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)
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)
Review: Sister, Maiden, Monster, by Lucy A. Snyder (Tor Nightfire)
No matter how awful your experience of COVID-19 was, in Sister, Maiden, Monster, Lucy A. Snyder goes all out to speculate how it could have been so, so much worse. Sister, Maiden, Monster follows the progress of a deadly pandemic, from the perspective of three different women. Erin, recently engaged to Gregory, is quarantined due … Continue reading Review: Sister, Maiden, Monster, by Lucy A. Snyder (Tor Nightfire)
Review: The Spite House, by Johnny Compton (Tor Nightfire)
There are so many delicious things in the plot synopsis for The Spite House, that I found it completely impossible to resist. A man fleeing his life under mysterious circumstances with his two daughters in tow - check! A job offer to stay in an old house with “pronounced paranormal activity” - big check! An … Continue reading Review: The Spite House, by Johnny Compton (Tor Nightfire)
My Favorite Books of 2022
My reading year has been a bit of a strange one. Around September I started to get a bit of reader burnout, and I felt like finishing a book became more important to me than actually enjoying the experience of reading. I don’t actually remember reading some of the books on my Goodreads, but apparently … Continue reading My Favorite Books of 2022
Books to Read in October 2022
Hello from the Hollow! For the last two days I've woken up to a layer of mist, and the halloween decorations in the neighborhood are starting to scare my daughter. I bloody love October! So many amazing books to get your claws into, so I'll stop rambling, shall I? Click the book titles to go … Continue reading Books to Read in October 2022
Books to Read in September 2022
Oooooh, it's almost spooky season! Here in Sleepy Hollow, it's a little difficult to embrace the spirits at temperatures pushing 100 degrees. Luckily, there are so many fantastic new horror books flying around! All these books have been generously provided by the publishers via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Short Story … Continue reading Books to Read in September 2022
Review: Dark Stars, edited by John F. D. Taff (Tor Nightfire)
You know me, I love a spooky anthology. And Tor Nightfire are dominating the horror game with their consistently awesome releases. So Dark Stars ticked so many of my boxes, and is chock-full of superb stories from the best modern horror writers. The stories in this collection are incredibly varied, but all succeed in reaching … Continue reading Review: Dark Stars, edited by John F. D. Taff (Tor Nightfire)
Alternative Mothers’ Day Books
It is Mothers' Day this coming weekend in the US. And as some marketing emails would suggest, I’m sure there are mothers that do like books with blue covers, with a photo of the back of a woman, staring out to sea. I am not one of those mothers. I have become a different reader … Continue reading Alternative Mothers’ Day Books
Reviews Round-Up
I've been playing catch-up with my ever growing NetGalley and Edelweiss queues, and forgot to post some reviews on here. If you're interested, here are my latest, all glowing! Dead Silence, by S.A. Barnes - "Dead Silence delivers on every page." Echo, by Thomas Olde Heuvelt - "Heuvelt terrifies the reader right from the start, … Continue reading Reviews Round-Up
California Reading 