howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

Water Memory tells the story of Marion, a young girl whose mother brings her to her hometown to live in her childhood home after Marion's grandmother passes away and leaves the house to them. Marion begins to find sculptures of bizarre faces around the island, that she's told have roots in an old town legend about sea creatures and a curse. When Marion befriends the old lighthouse keeper, Virgil, she learns that some curses aren't just legends after all.

This graphic novel has such a lovely and gentle art style, and the story is just one of those short, fun reads that would perfectly suit anyone who likes stories about urban legends and curses.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lion Forge for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'm not sure that I would call this a graphic novel so much as a morbidly adorable children's book! The Little Red Wolf is, as you may have guessed from the cover, a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood - except, in this story, the little wolf is visiting his grandmother, when a wicked little girl tricks him!

This book was precious, and I loved the artwork so much. It was incredibly unique and would make a great "coffee table book" - you know, the sorts of books that are so pretty you just leave them out to look at them? (No? Just me? Hm...) I would totally buy a hard copy of this to read to my son as a bedtime story, honestly, because even though it does have a little morbidity to it, it isn't scary at all and I think most kids would really enjoy it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I mean... from an artistic point of view, I get it, but this was not for me at all.

The Park Bench is literally 300-something pages of focusing on a park bench while people of all walks of life come and go - some sitting on it, some walking past it, some interacting with one another. When interactions do occur, there is no text dialogue whatsoever, so we have no idea what is happening or why.

I felt like this is one of those graphic novels that was built just for the ~artistic aesthetic~, and while that is great for a certain audience, I'm not part of that group, sadly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Faber Faber for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A lot of people think Matthew Inman's work is all fart jokes and dogs licking themselves, and I mean, that's most of it, but sometimes, Matthew gets really freaking insightful and makes me contemplate the universe and my existence and such. This book is definitely one of those times.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book is the perfect portrayal of the life of an introvert, 100%. I related so freaking hard to every single thing that Debbie said, and I found myself snickering and nodding along to pretty much every other page. If you're an introvert - especially one who doesn't frequently find books you can relate to very well - I highly recommend picking up a copy of this when it releases!

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I genuinely believe every parent with even half a sense of humor should follow Fowl Language comics, whether you do so on facebook or go comics or just pick up the damn books when they come out. Parenting is super rewarding but kids can also totally be tiny jerks, and Brian has found the perfect happy medium between sounding grateful to be a parent and still acknowledging that sometimes kids make us want to rip our hair out.

In particular, if you're used to following Brian's comics like I am, you'll be pleased to find out that the unique thing about this collection is that many of the comics have had a bonus panel added to them, so even though you might be familiar with some of the strips, you'll get some new ones, too!

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Demons come in many forms
Some with teeth and some with horns
But none so vicious as the hordes
That came to be when you were born.

Two of the literary genres I will never stop reaching for — in fact, they were the two genres I cut my teeth on as a young reader, so many years ago now — are horror and poetry. The two don't intertwine nearly often enough, but when they do, I need it. I have to say, I think Donna Lynch may be my new favorite modern horror poet, because Choking Back the Devil was absolutely incredible.

You were just there
When the gnawing inside me turned into vicious biting
When the switch flipped and all my lights went out
When I had no choice but to seize the moment

A lot of horror poetry is dark without much bite to it, but that's not the case here at all; if you find yourself easily frightened or squeamish, I wouldn't even hand you a copy of this collection, because it offers up scenes that are downright unsettling. There's body horror and gore coupled with ghost stories and possessions, but most of all, there are endless reminders of the scariest demons of all: the ones living inside our own heads.

You are your own Pandora's Box.
Every ugly thing needs a home, and the space inside your head works nicely.

As someone who has fought my own inner demons for nearly my entire life, there was so much in this collection that both set me on edge and made me feel incredibly and utterly understood. Donna Lynch gets mental illness in a way most writers can't express on page, for better and for worse — as the imagery in some of these poems made me close my eyes, take a deep breath, and steel myself for the next lines. If you're someone who tends to be upset by mentions of self-harm, abuse, suicidal thoughts, or anything along these lines, please proceed with caution. That said, I cannot recommend Choking Back the Devil highly enough, and am already itching to read more of Donna Lynch's incredible words.

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

#1 Contagion ★★★★★
#2 Immunity ★★★★☆

They were monsters together now, forever altered by the contagion they'd encountered on Achlys.

If you've been around a while, you might remember my sudden and vocal obsession with the first book in this duology last year. I love sci-fi/horror crossover tales, and Contagion immediately cemented itself as one of my favorites. Between the characters, the plot, Erin's quick and fun writing, and the legitimately awful nature of the infection — coupled with a cliffhanger that I think I can safely say left us all reeling — the release of this finale couldn't possibly get here quickly enough for me.

While Contagion is my favorite of the two installments, and Immunity differs from it in a lot of ways, I still thought this was such a satisfying, fun, suspenseful end to the series. We got to spend more time with a couple of previously loved characters, but we also met someone new: Amber Farraday, a medic-intern who wants to do the right thing despite having plenty of motivation not to. Nova was still a struggle for me at times, much like I remembered her being in the first book, but how could I do anything but love Thea and Coen with their miserable little situations? These poor kids go through hell and then some, but they're so tough nevertheless.

Despite the fact that a lot of time is dedicated to the characters and a couple of romances — one of them being queer (f/f) — Erin Bowman's got a knack for weaving that into these plots that never really slow down or give you any breathing room. This was the fourth book I've read by her, and I'm always impressed by how fast I go through her books; they're the types of things you don't want to put down until you reach the end, because nobody feels "safe" and the twists and threats don't stop coming.

The only reason this is a little bit less lovable for me than Contagion was is that, while the first book meshed sci-fi and horror beautifully, the second book is definitely straight-up science fiction. Though the entire plot does more or less revolve around this terrifying infection, this one is more about the threats that other people create, and there's also a fair bit of what I call "space sci-fi", where the focus falls more on spacecrafts, travel, time-space warping, etc. None of that was bad by any means, but I did find myself missing the spooky atmosphere of Contagion from time to time.

All in all, Immunity didn't leave me disappointed or needing more; it ties up the loose ends nicely and felt like a tremendously satisfying finish to the duology (which is a huge compliment from me, considering how often I'm disappointed by finales). I think Erin Bowman is such a force to be reckoned with and I can't wait to see what she creates next.

Thank you so much to Wunderkind PR for providing me with this (absolutely stunning) finished copy in exchange for an honest review!

I feel like I could maybe get into something else by this author based on the writing style, so I'll try again, but this was so syrupy sweet and cheesy and has the most surreal insta-love I've ever read in my life. Literally within an hour or two of meeting, I think, was the first time the hero internally professed his undying love and devotion to the heroine, and my eyebrows hit the roof, y'all.

Another brilliant little story from KPB. I hesitate to call this horror so much as it is paranormal, but I think it could easily appeal to fans of both, so for all intents and purposes, etc. This story blends Kealan's particular brand of creepiness and sorrow that I've come to love so much, packing an incredibly well-rounded story into just a few pages and culminating in what I thought was a bittersweet but ultimately very satisfying ending.