reading_under_covers's Reviews (1.61k)

Exceptionally average Dan has finally decided to go on a nice vacation with his girlfriend Mara, but less than a day into their life in paradise, the sun explodes. With the guests already divided by class, the wealthiest among them stage a coup and take control of all of the supplies. Things go from bad to worse, when a six-seater broken plane is discovered and only one man is able to fix it.

ZERO STARS, DO NOT RECOMMEND by M.J. Wassmer is one of those books that’s hard to categorize genre-wise. I’ve seen it already being shelved as “romance,” but sci-fi or dystopian would probably be the better slot!

Wassmer did a great job of adding in dashes of humor as everything delves into chaos, and really added a lightness to the whole “well, this is the end of the world” thing.

There are plenty of characters to hate with some to really root for, and we really get a good look at the different facets of humanity.

While slow at times, this one really picked up the pace in the latter half and I, overall, really enjoyed the conclusion!

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: August 6

Holy moly.

As a filmmaker, the several mentions of the cast and crew willing to do anything and everything to make the best film they can rang uncomfortably true - especially at that younger age when you do feel invincible and have that strong need for your art to be seen.

That aside, the several moving parts in this book made for an extremely interesting, slow-building puzzle. Cutting from the screenplay, to the "Then" timeline, to the "Now" timeline, and the building of contradictions and hints at things to come really truly boggled my mind.

This book is definitely dark and Horror Movie itself is a look into the worst parts of ourselves, so proceed with caution!!

After experiencing her own tragedies, Marshall is sent by her editor to a small town to investigate a wild rumor that has been spreading: a horse has given birth to a human baby. Upon arrival, she’s met by insular townspeople who are holding back secrets at every turn.

As a former horse girl (who am I kidding, I’m still a horse girl), THE UNMOTHERS by Leslie J. Anderson was such a powerful folk horror.

There were so many aspects of this story that felt rooted in real life (in the most frightening way) and the oddities of the town would have easily fit into the confines of an X-Files episode!

The folklore embedded into the town was also incredibly intriguing, making the story all the more horrific for it.

A fantastic debut - I can’t wait to see what Leslie comes up with next!

Thanks to Quirk Books and Libro.fm for the ARC and ALC respectively!

Publication Date: August 6

I really wanted to love this book and there were certain elements I did love (the monster mortuary business, the interactions between Dustin and Molly), but it ultimately missed the mark.

I was bored through a lot of this one and felt like a lot of the story was pretty surface-level. Trauma is also brought up in regards to why the two kids were separated as children, and even that is kind of written off as “it is what it is” and then everything is just fine?!

I’m sure there are readers that will eat up this story, but it just didn’t stand out in any memorable way for me.

I love that Julie brought on another author to make this book a dual POV - I feel like you could really differentiate between the characters!

I also really enjoyed getting to see much more of Nora and Maggie’s friendship in this one!

The boy craziness was a bit much, but also expected 😅

Such an important and helpful middle grade read! So glad that literature like this is out there and, oh, that it’s spooky too!

A family/found family heist novel involving fake jewels, wealthy families, and sooo many con artists!

SUCH CHARMING LIARS by Karen M. McManus is such a strong character-driven mystery that was impossible to put down!

As per usual, McManus hits us with another great story, and so different from her seven previous books, that really has so much heart built into it.

I absolutely loved the “found family” elements between our main POVs Kat and Liam (and Liam was just the most wholesome cinnamon roll of a human omg) and it made the villains just that more menacing.

My biggest gripe is the mother-daughter roles between Jamie and Kat (and this is probably because I’m closer to Jamie’s age than Kat’s 😅and this is YA!), but it felt a bit unrealistic at times.

Overall though, another super solid and twisty read from McManus!

Huge thanks to Delacorte Press for an early copy for review!

Publication Date: July 30

Just not doing it for me.

When Meg is invited out to the Wren twins’ family estate in Ireland for Halloween, she sees it as the perfect chance for her to mend their friendship (and get back her spot back at her fancy school Greyscott’s) after falling out over the summer. However, the manor is far from idyllic and screams can be heard in the middle of the night. Will Meg make it out unscathed?

OUR WICKED HISTORIES by Amy Goldsmith was such a chilling, atmospheric story.

The rundown estate in the Irish countryside surrounding a lake of buried statues…an absolutely wonderfully spooky setting, and the characters were so complex and riddled with secrets.

Flashbacks are interwoven throughout the story in a seamless and intricate way, and I couldn’t help myself from being dazzled by the Wren twins.

It was such a great YA Gothic Horror that kept me guessing until the end!

Thanks to Delacorte Press for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Day: July 30

Gillian McAllister is back with another twisty turny book!

I found this one so easy to get sucked into - the ending of the first chapter, I mean, come on! - and the characters so easy to feel empathy towards.

Another wild read from McAllister in the books!