For my first foray in to Bradbury鈥檚 work I chose The Halloween Tree and was thrilled by how much I enjoyed it. With thought-provoking meditations on fFor my first foray in to Bradbury鈥檚 work I chose The Halloween Tree and was thrilled by how much I enjoyed it. With thought-provoking meditations on fear, death, and what it means to live; an adventurous Halloween history; Halloween spooks; and vivid scenes鈥擨 can feel the autumn chill on my skin and smell the cheap polyester of the costumes鈥攊t鈥檚 a win for me....more
Set against a gloomy, bleak winter season in the UK, our unnamed narrator spends her time at home hiding away from people and reality. Dealing with thSet against a gloomy, bleak winter season in the UK, our unnamed narrator spends her time at home hiding away from people and reality. Dealing with the aftermath of the covid pandemic, losing her job, and the end of an abusive relationship, she descends in to isolation and slowly (or perhaps not so slowly) begins to grow paranoid and lose herself.
The chapters read like scrawled, detailed diary entries which read somewhat juvenile and felt like an odd choice at first but I grew to like it. I think Coiley likely chose first-person point of view to really let readers in on the narrator鈥檚 state of mind in the advanced stage of alcoholism. In addition, the way that this was written really did add to that feeling of fear and desperation that the narrator felt.
It鈥檚 repetitive in parts but still proves to be a tense and uncomfortable twist on a woman suffering from mental illness and trauma, and descending in to alcohol-related psychosis. While I enjoyed the content I found the execution to lack a little and the title to be misleading. Did I miss said rotting? There鈥檚 a mention of mold but with a title like that, I expected a story kind of like What Moves the Dead and this is not that kind of story. So perhaps adjust expectations if that鈥檚 what you鈥檙e expecting, too? Still, this novella made for a quick read.
Thank you Book Guild and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review! Available 07/28/2024...more
It鈥檚 an unusually warm November day in Newark, Delaware. Kathleen Beckett looks out from her balcony to the kidney shaped pool below, the pool nobody It鈥檚 an unusually warm November day in Newark, Delaware. Kathleen Beckett looks out from her balcony to the kidney shaped pool below, the pool nobody uses, and decides to go for a dip. As the day passes, Kathleen refuses to get out of the pool leaving her husband, Virgil, concerned about her鈥� He thinks maybe she鈥檚 having one of those 鈥渆pisodes鈥�.
This novella follows the domestic life of one American couple in the 1950s, shifting point of view from husband to wife. Each has their own secrets, grievances, and longings. Anthony does a wonderful job creating a 1950s atmosphere and capturing the complex feelings of longing. However, this novella felt a little drab to me. Considering it鈥檚 only 144 pages, it could be read in one sitting but it took me about 3 days to finish because once I put it down, I didn鈥檛 care to go back to it. I think this novella would have worked better from first person rather than third to create a more personal narrative and therefore would have allowed me to connect with Kathleen and Virgil more. I don't think this was bad, it just wasn't for me.
Thank you Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review. Available 07/30/2024!...more
Came for the beautiful cover, stayed for the incredible southern gothic horror.
The house鈥攄ark, suffocating, looming鈥攁 character of its own. But MaxinCame for the beautiful cover, stayed for the incredible southern gothic horror.
The house鈥攄ark, suffocating, looming鈥攁 character of its own. But Maxine is our true star here. Readers follow the winding road of Maxine鈥檚 dark past and witness her emerge from the chrysalis of trauma as something new, shedding her old skin.
I devoured this, consumed it. It鈥檚 memorizing and exquisite and weird but in the best way. Bonus points for the setting being South Carolina, my home state.
鈥淎 house is the worst kind of monster鈥� when we step through its doors, we are transported back through time, to a moment where we were perhaps at our most vulnerable.鈥�
Thank you RDS Publishing and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review. Available 06/20/2024!...more
a notoriously haunted hotel, abandoned for decades, that seems to consume men. hm. the explanation here simply didn't work for my preferences but regaa notoriously haunted hotel, abandoned for decades, that seems to consume men. hm. the explanation here simply didn't work for my preferences but regardless, i enjoyed piper's writing and the themes explored and look forward to reading more of her work....more
Everything that I have read of Malfi鈥檚 thus far has received 5 stars from me. Unfortunately, this collection of novellas didn鈥檛 hit as hard as his novEverything that I have read of Malfi鈥檚 thus far has received 5 stars from me. Unfortunately, this collection of novellas didn鈥檛 hit as hard as his novel length books. Still enjoyable and worth the read but these don鈥檛 have that Malfi feel and the depth that I have come to know and love from his work. ...more
I greatly enjoy Burke's work and his writing is always superb. That said, I thought this novella was just ok; it wasn't bad, it wasn't great, it just I greatly enjoy Burke's work and his writing is always superb. That said, I thought this novella was just ok; it wasn't bad, it wasn't great, it just didn't do much for me. It's memorable enough because of its unique plot but it didn't hit the spot....more
You have heard of Southern gothic stories, surely. They鈥檙e dark, they鈥檙e dreadful, they make your skin crawl. Allow me to introduce to you鈥� MidwesternYou have heard of Southern gothic stories, surely. They鈥檙e dark, they鈥檙e dreadful, they make your skin crawl. Allow me to introduce to you鈥� Midwestern Gothic. It鈥檚 like Southern gothic except this time we鈥檙e in Kansas because the Midwest has its own horrors lurking. Won鈥檛 you come in and have a look?
Midwestern Gothic is comprised of four spine-chilling novellas.
鈫扞苍 The Door in the Field, after volatile construction worker Rayland Allen is provoked at work, his boss takes him out for a drink at an off-the-grid backwoods bar but the night takes a turn that he wasn鈥檛 expecting鈥� A real bloody turn. 鈫扞苍 Wear Your Secret Like a Stone, big-box store worker Tara Bright picks her favorite horror book for the store鈥檚 Halloween display but when a customer complains and she is forced to remove it, she realizes that the book is much more disturbing than it originally seems. 鈫扞苍 The Boy in the Woods, Eddie Reicher is dropped off at summer camp and notices some scary, dark changes in the counselors. 鈫扞苍 One Half of a Child鈥檚 Face, Sienna Franklin notices something odd happening with a peculiar painting and the children who come in to contact with it.
Each novella begins with its own art work鈥攖hink a cover for the individual novellas鈥攚hich was an unnecessary but welcomed touch that delighted me because it helped to drop me in to the mood of the story that followed. Thomas creates vivid, life-like atmospheres which made for four truly riveting stories. From cosmic horror and serial killers to folk horror and a bloody summer camp, there is something for every horror lover in here.
鈥漌hat is the source of Midwestern Gothic? Where did the evil originally root itself? Not in the structure but in the very land upon which the structure was built.鈥�
Thank you Inkshares Publishing and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review. Available 09/17/2024!...more
Suffering from fatigue, muscle pain, and unexplained bruises our narrator visits the doctor in fear of the Feminine horror set in modern day Iceland.
Suffering from fatigue, muscle pain, and unexplained bruises our narrator visits the doctor in fear of the worst. After routine tests and blood work are done, all comes back normal suggesting that it might just be in her head or what the doctors professionally call 鈥減sychosomatic鈥�. Her friends are eager to offer their advice: have you tried yoga, you need to eat more red meat, what about less caffeine, Zumba saved my life! Hoping to aid in her new fitness routine, she buys a shiny new watch and becomes a little obsessed with tracking her steps. When the watch shows an abnormally large number of steps walked overnight, our narrator grows annoyed... The watch is surely broken, right?
This heart-pounding novella can be read in a single afternoon. In fact, I finished the audiobook before my daily commute was over. The chapters are short and suspenseful which, along with the stress ramping up with each chapter, propel this story forward.
All was going well until the ending which came so quickly and so abruptly. I do wish there would have been more substance there. When it ended, I said 鈥淲ait.. that鈥檚 it? Where鈥檚 the rest of it?鈥� I鈥檓 ok with ambiguity鈥擨 love Shirley Jackson after all鈥攂ut this went past ambiguity in to feeling unfinished.
Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Available 09/03/2024!...more
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