ℌ𝔲𝔪𝔞𝔫 𝔪𝔢𝔫 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔰𝔬 𝔣𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔩𝔢. 𝔅𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢 𝔟𝔬𝔡𝔦𝔢𝔡. 𝔈𝔞𝔰𝔶 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔨.

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 by Lucy Rose

Published: 10/10/24

Genre: Horror

Page count: 288

Format read: 📖

Other books read by this author: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐛 by Lucy Rose

I really struggle to put a rating on books like this as there were some stories I adored & some I just wanted to get through. My absolute favourites were 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲 by Bridget Collins, 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 by Emilia Hart, & 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 by Lucy Rose. There were some others I definitely enjoyed (𝐆𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 by Lionel Shriver, 𝐁𝐨𝐛-𝐚-𝐉𝐨𝐛 by James Smythe, & 𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧 by Francine Toon) & the ones I didn’t I feel were a question of my taste rather than their quality. I’m really excited about reading more from Emilia Hart, as 𝐖𝐞𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 has been on my TBR for quite some time, & after reading this & 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐛 I can safely say Lucy Rose is one to watch! 

“𝔗𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔤𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔰𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔪𝔢𝔫’𝔰 𝔞𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔯𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰, 𝔱𝔬—𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔳𝔦𝔬𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢—𝔡𝔯𝔞𝔴 𝔰𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔪𝔰 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔴𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫’𝔰 𝔪𝔬𝔲𝔱𝔥𝔰.”

Published: 13/08/24

Genre: Fantasy, retelling 

Page count: 320

Format read: 📱

Other books read by this author: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐟 & 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧 

A gothic retelling of 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐡, from the point of view of Macbeth’s new bride. The eponymous Lady Macbeth was definitely not what I expected; instead of the cunning, ambitious middle-aged woman of the original we get Roscille, a seventeen year old French girl traded to Macbeth by her father as part of a political alliance. Though Roscille initially sees herself as a master manipulator with the skills she learnt in her father’s court, she soon realises she is out of her depth when it comes to her brutish, bloodthirsty husband. 

I loved the character of Roscille, the idea of her being ‘witch-marked’ with eyes that drive men to madness, & the way she grew throughout the book. I loved the nods to the original play, whilst Reid also incorporated plenty of original elements. I loved the beautiful, gothic writing style, the setting (though not entirely historically & geographically accurate) & the juxtaposition of the fragility of Roscille & the violence of Macbeth (with Scots coming off as fairly uncivilised on the whole). 

Another beautiful novel from Ava Reid. 

“ℌ𝔦𝔰 𝔠𝔥𝔲𝔯𝔠𝔥 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔰 𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔡 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔦𝔯𝔢; 𝔊𝔬𝔡'𝔰 𝔫𝔞𝔪𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡, 𝔥𝔲𝔰𝔥𝔢𝔡, 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔡. 𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔫𝔬𝔴, 𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔨𝔰 𝔐𝔦𝔯𝔢𝔠𝔬𝔬𝔪𝔟𝔢 𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔬𝔯. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔯𝔭𝔰𝔢𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔟𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔤𝔬𝔯𝔰𝔢.”

Published: 12/09/24

Genre: Fantasy, folklore, horror

Page count: 400

Format read: 🎧

Other books read by this author: Debut

Dark, atmospheric, & haunting small town clash between folklore & religion, the old gods & the new. I listened to the audiobook & enjoyed the narration but I think my rating would have been a little higher had I read the physical book as the story was a little hard to follow in places, though the plot overall was fascinating. I adored the descriptions of the little folk & of the landscapes; the village of Mirecoombe & the surrounding moorland brought to life in startling detail by Horton’s lyrical prose. I loved the characters, particularly our keeper Pel & his protégée Nancy, with landlady Madge deserving a special mention, as well as Pel & Nancy’s canine sidekick Patroclus. I think the story worked well as a standalone but am pleased to learn that it’s a series & will definitely be back for more! A beautiful debut.

“𝔚𝔥𝔶 𝔥𝔞𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔥𝔯𝔞𝔰𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔨 𝔞 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔢𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔭𝔬𝔭𝔲𝔩𝔞𝔯? ℑ𝔱 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔬𝔫𝔰𝔩𝔞𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔭𝔞𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔫 𝔟𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔨 𝔬𝔣 𝔞 𝔠𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔞 𝔠𝔲𝔭, 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔦𝔫 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔶 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔪𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔠𝔩𝔬𝔰𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔪𝔞𝔲𝔩𝔢𝔡.”

Published: 25/03/25
Genre: Horror, gothic, paranormal
Page count: 368
Format read: 📖
Other books read by this author: 𝐌𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠

I was so excited for this after reading 𝐌𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 at the end of last year & once again Johanna did NOT disappoint! Though the content is perfectly gothic, Johanna writes with a sardonic wit that makes the book often laugh out loud funny, amongst her otherwise haunting prose. The characters are for the most part likeable though morally grey, the setting is atmospheric & the plot is unpredictable, satisfying & wonderfully gory. Would definitely recommend.

“𝔈𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔲𝔰 𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔟𝔬𝔯𝔰 𝔞 𝔣𝔞𝔠𝔢𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔳𝔢𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔰, 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔩𝔶, 𝔱𝔬 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔶 𝔲𝔰. 𝔄 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔲𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤𝔰 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔞𝔫𝔫𝔦𝔥𝔦𝔩𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫. ℑ𝔱 𝔱𝔢𝔩𝔩𝔰 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔱𝔬 𝔧𝔲𝔪𝔭 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔟𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢 𝔞 𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔡𝔯𝔬𝔭-𝔬𝔣𝔣. ℑ𝔱 𝔪𝔞𝔨𝔢𝔰 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔭𝔲𝔱 𝔞 𝔨𝔫𝔦𝔣𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲'𝔯𝔢 𝔠𝔥𝔬𝔭𝔭𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔳𝔢𝔤𝔢𝔱𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢𝔰 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔫𝔢𝔯. ℑ𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔥𝔲𝔫𝔤𝔯𝔶 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔠𝔬𝔯𝔯𝔬𝔰𝔦𝔳𝔢, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔰𝔬𝔲𝔩 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔰𝔞𝔫𝔦𝔱𝔶.“

Published: 12/09/2024
Genre: Dark academia, fantasy, gothic, horror
Page count: 453
Format read: 🎧
Other books read by this author: None

This was my first Alexis Henderson but it definitely won’t be my last, I was absolutely hooked from the very start. Dark academia fantasy with gothic horror vibes, the world building is so complex & multifaceted that I can’t believe it was achieved in a stand alone novel. Whilst it could easily be a series, I love how it worked as it is & the way it ended so much. The characters are fascinating though flawed, our FMC Lennon definitely being a little frustrating at times but she grows so much throughout the book. Also she calls a rat Gregory which is 100% what I would call a rat. The plot is engaging & keeps you guessing, the writing is beautiful yet easy to follow & the whole thing is infused with a delicious darkness that I couldn’t get enough of. 

“𝔅𝔶 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲’𝔯𝔢 𝔡𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔥𝔦𝔪, 𝔥𝔢’𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔤𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔪𝔢𝔯𝔠𝔶. 𝔚𝔥𝔬 𝔦𝔰 𝔥𝔢 𝔦𝔣 𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔞𝔫’𝔱 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔩 𝔶𝔬𝔲? ℑ𝔰 𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔞 𝔪𝔞𝔫 𝔞𝔫𝔶𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢? ℑ𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔰𝔢𝔢𝔪 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔞 𝔯𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔣 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔤𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔥𝔦𝔪 𝔞 𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔡, 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔦𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔰 𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞 𝔟𝔩𝔞𝔡𝔢. 𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔱𝔞𝔨𝔢 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔥𝔦𝔪, 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔰𝔞𝔶 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔪𝔢𝔫 𝔰𝔞𝔶 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔲𝔰: ℌ𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔞𝔰𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔦𝔱. ℌ𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔤𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔦𝔱. ℌ𝔢 𝔪𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔦𝔱, 𝔰𝔦𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔦𝔡𝔫’𝔱 𝔣𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔟𝔞𝔠𝔨.”

Published: 11/07/2024

Genre: Horror

Page count: 289

Format read: 📱

Other books read by this author: None

Visceral body horror that was such a fun, easy read, despite being heartbreaking at times. Korean-American FMC Ji-Won was maybe a bit more than morally grey 👀, but is a loyal sister & daughter; taking care of her family after her Appa leaves her Umma for another woman & Umma rebounds with the utterly horrendous George. As well as being a brilliant revenge novel, the book explores themes of race brilliantly. The struggle of Ji-Won’s parents to integrate into American life, the language barrier & the constant microaggressions they face is deeply sad, but the fetishisation of Asian women that Ji-Won encounters is both sickening & rage-inducing. The novel also deals brilliantly with mental health issues, the impact of infidelity & relationship breakdowns on the family & the ways that the different characters deal with the aftermath is fascinating. A gory descent into madness filled with hallucinations, nightmares, & some deeply stomach-turning snacks. 

“𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔥𝔶𝔰𝔦𝔠𝔞𝔩 𝔯𝔢𝔭𝔲𝔩𝔰𝔦𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔢𝔪𝔞𝔩𝔢 𝔟𝔬𝔡𝔶 𝔦𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔞 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔬𝔣 𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔢, 𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔫𝔦𝔠 𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔱𝔶, 𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔠𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔰𝔨𝔦𝔫; 𝔯𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯, 𝔞𝔫 𝔦𝔫𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔈𝔳𝔢 𝔞𝔠𝔠𝔢𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔰 𝔰𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔟𝔶 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔰𝔢𝔰𝔱 𝔣𝔢𝔪𝔞𝔩𝔢𝔰.”

Published: 21/05/2024
Genre: Horror
Page count: 453
Format read: 📖
Other books read by this author: None

Loosely based on various historical figures, 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫’s biography of doctor Silas Weir draws on several sources; Weir’s autobiography & the words of his ‘prized patient’ Brigit Kinealy, as well as those of Weir’s eldest son & the asylum’s gravedigger. 
Weir’s gentlemanly storytelling skirts around the depravity of his actions, making the reader at times almost sympathetic to his cause (reminiscent of Humbert Humbert in Lolita, ‘you can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style’). However, as the novel progresses, his mask starts to slip more & more as his cruelty is revealed in the matter of fact way he proposes the barbaric experiments he means to carry out on asylum inmates, who he views as less than human. His opinions on women, though no doubt partly influenced by the time period, are utterly rage-inducing, & attempts to use his religious zeal to excuse his deep hatred of women is laughable (as his son Jonathan puts it in his editor’s note: “Though father regarded the female vagina as a "hell-hole of filth & corruption" & the female genitals as "loathsome in design, function, & aesthetics," yet somehow it happened by God's interdiction that there were nine of us borne of his loins & the womb of dear Mother”). 
As Weir begins by degrees to show his true self, the words of others serve to show the gulf between the way Weir sees himself, & the way he is seen by the females in his care; a juxtaposition that is both fascinating & deeply upsetting. Personally I would have preferred more from the points of view of the women 'treated' by Weir, but in a way their remaining silenced says more about the time that the novel is set & the views on women by the medical profession at the time. Indeed, the only female given a voice by editor Jonathan is one that he has a personal stake in, so this is no doubt entirely intentional on the part of the author; men being given free rein to tell their stories, & the audience left to read between the lines to discover the truth.

“𝔐𝔞𝔶𝔟𝔢 𝔥𝔢’𝔡 𝔨𝔫𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔦𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔰𝔥𝔢’𝔡 𝔰𝔢𝔱 𝔢𝔶𝔢𝔰 𝔬𝔫 𝔥𝔦𝔪, 𝔦𝔫 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔫𝔢𝔯 𝔬𝔣 𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔞𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤, 𝔟𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔰𝔱, 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔫𝔩𝔶 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢 𝔗𝔬𝔪 𝔓𝔞𝔯𝔨𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔞𝔡 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔡, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔦𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔲𝔢𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔰𝔢𝔢𝔫.”

Published: 14/06/22
Genre: Fantasy, paranormal romance
Page count: 417
Format read: 🎧
Other books read by this author: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲, 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫

Me for most of this book: Wow there are too many characters I’m so confused.
Me at the end of this book: I would die for these characters.

Beautiful, haunting, laugh out loud funny, I adore Olivie’s writing with every fibre of my being. I loved the framing of the novel with Death’s narration, his sardonic wit gripping me from the very start. I found the amount of characters & the non-linear story a little hard to keep up with at times, but by the end I was utterly sold on this strange band of demigods, angels, demons, ghosts, vampires & mortals, & was rooting for every single love story. A novel that transcends worlds, yet feels like a warm cup of tea & a blanket.

"𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔢𝔩𝔰𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔢 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴 𝔰𝔭𝔞𝔠𝔢𝔰 ℑ'𝔳𝔢 𝔠𝔞𝔯𝔳𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔶𝔬𝔲. ℑ 𝔨𝔫𝔢𝔴 ℑ'𝔡 𝔠𝔲𝔱 𝔪𝔶𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔱𝔬 𝔭𝔦𝔢𝔠𝔢𝔰 𝔬𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔦𝔣 𝔴𝔢 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔞𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔬𝔲𝔠𝔥, 𝔟𝔲𝔱 ℑ 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬." ℌ𝔦𝔰 𝔳𝔬𝔦𝔠𝔢 𝔲𝔫𝔯𝔞𝔳𝔢𝔩𝔰, 𝔪𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔞𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔫 𝔶𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤. "𝔏𝔢𝔱 𝔪𝔢 𝔯𝔲𝔦𝔫 𝔪𝔶𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔬𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲."

Published: 28/10/25 (ARC)

Genre: Horror, YA

Page count: 368

Format read: 📱

Other books read by this author: 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐈𝐧

I knew I would love this book after 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐈𝐧, but love isn’t the right word. 𝐇𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧 has left me breathless; yearning; haunted. The botanical body horror, the crumbling mansion with its deadly secrets, the feral longing that make up the most poetic murder mystery you will ever read. I adored the boys with my whole heart; Laurie with his sardonic wit & effortless charm, & Evander, constantly berating himself for his autistic tendencies & the hole where his memories should be. The plot is as full of twists & turns as the vines that snake along ribcages & every shock feels like being bitten by thorns in place of teeth. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough & am left hollow with loss at finishing this visceral, suffocating, gothic masterpiece. 

Thankyou to CG Drews, Macmillan Children’s Publishing, & NetGalley for the ARC.

“𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔞 𝔰𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔨𝔢, 𝔞 𝔩𝔢𝔬𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔡, 𝔞 𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔤𝔲𝔢, 𝔞 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔩𝔦𝔳𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔫𝔩𝔶 𝔱𝔬 𝔨𝔦𝔩𝔩. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔟𝔢𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔡 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔓𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔠𝔢—𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤, 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔈𝔪𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔬𝔯. 𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔣 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲—𝔦𝔣 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔰𝔢𝔢 𝔫𝔬 𝔡𝔦𝔣𝔣𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔱𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔬𝔩𝔡𝔦𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔣𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔟𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔬𝔩𝔡𝔦𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔣𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔤𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲, 𝔦𝔣 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔰𝔩𝔢𝔢𝔭 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔢𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔶 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔬𝔴 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔪𝔲𝔯𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪—𝔴𝔢𝔩𝔩. ℑ𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔴𝔦𝔰𝔥 𝔦𝔱𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔢𝔩𝔰𝔢.”

Published: 05/11/22
Genre: Fantasy, short story
Page count: 30
Format read: 📱
Other books read by this author: None

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐱 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 is a very short story, but one of the best I’ve ever read. A servant girl is visited by the Saint of War & her life is spared in order for her to fulfil the prophecy of becoming the kingdom’s greatest warrior; a flame-haired devil whose enemies cower before her & whose name will always be sung. Utterly compelling, hauntingly beautiful, desperately sad; I could’ve read so much more of this yet felt it was absolutely perfect & wouldn’t change a thing. This is the first thing I’ve read by the author but I can’t wait to read more after this.