Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.

I read Rachel Harrison's debut novel The Return and thought it was really enjoyable but a little unpolished. I am happy to say that Black Sheep is that book with all the polish and so much more.

Black Sheep is the story of Vesper, a young woman who escaped her upbringing on a cult-like religious farm and is now struggling to get by. One day she receives an invitation to return to the farm to attend the wedding of her favourite cousin, Rosie. It just so happens that Rosie is marrying Vesper's childhood sweetheart and so despite her better judgement, she decides she has to go back to find out what is going on.

This book embodies all the best aspects of horror for me. Horror as a metaphor for trauma can be such a powerful tool, and Harrison uses it impressively here. Some of the themes present in The Return can also be found here, but this time they feel fully explored and the metaphor is far stronger. I loved going into this book almost blind and I encourage other readers to do the same. I simultaneously felt like I knew exactly what was going to happen but also I wasn't quite sure, which is a great position to be in as a horror reader.

The characters are also really strong. Vesper in particular stands out, but I loved the hints of complexity surrounding her mother. Other characters like Rosie and Brody are less complex, but it feels by design. We don't get to know much about them and why should we? Vesper views them a particular way and we are limited by her narration.

This book has convinced me to read everything Harrison writes forever. I didn't think this was really a topic area I was hugely interested in going in, and I fell in love with the writing and style. Her other books similarly aren't about things I would normally seek out (witches, vampires) but now I can't wait to read them. If you're a fan of horror used to explore human emotion and depth, I strongly recommend giving this a try

Overall Rating:

.5

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Pan Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.

There are some books when you start reading them, you know you are going to fall in love. Daisy Darker was one of them.

The tone of this book is much more gothic than thriller. Daisy has been summoned to her grandmother's house for her 80th birthday. Her grandmother was told she was destined to die at the age of 80, and so she has gathered the entire Darker family for a reading of her will. Her grandmother lives on a remote island which gets cut off by the tide periodically, so once the family arrive they are immediately trapped there. After the will reading goes badly, terror strikes when one of the family members is found dead. And it doesn't end there...

This book has incredible atmosphere. It really reminds of What Remains of Edith Finch, both in tone and plot. I was completely sucked into the sleepy, subtly creepy story being woven. From the offset it is very clear there is something deeply wrong with the family, but there is also this fantastic unwillingness to address the abnormality. There are hints of Agatha Christie with the huge, isolated house and the unhappy family residing inside.

I don't want to say too much about this book, but it does have a certain plot element which I think makes it a bit like Marmite. It's actually the kind of thing I usually hate, but I think it is executed well here and I personally enjoyed it a lot. I think it did knock it down from a 5 star read and I understand why people aren't a fan, but for me personally it wasn't enough to spoil the book.

Overall, I strongly recommend this book if you enjoy creepy, gothic horror/murder mystery vibes. It absolutely delivers on that front and manages to have a unique identity of its own whilst evoking other work in a welcome way. I know I will remember this book for a long time and it has definitely become one of my favourites

Overall Rating:

.5

Don't Swipe Right by L.M. Chilton

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Head of Zeus in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic surprise this book was!

Don't Swipe Right is the story of Gwen, a woman who gets caught up in a string of murders when it turns out the men she keeps dating keep on dying. She naturally becomes a suspect and decides to investigate in an attempt to clear her name.

On the surface, I was already sold by the premise. It's a little hard to judge what kind of book this is from the cover, but it is much more cosy mystery/humorous thriller than the typical psychological thrillers. I suspect this might lead to a few disappointed readers, but if you know what you are in for then this book is a breath of life.

For starters, it's actually funny! It's so rare that I laugh at books and this one was genuinely entertaining in a very engaging way. The mystery aspects are fairly weak but the writing and characterisations are so good that I was hooked. I had an absolute blast reading it and I didn't want to put it down as a result.

If you want a tense, intricate thriller then this book isn't for you. But if you want a decent plot with great writing and great characters, then I strongly recommend this book. It is a very fun time and the perfect enjoyable read.

Overall Rating:

.5

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Hodder & Stoughton,  in exchange for an honest review.

Oh boy. Every so often a thriller will come along which just blows all other thrillers out of the water, and Survive the Night is just one in a long line by Riley Sager to do so.

Survive the Night is the story of Charlie, a college girl whose roommate has recently been murdered by the notorious 'Campus Killer'. Riddled with guilt and suffering periods of dissociation, she makes the rash decision one night to hitch a long ride home with a guy she meets on campus who happens to be driving her way. Faced with a long roadtrip and a potentially bad decision, they start talking and Charlie starts to wonder if maybe she has gotten into the car with precisely the person who might have killed her roommate.

This book is intense. I was worried at first that it was playing its cards too early, but of course I should have known better. Rather than being full of dramatic twists, this book gently shifts and shifts back like a rope ladder, never quite letting you feel secure. The writing is a beautiful lesson in how to create tension and a sense of dread. I read it on a journey home and it made the trip seem so quick, that's how absorbed I was.

As a protagonist, Charlie is a super interesting character. People who are tired of the whole 'mentally ill' heroine trope in thrillers might be disappointed here, but I found her an intriguing and (perhaps most importantly) sympathetic protagonist. Even as she makes stupid decisions, you can always understand her rationale, even if you don't agree with it. That's quite a hard task for a thriller author to accomplish, and it never felt like Charlie was being forced into making stupid decisions for the sake of the plot.

I can't say a whole lot more without giving stuff away, but if you're a fan of either closed space or cat and mouse thrillers, then this book is for you. It's a fast-paced, tightly woven read with plenty to keep you engaged for the ride. Definitely worth checking out this author if you haven't already!

Overall Rating:

.5

Horseman by Christina Henry

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.

Christina Henry is one of my favourite authors without a doubt. I have enjoyed her recent journeys into entirely original work but a part of me has sorely missed her ability to adapt traditional tales with that fantastic horror spin and tone. Horseman satisfied all of those cravings and more.

Horseman is the story of Ben, a trans teenager from the town of Sleepy Hollow. The headless horseman legends have always plagued his town but things become a bit too real when the corpse of a child is found with his hands and head missing. Ben decides to investigate but is held back by his grandma and grandfather, the former of which thinks it is unladylike to traipse around the woods and the latter of which seems to have secrets of his own.

This is a largely original horror story which only uses elements of the Sleepy Hollow mythos, often to great effect. Ben was a fantastic main character and I felt the trans identity stuff fit well with the themes of the novel (take this with a pinch of salt as I am not trans). Parts of this book felt a little slow or like not a huge ton was happening, but the creepy atmosphere was always there and I was never entirely sure what was going on in a good way. The characters as always are incredibly strong and they really helped add to the compelling nature of the book.

Overall, this is a solid effort from Henry and one I definitely recommend checking out, especially around the spooky autumn season. It's an interesting story with plenty of creepy elements and a strong main character, with added trans rep as a bonus. It's not my favourite book by Henry but it's a fantastic horror book and well worth the read.

Overall Rating:

.5

Trigger warnings clarity: Lots of gore/graphic descriptions of dead bodies. Transphobia comes from characters aimed at the main character, not from the nature of the book itself. There is attempted rape

Halloween Night on Monster Island by Clark Roberts

I was offered a free copy of this book by the author. However, it was available on Kindle Unlimited at the time and so I read it through that. All opinions are my own, genuine ones.

I was the biggest fan of Goosebumps back in the day and honestly, I still am. I was really intrigued by the premise of this book as evil theme parks and Halloween check a lot of my horror boxes, and the promise of Goosebumps-like thrills drew me in. Delightfully, this book managed to provide everything I could hope for and more.

Halloween Night on Monster Island is the story of a group of children who go to stay with their mysterious Uncle Victor for Halloween. Victor happens to own a spooky theme park called Monster Island which the kids have all to themselves, except for Victor's young assistant and the creepy park caretaker. Things start to get a little too spooky though as it seems like real monsters might be on the island.

I mean it as the biggest compliment when I say this book perfectly captures the tone and unique feel of Goosebumps. I'd actually argue it's a little better than the modern books. The cliffhangers for each chapter are more subtly done, the characters a little more fleshed out and less interchangeable. I had an absolute blast reading this book and it is perfectly designed to read to your child at night. The chapters are very short which makes it easy to make sure you can time readings and they don't go on too long, and the aforementioned cliffhangers would make a child want to keep reading on.

Overall, I cannot recommend this book more. It's perfect for the spooky season or just for the child/child at heart who loves old school Goosebumps-type stories. I was pleasantly surprised by just how good this book was and it is well worth checking out.

Overall Rating:

.5

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.

Christina Henry is back in full form! After being a little disappointed by The Ghost Tree, I am pleased to report that Near the Bone is a truly fantastic creepy tale.

It tells the story of Mattie, a young woman who lives with her husband William in a remote forest cabin on a mountainside. A strange creature appears on the mountain one day, something which is like a bear and not. It soon becomes clear though that things have not been right long before that. William is a very controlling person and he doesn't like that the arrival of the creature appears to be affecting his tenuous hold on Mattie.

I was utterly mesmerised by this story. Henry knows how to build tension and there were absolute piles of it in this book. The relationship between William and Mattie is one of the main driving forces and it was harrowing to see the unpleasant reality of it slowly unfurl as I read on. As with many of Henry's books, Near the Bone has a strong focus on feminism and gender roles and this is handled extremely well. I felt such a strong connection to Mattie and everything she goes through broke my heart a million times. Every character was so real to me and they all had depth which made you either love or hate them.

So I have covered the characters and relationships side but what about the horror? Well rest assured, this book has plenty of that. There are some particularly gruesome scenes here and also a lot of the slower, more tension-based horror that I mentioned earlier. I think this book is particularly effective because it has both domestic horror (from the threat of William) and the horror that comes from being hunted by a supernatural creature. It provides a variety in the kind of fear you feel as a reader and as a bonus it appeals to all tastes.

Christina Henry is one of my favourite authors and with books like this, it isn't hard to see why. If you want a tense, absorbing horror with brilliant characters and a heartbreaking plot, I urge you to check this book out. You will not be disappointed.

Overall Rating:

 .5

The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Pushkin Press in exchange for an honest review.

There are genuinely few things in the world which can compare with a truly well-written murder mystery to me. Every since I discovered Agatha Christie, I have constantly been looking for other authors which can match her tone and ingenuity. I do not say it lightly when I say that Ayatsuji is up there with the best.

This book starts so strong that it instantly got my attention. A group of college students are part of a club dedicated to mystery stories. Each one has taken the name of a mystery author (including my dear Agatha) and they have embarked on a trip to stay in the infamous Decagon house. This house was previously the site of an unsolved grisly murder, and the students are staying there as a chance to experience something from a real-life murder mystery. As can be predicted when a bunch of people go to stay in an unusual house on a remote island, it soon becomes clear that there might be an all-new murder mystery starring them.

This book does reference Agatha Christie and And Then There Were None a lot, but apart from the basic premise of a murder island there isn't much in common with the book. I really appreciated that as a lot of people lift from Christie without adding anything new, whereas this felt much more like a standalone work with some neat references. Tonewise though this very much felt like the classic mysteries I love, and it was so refreshing to find that from a different author. This book also created some serious tension. I was genuinely scared reading it at times and I never felt like I had worked it out, so it was this delicious combination of not wanting to stop reading to reach the solution whilst also being incredibly tense as I waited to see what would happen next.

Overall, there's not much else I can say about this book without giving stuff away, but if you're a fan of classic murder mysteries then this is one you have to check out. I was gutted to discover that this is the only one of Ayatsuji's mysteries translated so far, and I really hope the rest of them receive the same treatment. For a spooky, intriguing, murderous time, you can't go wrong here.

Overall Rating:

.5

Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin Random House Children’s UK in exchange for an honest review.

This book was an absolute delight from start to finish. Kate in Waiting is the story of Kate and her best friend Anderson. For years they have joked about their communal crushes, each of them never liking someone unless the other one does. When their summer camp crush starts attending their school though, things become a little more complicated as both Kate and Anderson fall hard for him. Is it possible to salvage a friendship when both you and your best friend want the same person? And will Matt fall for either of them?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have actually been in a very similar situation in my real life as described by the plot of this book, and I am deeply impressed by the nuance captured here. I feel like a lot YA books write about friendships and jealousy but they tend to take rather a dramatic or antagonistic view of it. Here, you really believe that Kate and Anderson are best friends and that their friendship has the closeness that means they don't just instantly start fighting with each other. It's that weird blend of friendship, loyalty, jealousy and competition which is perfectly captured here, and it makes for a really interesting and insightful book.

Speaking of the characters, I adored them all. Kate and her friends tend to overuse the term 'f-boys' and there are a few too many pop culture references near the start of this book, but both of those things stopped bothering me as I got into the story. Kate herself is very likeable and relatable, Anderson is a pure joy to read about and I similarly liked Noah and Ryan. Everyone felt like a real person and they were people I wanted to read about and spend time with.

Overall, Kate in Waiting is a perfect example of how to write a YA contemporary book in my eyes. The plot is kept simple but is interesting enough to carry the book, and the characters help drive that plot and are what makes it really stand out. The pacing was spot-on and if you're looking for a cute, fun book which also explores some complex emotions not usually discussed in YA, you can't go wrong here.

Overall Rating:

.5

The Last Girl by Goldy Moldavsky

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Egmont Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Oh boy, this book had big expectations to live up to with a blurb like that and it somehow managed to meet every one of them. The Last Girl is the story of Rachel, a girl who moves to a new school and town after surviving a traumatic home invasion. At her new school she stumbles across a secret club dedicated to watching horror movies and 'making the horror real'. Taking it in turns to pick a victim, the club stages elaborate pranks to get back at people they don't like. A fan of horror, Rachel feels like she's found her people until certain aspects of the pranks start to go too far and remind her of her trauma.

I really really loved this book. Almost every aspect is spot on and delivers exactly what I wanted when I picked this up. The plot feels sort of predictable but it's delivered in such an entertaining way and it makes such good use of the horror tropes that I didn't mind one bit. You find yourself drawn into the mystery and you start second-guessing your assumptions, wondering which horror movie trope the author is going to go with for the reveal. It's very subtle but any of them could work in this way and it adds a clever touch to the mystery aspect.

The characters themselves were great and one of the strongest aspects of this book. I liked how Rachel never had to make any dumb decisions to drive the plot forward, and she felt very grounded in reality as a protagonist. I fell in love with every member of the club in different ways, and I never had any trouble distinguishing them from each other. There is an interesting love triangle of sorts here but it is very downplayed and amounts to romantic tension more than anything explicit. I was uncertain about it at first but I appreciated how it played out in the end and it didn't feel like there was unnecessary romance drama or like it took over the plot.

Two of my favourite characters were actually from outside of the club. Saundra is Rachel's first friend when she starts at the school and she is a happy, gossipy girly-girl. I loved how she wasn't dropped as soon as Rachel joined the club and how she was never implied to be shallow or less important than the club members simply for not sharing their interests. Similarly, Lux is Rachel's bully and the resident mean girl of the school. She receives much less attention and time than Saundra but there are moments where you get to see that she is also a real person with her own stuff going on. I felt all the female characters in this book were very different and all were important in some way, and that was very refreshing to read.

Overall, I strongly recommend this book. There is a lot to offer fans of horror movies here and, while the actual tone and style of the book is a lighter horror than most, there is a strong plot and sense of mystery and tension throughout. It was a lot of fun and I am very excited to see what this author does in the future.

Overall Rating:

.5