating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm on the struggle bus right now, so I'm having a hard time articulating everything I'd really like to. Gage Greenwood has a way of making horror so intimate and so human - even when the horror is supernatural. I'm continually blown away by the quality of the writing. Some sentences were so beautiful, I read them again and again. 5 stars
Two Shows on Saturday ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
A Series of Attacks ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Now Hiring ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Dunes ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I Am Not Me Anymore ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Glawackus ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Brock Hesford: Film Critic ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Winter's First Myth ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Levitating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Selene Shade, Resurrectionist for Hire by Victoria Dalpe
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Thank you to CLASH Books for providing a review copy.
I was absolutely blown away by Victoria Dalpe's short story collection, Les Femmes Grotesques, last year. I jumped on the chance to review Selene Shade, and I was not disappointed. This book leans very much into horror urban fantasy, and I really enjoyed it. I've been reading some really heavy books lately, and this was a nice change of pace. The lore and world-building is really cool. Even though there is some romance, I didn't find it too annoying. 4.25 stars
I was absolutely blown away by Victoria Dalpe's short story collection, Les Femmes Grotesques, last year. I jumped on the chance to review Selene Shade, and I was not disappointed. This book leans very much into horror urban fantasy, and I really enjoyed it. I've been reading some really heavy books lately, and this was a nice change of pace. The lore and world-building is really cool. Even though there is some romance, I didn't find it too annoying. 4.25 stars
The Devil by Name by Keith Rosson
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing a review copy.
This duology is tremendous. If you haven't read Fever House yet, rectify that immediately. It was one the my favorite books of 2023, and I had high hopes for the follow-up. I got so much more than I bargained for. The story picks up 5 years after the events of the first novel. A few familiar faces are back, along with two new characters (both of whom I loved). The Devil By Name doesn't have quite as frantic of a pace as Fever House, but that's not a bad thing and we definitely get more lore. I loved the way everything came together in the end. 5 stars
This duology is tremendous. If you haven't read Fever House yet, rectify that immediately. It was one the my favorite books of 2023, and I had high hopes for the follow-up. I got so much more than I bargained for. The story picks up 5 years after the events of the first novel. A few familiar faces are back, along with two new characters (both of whom I loved). The Devil By Name doesn't have quite as frantic of a pace as Fever House, but that's not a bad thing and we definitely get more lore. I loved the way everything came together in the end. 5 stars
Mania: Revised Edition by Lucas Mangum
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I always enjoy a good Hollywood ghost story. Lucas Mangum certainly doesn't reinvent the trope here, but it's a lot of fun. The book felt a little rushed at times, but the lore behind the lost media is really cool. I didn't really connect with any of the characters, but rooting for the ghost for once was kind of nice. 3.75 stars
Mean Spirited by Nick Roberts
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There has been a ton of hype around this book since its release, and let me tell you - every bit of it is deserved. Currently, in my head, there is a war going on between Mean Spirited and Felix Blackwell's The Church Beneath the Roots for the creepiest thing I've read all year. (And, oddly, both books heavily feature dogs.) I'm pretty stoic when it comes to books affecting me in the real world, but Nick Roberts's writing is so cinematic that I had to stop several times to reflect on the absolute wrongness of what I had just read. Easy 5 stars.
Strained Sigma Bonds by Arasibo Campeche
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Thank you to BookSirens for providing a review copy.
This book is an interesting mix of hard science, science fiction, and horror, often in the same story. Some of the more science-y bits lost me a little, but others enhanced the horror. 3.5 stars
Penalties of Entropy ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Magnetization and Resistance ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Regret in Blue Sharp ⭐⭐⭐.5
Big Water Protect You ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Flavor of Lab ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Conservation of Cold ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Greater Secrets of Carbocations ⭐⭐
One Step Forward, Two Steps Starways, Three Steps Plop! ⭐⭐⭐
Trompe-l’oeil ⭐⭐⭐.75
The Organometallic God ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Butter Me Up and Float Me Sideways ⭐⭐⭐
Drowned in Mindfulness ⭐⭐⭐.75
First Blink ⭐⭐⭐
The Chroma of Home DNF
This book is an interesting mix of hard science, science fiction, and horror, often in the same story. Some of the more science-y bits lost me a little, but others enhanced the horror. 3.5 stars
Penalties of Entropy ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Magnetization and Resistance ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Regret in Blue Sharp ⭐⭐⭐.5
Big Water Protect You ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Flavor of Lab ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Conservation of Cold ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Greater Secrets of Carbocations ⭐⭐
One Step Forward, Two Steps Starways, Three Steps Plop! ⭐⭐⭐
Trompe-l’oeil ⭐⭐⭐.75
The Organometallic God ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Butter Me Up and Float Me Sideways ⭐⭐⭐
Drowned in Mindfulness ⭐⭐⭐.75
First Blink ⭐⭐⭐
The Chroma of Home DNF
Hush, My Darling by Leigh Kenny
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Thank you to Leigh Kenny for providing a review copy.
Do you want a book that is suffused with dread and emotionally devastating? Have I got the book for you! This book put me through the wringer - it's a tough read, and not because it's not well-written. It's extremely well-written, and therein lies the rub. I could not put it down and read it in two sittings. The comparison to Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deliverance is apt, but somehow it manages to be worse than both. Check your triggers and be prepared. Easy 5 stars
Do you want a book that is suffused with dread and emotionally devastating? Have I got the book for you! This book put me through the wringer - it's a tough read, and not because it's not well-written. It's extremely well-written, and therein lies the rub. I could not put it down and read it in two sittings. The comparison to Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deliverance is apt, but somehow it manages to be worse than both. Check your triggers and be prepared. Easy 5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Murder
Houses of the Unholy by Jacob Phillips, Ed Brubaker, Ed Brubaker Sean Phillips
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy.
Brubaker and Phillips just never seen to miss. I've not read one thing by them that I didn't love. Houses of the Unholy relies heavily on the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, as well as a healthy dose of ambiguity. I loved the ending, but I'm also hopeful that there will be another volume. 4.5 stars
Brubaker and Phillips just never seen to miss. I've not read one thing by them that I didn't love. Houses of the Unholy relies heavily on the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, as well as a healthy dose of ambiguity. I loved the ending, but I'm also hopeful that there will be another volume. 4.5 stars
The Devil's Tree by Axl Malton
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for providing a review copy.
Whew, does this book have a lot going on! There are menaces both supernatural and human, and what initially seems like several separate storylines converge in the end. I found the first half of the book a bit slow while the many threads of story being laid down, but it quickly picked up in the second half. If there's one thing Axl Malton does really, really well it's building tension, and I found myself staying up way too late to finish the book. 4 stars
Whew, does this book have a lot going on! There are menaces both supernatural and human, and what initially seems like several separate storylines converge in the end. I found the first half of the book a bit slow while the many threads of story being laid down, but it quickly picked up in the second half. If there's one thing Axl Malton does really, really well it's building tension, and I found myself staying up way too late to finish the book. 4 stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape