The Year of the Witching is a very, very good book. It’s unsettling and horrifying, beautiful and incisive, and ultimately, radiantly triumphant. As it centers on a religious dystopia and has feminist themes, it has already been compared to the The Handmaid’s Tale. This is not an inapt comparison; however, I think in tone and setting it reads much more like Nathanial Hawthorne, but as written by a woman living in 2020. In the vein … Continue reading The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson →
I’m a huge Grady Hendrix fan (see my reviews of Horrorstor, My Best Friend’s Exorcism, and the amazingly excellent We Sold Our Souls). This book was so much more intense than I thought it would be, and there’s so much to unpack that it’s a tough one to grade. Truthfully, if I had known what I was getting into, I doubt I would have read this book. And yet I’m so glad I did, because … Continue reading The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix →
Oh guys, I cannot handle creepy books, and this was a creepy book, and not a romance, and also gross and scary. It was also a book that I devoured in a single day and could not get out of my mind. I was sold on this book by the promise of feminist horror, and that’s what I got, so if feminist horror is your jam then you will probably like this book about four … Continue reading The Return by Rachel Harrison →
The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle is a YA horror novel set in the Amish community, and it’s one of the most genuinely frightening books I’ve read in a long time. It’s far more scary than some adult horror novels I’ve read, and it doesn’t rely on themes like sexual violence or violence against children to be frightening. It’s also incredibly well-executed and uses the choice of setting (a small Amish community) to amplify the … Continue reading The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle →
In Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, the heroine is mesmerized by the scandalous gothic novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho. Readers, I read that novel. My paperback Oxford World’s Classics edition (1998) of The Mysteries of Udolpho is 679 pages long, not counting introduction and notes. That’s a lot of mysteries. I read this so you don’t have to. SPOILERS AHEAD. The Mysteries of Udolpho was a huge hit for author Ann Radcliffe when it first came out in … Continue reading The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe →
CW/TW: This book is incredibly gross and gory and features murder and self-harm by way of a deadly space disease. Salvation Day was exactly the book I was searching for. It’s the fucked-up space horror I’d been trying and failing to find for weeks. Though not without its faults, it reminds me very much of the Alien franchise. That’s a good thing because I love those movies (and the video game) very much. Two people whose … Continue reading Salvation Day by Kali Wallace →
TW/CW: Murder, graphic violence, racism, ableist language, mentions of rape and sexual assault. The Girl in Red by Christina Henry is the latest addition in her gritty fairy tale retellings. They aren’t part of a connected series, but Henry has done retellings of Alice in Wonderland, The Little Mermaid, and Peter Pan. This one retells Little Red Riding Hood where a young woman tries to get to her grandmother’s house following an outbreak of deadly … Continue reading The Girl in Red by Christina Henry →
My day was very productive until I picked up Never-Contented Things, planning to read just a few pages.That concluded the day’s productivity. I’m not saying that this book is perfect but I am sure as heck saying that it is gripping. This is NOT a romance. It’s really good YA Urban Fantasy/Fae Horror, with a really good fledgling romance in it. Ksenia and Josh are foster siblings. They met in foster care when Josh was … Continue reading Never-Contented Things by Sarah Porter →
I love We Sold Our Souls so much that returning it to the library is going to cause me physical pain. Many a shitty day has come and gone, but I have persisted fueled largely by the words, “She didn’t worry, she didn’t smile, she didn’t feel out of place. A girl with a guitar never has to apologize for anything.” Hell yeah. Our story begins with Kris Polaski, who was once the lead guitarist … Continue reading We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix →
Halloween is just around the corner and it’s my favorite time of year. I love kids getting to dress up as adorable pumpkins or superheroes, my getting to buy bulk Reese Peanut Butter Cups and pretend like they’re for trick or treaters when the bag is totally going in my freezer, and my reading all of the spooky books and movies that get released. The Witch of Willow Hall immediately caught my eye with its … Continue reading The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox →
I have been spending this year giving presentations on, and writing about, Mary Shelley, and when I haven’t been doing that I’ve been giving presentations about Jane Austen. Thus I was thrilled that the book Pride and Prometheus was coming out. I didn’t even read the book description. I just looked at the cover and thought: “This will fix everything.” Frankenstein, the novel by Mary Shelley, does not end well. The estimated body count comes … Continue reading Pride and Prometheus by John Kessel →
