this is my favorite read by this author yet! I truly had a really good time with this. the basic premise (depicted with this 11/10 book cover) is thatthis is my favorite read by this author yet! I truly had a really good time with this. the basic premise (depicted with this 11/10 book cover) is that our mc is fleeing from domestic abuse, and makes a deal with a demon for seven years of consensual service, in a different realm, where she will be auctioned off to a partner who is looking for a human partner. and she is quickly secured by a dragon lord who is in need of a human life to make his land, maybe on the brink of war, more secure. and i highkey loved the setting of our love interest’s land/kingdom? like, give me a full story set here, i am begging! but what i also really loved about this was just the themes of reclaiming all the things - sex, boundaries, trust, your safety, your pleasure, and yourself in general. it was really beautiful, and i promise this is the highest of three stars, and i really recommend!
content warnings from the author (may have spoilers for your reading experience, so please use caution/only read if you need tw/cws): domestic abuse (historical, off-page, but the heroine is dealing with the aftermath of getting out of that relationship), murder (off-page), human/non-human sex, size difference, explicit sex, breeding, pregnancy (epilogue)
additional trigger + content warnings i found while reading: anxiety, panic attack symptoms, mention of blood, mention of loss of parents in past, talk/fear or war, nightmares, self harm to get blood for a spell
i just watched this movie a couple weeks ago while i was in michigan, and it was just everything. I was so c
“My best friend did. My one and only.”
i just watched this movie a couple weeks ago while i was in michigan, and it was just everything. I was so curious to get to know yuta after being caught up with s1 and s2 of the animation, but i did not expect, not in my wildest dreams, to get so much gojo and geto backstory. but yeah, i am back in vegas now and i really wanted to pick up the manga, and here i am crying over gojo, geto, yuta, and even maki all over again! (this is a long preamble to say, i might be a little biased from just watching this adaptation, but i promise, this volume zero is so good!)
this prequel introduces us to yuta okkotsu who is a special grade jujutsu sorcerer, who is attached to a special grade cursed spirit and… i can’t say anything else without rebreaking my heart, but that is his very basic set up. But gojo comes and gets him, and brings him back to jujutsu high, where he trains alongside maki, toge, and panda (and forms special bonds with them all).
and one lost id card and one promised battle at kyoto on christmas eve later…
this volume is just… really sad. It’s also really beautiful, and so very touching, but oh my gosh it is heartbreaking on two counts. yet, a good reminder that you are worthy of living life, and sometimes people are lucky enough to have some really good people around them that will help remind them of that. (and i am reminding you of that right now, too.)
lastly, 1.) give maki the world and 2.) (even though it’s not in a manga) what the hell did he whisper…
“I have hungered for you in ways you cannot comprehend. I've craved you. More than my sin. You haunt me.”
you all know i keep reading these books because they are truly so much fun, but they are just never perfect reads for me. and also let me remind you that i have praised each book in this world for the amazing twists and turns! so imagine my surprise when i thought this was going to be a five star, because i loved these characters and circle of hell so much, only to be delivered the most nonsensical twist ever. and maybe that’s my bad, for hyping and awaiting what i was really sure would be a mind blowing reveal… only for foolishness.
so in this new spinoff series, we follow a new prince and get to see his hell domain (my jjk biased fingers wanting to type expansion) - and this one follows gluttony, who i truly ended up falling in love with. this story is also a loose cinderella reimagining, where our other mc, adriana, is just trying to make life more bearable for her and her stepsister, while working as a journalist, reporting things that others might not want her reporting. you know, like how ice dragons are attacking and our prince is trying to keep it undercover while he figures out what is going on. So gluttony (aka: gabrielle), assigns adriana to report on his own fantasy love island competition to find a suitor to help him rule his circle of hell. yet, both of them can’t seem to exactly remember things that took place in the past, and you as the reader are trying to piece things together alongside them.
i adored both characters, and their banter was truly 11/10. i loved the setting, and i am always going to eat up a dating competition side story. i actually enjoyed the sex scenes in this, and for the most part didn’t find anything too cringe like i did with book two! and this even has a very adorable baby dragon! truly, the only other negative thing i can say, aside from the twist in this being outlandish, is that you can just tell that this author is a fan of bridgerton, and at times i felt like i was reading from a blue haired lady whistledown. but truly, i had a really good time with this and i am excited for what (and who) comes next!
trigger + content warnings: debt, talk of money problems, abusive home, loss of father in past, grief, battle, blood, drawing blood to do a blood oath, violence, unwanted sexual advances, drinking, magical memory violations
i feel like before i start this review about kerri maniscalco’s adult debut, i have to kind of talk about the original ya series that this is a spin oi feel like before i start this review about kerri maniscalco’s adult debut, i have to kind of talk about the original ya series that this is a spin off/continuation of. Ii know i gave that entire trilogy three stars, but they really were high threes and i think back on that series so fondly. the atmosphere, the main heroine, the yearning and angst - all five stars. and for three years, it was truly so much fun to buddy read these each halloween season.
so i went into this book expecting to enjoy those same aspects that i know this author is amazing at creating! i will say the atmosphere, and the setting of this alternative magical london, was amazing, we barely got to spend any time in it before we went right to heck (literally). and then, the yearning and angst was just replaced with really cringe and over the top sexual dialogue. and you all know that i love steam in books, but this felt like it was done just to “prove” it was an adult book, but it truly was so bad in my opinion. and finally, i just could not care about envy or camilla the way i did for emilia (and i guess wrath too, but emilia supremacy for sure).
but even with those negative aspects that i was really banking on being not negatives, i still had fun reading this book. the writing is so consumable, and the plot really always feels good and like it is at a good pace, which makes the reader never want to put the book down. i also really loved all the tie-ins with that first trilogy that i should probably go back and rate higher since i am writing this review and reminiscing about it so fondly.
lord, three paragraphs written and not a single sentence about what this book is about lol. okay, so basically this is a series about the demon princes of hell, each based on a different seven deadly sin, and what is going on with their specific courts, while also getting a romance. this specific story is about envy, and a very secret game that he is playing, where he is tasked to get a painting done by an artist in london, who is being blackmailed and also going through feeling a lot of grief because her father has passed and her mother has run away.
also, i just loved learning more about the princes of hell. and i also really, really, really loved seeing fae (and vampires and other paranormal creatures) truly enter this story as main players! And one thing that i truly will give kerri maniscalo, is that she can write good twists. I think she has bamboozled me in every story i’ve read by her, and i feel like that is a somewhat hard feat, especially in paranormal romance. and then this book? she was able to pull the rug from under my feet like three times. like, i will give credit where credit is due, and she really deserves credit for making a really fun reading experience for me because of her twists and turns.
but i have to say that i was screaming, going on goodreads and seeing book two is going to be gluttony’s book, because i truly was 110% expecting it to be pride’s with the work that was put in for him at the end of this book! But the tl;dr is that i will be reading it for this halloween season, and i hope it has more of the elements that i love and less of the ones that i do not love so much.
trigger + content warnings: debt, blackmail, loss of parents in past, talk of parent with illness, uncomfortable unwanted sexual advances, talk of infertility, abandonment, grief, abuse, blood, drinking, threat of sa, kidnapping, brief mention of self harm to get blood for a vampire, violence, gore, torture, battle, throwing up, and maybe a cannibalism mention
this summer, i watched all of season 1 with my brot➛ vol. 1 ★★★★ ➛ vol. 2 ★★★ ➛ vol. 3 ★★★ ➛ vol. 4 ★★★
“Promise me.. That you won’t leave me behind.”
this summer, i watched all of season 1 with my brother in michigan, and i knew once i picked up a new volume it was about to hit differently. and… here we are. this volume really focuses on the characters, and getting to know them better, while they all kind of fight each other duel style, but i just adored it.
obviously, i love our main characters from the previous volumes, but i fell so in love with todo (and i know all the kpop girls would, too), momo was always going to make me feel a bit seen, and i can’t even talk about mai and maki without weeping while typing this. i just love them all so much! and this goodwill event really will make you fall in love with them too!
i really am loving every itadori and sukuna interaction/moment. honestly, sukuna was my favorite character in thi➛ vol. 1 ★★★★ ➛ vol. 2 ★★★ ➛ vol. 3 ★★★
i really am loving every itadori and sukuna interaction/moment. honestly, sukuna was my favorite character in this fourth installment, and im not sure what that says about me, but here we are. my heart @ junpei, fully and utterly. mahito, after my fave scene with sukuna, thinks up a new mission to steal some remaining cursed fingers of sukuna. but besides that, we get to see the start of the good year event, which is a team battle of different schools, where the most exorcisms win. but obviously, itadori is a target all on his own. so, so, so excited to continue on, probably extra because of the cliffhanger ending feeling of this, too!
this 3rd volume picks right up with fushiguro and nanami vs the kids from th➛ vol. 1 ★★★★ ➛ vol. 2 ★★★
“it’s not a bad thing to not forgive people.”
this 3rd volume picks right up with fushiguro and nanami vs the kids from the other school. i didn’t really care too much about this story line, but i am going to pretend that fushiguro is a pan king, thank you very much. there was a new storyline (and character) introduced in this installment, which i really enjoyed and i am so excited to continue on because of it. basically, we learn a lot more about cursed energy and how it can create cursed spirits in this world. we meet mahito, who is pretty much leaked horrors incarnate, and they are mentoring junpels, who is a boy who is kind of bitter towards the world because of the bullying he has received, and mahito has shown him how to reclaim some power, but maybe not in the best way. itadori is then tasked with finding him, and gets to know him (and his mom) a little bit. meanwhile, jujutsu sorcerer, nanami, goes after mahito. nanami really said that he is clocking out regardless and i deeply respect that - and i find myself falling in love with many of these characters, so very easily.
trigger + content warnings: violence, battle, gore, body horror, gun violence, death, smoking, mention of loss of parents in past, bullying, and (i feel like) some fatphobia with the art
in this second installment, we really get to learn more about jujutsu high and a lot of the ➛ vol. 1 ★★★★
“I’m not a hero. I’m a jujutsu sorcerer.”
in this second installment, we really get to learn more about jujutsu high and a lot of the students. but we also get to see itadori learning to train and channel his cursed energy with gojo (who, yes - you are all correct, i love him dearly already)! itadori is in a very hard situation with the demon inside of him and we get to learn a little more about that expanding relationship alongside… domain expansion - which is really cool! This volume also is prepping for a goodwill event (aka: tournament) with their sister school, and i am very excited for what is to come! overall, i just love this world and these characters and need more immediately!
trigger + content warnings: possession, battle, violence, gore, loss of a friend momentarily, and… i don’t know, this is a story about a guy eating a demon finger but i don’t even know what kind of tw/cw that would be - maybe cannibalism in the past, but also mentioned in the present a lot >.<
“I came here to excise my greatest weakness, and instead, I now offer up my heart to it.”
i just really adore this series, and this world, and i hope that carrissa broadbent chooses to forever write stories within it. i am a little sad that this duology technically is the end of oraya and raihn’s journey, but i am very excited for what is to come (especially knowing who the next tale will be about)!
this is a story about three vampire houses, all fighting to rule, and all proving how cutthroat they will be to remain in power. both of our main characters are viewed as lesser in this vampire ruled world, but for very different reasons that could be a bit spoilery, but what i will say is that they both have a soft spot for humans. book one was all about a tournament where the winner (and sole survivor) would be granted a wish from their goddess, and this book is about the ramifications of that wish being granted.
this is a fantasy romance, but i actually think the romance in this is one of the best of the genre. seeing these two people come together and heal from their pasts together is really beautiful. their relationship is so complicated and layered and it was really a joy reading and rooting for them, against all odds (and all the situations the world really forced them in).
yet, my favorite relationship in this book was between oraya and her father, vincent. the amount of tears this book was able to evoke from me was wild. it was so reminiscent of madoc and jude, yet in just a much more healthy and heartfelt way. relationships are hard, and humans are able to experience such a wide range of emotions simultaneously, and this book really showcases that both with vincent and with raihn (obviously very differently)! but truly, the tabs i have in this book just because of this father and daughter relationship is actually mind blowing, but watching oraya unpack her feelings and heal her heart and come into her own peace was so deserving of every tab. it was really beautiful, and really an honor to read and think about, and i really appreciated the discussions happening in this very multi-layered story.
content warnings mentioned in author’s note at beginning of this book: graphic violence, violence against children, discussion of sexual assault and rape, and slavery
additional trigger + content warnings i wrote down while reading: loss of parent in past, loss of loved one in past, grief, ptsd, suicidal ideation (and comments and thoughts about it), war, death, murder, captivity, blood, gore, self harm to get blood (for magic and for other things), vomit, drugging, and i just really want to emphasize how much this book talked about sa in the past – please use caution and make sure you are in a good headspace.
“You may feel lost. Don’t expect gratitude. Just help them.”
this is one of my brother’s favorite ongoing series, and with the way social media has
“You may feel lost. Don’t expect gratitude. Just help them.”
this is one of my brother’s favorite ongoing series, and with the way social media has been reacting to the current chapter, i knew i could no longer ignore this story! and i really had a good time with this first volume, and i really, really, really instantly fell in love with Itadori Yuji.
this is a story about cursed objects, demons, a mysterious school in tokyo, and one boy just wanting to help as many people as he can. i truly really enjoyed this one and i really loved how curses in this world are manifestations of people’s hurt and pain and sadness (because sometimes that really feels true in our world too). this did get a little spooky at times, so use caution if you need to, but i absolutely cannot wait to read more - especially with that cliffhanger ending!
trigger + content warnings: sickness, brief hospital setting, talk of death, death, loss of a loved one (grandfather), grief, violence, gore, fighting, possession, brief cannibalism, harm to an animal - maybe death to an animal (divine dog), insect imagery (spiders + ticks)
“My blood. My books. My knowledge. Anything. It is yours.”
i might be stretching a bit, but this felt like a lilith origin story mixed with beauty and the beast reimagining... and i loved it. and because of consuming way too many lilith stories, i am so excited to see how these characters are incorporated into the rest of this series. and i really loved lilith in this story, and how she was older, and neurodivergent, and a scientist, and how big her heart was.
this story is all about her trying to find a cure for a sickness that has taken her town, and soon her sister, because her father spited a god. But on the outskirts of town lives a vampire all by himself, and maybe his blood could help lilith find a cure before it is too late. and they make a deal that will cost her six perfect roses in return for vials of his blood each transaction.
i really loved this, i loved both characters, the empathy, the healing, the discoveries of medicine and gods and each other. This is truly so very close to a five star for me. and the way the author was really able to give a fully fleshed out tale, with so much heart and empathy, that is completely different in every way to the introduction of this world in the first book, in under 200 pages, it is just so impressive. i highly recommend this one.
trigger + content warnings: loss of a parent, death in child birth mention, plague, death, blood, drawing blood, needles, animal testing mentions, robbing involving physical assault, threat of sexual assault, grief, sibling illness, gore, violence, battle / fighting, mention of war, panic attacks
“One day love became not an offering of safety, but a reminder of everything cruel and dangerous in the world.”
human girl adopted and raised by a
“One day love became not an offering of safety, but a reminder of everything cruel and dangerous in the world.”
human girl adopted and raised by a king of vampires, enters a cutthroat magical tournament which honors the goddess of vampires, who will grant the winner any one wish of their asking, also with a romance brewing in the backdrop which is making each new trail more and more difficult and confusing. oh friends, i ate this up with a spoon and i am here typing this mini review and begging my postman to deliver the novella and second book of this series immediately!
for the twilight girls, the hunger games girls, the girls who love enemies to lovers with a different hidden enemies to lovers within. the girls who love complicated father daughter relationships (the “never you” truly broke me into a million pieces) !! i really had a good time with this one, and carissa broadbent really knows how to write an endearing main character that you can’t help but put your entire heart into rooting for. the hype is totally warranted for this fantasy romance, in my opinion.
trigger + content warnings: loss of family/loss of loved ones throughout this book, blood, parental abuse, murder, gore, self harm to get blood, nightmares, ptsd, grief, self harm mention in past, vomit, violence, anxiety, war, torture, battle, sexual assault in past, insinuation of rape in past, forced starvation (vampires with blood), animal death, slavery, captivity, fire, ableist terms for disabilities
this was a reading experience, friends! after my content and trigger warnings, i will do a spoiler section of my thoughts because at this point in the sjm universe / maasverse, and this being the third book in the crescent city series, it is difficult to talk about anything without it being a potential spoiler!
i had a good time reading this. I really loved lidia and ruhn’s storylines and they really made the entire book for me. I am also still so very in love with hypaxia, and the things i would do to get her pov. speaking of, I felt a little bored at some povs in hofas - mostly ithian and tharion (i am so sorry to these men, i love them and feel so much empathy for them, but it is true). and bryce’s pov made me feel a range of emotions, that’s for sure, but most of the time it wasn’t the best emotions. ultimately, i think there were too many povs in this book and sometimes the switching between them felt very jarring and unbalanced. i also feel like there was just so much going on, which valid, but instead of it being information that we started to learn in the first two books, it felt like sjm was kind of just throwing out every plot she could think up. and i think this all made the pacing of this book a bit weird feeling. but i did love that baldur’s gate unexpected cursed dot storyline a lot.
like all sjm books, this could have been edited down a little bit (or a lot a bit). But i think what all sjm’s books do exceptionally well is discussion of trauma and grief and learning to live coinciding with those two very heavy things and also trying to heal from them, and how those healing paths can look very different for everyone. I feel like we can really see that in her crescent city series and it is always something that i will appreciate her putting out into the world.
overall, i had a lot of fun reading this and making connections between all the things. if you follow my reviews, you will know how much i love theorycrafting and connecting different universes together, and this book truly took this experience to a different level. each easter egg truly felt like a long awaited gift i was finally able to open. and once i finished this last page, well… and all the bonus chapters, the anticipation i felt for whatever sjm does next was very surprising and a little unmatched. plus reading a new sjm book when it drops, with what feels like half of the online book community, feels special each and every new release.
trigger + content warnings: death, grief, blood, captivity, slavery, extreme torture, a lot of violence, gun violence, maybe cannibalism / maybe just a lot of gore, battle, war, loss of a loved one in past (and a lot of talk about it), loss of sibling in past, defecation and urine mentions, self harm to get blood, sexual abuse, threat of rape, talk of forced breeding, talk of medical experimentation, talk of domestic abuse, talk of parental abuse, colonization, needles, bombings, a lot of talk and mentions of hurt children, vomit, a lot of talk of parasites, drugging / poisoning, self sacrifice / a lot of attempts at self sacrificing
this next section of this review will be filled with spoilers! please use caution! and please make sure you’ve read the entire throne of glass series and the entire a court of thorns and roses series!
us finally getting the throne of glass crossover moment we have all been waiting for? I was truly screaming. lidia cervos, the woman you are. the stag throne, the hidden flame powers, the ruby ring, the blatant descendant name drop of whitethorn galathynius. i am still losing my mind while i type this. obviously bryce and ruhn being somehow related to rhysand is pretty cool. and i truly believe Ithan is a descendant of dorian because of the ice powers (and by the end of tog dorian was a shifter). but lidia being related to aelin? i am just speechless.
lidia was the best character in this book for me, too. And she had the most heartfelt and empowering story going on throughout as well. and the naming of her one son brannon? truly, her and ruhn really were the stars of this third book and their povs were hands down my favorite. (that target bonus chapter? so good)
okay more throne of glass crossover screaming - the under king! full credit to emmahalbrook on tiktok! but my jaw is still on the floor. i am just so excited to read reviews and find more crossovers that i missed, and to see all the crossover content that is still to come!
my mind is still trying to process everything with theia and aidas (and helena and silene). i know rhysand is a descendant of theia and amren told him she was a prisoner of theia. But this book kind of makes it appear like amren was a captured “pet monster” of silene. i need to do more research but amren connecting all the gods and theia is really cool and something i think the fandom has been wanting more confirmation of for a really long time.
okay back to crescent city, hypaxia was amazing, as always! i just love my sapphic necromancer queen. i know i made the baldur's gate joke above, but wizards of the coast are quaking at her finding the antidote to defeat the parasites and still finding ways to make it more easily accessible and forever lasting. she is actually the real mvp of this book.
ruhn, hunt, and baxian going through some dark stuff and making jokes to keep light getting out of that dungeon. I actually really loved seeing their friendship in this book, even if… again, some dark stuff.
i don’t want to talk about this, but ultimately i know i need to because i feel like this is the reason i am giving this book three stars, so let’s talk about it - bryce wasn’t my favorite in this book, sadly. her leaving cooper was just so cruel to me. i know many other reviewers are saying this, but bryce did so many things that made readers question that maybe she is turning into the villain (which might have been a little cool actually). but her leaving him behind was just wild to me. ember and randall showing they are upset because of this and voicing that bryce was wrong for leaving him still (or maybe even enhanced) made me so upset at her. But there were so many other instances too, like when she called lidia’s kids baggage? like when she told hunt to get over himself when the man was really going through it in those dungeons? what was all that? she felt so reckless and so careless and even heartless. ahhh i dont know, i just feel like bryce is easily my least favorite of sjm’s main characters, and i just liked her less and less each book, which feels so bad to say, but it really is how i feel.
this is so random, but i also need to admit that i truly didn’t think cormac was dead dead, so i was so surprised when this book wrapped up and i guess that man really is! man oh man, i was truly waiting for that reveal and it just never came!
okay, the ending! i loved seeing those three fire sprites truly saving the day. and them working at griffin antiquities at the end? oh, i really loved to see it. i shed many tears at jesiba actually saving the day, and i shed even more at bryce seeing danika and connor and everyone she loves waiting for her. and i did actually like the blackhole portal teleporting as well. the last 100 pages of this book were very strong and very heartfelt.
and the very end? the way i truly wept at bryce's mom hugging and saying kind words to nesta. I actually felt insane with swollen eyes because of it. (the bam bonus chapter was probably my favorite of all the bonus chapters though. also, i just really want to live in the house of wind!) But yeah, i felt like this was a very strong ending to this book, and a very strong set up for whatever sjm does next! (probably with acotar now that nesta has the sword, dagger, mask, and a harp to potentially find bryce or whoever else whewwwww)
lastly, because i cannot write a spoiler section review and not bring this up: when azriel said nyx is waiting too. oh, it got a tear from me. and bryce telling nesta and azriel how a phone works got a giggle from me. i truly cannot wait for whatever sjm gives us next.
the acotar reread really came in clutch, especially acosf! But this whole reading experience just made me really want to reread tog asap! especially because (i can’t believe i am typing this) i think nesta is really making it hard for me to say that manon is my favorite sjm character!
“No such thing as luck. Just angels and demons putting their thumbs on the scale.”
most of you know, sebastien is one of my all time favorite autho
“No such thing as luck. Just angels and demons putting their thumbs on the scale.”
most of you know, sebastien is one of my all time favorite authors. i just vibe so well with this writing, his characters, his worlds, and i really think his craft feels so different than anyone else in the sff world. it truly feels like an entirely different experience starting a brand new book from him, yet i knew from the first page i would love this like the rest.
this is a story being told to you, from a narrator who is constantly questioning if he is one of the good guys or one of the bad guys. this is also a questing story where 2 war mages must recruit 5 others to complete a mysterious task that is also imperative to the existence of this world and who rules it. especially since the angels and the devils are doing everything in their power to have one last battle in the world we know.
as the reader, you will be constantly asking yourself if this world is worth saving, when so many horrible things are done by the hands of man. And how easily that is to see when humans prove they are more evil than the demons in this story throughout. oh, i didnt say that either - but this book is filled not only with war mages, but with angels and gods, demons and devils, and even a tempest and a rat mage!
i loved learning about the magic and all the mages and who everyone is working with. i loved the twists and turns that no other author can pull off the way that sebastien does. and i loved the writing that so easily teleports me with each passing sentence.
trigger + content warnings: war themes, suicide mentions, slavery, a lot of mentions of sexual abuse to children in past (not on page, but something that is brought up throughout this entire story), implied sexual abuse (not on page), captivity, compulsion, murder, death, blood, gore, talk of medical experimentation, torture, vomit, self harm, insect horror
there is something just extra cool and extra harrowing about all these stories taking place under the same ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss
there is something just extra cool and extra harrowing about all these stories taking place under the same moon on the same halloween night. very galaxy brain of these editors. Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane was my very personal favorite - it really meant the entire world to me. and Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle is one i feel so thankful to have been able to read, and i know it will sit inside my heart forever. but here are my thoughts on all the stories in this collection, and i think so many people are gonna have a good time with this one, especially if you read this during spooky season.
━━♡ Welcome to the Hotel Paranoia by Vanessa Montalban ★★
“If you would've just waited for me to tell you I felt the same, if you would've never come here, I'd be yours. We'd be ours.”
i was obsessed with this sinking abandoned hotel setting, but sadly that was one of the few things i did like about this short story. i kept waiting for a different kind of revenge story to start because of the set up, but, sadly again, i was let down.
tw/cw: drinking, drugs, mention of bullying in past, brief mention of seizure in past (insinuating bc of overdose or excessive drug use), death
━━♡ The Visitor by Kalynn Bayron ★★★
“They were like beacons in an endless abyss of grief.”
this story has a few lines that made me tear up. this is a very sweet and spooky tale about a girl and her father celebrating halloween and honoring someone they lost. i feel like the author did such a good job conveying so many different emotions and feelings in the different scenes in this short work, i was really impressed.
tw/cw: loss of a parent in the past, grief
━━♡ A Brief Intermission by Sara Farizan ★★★
“Whenever someone talks about the "good old days," they forget to mention who it was "good" for.”
okay truly, drive in movies are just the perfect creepy setting, especially ones that are closed for halloween because of a generational secret being kept. i really liked both of our main characters in this one, and i liked seeing this secret unravel alongside them.
tw/cw: blood, gore, brief hospital setting, mention of fatal car crash in past, microaggressions, vomiting, animal death (rats)
━━♡ Guested by Rebecca Kim Wells ★★★
“Mrs. Choi thought Guested parties were white people nonsense or the work of the devil. Sometimes both.”
you all know a story about sibling love is always going to get me, and this being told in second person really amplified all the feelings. i will say, i just didn't enjoy the ending of this one, but the concept was really unique and smart, and the writing was very captivating - i would love to read more from this author.
tw/cw: very brief mention of parents divorcing + death of a parent, possession, depression depiction
━━♡ Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle by Kosoko Jackson ★★★★★
“There is no God here tonight. Only me, and I am vengeful.”
this short story is worth reading the entire anthology for alone. this was truly everything for me and, even though it pulled on everything inside my heart, the very vulnerable, real, + raw feelings were just so powerful to me. this is exactly what i want in horror, because, at the end of the day, humans are more horrifying than any paranormal creature could ever dream of being.
tw/cw: needle imagery, toxic friendship, codependency depiction, chronic pain mention, homophobia, homophobic slurs, blood, abuse, ouija board, very brief mention of domestic abuse + parental abuse + loss of a parent + murder in past with a side character. this story has a central focus on a gay hate crime / gay bashing - please use caution while reading and make sure you're in the right headspace
━━♡ The Three Phases of Ghost Hunting by Alex Brown ★★★
“Terrifying Bob won't even mess with the Jollibee, which makes me sad on his behalf.”
my favorite part of this was just how filipinos really do normalize ghosts + spirits hahaha. but i really loved the set up of this one, and i felt like it's really different than anything else in this collection. i loved these characters instantly too, and the sibling relationship made my heart so happy in so few pages. i just really didn't love the end of this one and it left me more confused than anything else. but i would happily read a full-length story with this crew + their new friend!
tw/cw: talk of death + possession
━━♡ Nine Stops by Trang Thanh Tran ★★
“You can love something so hard that you hate it at the same time. Each shortcoming hurts more because you care. The city and my body are like that.”
ahhh, this one is going to be a bit hard to write feelings for just because this story is centered around one of those "if you dont do BLANK, then BLANK will happen" on the internet things - and i just loath those so much. but then it just got more and more gross and confusing, and added so much that just didn't need to be there, but felt like they were added because it was a halloween anthology. we got to see some heartfelt themes of grief and the helplessness you feel when you lose someone you love - and i loved that - but sadly everything else just overshadowed it for me.
tw/cw: asian hate crime, racism, loss of a loved one, grief depiction, graphic animal cruelty + death for a ritual, insect mention, blood
━━♡ Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane by Maya Gittleman ★★★★★
“The smell of sampaguita fills the air. It's coming from you, the magic that's always been you, that you've finally given yourself the ability to unlock.”
not only my favorite of the collection, but a brand new all time favorite short story. this was everything and so very powerful. i might be a little biased because i am fillipino (and i have a matching sampaguita tattoo with my cousin haha), but i think this story is truly just perfection, while being so deep in culture and so deep in heart. and i was weeping through the ending with a smile on my face. the author was so galaxy brain for this entire story, but the amount of hope it was able to evoke from me too. i really am speechless.
whatever this author does next, i will be in the publisher's emails begging for an arc, because these few pages truly made me feel not only seen, but like i am finding a brand new all time favorite author.
tw/cw: talk of loss of a parent in the past, mention of deaths, one sentence mention of whitening cream/treatment
━━♡ In You to Burn by Em X. Liu ★★
“Magic wasn't real, after all. There were better, more mundane ways to explain things.”
ah, i wish i would have loved this one more. i am not really sure what to say other than maybe the writing just wasn't for me. but the plot just seemed a little all over and i wasn't really sure where the story was going most of the time. it also felt very long to me.
tw/cw: fires, drinking, blood, death
━━♡ Anna by Shelly Page ★★★★
“I know that bone-deep loneliness that comes with being abandoned and the fear that it'll keep happening no matter what you do.”
okay i think this story was like exactly what i was expecting from this collection, and it just was really good and really halloween spooky. it was the paranormal scariest of them all for me, and i was really feeling the eeriness while reading (and while finishing). a good reminder why i love short story collections so much, because i am now very excited to read more from this author.
tw/cw: abandonment, child abuse in past, starvation, ouija board
━━♡ Hey There, Demons by Tara Sim ★★★★
“Halloween. One way or another, he was going to get rid of this poltergeist for good.”
oh this was just a good read all around, and so different in tone from the rest of the collection. and it just really made my heart overflow with happiness, while still being spooky. i know these are fictional characters, but i really wish them the best because they were able to get into my heart in so few pages!
tw/cw: ghost leaving scratches on children, blood, implied loss of a parent in past
━━♡ Save Me from Myself by Ayida Shonibar ★★★★
“Today, my outside resembles the way I feel within. ”
this really is the short story from this collection that is going to be the hardest (and most all over the place) to talk about. i loved this story, i loved what it was doing, i loved that i very easily could see how much this will mean to so many teens, especially queer bipoc teens, who i know are feeling these things, thinking these things, and seeing themselves like this main character. this is an important and powerful read, and was able to evoke so much emotion from me. but i just absolutely hated the end of this. i felt like it was for shock value and just felt terrible when the rest of this story was everything i could have hoped for for this collection. again, i feel like this is just a hard one to talk about, but it still is a bright, but heartbreaking, shining light in this collection for me.
tw/cw from author at start of this story: suicidal ideation, death tw/cw that i found additionally: mention of parent abandonment, loss of a friend, loss of a parent, and... so many intrusive thoughts
━━♡ Knickknack by Ryan Douglass ★★★
“And...how do we find a sacrifice worthy of his Clownliness?”
truly, very few things in this life are scarier than clowns. and a clown who is a ghost and kidnaps and kills children? like, i was unsettled from start to end! i also really enjoyed the queer rep in this because i think its a very relatable "is this person maybe queer too" highschool experience, and i know a lot of people will be able to relate. this was spooky and sweet and i had a good time with it.
tw/cw: murder in past, death in past, kidnapping, brief one sentence mention of parent alcohol addiction and cheating of a parent, just not the best parents in general, brief mention on bullying in past, mention of 4chan, ouija board.
okay, i just love this world a whole lot. this book was even better for me, because we mostly got to stay in this little village that has completely stolen my heart. this second installment follows cin's best friend, brie, who is also a big lover of paranormal romance, get to live her best romantic main character life. but much like the first book, these also deal with some heavy themes. but there is also so much light, happiness, and laughter within these pages. oh and a lot of steam (view spoiler)[the way i was not expecting or prepared for the tentacles lol (hide spoiler)]!
i extra think this one would be perfect for the autumn season. and... i just cannot wait for more books in this series, but i truly never want to leave this world!
“The stoic barmaid and flirtatious orc. I'd read that romance novel any day.”
other cw/tw that i wrote down while reading: drinking, harassment, attempted drugging, mention of vomit, kidnapping, human trafficking, threat of heart attack/fear of heart attack, talk of abandonment in past, self harm to get blood for magic, cults, mention of plague + sickness, insufferable incels lol
this is such a delightful cozy fantasy, but it also does have some higher stakes at play, while also talking about some, and having some, heavier themthis is such a delightful cozy fantasy, but it also does have some higher stakes at play, while also talking about some, and having some, heavier themes and topics. (please look at some content warnings down below!) but i really enjoyed this one, especially the first half and set up. this also is a four part quest storyline, and you all know how much i love watching characters travel to their adventures! i was so impressed with this, and i promise it is a very high three star, but i just didn't love how... intense.. the love interest was towards the last half of this book. but i very much do not think that will be an issue for many readers, especially romance readers! plus cinnamon is just the absolutely best main character, and she is so effortlessly funny! i am so excited to continue on in this world!
other cw/tw that i wrote down while reading: drinking, loss of a loved one in past, grief depiction, threat of sexual violence, violence, abuse, slavery, blood, torture, vomit, animal death (alligator haha), mention of kidnapping, fatphobic comments that are in a negative light + immediately challenged/shut down