Don't Move by James S. Murray & Darren Wearmouth

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

What a fantastic find! Don't Move is a fast-paced horror book centered around Megan, a woman dealing with a traumatic incident from her past. After losing her husband and son in an awful theme park accident the previous year, she decides to go on a church camping trip. Unfortunately for her, the trip is destined to be plagued by monstrous spiders.

The strength of this book really is the characters. The authors did a fantastic job of making both the protagonist and the side characters compelling in a short space of time, which for me is the key for good horror. I adored Megan and I really wanted her to survive the ordeal. Ricky is not a typical protagonist and I found him very interesting as a result, particularly as you couldn't predict his actions. The other characters don't get much page time but that didn't stop them from being decent additions to the story.

As an audiobook, I found the narration great. I was surprised when it finished to learn it was narrated by one of the authors, but it does make sense as the pacing and sense of excitement was created through the narration extremely well. The narrator was clearly passionate about their work and it paid off.

Overall, this is a great creature horror book. I don't normally like the genre much (I was looking for a spooky audiobook for Halloween) but I recommend it for all fans of horror as you might be pleasantly surprised. I will definitely be looking into other works by these authors and I'm so glad I requested this book.

Overall Rating:

Judderman by D.A. Northwood

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher W.F. Howes Ltd in exchange for an honest review.

Unlike the first of these audiobooks (Holt House), Judderman sadly left me a bit wanting. It's a very rambly sort of story which gives the impression of it being long, even though the whole thing is only about two hours in length. It also suffers from not having distinct voices for the characters, meaning that I found it very difficult to pay attention. It doesn't seem to have much of a plot as a result. It is set in a city and there is some kind of entity and a missing brother, but I kept tuning out due to long sections which were mostly there for atmosphere. It's a shame because I did enjoy the weirdness and unique tone of the first of these audiobooks but this didn't have anything much going for it. As with the first one, this is an old recording and so the sound quality is a little muffled/quiet which matters a lot more in this book than the first due to the monotonous tone. I think I might have enjoyed this more as a physical book but as it stands, I find it difficult to recommend this one.

Overall Rating:

Dead End Drive by Ian Kirkpatrick

 

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

Oh boy, this book was a mess. Originally I was going to give it 2 stars for having a decent premise, but having found out that it's based off a boardgame, that means the only things I liked about it aren't original at all.

Dead End Drive is about a family where, when someone dies, the battle for inheritance is a literal battle to the death. After the reading of the will, the person left alive in the morning will inherit everything. How can such a premise go wrong? Well, for starters the premise isn't actually introduced well within the book itself. People just start killing each other with no real explanation, which would have been very confusing if I hadn't read the blurb recently before starting it.

This book has two major problems. Firstly, the writing is not great. The pages are littered with both actual editorial mistakes (understandable for an ARC but there are a lot, far more than any other ARC I've ever had) and just poor writing choices. The characters are bland and, in the worst cases, harmful stereotypes. There is a gay stylist who constantly uses the word 'honey' and who, after murdering a black woman, insists on fixing her 'coarse dark hair'. I'm almost certain the racial implications of this were accidental but yikes.

The pacing is similarly poor. You get introduced to all the characters in very repetitive chapters, and then the one with the most personality instantly dies so you don't have a character you have a connection with. Far from being a bloodbath, the rest of the deaths are then paced very oddly. There is no real sense of tension or fear and none of the characters seem particularly scared or bothered by their situation. Again, the only character who wasn't aware of the bloodbath beforehand is murdered straight away so you don't get the benefits of following an outsider in this horrible situation.

Overall, I sadly can't recommend this book. I ended up skim-reading everything after 50% as I just didn't care enough. It's a shame because a book like this has such potential and some of the humour/horror elements were alright. It just had too little going for it.

Overall Rating:

The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook by Ashley Craft

 

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

I was very curious and a little skeptical when I saw this book. I have never been lucky enough to go to Disneyland USA and so, while I have seen many photos of delicious-looking food online, I have never been able to try any myself. When I saw this book I really wanted to give it a read and I'm so glad I did!

Firstly, this book is perfectly presented. It really captures the Disney feel and I loved how the recipes were divided by park, with a cute map to tell you exactly where each food is sold. I wasn't sure how accurate this book would be in terms of recipes, but it is genuinely all food from the park and it doesn't just stick to the generic recipes either. The effort is clear on every page and it really pays off.

The recipes themselves are pretty varied and there's a great mix. I like how many of them are very accessible and either don't require a great deal to make or else they require things you would likely already have as a cook. I will say, this is an american book and some of the ingredients aren't super common in the UK. This isn't a huge issue as you can usually get the ingredient somewhere (or substitute it) and it was maybe 3 or 4 of the recipes it applied to, but it's something to be aware of as a UK reader.

Overall, this book is a real treat for Disney fans. It was everything I wanted from the title and the recipes themselves seem a whole lot of fun. I definitely recommend it for the Disney fan in your life.

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Cursed Objects by J. W. Ocker

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

What a wonderful treat for the spooky season! Cursed Objects is a nonfiction book all about various cursed objects/relics from around the world. It presents a whole host of various objects with their legends and mostly leans on the skeptical side, giving it a really fun and enjoyable tone. I really liked the format of this book. It is split up into fairly small chunks (each segment of the audio book is around 5-10 minutes) which makes for very easy listening. I loved that I could dip in and out of it, and that listening to the end of each section wasn't a huge commitment.

The audiobook itself is pretty short but it is absolutely packed full of information. It covers a large range and variety of cursed objects, and I found every story interesting in some way. I will say, while I did enjoy the audiobook enormously I would probably recommend buying this as a physical book rather than an audio one. It was a great  audiobook but you are told that the physical book has illustrations which I am sad I missed out on, and I think the information would have been slightly easier to digest had I read it with my eyes rather than my ears. But if you want something to listen or experience more casually, then the audiobook is definitely the way to go.

Overall, I strongly recommend this audiobook/book. It's a fun collection of spooky information told well, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.

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It Came from the Multiplex edited by Joshua Viola

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

Though admitting so might revoke my 'horror fan' badge, I must be honest and say that I've not seen many 80s horror films. I've seen a decent chunk of cheesy, almost comedy horror films though and this was absolutely the tone this anthology was going for. It was a whole lot of fun but I want to make this clear in case people are expecting more of a violent slasher/sexual horror vibe. This anthology is mild on those elements but is all the stronger for it in my opinion, instead serving up some good old cheesy horror fun. I agree with other reviews that it would benefit more from being compared to 60s or 70s horror films.

Number of stories: 14

Great stories: 3

Good stories: 7

Meh stories: 3

Stories using the slur 'gypsy': 1

ALIEN PARASITES FROM OUTER SPACE/RETURN OF THE ALIEN PARASITES FROM OUTER SPACE-I am combining these two stories together as they are essentially one story (a story and its 'sequel'). This was a fun story about a teen who goes to see a movie about alien parasites and realises that the movie may be more real than it appears. I wish the sequel had been included later on in the anthology as it was a little repetitive when it followed straight after the first one and I think I would have enjoyed a break later on. The first one was also by far the stronger story for me with the sequel not being as good. But both were fun romps with some neat details, and they were a good way to introduce the tone of the anthology.

NEGATIVE CREEP-This had the really cool concept of kids being stalked by some kind of entity which behaved in uncertain ways. I really liked how films were incorporated into this story and I thought it was a lot more clever and original than some. It wasn't my favourite but it had strong moments and managed to stand out.

HELLULOID-This was the story where I realised just how strong the cinema/movie theme was. Honestly I don't really remember much about it, apart from that it used film reel in a kind of interesting way but the plot itself wasn't very gripping.

RISE, YE VERMIN!-Some neat lesbian representation here but not much else going for it sadly. It felt like it was a retread of previous stories with the bug and film reel motif, and it really struggled to stand out as unique to me. It was at this point I wondered if all the authors had been given the same specific brief for writing stories.

THE CRONENBERG CONCERTO-A man recounts his personal history of going to the cinema to watch horror films. For most of this story, I was kinda meh. Then something happened and I fell in love. This was deliciously dark and really caught me off guard, which made the ending all the better. I adored this story and I think it will stay in my mind a long time.

CREATURE FEATURE-A fun story about a teen who gets a new job at a very unusual movie theatre. This uses a type of horror I'm not a huge fan of but it really was a more lighthearted horror read and it deserves points for uniqueness. Ended a little abruptly but all in all, a good romp.

INVISIBLE-A chilling tale of a serial killer and how he selects his victims. This was another unique way to incorporate the cinema theme and I really enjoyed it. Parts are definitely hard to read but this didn't skew super graphic which I appreciated. The ending was really neat and dark in a good way.

SCREEN HAUNT-A woman afraid of everything creates a horror movie. This was a little hard to follow but had some great moments and imagery. I really liked parts of it, I just wish it had been told in a clearer style.

THE DEVIL'S REEL-A travelling man comes to a small town and opens up a cinema with a nefarious purpose. A lot happened in this story and I appreciated the pacing and plot elements. It went big scale and fit well into the movie theme for that reason.

ON THE ROCKS-Four teenagers go to see a werewolf film. This ended far too abruptly and was a little predictable, which was a shame because I dug the writing style.

COMING ATTRACTIONS-Four teenagers use a broken panel in a cinema to stay after dark. This story was amazing! I was completely gripped throughout and it actually properly scared me which rarely happens. A definite gem and my favourite of the collection.

LATE SLEEPERS-A student leaves his house in disarray after a family Thanksgiving meal and goes to the cinema. I really liked the main idea of this story and it did have a creeping sense of dread throughout. However, the ending was a little unclear (and not in a good way, just in a confusing way) which was a bit of a shame. Still a strong concept though!

SPECIAL MAKEUP-Okay, so this story has a great idea with the horror item but uh, repeatedly uses the g slur for traveler. And the whole plot is based around a 'gypsy curse'. I was actually pretty shocked to read this because I thought everyone had the memo now that it's not okay but apparently not. It was a shame as well since it was the last story so I was left feeling a bit sour about the whole thing.

Overall, this anthology is a very fun one with a strong theme and some truly great stories. Most of the stories kind of overlap a bit and so I think more variety could have been beneficial, but the second half is much more varied and so I found it more entertaining. Maybe a rejiggling of the order of the stories would have helped? Either way, this is perfect if you're looking for a quick campy read this Halloween and I'm very glad I picked it up.

Overall Rating:

.5

The Year Shakespeare Ruined my Life by Dani Jansen

 

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

There is a recurring trend I've noticed in YA fiction recently where queer female characters get involved in running plays. It's actually a really fun trend and it's one of the reasons The Year Shakespeare Ruined my Life caught my eye. Our main character is Alison, a high-achieving queer girl desperate to be valedictorian. She gets coerced into directing a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and her life gradually begins to fall apart as she juggles the stress, friend drama and a budding relationship with cool girl Charlotte.

This book was a lot of fun and there were several elements I enjoyed. The general writing was good and the plot was serviceable. Unfortunately I found the whole thing just a little bit tropey. Our main character is incredibly passive, which works for the play subplot but not for the romance. I never really bought that Alison cared for Charlotte because Charlotte was the driving force for the relationship throughout. This meant I found it a bit hard to relate to Alison as she came across as a bit flat. I did really like the sibling relationship and Alison's sister was a pretty interesting character. I just wish Alison had played a bigger role in her own story.

Having said that, this book is still a fun, light YA read. It was nice to read a queer story where the main character was already fully out and that side doesn't play a huge role in the story. Alison was also very relatable in parts, mainly when her anxiety is clearly the driving force behind her passivity. Overall, this is by no means a bad book and if you want a quick and easy read with some nice rep, look no further.

Overall Rating:

.5

I Hope You're Listening by Tom Ryan

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Albert Whitman & Company in exchange for an honest review.

This book is at risk of being called a Sadie copycat and it really deserves so much better than that. I Hope You're Listening is the story of Dee, a girl whose best friend was abducted in front of her when she was very young. As a teenager, she now secretly runs a podcast which aims to help find missing people. When another girl is taken from the house her best friend used to live in, Dee finds her worlds starting to collide as she struggles to keep the podcast a secret and find out what happened to her best friend.

This was a really enjoyable YA contemporary with some thrillery elements thrown in. Dee was a fantastic protagonist who felt very real and also very likeable. She's queer and I loved how a female/female relationship was woven effortlessly into the story. Early on I was worried the solution to the mystery was obvious, but thankfully it went in a different direction and things were not as predictable as I suspected. I actually felt the plot went in a really interesting direction and that helped distinguish it a lot from similar things. Tone-wise, it really is nothing like Sadie and has a more down-to-earth and less bleak vibe, so also be aware of that if you're interested in reading this.

Overall, I would definitely recommend checking out this book. It tells an intriguing story using characters with a lot of heart, with some nifty representation thrown in. The podcast element is a core part of the story and isn't an attempt to cash in on the trend, and I really liked the plot and writing style.

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These Vengeful Hearts by Katherine Laurin

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Inkyard Press/RB Media in exchange for an honest review.

What an absolute delight this book was! I was drawn in by that gorgeous cover and the intriguing premise, and this book definitely surpassed my expectations. These Vengeful Hearts is the story of Ember, a girl set on revenge against a mysterious society at her school known as The Red Court. This society takes requests from students and puts out 'hits' on people, taking down their reputations, relationships and more. Ember's older sister lost the ability to walk after being targeted by the group and so Ember is determined to join them and take them down from the inside.

Firstly I really have to compliment the writing style of this book. It goes for more of a contemporary than a YA thriller tone, and as a result it was incredibly enjoyably and well-paced. There was plenty of intrigue but where most YA thrillers fall flat in their execution, These Vengeful Hearts managed to excel by making it focused on characters and the relationships between those characters. I adored Ember and I found her very compelling. Even throughout her more morally-ambiguous actions, she remained both sympathetic and likeable. The side characters were similarly complex and I found them all vivid and distinct, which again doesn't always happen with YA fiction.

Secondly, this is a very well-crafted book in terms of pacing and plot. Rather than relying on cheap cliffhangers or nonsensical clues to keep you reading, instead it lulls you into a false sense of security with the contemporary tone. You get used to things being a certain way and then the Court will suddenly change or raise the stakes and you are caught off guard. I was lucky enough to get both the audiobook and the e-ARC and I ended up listening to the whole thing in the space of a few hours because I was so absorbed in the world. I would recommend the audiobook as a great way to consume this story and it makes for a very enjoyable experience.

Overall, I would strongly recommend this book for people who enjoy the plots of YA thrillers but are usually disappointed by the writing. As I have said, it isn't quite a thriller in tone but this was definitely more of a positive. I know I will remember the world and characters of this book much longer than I usually would with a book of this type, and I am very excited for a potential sequel.

Overall Rating:

.5

After the Silence by Louise O'Neill

 

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

After the Silence is a quiet book. It creeps into your mind and sits there, a seed which continues to grow long after you've finished reading it. Before this, I have only read two books by Louise O'Neill, both of which I adored but neither of which were rooted in reality. It was interesting to see her style in a more grounded setting and I was pleased to see that the writing still managed to be beautiful and thought-provoking.

This is the story of Keelin, a woman living in the shadow of a murder accusation launched against her wealthy husband. Ten years prior, a beautiful girl named Nessa was murdered at their house party whilst a terrible storm raged on. Her husband Henry was considered to be guilty by everyone but could not be charged. Now in the present day, two filmmakers have come to the island to make a documentary about the dead girl. Told in the past and present, we soon learn that Keelin has some secrets of her own.

If you're looking for a typical thriller, this is not the book for you. The mystery is not hard to solve but it's also not really what the book is about. This is more of an exploration of Keelin's life, how she ended up with not one but two abusive husbands and how her life came to be the way it is. It explores the various facets of abuse through different lenses and also paints a picture of Irish culture on a small island. It is a deeply absorbing story and one I know I'll remember for years to come.

I only had two flaws with this book which stopped it being perfect. Firstly, I found it very difficult to tell what time period I was currently reading about. This may have been changed in the final copy but my ARC had no dates, only subtitles for some chapters which meant it was always a few paragraphs before I could tell when it was meant to be. The other thing is more personal taste but I feel the book ended too soon. There isn't really a concrete ending and things are left very open, and it was the plotline with Alex I found particularly frustrating with the way it ended (or didn't).

Apart from those minor niggles, After the Silence was an immensely enjoyable read. It wasn't the thriller I was expecting but I definitely loved reading it and I thought it had a lot of interesting things to say. If you like O'Neill's other work, this is a fantastic new addition to that and it's well worth the try for anyone looking for an absorbing story.

Overall Rating:

.5

Who We Were by B.M. Carroll

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Serpent's Tail / Profile Books in exchange for an honest review.

Who We Were is the story of a group of people who all attended school together. Years later, a reunion is due but someone is sending everyone nasty emails spilling secrets from their personal lives. There was also an incident that happened at the school in the past which we learn more about as the book unfolds.

Initially I was overwhelmed by the number of characters, and it did feel like there were slightly too many POVs. However, the characters were pretty distinctly written so once you got used to who was who, it was easy to keep track of. The various plots were interesting enough, and it was fun to see how the storylines came together. I would say this is closer to Big Little Lies in tone rather than a traditional psychological thriller.

I am reviewing this a few weeks after I read it and sadly I can't remember anymore detail, but I know this was a well-written thriller and one I definitely enjoyed reading at the time. I found the style very compelling and easy to read, and I would certainly like to check out this author's other work.

Overall Rating:

.5

The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry

 

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

I am a huge fan of Christina Henry and I was extremely excited for this book, so when I say I am a little disappointed that does not mean this book is bad. This is her first book I've read not based on a fairytale/historical story and I was eager to see what she could do. Sadly this has got a completely different tone from her other work which threw me.

Ghost Tree is the story of Lauren, a fifteen year old girl who lives in a town called Smiths Hollow. Her dad was brutally killed the year before and ever since then, things have been going wrong. When two girls are found dead in a neighbour's yard, Lauren starts to uncover a dark mystery surrounding the town involving a monster and a whole lot of dead girls.

I will be brief with my criticism because I really wanted to adore this book. Firstly, it felt like it skewed a lot younger than her other works. I've seen it shelved as both YA and Adult, but the style reads on the young side of YA for me with the content being less suitable for younger readers. This left me feeling confused as to how to judge it. As an adult book it is way too repetitive, especially for its length. Nothing much happens for the majority of it and I found the writing a little simplistic to even say that character development was happening during that time. I would be far more forgiving of this if I knew for certain it was for younger readers, although then I have to question the more graphic content. The story itself is relatively formulaic, with nothing that happened surprising me at all.

If you're wondering why my rating is 4 stars after that quite large complaint, the main saving grace of this book is the end. The climax is fantastically paced and written, and this is where Henry really got to shine. I was genuinely very gripped and it was such a breath of fresh air after the rest of the book dragging a bit. I would 100% be interested in a sequel to this story because I feel like the characters really came into their own at the end and I think there is potential for an engaging plot to come after it. Even though I knew what would happen, it was so well-written that I didn't mind.

Overall, I am saddened that I wasn't blown away by The Ghost Tree. I have read all of Christina Henry's standalone books and this one just felt so different, both in tone and audience. Ultimately this was shelved as an adult fiction book specifically on NetGalley, and for that audience it definitely misses the mark.

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