Midwinter Mysteries by Assorted Authors

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Sapere Books in exchange for an honest review.

I really really love the idea behind this anthology. As far as I can tell, the publishing house behind this book has gotten a bunch of mystery/crime authors to write some short stories showcasing their characters in order to promote the series they write. This is a very cool idea and I think it's a great way to potentially find a new series you might really enjoy. Sadly most of these stories ended up not being for me.

I would say loosely that almost all of these are either a) police procedurals, b) historical mysteries or a c) a combination of both. With the exception of the very first story, I probably enjoyed the historical ones slightly more since I tend to lean towards historical crime fiction (unlike thrillers where I like modern day). My main problem with these is they were all incredibly short. This made it very difficult to get into the stories and also to get a taste of what the authors' true styles were. It felt like a story was just getting going and then it would end abruptly, sometimes without a sense that there had been an actual mystery involved.

Perhaps because of these stories using pre-established characters, there was also a lack of introduction of most of the cast and/or plot elements surrounding the stories themselves. This didn't help with getting into the stories either (again, the first story actually did introduce people fairly well and was one of my favourites for this reason).

Overall, this is a decent but all too brief collection of stories. They all fall a little short in various ways but the anthology was still moderately enjoyable and I do really like the idea behind it. I just wish everything was a little bit longer.

Overall Rating:

.5

The Secret Santa by Trish Harnetiaux

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Random House UK, Cornerstone in exchange for an honest review.

Tis the season for grizzly murder! Christmas-themed thrillers are becoming increasingly prevalent it seems and this is definitely a trend I support. I love reading seasonal books and while the odd contemporary romance is enjoyable, if I can read holiday books in the genres I love then it's even better. I was very excited when I got my e-ARC of The Secret Santa because the premise sounded great. At a Christmas party, the guests have a White Elephant exchange and someone gets more than they bargained for when a gift relating to someone's dark past is unwrapped.

Sadly this book ended up being a huge disappointment. The writing style itself is pretty good. It flows well and the important characters are set up nicely. My only problem with that is that there are three POV characters and two of them are told in the third person and one is told in the first which is a bit of an odd choice.

The HUGE problem with this book is that characters are still unwrapping their presents 80% of the way through. The sinister gift from the blurb is only revealed at this point and then the ending is incredibly pedestrian following that event since there are very few pages left to deal with the fallout. I feel this would have been a much stronger story if the present opening had happened earlier and we really got a sense of tension and paranoia building between characters. Instead it all falls a bit flat which is such a shame.

Overall, I can't really recommend this book beyond a short read to kill some time around the holiday season. I would actually potentially pick up more by this author because there are some really good elements here but the plot is lacking almost entirely and that is too big an issue to overlook.

Overall Rating:

.5

Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Jimmy Patterson in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to be honest, I wasn't blown away by Girls of Paper and Fire. I did really enjoy the book and I thought it had a lot of potential but there were some little niggles that kept getting in the way of me loving it. I was hoping the sequel would fix these niggles and bring more of what I loved, and it did to some extent.

Girls of Storm and Shadow is a very different book to the first one in the series. The plot focuses mainly on the growing threat of war and our band of heroes travelling round, trying to recruit others to their cause. I must admit, I'm not a huge fan of these kinds of plots which probably tainted my opinion a bit. What I did enjoy was the characterisation present here and the direction the characters were taken in. One of my main niggles with the first book was the relationship between the protagonist and her love interest, which was a little flat and had an unpleasant 'victim blaming' angle to it. Thankfully this is fixed in this book, and while there are other reasons I found it hard to root for the couple, I do at least find it interesting the direction Ngan has chosen to take it.

The writing in general is strong and I think there is enough happening in this book to keep you engaged. As much as I thought the relationship of Wren and Lei took a step in the right direction, there are still some very prominent issues. In this book Lei is waaaay too forgiving of Wren, to the point where it is sort of unbelievable. Lei doesn't tend to react the way one typically would to finding out certain things about her lover, and the plot suffers for it. Lei herself has somewhat questionable morals as well. At one point she refuses to kill a known enemy who is attacking her but a few chapters later, she slaughters a much more innocent person in self-defense and barely bats an eyelid.

Sadly this book did not convince me to continue on with the series, though I am still a little intrigued to see where it's all going. I wish the plot of the first book had tied in more closely to the plot of this one, and it seems the third one will have to jump a fair bit if it is going to be the last in the series. I did think the sexual assault aspects that were handled poorly in the first book are handled well in this one (although still treated as a minor plot thread) which is an improvement. Try as I might, I just can't get sucked into this world though.

Overall Rating:

Violet by Scott Thomas

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Inkshares in exchange for an honest review.

So Kill Creek was one of the first books I read this year and I absolutely adored it. When I heard Scott Thomas was coming out with a new horror book, I knew I wanted to read it regardless of what it was about. Then I found out the plot and got very excited.

Violet is the story of Kris, a woman with a troubled past who is dealing with the grief of her husband's recent death. In an attempt to help her young daughter Sadie, she relocates them both to her old childhood summer home. Unfortunately the house is derelict and Sadie starts to behave in a very troubling way. Soon Kris realises that something beyond decay is very wrong with the house.

I'd heard this book was a slow-burn and I definitely think that's accurate, especially when compared to something like Kill Creek. This is a fairly different style of horror but once again I was utterly absorbed by Thomas' incredible writing style. Though the horror elements don't really appear until quite late in the story, I was so invested in Kris and learning more about her that it never felt like it was dragging or moving at a slow pace. In fact I almost read the whole book in a day because I was so absorbed.

There are only really two main characters in this story and both Kris and Sadie felt very real. Kris in particular gets explored through the narrative and I loved the heart and the extra emotional investment this added to the horror element. By the time the creepy stuff starts to happen, you really feel for her and her situation. At the same time, there is almost a barrier between the reader and Kris which is just enough to make you feel slightly unsettled and adds another nuanced layer, particularly to the climax.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend giving this book a chance. It is similar in setup to Imaginary Friends by Stephen Chbosky but in my opinion this is the far superior book. Thomas is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors and I know I will read Violet and Kill Creek for years to come.

Overall Rating:

.5

Slash by Hunter Shea

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Flame Tree Press in exchange for an honest review.

I've heard a lot of buzz in the horror world about Hunter Shea and I was very excited to finally pick up one of his books. Slash is the story of Todd, a man whose fiance kills herself after surviving a horrific massacre five years ago. Fueled by her suicide, he is driven to return to the resort where the massacre took place in order to find out what really happened there once and for all. He is joined by several friends and soon they discover that the horror is far from over.

I wasn't 100% sure what to expect from this book in terms of the horror element. It is billed as a slasher and it definitely is that but there is a supernatural element to be aware of as well. The first thing that stands out about Slash is how fantastically written it is. I've read a lot of bad horror in my time but Shea has a great style which is very readable, and the book overall is well-paced and well-plotted. Even though I am not usually a fan of supernatural horror, I found myself devouring this due to the strong writing.

Another strength is the uniqueness of the horror element. I am not going to spoil anything but the book takes a direction with its horror that I definitely didn't expect and I don't think I've seen done anywhere else (undoubtedly it has been done but it felt very fresh). Again, it isn't the type of horror I usually enjoy and that is probably the only reason I am not personally rating this book higher. I was absorbed by the story and I think someone who is into more supernatural horror will really love this book. It was especially nice to see such creativity in what can be an often cliched genre.

My only minor quibble/warning is that there is a side character who is a stripper and she is constantly referred to as such by one of the other side characters in a way that is pretty misogynistic. It is intentional I think but the character who does it is still meant to be likeable and I just found it very unnecessary and distracting from the story.

Overall, I would definitely recommend checking this book out if you are a fan of horror. I would love to read more of Shea's work and it's very impressive to see someone take the slasher genre and breathe new life into it. This is a fantastic example of how to do a unique spin on horror whilst still keeping the old favourite tones and tropes.

Overall Rating:

.5

Queerbaiting and Fandom edited by Joseph Brennan

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher University of Iowa Press in exchange for an honest review.

This book was everything I could have wanted and more. I was extremely excited when I got an ARC of this as the subject matter is right up my street and I was really intrigued to learn more about it in general. Part of me was concerned though because I have requested similar books before and been disappointed by how dry they are. Thankfully this was not the case with this book.

Queerbaiting and Fandom is an incredibly comprehensive, insightful and all-round entertaining read. It is a collection of academic essays so be aware that it is written in that style rather than written for the purposes of entertaining the general public. However, I was very impressed by how readable and easy to follow all of the essays were. The essays themselves cover a wide range of fandoms and topic areas, some of which I wasn't expecting and ended up being a pleasant surprise. The obvious offenders are here-Supernatural, Sherlock and Harry Potter all have chapters to themselves. But there are also essays about Nick Jonas deliberately marketing himself to gay fans, the One Direction fandom shipping real-life celebrities and the Eurovision song contest encouraging queer flirting with its hosts. These were all surprising to me and I found them the most insightful essays in terms of introducing me to new knowledge and making me think about things I hadn't considered before.

The only minor niggle I had was a completely understandable one. Every essay must take the time to define queerbaiting and other terms that it refers to, but this was very repetitive when reading the whole collection. The first two chapters were dedicated to defining the term anyway so I feel that the essays could have been edited to remove the definitions for the purposes of this collection, especially since every author used the term in the same way.

Overall, I really recommend this book for anyone interested in the topic. I genuinely wish it was more widely available as I found it very entertaining and I have several friends I know would love to read it. If you can get your hands on a copy, then definitely take the opportunity to do so. I feel this is a book I will revisit several times in the future again.

Overall Rating:

The Family by Louise Jensen

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher HQ in exchange for an honest review.

The Family is a thriller about a cult, a subject I've not read a lot about in my fiction but I've really enjoyed when I have. I was expecting this thriller to have a different tone than it did and I think that affected my enjoyment of it quite a lot. This book is off to a slow start, focusing on Laura and her daughter Tilly who are recently bereaved of their husband/father. Laura is in a tough position financially until she is offered help from the mysterious group of people who live on the outskirts of her town. But to what extent can she trust them?

Parts of this book were really badly written which shocks me as Louise Jensen has always had such strong writing in the past. The main reason I couldn't gel with it was the plot though. It seemed to have an odd pace with a dragging beginning and end section. I won't spoil anything that happens as this is a thriller, but particularly at the end the reveals got a little ridiculous. A lot of coincidences are crucial to specific things that happen which might leave a sour taste in some readers' mouths.

Overall, I sadly can't really recommend this book. It has alright characters and some decent moments but there were too many things which prevented me from getting into the story. If you're going to read a Jensen book, I recommend one of her other ones.

Overall Rating:

.5

The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica

I received a free copy of this book for review thanks to publisher Park Row and Edelweiss.

My experience with Mary Kubica has been an interesting one. I have loved almost all of the books I've read by her but I can usually see why a person might not like them as well. Sadly The Other Mrs. proved to be a thriller that just wasn't for me and that's because it commits the cardinal thriller sin-it is extremely predictable.

I will not spoil any 'twists' in this book but it uses one of the more overdone thriller tropes and what's more, it is completely obvious from the start that it is going in that direction. I kept reading hoping I would be wrong but by the time the climax rolls around, I fail to see how anyone would not have worked out what is happening. Though I'm not usually a fan of this trope anyway, I have loved books which have used it in a clever and surprising way. This book does neither of these things.

Putting the lack of a twist to one side, the writing style is competent but also weaker than other Kubica books I've read. There are just some really odd choices, particularly in the first few chapters. A face is described as 'eyepleasing', an adjective is used twice in the same sentence, the structure is just a little off. These are all minor things but they were very frequent and it took me out of the story. I did not find the main character Sadie likeable at all. She was far too quick to suspect her own children of awful things and she didn't have a lot of empathy for anyone. None of the characters were particularly great.

I'm really disappointed I couldn't give this book a more positive review. It might appeal to complete thriller novices but for anyone who likes the genre, this offers nothing new.

Overall Rating:

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Orion in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly had no idea what to expect from this book. I was not a fan of Perks of Being a Wallflower but I could not resist reading a book with such a promising and amazingly creepy premise. Imaginary Friend is the story of a boy named Christopher who has just moved to a new town with his mother, Kate. Shortly after the move, Christopher goes missing in the woods for 6 days and reemerges a changed boy. Before he was a normal seven year old, dyslexic and struggling with school. After he is incredibly intelligent...and he can hear a voice in his head.

The first 15% or so of this book is one of the best openings I have ever read. Had the rest of the book maintained this tone, it would have easily been a 5 star read. There is just something so likeable about all of the characters and though it's weird to say in a horror novel, it's actually really comforting to read about their lives. There is still the undercurrent of things about to go wrong but it's so refreshing to read a horror book where no one is an asshole. It's a common horror trope and I didn't realise how sick of it I was until now.

It's a cliche to compare good horror to Stephen King but this honestly has a very similar feel and plot to a King novel, albeit with characters who aren't terrible people. The King quirks aren't present which helps create a unique voice, and I intend this comparison as a compliment rather than a criticism. It doesn't feel derivative, it feels exceptionally well-written.

Sadly I can't say much about what made it drop in rating except for that the plot ultimately just wasn't for me. The book becomes very focused on themes of religion and the horror elements become muddled and hard to follow. By the end I had little idea of what was going on and it made me disconnect from the work. This is mostly down to personal tastes so if you like more abstract horror or books with heavy themes, you may enjoy it more than me.

The only other thing I want to mention is there is a character called 'Special Ed'. This is initially introduced as a cruel nickname some bullies use but then the narrative continues to use it for no real reason. I just wanted to mention it as an odd choice.

Overall, Imaginary Friends is a solid book. I was surprised how engaging I found it given its length, and this was down to both the great writing style and characters. It is mostly the plot that lets it down in the end but I am glad I read it and I can see some readers really connecting with it.

Overall Rating:

.5

What Happened That Night by Deanna Cameron

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Wattpad Books in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb of this book makes it sound like a YA thriller along the lines of Pretty Little Liars or something similar. Honestly this reads more like a YA contemporary, though admittedly the lines are a little sketchy. What Happened That Night is the story of Clara, whose sister Emily has just been arrested for murdering the golden boy of the school. You soon learn that said golden boy raped and brutalised Clara earlier in the year and she believes this is why her sister killed him. Most of the book is focused around Clara coming to terms with being assaulted and the fact that she hasn't told anyone besides her sister. She is also struggling with having romantic feelings for someone new. There are a few other elements but I can't really discuss them without spoilers.

This book had a very different tone than I was expecting and I was pleasantly surprised. As a Wattpad book, I wasn't expecting stellar writing but actually the writing is fantastic. It flows well, is paced brilliantly and you get a good sense of the characters in a short amount of time. I wouldn't class this as a thriller but there are some twists in the plot and factors that will keep you guessing. It handles the topics of rape and abuse mostly sensitively, bar one exception which I will discuss in a spoiler section (highlight for spoilers) So at the end of the book, it's revealed that Emily lied about being abused and she was actually abusing her boyfriend all along. This is an interesting twist and I liked how the author showed abuse can happen regardless of the genders involved. However, having Emily lie about the abuse is a little iffy to me as abuse victims are rarely believed in the first place. It wasn't enough to put me off but it was perhaps not handled as sensitively as it could have been and it muddles the theme.

Overall, this book manages to be a breath of fresh air in a rather saturated market. So long as you don't go in expecting breakneck twists and constant action, What Happened That Night is a brilliant example of a darker contemporary book handled some tough topics well. I'm looking forward to seeing more from this author and I'm happy that Wattpad can result in quality like this.

Overall Rating:

.5

Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Blythell

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Profile Books in exchange for an honest review.

I must admit, when I first started reading this book I was skeptical. The format means that it is literally told through diary entries which I wasn't aware of, and this took a little getting used to. Even the most interesting person in the world will have dull bits in their diary, and these haven't really been edited out. It is also a sequel which again, I wasn't aware of before reading. There hasn't been a ton of effort put in to make it accessible to people who haven't read the first one so, while a lot of it you can deduce, there were quite a few mentions of people or things which I had no idea who or what they were. This was a bit jarring and it meant I almost DNFed this book immediately.

Having said that, I am very happy I persisted with it. There's a weird sort of comfort in reading this book and it turned out to be a unique and enjoyable experience. Something about the repetitiveness of the entries paired with the topic of running a second-hand bookshop makes for a very easy read. There were parts where I felt the author was being a little mean-spirited but, having worked as a bookseller myself, I could understand a lot of his points. I think this might have benefited from being told in themed chapters with chosen anecdotes but then, that would be a very different book.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the source material and for people who aren't looking for something too informative or brief. If you want an insight into running a small secondhand bookshop or are just interested in reading about someone's daily life, then this is the book for you.

Overall Rating:

.5

Full Throttle by Joe Hill

I received a free copy of this book for review thanks to publisher William Morrow and Edelweiss.

Despite Heart-Shaped Box being one of my all-time favourite horror books, I have yet to read another book by Joe Hill. I was so excited to receive an ARC of his short story collection and I am happy to say that it lived up to my expectations fantastically. Full Throttle is a brilliant collection of horror/fantasy stories and each one is incredibly unique. Hill's writing really is up there with his father's in terms of skill for writing short stories and this is definitely a collection I can see myself rereading again and again.

As per usual with my anthology reviews, I will give an overview of the collection as a whole before talking about each short story.

Number of stories: 13
Great stories: 6
Good stories: 3
Okay/not for me stories: 4

Throttle-A group of motorcyclists encounter trouble when a truck decides to mow them all down. This one took ages to get going and I wasn't particularly invested until the action happened. Once it did though, there were some good moments and I liked how it ended.

Dark Carousel-Four teenagers get more than they bargained for when they accuse a carousel owner of stealing from one of them. This one was pretty surreal with its horror but I really enjoyed that aspect, and Hill made it work well.

Wolverton-A man gets on a train and discovers he's suddenly in a lot of danger. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. It's got kind of a silly premise almost but it was executed so well and there was real tension in it. This has also stuck with me the most out of all the stories which is somewhat surprising.

By the Silver Waters of Lake Champlain-Two children find a dead dinosaur next to a lake. This one was really underwhelming for me sadly. The execution of the twist was a bit clumsy and I didn't quite get what was going on. It had potential but just missed the mark.

Faun-A group of hunters hear about the opportunity to pay a lot of money for a mysterious special hunt. Kudos to this story for not doing the obvious and going where I expected it to. I did lose interest a little bit towards the end but it was interesting enough and I couldn't predict what was going to happen.

Late Returns-A man takes over driving a library Bookmobile and discovers he has visitors from the past. I LOVED this story. It's light on the horror but it has such a nice concept and it was a much-needed break from the darkness of the other ones. It still has enough of an edge to fit with the rest of the anthology which is also important as it doesn't feel like it sticks out or is misplaced.

All I Care about is You-A girl living in the future (?) pays to have a robot companion for an hour to help her out. There was some clumsy worldbuilding in this one and I found it a little hard to get into because of that. However, as the story unfolded I started to really love it and by the end, it was one of my favourites. Very weird, unique and so interesting.

Thumbprint-A woman comes back from Iraq after committing some atrocities. I sadly couldn't get into this story and more skim-read it than anything. It might work for some people but it just wasn't for me.

The Devil on the Staircase-I tried to read this story but just couldn't get into it and I'm honestly not sure what it was about.

Twittering from the Circus of the Dead-A teenager takes up Tweeting to annoy her mum and records her experience visiting a very unique circus. This is told entirely through Tweets and I thought it would be annoying but I actually ended up really enjoying it. The format helps build a lot of tension and it strengthens the dramatic irony the plot relies on without being grating.

Mums-A boy's mother dies and he acquires some unusual seeds from a stranger. This one had such potential but it kept missing the mark for me. Mostly it was confusing and I found it hard to follow, which may have been intentional but wasn't enjoyable for me. There are some cool moments and some creepy ideas going on here but I wish it had been executed differently.

In the Tall Grass-Two twins stop to help a child and mother lost in some tall grass and get more than they bargained for. This was definitely one of my joint favourites (along with the next story and Late Returns). It's co-written with King and you can see his influence which only makes the story stronger. An easy to follow tale with some good old-fashioned weirdness.

You are Released-I have read and reviewed this story previously so here is my original review: A very powerful story about a plane that runs into trouble, framed by swapping the focus to a different passenger every few paragraphs or so. This wasn't really horror in my opinion but I am so so glad I read it. It has a lot of really thought-provoking moments and was just excellently done.

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Overall, I am delighted to say this collection cements Joe Hill as one of my favourite authors. It has all the skill and originality of a King short story collection but rather than feeling derivative, Hill brings his own talent and his own ideas. It's definitely a must-try for fans of horror anthologies.

Overall Rating:

My N.E.W.Ts Wrap Up!

This is a quick post to report my progress on the N.E.W.Ts portion of the Magical Readathon because I did the impossible and read every challenge for all three of the careers I wanted! That means I qualified to be a Mind Medic, Magical Zoologist and a Librarian. Here are the prompts and what I read for all of them:

Ancient Runes:
Recommended by a friend: The Test
Written in the past tense: The Third Mrs. Durst
TBR veteran: Broken Bay

Care of Magical Creatures:
Book starts with A: A Blade so Black
Under 300 pages: Kill River 2
Bird on the cover: Monsters

Charms:
Gorgeous cover: Once Upon a Rainbow volume one
Graphic novel: Mooncakes
Paperback: Sea Change

DADA:
Black under the dust jacket: The Favourite Sister
First remembered from TBR: What We Saw at Night
Set in England/English author: I, Partridge

Herbology:
Audiobook: Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire
350-390 pages: The Perfect Wife

History of Magic:
Fantasy: Tangleweed & Brine
Has a map: Truly Devious

Muggle Studies:
Cover with a photo element: Diving In
Set in the real world: Hello, Goodbye & Everything Inbetween

Potions:
Friend's favourite book: Sleep
Cover the colour of your house: The Flower Girls

Transfiguration:
Queer book: I'm a Gay Wizard
Not the first in a series: Please Send Help
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That's all of them! To see what I thought of them, check out my August wrap up videos at my Youtube channel here

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Diamond Book Distributors in exchange for an honest review.

I am LIVING for this wave of cute fantasy graphic novels with great representation in them. Mooncakes is the story of Tam, a non-binary werewolf who comes back to their old town and reconnects with their old childhood friend, Nova. Nova is a deaf witch who has been investigating some mysterious demon activity in her town and, when Tam gets dragged into the demon activity, it's up to the both of them to put a stop to it.

Firstly, this graphic novel has a great art style. It's cute but not so much that older readers would be put off by it. The colours and particularly the way the magic is shown in the universe creates a lovely atmosphere that sets the tone for this world. Secondly, I fell in love with pretty much all of the characters. They aren't the most developed in the world (which to be fair, is standard for a graphic novel) but they're so likeable and every character has a key role to play in the narrative which was a neat touch. I adore Nova and Tam and could honestly read a good dozen or so stories about them.

Overall, Mooncakes is the perfect read for anyone who loves cute fantasy stories with great art and lovable characters. It joins a proud group of witch-themed graphic novels which makes it a fantastic Halloween read for those who aren't necessarily into horror. It is definitely worth checking out.

Overall Rating: