shawna_reads's Reviews (471)

"It is what it is. That's the thing, you know. Some things are taken from you, and it is absolutely and completely out of your control. One day, you have something in your life that you love, and the next you're left wondering why it was taken from you for the rest of your life."

Lena leaves her past behind as her and her son move into a house belonging to a man named Ellis whom she forms a friendship with. As time goes by, Lena starts experiencing strange things in the house which Ellis apparently knows nothing of. She suspects something is lurking on the property.

The reader follows Lena as she escapes her drug addict boyfriend with a baby in tow. She is resilient for wanting to start a new life and keep her baby safe, however her mental health spirals when strange things start occurring all around her. From hearing voices to seeing a dead person move to weird sightings that aren't actually there. It definitely kept me interested in the story as I couldn't help feel bad for Lena and see where she would end up.

I personally wasn't a fan of the ending and think the story could have been a little longer to better execute the plot and explore what was going on (not saying what as to avoid spoilers), but overall I enjoyed this psychological horror. It was short, creepy, and uneasy. I look forward to reading more from this author!

"Some things are worse than death." 

Coda is looking for the ultimate high. She searches the dark web for a new kind of drug called Drencrom. What follows is a crazy trip as she fights something sinister. 

Wow! This novella was so much fun as I was taken for a trip down psychedelic lane. It was such a fever dream and I loved every minute of it. I enjoyed all of the characters and the dark humour. For such a bizarre story, there were still important themes included like addiction and exploring the human mind. 

I don't know what else to say except that you should experience this one for yourself. Drencrom was dark, weird, funny, and absolutely wild! 

Thanks so much to the author for sending me a copy!

"Everyone dies. So why not get it over with?" 

Candy works at a brothel built upon the ashes of a church. Many protestors, including Father Patrick, frequent the place with their ramblings. Nobody believes the priest about an apocalypse coming to wash away the sinners. Nobody but Candy as she has had her own experiences of what lurks in the basement. 

Sodergren killed it again with another outrageous story filled with sex and violence. It was gory and graphic and I loved every minute of it! 

The characters were awesome. I loved following our kickass protagonist Candy, and her fellow sex workers, getting brief insights into their lives on how they came to work at the brothel. And how often do you read about a psycho priest killing sinners in the name of god?! That shit was wild 😂 

There were supernatural forces at hand - a wooden Jesus Christ coming to life and zombie like creatures. Crazy, right?? This book was bloody and fun with dark humour sprinkled throughout. Definitely made it into my top 10 books of the year 🙌🏾 

"I was really hoping we'd have books out at the same time again." 

Charlotte Curran is about to release a new book and will do anything to make it a bestseller, like kill her best friend and renowned author, Kim Lavoie. She starts seeing Kim everywhere she goes, realizing the hauntings are more than just her guilty conscience. 

This is a fast paced novelette that holds your attention from start to finish. It is well written and Marceau manages to create a sense of dread in only 62 pages. This isn't in your face horror, but a light horror that is simple, yet effective. 

I really enjoyed the concept of this story that I wish it were a novel to further flesh things out and create more tension between Charlotte and Kim. It was definitely a fun, quick read! 

How far would you go for fame? 

"My feet echo upon the wooden boards: a lonesome sound to match this lonesome place. It seems strange, to me, to give a house a name. Morvoren. As if it were not just bricks and pebbles but a living thing." 

Louise Pinecroft's family has died of consumption, leaving her and her father alone. Dr. Pinecroft decides to arrange for a group of prisoners suffering from the same disease to be sent to the cliffs below his home to use sea air to cure them. During this time, Louise's new maid tells of stories about fairies that hunt the land. Forty years later, Hester Why arrives at the Morvoren house to take care of Louise. She has fled Cornwall to escape her past, however, soon she will discover secrets and superstitions that may be just as dangerous as her last job. 

This was my second book by Purcell and she is amazing at writing atmospheric, gothic stories in my opinion. The House of Whispers was dark and unnerving, and created a sense of dread throughout. 

I enjoyed the different POVs from Hester's past job to her present one, as well as Louise's past with her father and present day with all the creepy goings-on in her home. Both POVs helped develop their characters and aided the reader in understanding why they came to be the way they were. 

It's been weeks since I read this and I honestly can't remember why I rated it 3.5 stars 😅 I think having read The Silent Companions first and absolutely loving that one might have set the bar high for her other books. I think I wanted a little more from the story, but it was still a chilling, compelling tale! 

"But what we excel at is anything but good. Self-destruction, disgust, disease, degradation, and indifference. That's where our talents truly lie. It's our default. And deep down we know this. We fear it."

Evan is getting his new video store up and running. He comes across something that will add the perfect touch - an old vacuum tube TV. One that constantly turns to static and has other plans for him.

I enjoyed this novella. The nostalgic memories it brought back, going to Blockbuster to browse around and rent movies. It was always Evan's dream to open up his own video store, but with it came unfortunate circumstances. 

Evan was a relatable character in the sense of what he was going through. Thoughts of being a failure that spiraled into dark thoughts. I liked how Hawke explored depression and took us to the deepest, darkest corners of the mind that nobody dares talk about. It was really thought provoking.

I personally felt like something was missing. Perhaps some info on the how and why the TV was doing what it was doing. I know it's not needed, but I wanted a little more from the story. Other than that, it was a well written, enjoyable read!

Thank you to the author for providing me a copy for review!

"The point is facing the unknown and accepting that it's still unknown."

A girl suffering from night terrors finds a poster of a missing person hanging on her door only to find that it's a photo of herself. She's never seen this photo before and it appears sinister, its eyes always following her. Suddenly, a chain of strange events occur causing her to question her sanity.

Wow. I had no idea what I was expecting when I started this, but what a mindfuck! The horror elements and the psychological aspects intertwined so well. It felt like a fever dream as I couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't. 

The story was beautifully written and touched on mental health very well. The anxiety and depression, the grief and turmoil, how fragile our minds can be. It was haunting, unique, and exquisite. Kabbani did an amazing job handling this book with such grace.

What would you abandon for happiness?

"But the dead neither laughed nor wept, I thought, as I drifted in and out of sleep. The dead only existed in the minds of the living and what parts of my mother my mind remembered were all the parts of her left." 

Angela has everything she wanted - a successful husband, a nice house, and a fortune. But one look at a stranger in a store suddenly ignites her dormant sexuality. Soon, she ends up hanging out with a gang called the Waifs in a world of underground pornography and plastic surgery. 

At only 100 pages, this novella packs a punch. Having it all doesn't necessarily mean one is happy as Angela begins seeking more for her life once she realizes she is tired of her toxic, abusive relationship. Themes of sexuality, femininity, and finding onself is at the core of this story. 

Following Angela's journey is messy, but that is the beauty of it. She engages in self-destructive behaviour, but at the same time, she is brave for wanting to change her life into something meaningful by finding her true identity and the love and acceptance she deserves. 

I personally feel like this should be turned into a full length novel. I was really invested yet I wanted more from the story. I feel like there wasn't enough time spent with the Waifs and I wanted to get to know them more. But other than that, this is a wonderful novella! 

"A puppet is a possession that possesses the possessor." 

When Louise hears the news of her parents' deaths, she returns to her hometown of Charleston. She misses her daughter, she doesn't want to deal with the home filled of junk, and most of all she dreads having to deal with her brother. Unfortunately, she needs to work with him to clean up the house and sell it, but there is more to her childhood home than she remembers. 

Wow, I loved this book! It was absolutely wild in the best way because it was not what I was expecting at all. Dolls are creepy, but puppets too??? That was a whole other ball game I wasn't ready for 😂 Hendrix executed this story so well as it was creepy, funny, emotional, and unique. 

I loved the dynamic between Louise and Mark. It felt real and believable with all the arguments and hatred for one another. As the story progressed, the development of their relationship was rich and emotional as I found out more about their dysfunctional family and childhood trauma. Hendrix explored these themes so well, causing the reader to go through a mixed bag of emotions. 

This story was filled with horror, grief, anger, humour, and surprisingly, gore. I absolutely loved it! 

"If the Peculiarities are real, if they are a part of our world, then surely they are, by definition, natural."

Thomas Thresher has been free of responsibilities until his older brother, Walter, traps him in a job at the family bank and has plans for him to marry a woman he's not interested in. But there are other problems at hand - strange accounts at the bank, an old friend mysteriously dead, the new peculiarities causing maladies and deformations among Londoners. He then joins a secret occult society to get answers to the strange occurences.

I don't know why it took 3 months to read this book because I ended up enjoying it in the end. It had everything I like in a story - the supernatural, a mystery, magic, conspiracies, and the historical setting of London. It was confusing at first, but once the pieces of the puzzle were slowly put together it created a fine mystery.

The character development was great. Thomas went from a carefree 23 year old man to someone adjusting to his own peculiarity of turning into a tree. The people he met along the way made him re-evaluate his life, becoming open minded to the occult and trying his hand at magic. Magicians, werewolves, pregnant women birthing rabbits, mysterious fogs - it all made for an interesting book!

Overall, The Peculiarities was an original, atmospheric mystery. If you like your stories with a mixture of horror, fantasy, historical fiction, and full of secrets, then I suggest you try this one out!