The Laughing Listener
*I was graciously given a free copy in exchange for an honest review*
July 2019
Format: eBook
Overall Rating: 4.5 Stars

Every time I sign up to do a blog tour, I’m very careful to make sure it’s a book that I think I’ll like. I mean, I don’t want to be pimping out books to everyone that I wouldn’t buy myself. Despite that though, sometimes a book comes along and punches me in the face anyway. But in a good way. A love punch?? Whatever, you get it. And this one totally hit me HARD. I went in with little to no expectations and it completely blew me away by the end.

When I read the description of this book, I saw the phrases “darkly humorous” and “utterly morbid” and signed the heck up. Don’t let my golden retriever Fred Rogers fool you guys because in this body beats the heart of an emo goth chick and I’m here for anything remotely morbid.



And let me tell you, this book DOES NOT disappoint. There are people drinking blood, dudes with horns, street fighters, stabbing, bone eating—a gothic delight! It’s definitely not for the faint of heart if blood isn’t your thing, but it actually pairs with this story really well. I liked the way this universe was set up and all of the bloody elements complimented it without being too distracting. It did take me a hot minute to acclimate myself with all the new terminology and magic in the beginning, but it was surprisingly easy to pick up and I actually had fun navigating my way through this world with Scarko.

Speaking of Scarko, I kind of love her?? She’s such a badass with her magic, wielding her knife like a pro. All of the other characters were awesome too and I enjoyed getting to know them all. I can’t really say more because I don’t want to give anything away, but they were all so rich. The entire time I was reading this I had absolutely NO idea where the story was going or who the bad guys were and I LOVED IT. It had a similar vibe to Wicked Saints, but for an older audience and was still uniquely it’s own. This completely had me on the edge of my seat the whole time and I am SO HERE FOR BOOK TWO.

FINAL WORD

If you’re a goth at heart like me and needing a good adventure story with some twists, do yourself a favor and read this one.

#1 ↦ Stranger Rituals ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧
#2 ↦ [b:Shadow Palace|46117382|Shadow Palace (Stranger Rituals, #2)|Kali Rose Schmidt|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|71039878] ↦ ????