Clown in a Cornfield is a fun YA horror book that is extremely fast paced and reminiscent of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 

Quinn Maybrook moves to Kettle Springs to her father to get a fresh start after the loss of her mother. She happens to get involved in a feud between the older generation and adults and the teenagers. The adults are fed up with the kid's pranking after it leads to a young girl's death. The corn syrup factory that used to supply many of the jobs shut down and was recently burned down by more pranking teenagers. Someone masquerading as Frendo, the town's mascot clown, decides the best way to make Kettle Springs great again is to kill all of the prankster teens. 

I was expecting this book to be more of a thriller? Like the clown pops up and kills someone and then the town doesn't know who it as and what was going on. Instead it happens all at once and I was not expecting that. The reason I comp it to Texas Chainsaw Massacre is because it's just absolute chaos and gore as it ramps up. The pacing is crazy and I was quite surprised by the gore and death as this is a YA book, but it made it feel like a true horror book and no one was safe!

I would say character wise, this is mainly just a plot forward kind of book. The POV switches often, especially minor characters as they are killed off. It's very much a slasher type of book that's absolutely wild and was truly engaging. Definitely pick this up for a fun, fast horror book!

House of Hunger is a gothic mixed with horror book and has an iteration of vampires set in a historical industrial setting.

Marion has lived in the slums of the South where she works a miserable job with no reprieve and has to help support her sickly brother. She wants out, but there are no options for her besides becoming a bloddmaid. She sees the listing in the paper and decides to apply. All Marion knows is that in the North, the wealthy lords drink the blood of those in service and the women are greatly compensated and treated with a pension. Once Marion arrives at the House of Hunger, the countess takes an interest in her and throws her into mystery and secrets, and she has to find out what is going on in order to save her life. 

I very much liked the atmosphere and the gothic setting of the House and its history. In general, there isn't a lot of worldbuilding, the story is very centric to the people in it rather than an overall world. It's very reminiscent of the Industrial Revolution/early 19th century due to the description of the slums and the working atmosphere. 

I really liked Marion as a character and I completely understood her decisions. One she starts to get more attention from Countess Lisavet, she becomes enamored with her and will do anything to keep that attention. Because of her characterization and background, you understand her wanting that relationship and monogamy with Lisavet, enough to overlook her suspicious actions. 

The pacing is super quick, and once I was two-thirds of the way through the book, I was thinking that there had to be more to the story. The very end of the book picks up super fast and overall it left on an ambiguous ending. I was hoping it would be a bit more happy in a sense, but this is technically a horror novel so the ending made sense. 

This retelling of Persephone and Hades is my absolute favorite and I definitely recommend it above all else Greek retellings!

Persephone has been raised by her mother, Demeter, on an isolated island with the sole purpose of making her ready for marriage one day. There are many expectations placed on her, as she must maintain her purity and innocence and her arranged marriage to one of the Olympian gods looms closer. Rather than face the life she is being forced into, Persephone jumps into hell and forces Hades to let her stay. As she gets to know Hades and heals, she decides she is much more than the girl her parents forced her to be. 

This was such a good book. I was incredibly happy with how they rewrote the mythology. It wasn't necessarily a modern setting, but they changed how the battle with the Titans happened and how the Underworld was created. The way the author adjusted the traditional myths gives more agency to Persephone. 

This is a rom-com, but I found that a lot more of the story focuses on Persephone and she heals and grows from her trauma and the patriarchal and purity focused culture she grew up in. She learns she can make her own decisions and should not have to make herself perfect and quiet for a husband. Honestly I think that part of the book was my favorite, seeing Persephone come into herself and push to obtain power that she never had before. 

Hades was so sweet and I really loved their relationship. It really is a slow-burn, and they become friends quite before they ever become romantic with each other. The tension was well paid off in the end and I thought that they fit together so well and I loved how Hades supported her. Overall this was an amazing read and I recommend this for anyone who is looking for Hades and Persephone retellings! 

Just a couple quick thoughts on this one, I honestly enjoyed the overall plot and fantasy world! 

However, there were a LOT of plot holes that really had me scratching my head and random time jumps. Also, why does she seem to like Nyte so much? He really is a carbon copy of Rhysand from ACOTAR which bothered me just a little bit. I think I'm just annoyed that there are still so many secrets and plot lines going everywhere. It was definitely a book that kept me interested though, so I'm likely to finish the series as long as I can overlook the plot holes.