I think this book would be closer to 3.5/5 stars for me.

This book reminded me a bit of The Haunting of Hill House, specifically the tv series adaptation. The two young sisters, Violet and Lily, have these gifts that were really reminiscent of the children of Hill House.

This book featured multiple POVs, switching between the two sisters Violet and Lily and then also Clara. Clara is the closest living relative of Violet and Lily who agrees to take the two girls in after their parents tragically died.

I enjoyed the storyline of Violet and Lily but I honestly was losing interest with Clara’s POV. Something about Clara’s character just didn’t draw me in but I was intrigued by both of the children.

This book was still worth the read, but something about the overall story felt to me like it was missing the piece that would make it great.

This was a fantastic book. I listened to the audiobook but once this releases to the public, I want to pick up a physical copy and do a reread.

I don’t always find myself enjoying books relating to Covid, I’m not really sure why but this one was didn’t fall into that category. I loved this book so much. It started strong, continued strong, and ended strong. I loved the balance between fictional horror and realistic horror. This book contains supernatural elements with ghosts, gore, and also tackles racism, prejudice, and bigotry.

This book very plainly laid out the effects of Covid specifically relating to Chinese people and the racism that openly cropped up because of it. The hate crimes, the cruel names, the mistreatment and stereotypes. Covid gave a lot of people the nerve and (in their minds), the excuse to be unapologetically and openly racist.

Cora is a crime scene cleaner and is no stranger to gore. But seeing her sister murdered at the start of the book by being shoved in front of a train, is much different. Cora starts seeing ghosts while investigating the murder of her sister and other Chinese people in her community.

Even though this book contained a lot of heaviness with very real struggles, it wasn’t too much to read. It was extremely well-done and balanced and I never felt overwhelmed while still being able to grasp the severity. I loved the plot, I loved the message, I loved the characters. The pacing was great. Everything was great. I can’t really say that I have anything to complain about in this book. I would definitely recommend this to everyone and I will be buying a physical copy once it is released.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to listen to this audiobook. All opinions are enthusiastically my own.

This is the first book that I've read by this author and so far, I'm decently impressed. Stolen Tongues is going to be one of my next reads as well.

This book was atmospheric, dark, mysterious, and sinister. I thought this book was creepy from start to finish and the creature kept drawing me in. I wanted more and more of it. I went into this book without knowing that this was tied to Stolen Tongues but I'm glad that I read this one first.

I loved the characters and the setting. I thought the pacing was even throughout and I didn't find myself bored by the story. 

There is a dog in this book and the dog does

not survive

for those of you wondering. 

I do think this book had some issues with how the history was presented at times, but overall I enjoyed this and the vibes. I'm excited to read the second book.

Was this book entertaining? Yes.
Did I enjoy it? Not so much.

The FMC in this book is so incredibly dumb, it pained me. That's starting to feel like a trend in Freida's books which I desperately wish she would change. Her books would benefit so much from writing her FMC's in a stronger light.

There were so many moments when the FMC knew that something was wrong, but she instead chose to brush it off and just go with what was happening. I wanted to reach through the book and slap some sense into her!! The rest of the characters were equally as frustrating. There really weren't any likeable characters to me in this book. 

The Crash felt extremely far-fetched to me and it was incredibly repetitive. I wasn't too engaged because of how strongly repetitious this book was, combined with the unlikeable characters. I didn't like the explanation for things at the end, the twist, and the character arcs. I've enjoyed several of Freida's books but the newer ones haven't been worth it to me, unfortunately. This might be my least favorite book of hers, with The Teacher following in a close second place.

I also can't write this review without mentioning how much the constant "little tuna" nickname thoroughly irritated me. It was like the turtle fixation all over again. 

This book had been sitting on my shelf for years. I'm glad I finally decided to read it.

This book was adventurous, mysterious, and heart-warming. This book satisfies the desire to read about detective work, academics, and magic. At times, it felt a little bit slow, but not so much that I wasn't intrigued enough to keep on reading.

3.5 stars

This was a good read, but wasn't exactly what I was looking for at the time. It took a long while for the horror elements of this book to start developing for me. It felt more like a contemporary book for a while.

I did appreciate the sapphic aspect to this book and highlights on women's issues. I honestly wasn't expecting to get that from this read.

It was an extremely slow-burn horror book though. If you're looking for a horror novel from start to finish, then this probably isn't what you're looking for. But even so, I think this book had a lot of great qualities even if it didn't immediately satisfy my desire for immediate horror. 

This was a strange book and I enjoyed it but honestly I’m a bit confused about what I read. I had trouble keeping the characters straight because of the names: The Liar, The Secret Keeper, The Crybaby, etc.

This was an interesting read and the writing was great but I wish I had a bit more clarity. If you want a strange, fever-dream of a book, I think this will be for you! The cover to this book is absolutely stunning as well. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc. All opinions are my own. 

A group of friends go to a cabin getaway in the snowy Colorado woods. What could possibly go wrong?
They get snowed in when a blizzard hits and as if that wasn't bad enough, they soon realize that they're not alone in these woods. In fact, they are being hunted.

This was an incredibly entertaining book to me. I have a massive weak-spot for the snowed in friend group trope. This was even better because it was a creature feature.

This was gory, fast-paced, tense, and quick read. I have a few more of Ania's books on my TBR and I think I may need to move them to the top of my list now. 

Couldn't get into this. Found it boring which is such a bummer because I really was excited for this. Might try it again later.

The Sirens is a story told in two timelines, 2019 following Lucy and 1800 following Mary and Eliza.
In 2019, Lucy wakes up from a dream and realizes that she was actually trying to choke her ex. She tries to convince everyone that she was sleeping while choking him. But Lucy doesn't think they'll believe her after the incident of her ex sharing intimate photos on her online. She chooses to run away for help to her sister Jess, only to discover that she is missing. Back in Jess's town, Lucy hears tales of strange disappearances of men and a baby that was found abandoned in a cave. Lucy finds her sister's hidden diary and starts her road to discovery.

In 1800 we follow the story of Mary and Eliza's transformation as they're forced onto a ship leaving Ireland and going to Australia. 

This story was beautiful, whimsical, and tragic. This is a great story on feminism and fantasy. If you've read Emilia Hart before, I'm sure you already are aware of how stunning her writing is. This book was no different. She also does a fantastic job writing her characters. I felt connected to them and a strong empathy.

I also appreciated that this story had so much mystery to it. I was immediately intrigued by the stories of all four of these women and to find out what happened to them. I received the audiobook from NetGalley and the narrator, Barrie Kreinik, did a fantastic job as well. The narration was engaging and clear.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this audiobook. All opinions are my own.