howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

People aren't born sad.
We make them that way.

This poetry collection was stunning. This is easily one of my favorite books of poetry I've read this year, or in many years, and it's made me so eager to read more of Nikita Gill's works. The cadence is stunning; in a world of contemporary poets who create their own formats (which there's nothing wrong with, don't get me wrong), Nikita manages to stick to something a little more familiar and classic while still offering her own spin. It's executed brilliantly. There are a lot of difficult topics within these pages but they're delicately balanced with reassurances and optimism that I so desperately needed, and I know many of you do, too, even if you don't know how badly you do.

Keep your tales about
a hideous villain named Hades,
when my King has the eyes of a storm,
a wicked smile fashioned
from both hurricane and a nebula bursting
and I gave my heart to him willingly.

Near the end, there's an entire section on mythology and deities that is absolutely gorgeous. I loved this even more than her entire collection on the gods and goddesses, actually, because this gave such tidy little glimpses into so many different stories and lives — but the one I quoted above was easily my favorite. Not to get too in-depth into my own spirituality, but anything celebrating Hades and Persephone tends to nestle itself pretty snugly into my heart, so by the time I reached this poem, I couldn't 5-star this collection fast enough. ♥

Even a lion will think all it is worth
is a circus cage and a whip for a home
if that is all it has ever known.

So, here we have a collection that focuses on trauma and healing, self-care and hope, deities and worship, nature and politics, and everything in between; every facet of the human existence, I think, is touched on here, not the least of which is on learning to keep growing and coping after the painful times come.

Content warnings for discussions of abuse, rape, gaslighting, self-esteem struggles, mental illness

I really wish I'd realized why this author's name was familiar to me before I took on this review copy. If I had, I surely would have passed it by. Skye Alexander already has another "10-Minute" decluttering-meets-feng-shui book, and it was also pretty unlikable for me, and it also has an extremely low Goodreads average, so... I think that says something about the situation at hand.

Anyways, this is not a book about decluttering. This is a mixture of a book about feng shui and a to-do list. The decluttering "tips" aren't ideas on things you might not have thought to do before, they're literally lists of things like "return phone calls" and "sweep off your ceiling fans". The entire section on feng shui is really poorly-crafted; Alexander tries hard to gloss over the minutiae and give you a quick guide, but feng shui is a practice that is ancient, in-depth, and if you're going to do it, I think it deserves the respect granted by actually learning what matters and why, rather than being only given these weird, bare-bones explanations.

Along a similar vein is my complaint about Alexander's incessant recommendations to "smudge" your home, yet no explanation for smudging is ever given beyond "buy a bundle of white sage and set it on fire". This is... disrespectful, to start. There's a big difference between smudging and a basic smoke cleanse — one of these is a cultural and spiritual ritual performed primarily by Native tribes, while the other is self-explanatory: using smoke to spiritually "cleanse" a place, thing, etc. I'm not even going to dive into the entire discussion regarding whether or not non-Native peoples should be smoke cleansing with white sage to begin with (and if you're looking for an argument about that, go elsewhere, because I'm not going to sit here and fuss with you over whether or not you believe in appropriation within paganism and craft). I just... there's a lot I want to say, but I frankly don't have the energy to lay it all out here right now, so I'll just leave it at this: a lot of what Alexander discusses is careless and not thoughtful in the slightest, and between this and the last book I tried to read from this author, I'm hoping I can now remember in the future to stop supporting their endeavors because their work clearly is incredibly Not For Me.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Sadly, this didn't do a lot for me! I usually really like these little comic bind-ups, but I wasn't overly familiar with Berkeley Mews Comics, so I knew it would either be really fun and new... or a whomp. It was the latter, unfortunately. I don't think it was so much that there's anything "wrong" with the humor here, I just felt like it wasn't trying very hard to be legitimately funny? And I saw these comics being hyped as pretty dark humor, which I tend to be a fan of, but I didn't think this was dark at all. Maybe it's one of those "it's me, not you" moments.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was absolutely adorable! Mindy Kim is the new girl in school, and in a desperate attempt to fit in after being made fun of for her Korean snacks, she starts trading and selling dried seaweed to her classmates to convince them to befriend her. It's a pretty typical and lighthearted take on the classic "nervous new kid" theme, but it's got this great breath of fresh air thanks to the own-voice Korean-American rep as well as Mindy's status as a child whose mother has recently passed away. While both Asian-American children and children of single parents will be able to relate to Mindy, I think any child is going to have fun with this story and the cute illustrations. I know I'll definitely be recommending it to kids and continuing the series next year!

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a pretty intriguing take on a kitchen witch book, as it really focuses (in my opinion) less on kitchen craft — the actual acts, that is — and more on the magic inherent to food. I'm not sure how to explain this better (I'm writing this review at 5am after being up all night, so I might come back and try to reword this later lol). There are a ton of great tips as well as rituals you can do in your own home. I'll admit that the author did lose me a few times here and there, most notably in the magical dining-out ritual where you're essentially instructed that you have to drop all your inhibitions and let the waitstaff in a restaurant dictate your entire meal for you. It's an interesting idea in theory, but I know I would be so anxious in execution (as a picky eater who strongly dislikes some very common ingredients) that I genuinely doubt I'd feel any "magic" in that situation. To be fair, though, that's a 'me' thing, so if you're a bit more open than I am, it may work better for you.

Anyways, it wasn't quite what I was looking for and I don't think I'll be adding a finished copy to my collection personally, but it's still one I might recommend to others.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

But now in this clearing, now against these odds,
the maiden becomes the mother becomes the crone becomes
the night, and all those left hanging, all those left burned,
will rise and dance in her glory, this the second coming,
the rebirth of Eve.

Having experienced small doses of Wytovich's writing here and there in anthologies I've picked up along the way, I knew I was in for a treat and so I've been meaning to read one of her full works for some time, and I have to say, The Apocalyptic Mannequin did not disappoint!

Horror poetry is in and of itself an unpredictable bag, and I find this to be more and more true, the more of it I read. Often, the horror is mingled with, if not outright buried by, metaphors and commentary, and while there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, it was a bit refreshing to pick up a collection that laid on the terror and macabre so thoroughly. (Don't get me wrong, though, there are plenty of poems in this collection that cut deeper than the surface, reminding us that no action is without consequence, and regaling us with the co-morbidities of simply being a woman in our society.)

This is not a collection for weak stomachs, and I found myself unsettled time and time again by the sheer violence and gruesomeness of many of the descriptions (which I mean as the utmost compliment, naturally). If you enjoy horror, poetry, or both combined, I strongly recommend you pick up this collection. If you're one of the handful of people I've seen insinuate that poetry can't be horrific, well... I believe Stephanie M. Wytovich would like to have a few words with you.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved Chuck Mullin's little pigeon comics, so when I saw that she was releasing this collection, I jumped at the chance to read it — and I'm so glad I did.



The comics are spaced out with a couple of pages here and there that tell the author's own story with her mental illness, treatment, and her journey to the self-love she's begun to find for herself, and it's really wonderful and touching. I definitely teared up a few times over how much I related to her thoughts and worries, but it was also so comforting to see that she's found things that work for her, and it gives me hope that I can find things that work for me, too. (I've even opted to steal a few of her ideas, like saying one kind thing to yourself in the mirror every day)



If you struggle with mental illness at all, especially anxiety and depression, I can't recommend this collection enough. You'll laugh, you'll get all kinds of Feels™, and I can almost guarantee you'll love these little anxious pigeons as much as I did.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This one hurts, but wow, what an important place in the world this little book has found.

As a survivor, reading books about trauma and healing is a very cathartic act for me, so I tend to pick them up every so often. I think this was my first middle grade book on the subject, so I wasn't sure how many punches I should expect to be pulled. Honestly, that answer was practically none. While there's no explicit detail given of the trauma — and there's none needed — Solter still does a tremendous job of conveying the pain and fear and self-doubt Tori lives through afterwards.

Perhaps the most painful part of this story was the fact that Tori's mother and grandmother wouldn't believe her at first, but I appreciated that, even after they apologize and believe Tori, she doesn't have to move on right away. It's not swept under the rug — she allows herself to still hurt over their reactions, and that's really important. Our loved ones aren't always going to react perfectly to learning about traumas we've faced, and while it helps when they grow and change for the better, we don't have to force ourselves to forget how much pain that caused us.

Finally, what mattered most to me here is the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel Tori finds. There's a piece near the end where she asks herself, essentially, "Is it okay to be okay now?" and that answer is a resounding yes. Our traumas never leave us, but we're allowed to have happy days. We're allowed to keep fighting everyday to heal and cope and do everything in our power not to let our abusers ruin it all.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Immediate lessons that we can take from herbs are to put down roots, turn toward the light, create what we need to survive, and to give back to those around us. We are in a symbiotic relationship with the denizens of flora upon the earth. In magick, we work together to bring about change.

This is definitely one of the best and most useful craft-related books I've picked up thus far, and I really recommend it to anyone interested in green and/or kitchen witchcraft! It details pretty heavily on both, as herbal magic is incredibly important in both walks of life (and to be fair, many green witches are also hearth/kitchen witches, and vice-versa). The other most notable thing I appreciate is that this isn't a book for beginners or seasoned witches; it fits both quite easily and I think anyone could find something worth learning or considering here.

The book kicks off with a bit of history into the art of herbal magic and some basic definitions of different types of herbs, the difference between herbs and spices, and so forth. There's a whole section on gardening and giving back to the earth, including a super informative how-to guide on building your own indoor or outdoor compost! There's also a healthy amount of information on the history of how different cultures have approached herbal magic, whether it's the Ayurvedic route, Traditional Chinese Medicine, or even Culpeper (considered by many to be the first general practitioner) and the ways he merged herbs with science.

For the aspects on kitchen craft, there are some great general tips as well as ideas for ways you can make teas, tonics, etc. Part II features an index of 100 herbs with illustrations, correspondences, and uses, before moving on to Part III, which features a long line of spells split into chapters related to their purposes such as divination, luck, etc. (including a chapter on dangerous herbs to avoid).

The only complaint I have about this entire book is that the beginning focuses a fair bit on "the law of three", which if you're unfamiliar with it, states that everything we do returns to us threefold, so we must only put positivity and light out into the universe. While that's a major facet of the Wiccan belief system, this isn't marketed as a Wiccan book (to my knowledge), and many non-Wiccan witches such as myself don't necessarily abide by the law of three. I'm not particularly bothered by its inclusion, but I thought it was worth mentioning in this review! Honestly, though, like I said: this is one of my favorite books on witchcraft I've ever read, and I'll definitely be grabbing myself a physical copy to flip through for referencing and spells in the future!

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

He heard the whispers from the darkness. It sounded like a hundred voices — a hundred ghosts — calling his name.

I've been meaning to check out Terry M. West's work for years, and own a few of his books on my kindle, but somehow hadn't read anything until Transfer—and I'm only mad at myself for waiting so long, because wow, I am such an instant fan.

Transfer follows a couple of guys who work overnights in a video editing shop, where they pass the time in fairly mundane ways—that is, until they start finding unnatural video clips intermingled with their other files each night, each evening's snippet growing more and more sinister and strange. It begins to completely consume Howie and Nick until they can't possibly walk away, and the two men decide they have to know where these files are coming from.

I was absolutely blown away by how powerful of a punch this tiny novella packed. The characters immediately draw you in, and the fear element is so... primal, for lack of a better word. It felt like the terrors being described in this story were simultaneously incredibly modern, given their relation to technology, and yet so deep-rooted in me that I couldn't imagine having not been chilled to the core by the descriptions Terry offers of this wicked, cruel threat. I'm honestly an incredibly difficult reader to rattle, but for a couple of days after finishing this novella, I kept finding my thoughts drifting back to this awful creature and it unsettled me a little every time.

Whether you love horror novellas or are brand new to the format, Transfer is one you can't afford to miss. It's original, brutal, and downright horrifying — truly, Terry's imagination is twisted in the best way and I can't wait to read more from him.

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to the author for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!