Curse you, Clay McLeod Chapman! I really wanted to feel nothing but contempt for Winston Kemper, and while his victims remind each other that he does not deserve our compassion, in so doing, they remind us why he does.

Cruelty Free by Caroline Glenn takes a satirical look at Hollywood, fame, beauty standards, paparazzi and anyone in the sphere around fame, including bloggers and podcasters, but it’s also a tale about how grief can break someone and how far one will go just to relieve that ache, however temporarily.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen, but what I got was an immensely readable, funny look behind the scenes at a reality dating show interspersed with message board interactions and personal letters that made it feel even more real - even with the added titular character of a Lady Sasquatch.

Bitterbloom by Teagan Olivia King is a dark, atmospheric, gothic horror fantasy (with a dash of spice) with some interesting worldbuilding around death and the afterlife.

The tension in The Body by Bethany C. Morrow came more from the weight of expectation of perfection put upon Mavis by her church, which she left years ago, her parents, and herself than anything else, but that made the horror feel all the more real even while Mavis, and therefore the reader, could not always distinguish reality from delusion.