How is freaking January almost over!! I can't believe it's the 21st already.
This month has pretty much been a wash too. I got sick right after Christmas with an upper respiratory, which turned into a sinus infection, which turned into two weeks of antibiotics and steroids. I can't say given the three weeks of ick that I'm sad to see all that behind me (finally). Stupid crappy sinuses. It did, however, give me time for reading when I was bonding with the couch.
So what did I read? I really didn't have the brain power to read any ARCs so I dug into Libby for some books from the library that had been on my TBR for a while. I read Blaine Dailgle's A Dark Roux, an atmospheric Southern Gothic set in the bayou with plenty of magic and mystery. I finished The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White, which I actually started in 2023. This Victorian horror with a trans protagonist was clever and surprisingly bloody. Most recently I finished Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle, featuring a religious-run gay conversion camp with a very disturbing "treatment". The ending was ferocious and satisfying.
Of course, being a bookworm, even before I finish my current read, I'm thinking about my next read. I've already picked a few releasing in February to go on my TBR list. It was hard to narrow it down to just a few but there's only so many books I can get through.
See the whole list of 2024 releases here.
Labyrinth meets folk horror in this darkly romantic tale of a girl who wishes her baby brother away to the Lord of the Wood.
Say less.
As an 80s kid, Labyrinth is still one of my favorite movies. Add folk horror with a dash of romance? I'm completely sold.
And that cover? Gorgeous and creepy!
I just got approved for this one through Netgalley. Can't wait to start it.
What Feasts at Night is follows soldier Alex after the collapse of the Usher estate as they head onwards to a new adventure, this one involving a "breath-stealing monster".
Another perfectly disturbing cover for book two as well.
Inherited cabin in the woods is the setting for And Then There Was Silence.
After the death of her husband, Sadie goes out to the cabin to grieve and reset but the woods are weird and she smells her husband.
I'm not sure where this one is going to go. Is it ghosts or something else? The blurb is quite vague which I love. I like being intrigued but not having everything given away before I even start.
The early reviews are all 5 stars on Goodreads!
I love dark fairytales, especially enchanted forest fairytales!
In this tale by Premee Mohamed, Veris must enter the forest to rescue the two children of the local Tyrant (yes capital T). She's the only one who has ever succeeded in doing so.
If she fails, she dies. If she stays in the forest for more than a day, she's trapped there. I love high stakes!
Gorgeous cover art on this one as well.
Violet's life is changing...fast.
Her mother remarried, has a new baby, and now Violet has a new house. She's put in the attic bedroom with faded yellow wallpaper and shortly after, falls ill with no improvement.
What's making her sick? And are the shadows moving in the corners just the light or something else?
Middle grade horror can be so fun and surprisingly spooky!
If we are picking reads solely based on the cover, Your Shadow Half Remains is February's go-in blind pick for me.
Kudos to the artist because this cover is unsettling and weird and I love it.
Here's part of the blurb:
One look can kill.
Riley has not seen a single human face in longer than she can reckon. No faces, no eyes. Not if you want to survive.