Tag: Book Review

Bury Your Gays – Chuck Tingle

Being in the splash zone when someone is Wile E. Coyote’d piano style isn’t the strangest thing that’s happened to Misha this week. He’s been nominated for an Oscar and he’s probably about to lose his job. Oh, and a bunch of the characters he’s written are out to get him. If he’d chosen any genre besides horror, this might not be quite as scary, but here we are.

Misha is dealing with the evils of AI in creative spaces and the unscrupulousness of the entertainment industry, with a good dose of past trauma intruding on the present thrown in for good measure.

“It’s no fun when your plotline goes sideways, is it?”

Supporting Misha through the ups, downs and OMG, we’re gonna die! are his boyfriend, Zeke, who’s the kind of too good to be true that you really want to be true, and his aromantic and asexual best friend, Tara.

I loved Zeke and Tara in their supporting roles and spent much of my time with them hoping they wouldn’t be collateral damage. I needed more page time with Tara, though. There aren’t enough asexual characters, especially ones with personalities that bound off the page.

“They’ve got everyone up there besides an ace character,” she observes. “Every fucking time.”

Taking place in the same universe and after the events of Camp Damascus, this book has the body horror, the heart and the WTF that I was looking for.

I didn’t even attempt to try to figure out what was going on when the impossible started showing up. I was happy to sit back and enjoy the ride, and enjoy it I did. This was such a fun blend of what’s going to happen next? and I need to see that movie! I wanted to watch every TV series and movie described, even the crappy sequels. Especially the crappy sequels.

Best lamb ever!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Misha is a jaded scriptwriter working in Hollywood, and he’s seen it all. All the toxic personalities and coverups, the structural obstructions to reform, even dead actors brought back to screen by CGI – and finally, maybe, the hint of change.

But having just been nominated for his first Oscar, Misha is pressured by his producers to kill off a gay character in the upcoming season finale — “for the algorithm” — on the same day he witnesses to gruesome death-by-piano of treasured animator (and notorious creep) Raymond Nelson. 

Success, it seems, isn’t the answer to everything. 

With the help of his best friend and paranoid database queen, Tara, and his boyfriend, Zeke, Misha has face down his traumatic childhood and past mistakes. But in a paranoid industry that thinks nothing of killing off talent, it’s not so simple to find a way to do what’s right.

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Alchemical Journeys #1: Middlegame – Seanan McGuire

The moral of this review? Trust Seanan.

This has been one of my most anticipated reads for five years. I preordered it in hardcover and Kindle. I was practically foaming at the mouth waiting for it to be published. And then I didn’t read it. For five years.

Why? First, I was intimidated by the names. How was I ever going to tell Roger and Dodger apart? Duh, easily.

I almost got over that when the first reviews started coming in and they were all so eloquent and thoughtful. I got tripped up by them, wondering if I was even smart enough to fully grasp the layers of this book.

Then Seasonal Fears arrived and I couldn’t read that without having already read this one. Then the publication date of Tidal Creatures drew near and I couldn’t stand the thought of another Seanan book being out in the wild without me.

So, trust Seanan. It will result in much less angst and much more OMG, this book is amazing!

It starts at the end, and there’s just so much blood.

I wasn’t looking for perfection because that doesn’t exist. Outside of this book. Perfection doesn’t exist outside of this book. If a 5 star read is something I’m going to get to the end of and immediately want to reread while simultaneously bashing you over the head with it until you inevitably fall in love with it too, this was that and more. The stars are so full that there’s blood gushing out of them and they’re still getting filled as they overflow.

I can’t even begin to describe this book to you. It’s just perfect!

I loved Roger and Dodger. Individually. Together. I kept wavering between yearning for a connection with someone who understands me to my very core like they have and the thought of that kind of intimacy making me want to run in the opposite direction.

Erin is one of the best characters I’ve ever met and I need an entire book dedicated to her.

This is one of my all time favourite reads. I’m convinced I could read it ten times and get something new from it each read. I cannot wait to revisit it! This time, without the unnecessary angst.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story. 

Meet Dodger, his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math.

Roger and Dodger aren’t exactly human, though they don’t realise it. They aren’t exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet.

Meet Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He’s not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan: to raise the twins to the highest power, to ascend with them and claim their authority as his own.

Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn’t attained.

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Freaky Folklore – Carman Carrion

Clearly I can’t get enough cryptids in my life. This is the second book today I’ve read where they’re featured. I was drawn to this one because of its cover.

This book takes you on a whirlwind trip around the world, introducing you to some of the locals. The local monsters, anyway. Sections are divided by geography: Americas, Europe, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and Asia.

For each entry, you’ll learn the name of the cryptid, monster or urban legend, where it’s found, when it was first sighted (usually by a white person) or mentioned in literature, its classification (eg, bogeyman), a few descriptors for its personality and some general information. This is accompanied by an illustration and a short, fictional account of a close encounter.

There were a bunch of familiar faces but also some that were new to me. I’ve chosen to mention three of them.

In Scandinavian folklore, the Myling is considered one of the most disturbing spirits. This legend revolves around children who were either abandoned or murdered. The souls of these unbaptized children are doomed to wander the Earth, seeking someone who can provide them with a proper burial. They are believed to be particularly dangerous, possessing the ability to harm and even kill people.

Drop Bears are carnivorous koalas found all over Australia. They’re bitey and will drop on you from above when you’re out in the bush. They’re also an urban legend but they’re as Aussie as Vegemite and I can’t get enough of them.

Drop Bear

The Manananggal is said to look like a beautiful woman by day but by night, when she feeds on her victims, she transforms into something else entirely.

When night falls, the Manananggal grows bat-like wings, detaches her upper torso from her lower body, and takes flight in search of her next victim. As she soars through the moonlit sky, you may catch a glimpse of her intestines dangling from her split body.

Beware beautiful women, I guess?

I enjoyed a lot of the illustrations but wasn’t as enthusiastic about the text. I would have much preferred to have been given more information about each monster or cryptid, or read an account of someone who swears they have encountered it instead of stories that weren’t based on real people or experiences.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wellfleet Press, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Discover the history and culture of over 50 of the most fearsome mythical creatures to capture the human imagination in this startlingly illustrated compendium.

Accompanied by illustrations of each beast, Freaky Folklore is your guide to the world’s most terrifying beings, from ancient times to today. Hosts from Eeriecast, the leading horror podcast network, present the most frightening — and entertaining — tales of these mysterious creatures, revealing everything you need to know.

This beautifully creepy collection is filled with wicked monsters, including:

  • Chupacabra: A legendary monster that is said to drain the blood of livestock throughout Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the US Southwest. 
  • Jersey Devil: Said to have been created due to a mother’s curse upon her newborn in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey, USA. 
  • Kelpie: A shape-shifting water horse told of in Celtic folklore. Whatever form it takes, it is said to lure its victims to their watery graves. 
  • Moehau: A cryptid from Māori mythology, it stands up to 8 feet tall and can be very aggressive when encountered. 
  • Kuchisake-onna: From Japanese folklore, Kuchisake-onna is a yokai with deep gashes that forms a haunting smile across her face. Should you happen to meet her, she will ask you a question – and you had better answer it correctly. 
  • Dogman: A werewolf or werewolf-type creature first reported in 1887 in Wexford County, Michigan, Dogman sightings have been reported in several locations throughout Michigan, primarily in the northwestern quadrant of the Lower Peninsula. 

Freaky Folklore has the stories, culture, and illustrations for you to be on the lookout for these beasts. Dive into the world of mythology and find what makes each creature unique.

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Cryptids, Creatures & Critters – Rachel Quinney

I blame Mulder. Sure, I already knew about Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster through some sort of cultural osmosis but had no overwhelming urge to learn about creatures I hadn’t met before. Thirty years ago, I found out that the truth was out there and, well, my curiosity never went back in its box.

This book is divided into three sections: cryptids, folklore and mythology. The entries in each section are alphabetised and illustrated. I absolutely loved the illustrations!

If you know me at all, you know it’s not possible for me to overdose on fun facts. I may drown you in them but I’ll be good to keep going. It was so hard to decide which were my favourites. I’ve managed to narrow it down to three from each section.

Cryptids

The hoop snake bites its tail to form a hoop. It gets to its victims by rolling towards them, “reaching speeds of up to 60 mph (97 kmph).” It stabs its victims with sharp prongs at the end of its tail.

The tizzie-whizie loves ginger biscuits and warm milk.

One of the descriptions of the Lusca, a Bahamian cryptid, is half shark and half octopus, which naturally made me think of one of the many Eric Roberts movies I’ve seen too many times, Sharktopus. Come to think of it, I met a lot of these creatures in B grade movies.

Lusca
Image credit: Rachel Quinney

Folklore

Cat sídhes have an interesting collection of stories behind them. Many believe them to be witches who have transformed into cats. Limited to transforming only eight times between human and cat, on the ninth transformation, the witch would be unable to return to their human form and would be thus trapped as a cat. Some believe this to be the origin of the tale that cats have nine lives.

Cat sídhe
Image credit: Hallalaween

With its name translating to “the roaring animal” or “the fetid beast”, the mapinguari isn’t a creature you want to come across. Some descriptions include a “large mouth across its stomach to devour humans who are too slow to escape.”

According to Romani and Slavic folk legends, pumpkins and watermelons are the only two types of vegetation that may become vampiric in nature. If a pumpkin or watermelon is left out under a full moon or kept for ten days after Christmas, it will turn into a vampire. Once transformed, the pumpkin or watermelon will roll around and pester the living with snarls or by knocking into furniture.

You know I’m going to try this one!

Mythology

There is a popular legend of the sazae-oni: A group of wealthy pirates rescue a young maiden, the crew have sex with her (versions vary on whether it was consensual or not), and she cuts or bites off the testicles of every man before returning to the ocean. From the ocean, she taunts the men and demands that they buy back their testicles from her. The pirates trade away all their gold in order to get their testicles. In Japan, testicles are sometimes called “golden balls,” creating the punchline that they paid for gold with gold.

Qilin are said to be so gentle that they walk on clouds because they don’t want to damage a blade of grass. However, they also “protect innocent people by incinerating those who seek to harm them with their fiery breath.” That’s the kind of cognitive dissonance I can get behind.

Rompo sing to themselves as they consume human flesh. If a mythological creature is going to eat my corpse, at least I can be content knowing they enjoyed doing so.

Rompo
Image credit: Rachel Quinney

This is one of the most fun introductions to all things monstrous and maybe mythological that I’ve ever come across. I found out new fun facts about some of my favourites, learned of the existence of myths I’ve never encountered before and have an entire list of cute, creepy and downright diabolical creatures that I need to know more about.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Cryptids, Creatures & Critters: A Manual of Monsters and Mythos from Around the World features 90 different creatures from around the world, each with their own researched description and full-colour illustrations. The book is divided into three sections: cryptids, folklore, and mythology. It features popular cryptid favourites, such as Mothman and the Flatwoods Monster, and some lesser-known cryptids, such as the Enfield Horror and the Montauk Monster. For folklore, there are kelpies, selkies, cat sídhes, and grimalkins, along with the dobarchu and the vampiric pumpkin! In mythology, you’ll find Medusa, sphinx, Pegasus, and the bukavac!

The book is fun for newcomers to cryptozoology, folklore, and mythology but is also fun for those who are well read about the creatures in the book. While written by Rachel Quinney and mainly illustrated by her, there are twelve guest artists featured within the book, too.

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Glow – Ross Morgan

A young girl and her grandfather used scraps from her grandfather’s junkyard for their projects. Their latest project remains unfinished after his death.

The girl and her dog walk through the darkness of the junkyard until they find a buried secret. A turn of a key sets in motion something magical.

The illustrations are extraordinary, capturing the granddaughter’s grief and the darkness she finds herself surrounded by as she comes to terms with her loss.

There was something both lovely and sad about the fact that the project the girl was working on with her grandfather before he died is complete by the end of the book.

I knew I had only scratched the surface after two reads. I watched an interview with the author and read it a third time before even attempting to write a review.

The darkness of some of the early illustrations probably would have scared me as a young child and I definitely would have needed an adult to explain what the story was about because the words alone wouldn’t have made it clear. If I’d read this to a child without having watched the interview with the author, I’m not sure I could have answered their questions.

In case it’s not already obvious, this book has left me conflicted. The story took work for me to figure it out. I had absolutely no idea that the underground object represented the grandfather’s reincarnation until I heard the author say it in the interview.

I saw the glow as a representation of her grandfather’s love but it could also be a guiding light, a reminder that her grandfather’s legacy will never fade, magic that awakens mechanical objects…

The illustrations are some of my favourites in any picture book. 

Thank you so much to Walker Studio, an imprint of Walker Books, for the opportunity to read this picture book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

There is a path I walk with care.
There is a shadow that follows me there.
There is a place, a secret I keep,
where something special is buried down deep …

A sumptuously illustrated and immersive picture book that speaks to memory, shared moments, and love beyond and between worlds.

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Sleepy Sheepy – Lucy Ruth Cummins

Illustrations – Pete Oswald

Ma and Pa Sheepy are sleepy. Sleepy Sheepy is not. Of course he’s not!

Don’t Ma and Pa realise that bedtime is the best time to do all of the last minute things, like checking the springiness of the lounge chair, preparing for your next concert and practicing your lasso skills?

Oh, wait. Was that a yawn?

Never mind. It’s time for Sleepy Sheepy’s second wind.

This bedtime story is so relatable. I probably would have viewed this as an instruction manual on the various ways I hadn’t thought of avoiding sleep yet but hopefully your little lamb is more inclined to be ready to count sheep when you tell them it’s time to go to bed.

The illustrations are cute and adult me was as delighted as kid me would have been to discover the sheet of stickers in the back of the book!

Sleep Sheepy sticker sheet

I would have loved to have seen the looks on Ma and Pa’s faces when Sleepy Sheepy finally yawned.

Thank you so much to Walker Books for the opportunity to read this picture book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Despite his name, Sleepy Sheepy is NOT sleepy. He’d much rather build with blocks … or knit socks than go to sleep. Will Ma and Pa Sheepy ever get their sheepy to go to sleepy?

From New York Times bestselling illustrator Pete Oswald and critically acclaimed author Lucy Ruth Cummins comes a hilarious bedtime read-aloud that will be loved by little lambs everywhere for generations to come.

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Wylah the Koorie Warrior #3: Protectors – Richard Pritchard & Jordan Gould

Illustrations – Richard Pritchard, Sierra Pritchard & Max Pritchard

Wylah is now the Koorie Warrior and she’s determined to free her family and friends from the Dragon Army’s camp. Meanwhile, Tiller, Livingstone and Captain Frye are working on the duality machine, cooking up some alchemical evil.

As the Koorie Warrior, Wylah has great responsibilities. We are introduced to more people that need her help, some friendlier than others, and some new baddies who will be doing their best to thwart her efforts.

There are a lot of new megabeasts to meet as well, including scorpions, spiders and penguins.

This book is jam-packed with action, which young readers will enjoy. My favourite scene, though, was when Wylah was in the Dreamtime with Grandma. I love Grandma.

‘Times of great trouble are coming, Wylah. Many battles will be fought and a war must be won and you need to be ready.’

As with the books before it, this one ends in a cliffhanger. The Dragon Army are not done being dastardly yet.

Thank you so much to Albert Street Books, an imprint of Allen & Unwin, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Wylah is finally the Koorie Warrior, but her troubles are far from over! 

Her family and people are still prisoners of the cruel Dragon Army, and animals and children are disappearing. Faced with new responsibilities and a dangerous new adversary, can Wylah rise to the challenge and become the leader and protector her people need?

Excitement and suspense await in the thrilling third instalment of the best-selling Wylah the Koorie Warrior series. Inspired by First Nations history and grounded in culture, this is a must-read for adventure lovers of all ages!

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The ANNEthology – Robin Sutherland (editor)

Anne (with an e), one of my very favourite kindred spirits, has been reimagined by ten authors. Having known Anne Shirley Cuthbert for over three decades, she’s become part of my story and I was keen to see what she’s been up to in other people’s imaginations.

There are some stories where Anne is clearly the passionate, feisty girl who took up residence in my heart. At times, though, she’s not as easily recognisable. Anne is a boy. Anne is trafficked. Anne comes with a serial number.

My favourite stories were:

Anne and the Bloody Book by Susie Moloney

Anne discovers that appetite for reading can be life changing.

“What a mysterious book…”

In Search of Kindred Spirits by Hope Dalvay

Anne and Gilbert are assigned to work on an art project together.

“A kindred spirit is someone with similar interests to yours. No, it’s more than that. It’s someone you have a deep connection with. That’s why I read so many books. I’m looking for kindred spirits in the pages. Some of my best friends are book characters.”

4624463 by Natasha Deen

Anne lives in a world where you’re punished for having emotions and books are dangerous.

“Something bad is going to happen.”

Anne of the Silver Trail by Shari Green

Anne is absolutely certain she’s about to be un-adopted in this story in verse.

If we’re lucky in life, we come across

someone who challenges

the lies we tell ourselves, someone

who who sits us down and tell us

a different story.

While there wasn’t a bad story in the bunch, I found I enjoyed them more when they included at least one of my other favourite characters, like Diana, Matthew and Marilla.

What I found even more important than the cast of characters, though, was Anne herself. No matter what setting she was placed in, I wanted to be able to connect with her spirit. I needed to be able to identify parts of her personality that made me love her in the first place.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Acorn Press for the opportunity to read this anthology.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Who is YOUR Anne?

Join ten of Canada’s top young adult fiction writers as they set Canada’s favourite red-haired orphan, Anne Shirley, on brand new adventures. With its futuristic settings, cybernetic beings, ghosts, mysterious books and boxes, and racial and sexual diversity in its cast of characters, The ANNEthology offers serious “scope for the imagination” for all readers.

2024 marks the 150th anniversary of L.M. Montgomery’s birth and the 30th anniversary of Acorn Press, Prince Edward Island’s longest-running traditional publishing house. What better way to celebrate these milestones than publishing a collection of stories inspired by the Island’s (and one of Canada’s) most beloved authors?

Sure to include something for everyone, this is a must-have collection for Anne of Green Gables fans.

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Cuckoo – Gretchen Felker-Martin

You’re forcibly removed from your home by strangers, shoved in the back of a van and driven into the desert. Your destination? Camp Resolution. Welcome to conversion therapy.

The people who signed you up for this horror show? Your family. This is what nightmares are made of.

“There’s something wrong with her.”

I was really looking forward to this read but unfortunately it ended up not being the book for me. While I loved the body horror, I wasn’t a fan of the sex scenes.

This isn’t something that generally happens for me but I got to the stage where I wasn’t always sure which character was which. The initial introductions made me think I was going to connect with at least a few of the teens but there were so many points of view and they switched so frequently that I ended up losing the thread of who was who and what their backstory was.

I usually try to avoid comparing books but one of the reasons I was so keen to read this book was because of how much I loved Chuck Tingle’s Camp Damascus. This inadvertently led to unrealistic expectations and disappointment because I set the bar too high.

Reading other reviews, it seems like views are divided. Some absolutely adore this book. Others seemed to struggle even more than I did. I’d encourage you to read some of the five star reviews so you have a better idea of whether this is the book for you.

“Has anyone else been having nightmares?”

Content warnings include child abuse, deadnaming, death by suicide, domestic and family violence, homophobia, racism, mention of self harm, sexual assault and transphobia.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Something evil is buried deep in the desert.

It wants your body.

It wears your skin.

In the summer of 1995, seven queer kids abandoned by their parents at a remote conversion camp came face to face with it. They survived — but at Camp Resolution, everybody leaves a different person.

Sixteen years later, only the scarred and broken survivors of that terrible summer can put an end to the horror before it’s too late.

The fate of the world depends on it.

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Small Town Horror – Ronald Malfi

We were doomed from the beginning.

A group of adults reunite in the town they all grew up in. The secret they’ve been hiding since they were kids is about to be exposed. I’ve read so many books with variations of this theme but I keep going back for more.

There’s something about nostalgia, even when it’s someone else’s, that draws me in. Nostalgia contaminated by unspoken trauma that’s been dragged into adulthood is intoxicating.

While I want to run in the opposite direction when drama threatens to knock on my door, I can’t get enough of it where fictional characters are involved. I blame a steady diet of shows like Days of Our Lives during my formative years. I mean, who can watch Marlena get possessed and not become a drama junkie?! But I digress…

Even though I was fairly convinced I’d been there, done that, I still wanted to read this book. It was in part because I’ve yet to meet a Ronald Malfi book I haven’t enjoyed. However, I also needed to know what the secret was and watch it bring together or destroy the friendship of the people who’d been living with it for so many years.

Andrew has secrets. There’s the big one from his past but there’s also the fact that he owns a house his wife doesn’t know about because … reasons. At least it gives him somewhere to stay when he takes an unwanted trip down memory lane.

“The five of us are cursed, man.”

I love so many of the books I read but, for whatever reason, they rarely surprise me these days. This one did. I was blindsided more than once and it absolutely delighted me when my assumptions kept being proved wrong.

I’d argue that every horror story needs a lighthouse. This one also has turkey vultures and itchy eyes. Counting has never been so creepy. This was such a fun read!

“You shouldn’t have come back here.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Maybe this is a ghost story…

Andrew Larimer has left his past behind. Rising up the ranks in a New York law firm, and with a heavily pregnant wife, he is settling into a new life far from Kingsport, the town in which he grew up. But when he receives a late-night phone call from an old friend, he has no choice but to return home.

Coming home means returning to his late father’s house, which has seen better days. It means lying to his wife. But it also means reuniting with his friends: Eric, now the town’s deputy sheriff; Dale, a real-estate mogul living in the shadow of a failed career; his childhood sweetheart Tig who never could escape town; and poor Meach, whose ravings about a curse upon the group have driven him to drugs and alcohol. 

Together, the five friends will have to confront the memories — and the horror — of a night, years ago, that changed everything for them. 

Because Andrew and his friends have a secret. A thing they have kept to themselves for twenty years. Something no one else should know. But the past is not dead, and Kingsport is a town with secrets of its own.

One dark secret…

One small-town horror…

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