The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez is my favorite kind of fantasy novel - a mix of adventure and folklore with a touch of horror, a smidge of romance, and strong female main characters.

And these women have to be strong because they’ve got it coming from all sides.

The House of Idyll was a thrill ride - vicariously living the life that any creator dreams of while all the time thinking, “You in danger, girl.”

It’s well documented that I love a creepy forest (This Haunted Valley, Nowhere), and They Fear Not Men in the Woods has me once again reminding you, when you’re in the woods, If you heard something, NO, YOU DIDN’T!

Spread Me is the virus erotica horror we didn’t know we needed, and Sarah Gailey may find she’s started a whole new sub-genre.

A Game in Yellow by Hailey Piper has characters that are complex and not always likable, but they are compelling and feel like real people, and with Piper’s clever writing, we feel like we’re following Carmen down the rabbit hole, experiencing her obsession and madness with her, and it is a thrilling journey.

I have a couple of questions about We Are Always Tender with Our Dead. 

1. What the F did I just read? 

2. How does Eric LaRocca do it? Pulling at your heartstrings one moment, pulling your stomach out through your throat the next? 

3. Why is a story about whistling when crossing a threshold so chilling and sad? 

I couldn’t find any confirmation on the interwebs whether avuncular marriage was normal for the place and time, but their flirtation felt icky to me, though I got no indication from the text that this was an issue. 

Lotería by Cynthia Pelayo is an expanded edition of an earlier release, with 54 short stories that is very much like playing the lottery. They span genres and themes, time and locations; some are familiar bits of folklore with a twist, like La Llorona or the Loch Ness monster,  others are modern noir, others are ghost stories, etc.

I went into Black Flame by Gretchen Felker-Martin knowing little about it except that it was about a cursed film and, according to several people, I had to read it. They were right.

As the very good boy and at least part Australian cattle dog (just like my old girl Laika, also rescued from a shelter) alerts them almost immediately, evil is afoot.

Part folk horror, bigger part body horror, You Weren’t Meant to Be Human is a beautiful, brutal read.  I was uncomfortable almost immediately as blurred (or non-existent?) consent lines were crossed in the opening paragraphs (see note on content warnings below) - and that feeling never totally left. 

My suggested taglines:

• The sound bath will be a blood bath!

• Instead of meditation, decapitation!

• They came for inner peace, they’ll leave in pieces!

Some things I liked:

• Some of my favorite phrases

  • ”secret squirrel shenanigans”

  • “eponymous plastic raincoat”

• Herman!!! Everyone should have a black cat.

• The names of the mushrooms like “Father of Lies” and “The Harlot’s Progress”

Nowhere Land by Pamela Kinney starts with a bang as a group of ghost hunters in Virginia who’ve been hired to investigate a property outside of Gloucester called Burkett make a fatal discovery - that there is definitely paranormal activity in Nowhere Land. 

What I got that I was expecting: dark comedy and vampires

What I got that I was not expecting: family drama, characters dealing with misogyny and/or racism, and some legitimately scary and/ or tense scenes - made especially so by the amazing audio production.

How Bad Things Can Get was hard to put down, especially as secrets started being revealed and the action stepped up and is a perfect thriller for anyone who finds themselves scrolling social media or listening to true crime podcasts - or is just looking  for an exciting, engrossing read. 

Reading this collection was like taking a walk through a dark, dappled forest where mushrooms grow and wild creatures populate inside and outside of us, where sunlight only rarely makes it way through the canopy.

Clown in a Cornfield is that unicorn of a YA novel that is YA only in that its main characters are teenagers that act like teenagers, but, unlike some in the market, Adam Cesare's writing is - for lack of a better word - good.

She’s a Lamb is everything it promises - dark, funny, smart. What surprised me is how Meredith Hambrock makes us empathize with Jessamyn - especially since Jessamyn is fundamentally incapable of feeling empathy for anyone - even herself.

Returning to the world Travis Baldree built in Legends & Lattes is like any of the metaphors having to do with coziness - being wrapped in a warm blanket, having a cup of tea or cocoa or mulled wine or brandy, enjoying an evening by the fire in the company of friends.