The pandemic really did a number on us all, particularly children, and poor Casey is one more of many, but his story is quite unique. ThNightmare fuel
The pandemic really did a number on us all, particularly children, and poor Casey is one more of many, but his story is quite unique. The isolation, among other incidents, had our MC Casey suffering with anxiety and no longer feeling he had a connection with his peers, especially after the "zoom incident." One day, his parents have had a friend come over for a sleepover, except.. he doesn't know who this is. Things start getting more and more weird, and something just isn't right with his new pal.
First of all, sir, this is children's fiction. Why is my 36 year old self so frigging creeped out!
The eeriness and creeping dread with this fast read was uncanny! The frustration and confusion Casey felt as well as his feelings of isolation and trying to make connections even though his inner warning lights kept going off. Morel of the story was, always trust your gut.
This was an exquisite, fast, horrorful read for children and adults alike. Felt like a modern Goosebumps with extra creepiness sprinkled in.
I would love to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review this e-book ARC....more
"May be years later all these hours will blend together into one eternal day. Long days on a bus that goes nowhereMy heart ached for a stranger today.
"May be years later all these hours will blend together into one eternal day. Long days on a bus that goes nowhere and will never end."
Don't be fooled by the beautiful illustrations and imagery, between the beauty and nostalgic feel of this graphic novel lays the truth told through the letter of a heavily emotional neglected teen, that's how the title describes, being raised by ghosts, not dead ones, just the absence of care and thoughtfulness that should come from a parent to a child. It portrays what the authors life was like being raised not only in a split household but one where the parents were either caught up on their own heads, leaving Briana to fend for herself. It goes from middle to high school, her struggle through classes, finding friendship, and finding herself in between.
Read it in one sitting.
It was beautiful, nostalgic, tragic, and uplifting all in one.
Will absolutely be looking forward to reading and seeing more from this artist writing and art.
Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review this e-book ARC in exchange for an honest review....more
I'm blown away and completely in awe between the artist unique weaving between art, comics, and storytelling.
The original formatting of the illustratI'm blown away and completely in awe between the artist unique weaving between art, comics, and storytelling.
The original formatting of the illustration, the way the pages are framed, and the attention to detail in every panel, its so amazingly full of life, you'll get lost in the pages looking at all the small details. So, so beautifully illustrated.
We get unique modern-day retelling of Prometheus blended between the original story, current world affairs, and social issues.
This was volume one and a hell of an introduction to this artist for me. I cannot wait to continue this story and read more from them.
I would like to thank NetGalley for allowing me to read this e-book ARC and for introducing me to a new amazing artist....more
After reading Edenville, not even a week ago, I was left with a lingering need, desire, or one might even say gravitational puThis is my Roman Empire.
After reading Edenville, not even a week ago, I was left with a lingering need, desire, or one might even say gravitational pull to be back on Rendfield County. Thankfully, I knew I had the ARC for The Poorly Made and Other Things, and I could start it at any time. I tried to read something else in between, but I couldn't let go of the want to be back into this storyline.
I NEEDED to read more into it.
This is a story, within a story, with lore, background, and a haunting past of the county of Rendfield and its surrounding areas. There is so much to unpack in these 288 pages, which honestly seems like so little, but there is a lot to be told.
We have 10 very unique, unhinged, and uncanny stories, with email accounts in between that tell the lore of Rendfield County. I gobbled them all up.
Be careful while reading , this book is not to be skimmed because the stories are intertwined, and this book is also not for people who like linear stories. If you like your books to be linear, point A to point B, this might be a little hard for you to try to keep up with.
The story telling, the lore, the different approaches of horror, the endless possibilities to come (which I'm praying there is more to come) makes this one of the best books I've read to date. I already want to re-read them both! I could yap about it all day! (And if you have read the ARC, please feel free to message me, I need more people to discuss this with)
If you enjoy Black Mirror, Junji Ito, American Horror Story, then this book is for you.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Sam Rebelein, and William Morrow for allowing me to read and review this e-book ARC Masterpiece.
Imagine the world is falling apart around you, it's just your Mom, your 5yo sister, and you, a 13yo boy in theHorror that pulls on your heartstrings.
Imagine the world is falling apart around you, it's just your Mom, your 5yo sister, and you, a 13yo boy in the country side of Norway. Beasts have appeared and are just terrorizing and killing without discrimination. Although you don't have many things, but you have each other.
That changes fast when out of nowhere else a beast attacks.
Now is just you in charge of the survival not only of yourself, but of your too little to deal with all of these trauma baby sister. It's just ya'll against the beasts, the world, and sometimes even the beasts might be the better chance to take.
It was a fast read, a thrilling, heartbreaking horror. The monsters were not the only monster in the woods. Just wanted to reach in and hold Abdi and Alva and tell them everything is going to be ok.
It's labeled YA or children horror, this would be more towards the 13+ as some younger kids might be a little too young for this one.
I truly enjoyed this read, and I want to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this e-book ARC.
In a “Snowglobe” of a garden, secluded and well hidden lay fruitful lands, cautiously cultivated and curated by elderly but not frail sisters, Evelyn In a “Snowglobe” of a garden, secluded and well hidden lay fruitful lands, cautiously cultivated and curated by elderly but not frail sisters, Evelyn and Lily. As far as they know, they are what remains of humanity. With unknown time passing by, with only each other as company and no means nor will to know what is beyond their garden walls, the two pass their time busy tending to their chores and their beloved garden, careful to stick to and abide by Momma’s rules. One day, things don't seem to be as they were last left, and now it seems that they are not just a pair of sisters, but an unknown guest has arrived. With that, a crack to their small world, and possibly their relationship.
Things I loved about this story
-The slow world building -The relationship with the sisters -The way that we go back and forth to now and then -The mystery of what happened, the mystery of what's currently happening
Just so much intrigue, thrill, and a great story that I couldn't put down.
I want to thank NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam and Nick Newman for the opportunity to read this e-book ARC. ...more
I'm blown away by this one, in more ways than one. This was beautifully written, vividly described, enthralling, sad, and disgusting, all in one. Wow
I'm blown away by this one, in more ways than one. This was beautifully written, vividly described, enthralling, sad, and disgusting, all in one. Gives me the vibes of the Elden Ring videogame, specifically the dancing ladies on the Altus Plateu, also the creepiness and sanguine background like Bloodbourne.
It's a post-apocalyptic,dystopian cult-like, vivid, disgusting, and so immersing. It makes you feel anger and anguish for the MC and the sisters surrounding her as well as disdain. There are too many complex emotions. There's not much I can say without spoiling. But I wish to have a prequel to this novella.
It was otherworldly while also fully rooted in today's day and age ongoing world crises. All of this in under 200 pages.
It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it sure was mine...more
And like a giant puzzle inside a maze, every piece fits in perfectly, you just have to be careful to find the clues.
It'sA mystery within a mystery...
And like a giant puzzle inside a maze, every piece fits in perfectly, you just have to be careful to find the clues.
It's labeled under the horror category, but I did not find it fitting in that genre, where there is some unsettling feelings within the book, it's not enough to call it horror.
But what it is, its a amazingly narrated mystery/thriller told in multiple POV and through drawings and images, all very cleverly integrated within the story. With given clues, pictures, guesses from characters and what feels like you're living in the game Whodunnit. Twists and turns, stories within stories all very delicately woven together into this compact but full punch mystery tyat leans heavily into the psychological thriller side.
If you enjoy a good page turner, the game Ace Attorney and an intricate generational Scooby-Doo dark mystery then this here is for you.
I want to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this e-book ARC.
OH BOY! I hope yall ready for a Wₑᵢᵣd gᵢᵣₗ story because this one is one for the books!
"Sometimes the best thing about R̶e̶t̶u̶r̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶r̶t̶
OH BOY! I hope yall ready for a Wₑᵢᵣd gᵢᵣₗ story because this one is one for the books!
"Sometimes the best thing about someone is who they aren't " And oof... I really felt that.
We follow our girlie Elise, who is in her ✨️broke girl era✨️ and her boyfriend Tom, who are looking for a quick buck, and end up going to a beet farm to be a helping hand. This is where things take a wild turn, people go missing, beets everywhere, random weird calls and text from people, baby girl has a eating disorder, there's a weird rash, and lots and lots of self monologuing as well as hilarious commentary from her and others. It's heavier on the LitFic with subtle horror, but it's still so good! Unhinged, manic, depressive and spiraling out of control good!
I really enjoyed this book, and I do recommend it to you, just beware of some of the topics discussed might be a trigger, there's talks of heavy anxiety, body dismorphia, eating disorders, SA, abuse and self harm.
I will definitely be adding a physical copy to my shelves and look forward to reading more from this author!
I want to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this manic ebook!...more
Bodymore 0, a prequel to Bodymore Bleed More series, is my first read of this series and author, and definitely not my last. We are introduced to our Bodymore 0, a prequel to Bodymore Bleed More series, is my first read of this series and author, and definitely not my last. We are introduced to our MC Ralph Raegan and KC, an unlikely match of chosen family through tragic ends and new wild beginnings in a city that hungers for violence.
We follow the band brothers in a literal and figurative sense, and their coming-to-be in an action packed, tragic upbringing in the streets of Baltimore, where they are haunted by the anger, violence and string of bad decisions made for them and by them. Start off strong by the violent death of KC after their band, Bad Ass Idiot Train, play what might be their last gig, only to be changed later on by his even more violent return, and it kicks off what might be a cascade of supernatural incidents around them, who can they trust?
It was filled with action, tragic ends and beginnings, schizophrenic streets literally talking to you, birds, oh so many birds and supernatural strings pulling behind the scenes.
Overall it was a thrill of a ride, can’t mention much without spoiling some of the book, but it was such a good read that plays like a comic book in your head.
I was left of lots of questions after finishing the book, which I’m sure some can be answered in the books after.
I want to thank NetGalley for allowing me to read this ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review. ...more
American Rapture. A raw look into hyper religion and fanaticism, the oversexualization of young girls and women, the overwhelming burden given to us bAmerican Rapture. A raw look into hyper religion and fanaticism, the oversexualization of young girls and women, the overwhelming burden given to us by our parents, religion and society as girls and how sometimes found families are better than the ones we were born into.
A mix of the walking dead with horny zombie-like infected, a coming of age of an extremely sheltered young girl trying her damndest to survive what it feels like the apocalypse and find her family. An extremely well written and narrated novel about found family, unlikely friendships, lots and lots of emotions, the ugly and terrible truth of extreme religion ideologies and the worst, most terrifying thing of all, humans at their darkest.
I just finished the audiobook ARC not even an hour ago and am still trying to find all the words to relay my feelings into a coherent review. But with all of it what's better than the raw truth?
Plain and simple: this book is a must read for this fall, hell for this year even this lifetime.
The long answer: A true rollercoaster of emotions, from beginning to end, all the way to the acknowledgments. It resonated close to my heart, with me being raised in a traditional Catholic Mexican household where your biggest sin was existing as a woman within a man’s world. Can’t look too easy, can’t wear skirts, shorts or even anything remotely showing any kind of cleavage because you're not respecting yourself as a woman, you’re opening yourself to passes, comments and male gaze, you’re inviting them to say and do with you because you’re easy.
This was one of my favorite reads of this year and I hope ya’ll get to enjoy this book once it's out.
I want to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to hear the Audiobook ARC. Happy reading yall!
Book pub date is 10/15/24 and if you can get the audiobook version, the way Moniqua Plante narrates is seriously the best Audiobook I’ve ever heard....more
I am my brothers keeper... and Calla took that to heart.
Firstly, I want to start by saying, wow, the way this was You better listen to your sister...
I am my brothers keeper... and Calla took that to heart.
Firstly, I want to start by saying, wow, the way this was written was poetic, flowy, and engrossing. It wrapped you up and swallowed you whole.
The frustration felt by Calla towards her siblings, the ever-present social issues, the realism of the relationships, and the way it was all enveloped into this audiobook *mwah* chef'skiss And add one of the best casts I've heard for an audiobook at that. It was amazing. It was a nightmare we had to experience from a not so farfetched realities of many, without the added supernatural, of course.
It was truly poetic and heavily cinematic. The world building that Ms. Viel was an architect for had me walking along the siblings, wanting to reach in and smack Jamie in the back of the head more than a handful of times.
The way that Calla, has to put her self last and dice herself up to pieces to fill everyone's glass while hers remained empty and keep on stretching and stretching to make sure everyone is taken care of, and if that's not nightmarish enough, add the nightmare that keeps her stressed with horrific visions of what's to happen to her siblings. I could go on and on and spoil this, but you must read, but if I may recommend, listen to this book. Where I know it might not be for everyone, I found it extremely well written and narrated.
I want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen and give an honest review....more