howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

I'm not giving this one a star rating because, while I actually didn't enjoy it very much, I think a kid would. I usually enjoy MG stories despite them being very young, but Cassandra Steps Out just didn't click well with me, from the formatting of the panels to the story itself. The art is very cute, though, and an animal psychic main character? I can see that going over really well with kids!

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

In this fantasy world, every year, the violent and oppressive Demon King—the strongest of a caste of people marked by their animal-like appearances—takes eight Paper Girls (of the plain, human Paper caste) to become his concubines. Lei never expected to become one of those girls, but even more shocking was the twist of fate she met upon her arrival at the palace—her unstoppable and desperate fall into a forbidden love with another Paper Girl.

When I first heard the synopsis for this book, I was sold in an instant. An own-voice Asian fantasy story with queer girls, demons and half-demons, strong women overcoming forced slavery, and did I mention queer girls—this immediately shot to the top of my “most anticipated releases of 2018” list.

→ L I K E S :

Perhaps the gods have forgotten us, or grown bored with our small corner of the kingdom. Because here I am, about to share the last thing I’d ever want to offer the King.
Myself.

There’s a lot to love in Girls! First, there’s the fantasy world and the classes of demons and humans, which were so fascinating. I know this isn’t the popular opinion on this note, but I was a teen right in the middle of the internet’s “anthro” phase and had so many positive memories of that time, so when I realized the demon or “Moon” caste were basically humanized forms of animals (as in people with horns, furred skin, etc.), I was flooded with nostalgia in the best way.

The word itself—home—is a blade in my gut. It’s a call, a song. One I can’t answer anymore.

I was also impressed by how in-depth much of the world-building is: we’re given a substantial amount of back story throughout the novel, and rather than dumping it all on us in the beginning, there’s constantly more to learn, even 300+ pages in. This story has a level of complexity that you don’t see often in debut authors, and I enjoyed that so much.

“When the world denies you choices, you make your own.”

The last major positive I want to mention is the entire character design of Wren, one of the other Paper Girls. Despite not being the main character, she was the star of the show for me; she felt the most complex and three-dimensional, and I consistently enjoyed every single scene she was present for.

→ D I S L I K E S :

I’m cast in the shadow of that night with the King. The memory of it hovers close, a constant presence at the edge of my consciousness, like moon-shimmer on the surface of a lake.

Unfortunately, there were also a few things that caused Girls to not live up to the hype I’d created for it in my own head. First, while the world-building is great, the narrative voice didn’t click well with me. I found it very difficult to immerse myself in any of the scenes, and thought the descriptions of most characters and settings were too general.

It doesn’t matter how beautiful the cage is. It’s still a prison.

I also struggled with most of the characters, especially Lei. Wren is the only character who felt truly complex to me, but everyone else struck me as predictable, and all of the Paper Girls besides Wren and Aoki felt over-simplified and predictable. There are a handful of lesser characters in the story that I enjoyed fine, like Zelle and Kenzo, but the amount of time we get to spend with them is practically nothing at all.

I don’t want an easy life. I want a meaningful one.

Finally—and this is probably more of a “me” issue than the book, so I’m not really counting off points for it—no matter how much I wanted to root for the romance or the plotting of revenge and justice, I never could find it in myself to really care very much. I’m usually one of the most emotional readers you could ever meet, but the writing simply wasn’t capable of evoking any genuine feelings in me most of the time, so when I finished it, I found myself feeling a little empty and not particularly concerned over what would happen in the coming sequel.

→ F I N A L THOUGHTS :

All in all, Girls of Paper and Fire is a difficult book for me to rate and review. My enjoyment of the book puts it at a 3, but the important issues tackled and the depth of world-building make it a solid 4.5—ultimately, I settled on 4/5 stars. I’m not entirely certain right now that I’ll be eagerly awaiting the sequel, but Natasha Ngan showed so much promise in this—especially with it being her first novel—that I’m definitely very keen on seeing how she improves and where she goes next in her career. UPDATE: For some reason, I thought this was her debut! It's not, which actually makes me a bit less optimistic about the sequel, but we'll see how it goes.

→ RECOMMENDING TO… :

If you’re a fantasy reader who enjoys high fantasy and beautifully done queer rep, I absolutely recommend picking up a copy of Girls of Paper and Fire. Despite the fact that it wasn’t a perfect 10/10 for me, I know it’s the kind of story I will be recommending to friends for years to come because I think this book did so many things right at the end of the day.

Content warnings for rape, abuse, murder, oppression, slut-shaming, violence

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

#1 Reign of the Fallen ★★★★★
#2 Song of the Dead ★★★★★



Karthia has changed, and the people are changing with it—for better and for worse. Odessa has set out on an oceanic journey with Meredy and Kasmira, but nothing can prepare them for the war they’ll find brewing over the open waters, or the destruction they’ll return home to when Valoria’s new queendom is threatened by the people her family has ruled over and protected. Can Karthia and her necromancers adapt to the changing times, or will they be destroyed?

I think we all know by now how much I adored Reign of the Fallen—I mean, two of my favorite things in the world are own-voice bi rep and necromancy—so I was beside myself over how freaking excited I was for the release of this sequel. And when I say “beside myself”, what I mean is that when the author asked if she could put me in her acknowledgements, and then offered me one of the first print ARCs she received, I literally cried. Both times. No shame. I adore this series and author so much. ANYWAYS, on to the review, right?

→ L I K E S :

“I’m Odessa of Grenwyr.” I tug both my daggers free of their sheaths, one for each hand. “And I bow to no man.”

I mean, I love everything about this, but most of all, I love the continuation of the world-building and the amazing crew of characters. Odessa was a badass in the first book, but now? She oozes strength and self-assurance. There were a few times where I literally was over here like the cheesy 90s kid I am, saying “you GO girl!” out loud. Again, no shame. There’s also Meredy, who is so flawed but incredibly lovable, and Kasmira, who I could spend chapters upon chapters with, and Valoria, and Jax, and Si, and Danial, and… ugh, my babies. 😭💗 I love them all so much.

I can’t get consumed by memories of him, losing everything and everyone else that I love. Never again.

You know what’s even better than great characters, though? Awesome animal sidekicks. I’ve made it pretty known that I was obsessed with Lysander, Meredy’s bear companion in the first book, but Song introduces a freaking baby dragon named Nipper who I lost my senses over at least once a chapter. I mean, she is WONDERFUL and she has these amazing little abilities and she’s literally the perfect necromancer sidekick and I want eight little Nippers of my own.

I could never outrun myself. Without the pin, without even my name, I’d still be a fighter. I’d still be a commander of the dead. I’d still be a girl too in love with life to commit to death, even when it’s calling to me more strongly than ever before.

Finally, the story here? Flawless. I mean, they could have gone grocery shopping and I’d still have loved it because I just love the characters so much, but the plot here is so suspenseful and perfectly closes up the first book while introducing a brand new conflict and set of obstacles. I couldn’t put it down and was constantly on the edge of my seat.

→ F I N A L THOUGHTS :

It’s safe to say I literally don’t have a single complaint about this gorgeous sequel, and would basically sign over my soul (if I had one) to get a third and fourth and eighth and twelfth book from this series. ♥ Sarah is a brilliant storyteller and, even if we never get to spend another few hundred pages with Odessa and her crew, I’ll still be delighted to see whatever Sarah comes up with next.

→ RECOMMENDING TO… :

Everyone! If you enjoy fantasy stories, complex and flawed-but-wonderful characters, suspense, conflicts, necromancy, gorgeously normalized queer rep, and all-around incredible plots and characters, please pick yourself up a copy of Reign of the Fallen and Song of the Dead immediately!

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

Mehr lives in a world where she is only half accepted. The Ambhan people have conquered and destroyed the Amrithi, and as a woman with parents from both worlds, she struggles to find her place as a worshipper of the old Amrithi gods and traditions. When the Emperor’s mystics take note of her Amrithi powers, they force her into a marriage with one of their own, and Mehr becomes a very important pawn in a deadly game of men, gods, and demons.

When I heard “Indian-inspired adult fantasy”, I was immediately intrigued; when I heard “angry, vengeful gods”, I was sold. Empire of Sands has been one of my most anticipated releases of the year. I feel like there isn’t a lot of own-voice diverse fantasy in the adult age range, so to see a story so interwoven with the author’s own heritage and experiences as a woman of color, coupled with the inspirations she took from actual history, made this an incredibly fascinating read.

→ L I K E S :

She’d always understood that keeping even the barest bones of her heritage demanded a terrible price. But she had kept her heritage regardless. That was her gravest error.

Right from the start, I loved the world Tasha Suri has built here. It’s always tough to read stories about conquered nations, knowing what an anchor those themes have in the real world, but Suri goes above and beyond many authors I’ve read tackling similar plots by showing me how awful the Maha and Emperor are and how drastic their crimes against the Amrithi people have been. It’s also incredible to see how strongly Mehr’s Amrithi traditions resonate with her on a daily basis, and how much comfort she takes from her rituals and ancestry.

He had never hated her mother’s people. He had just never considered them people at all. They were the kindling wood that fed the fire of the Empire’s strength.

I also absolutely loved the daiva, these demon-esque spirits that appear in birdlike forms. There’s an imminent threat present in them from the beginning, but something about their design and the way they interact with Mehr hooked me right away and had me wishing to see even more of them in the story.

Mehr knew what it looked like, when another human being stared at her with hatred. What she had seen in Amun’s face was a knife turned inward.

Finally, there’s the relationship. In the beginning of the story, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I ended up rooting for Mehr and her love interest so quickly and absolutely swooning over their fleeting, quiet moments by the end. I also can’t help but feel like there’s some very valuable commentary in the story regarding arranged marriages and how they’re not always what western society views them as.

→ D I S L I K E S :

How strange, that the world still looked so normal when Mehr’s world was collapsing around her.

There’s only one thing I had an issue with, but unfortunately, it was actually a really big struggle I faced while reading Empire of Sand: the pacing. Take this with the knowledge that I love slow fantasy stories, but something about the slow pacing of this book just does not work for me. It felt too tame and like nothing important was happening most of the time; when something important did happen, it was over-explained to the point of losing its power.

“A choice like a knife at your throat is an illusion.”

Even though the writing itself was beautiful, I think it could have been improved by being a solid 75-100 pages shorter. I know that’s a harsh axe to drop, but this book actually put me into the worst slump I’ve had all year (with it now being November). I had to put it down for a week to get over the slump, but when I picked it back up to finish it, it almost put me into another slump! This never happens to me, so despite how gorgeous the plot and characters and setting were, I have to knock off a full star for how slow and meandering it was.

→ F I N A L THOUGHTS :

Altogether, I really enjoyed Empire of Sand, despite struggling with the pacing. It’s got this incredibly immersive desert setting, these lovable characters, and a backstory that drew me in and didn’t let go. I only wish that I could have enjoyed it more despite the slowness, but I would definitely be happy to try Tasha Suri’s next release, as I think she displays tremendous potential.

→ RECOMMENDING TO… :

If you’re someone who also loves slow fantasy—especially if you’re even more patient than I typically am—then I don’t think it will be an issue, but if you’re not one who can handle slow-burning fantasy plots, you may want to try this in audiobook format so you can tune out a little when the tedium kicks in.

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

Grays. Just saying it freaks me out. It's such a simple word. A color. Not black or white. But something in between. Something unknowable. Something that makes me not want to sleep.

I'd never read anything by Ronald L. Smith before, but when I first heard this middle grade sci-fi/horror was releasing, I got so excited! I was terrified of aliens as a kid, so naturally, I'm totally fascinated by the whole idea of them (and abduction stories) as an adult. Plus, aliens + owls? Major Fourth Kind vibes (not that the film is where the idea originated, but still), so altogether, I was super stoked to read this! On top of everything else, a biracial kid with asthma as a main character, and a book that takes the time to seriously tackle toxic masculinity? There's just so much good stuff going on here, y'all.

Unfortunately, it's not all good: the writing is okay, but not my favorite, and there are some issues that never get addressed, like Simon's father's total absence most of the time (and his emotionally abusive nature when he is around), or Simon's paralyzing fear of mental health professionals and medications (which could be great if he grew to learn that they are super helpful for some people, but instead, they're vilified to the end). I know some books are just for fun, and that's great for a lot of readers, but as a mom and children's librarian, it's hard to watch an author sail right past these opportunities to shed light on some really heavy (and important!) topics for kids while telling the story.

The other issue — and this was the biggest reason my rating isn't particularly high — is that Simon is writing a fantasy novel, and we're periodically forced to sift through a chapter at a time of that. This is a totally personal issue, but I hate the "books inside of books" trope, especially when the inner-layer "book" is COMPLETELY UNRELATED to the story we signed up to read. It just comes off as pointless filler and it's frustrating and disjointed.

All in all, not my favorite MG horror by any means, but it had its fun moments and I flew through it. I'm not sure it's the first thing I'll be recommending to kids based on the problems that aren't ever addressed, but with the right reader, I could see this being a world of fun and creepiness.

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

Like many of us in the fandom of YA contemporary reads, I love a good, fluffy Christmas story, but I find that “fluffy” contemporary works best for me in short formatting, so that I can just focus on a cutesy love story without needing much back story. Needless to say, I was excited when I heard about this collection coming out, because it’s exactly that: fluffy, cutesy contemporary romances set around Christmas!

→ L I K E S :

Two of the four stories in this collection were really enjoyable to read:
→ Snow & Mistletoe — Kasie West ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
→ Grounded — Nic Stone ⭐⭐⭐

“I have a feeling I could ask you anything right now and you’d tell me the truth. This could be trouble.”
“I am about to be in a huge amount of trouble.”
— Kasie West

The first story, and my favorite, was Snow & Mistletoe by Kasie West. I’ve only ever read one thing by Kasie before and I enjoyed it, but didn’t get the “hype” around her romances until reading this. I laughed and “awwww”ed through the entire story. It’s literally one of the cutest things I’ve ever read in my life, and even though the ending felt super predictable to me, it was in a good way, like one of those stories where you knew who was going to be the happy couple at the end and you got to just sit back, get cozy, and watch it all unfold in the cutest and sweetest way ever.

“Might’ve had a little crush on you when we were fourteen…”
“It was definitely mutual.”
— Nic Stone

The other story that I enjoyed overall (though as you can tell from the star rating, still wasn’t perfect) was Grounded by Nic Stone. Unfortunately, as with everything else I’ve read by her, I was reminded that I simply don’t enjoy Nic’s writing style and I think her narrative voice is very cringe-y and cheesy. That said, two queer black girls falling for each other in an airport? Cute as heck.

→ D I S L I K E S :

Unfortunately, the other two stories in this collection? Awful.
→ Working in a Winter Wonderland — Aimee Friedman ⭐
→ The Magi’s Gifts — Melissa de la Cruz ⭐

“Wow. Are you always this cynical?”
— Aimee Friedman

I’ve never read anything by Friedman before Working in a Winter Wonderland and I definitely won’t be after this. The protagonist is so rude and childish to everyone she meets, the story is boring, and the romance at the end is a complete joke. She treats the guy like human garbage and then has the nerve to pick on him for not thinking he liked her. The only nice thing about this was the own-voice Jewish rep, but even that wasn’t enough for me to forgive how awful Maxine treats everyone around her.

But she was prettier than the whole lot of them put together, and after all, they couldn’t call themselves the Beautiful People if they didn’t count the most beautiful girl in school among them.
— Melissa de la Cruz

And then, there was the worst of the bunch: The Magi’s Gifts by Melissa de la Cruz. I’ve never had a problem with the original story—not my favorite, but not the worst—but this retelling is downright terrible. The characters feel straight out of the most cliché mid-2000s YA book you could possibly find, the girl-hate with the “rich kids” is so gross and overly simplified, and the main character frankly doesn’t deserve her boyfriend in the slightest with the way she treats him. The entire ordeal is just gross and I hated every single page of this story. I mean… did you see the quote I used above this paragraph? That’s the main character, talking about herself.

→ F I N A L THOUGHTS :

So, overall, a major mixed bag. If you could get Kasie’s and Nic’s stories on their own in the kindle store or something, I’d honestly tell you just to do that and not even bother with the two middle stories because they were so bad. Overall, the star ratings average out to 2.5, but I’m rounding up to a 3 just because Kasie West’s story was so good.

→ RECOMMENDING TO… :

People who love cutesy, fluffy contemporary Christmas romances.

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

On these dark blue waves, it is the sea who is judge, jury, and executioner.

I'd heard so much praise within the horror blogging circles I run over this collection that, when I was offered the chance to review The Sea Was a Fair Master, it was a no-brainer—I immediately said yes! I've always been very fond of flash fiction (if you're not familiar, it's just really short stories!), but it's difficult to write, and even more difficult to write well. Thankfully, Calvin does an amazing job and I was not disappointed at all!

While I enjoyed all of the stories (minus 2, I think, that missed the mark a little with me), I definitely had some stand-out favorites, so I'll make it quick and name those off for anyone curious:

→ Restroom Finds: This packed such a fun twist into only a few pages and I loved the description and setting!

→ Fear the Clowns: The ending on this one is so subtle it took me a second to catch, but wow, did I love it!

→ Voodoo Child: Creepy kids, man, you can never trust 'em.

→ The Guests: I don't know where I thought this was going, but it was NOT where we ended up, and I literally laughed out loud in surprise at the ending. FLAWLESS. Easily my #1 fave of the bunch!

Altogether, Fair Master is such a fun read and I absolutely recommend picking up a copy, whether you're a long-time lover of flash fiction or brand new to the style—you can't go wrong with this collection.

Thank you so much to Calvin Demmer for sending me a review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

#1 The Cruel Prince ★★★★★
#2 The Wicked King ★★★★★
#3 The Queen of Nothing ???

After the shocking turn of events that finished off The Cruel Prince, Jude is fighting with everything she’s got to keep the kingdom of Elfhame from falling to pieces under its new rulers. Unfortunately for Jude, not only is a war brewing in the Undersea, but the court is full of traitors—and a few of them might be in her own home.

I loved The Cruel Prince, but I wasn’t one hundred percent sold on certain factors—yet, from the moment I finished reading it, I’ve been saying the same thing: “Everything I struggled with in book 1, I know will be better in book 2.” Was I right? Let me put it this way: you know the “second book slump” people always refer to in trilogies? NOT AN ISSUE HERE. Everything that The Cruel Prince does well, The Wicked King does PERFECTLY.

→ L I K E S :

I’ve wanted this and feared it, and now that it’s happening, I don’t know how I will ever want anything else.

First, without spoiling anything, let’s get this out of the way: the weird, hateful, hot-and-cold relationship between Jude and Cardan progresses flawlessly, and by that I mean I cheered, I raged, I cried, I swooned, I blushed, I raged some more… it’s beautiful. I’ve never seen enemies-to-lovers done quite like this, because at all times, they’re kind of… both? Let me tell you, the phrase “I hate you” has never been this sexy.

My body has acclimated, and now it craves what it should revile.

And Jude, my gods, JUDE. She is a masterpiece. I love her so much. She’s coldhearted, cruel, murderous, backstabbing, and a total antihero in all the best ways. She’s earned herself a permanent place on my favorite “terrifying leading ladies I love” list. She’s also so clever and strong; despite being betrayed at every possible turn, she manages to constantly work things to her favor—or, at the very least, to take someone else down with her as brilliantly as possible.

“The last room Cardan occupied caught fire. Let me rephrase. It caught fire because he lit it on fire.”

Also, Holly Black’s writing is just legitimately so funny, I can’t even describe. It’s incredibly rare that a book makes me laugh out loud, but I cracked up over so many weird and ridiculous moments—usually pertaining to Cardan’s absolute lack of any common decency and/or sense.

Angry was better than being scared. Better than remembering she was a mortal among monsters.

Finally, of course, there’s the world. I adore Holly’s commitment to writing a version of Faerieland that follows legitimate fae lore, and just like in the first book, that authenticity comes through effortlessly. All the world-building and political complexity she offered in the first book paid off so well in this sequel.

→ D I S L I K E S :

That I like him better than I’ve ever liked anyone and that of all the things he’s ever done to me, making me like him so much is by far the worst.

Literally the only thing I didn’t like about The Wicked King is the fact that I have over a year to wait before finding out what the hell is going on with this terrible, infuriating, priceless cliffhanger ending. I mean, take the way Jude feels about Cardan, and that’s basically me towards Holly Black right now, except replace the “burning carnal desire” with “desperate need to find out how it all ends, right NOW”.

→ F I N A L THOUGHTS :

In all seriousness, The Wicked King was literal perfection in my eyes and I would not change a single thing. I flew through it, I loved every page, I highlighted so many quotes I can’t even fit a quarter of them in this review, and I don’t know if I have ever felt so simultaneously torn and obsessed with any pairing as I am over Jude and Cardan.

Oh, and one more thing: TARYN STILL AIN’T SHIT.

→ RECOMMENDING TO… :

Everyone. Just… literally everyone.

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to a very sweet (and unnamed) friend for loaning me their ARC!

It starts with one little girl, the reappearance of a disease that should have long since been eradicated by vaccines, slowly making its way back into the world as anti-vaxxer movements rise. But this disease has a new strain, and it’s leaving wreckage in its wake—forcing infamous vaccine activist and pediatrician Isabella Gauley to choose between ethics and life.

For anyone unaware, Mira Grant is Seanan McGuire’s pseudonym, and if you’ve followed my reviews any length of time, you’ll know I adore Seanan McGuire and have 5-starred everything I’ve ever read by her. This was my first read of hers under the Mira moniker, though, and as I’ve heard the writing styles vary between the names, I was only hopeful that I’d love it just as much as everything else.

→ L I K E S :

The vaccine will protect the immunized children, and the unimmunized will remain pure, untouched by the filthy manmade miracle of modern medicine. Their bodies will be lowered into their graves devoid of the imaginary poisons that have replaced smallpox and polio and measles as the bogeymen haunting a parent’s heart.

Thankfully, I was not disappointed in the slightest—this novella is an excellent read that I couldn’t put down and had to read in one quick sitting because it pulled me in so quickly. As always, I loved the writing style as a whole; while I recognized some differences between it and her Seanan McGuire “voice”, I also saw a lot of similarities that had me feeling right at home from the first chapter.

It didn’t really matter whether Morris’s disease was manmade or not. It was a killer either way.

I also found the plot fascinating and relevant; despite the fact that it’s a sci-fi/horror crossover, it definitely struck me as the sort of thing we could see happen right here in our own world, which is a terrifying thought. I found that she did an excellent job of giving us enough medical information to really be engaging and complex, without ever beating the reader over the head with terminology or making the text dry and slow.

The outbreak was beyond control long before anyone realized it was happening.

Finally, the characters are enjoyable (and diverse), and while they don’t always do the right things, their motives are never hard to recognize or relate to—aside from the twist ending, which I won’t spoil for you, but I’ll say that I thought it was executed brilliantly.

→ D I S L I K E S :

Of such small moments are disasters made.

I think the only complaint I have is that there’s not quite enough of anything here. It’s a wonderful read, but it absolutely feels like it should be a prequel novella, not the full story (knowing Mira’s track record, though—looking at you, Rolling in the Deep—I’m definitely crossing my fingers for a follow-up!).

→ F I N A L THOUGHTS :

Overall, while I wanted a little more from the story, I was pleased with Kingdom of Needle and Bone and am so glad that I had the opportunity to read this. I pre-ordered the Subterranean Press hardback months ago, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to review this early, and now I am definitely pleased that I know I have one of those limited copies on its way to me later this month, because this is definitely a story I will happily revisit in the future.

→ RECOMMENDING TO… :

I recommend this to any fans of Mira Grant’s/Seanan McGuire’s writing and anyone who enjoys character-driven sci-fi/horror crossovers that focus on medical epidemics. I do not recommend this book for anyone belonging to the anti-vaxxer movement, because… well, you will probably find yourself offended.

Content warnings for child death, epidemics, murder

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

---

Buddy read with Kaleena, who unfortunately did not love this story, but who wrote a very valid and thoughtful review as well! ♥

When Anders is given a new job way above his pay grade, he’s grateful. Working as the only security guard overlooking a crew of a dozen miners in Antarctica for six months? Everyone assumes it’s going to be a quiet six months of kicking back and doing nothing—until the bodies start piling up, and all fingers are pointed in his direction.

I can be picky about “whodunit” thrillers like this, but I absolutely adore Antarctica as a setting, so I was immediately intrigued by the synopsis. I’m a sucker for any sort of icy, snowy tundra-esque settings in spooky reads, and sometimes you just can’t beat a good murder mystery.

→ L I K E S :

Just a few days into the night shift and we had a death on our hands.

One thing that Triggs does exceptionally well is utilizing the setting here—if you enjoy thrillers set in icy settings like I do, you’ll enjoy how heavily Triggs relies on the snow, the freezing temperatures, and the total isolation to build up the dread. You can really feel how isolated these characters are, and that gives a sense of hopelessness to the entire mystery.

The characters themselves are also pretty interesting. Usually, when a book has this many fairly prominent roles, the characters all begin to feel very one-dimensional and similar, but several (not all, truthfully) of the crew members are intriguing, complex beings with their own motives and stories, and that’s a nice touch.

→ D I S L I K E S :

Unfortunately, neither of those benefits were able to totally outweigh the general blandness of the story, or its predictability. I pegged the killer within the first two chapters or so, and while one small element of the ending did surprise me, I still felt a very anti-climactic sort of letdown by the whole thing.

Beyond that, this book just has so much unused potential! There’s a whole sci-fi element to it, yet it’s never fleshed out enough to be what I wanted. Instead, it feels very underdeveloped and as though it was only put in the story to explain the ending—without this one tiny twist in the end, honestly, the entire story could have gone without any sci-fi elements and been chalked up to a standard murder mystery in our current time period.

→ F I N A L THOUGHTS :

While Night Shift has a lot of potential, it simply missed the mark on a lot of things for me. I wanted more thrills, more development in the world-building, and a better ending, but I did enjoy the immersive setting of Antarctica and the writing itself, which is fast and fun to read.

→ RECOMMENDING TO… :

If you’re someone who doesn’t read a lot of thrillers or isn’t particularly picky about them—and you don’t care much about sci-fi plots—I would definitely recommend Night Shift to you. While I wasn’t the ideal audience for this story, I can think of plenty of people who would love it!

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

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Buddy read with Kal 💖