Oh I just ate all that right up! I was pretty sure I'd really like this one, despite the romance element, I didn't think I'd LOVE it. So freaking cute, and quirky, and evil...wait, did I just describe myself!? You don't know me, but I did. Little miss main character is too relatable with her word vomit, inappropriate humour and sarcasm. I didn't roll my eyes at the romance once because it was done all and didn't take over the story. Well done, well done. So looking forward to the second

What did I learn…I learned the history of the bustle, brought to us by the Hottentot Venus: Sarah Baartman. I loved learning about Sarah, what a backstory - eye roll at myself.

I learned the word: flibbertigibbet.

When you google: banana skirt - you get a whole bunch of results pertaining to Josephine Baker. I thought it was a specific STYLE of skirt. Turns out, it was a skirt made of actual bananas? That IS bananas.

Being a fitness instructor myself who has taught many an aerobics class, I really enjoyed the examination of the introduction of aerobics and its effect on body types and body image.

This book is a study and observation of society and culture. It is largely about race, which is not a bad thing, just not what I was expecting. I was expecting more butt. It was feminist, which I love, discussed body image, and pop culture.

But, butt, but, why no man-butt? Where is the discussion of the obsession with the butts of football and baseball players? The rugged handsomeness of a man in jeans from behind? Or even the man with no butt! The one whose back slopes down with no outward protrusion where the butt is - should be - and so no belt can ever work, suspenders being the only thing that can keep the pants up. And no fart jokes! I expected a fart joke.

But this is not about me. It was a lot about the author, her personal views and experiences though, and given that this was more of a cultural examination, perhaps it would have been better if it weren't?

Butts wasn't very funny, but it was informative. I recommend to those who like to learn.

I'm not one to read reviews before I've read the book. I'll read them after I'm done and in a lot of cases...hoooo boy.

So freaking what if you guess every now and then what will happen next in a book? It happens all the time. In movies too. Genres are often based on formulas that work. You can't tell me that that romance novel you have on your TBR is unpredictable. It's about as unpredictable as a Hallmark movie. Books, movies, hell, even music, become predictable when we ingest enough of them and especially of a certain type.

Were you entertained? I was. This book was great. I actually loved it! It wasn't too long. There was enough detail to paint a picture without putting us to sleep. There were enough misdirections for us to formulate theories about where the story was going without us being confident that we were right at any point.

Darlington's a dear. Alex is awesome. Dawes is the mommy we all wanna be besties with.

Who cares if a twist wasn't as twisty as you would have liked? Yes there was some triggery violence. It incited the amount of anger in me it was meant to. Grossed out by poo? Get over it, that literal shit was funny.

If you guessed every outcome of this book, you're a liar or you drunkenly read spoilers and then forgot about it. If you always think things are overhyped, stop paying attention to hype. Read the kinds of books you know you like and let yourself enjoy! Life's to short for anything else.

Do you like dark academia, and fantasy, with ghosts and magic and assholes who get their comeuppance and girls who have attitude, but like, in the good way? Read this book.

There's something about the idea of the church giving one demons instead of exorcising them that is just so perfect.

There’s a lot of religion in this book along with comparison and mention of secular music and movies and stuff. It’s all done really well. Our protagonist, having been raised very culty, at one point hears a song she recognizes but can’t place, not a christian song, but one so popular that it seeped its way into her brain somehow, sometime. Rose then recalls: A boy band sings this one. Johnny or Donnie or Joey or Justin or Nick or AJ or Howie, their names rolling through my mind like secular apostles.(p.175) Secular Apostles, me = dead.

Rose’s neurodivergent inner dialogue is everything. I love the little factoids she uses to calm herself down and center herself. My favourite was: Vultures are bald to reduce the risk of bacterial infection while plunging their heads inside rotting carcasses.(p.111) coooool.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was a quick, shorter read, thoughtful, meaningful and very entertaining. There were dark moments, icky moments, funny moments and pearl clutching moments. The scenes played out spectacularly in my mind without overwhelming me with so much detail that I grew bored. The ending was creative, everything wraps up quite nicely. 4.75/5 stars because I wanted some kind of closure with Rose’s jerk parents.

Definitely recommend!

Initial thoughts, loving the very conversational dialogue. It reads very real. I was drawn in right away and I felt increasing panic reading of the rez losing satellite, internet, cell service, hydro, etc. I live up North, but in a city, and I would panic to high hell if we were cut off.

I love horror. I can read/watch horror all day and sleep like a baby. What really keeps me up at night are stories of natural disasters. You know, the things that could actually happen. Shudder.

Take the isolation and add stranger danger. OMG. This Justin Scott guy is bad news and adds another layer to the anxiety of the situation. His arrival, along with the arrival of the next group really makes you think about what you might do in a similar situation. You can’t let people starve. But you can’t starve yourself. Do you take care of your established community only and say fuck it to the outsiders? What if they’re super helpful? But what if they’re not? You certainly can’t trust everyone. In emergency situations like this one you don’t exactly have time to get to know someone before deciding on whether or not to let them stay…but do you let them die?

Did anybody watch The Walking Dead? I got the same feelings from the outsiders and the possibility of more in this book that I did on that show (that show’s not really about the zombies, it’s about surviving the apocalypse, obvs).

This was a nice, quick, read. It was dark and ominous but somehow also heartwarming? It was filled with culture and there was even a fantastic story within a story! It wraps up nicely, not so tight that you can’t imagine a bunch of crazy shit happening, but there’s no cliffhanger (for those who prefer stand-alones), there’s closure. Definitely recommend.

It’s hard to properly rate anthologies and so, I am rating each story individually and then averaging the score.

We start with a poem, Castle Cursed by Jane Yolen, short but vivid. 4/5

As Red As Bood, As White As Snow by Christina Henry: a Snow White retelling, I loved the idea that the Queen is not evil, that she and Snow are on the same side and it is Prince Charming who is the villain. Really, how many men have you met who try that hard to be charming and are not secretly assholes? I would have loved a full novel-length story of this one, I had an: awww, it`s already over?, moment when I saw the ending coming up. Cool story bro. Literally. Literarily? 4.5/5

Troll Bridge by Neil Gaiman: quick easy read. Everyone got what they deserved. 3/5

At That Age by Catriona Ward: WHAT?... 1.5/5

Listen by Jen Williams: That was freaking cool. 4/5

Henry and the Snakewood Box by M.R.Carey: I want more explanations of what the other demons do and what effects they are having on the world, and how many are there and why didn’t Henry ask his demon these questions cause if there were so many that the world was going to shit anyway, he may as well have enjoyed his wishes. I need more info. 3/5

Skin by James Brogden: Super promising start but then a really weirdly disappointing ending. 3.5/5

Faith & Fred by Maura McHugh: I could not get into this one. The ending was super cool. It would have been much better if the “weakness” of the MC had been more elaborated and explained. I couldn’t connect. I also would want to know more about the twins. They’re definitely the better story. 3/5

The Black Fairy’s Curse by Karen Joy Fowler: nope. 1/5

Wendy, Darling by Christopher Golden: Perfect. I want more, but I don’t need more. A dark retelling of Peter Pan. We have Wendy, the Lost Boys, Hook, and Peter, but not at all how you’d expect them. Great story. 5/5

Fairy Werewolf vs. Vampire Zombie: Fantastic. Legends & Lattes vibes. 5/5

Look Inside by Michael Marshall Smith: ”but then I’ve never understood the appeal of reality television or Colin Firth, either, so it’s possible I’m just a bit dim”. This one had a super promising start, giving me creeps and chills. The ending felt rushed, I feel I need a little bit more. 3.5/5

Little Red by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple: Best retelling of Red Riding Hood I’ve ever read. 5/5

New Wine by Angela Slatter: Tragic, excellent conclusion. 5/5

Haza and Ghani by Lilith Saintcrow: meh. 2/5

Hated by Christopher Fowler: Fast paced. Cool idea. 4/5

The Merrie Dancers by Alison Littlewood: meh. 2/5

Again by Tim Lebbon: This was heartwarming, and upsetting, and beautiful, all at once. 5/5

The Girl From the Hell by Margo Lanagan: what a terrible story to finish with. 1/5

We end with another poem by Jane Yolen, Castle Waking, 3/5

With 18 stories and two poems, my average rating = 3.4

Spooky for people who spook easily, I suppose.

There were some sweet and heartfelt moments in this book. The story was good, and the setting and the atmosphere were perfectly descriptive. I would have loved more intrigue. I never once felt unsettled or scared. And I didn’t find myself looking forward to picking up this book to finish it or needing to know what came next. This was meant to be a gothic horror. There wasn’t much horror. It would be more horror-light.

I expected more whistling? The tagline: If you can hear it…it’s already too late, was compelling, but deceptive.

Good book, though I had a hard time getting into it and staying in.

“You don’t ever have to say anything,” he says. “Always remember that as a thing you need never do. Many’s the man lost much just because he missed a perfect opportunity to say nothing.”

Beautifully written, effortless, and heartwarming. How I cared for these characters so much, in so few pages. I love a good novella. It’s like smelling coffee grounds in between the complex notes of luxury perfumes in a shop. A cleansing breath to clear the palette, to wipe the slate. These coffee grounds were rich, so rich.

This was good! I felt a little disconnected since I had so many assignments due while I was reading this one. But the creepy factor was there in abundance. The story was great, I liked about half the characters and was annoyed by the others, though I think maybe I was supposed to be. The author opened up a lot of questions early on. As they started to tie up loose ends, there was a huge twist that I did not see coming.

Now, I normally analyze multiple outcomes as I'm reading through a book and usually stumble upon the right one at some point before it's revealed. I don't know if this one snuck up on me because the storytelling was good, or because I was distracted by essay writing, but I did enjoy being taken by surprise!

Would recommend for an easy horror read :)

"Art theorists now believe that the reason for art's ubiquity is that humanity has overcome natural selection. Art is the result of facing almost no survival pressure at all. It's the product of leisure time. Our big brains, the most complex instruments known in the universe, have been released from the vigilance of evading predators and seeking sustenance, permitting our imagination to gambol and explore, to dream while awake, to share visions of God. Art signals our freedom."

I had to sleep on this one and I'm glad I did. This was a super interesting read. Stéphane Breitwieser isn't just any art thief, he is THE art thief. Just super casually going about, doing crime, taking art. The most prolific art thief of all time.

I loved the photos of the art at the end of the book. I think they would have been even better spread throughout the book so we could have a visual as we were joining Stéphane on his crime spree. I would have also loved photos of him and Anne-Catherine. They're features are described well but after all, these are real people.

Something that kept nagging at me throughout this read, is that I really wanted Anne-Catherine's version and commentary. Not just after the fact, which would have been fine, but along the way. Stéphane is clearly not completely in touch with reality. And there has to have been more to their relationship he's not telling us. Anne-Catherine states that he was abusive, which one lawyer easily discredits with one silly home video? Come on. I need more.

But also this book was good and you should read it if you like crime.