drakaina16's Reviews (2.21k)

Thank you to Cemetery Dance for providing a review copy. 
God Machine ticks so many boxes for me. Crime horror, grief horror, the occult. I read Smoke, In Crimson by the same author a couple of weeks ago. I enjoyed it and the writing impressed me. God Machine, however, blew me away. There were passages so beautiful that I had to reread them to appreciate them all over again. Greg F. Gifune has just made my "must-read" list. 

Thank you to BookSirens for providing a review copy. 
Deadly flora is one of my very favorite horror tropes. This is a very solid anthology with various takes on deadly plants. I enjoyed it a lot and was introduced to some new authors. 3.75 stars, rounded up. 

Black Thumb by Alyssa Beatty ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Seedling by Kate Ess ⭐⭐⭐.5
Plant Friends by Jen Mierisch ⭐⭐⭐.25
The Koi Pond by Josephine Queen ⭐⭐⭐⭐
An Invitation to the Grovener Mountain Resort by Lisa Fox ⭐⭐⭐
Mother by Katie Jordan ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Where the Fireflies Fall by Melissa R. Mendelson ⭐⭐.75
Blood & Thorns: A Family by Andrea Goyan ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Tears of Green by Alex Grehy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Bubble by R.A. Clarke ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book is so strange and beautiful. Every sentence reads like poetry. The atmospheres evoked and heavy and moody. I read We Are Wormwood quite a few years ago now and I still think about it a lot. The stories contained here are short, but they definitely have an impact. 

Thank you to the author for providing a review copy. 
I wanted to like this book. I've read a couple of Justin Boote's books and enjoyed those. This one just didn't do it for me. It doesn't add anything new or particularly interesting to the haunted house trope. The whole Karl arc didn't really wrap up for me or really even seem to have a point. And I found the real life aspects harder to believe than the ghosts. (Just calling up hospitals with a vague description and they just hand out patient info?) 2 sad stars. 

Thank you to Cemetery Dance for providing a review copy. 
This is an exceptionally strange little novella. I'm not really one for religion and the pondering of such, but despite this I read the whole thing in one sitting. I liked it, but I'm not sure I got it entirely. It is a very interesting character study and I'm intrigued enough by it to seek out other works by the author. 

Thank you to Wicked House Publishing and NetGalley for providing a review copy. 
Where to even start with Gollitok? The prose is lush and beautiful - cinematic even. I had no trouble at all picturing the story as it unfolded. Speaking of the story unfolding, I feel like it is best read with a vague idea of what the plotline is and very little else. Let it surprise you as things start coming together. A very strong slow burn of a novel. 4.5 stars

Thank you to the author for providing a review copy. 

For fans of: B movies, murderous couples, comedic horror
I had such a great time with this book! I read it in two sittings. Having read The Comfy-Cozy Nihilist, I was already a fan of Nathan D. Ludwig. This short novel expanded on the wit I loved so much reading the collection. Love Potion #666 is so clever and funny. If you don't write sex scenes like Mr. Ludwig, I don't want to read them. 

Thank you to the author for providing a review copy. 
I just love the Pagham-On-Sea books and The Reluctant Husband is no exception. If you've wondered how outsiders get brought into the family, this short prequel will answer that question. I'd happily read more about the ancestors of the characters. The world-building is just so good.