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