howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

First of all, let me say that Happily Ever After is VERY cute. If you're in a long-term relationship, I'm certain there will be at least a few comics in this collection that will make you smile, maybe even go "awwww!" That said, having read two other of Debbie Tung's books, I was really disappointed overall in this book. The other two were so humorous and cute and fun, that I was surprised by how much of this was just sort of "slice of life"-feeling with a little sweetness — no real humor or fun shining through like I expected to find. If this was your first introduction to Tung's work, I totally recommend checking out one of her earlier books, as I think they were much more lovable! I'll definitely pick up her next release and I don't regret reading this one, it just wasn't what I hoped it would be.

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

This was a really fun, unique storyline! I loved the different personalities of the ghosts and the fact that each of them have a style that's representative of the times they died in. The twist with one of the ghosts was pretty fun, and I'm totally here for some cute queer ghost/living romance in the future if the story decides to follow that route with a couple of the side characters. The casual diversity was wonderful (the main character is Jewish and bisexual, multiple side characters are queer and/or POC) and the art and color palette were lovely. My only real complaint is that the main character is really obnoxious at times, but it's hard not to root for her despite that. Overall, I can't wait to continue in the next volume!

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

Did I just pull an all-nighter because I couldn't put this book down until I finished it? Yeah. You bet I did.

I'm not even going to TRY to form coherent thoughts right now, I'm just going to say this was PHENOMENAL and angsty and swoon-y and steamy. Willow and Simon are precious beans, and the depression rep in this book meant so much to me I can't even describe it. I cried a million times. Worth it.

Full review coming soon!

I loved Mike's Darkest Hours collection a while back, so when he reached out asking if I'd be interested in reviewing more work from him, I couldn't possibly say no. Mike Thorn has this incredible talent for delivering atmosphere, backstory, and chills in as few pages as possible, and these two short stories were no exception to that rule.

Dreams of Lake Drukka follows a young woman whose mother passed away years ago in a drowning accident, and something has been drawing her back to the incident ever since, never letting her rest — always convincing her that something about that terrible, fateful night was not what it seemed. In a desperate need to know more about what happened, she drags her sister along as they return to the infamous lake of their nightmares, and what they find there is downright awful. I had literal goosebumps reading the descriptions in one scene because it was so immersive and easy to lose myself in imagining how petrifying it would be to be a fly on the wall of that scene.

Exhumation takes a very different note; in it, a young man visits home to attend an estranged family member's funeral, but is stunned when another family member not only accuses him of something particularly sordid, but even manages to prey upon repressed memories that had long since been buried. This one is bizarre and I wasn't quite sure where it was going or how it connected to Drukka at first; after I finished it, though, not only were the parallels clear (unresolved family traumas and otherworldly evils, most of all), but I found myself remarkably satisfied with the direction its ending took. 

All in all, Mike's writing is concise and powerful, and his descriptions left me with a spine-chilling sense of "wrongness" that lingered for a few days after — and that's truly one of the best compliments a horror author can receive from me. I can't wait to see what he does next!

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

→ content warnings: violence, gore, drug abuse, murder

This had a really neat premise and it was interesting to see insight into this setting, but I knew going into it that it felt a little worrisome that the book was only 48 pages, and I was right to be concerned. It's so short that nothing really happens, and there's so little text on each page that it makes this issue even more prominent. Altogether, I was sadly bored and ready for it to end even with how short it was.

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

Dance when the moon sings, and don't cry about troubles that haven't yet come.

This review is so long overdue, as I read this book twice within a year and am still just now getting around to typing up my thoughts! Don't let that make you think for a moment, though, that it's because I don't have anything to say about Moon Called, because believe you me, I do. Some back-story here: paranormal fantasy was one of my favorite genres as a teen, but when I hit adulthood, it became popular for people to make fun of the genre (thanks, Twilight), and I'm willing to admit that peer pressure shoved me right out of my love for books like this. Now, at 26, I'm so glad I've learned to stop giving a crap about what other people think of my taste in books, because damn, Mercy Thompson is fun.

"Love thy enemies," it says in the scriptures. My foster mother always added, "At the very least, you will be polite to them."

Patricia Briggs just has this writing style I can't help but love. It's not flowery or over-the-top; it's just quick-paced, enjoyable, and full of character development. At the time that I'm writing this review, I've read a few of her novellas and two novels (like I said, having read this one twice), and there's never been a bored moment for me in any of them. In fact, it's the opposite — I find that once I pick up a Patricia Briggs story, I can't stand putting it down until it's over.

Samuel's shoulders shook slightly. "I can see it now, Mercy holding a roomful of vampires at bay with her glowing sheep."

It's not just that the plot was fun (though it was), but more than anything, these characters are so immediately lovable that I couldn't possibly have disliked this book. Mercy is so to-the-point and down to business, and she's surrounded by the best side characters, whether it's Samuel's witty jokes or Adam's quiet sarcasm, or even Bran's general state of "I don't have to show off because I already know I can kick your ass to kingdom come" living. The pack dynamics are pretty solid, too; there's a lot of emphasis on how the alphas aren't just there to boss everyone around, but they're also protectors and leaders, and it makes for a really good time.

"Don't lick the guests, darling. Bad manners."

There's also a slew of non-werewolf/shifter characters, such as the fae folk and vampires, which I think is such a fun addition. I feel like, as a teen, all of the werewolf books I read were just about wolves, or maybe about wolves and vamps, but never fae folk, etc. It could easily get overwhelming with the vast number of characters you meet in this fairly short novel, but Patricia Briggs has this way of giving them all such distinct personalities that I never struggled to keep anyone separate.

"Mine," he said.
"I don't think so. She is mine."
It would have been flattering, I thought, except that at least one of them was talking about dinner...

———

MercyVerse — Author's Order (MT, A&O, novellas, etc.):
novellas: in progress
GN — Homecoming: ★★★☆☆
MT — #1 Moon Called: ★★★★☆
AO — #0.5 Alpha & Omega: ★★★★☆
AO — #1 Cry Wolf: ★★★★★
AO — #2 Hunting Ground:
MT — #2 Blood Bound:
MT — #3 Iron Kissed:
MT — #4 Bone Crossed:
MT — #5 Silver Borne:
MT — #6 River Marked:
AO — #3 Fair Game:
MT — #7 Frost Burned:
AO — #4 Dead Heat:
MT — #8 Night Broken:
MT — #9 Fire Touched:
MT — #10 Silence Fallen:
AO — #5 Burn Bright:

MercyVerse — Author's Order (MT, A&O, novellas, etc.):
novellas: in progress
GN — Homecoming: ★★★☆☆
MT — #1 Moon Called: ★★★★☆
AO — #0.5 Alpha & Omega: ★★★★☆
AO — #1 Cry Wolf:
AO — #2 Hunting Ground:
MT — #2 Blood Bound:
MT — #3 Iron Kissed:
MT — #4 Bone Crossed:
MT — #5 Silver Borne:
MT — #6 River Marked:
AO — #3 Fair Game:
MT — #7 Frost Burned:
AO — #4 Dead Heat:
MT — #8 Night Broken:
MT — #9 Fire Touched:
MT — #10 Silence Fallen:
AO — #5 Burn Bright:

After how much I've enjoyed what I've experienced of the more Mercy-based Mercyverse titles so far, I was a little apprehensive about kicking off the A&O series because I was worried I'd miss Mercy and the rest, but luckily, Patricia Briggs' narrative voice is so distinctly hers that it's impossible not to feel like you're in the same exact world. Plus, we get to see a few familiar faces (most notably the Marrok, Bran Cornick) and it was really neat meeting Bran's younger son after having spent so much time with Samuel in Moon Called.

This is a really short novella and it does fly by, but I was impressed by how much world-building is packed into so few pages. Patricia immediately builds up a lot of depth surrounding the Chicago werewolves and even gives us more back story on the Cornick family, plus we get to meet Anna, who is instantly such a likable character. She's been through a lot (major trigger warnings here for mentions of rape and abuse), but she's got a fighting spirit left in her and she really develops it quickly in these 61 pages.

The only reason this is getting 4 stars instead of 5 from me is probably more of a "me" thing than this book, because it's something I know is common with werewolf fantasy books: Charles' level of dominance was fine, but the way he acts regarding the whole "finding his mate" arc was frustrating and overly pushy at times. Here's a woman who's just been through hell at the hands of a ton of terrible men, and Charles comes in to "save" her, but is still kinda pushy and intrusive. It wasn't awful, but it made it harder to enjoy watching their relationship form.

All of that aside, it made me much more excited to dive into the A&O section of the Mercyverse and I can't wait to start Cry Wolf next!

REREAD UPDATE:
The "dominance" stuff didn't bother me the second time around — probably because I've read so much more UF and PNR since first picking this up, that while Charles felt "too alpha male" to me the first time, his alpha tendencies actually feel very subdued this time around. Go figure.

I love this book so much and I'm enjoying it just as much now as I always have, but I honestly just cannot justify taking the time for any rereads right now. 😂 Soooo I'll come back and finish this billionth reread another time.

“And may the odds be ever in your favor.”

A huge part of me is tempted not to even review this book because it’s been read and reviewed by so many people, and doubtlessly has a cornucopia (ha) of reviews that are far more eloquent than anything I can say here. That aside, it’s easily one of the most formative, important, and beloved books of my life thus far, and I’ve read it so many times that it feels like a crime not to put a little something down in words.

District 12: Where you can starve to death in safety.

The Hunger Games felt like the dawning of an era; it was my introduction to dystopian sci-fi and was the first book, in my teens, that made me legitimately reconsider the things I’d always been taught about the US government, politics, and society at large. I’d grown up in a solidly sheltered, religious, and politically conservative home, and had never questioned much of what I’d been told up to that point. I’ll never forget reading this book for the first time, and that moment of wondering if this could all become a reality, and weighing my own mortality a little more heavily than I had before.

“You’re not leaving me here alone,” I say. Because if he dies, I’ll never go home, not really.

Doom and gloom aside, this is one of my favorite books of all time and it has not lost an ounce of its spark for me. To this day, I think Katniss is one of the most courageous, sensible, and inspiring protagonists I’ve ever seen. I’m still more than a little in love with Cinna, I’ll never fix the crack in my heart from sweet Rue, and I’ll always root for the boy with the bread. As an adult and a mother, everything in me hurts so much more for these poor, broken tributes — even the vicious, bloodthirsty ones who don’t know anything else — and I’m endlessly amazed by the world that Suzanne Collins created in Panem.

---

Buddy reread with Terry and Julie!