howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

 That was absolutely incredible and SO creepy! I loved everything about this from the storytelling style to the setting to the characters. RTC!
 

 This wasn't a perfect read for me, and I struggled a bit with Emilia's character for a solid portion of the book, but Wrath is an incredible character and the setting and plot were phenomenal. I'm beyond excited for the second book, because I have a very good feeling about whatever is coming next. RTC! 

 
This was my first time reading Ross Jeffery's work, and I'm so glad that I did, because I really enjoyed this collection! It's a heavy, tough read at times, as Ross doesn't hesitate to tackle serious and difficult topics, but it's also creepy, melancholy, and lovely. Full review coming soon! 

 
I absolutely adored this. Equal parts creepy and emotional, it reminded me of why Darcy is the queen of "cozy horror" and why I've loved her work for so long. RTC! 

 Two thoughts:

1) How dare ANYONE try to come between Loid and Yor?! 🤬

2) Bond is best puppers. ♥ 

 I love how much of Yor's internal emotions we get to see in this volume, and I'm hoping we get to see more emotional development from Loid soon, too. His thoughts about what a great mother Yor is melted me! 🥺 

 
Again, Bond is best puppers. I love him so much. Also, I'm losing my shit over Yor considering a career change?! 👀 

 I loved the first Cat's Cafe collection so much that I downloaded this the second I saw it on Netgalley, and was so excited to read it. I loved it just as much as the first one, if not more! The soft, sweet themes of self-care, friendship, healing, taking space and time for yourself when you need it, and valuing the good things in life while acknowledging the bad days, too — it was all incredibly wholesome and comforting, while also being funny and adorable. I can't recommend this collection highly enough!

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.

✨ Representation: Fox is deaf/HoH and uses sign language; multiple characters have mental illnesses 

 Oh my gosh, this volume was too much. Yuri's ridiculous over-protectiveness of Yor? Anya's dodgeball skills? THE ALMOST-KISS™️?!

I love this family too much ♥ 

 

Donna Lynch absolutely blew me away with her last collection, Choking Back the Devil, so I knew this collection was going to be incredible as well, but I didn't know I could love it this much. I tabbed practically every other page in my copy of Girls From the County because it felt like each and every poem had something in it that was so important, that I needed to let it sink its teeth into me and then mark it for easy future access to return to.

Girls From the County feels like a merging of dark poetry and true crime as it follows stories that we know are true not only from the author's note in the beginning, but also because they're the kinds of stories we're all painfully familiar with, especially women, especially women who grew up in small towns where everyone knows who the devil on their street is, but nobody's willing to exorcise him.

Donna Lynch is my favorite modern poet and I genuinely cannot recommend this collection highly enough. Her work always leaves me both raw and starstruck in the best possible ways.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.