This is a very interesting and comprehensive read about the origin of fairy tales and those who collected and retold them.

Jubber looks at the multifaceted origins of some of the most well-known fairy tales and the people and cultures that created them. 

This book has a primary focus on the people who collected and popularised the stories - the Fairy Tellers.

I enjoyed learning about the history and significance of stories that I've known all my life, how they came about, and why they've been so enduring. 

This book would be best suited to someone with a particular interest in folklore as opposed to the casual reader.

"Travels with Trilobites" is a very informative, accessible text that both experts and amateurs are bound to enjoy. 

Secher strikes the perfect tone - not too academic but not too conversational - in order to share his love and knowledge of trilobites with experts and novices alike. If you're new to the topic, or only have a trifling of knowledge (like myself), this book is bound to be an exciting read that may very well kickstart a new fascination with prehistoric fauna. In fact, by the time I reached the Silurian period, I was completely hooked and had already started searching "how to find trilobites near me". 

The accompanying photographs are absolutely stunning, and I could honestly spend hours revisiting them alone. 

My only criticism is the lack of diagrams. It would have been nice to see a general anatomy diagram or perhaps a diagram of one or two select species from each time period.
As a novice, I found myself really wanting to know what parts of the trilobite I was looking at and ended up searching for diagrams online to refer to as I read. 

Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable, easy to understand, but highly informative book.

I love a good horror anthology, especially one based on old school monsters, so I was really excited to read this. 

As with all anthologies, some entries are better than others, but the positives definitely outweigh the negatives in this one. Whilst I found it to be better balanced than most anthologies, I do feel that it was somewhat front-loaded with the stronger entries. 

From Jonathan Maberry's brilliant epilogue to H. G. Well's "The Island of Doctor Moreau", to Kelsey Yu's wicked tale of witchy revenge, and Owl Goingback's wild west showdown, I loved reading the unique and creative tales that the authors masterfully brought to life. 

Whilst I definitely have my favourites (Maurice Broaddus's "The Invisible Man: The Fire This Time" & Linda D. Addison's "Da Noise, Da Funk, Da Blob" among them), I found that I enjoyed each entry in its own way. Some for their characterisations, some for their originality, and others for the imagery they invoked. 

Speaking of imagery, the intermittent illustrations were a nice touch of eye candy. 

So, whether you're a fan of classic literature such as Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray", a Universal Monsters fan, or simply appreciate a good reimagining, this anthology is certain to entertain you. 

DNF

I ended up DNF'ing this two hours into the eight hour audiobook.

I was expecting a paranormal mystery, but instead, it was chapter after chapter of relationship recounting. 

Far too much time and focus was given to the relationship's foundation and history in recaps told by both Joaquin and Alondra. 

The beginning of the story felt completely disconnected from the following chapters, and I became extremely bored. 

The only reason I listened for as long as I did was due to the exceptional narration by Pedro Pascal.

Look, I get that this was written in 1974, but I was less than five minutes in when I'd already heard the F-slur, a pointless racist comparison, and more than one needless mention of rape.

I only made it thirteen minutes in before the strongly misogynistic tone became too much, and I decided to DNF it.

FINALLY, a vampire story that I can get behind!

As a child, I loved vampires but as I got older that love dwindled more and more with every sparkly, romantic vampire that I came across. I think the last decent portrayal of vampires I read or saw was the film adaptation of "30 Days of Night". So, when I had the opportunity to read a spiritual sequal to Bram Stoker's "Dracula" I was cautiously hopeful for, what I consider, a 'real' vampire story and "Black Mass Rising" did not disappoint!

The story moves at a steady pace and I was fully engrossed by page thirteen. The world building is amazing considering the length of the book and the characters, both primary and secondary, feel fully-formed and genuine. The story is both intriguing and desperately dark. The religious elements were done to perfection. Afterall, can you even call a vampire story 'great' if it doesn't have you questioning just who the ultimate evil truly is?

I loved how tied to "Dracula" the story was and the way that Stoker's characters were reimagined was a lot of fun.

The artwork is beyond brilliant. Seriously.

I hadn't come across any of Jodie Muir's work before reading "Black Mass Rising" but I'll definitely be seeking her work out from now on.

The illustrations are dark, emotive, gorgeous, and polished. They were the perfect accompaniment to the story.

I definitely recommend this book to fans of horror.

Due to previously undertaking an elective course in parapsychology, I was really excited to read "The Haunting of Crimshaw Manor," especially given the author's personal experience as a paranormal investigator. 

What I Liked:

• The overall plot was intriguing, and I was curious to see how the story would end.

• The accuracy regarding paranormal investigation equipment and procedures.

What I Didn't Like:

• The writing often feels like it is lacking in sophistication, and the frequent lack of contractions along with unusual phrasing choices made a lot of the dialogue feel stilted and overly formal.

• There's a character called 'Asian John' who is "sensitive about his Asain background" and "hates stereotypes" that's double majoring in computer science and mathematics and yet still has EMF explained to them. 

• The male protagonist refers to his injured leg as 'gimpy'.

• This entire, completely unnecessary, sequence: "He sat in a beach chair with a cold beer in his hand as he looked toward the two figures coming out of the water. They were exquisite. The first was Ariana Grande wearing a hot pink thong and nothing else. Water droplets covered her body, and she squeezed the water from her long ponytail as she walked next to the other figure......“The water is so warm. You should join us, John,” Ariana said, towelling off her nearly naked body......“Ariana’s right, John. The water is perfect,” Evelynn said, turning her back to him and undoing her top. She removed it and tossed it aside as she lay upon a towel on her stomach.
“Ariana, can you put some lotion on my back? I would hate to burn,” Evelynn said.
“Sure,” Ariana said, getting up and moving over to Evelynn. John watched as Ariana applied lotion to Evelynn’s back, rubbing it in and moving down toward her perfect buttock."

• The team's complete lack of concern about the 'skunk man' despite the danger it imposed.

Despite its shortcomings, there was enough here to keep me interested until the end.

Gallows Hill" is the second book I have read by Darcy Coates, and I really engaged with both the plot and the setting. 

The plot is both intriguing and distinct. Usually, when reading a horror novel, I can bring two or three similar stories or movies to mind, but I found that wasn't the case with "Gallows Hill". 

Rather quickly, I found myself genuinely caring for the supporting characters, though it took to the end of the story for me to warm up to Margot. 

There are several scenes and images that really stand out, and that the horror fan in me absolutely loved. (Wine, anyone? 😉 ) 

Unfortunately, I felt the pacing and, on occasion, the writing didn't do the story justice. 

The pacing, in particular, let down the story and actively worked against it at times, especially at the end. The story gains momentum but then peaks prior to the climax. There's a substantial lull between the two that made me so impatient that I reverted to speed reading just to get to the conclusion of the story. 

One thing I felt the story failed to do was cement the house and Gallows Hills as a character in its own right. I think that would have given the story a much greater depth and atmosphere. 

I also felt that the story was weakest at the start and gained strength as it went. I think if I hadn't previously read a book by this author, I may have stopped reading. 

I'm glad that I did stick it out, though, because despite my personal annoyances and the couple of shortcomings, "Gallows Hill" is a good horror novel with a great premise. 

I found this book to be very informative and helpful in regards to having a better understanding and appreciation for the barriers, inequalities, prejudices, and abuse many (if not all) trans people face. This book also showed me that there is great variety, determination, bravery, creativity, and excellence within the trans community too (something I was already aware of thanks to being blessed with friends who are trans).

Dawson's open, honest, and no-nonsense style is both refreshing and appreciated. I found myself fully engaging with what they were saying and may have even shared a mental high-five or two with them as I read.

Personally, this book has gone to the top of my list of books to recommend to and/or buy for young people who may be exploring their gender identity. I especially love that despite being upfront about all the trauma, hardship, and transphobia trans people will have to deal with, the overall message within the book is one of hope. Things will get better. Things will be okay. YOU will be okay.

I only have one criticism, and that's the definition of 'aromantic'. The description given makes it sound like aromantic people enjoy sex but not relationships when it's really about us not wanting/enjoying romance. Lots of aromantic people are in relationships. Aromantism is, of course, a spectrum, but it didn't feel like that was made clear (or included) in the description in the book. This feels like a gross oversight, especially since it was noted how some asexual people still have sex.

Overall, it's a great read.

Look, I need to be honest here, I have a love/hate relationship with Darcy Coates's books.

Their stories always have a plot that I love, characters I can get behind, and an atmosphere that I enjoy...at least for the first two-thirds of the book.

Every time they reach the two-thirds checkpoint, they start to drag on. The reveals are never surprising as you see them coming from a mile away, which is fine, but Coates contines to drag out the reveal with exposition and recaps that are completely unnecessary.

I'm going to keep reading Coates's stories because when I say I enjoy the first two-thirds, I mean, I really enjoy them! They're worth the read even if I expect to be disappointed with the final third of the story.

One day, Coates is going to write a story that doesn't have me jumping from dialogue to dialogue by the final chapters, and it is probably going to be my favourite book, ever.

As for "Dead of Winter," it's a pretty standard whodunnit plotline set in a snowstorm.

With no escape and no telecommunications, the members of a holiday tour need to work together to survive the freezing weather...and each other.

I do recommend this book, and I'd love to hear how other people found the last third of the story.

I will say that there's a couple of loose ends that make no sense to me, but they're not really relevant to the overall plot.