drakaina16's Reviews (2.21k)

C.M. Rosens has once again managed to make me fall even more in love with Ricky and Carrie. This short story is so, so good. I adore the Pagham-On-Sea series and can't wait for more. 

Thank you to DarkLit Press for providing a review copy. 
Cosmic horror is one of my absolute favorite subgenres and books like Lacuna's Point remind me why that is. It's chock full of creeping, existential dread where nothing is what it seems. Tim Meyer deftly handles a large cast of characters. Although they were many, they never felt flat or uninteresting. This is a must-read if you love cosmic horror and small town evil. 

This book has a really cool concept, kind of like a hellish Groundhog Day. The less said about it, the better though, because I think this book works better going in somewhat blind. I think the book was a bit overlong, with the narrative often getting bogged down and repetitive. The conclusion was satisfying, though. 3.75 stars, rounded up. 

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy. 
Godly Heathens is everything I love most about young adult fiction. The quirky characters, the story that creates its own mythology, the humor that made me laugh out loud a few times. It's the kind of book that I wish had existed when I was in high school. Although I am long out of the YA age bracket, I feel this could be a life changing or affirming book for queer young people. Strong 5 stars. 

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy. 
I wanted to like this book so badly. The synopsis sounded super interesting and the cover is gorgeous. Ultimately, it all fell flat for me. The plot (what plot there is - this book is definitely character driven) moves glacially slowly, meanders, provides glimpses,
 meanders some more and never really gets anywhere or has any kind of payoff. Despite the fact that the book is character driven, I finished it feeling that I knew absolutely nothing about these people, and didn't care what happened to them at all. 

Thank you to BookSirens for providing a review copy. 
I did not love this book, but I didn't hate it either. It has a very YA feel, though I'm not sure if it's being marketed that way. There are some glaring plot holes (how did all this stuff get down there in the first place) and the characters felt very flat to me. They never showed any growth, they just had their roles right from the start. The concept of this book is really, really cool and there are some truly creepy monsters throughout. 3.25 stars 

This chapbook is beautifully written. The art is gorgeous. But I spent most of the very short story wondering wtf was going on. It did come together in the end. 

This little novella packs a very serious creep factor in so few pages. The whole concept of the story is frightening as hell, then add a 4 year old and a dad who is doing everything he can to minimize the boy's trauma to ratchet up the anxiety. 4.25 stars 

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy. 
This is a collection of poems exploring themes of estrangement, yearning, losing, and loving. The poems are intimate, searing, painful, and breathtakingly beautiful. Strong 5 stars. 

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for providing a review copy. 
This is a twisty, rain-soaked, atmospheric take of two sets of sisters and how their lives intertwine. This book takes the classic gothic tropes and fashions them into a murder mystery entangled in family secrets. I really enjoyed this book, although I felt it was a little long. I loved Christa Carmen's short story collection and I think she is absolutely one to watch in the horror genre. 4.5 stars, rounded up.