Oh sweet Jesus, it’s June next week. Once again, I am scrambling, trying to hack away at my pile of ARCs. All of which I willingly requested, or accepted, completely overestimating my capabilities. And today, I got rejected for an ARC I was very excited about, and I’m assuming it’s because I have a backlog … Continue reading My Month in Reading, May 2023
Review: The Salt Grows Heavy, by Cassandra Khaw (Tor Nightfire)
I consider Cassandra Khaw to be the most intelligent horror writer working today. The way she crafts her stories with precision is a gift, and her latest work, The Salt Grows Heavy, is an absolute gem. Our mermaid narrator, and her Plague Doctor companion encounter a strange village, where young people are butchered in the … Continue reading Review: The Salt Grows Heavy, by Cassandra Khaw (Tor Nightfire)
My Week in Reading – May 1st, 2023
Well, hello! Things are pretty mad over at Thompson Towers. I'm entering the last six months of my thirties, which is frankly unbelievable. My career has quite suddenly accelerated, which is very exciting, but a little scary. Anyhoo, there's always time for reading! Only a mere 99 years after publication, I finally read The Home-Maker … Continue reading My Week in Reading – May 1st, 2023
Review: The Haunting of Alejandra, by V. Castro (Del Rey)
I read this last year, and it's finally being released today! The prolific V. Castro is back with a story of generational trauma, misogyny, and La Llorona. Alejandra is a mother of three, in a loveless marriage, she yearns for a better life, but feels trapped by her lack of financial independence, and the societal … Continue reading Review: The Haunting of Alejandra, by V. Castro (Del Rey)
My Week in Reading – April 17th, 2023
Not sure if you saw the whole back and forth last week, but Scholastic booted themselves in the ass by first asking Maggie Tokuda-Hall if they could license her gorgeous book, Love in the Library, but only if she removed the references to racism in the author's note. Anyway, I read the book this week, … Continue reading My Week in Reading – April 17th, 2023
Review: Unquiet, by E. Saxey (Titan Books)
This book isn't out until July, but it's so freaking good I just want to get the hype started! Well, what a wonderful surprise this novel was. Unquiet is the gorgeous, mysterious debut novel from E. Saxey, and is a gothic delight. Judith is rattling around in her family’s huge house in late nineteenth-century London. … Continue reading Review: Unquiet, by E. Saxey (Titan Books)
Review: Mothered, by Zoje Stage (Thomas and Mercer)
Zoje Stage is a vital part of the fiction community. Her books contain seemingly domestic mysteries, but contain just enough delicious weirdness to fit comfortably into the horror category. Mothered, Stage’s pandemic novel, is her most disorientating yet, and captures the uncertainty and strangeness of the period that many would rather forget. Hairstylist Grace finds … Continue reading Review: Mothered, by Zoje Stage (Thomas and Mercer)
Review: No One Will Come Back for Us, by Premee Mohamed (Undertow Publications)
Premee Mohamed is one of those writers I had often heard about, but I foolishly never made the time to explore her work. However, after reading her contribution to the upcoming dark Peter Pan anthology (The Other Side of Never, Titan Books), I could no longer ignore this force. No One Will Come Back for … Continue reading Review: No One Will Come Back for Us, by Premee Mohamed (Undertow Publications)
My Week in Books – April 7th, 2023
I WENT ON VACATION!! An actual vacation, with no commitment or plans at all. It was great. Zion National Park, since you asked. Cable Mountain Lodge, if you need a recommendation. I whacked through a few books, all of which were great. Click for my reviews. The Salt Grows Heavy, by Cassandra Khaw A House … Continue reading My Week in Books – April 7th, 2023
Review: A House with Good Bones, by T. Kingfisher (Tor Nightfire/Macmillan Audio)
In A House with Good Bones, Sam goes to stay with her mother, Edith, who is displaying dementia-like symptoms. Edith has redecorated her previously vibrant house with bland colors and questionable, racist photos. She also seems to be willfully rewriting her bleak family history, especially regarding her deceased mother and feared matriarch, Gran Mae. And … Continue reading Review: A House with Good Bones, by T. Kingfisher (Tor Nightfire/Macmillan Audio)
California Reading 