This was an impulse buy from a used bookstore. I hadn’t seen anyone reading it, but the publisher and cover caught my eye, and the jacket copy sealed This was an impulse buy from a used bookstore. I hadn’t seen anyone reading it, but the publisher and cover caught my eye, and the jacket copy sealed the deal.
I tore through this deliciously bizarre novel in nearly one sitting, sprawled out in the passenger seat as my husband and I drove back from vacation. I didn’t want to put it down. From page one, I was sucked in and absolutely needed to know what in God’s name was going on.
Eleanor is a wildly unreliable narrator with a wicked sense of humor and a laundry list of traumas. She’s reeling from a bad breakup, recovering from breast cancer and a mastectomy, unemployed, and reluctantly living with her mother again. Life’s bleak, until she lands what seems like a dream gig: teaching a small group of kids in the isolated Australian town of Talbingo. We read along through her journal entries as she documents what feels, at first, like a fresh start.
But as she start settling in, things start eating at her again. Talbingo is quiet. Too quiet. The locals are off-kilter, the teacher she’s replacing has vanished without a trace, and the town priest suspects something more than cancer has sunk its teeth into Eleanor.
As her stay stretches on, things twist further into the uncanny—until we’re left asking: is Eleanor alright? Inner and outer demons twinkle at the edges, and Eleanor’s cheeky persona does its best to mask the misery gnawing at her. The town is strange... but Eleanor might be stranger.
Fans of grief fiction, weird fiction, and the sad-girl fiction will have an absolute blast with this one. Don’t let it skate under your radar like it nearly did mine....more
Oh no. Oh no no no no no! Oh maaan. This one just wasn’t for me. I made it about 100 pages in before I had to tap out.
I’ve adored Stephen’s past work—Oh no. Oh no no no no no! Oh maaan. This one just wasn’t for me. I made it about 100 pages in before I had to tap out.
I’ve adored Stephen’s past work—Braineater Jones and The Perfectly Fine House are both absolute gems, and I recommend them to anyone who’ll listen. But this one? It felt like it got body-snatched. Was it the co-author? A cursed manuscript? Some unholy genre mash that defies the natural order? I don’t know. The voice felt off, like it had been diluted or pulled in too many directions.
I kept thinking, “I can’t do this for 300 more pages" and eventually I just noped out.
And it pains me to say it because I adore Stephen and love featuring him on my blog. I had such high hopes—Roger Rabbit meets horror? Yes, please. But it just didn’t click for me.
I wanted to love it. I really did. And the publisher even sent me a pretty print copy for review. I feel like I owe someone an apology fruit basket. Instead, I’m crawling into my little reader's remorse cave for some quiet reflection (and maybe snacks).
This book was the perfect “plant yourself on the patio and revel in the fact that you’re not adrift at sea” kind of summer read. Think fruity cocktailThis book was the perfect “plant yourself on the patio and revel in the fact that you’re not adrift at sea” kind of summer read. Think fruity cocktail in one hand, bug zapper in the other, and a silent prayer that there are no colossal carnivorous calamari in your zip code.
Set aboard a cruise ship slicing through open ocean, Tori and Nora—two hilariously self-assured, body-positive rockstars—are prepping to open for Vampire Weekend. But when a massive, bloodthirsty vampire squid rises from the depths and turns the deck into a splatterfest buffet, the glam gig turns into a gory survival showdown.
The body count may be high, but it’s the razor-sharp sarcasm that really leaves a mark. Equal parts horror romp and dark comedy delight, this novelette had me grinning through the gore. It’s high-octane, deep-sea drama with a pulse of pure punk. I devoured it like a ravenous beast from the briny deep. More, please.
If you're into books with high campy horror vibes, like the ones Danger Slater, Stephen Kozeniewski, and Brian Allen Carr write, you should get Nico Bell on your radar. ...more
A creepy, abandoned amusement park. A group of teens armed with beer, gas station snacks, and flashlights. What could possibly go wrong?
Welcome to SmiA creepy, abandoned amusement park. A group of teens armed with beer, gas station snacks, and flashlights. What could possibly go wrong?
Welcome to Smileyland is a delightfully twisted final girl slasher with sharp queer representation and a killer sense of fun. Ramirez, a nonbinary military brat with zero interest in bonding, gets dragged along by a group of semi-friends to break into Smileyland—a rotting amusement park no one remembers. But Mister Smiley does. And his one rule? Absolutely, positively, never ever stop smiling.
This book is a blast. It’s bloody, it’s violent, it’s just creepy enough to keep you checking the shadows—and the characters? They were so relatable. I sort of cared about them, which made the carnage hit harder. It’s the kind of horror that knows exactly what it’s doing and has a wicked grin while doing it.
It’s all fun and games until the blood starts to flow. ...more