“𝔖𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔬𝔴𝔡, 𝔥𝔬𝔭𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔣𝔦𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔬𝔲𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢, 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔢𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱. 𝔄 𝔣𝔢𝔴 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔶𝔦𝔫𝔤, 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔪𝔬𝔰𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔱𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔡 𝔤𝔯𝔦𝔪𝔩𝔶, 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔣𝔞𝔠𝔢𝔰 𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔩𝔦𝔡 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔢𝔬𝔲𝔰. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢, 𝔶𝔢𝔰, 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔊𝔬𝔬𝔡𝔶 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔄𝔫𝔰𝔢𝔩, 𝔴𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔣𝔞𝔠𝔢𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔶𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔦𝔫𝔫𝔢𝔯 𝔳𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰, 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔪𝔬𝔰𝔱 𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔰𝔭𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔢𝔡, 𝔞𝔩𝔪𝔬𝔰𝔱 𝔦𝔫 𝔯𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢, 𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔪𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔊𝔬𝔡 ℌ𝔦𝔪𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣, 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔰 𝔠𝔩𝔞𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔟𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔰, 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔲𝔭𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔪𝔞𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱, 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔩𝔦𝔭𝔰 𝔪𝔬𝔳𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔦𝔫 𝔰𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔪𝔲𝔫𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔏𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔞𝔳𝔦𝔬𝔯. 𝔄𝔟𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔞 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔰𝔢𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔭𝔢𝔬𝔭𝔩𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔡, 𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔩𝔶 𝔟𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔡, 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔶 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔡𝔬𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔊𝔬𝔡'𝔰 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔨 𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔡𝔞𝔶. 𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔭𝔢𝔬𝔭𝔩𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔥𝔬𝔯𝔯𝔦𝔣𝔦𝔢𝔡 𝔄𝔟𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔞 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔰𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔣𝔞𝔠𝔢𝔰 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔠𝔯𝔲𝔢𝔩𝔱𝔶. 𝔄𝔰 𝔞𝔱 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔱 𝔠𝔯𝔲𝔢𝔩𝔱𝔶 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔟𝔢 𝔭𝔬𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔲𝔱, 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔡. 𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔣, 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔞𝔟𝔰𝔬𝔩𝔲𝔱𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔳𝔦𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔢𝔳𝔦𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔶 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔡𝔬𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔤𝔬𝔬𝔡, 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔊𝔬𝔡'𝔰 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔨-𝔥𝔬𝔴, 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡, 𝔥𝔬𝔴 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔰𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔞 𝔡𝔞𝔯𝔨 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔳𝔦𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔢 𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢?”

Published: 14/09/21

Genre: Horror

Page count: 312

Format read: 📖

Other books read by this author: None

One of the most immersive books I’ve ever read! I was transported straight into 1600’s Connecticut & was shocked to discover I was reading everytime I came up for air. I thoroughly adored Abitha & felt pure vitriol towards those who wronged her. I loved the supernatural elements of the novel & the connections between folklore & religion, particularly the way Samson struggled to discover his identity & his place in the world. A wonderful horror novel where the horror comes not from the demons & wild creatures of the forest, but the dangers of organised religion & the human capacity for cruelty. 

“ℌ𝔦𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔞𝔲𝔱𝔦𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔣𝔞𝔠𝔢 𝔡𝔬𝔢𝔰𝔫’𝔱 𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔣𝔱, 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔢𝔫𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔱𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔡𝔦𝔣𝔣𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔢𝔡𝔤𝔢, 𝔫𝔬𝔴. ℌ𝔢, 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔱, 𝔦𝔰 𝔥𝔲𝔫𝔤𝔯𝔶, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔱𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔰 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔶𝔢𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔞 𝔰𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔨𝔢, 𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔦𝔪𝔭𝔞𝔩𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔬𝔫 𝔟𝔞𝔯𝔟𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔯𝔫𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔨𝔢𝔢𝔭 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔬 𝔥𝔦𝔪𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔞𝔰 𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔰 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔬 𝔭𝔦𝔢𝔠𝔢𝔰. 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔠𝔬𝔠𝔨𝔰 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔠𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔞𝔦𝔯 𝔦𝔰 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔬𝔩𝔡. ℌ𝔢 𝔰𝔪𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔰, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔱𝔥 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔭. “ℑ’𝔡 𝔯𝔢𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔯𝔲𝔫, 𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢 𝔤𝔦𝔯𝔩.” 𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔗𝔯𝔢𝔦𝔩𝔞 𝔡𝔬𝔢𝔰.”

Published: 20/05/25 (ARC)

Genre: Horror

Page count: 342

Format read: 📱

Other books read by this author: None

Castle Aymer has been under siege for six months, & its residents are fast running out of food. The novel follows the POV of three characters - Phosyne the heretic, miracle-working ex-nun; Ser Voyne the loyal knight; & Treila the traitor's daughter-cum-servant - who watch as the castle is visited by a group of what appear to be saints, though it is unclear whether they come bearing salvation, or something darker.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 is beautifully written, an exploration of idolatry & zealotry juxtaposed with visceral body horror. I loved the medieval castle setting, & the characterisation of the three heroines, their differences stark but trivial in the face of their increasingly dangerous position. The underlying sense of dread that rises throughout the novel is flawlessly done; the horrors of siege warfare exacerbated by monsters you can barely see but whose teeth are no less sharp, & saviours hiding rot & decay beneath layers of decadence & frivolity. 

Thankyou to Caitlin Starling, Avon & Harper Voyager, & NetGalley for the ARC.

“ℌ𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰𝔫’𝔱 𝔰𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔱, 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔣𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔩𝔢. 𝔗𝔥𝔬𝔪𝔞𝔰 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡𝔫’𝔱 𝔞𝔯𝔤𝔲𝔢 𝔞𝔤𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱. 𝔄𝔫𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔴 𝔥𝔞𝔡 𝔞𝔩𝔴𝔞𝔶𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔞 𝔤𝔩𝔞𝔰𝔰 𝔟𝔬𝔶 𝔪𝔞𝔡𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔴𝔦𝔰𝔥𝔟𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔨𝔢𝔩𝔢𝔱𝔬𝔫 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔳𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔬𝔣𝔱, 𝔪𝔬𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢𝔡 𝔣𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔰, 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔟𝔢𝔱𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔴𝔬 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪, 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔶 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔭 𝔥𝔦𝔪 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔟𝔢𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔟𝔯𝔬𝔨𝔢𝔫.”

Published: 30/04/25
Genre: Short story
Page count: 32
Format read: 📱
Other books read by this author: 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐈𝐧, 𝐇𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 Is a free short prequel story to 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐈𝐧 & is available to read for free on @paperfury’s profile, with a downloadable ebook containing three of Andrew’s short stories available for Patreon subscribers. Short but sweet (not sweet, fragile), it is set before the events of 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐈𝐧 & contains minor spoilers, so read that first (you’re missing out if you haven’t, trust me). We get to see the Perrault siblings from Thomas’s point of view, & it is everything I hoped it would be. I love Andrew & Thomas with my whole heart & I will never have enough of anything to do with their story, so thankyou to CG for this beautiful little glimpse into their world.

“𝔐𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔭𝔢𝔬𝔭𝔩𝔢 𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔤𝔲𝔫𝔰. 𝔊𝔲𝔫𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔶 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔪𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔬𝔫𝔞𝔩, 𝔞 𝔮𝔲𝔦𝔢𝔱 𝔠𝔩𝔦𝔠𝔨 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔞𝔠𝔯𝔬𝔰𝔰 𝔞 𝔯𝔬𝔬𝔪, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔢𝔵𝔭𝔩𝔬𝔡𝔢 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔬𝔫𝔢'𝔰 𝔟𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔰 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔬𝔲𝔠𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪. ℑ𝔫 𝔞 𝔴𝔞𝔶, ℭ𝔬𝔯𝔞 𝔡𝔬𝔢𝔰𝔫'𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔨 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔟𝔢 𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔡. ℑ𝔣 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔡, 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔰𝔦𝔫𝔨 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔣𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔢𝔶𝔢𝔰, 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔞 𝔠𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔞𝔭𝔰𝔢 𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔰, 𝔩𝔢𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪 𝔰𝔠𝔯𝔞𝔱𝔠𝔥 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔞𝔯𝔪𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔭𝔲𝔩𝔩 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔥𝔞𝔦𝔯 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔠𝔯𝔶 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔟𝔢𝔤. 𝔅𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔦𝔣 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔨𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔬𝔫𝔢, 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔦𝔱 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔞𝔫𝔶𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔶𝔬𝔲'𝔳𝔢 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔟𝔢𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢. ℑ𝔱 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡𝔫'𝔱 𝔟𝔢 𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔶.”

Published: 07/01/25

Genre: Horror

Page count: 304

Format read: 📖

Other books read by this author: None

Set in New York during the COVID pandemic, 𝐁𝐚𝐭 𝐄𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 & 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐚 𝐙𝐞𝐧𝐠 is a horror story in a myriad of different ways. 

In the wake of a family tragedy, Cora Zeng takes a job as a crime scene cleaner; her compulsive scouring just as suited to blood & brains as the germs that Cora sees everywhere she looks. Despite her efforts to keep them at bay, her colleagues soon become both her co-conspirators in the hunt for a serial killer, & her fellow ghostbusters, as Cora finds herself haunted by her past in more ways than one.

The writing is beautiful & immediately transports you back to the days of empty streets, masks, the struggle to purchase basic essentials due to panic buying, & the ever-present fear seeping into every facet of everyday life. I adored the characters, particularly Cora & her friends, & her ferocious Auntie Zeng. The book was fast-paced & I genuinely struggled to get enough of the story, though I was left reeling by the end from the absolute rollercoaster of emotions that Kylie Lee Baker puts us through. 

The book deals so well with themes of trauma, racism, religion, the rise of the far right, policing, child abuse, & mental health issues, leaving us questioning which we fear more: the supernatural, or the plethora of cruelties one human being is capable of inflicting on another. 

“ℑ 𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔩𝔶, 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔠 𝔟𝔢𝔞𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔭𝔲𝔩𝔰𝔢 𝔦𝔫 𝔪𝔶 𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔱. 𝔖𝔥𝔢 𝔨𝔦𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔰 𝔪𝔢, 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔰𝔬𝔯𝔯𝔬𝔴 𝔞𝔰 𝔟𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔢𝔞. ℑ 𝔴𝔦𝔰𝔥 ℑ 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔨𝔢𝔢𝔭 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔠𝔩𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯, 𝔣𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔠𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔪𝔶 𝔟𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔰, 𝔱𝔲𝔠𝔨 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔞𝔣𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥 𝔪𝔶 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱.”

Published: 01/07/25 (ARC)

Genre: Fantasy, gothic, horror

Page count: 304

Format read: 📱

Other books read by this author: None

𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲, 𝐈 𝐀𝐦 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 is a masterpiece of a novel filled with haunting, lyrical prose. A bisexual gothic daydream exploring themes of ritual & religion, family dynamics, & class divides. A story of opposites: the disparity between loving brothers & abusive fathers, sprawling mansions & country cottages, academia & rural life, gods & mortals, friendship & betrayal. The characters & the relationships between them that ebb & flow like the tide are complemented beautifully by the settings, with descriptions so vivid they are almost an assault on the senses; the scent of sea salt & wildflowers, the crash of waves & the whisper of turned pages & footsteps through galleries, the taste of blood. An utterly perfect novel. 

Thankyou to Lyndall Clipstone, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, & NetGalley for the ARC.

“𝔅𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔴𝔞𝔰𝔫'𝔱 𝔞 𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔟𝔢𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔨 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔟𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔫 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬, 𝔞 𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢 𝔯𝔞𝔷𝔷𝔩𝔢-𝔡𝔞𝔷𝔷𝔩𝔢 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞 𝔪𝔦𝔯𝔯𝔬𝔯 𝔬𝔣𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔲𝔫. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔥𝔞𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔳𝔢 𝔦𝔱, 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔥𝔞𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔨 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔦𝔱, 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔥𝔞𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔠𝔥𝔬𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔦𝔱 - 𝔬𝔫 𝔞𝔫𝔶 𝔤𝔦𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔡𝔞𝔶 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔥𝔞𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔠𝔥𝔬𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔯𝔢𝔪𝔢𝔪𝔟𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔤𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔟𝔞𝔡, 𝔱𝔬 𝔥𝔬𝔫𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔤𝔯𝔞𝔡𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔧𝔬𝔶 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔞𝔠𝔠𝔢𝔭𝔱 𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔦𝔠𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰 - 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔦𝔡 𝔐𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔚𝔯𝔢𝔫 𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔲𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔶 𝔨𝔫𝔬𝔴 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱?”

Published: 03/04/25

Genre: Contemporary fantasy 

Page count: 512

Format read: 🎧

Other books read by this author: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲, 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡

𝐆𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 & 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 was initially a little slow to draw me in, but by the end I couldn’t get enough. Though the Wrens are all ostensibly terrible human beings, as the novel progresses you find yourself liking them more & more. Though each sibling is deeply troubled - in no small part due to their relationships with their late father, Thayer Wren - they are far more complex than they first appear: Arthur is a sweetheart trying to make the world a better place; Meredith is independent & fierce as hell; & Eilidh is mired in grief from the loss of her career as a prima ballerina. I adored several of the side characters, particularly Arthur's wife Gillian, his F1 driver boyfriend Yves, & former Wren family friend Lu. The story is very much character rather than plot-driven, the action centring on the contents of Thayer's will, & though I guessed the 'twist' fairly early on this still kept me engaged as it was the way the characters dealt with the suspense & subsequent revelations that were fascinating rather than the revelations themselves. The fantasy element of the novel, the Magitech industry & the unusual maladies faced by Arthur & Eilidh, is fascinating but takes a backseat to the characters, serving simply as a way for us to get to know them better. Olivie's trademark beautiful & complex prose is as perfect as ever, working with an unusual narration style to create a multi-layered & unforgettable novel, where both nothing & everything happens all at once. 

“𝔖𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 ℑ 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔩 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 ℑ’𝔳𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔟𝔲𝔦𝔩𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔞 ℌ𝔬𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔪𝔶 𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔟𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔰. 𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔩𝔩, 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔨 𝔞𝔱 𝔪𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔰𝔬 𝔪𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔪𝔭𝔱 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔪𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔰𝔱. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔦𝔫 𝔟𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔤𝔞𝔭𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔯𝔬𝔬𝔣 𝔬𝔣 𝔪𝔶 𝔯𝔦𝔟𝔰, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔰𝔨 𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔤𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔪𝔶𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔱𝔬 𝔣𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔪𝔶 𝔥𝔦𝔭𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔟𝔬𝔴𝔩 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔡𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔨 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪. 𝔐𝔶 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔰, 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔟𝔢𝔡. 𝔐𝔶 𝔞𝔯𝔪𝔰, 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔴𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔰. 𝔐𝔶 𝔩𝔢𝔤𝔰, 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔬𝔫. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔣𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔬𝔣 𝔪𝔶 𝔟𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔠𝔯𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔦𝔱. 𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔡𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔪𝔢?”

Published: 12/10/23

Genre: Horror, gothic

Page count: 304

Format read: 📖

Other books read by this author: 𝐀𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐬

A lush, gothic, bloody story of obsession, survival, & sisterhood. Desperate to escape the southern slums, Marion boards the night train to travel north & become a bloodmaid for the ailing Countess Lisavet at the notorious House of Hunger. There she must wrestle with her fellow bloodmaids for the affections of their mistress & the coveted position of first bloodmaid, whilst uncovering the house’s hidden corridors & dark secrets. I loved the worldbuilding & characters so much, though I found Marion a tiny bit frustrating at times! The setting & aesthetics of the novel were stunning, the descriptions vivid & haunting. My only issue with the story was that the pacing felt a little off, there was lots of build up & then so much to resolve in the last few chapters, but I think that’s partly me wishing the book was longer. Overall, a fantastic novel that I would definitely recommend. 

“ℌ𝔬𝔴 𝔡𝔬 𝔭𝔢𝔬𝔭𝔩𝔢 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢, ℑ 𝔴𝔬𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯, 𝔨𝔫𝔬𝔴𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔪𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔰𝔬 𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔲𝔰, 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔞𝔱 𝔞𝔫𝔶 𝔰𝔢𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔡, 𝔦𝔱 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔪𝔢𝔩𝔱 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔰𝔫𝔬𝔴, 𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔞𝔰𝔥?”

Published: 04/03/25

Genre: Dystopian, sci-fi, YA, romance

Page count: 384

Format read: 🎧

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

A sapphic romance between a taxidermist & a cyborg in a bleak dystopian world. I loved the backstory to this so much; the concept of a company using debt to take over a population serves as both a terrifying vision of the future & a scathing indictment of capitalism. I also loved the concept of the Lamb’s Gauntlet & the way everything is live-streamed to the citizens to keep them both in line with the knowledge that they could be next, & utterly hooked on the drama unfolding before them. Where this fell down for me a little was the main characters. I didn’t think there was as much depth to them as there could have been & I would have liked more build up to their romance. I’ve seen a lot of people complaining about the ending, however this was one of my favourite parts & worked so well with the concept & tone of the novel. 

“𝔄𝔱 𝔰𝔦𝔵, ℑ’𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔣𝔲𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢𝔩𝔩𝔶; 𝔞𝔱 𝔰𝔦𝔵𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔫, ℑ’𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔡𝔣𝔩𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔤𝔬𝔬𝔰𝔢𝔟𝔢𝔯𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔐𝔞𝔶𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔩𝔢’𝔰 𝔪𝔬𝔲𝔱𝔥 𝔬𝔫 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔢. 𝔄𝔱 𝔰𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔫, ℑ 𝔨𝔫𝔢𝔴 𝔟𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯: 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔶𝔬𝔲’𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔨𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔣𝔬𝔯.”

Published: 11/03/25

Genre: Fantasy, sci-fi, short story 

Page count: 40

Format read: 📱

Other books read by this author: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐱 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭, 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

Without a shadow of a doubt, the best short story I have ever read, & a contender for one of the best things I've ever read full stop. A haunting post-apocalyptic ode to love, grief, & survival. 

“𝔚𝔞𝔰 𝔪𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔠 𝔞𝔰 𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔪𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔟𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔭𝔞𝔦𝔫 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔥𝔬𝔭𝔢?”

Published: 05/04/23

Genre: Horror

Page count: 259

Format read: 🎧

Other books read by this author: 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 & 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐧𝐞𝐬 

Very similar in content & tone to the other books I've read so far by Kingfisher (with the exception of 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 & 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐞, which was more fantasy than horror), but it's a winning formula & I can't get enough of it. Starting off strong with a plus-size thirty-something FMC staying with her mother during a break from her work as an archaeological etymologist, we plunge into suburbia with a twist - on an otherwise normal street, enormous vultures perch on nearby rooftops & mailboxes, intently watching the house - & things only get stranger from there. As always, Kingfisher expertly balances the line between horror & humour, with you laughing out loud even as goosebumps appear across your skin. Thoroughly recommended.