drakaina16's Reviews (2.21k)

Thank you to the author for providing a review copy. 

This is a top-notch collection of stories from Holly Rae Garcia. There is something to please (and disgust) every flavor of horror fan. This is also the last book of 2023 for me, and it definitely helped me go out on a high note. 4.25 stars

Regulators ⭐⭐⭐.75
Flap ⭐⭐⭐.5
Blood of the Rougarou ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Even the Jellyfish ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Step Right Up ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
How to Pose the Dead ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Trash Bags ⭐⭐⭐.5
Those Goddamn Strawberries ⭐⭐⭐.75
Her Mother's Smile ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Two Months Too Long ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fire in the Night ⭐⭐⭐
Liberty Bell ⭐⭐⭐.75
Flesh Communion ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
A Werewolf's Lament ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
When the Swell Breaks ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Bay Sirius Witch of Atchafalaya Basin ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Finest French Lace ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I Watch Them ⭐⭐⭐.75
Just a Dream ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
The Many Indiscretions of Agent 592 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Octosquatch ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
The Dinner Rush ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Three Acts ⭐⭐⭐.5
Step by Step ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Star of San Luis ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75
Cat Food ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy. 
I wanted to love this book. My only prior experience with Simon R. Green are the Night side books, which I loved. I absolutely devoured those books. This book was so slow and it contains one of my most hated tropes. I finished it, but I'm not glad I did. 

For fans of: female psychopaths, American Psycho
I will admit I initially struggled with this book quite a bit. It is slow, but interesting and I'm ultimately really glad I stuck with it. The book is so well-written, I just found myself having a hard time picking it up. Things certainly ramp up in the last third of the book and I found myself gripped by it all the way up to the end. 4.5 stars, rounded up 

Thank you to Cemetery Dance for providing a review copy. 
This book is a very interesting mashup of prose, poems, and art all detailing what exactly happened to the seemingly abandoned town of Miskatonic Falls. The concept of a town, completely abandoned, but filled with scraps of poetry is a super creepy one. The poems managed to convey a sense of creeping dread throughout the narrative. 3.25 stars

Thank you to the author for providing a review copy. 
This is a very impressive debut novella. The cross-section of splatterpunk and urban crime novel really worked for me. There's a lot of brutality in these few pages. I also loved the shootouts to the indie author community and Books of Horror Facebook group. I'm always so proud to be in spaces where authors support one another. I've definitely got my eye on Chaz Williams and I'm excited to read more from him. 4.25 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy. 
Can I just say how absolutely satisfying this book was to read? I only wish it had been a true story. Duncan Ralston is one of my must-read authors, and based on the title alone, I knew this was going to be a wild ride. I went into it completely blind, the only information coming from the book title. It was everything I hoped it would be. 4.5 stars, rounded up. 

This book was not really for me. It's written in an almost diary-like way, but nothing really seems to happen. The story is set up, but it doesn't go anywhere. I realize the book is part of a trilogy, but I doubt I'll be reading the rest. I'm not a huge fan of reading spice scenes, but especially not when it's graphic sex between teenagers. 

A third of the way in and I was bored to tears