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The Missing Season by Gillian French – Review

From the author of Edgar Award finalist Grit and The Lies They Tellcomes a tense, atmospheric novel for readers of E. Lockhart and Marieke Nijkamp about friendship, truth, and the creeping fears that can’t be outrun.

Whenever another kid goes missing in October, the Pender kids know what is really behind it: a horrific monster out in the marshes they have named the Mumbler.

That’s what Clara’s new crew tells her when she moves to town: Bree and Sage, who take her under their wing; spirited Trace, who has taken the lead on this year’s Halloween prank war; and magnetic Kincaid, whose devil-may-care attitude and air of mystery are impossible for Clara to resist.

Clara doesn’t actually believe in the Mumbler. But as Halloween gets closer and tensions build in the town, it’s hard to shake the feeling that there really is something dark and dangerous in Pender, lurking in the shadows, waiting to bring the stories to life.

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Thank you to HarperCollins and Edelweiss for this ARC! This book was the epitome of a slow burn! We are dropped into a sleepy, small town with an air of tragedy that fills the lungs, hearts, and minds of the friend group we follow.

Clara is desperate to fit in and make friends, and as the daughter of a construction worker who moves from site to site, dragging his family along for the ride, she is well versed in determining personalities and what makes people tick. It’s not long until she worms her way into her neighbor’s life. Bree introduces her to Sage, Trace, and Kincaid; all rich and beautiful characters, and not one of them like the other.

Clara falls for Kincaid, who divulges the secrets of this town’s past. There is an omniscient presence of a supernatural force that is named The Mumbler. Clara plays the part of the stalwart skeptic, but as Halloween approaches (the Mumbler’s favorite season) she is thrown into a horror that she could have never imagined.

I liked the slender man-esque lore in this, but I think what I enjoyed most is the lengths people will go to in order to make sense of the very real things that do go bump in the night. I can assuredly say I did not expect the ending, and I was left on the edge of my seat after every page, waiting alongside these kids to figure out what exactly is terrorizing this town. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Ti West’s films!

5/5 stars

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The Manic Pixie Dream Boy Improvement Project by Lenore Appelhans – Review

Riley lives in TropeTown, where everyone plays stock roles in novels. Riley, a Manic Pixie Dream Boy, is sent to group therapy after going off-script. Riley knows that breaking the rules again could get him terminated, yet he feels there must be more to life than recycling the same clichés for readers’ entertainment. Then he meets Zelda, a Manic Pixie Dream Girl (Geek Chic subtype), and falls head over heels in love. Zelda’s in therapy too, along with several other Manic Pixies. But TropeTown has a dark secret, and if Riley and his fellow Manic Pixies don’t get to the bottom of it, they may all be terminated.

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Thank you so much to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for this ARC! I was instantly hooked by the name and the premise, and I am so excited to say that it did NOT let me down!

We follow Riley, a lone Manic Pixie Dream Boy, as he navigates life in TropeTown. We are introduced to so many tropes and sub types and even a few Developeds (the main characters of your favorite novels) and even though some of these share characteristics, they are all their own standout beings. I loved the absolute whimsy of this novel; just the idea of writers calling forth physical muses to create their stories around was intoxicating.

Watching Riley’s journey for self-actualization was endearing and I couldn’t stop reading. It had me wondering what trope I would be, and hoping I could be a Manic Pixie with their love, light, and undeniable quirkiness. I loved the hints to popular scenes in media that we all love, notable ones being 10 Things I Hate About You and The Fault in Our Stars.

We are also given a hard hitting realization that we do have these stereotypes that we lean on, not only in media, but in life, but these people are rarely only what they seem. We put them in boxes, and never let them realize their full potential, which is a mistake especially in real life. To quote one of my favorite lines from the novel, we must make sure that we make everyone feel like poetry, not shorthand.

I loved this book, and I secretly hope there will be a sequel, for reasons you’ll have to read the book yourself to find out!

5/5 stars

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Earth to Charlie by Justin Olsen – Review

A high school outcast spends his life hoping to be abducted by aliens in this funny, quirky novel about finding your footing in a world that sometimes feels like Mars. 

Convinced his mother has been abducted by aliens, Charlie Dickens spends his nights with an eye out for UFOs, hoping to join her. After all, she said the aliens would come back for him. Charlie will admit that he doesn’t have many reasons to stick around; he doesn’t get along well with his father, he’s constantly bullied at school and at work, and the only friend he has is his 600-pound neighbor Geoffrey, and Geoffrey’s three-legged dog, Tickles.

Then Charlie meets popular, easy-going Seth, who shows him what real friendship is all about. For once, he finds himself looking around at the life he’s built, rather than looking up. But sooner than he expected, Charlie has to make a decision: should he stay or should he go?

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Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this sweet and impactful book. All my life, I grew up believing in the impossible. My mom raised me on The X-Files, Harry Potter, and so many other fantastical worlds that were too far away to touch but incredibly near and dear to her heart. I felt a huge connection to Charlie in that way, who thinks he is looking for his mom in the stars but is really finding his way with the sky as his map.

The way he wakes up every day and names the sky he’s greeting with is so beautiful, and really makes you stop to think when the last time you took the sky in with such reverence. I think this is a book of not only finding yourself, but slowing down enough to feel that connection with nature, other human beings, and being alive. We move so fast and get caught up in the routine of life that we forget to chase our UFOs. We forget to spend a little extra time with our family. We forget that we’re not alone; that the pain in our chest might be a mirror to someone else’s.

I loved watching Charlie work through these things, and that the ending was really a beginning as Charlie let go of his past to walk into a new day; a new life. If you’re feeling stuck or life has just gotten you down, this book will pull you out and remind you of the most important thing. You’re alive.

5/5 stars

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House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig – Review

In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls’ lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.

Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn’t sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?

When Annaleigh’s involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it’s a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC! What a whirlwind of a book! It starts off with a bang, throwing us into this mystical and fantastical world with tragedy, family, and power, and what a striking world it was! The world building in this novel was awe-inspiring. I would love another novel on just the different gods and goddesses!

For this narrative though, we start out by being given a mystery, and I was very literally kept guessing until the end! There a small clues dropped, red herrings delicately placed, and enough twists and turns to make your stomach roll like you’re dropping from a great height.

I enjoyed the journey from start to finish; it was a delectable spin on an old tale -Twelve Dancing Princesses- but you can tell from the very first chapter that the author made it her own in a variety of ways. My absolute favorite of those is how absolutely dark the story is. Murder, ghosts, madness, and tension that is so tangible you can almost choke on it all make this story wholly original and a delight to have had the pleasure of reading.

I had chills the majority of the book, and it was extremely hard to put down. I didn’t want to miss a second of the Thaumas saga! I love retellings, but this book exceeded all of my wildest dreams. It’s a perfect read for a dark and stormy night!

5/5 stars

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Keep This To Yourself by Tom Ryan – Review

It’s been a year since the Catalog Killer terrorized the sleepy seaside town of Camera Cove, killing four people before disappearing without a trace. 

Like everyone else in town, eighteen-year-old Mac Bell is trying to put that horrible summer behind him—easier said than done since Mac’s best friend Connor was the murderer’s final victim. But when he finds a cryptic message from Connor, he’s drawn back into the search for the killer—who might not have been a random drifter after all. Now nobody—friends, neighbors, or even the sexy stranger with his own connection to the case—is beyond suspicion. Sensing that someone is following his every move, Mac struggles to come to terms with his true feelings towards Connor while scrambling to uncover the truth.

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Thank you a million times over to NetGalley for this book that has just about taken over my life the past few days! It was so incredibly hard to put down, and I was never bored or felt like things were dragging on. It was like a roller coaster made only of loops and drops; every twist and turn took my stomach and my heart with it as I desperately tried to piece together this series of crimes with our protagonist, Mac.

Never in a million years would I have guessed the ending, which really lends itself to how realistic this narrative is. It seems that we lean toward the easy answers; not wanting to open up wounds or dig under that fine layer of rock before it gives way to soft, loamy soil. That is, those of us not driven by one of the most powerful forces there is; guilt.

There are survivors to every tragedy, and this one is no exception. When Mac discovers a note from his late best friend Connor, he is driven to the point of no return as he struggles to reconcile the thought in his head that he may have been able to prevent the murder, and the only thing he can think of to do is to solve it himself as the local police have let a year pass by with no concrete answers.

Through this search we are introduced to a myriad of characters, all of whom as rich and leap off of the page with life. Whether it’s the rest of Mac’s friend group or the others touched by the tragedy in this small coastal town; everyone is dealing with their grief in their own way, and keeping secrets that have hindered not only their lives, but the investigation itself.

This world that we are thrust into is buzzing with deceit, yes, but also with the beating hearts of those left behind. It is alive, and can feel it long after the last lines have come and gone. I can’t wait to share this with my friends!

5/5 stars

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Missing, Presumed Dead by Emma Berquist – Review

When eighteen-year-old Lexi foresees the brutal murder of a girl outside a club in downtown L.A., she is powerless to stop it. But when the girl’s ghost appears, seeking vengeance, Lexi is swept into a dangerous search that could put her directly in the path of a serial killer. From the author of Devils Unto Dust, this fast-paced and literary thriller will haunt fans of Maureen Johnson’s Truly Devious and Karen M. McManus’s One of Us Is Lying.

With a touch, Lexi can sense how and when someone will die. Some say it’s a gift. But to Lexi it’s a curse—one that keeps her friendless and alone. All that changes when Lexi foresees the violent death of a young woman, Jane, outside a club. But Jane doesn’t go to the afterlife quietly. Her ghost remains behind, determined to hunt down her murderer, and she needs Lexi’s help. In life, Jane was everything Lexi is not—outgoing, happy, popular. But in death, all Jane wants is revenge. Lexi will do anything to help Jane, to make up for the fact that she didn’t—couldn’t—save Jane’s life, and to keep this beautiful ghost of a girl by her side for as long as possible.Emma Berquist’s second novel is a haunting and atmospheric murder mystery that tackles themes of depression, loneliness, love, and identity. This high-concept novel is for fans of Holly Black’s The Coldest Girl in Coldtown and Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me series.

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Thank you so much to Edelweiss and HarperCollins for the eGalley of this book! I have grown up obsessed with the paranormal. I was an X-Files kid, a Twilight teenager, and now a Missing, Presumed Dead somewhat adult. Something about magic, ghosts, and gore has always kept me coming back for more instead of running away screaming. Lucky for me, this novel has all three!

We are introduced to Lexi, who has a spectacular yet devastating gift. She can see how any person can die from just a touch. She works in a club where she is surrounded by people like her; psychics, pyrokinetics, you name it. Patrons start to die, and Lexi is soon joined by two ghosts who make up her Buffy the Vampire Slayer-esque Scooby Gang.

We first meet Trevor, who is long dead. The way that ghosts are portrayed in this novel blew me away. It is a lore that I have never encountered before and it was a breath of fresh air. Through Trevor we learn that ghosts are energy, they are warm, they are able to control their appearances.

However, when we are greeted by Jane, we see the opposite side of that coin; she is the spitting image of her death with bleeding wounds and milky eyes. The contrast between the two is lovely, and they both have such an important impact on the story.

The tone was so dark and the imagery so vivid that I breathed a sigh of relief at the end. That doesn’t mean there aren’t bright spots throughout, however. I love Lexi’s connection to her Deda, and the bond they both share with the spirits they encounter. They light up each other’s lonely lives, and do the same to the poor souls left wandering this earth far after their bodies have expired. There is also a romance that I never saw coming, but is solidified in my heart as one of my very favorites that I’ve ever read. Edward and Bella who????

Anyway, all that to say this is my first read by this author but I can’t wait to devour more of her work. She can truly spin a remarkable tale!

5/5 stars

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Rayne and Delilah’s Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner – Review

Every Friday night, best friends Delia and Josie become Rayne Ravenscroft and Delilah Darkwood, hosts of the campy creature feature show Midnite Matinee on the local cable station TV Six.

But with the end of senior year quickly approaching, the girls face tough decisions about their futures. Josie has been dreading graduation, as she tries to decide whether to leave for a big university and chase her dream career in mainstream TV. And Lawson, one of the show’s guest performers, a talented MMA fighter with weaknesses for pancakes, fantasy novels, and Josie, is making her tough decision even harder.

Scary movies are the last connection Delia has to her dad, who abandoned the family years ago. If Midnite Matinee becomes a hit, maybe he’ll see it and want to be a part of her life again. And maybe Josie will stay with the show instead of leaving her behind, too.

As the tug-of-war between growing up and growing apart tests the bonds of their friendship, Josie and Delia start to realize that an uncertain future can be both monstrous…and momentous.

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I’m going to start off by saying I don’t usually cry much— okay, full disclosure, I cry a lot. Dog videos on Facebook, eating spicy foods, and don’t even get me started on being spoken to by any person with authority— but when it comes to media, it’s easier for me to distance myself and not get wrapped up in the emotional turmoil of a narrative. This was not the case for this book.

I have to hand it to Jeff; he really knows the ways to twist and pull and coerce genuine reactions out of his readers. I was a sopping wet puddle by the end of the novel; having loved and lost and discovered a new sense of self through it all. I related so much to the sentimental and horror-obsessed Delia, and I saw a mixture of two of my best friends as her sharp-witted and hardworking co-host, Josie. Their relationship was expertly crafted, and it honestly felt so familiar and like home.

I fell head over heels for Lawson, and it took me by almost as much surprise as it did Josie. Arliss also held a special spot in my heart; bringing up memories of mentors long past who filled a hole I never could quite place. I feel like this book was written for me: mashing up all of these things and combining them with horror. I’ve never really watched public access horror shows, but I love the genre, and my mom and I used to rent low budget horror films every week and just laugh and enjoy our time together.

Rayne and Delilah’s Midnite Matinee did just what the show of the same name did for Jacob and Erica in the last fan letter. It made me think of happy times, and of people I love, and of how proud I am to have been shaped and molded by the moments in my life that have led me here. This is the best book I’ve read in a long time.

5/5 stars

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The Art of Taxidermy by Sharon Kernot – Review

Lottie collects dead creatures and lovingly cares for them, hoping to preserve them, to save them from disintegration. Her father understands—Lottie has a scientific mind, he thinks. Her aunt wants it to stop, and she goes to cruel lengths to make sure it does. 

And her mother? Lottie’s mother died long ago. And Lottie is searching for a way to be close to her.

The Art of Taxidermy is a heartbreaking verse novel exploring love and death, grief and beauty, and the ways we try to make sense of it all.

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Thank you so much to Edelweiss for this eARC! I don’t read many books in verse, and when I originally requested it I had no idea that’s how it was written, but it added SO. MUCH. to the narrative. It was like we were in Lottie’s head and seeing her thoughts as they came to her; beautiful, broken, and haunting.

I loved that not only was this an exploration of grief, but also the pressure that is put on girls to act, dress, and speak a certain way. Lottie broke through all of the gender norms her aunt was desperate to push onto her, and found a way to celebrate the ache inside of her instead of bottling it up.

I have never thought of taxidermy as beautiful until I finished this book. I’ve seen it as macabre; destroying life and putting it on display as a type of boast. Through Lottie’s eyes, I see it now for the rebirth that it is. These creatures are given second life, holding together for generations in order for us to get a closer look at beings that we would normally not be able to get so close to.

This book was just as uplifting as it was painful, just like any journey through life. I’m so thankful I had the chance to experience it.

5/5 Stars