ryinwonderland's Reviews (892)

Holy moly. Gotta gather my thoughts together for a real review of this one but: asylum, husbands having their wives institutionalized, missing woman, forced birth, horrors upon horrors, MODERN DAY. Supernatural elements. 

If you found the elixir for youth, how far would you go to keep it? This is Beauty Industry Horror at its finest. Body horror, addiction, grief, and murder soak these bloody pages until they shimmer.  

About six months before this book was published, I was at a Horror convention chatting with Clay McLeod Chapman (Ghost Eaters, What Kind of Mother) when Ronald Malfi approached us to say hi to Clay. Immediately Clay began gushing enthusiastically about Small Town Horror, which he had just finished reading. As I watched, amused, Clay talked about the immersive nature of the book, the horrors within, the expertise of Malfi, the way he’s mastered the art of writing Chesapeake Bay Horror, and several more delicious compliments that I can no longer recall. It was delightful to watch, and in the back of my mind, I bumped Small Town Horror to the top of my To Be Read list. 

Now, having read it, I can confirm that everything Clay McLeod Chapman said about this book was true. 

In Small Town Horror, long-buried secrets push their way to the surface and crawl out to haunt the people who buried them. This novel is steeped in the briny waters of fear and regret. Small Town Horror pulls you into the sweltering terror of a curse come to collect. 

If you’re looking for a Southern Gothic with shades of Stephen King and Peter Straub, with characters you can’t help but love, with horrors that creep off the page and settle beneath your skin, look no further, you’ve found it. 

An urban fantasy with a polyamorous (m/m/f) subplot. Explores relationships both romantic and platonic alongside a demonic possession. Set in Boston. Flirts with darkness. Magic is woven through every fiber of every page. 

For everyone who would choose the bear. 

Delilah S. Dawson should teach a masterclass in writing revenge stories. 

Set at an artists retreat at an old hotel in the woods, Sarah has fled her abusive ex and just wants a fresh start where she finds herself in her pottery again after years of torment. Unfortunately, what she finds is corpses and nightmares and maybe some ghosts, as well as deeply buried secrets of horrible men and the things they did to the women who dared to defy them. 

This book is full of rage and heartbreak, terror and revenge. 

If you’re stuck in the woods, would you rather come face to face with a man or a bear? Always choose the bear. 

Friends to lovers! It’s Talia Hibbert so you know it’s a 5/5 on the Steam Scale. Best friends from college who end up temporarily living together and become Friends with Benefits. They’re both in love with the other, but she has a lot of childhood trauma to deal with (her mother left her when she was young) and self work to do before she can realize she’s worthy of love and won’t ruin her favorite relationship. He waits for her. Happy Ending, obviously. 

 “We live with death. And Horror chooses not to turn away from it.”

A young woman raised in a deeply religious, incredibly sheltered household, tries desperately to survive a plague of lust (you read that correctly), and begins to question her faith, beliefs, and upbringing as she is exposed to the outside world. 

This book is gorgeous and horrifying and heartbreaking and feverish. Full of religious trauma and horny zombies, I couldn’t look away. 

Absolutely phenomenal. CJ Leede has become a “Drop Everything and Read” author for me. 

I love Kevin Kwan’s books. It’s so much to live vicariously through these über rich Asian families and their drama. It’s the same reason I used to love watching soap operas and Laguna Beach. These people are fascinating and insane and I love getting swept up in their ridiculous lives. If you enjoyed Crazy, Rich Asians, you will love this one too. 

A dark suspense novel based on the very real tragedies of MMIWG, with native folklore woven in.