Jonathan Van Ness is just a joy to listen to because he radiates acceptance, happiness, and enthusiasm. I am a firm believer that enthusiasm is crazy contagious and the more enthusiastic someone is, the more open they allow themselves to receive great things and a sense of purpose. JVN is the killer queen that you have always known him to be, but in this book we get to explore an even deeper side to him that is not directly tied to an episode theme/agenda. He gets to fully be himself, embrace who he is, and give some insights and lessons into his life and our lives. 4 stars and a great read!

4 stars - review to come!

Magic can be found everywhere and within us all. It is in our past, present, and future.

The Wicked Deep is a story that takes place in a small seaside town (one of my favorite settings in books and on screen). Each year the residents throw a big beginning of summer party that also serves to honor a sort of urban legend or tradition about three sisters who were sentenced to death centuries ago for being witches. The legend says that each year the three sisters will inhabit the body of a local girl and user their witchy, mermaidy, sireny charms to each lure a man to his watery tomb.

But something happens different this year when an outsider comes to visit the town seeking answer for the death of his brother the year prior.

I was originally leaning towards giving this book 3 stars. But we get TONS of atmosphere in this book and that really helped bump up my rating to 4 stars. I felt like I was on this island being enveloped in the coastal summer breeze and could smell the salty air. I really loved that.

In the midst of all the supernatural elements in this book we do have a bit of a little YA romance happening. But in the end, I think the romance seemed natural and unforced. It even gave me all the feels near the end.

Fans of supernatural mystery with a hint of YA fantasy and romance will definitely enjoy this one. I was pulled in with the first third of the book... then the second third sort of slowed down for me and had some repetition... but then the final third of the book arrested my senses and I couldn't stop turning those pages fast enough. 4 stars!

Giving this one 3 stars for the main fact that I enjoy stories and movies that take place at a camp. But... this was a sports camp... and I would never go to one of those! I enjoyed the cosmic horror/Godlike demon that was behind everything and how the whole situation went down. It actually read like an episode of Buffy Season 2 if I think about it! Just fun times with R.L. Stine as always!

Halloween just keeps on coming when you read a great collection of short stories like Autumncrow in November and December! I really enjoyed the stories here and loved the transition each story underwent from fun/nostalgic to full on creepy dread by the last sentence. I thought the idea that all the stories (except one) are connected to the town of Autumncrow - it made the collection really cohesive when set up this way. I think this would be a great town to go visit during the spooky Fall season and would definitely get a B&B, partake in corn mazes, and tell creepy ghost stories over campfires with smores here. The author did a great job at making this town a character as well. I highly encourage horror fans of all ages to check this collection out - there is something here for everyone! 4 stars - and I can't wait for more from this author!

From what I have read of the Rewind or Die series presented by Unnerving, I thought Food Fright was going to fit in right from the synopsis. And it DID! This novella really knocked it out of the park for me and I am sad that it was such a short read! I do not always say that about novellas - some of them are perfect as they are in the pages they occupy... and some of them just leave me begging for more! In Food Fright we get this brilliant blend of Heathers-esque teen girls thrown into a world akin to Suspiria and The Grudge with a dash of Carrie. It sounds amazing, right? I love all of those and so to have campy gore-filled novella that mixes so many elements of some of my favorite movies and horror stories is just a total bonus right now. The writing is engaging, the characters are unique and relatable, and the story itself turns out to be a lot deeper than surface level. 4.5 stars and rounded up for Goodreads! This is highly recommended for fans of teen-angst campy horror.

If you love creepy houses and ghost stories then this is the book for you! Author Michael Clark puts his spin on a Southern Gothic spooky thriller with The Patience of a Dead Man and really weaves together an intricate story spanning the past and, well, also the past (the "current" setting for the book is the '70s and the history/flashbacks occur before).

This book follows Tim Russell fresh off a divorce and looking for a new start. He decides to renovate and flip an old farmhouse in a quaint New Hampshire town. It doesn't take long for the ghosts to start making themselves known and for the author to start pumping in the fear and paranoia for the reader. What begins as a "Did you know this house had murdered people and is haunted?" question to his realtor quickly unfolds into a race against the calendar to stay alive.

Clark offers so much in these pages. Our semi-damaged protagonist Tim's thoughts really light up the pages as we explore his ambition for this house remodel, his budding romance, the love he has for his kids, and the passion to solve this haunting problem.

The book is formatted in a way that we know the date and time of each chapter (and sometimes it goes back a few year to the prior owners). We get to read journal entries from the previous owner - and I am SUCH a sucker for journal entries! I see them as a way for authors to allow a character to really get the point across without getting muddled down in unnecessary or confusing conversations, exposition, etc. It's super helpful and Clark does a great job with them here! And the beginning of the book has map/blueprint drawing of the house and property which definitely comes in handy since the farmhouse and its property are so massive!

This book gets 5 stars from me - I love its Southern Gothic charm and the wit and passion of the characters involved. I loved the budding relationship and the way they both had each other (I am being vague because I want you to enjoy it just as it unfolds as I did). I can't wait to sink my teeth into Clark's sequel, DEAD WOMAN SCORNED.

A huge thanks to the author for taking a chance with the Night Worms for our book party!

"My name is Celaena Sardothien, and I will not be afraid."

I definitely enjoyed this more than I expected to seeing as how this genre has not been my go-to for the past few years. I am glad I finally purchased this whole series because if this collection of prequels is any indication of how I will feel about the rest of the series, then I had better get to binge reading NOW!

Celaena (or CeBAEna, as I like to call her now) Sardothien is just this fiery, sharp, and intense young woman that I can't stop reading about! Her combined poise and sassy attitude are intoxicating to me for some reason. Reading these prequels I saw so many different sides of her, but they were all sides of the same base person. She's a lot more complex than I ever thought she would be before diving into the series.

4.5 stars for this collection (rounded up for Goodreads) and I am definitely on the right track to enjoying the hell out of this series!

Bad People does a great job at blending horror with elements of a dark crime thriller - so if either of those entice you, then you definitely need to read this book! The characters and their development blew me away - there is constantly new and engaging information about them that adds to the originality of the story. These characters are some that you may have even seen on TV or a movie before... only better. We really get an insight into what makes them tick, which is something that is often lacking on the screen. From the very first chapter and onward, I knew I was in for a treat ... even if that "treat" consisted of shocking and somewhat horrific incidents from time to time. WOW - and the twists and ending will leave your jaw on the floor! 4 stars to Craig Wallwork's Bad People and I look forward to more from this author!

Wow oh wow! Contemporary fiction is not my go-to... AT ALL! But I just knew I needed to read this one and it has been on my shelf a couple years. I will follow Reese Witherspoon to the end of the earth and back... and trust her book taste completely!

This is a fantastic story that discusses classism, racism, motherhood, and more. It is powerful and important and necessary. The book, while written a few years ago, takes place in the 90s when Clinton was president. So it is a "lookback" at the topics I just mentioned from a 21st century/modern approach. So many things we used to do and say did not strike a lot of us as: classist or racist. BUT that does not mean just because we have/had good intentions that we did not actually offend someone or minimize their place in the world. There are so many characters (not in a bad way) in this book that give you so many different perspectives from: age, gender, race, class, etc. It is a true testament to Ng's storytelling that none of this got muddled or blurry as the story developed. I was engaged and clear of who everyone was the entire story.

I could go on and on about how great this book is - I read it in 1.5 days... I just kept turning page after page... my jaw kept dropping. "OMG why did she ask her that?!" and "WHAT?! You can do that??" I mean... Celeste Ng is a genius and will be an auto-buy author for me!

HIGHLY recommended and obviously 5 stars from me!