drakaina16's Reviews (2.21k)

Thank you to BookSirens for providing a review copy. 

One thing I have learned about Mark Towse after reading this collection is that he is a master of making the mundane really disturbing. So many of these stories took normal situations and turned them on their heads. I really enjoyed this collection. 4 stars

There's Something Wrong with Aunty Beth ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
The Fruits of Labour  ⭐⭐⭐.75
My Name is Mark Kellis ⭐⭐⭐
Mama's Boy ⭐⭐⭐
An Old Romantic ⭐⭐.5
Mother Dearest ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Music Man ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Bucket of Chicken ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cosy Street ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
The Undertones ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
A Bad Harvest ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Long Distance Call ⭐⭐⭐.5
Retail Therapy ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Time for a Change ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mount Pleasant House ⭐⭐⭐.5
Just a Fly ⭐⭐⭐
Old Times ⭐⭐⭐
Time to Reflect ⭐⭐⭐.25
The Bedroom Window ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Make Me Shine ⭐⭐⭐
The Candle Maker ⭐⭐⭐.75

Thank you to the author for providing a review copy. 

This book is a very difficult ones. There are some heavy triggers, so I would suggest checking them before diving in. Junkman is a book that really pulls at your heart. Stories where basically good people who have been through some shit and are about to go through a whole lot more shit really get me. The "cursed object" in the book is severely creepy and it's very well-written, so those scenes were particularly effective. This was my first Christopher Bevard book, but I definitely hope to read more. 4.25 stars 

Thank you to the authors for providing a review copy. 

Holy shit, this book was so much fun! I'm realizing that game show horror might be one of my favorite really niche subgenres. They're always such a good time, and I enjoyed every bit of Slashvivor! Even though the cast of characters is filled with sadistic murderers and mutants, I kind of liked all of them. The story itself is very smart and funny, and Dawn is a badass main character. I would love to see her story continue. 4.5 stars

The out-the-gate Christian proselytizing is not it for me

I was already familiar with Debra Castaneda via The Root Witch, which I thought was a really cool and unique story. I enjoyed it a lot. This book, however, blew me away. Nature and the ocean are already scary as hell, so add a big storm and something from the deep and I'm all in. It is deeply unsettling and fraught with tension - it gave me a bit of real-world anxiety which is pretty rare. 5 stars

Thank you to the author for providing a review copy. 

If you're a fan of cosmic horror in the vein of Thomas Ligotti, I think you'll definitely enjoy this collection. The stories are all really eerie. I hope C.F. Page finds a publisher for "Nocturnium," because I was intrigued by the excerpt. 3.75 stars

The Globster of Cape Frankfurt ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
The Boondoggle ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Born of Blood [A Love Story] ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Hand ⭐⭐⭐.5
Nocturnium ⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and Vincere Press for providing a review copy. 

I always have so much fun with the Try Not to Die books. When I found out there were doing a version of Slashtag, I knew I had to read it. Slashtag is one of the best books I read last year and getting to play along was tons of fun. While you don't need to have read Slashtag to enjoy this book, I highly recommend doing so because it's awesome. 5 stars for the 5 times I died on Slashtag. 

Thank you to NetGalley and ECW Press for providing a review copy. 

This is a very interesting historical horror book that I feel would best be described as "backwoods gothic." It is slow as molasses, but I found Miss Ada Byrd to be a fascinating, well-rounded character. The book is written in an epistolary style, told through diary entries. That said, I wanted a bit more from the ending, but due to the style it is rather abrupt. 4 stars

I really wanted to like this book, and I did finish it. But I kind of wish I had DNF'd. The emotion I mostly felt when reading it was frustration. Pyet is unlikeable and spends most of the time moaning. The ultra-slow, confusing reveal didn't do the book any favors and the ending wasn't really worth the slog. 

Thank you to DarkLit Press for providing a review copy. 

This book is eerie, surreal, dreamlike - and also all too real. It is incredibly well-written, and therein lies the rub. Massive trigger warnings for heroin addiction. If you've ever wondered what goes through a heroin addict's mind when they're trying to get clean, wonder no more. This book has you covered. I'm almost 9 years clean from heroin and very solid in that, but this book could definitely be triggering. The story is super cool and I really rooted for the protagonist. 4.5 stars