this was fine, just fine

This is perfect I wish wes craven were alive to read it! 

Bitter is the heart tells the story of Tamar Glass who fled an abusive home life at just 18. Tamar lived a joyous life free of her mother Ruth, until one night she wakes to find Ruth standing at the foot of her bed. Ruth isn’t in her right mind; she’s confused she doesn’t know how she got to Tamar’s home. 

Shortly after that incident Tamar reluctantly lets her mother move in. The appearance of Ruth in the home brings along the appearance of strange events. The house is hot despite the thermostat being set at 62, lights flicker, cabinets are opening and closing by themselves. Tamar starts hearing whispers at night. It also brings back suppresses memories of childhood trauma for Tamar. 

I enjoyed this story, I never knew where it was going to go. I genuinely could not tell who was the victim while reading. That being said, I wish a lot of the religious horror backstory came earlier in the book because it seemed a bit longer than it needed to be. It is an interesting meditation on generational trauma. 

Thank you dreamscape media and netgalley for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. 

Garden State Goddess is Huzzah’s third most popular show following the lives of Reneé Ricci, Birdie St. Clair, and Carmela Fontana. When Leo Fontana takes a new wife in Hope Bennett she quickly becomes not only a Fontana, but a Goddess too. And the cast seems very weary about this choice. 

Much like any other reality show; secrets are revealed, feuds that have been festering for decades surface and a mysterious murder at a party leads the showrunner Eden to race to find the killer. Written by Astrid Dahl of Anna Dorn’s Perfume and Pain this book was the messy queer thriller of my dreams. 

It has it all; glamour, humor, trash reality. It’s campy and over the top and I loved every minute of it. Did I guess a lot of the thrillers twists? Yes. But did I care? No because I was having too much fun with the characters. I myself, never dabbled too deeply into any of the real housewives franchises but always have seen the viral moments and understood the references. I did get into New York for a hot minute and do love Bethany, but that’s about as far as I’ve gotten. That being said, I KNOW this book embodies those women and is a love letter of sorts to the chaotic women that make up those shows. Paired with messy love affairs, queer and otherwise, and armchair detective work it really sets this thriller apart from anything I’ve ever read. 

Thank you Simon & Schuster for emailing me this book in advanced. Thank you netgalley, Anna Dorn and Astrid Dahl 😉 

The story was dragging on and it felt like it was going nowhere. Cute book, but I just couldn’t push through. 

Fang fiction tells the story of Tess Rosenbloom a grad school drop out with major insomniac tendencies. Her sleeping issues made her the perfect candidate to be the night manager at a chic hotel in downtown Brooklyn. She spends her downtime curled up with her favorite vampire series Blood Feud and even gets into conspiracy theories that the vampires in the novel are REAL. But she knows it’s just that, conspiracy until one walks into her hotel…

Turns out the conspiracies are TRUE! And the sexy villain is trapped. Eager to escape her mundane life Tess agrees to help rescue him. Soon she’s enthralled in a life of fantasy  full of moon meadows and enchanted forests. Trapped in a world full of vampires waiting eagerly to be able to feast on her, Tess, against her better judgement begins to fall for one of them. Is being trapped in your dream novel an actual dream or a nightmare? 

This story was so delightfully silly, scary and sexy as hell. The world building was fantastic I truly felt emerged on the isle. The characters dynamics with each other were so pure and joyous to watch especially as they repair certain aspects of themselves. Every time I thought I knew what would happen next, a new twist would pop up and I would sink even deeper into the story. It has everything you could ever want in a cozy romance perfect for fall! Witches, vampires, sapphic love story honestly what more could one want? At the same time we also deal with heavy themes of healing from trauma through love and community.  

I recommend this for Buffy and Twilight lovers, romantasy girlies and lovers everywhere. 

Thank you netgalley and random house publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was hilarious