The Iron Raven by Julie Kagawa My rating: 5 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Inkyard Press, for providing me with an ARC of The Iron Raven in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist I had the strangest déjà vu when I first saw the name and the cover of Kagawa’s newest book. I swear I saw this book years ago and put it on my to-read list. Goes to show how one can be truly mistaken. Regardless, I have heard of the author’s other series, The Iron Fey, and the first book has been on my to-read list for a very…
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Send Me Their Souls
Send Me Their Souls by Sara Wolf My rating: 2 of 5 stars The Gist Finally! I got my hands on a copy of Wolf’s latest in her Bring Me Their Hearts trilogy, Send Me Their Souls. So long I have waited to finally find out what happens to Zera and company! I was excited and happy and a little giddy to get all cozy on the couch and be transported back to this wonderful fantasy story. The Details Well, I’m not sure how to say this. I’m kind of sitting here shrugging my shoulders and one word keeps coming to mind: “meh”. I read other reviews just to see,…
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Anno Dracula
Anno Dracula by Kim Newman My rating: 2 of 5 stars The Gist A dear friend of mine sent me Anno Dracula as a birthday present. He hasn’t read it himself, but said that a story about vampires and murder, set in Victorian London would be totally up my alley. And he wasn’t wrong, which makes this review a little difficult to write. It is true. I’m a sucker for murder mystery, Victorian London stories and throw in some Gothic elements (i.e. a vampire or two) and I’m all yours. So, why did this story fall short? I shall explain below. The Details I was so excited to start this…
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The Raven’s Tale
The Raven’s Tale by Cat Winters My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Gist I absolutely love Winters’ works. I have read all of her novels without fail. Heck, I even went out in a snowstorm while on a romantic Valentine’s Day weekend retreat to Montreal so that I could purchase one of her books for the train ride home. It’s rare for me to read, or even want to read a book twice, because I can remember most stories quite well, generally speaking. Something strange happened with The Raven’s Tale. Starting in August of this year I kept thinking about it. It was haunting. I had the indescribable urge…
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The Forgotten Sister
The Forgotten Sister by Nicola Cornick My rating: 3 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Graydon House Books, for providing me with an ARC of The Forgotten Sister in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist The duality of the narration The Forgotten Sister promised to offer intrigued me greatly. One part historical fiction plus one part contemporary fiction makes for an interesting read for sure. Throw in the promise of a murder mystery, a ghost and a special gift and I’m all yours. The Details I did not particularly like the two main characters. I thought they were both very self-absorbed, but…
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The Orphan of Cemetery Hill
The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox My rating: 5 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Graydon House, for providing me with an ARC of The Orphan of Cemetery Hill in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist I had Fox’s first novel, The Witch of Willow Hall, on my to-read list ever since it came out in 2018. Being the hopeful optimist that I am, I kept making plans to read it any day now. Well, the road to hell is usually paved with good intentions. So, sadly, I hadn’t been introduced to her writing until the publisher was so kind…
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Haunted Nights
Haunted Nights by Ellen Datlow My rating: 4 of 5 stars Thank you NetGalley and Anchor Books for providing me with an ARC of Haunted Nights in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist One can always tell when I have had enough of summer and I’m ready for the cozy autumn season. This usually happens around the beginning of August and takes the form of me watching spooky movies and reading Halloween stories. I had Haunted Nights on my NetGalley to-read shelf for an eternity and thought now was an excellent time to start getting into the Halloween spirit. Generally speaking, I find the…
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Earthbound Bones
Earthbound Bones by ReGina Welling My rating: 3 of 5 stars Thank you NetGalley and Willow Hill Books for providing me with an ARC of Earthbound Bones in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist I already had this entire review mapped out when I decided to double check a fact before giving my two-cents’ worth. It turns out that this new series by the author is a spin-off her previous series called Psychic Seasons. To most readers, who are familiar with Welling’s work this isn’t really news, but I think it’s important to point out to anyone interested in this new series Earthbound, familiarity…
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Fangs
Fangs by Sarah Andersen My rating: 5 of 5 stars Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an ARC of Fangs in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist I hear about Anderson’s new comic story from her Instagram account. She posted weekly – I think – snippets of the whole story until it was complete on her website. I meant to keep track of them, but lost track of time. So, when I saw the entire story was available for request on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance. I enjoyed all of Anderson’s previous work and was curious what she…
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Lipstick Voodoo (Kincaid Strange, #2)
Lipstick Voodoo by Kristi Charish My rating: 2 of 5 stars I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I had trouble reading this one. It was very difficult to get into the story, I think partially because I read The Voodoo Killings (part 1 of the series) almost a year and a half ago and the second part picks up right where the first one left off. I couldn’t remember the details of how it ended, and I kept getting distracted by trying to piece together what little I still knew. A lot of characters carried over from the first…
