#Matteo L. Cerilli

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Lockjaw

YA horror

set in a small town, where a boy died tragically in an old abandoned mill

a group of 11yos on bikes are determined to find the monster and hunt it down - while facing the monsters and prejudices haunting their small town

and some teens, including one of the kids’ sister, a genderqueer guy who tried to get out of town but was drawn back, a homeless trans guy and his dog, and the police captain’s son who get drawn into the web of it all against their will

shifting timelines and perspectives from various kids and residents of the town (plus the dog)

[transbookoftheday]

Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli

Death is neither the beginning nor the end for the children of Bridlington in this debut trans YA horror book for fans of Rory Power and Danielle Vega.

Chuck Warren died tragically at the old abandoned mill, but Paz Espino knows it was no accident — there's a monster under the town, and she's determined to kill it before anyone else gets hurt. She'll need the help of her crew — inseparable friends, bound by a childhood pact stronger than diamonds, distance or death — to hunt it down. But she's up against a greater force of evil than she ever could have imagined.

With shifting timeframes and multiple perspectives, Lockjaw is a small-town ghost story, where monsters living and dead haunt the streets, the homes and the minds of the inhabitants. For readers of Wilder Girls and The Haunted, this trans YA horror book by an incredible debut author will grab you and never let you go.

[bookaddict24-7]

NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES! (JUNE 4TH, 2024)

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HAVE I MISSED ANY NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES? HAVE YOU ADDED ANY OF THESE BOOKS TO YOUR TBR? LET ME KNOW!

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NEW STANDALONES/FIRST IN A SERIES:

Annie LeBlanc is Not Dead Yet by Molly Morris

Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé & Adiba Jaigirdar

Heiress Takes All by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee

Wish You Weren't Here by Erin Baldwin

Two Sides to Every Murder by Danielle Valentine

One Killer Problem by Justine Pucella Winans

The Breakup Artists by Adriana Mather

Take All of Us by Natalie Leif

Louder Than Words by Ashley Woodfolk & Lexi Underwood

Tristan and Lancelot: A Tale of Two Knights by James Persichetti & L.S. Biehler (Illustrator)

Markless by C.G. Malburi

Furious by Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos

An Outbreak of Witchcraft by Deborah Noyes & Melissa Duffy (Contributor)

Storm: Dawn of a Goddess by Tiffany D. Jackson

Now, Conjurers by Freddie Kölsch

Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell

Lady of Steel and Straw by Erica Ivy Rodgers

Spilled Ink by Nadia Hashimi

If You Can't Take the Heat by Michael Ruhlman

Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli

London on My Mind by Clara Alves & Nina Perrotta (Translator)

What's Murder Between Friends by Meg Gatland-Veness

NEW SEQUELS:

Past Present Future (Rowan & Neil #2) by Rachel Lynn Solomon

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Happy reading!

[dont-leafmealone]

Some books I read recently that are CONSTANTLY going to be on my mind forever:

Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli - on a stormy night, four kids in a small town set out in the drainage tunnels beneath the old mill to kill the monster that dragged their friend to his death. On another stormy night, four teenagers in a small town set out in the drainage tunnels to kill the monster that has been living inside all of them all along. The amount of overlap is not especially surprising.

Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimalene - Winifred lives in a cemetery, specifically in the attic of the attached building, with her widowed father who runs the crematory, under threat of eviction if the cemetery director can't make up the money to keep her dad employed. She's outcast except for Jack, her best friend who she's developed a serious crush on, and has accidentally become the origin for rumors that the cemetery is haunted - something she has the idea to monetize to save her dad's job and her home. The idea only solidifies after her discovery of a real ghost from the ravine behind the graveyard. But after she gets to know Phil - the ghost of a similarly outcast teen from decades past - she questions whether her scheme is really worth it.

These are both YA books in different genres - Lockjaw is supernatural horror with a focus on police corruption and queer, particularly trans, identity; Funeral Songs is coming-of-age with teen paranormal romance and a focus on queer and indigenous identity. Both these books deal a lot in themes of prejudice, queerness, race, failure of the system (or alternately the system working exactly how it was designed and screwing over minorities), and obviously death. Both made me laugh and cry a lot. Both are eerie and tragic but hopeful, and very queer. Check them out if you get the chance!

[solreads]

Lockjaw - Review

Title: Lockjaw

Author: Matteo L. Cerilli

Genre: Horror

Sub-Genre: Paranormal 

Audience: Young Adult

Format: Novel

Representation: Trans man POV character; genderqueer transmasc POV character

Summary: The small town of Bridlington carries a dark past. Children vanish and die and the town brushes it away. All except eleven-year-old outcast Paz Espino and her friends who know all too well what the rest of the town denies – a monster lurks beneath the streets. Branded a liar and treated more like a feral dog than a human by the police captain and the townspeople who bend to his word, Paz and her gang resolve to destroy the monster themselves before more kids are taken. 

Drawn unwillingly into the fight are Beetle – a genderqueer teenager who fled the town once before and knows the monster better than anyone, Asher – a homeless trans boy and newcomer trying desperately to make himself into someone who can survive Bridlington, and Marcella – Paz’s sister who wants nothing more than to distance herself from Paz’s reputation. 

Reflections: Lockjaw, when you get down to it, is a novel about the insular, small-town tendency to look away, to maintain harmful institutions and culture by simply and collectively believing that’s just the way things will always be. It’s a story that’s been told plenty of times before and will keep being told because of how rife it is for horror and social commentary. It feels inevitable to me that authors would start writing trans riffs on it, asking how this form of otherness fits the narrative. It interested me to see how both trans characters were written running in different ways rather than fighting. Beetle gives up the fight even knowing the nature of the town to instead try to find safety elsewhere. Asher, with his ability to be stealth and greater proximity to the white masculine ideals, tries to fit himself in with those in power. Whereas Paz and her gang devote themselves to taking on the evil they see in their town. 

Despite the premise getting me excited, I don’t have many strong feelings after reading it. The main twists didn’t get me in the way I think they were intended, so that might have dulled my response to this book from what it would be if I’d had the ‘oh, shit’ moment. I guessed Paz was dead pretty much right after she showed up in Asher’s chapters and from there assumed there was a dual timeline. Because of the many POVs, I couldn’t always pick out what chapters went in each timeline, but still, the reveal of what happened to Paz was less a big overturning of how I’d been understanding the story and more just like ‘okay, finally, I can put in place those last pieces that were leaving me confused.’ Then the fact that there was no (supernatural) monster in Paz’s time, it was just the town being shitty, didn’t get much of a reaction from me either.

Warnings: Depictions of transphobia, misgendering, deadnaming, dysphoria. 

Notes on Rep: MCs identifies explicitly, on-page as transgender.

[i-am-grell]

I’m reading a book and I’ve hit the point where I’ve realized it’s been gaslighting me SO HARD for the past 200 pages! This is the best day!

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

TRCC Readathon - Day 2

finished:

The Meadows by Stephanie Oakes - 3/5

Lockjaw by Matteo L Cerilli - 3/5

didn't quite enjoy my reads today as much as yesterday despite both of them being right up my alley on paper. fingers crossed tomorrow's more interesting ^.^

[bensbooks]

Upcoming in 2024: Lockjaw

Chuck Warren died tragically at the old abandoned mill, but Paz Espino knows it was no accident — there's a monster under the town, and she's determined to kill it before anyone else gets hurt. She'll need the help of her crew — inseparable friends, bound by a childhood pact stronger than diamonds, distance or death — to hunt it down. But she's up against a greater force of evil than she ever could have imagined.

Lockjaw is a queer young adult horror, set for release June 4!

[debutart]

Lockjaw cover illustration by Corey Brickley.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in June 2024 🌈

🌈 Good morning, my bookish bats, and happy Pride Month!! Struggling to keep up with all the amazing queer books coming out this month? Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Remember to #readqueerallyear! Happy reading!

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ The Shadow of Summer - Marlon Yelich 🧡 Of Stardust - (ed) Avrah C. Baren 💛 The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye - Briony Cameron 💚 Triple Sec - T.J. Alexander 💙 Same Difference - E.J. Copperman 💜 The Pull of the Tide - Various ❤️ The Misadventures of Getting Lainey a Date - Eija Jimenez 🧡 Surface Pressure - Adrian J. Smith & Neen Cohen 💛 Mirrored Heavens - Rebecca Roanhorse 💙 The Fire Within Them - Matthew Ward 💜 One and Done - Frederick Smith 🌈 Digging for Destiny - Jenna Jarvis

❤️ She Who Brought the Storm - Vaela Denarr & Micah Iannandrea 🧡 Tristan and Lancelot: A Tale of Two Knights - James Persichetti & L.S. Biehler 💛 London on My Mind - Clara Alves (translated by Nina Perrotta) 💚 The Deep Dark - Molly Knox Ostertag 💙 Furious - Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos 💜 Gay the Pray Away - Natalie Naudus ❤️ Such A Small World - Jordan Clayden-Lewis 🧡 Make It Count: My Fight to Become the First Transgender Olympic Runner - CeCé Telfer 💛 Cicada Summer - Erica McKeen 💙 We Used to Live Here - Marcus Kliewer 💜 Dandelion - Merlina Garance 🌈 The Curse of the Goddess - C.C. González

❤️ The Schoolmaster - Jessica Tvordi 🧡 Cigarette Lemonade - Connor de Bruler 💛 Coil of Boughs - Penny Moss 💚 Ballad for Jasmine Town - Molly Ringle 💙 Asking for a Friend - Ronnie Riley 💜 Pleasure Principle - Madeleine Cravens ❤️ Perfect Revenge - Jessica Burkhart 🧡 Lockjaw - Matteo L. Cerilli 💛 Markless - C.G. Malburi 💙 Queer Art - Gemma Rolls-Bentley 💜 Morally Straight - Mike De Socio 🌈 Our Bodies Electric - Zackary Vernon

❤️ Love Is All - Various 🧡 Becoming Ted - Matt Cain 💛 Annie LeBlanc Is Not Dead Yet - Molly Morris 💚 Dear Cisgender People: A Guide to Trans Allyship and Empathy - Kenny Ethan Jones 💙 Pole Position - Rebecca J. Caffery 💜 Something to be Proud Of - Anna Zoe Quirke ❤️ Hot Hires - Nan Campbell, Alaina Erdell, Jesse J. Thoma 🧡 Lord of the Empty Isles - Jules Arbeaux 💛 Kissing Girls on Shabbat - Sara Glass 💙 When You Smile - Melissa Brayden 💜 We Could Be Heroes - Philip Ellis 🌈 But How Are You, Really - Ella Dawson

❤️ A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence - Jess Everlee 🧡 Take All of Us - Natalie Leif 💛 One Killer Problem - Justine Pucella Winans 💚 Why Are People Into That? - Tina Horn 💙 Free to Be: Understanding Kids & Gender Identity - Jack Turban 💜 Lady Eve's Last Con - Rebecca Fraimow ❤️ Sea of Broken Glass - Jenna Pine 🧡 Rapunzella, Or, Don't Touch My Hair - Ella McLeod 💛 Wolfpitch - Balazs Lorinczi 💙 Looking for a Sign - Susie Dumond 💜 Director's Cut - Carlyn Greenwald 🌈 Wish You Weren't Here - Erin Baldwin

❤️ Act Two - Rochelle Wolf 🧡 Unexploded Remnants - Elaine Gallagher 💛 The Stars Want Blood - Morgan Lawson 💚 Shadows Dark and Deadly - Andrea Marie Johnson 💙 Design of Darkness - R.D. Pires 💜 Two Sides to Every Murder - Danielle Valentine ❤️ Meet Me in the Sky - Jeffrey K. Davenport 🧡 A Shore Thing - Joanna Lowell 💛 The Lions' Den - Iris Mwanza 💙 Under the Dragon Moon - Mawce Hanlin 💜 A Sea of Wolves - Sarah Street 🌈 Saints of Storm and Sorrow - Gabriella Buba

❤️ Private Rites - Julia Armfield 🧡 Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous - Mae Marvel 💛 The Stars Too Fondly - Emily Hamilton 💚 Keeping Carmen Ruiz - Alyson Root 💙 Cuckoo - Gretchen Felker-Martin 💜 Heartwaves - Anita Kelly ❤️ Bound to the Wild Fae - Tavia Lark 🧡 Four Squares - Bobby Finger 💛 The Ghost of Us - James L. Sutter 💙 Poison in Their Hearts - Laura Sebastian 💜 Puppy Love - Elle Sprinkle 🌈 Hot Summer - Elle Everhart

❤️ Liddy-Jean Marketing Queen and the Matchmaking Scheme - Mari SanGiovanni 🧡 All Friends Are Necessary - Tomas Moniz 💛 Six of Sorrow - Amanda Linsmeier 💚 Shanghai Murder - Jessie Chandler 💙 PROUD - Anthology 💜 Little Rot - Akwaeke Emezi ❤️ Fling - Deja Elise 🧡 Too Many Stars to Count - Frances M. Thompson 💛 Rakesfall - Vajra Chandrasekera 💙 The Unrelenting Earth - Kritika H. Rao 💜 Freakslaw - Jane Flett 🌈 Please Stop Trying to Leave Me - Alana Saab

❤️ A Sense of Shifting - Coco Romack, Yael Malka 🧡 Moonstorm - Yoon Ha Lee 💛 Now, Conjurers - Freddie Kölsch 💚 Hide No More - Rita Potter 💙 Running Close to the Wind - Alexandra Rowland 💜 The Afterlife of Mal Caldera - Nadi Reed Perez ❤️ Her, Him & I - Christian Weissmann 🧡 The Sons of El Rey - Alex Espinoza 💛 Show Me Your Teeth - Amy Marsden 💙 Defeating Demons and Breaking Up With My Boyfriend - Dylan James 💜 For Real - Alexis Hall 🌈 The Clarity of Light - Jade Church

[imaginariumgeographica]

Book ask! #3?

3 - What were your top 5 books of the year?

I have to try to not succumb to recency bias on this one but I did read some bangers at the end of the year. Anyway...

Obviously Translation State by Ann Leckie! Even without my all consuming love for the presger treaty extended universe its an excellent book. I've talked/reblogged at length about all the things I love about it - the new characters, the very gender of it all, the various family dynamics, the new bits of worldbuilding, Sphene....

Is it cheating to do a duology? I read The Heretic's Guide to Homecoming by Sienna Tristen this year after meaning to for quite a while and it rewired my brain minorly. It's like an adventure road trip story that's so quiet and thoughtful and nice. There's deep platonic intimacy, there's a thousands-year-old kind of immortal being who keeps changing its name and gender and appearance, there's stories, there's emotions...

A more recent book I finished is Lockjaw by Matteo L Cerilli which actually isn't out til June of 2024 but my friend wrote it so I requested an ARC from netgalley because June is very far away. It's a small town horror YA novel and you can read my relatively spoiler free review on storygraph. Highly recommend preordering.

I read or reread a lot of middle grade this year, and (another duology oops) I really loved Sal and Gabi Break the Universe and Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe by Carlos Hernandez. It was so fun! I've said this a few times thru the year but I'm glad the kids are having adventures! And the adventures in these books are unmatched. There's a lot of parallel universe shenanigans, there are robots, there's random middle school shenanigans, there's a canonically aromantic character... I was very well fed on these books.

Finally coming back to the end of the year, I read The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard which is another relatively lowkey book about people enjoying each others' company but also is somehow about bureaucracy and reforming the government. The main character is the most busy at all times and that really resonated with me when I was also the most busy all the time. It's a very long book but I was engrossed.

[acmoorereadsandwrites]

Why Do We Still Call Kidlit 'Simple'?

You can read below or for free on my Substack

I’m noticing a trend in online spaces lately, namely that Young Adult and Middle Grade literature are called ‘simple’ or ‘simplistic’.

Kidlit, which encompasses picture books, chapter books, early reader books, MG, and YA, should be at a level that their intended target audiences can understand. Prose, word choice, and themes should reflect where younger readers are at and break ideas down in a way that is accessible. For instance, Once Upon a Sari by Zenia Wadhwani alludes to the Partition of India, opening the door for future education while celebrating sari. The kids who are ready for more mature books will probably naturally gravitate towards books above their age group. But the more I sit with that reasoning, the more the term ‘simple’ doesn’t actually make sense. 

Middle Grade fantasy Farrah Noorzad and the Rings of Fate by Deeba Zargarpur has a lead who not only is the daughter of an unwed Muslim mother, but she only sees her father once a year and has to spend time with a half-brother she never even knew she had. That’s not an easy situation; perhaps it doesn’t explore the topic in the way an adult reader would prefer, but that doesn’t make it ‘simple.’ Yet, this is a very real situation some children grow up in.

Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo and the upcoming Gita Desai is Not Here to Shut Up by Sonia Patel are both YA examinations of how we treat young women, the impact of sexual assault years down the road, and how we push our trauma away until we are safe enough to start dealing with it. To refer to either book as ‘simple’ would be to ignore how they deal with the complexities of being a teenage girl who is sexual and has been sexually assaulted or how the people around them believe they can take what they want without any repercussions. Gita Desai can get very uncomfortable in how it depicts CSA in part because it’s through the eyes of a young child while Not Like Other Girls features Jo realizing just how young she was when she was assaulted. Both are unmistakably YA novels from the voice, themes, and the age of the characters but there is no question that they are mature books that treat their readers with respect. 

Beyond those two examples, we have Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, and a plethora of YA and Middle Grade books discussing police brutality, Queerphobia, xenophobia, ableism, Islamophobia, racism, immigration, classism, colonization, and more. Young people are hungry for books that explore the world around them and the ways in which we can improve or dismantle the systems that are failing our society. Many of our political movements are started or helmed by young people. Most American teens read Huckleberry Finn or The Great Gatsby in school specifically so political themes can be addressed, so of course there are books written for them that continue to explore those topics in more recent, relevant and no less complex ways. 

So, OK, maybe instead of themes, ‘simple’ is meant to refer to prose and structure or characters. Allison Saft’s prose is lush and poetic while horror debut Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli not only has gorgeous prose, but the narrative structure often changes the reader’s perceptions of events and other characters. Katniss in Hunger Games by Susanne Collins is not a typical hero; her main goal is ‘survival,’ not doing the right thing or defeating some great evil. She is fighting a system that is hurting her world because she was never given any other choice.

Meanwhile, several adult authors are often praised for having accessible prose so that people who left reading behind can return to it. Most books, including in adult, are at roughly an 8th grade reading level, which is not a bad thing at all as not everyone is going to have the same access to quality education. Some adult novels are fairly straight-forward battles of good and evil or have clear cut morals presented. 

Prose in YA, MG, and adult can be poetic, lush, voice-y, or none of those things. It’s less of an age category classification and more of a style of an individual author and a scale of commercial versus literary. A Deadly Education by adult fantasy author Naomi Novik is a crossover appeal book that is a study in voice-driven narratives while YA author Laini Taylor is often praised for her lyrical prose. For the most part, YA is going to feel voice-y, because that is a standard of the age category, but not all voice-y books are YA and not all lyrical prose is found in adult.

Maybe it’s about the worldbuilding? Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong is essentially about sex work in a fantasy Prohibition setting. Matilde, Æsa, and Sayer sell their magic and transfer it temporarily via a kiss. There are characters who point out that the Nightbirds are selling themselves in the same way people discuss stripping or pornography. We have a YA fantasy openly making direct comparisons to sex work, having three characters who are in the business for different reasons and have different relationships with it, and explores not only the dangers sex workers can face, such as stalking, but also how potential partners can think about the business.

Worldbuilding in speculative fiction, across all age categories, comes in spectrums of soft and hard, high and low, thematic and vibe, secondary world and contemporary/historical. A large amount of YA fantasies have epic stakes while cozy fantasy is currently quite popular with adults. Middle Grade largely gravitates to portal fantasy, which mixes the secondary and contemporary settings. Space and science fantasy are popular in MG, YA, and adult. The nitty-gritty of secondary world economics might be more common in adult fantasy, but it isn’t required by any means. 

No speculative author, at any level, is required to provide Tolkien-esque worldbuilding.

When I read YA, Middle Grade, and adult, I set my expectations accordingly that certain topics might get explored and others might not. A quote that I’m seeing more and more is that adult readers of kidlit are guests in that space, and I do agree. I love the emotional character work of YA and how Middle Grade helps kids in difficult situations start to put names to their feelings. In adult, I expect more lingering on logistics or to have darker renditions of themes and more nostalgia. 

Kidlit, for decades, has allowed young readers to start building empathy for people outside of their sphere, to give them a frame of reference for future interactions. The main purpose of kidlit is the same purpose that adult fiction has: providing readers with catharsis or escapism or a learning opportunity or a way to pass the time. The names of these age categories have shifted a lot since I was a kid; ‘teen’ used to be a very small section and I don’t clearly remember a Middle Grade section pre-Percy Jackson. But, kidlit can and often does explore genocide, war, abuse, unconventional family situations, and is now starting to explore polyamory as a possible romantic option as well as Asexuality. Some of its prose is more explicit and does point things out themes more, but so does adult.   

Many children grow up in environments that plenty of adults can only imagine, environments that need to be depicted so they can see themselves and start to process what happened to them or at least learn that they are not alone. Many adults look for more simple premises as a form of escapism during difficult times. I have read YA books that are deeply emotional and can feel brutal in their themes and I have read adult books that make me laugh or I’m gushing about how cute it was.

‘Well, it’s about quality-’ I think we can all agree that all readers, of any age, deserve quality books that respect them and I am seeing wonderful examples of this in kidlit. I don’t understand the argument that media for children is of poor quality unless it’s meant to be a critique of how companies don’t care about children’s media because what they really prioritize is profits. The suggestion that poor quality means it is made for young people is insulting young people and the creatives who make things for them, people who are passionate about stories.

I don’t think kidlit is ‘simple’ by any means. We need to think about why we suggest books intended for young people are any less layered than books for adults. We need to ask if we’re using ‘feels like YA/MG/kidlit’ to mean ‘this doesn’t meet my specific expectations/tastes’ or ‘this is bad’ and how that minimizes the trials and tribulations of young people or implies that they don’t deserve good books.

[thehorrormaven]

Book Tour: Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Every week I will post various reviews I've written so far in 2024. You can check out my Goodreads for more up-to-date reviews HERE. You can friend me on Goodreads here.

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts?

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289. Paradise Cove by Jenny Holiday--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In my attempt to read more of my physical books, I have finally made my way to this book. I'm glad I have gotten back into this small town because this one was such a sweet read.

I love stories where one of the characters moves to a small town to, essentially, start over, especially after a bad breakup or big life event. Call me a hopeless romantic because that moment that the MC moves to the small town and immediately meets the love interest, I am HOOKED. There is, as a romance reader, very little else in the genre that makes me feel the way I do when we have the two characters meet (particularly in small town romances where one of the MCs is seen as an "outsider", but is still welcomed.)

Both MCs had some personal roadblocks to overcome. To be frank, the MMC had a bigger one because he is dealing with his grief and the idea of change in the form of the new town doctor. I did love, though, how she was the one to break through his walls and how surprised everyone was when she was the one he talked to.

I also love small town romances like this because of how kind everyone is to the new townie. They were all just so grateful and the whole vibe was cutesy and welcoming. Save for the heartbreaking climax between the two MCs, this whole book was like a warm cup of tea on a cool Autumn night. Their romance steadily grows, the sexual tension rises to a breaking point, and we get to learn more about their respective lives outside of their connection throughout the whole thing.

While there are definitely grief-heavy moments sprinkled throughout the book that will pull at the heartstrings, the imagery of the town, the welcoming atmosphere of Jenny Holiday's writing, and the two stubborn MCs who find love when they least expect it, PARADISE COVE was truly what the title states: a small bit of reading paradise hidden in a sea of romance novels. Books like this one always fall to the side, but I'm glad I finally picked it up! (And I DO have the third in the series on standby!)

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290. Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was a wild ride. If you love IT by Stephen King, but want a YA version then this is a must read for you!

I went into this completely blind and never knew what would happen next. There were so many twists and so many heartbreaking moments, but also that kind of horror in a small town that makes you want to make sure your doors are locked at night.

The story starts with the mysterious stranger who finds their way into this small town that gave me the creeps--especially when said town is essentially shunning a young character and is run by a creepy cop who wants the town to be "perfect". The way the story is told, braiding all of the eerie moments in with the seemingly more "normal" ones was done really well.

There is this underlying tension as the story progresses of a town that is truly hiding many secrets. The mysterious deaths and the haunting of the past and "lies" that fills the pages is what made me think of IT. There is something that is stalking the kids of the town and the way the story is written, full of red herrings and foreshadowing, helped create this atmosphere of terror that was building from the moment the MC drove into town. We also see the horrible side of racism and homophobia in a small town and that added to that already tense atmosphere of the story.

This book was just an unexpected ride and so perfect for the Halloween season. If you're a fan of IT, or scary stories about smalls towns full of uncomfortable vibes, then this might be your next read!

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291. A Love Like the Sun by Riss M. Neilson--⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really wanted to love this one and at some points I did, but it didn't quite reach that standard I was expecting!

I had written a whole ass review and it got deleted. Sigh.

One of the issues I had with this book was that it was overhyped for me. I love going into books by authors I've never read completely blind because then it will set expectations way too high for me. And I fear that this happened with A LOVE LIKE THE SUN. I went in expecting something that would leave me feeling some sort of way about the romance, but it just left me feeling meh. It felt very surface level and anytime the story started to get deeper into the romance, it would crumble because of the MC's stubbornness.

And I get that the MC is dealing with the trauma of losing her father and of the love her parents shared, but I think that if she was afraid of having that kind of love, she would have also noticed how important communication is in a relationship. Her lack of communication with her love interest at the end of the book was what further pushed this book into a lower rating for me.

And while this book had a lot of things I would normally love in a romance--like the sexual tension, the spicy situations, the friendship turning into a lover situation, the fake dating, the obvious attraction that the love interest held for the MC, and the relationships between the MC and the people around her--I never fully connected. I don't know if it was the pacing or the frustrating MC, but something kept me back from fully connecting with the story.

I DID appreciate the callout on how Black women are treated by medical professionals, the success that the love interest finds in art as a Black man, the representation of working with textured hair since I've been trying to figure out my curls for the majority of my life, and the close connection between the MC and her mother. But these were all things that took a bit of a backseat to the frustrating MC's decision making.

I think this book could have been amazing (for me). Especially because all of the pieces were there, but it felt like they were put together just a bit off-kilter. I would have hoped that a friendship as old as the one the MC and the love interests had, they would have better communication, or a better sense of understanding. But it wasn't just that climactic moment that kind of ruined it for me. The whole thing was kind of underwhelming and unfortunately, I think this will be one of those books I won't really remember two years from now.

I can understand why so many people loved it, truly, but it just wasn't for me.

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292. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this--it was so whimsical and fun.

THE GIRL WHO CHASED THE MOON is another one of those books that have been on my shelves for YEARS. I was surprised by it because it felt like a hidden gem on my shelves and I'm even more excited about reading more of my older books.

Allen's book was such a sweet and surprising read. It felt like the perfect kind of book for a late summer night of reading. I loved the small-town feel of it and the surprising level of magical realism. If it wasn't for the older characters experiencing their own moments, I would have almost called this YA. But I did really like the multi-generational storytelling. It felt weirdly cinematic?

I would have loved reading more books set in this small town, especially because there were so many potential stories to tell.

I think if you like stories with interesting and unique paranormal aspects, a bit of magic, a newcomer in a small town, and a second chance romance for two unlikely characters, then you'd like this one. It's not super long and holds a lot of charm. Perfect, like I said, for a warm night of reading!

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293. The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I've been hearing such great things about THE DARKNESS OUTSIDE US, so I went into this with a wary mindset, but came out thoroughly entertained.

First off, this is such a fun and unique (to me) storyline. The way it was presented was also great and made for an interesting experience the first time that big twist was introduced. It created this weird sense of urgency that had me craving the next page. It was also kind of creepy because it feeds into that fear so many of us have of technology and what the future of tech looks like.

The romance was sweet and surprisingly honest in the way it is portrayed (but then again, teenagers aren't as innocent as adults tend to think). I liked that someone who might relate to the relationship or the feelings it brings out in readers could relate and feel a sense of comfort in seeing these two teen boys fall in love and experience that love. I like that it was built out and developed well before the twists started coming. It acted as a nice base for their ever-growing relationship as they learned to trust each other and really work for their happiness and futures.

I wanted answers throughout the whole book and while we definitely got a chunk of them, I really want to read the sequel! The way the story left off felt like it could have been the end, but I think that sequel will add that extra touch that will make the story feel whole.

I highly recommend this if you're looking for a bit of an exciting read where something is always happening and you never really know what's coming next. I also recommend it if you were a fan of ALL THAT'S LEFT IN THE WORLD. Similar vibes, but different survival genres.

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294. Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I find the overall rating interesting but also not surprising. This was an underrated work of art and I took my sweet time with it.

PATRICIA WANTS TO CUDDLE is one of those books that feels like a slow cooker--you take your time with it while it's cooking, and then when it's ready to be devoured, Allen throws all of the flavours at you.

One of the best aspects of this book is the commentary on gender and how it is portrayed in media. We get the stereotypes of a reality tv show and the behind the scenes reality so we can see how easy it is to warp a narrative to fit what is expected for the audience. It was interesting seeing the different POVs of the girls because we get to see how they think of each other and what they think of the CATCH (the knockoff Bachelor contestant). It's always so fascinating to me to see how characters see each other, especially because it always makes it more realistic for me.

Also, we don't get any POVs from the male characters--which adds even more to the commentary on sexism that this book presents. But also, it makes it clearer that this is a girls' girl type of novel (especially with those twists). We see the men in this book constantly expecting certain things from women, or twisting narratives to fit them but make it seem like it's for a woman's benefit, yet the greatest irony is that none of them get a POV in the book.

I kind of wish I'd listened to the audiobook for this one because of the multimedia parts of the book. Those were a fun addition!

I was genuinely so entertained and I loved how gruesome and jarring it was. The ending was great and I'm so glad I finally picked up this awesome queer horror novel! I know it won't be for everyone, but I think those who are looking for horror novels with some great commentary on gender roles and the media's perception of women will really enjoy this one.

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295. Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

MONSTRILIO is one of those books that by the end you know you enjoyed it, but you're also questioning why. I knew it was going to be something unsettling from the very beginning when the grieving mother pulls out her deceased son's lung from his body. That whole scene set the mood and I didn't know what to expect moving forward.

At its core, this is a book about grief and the power of growing and moving forward with that grief. It was done in such a unique way that it might take a moment to realize the grief aspect, but it's weaved so well into the story that by the end, you might realize that Monstrilio is the embodiment of that grief. He is that walking, talking sense of loss that so many people wish didn't haunt them every day of their life.

The story was told from multiple perspectives in chunks of time. The last perspective was from M and it was so incredibly interesting to see how he viewed the world, especially knowing how he came to be and watching him grow into himself. It was also interesting to see how his parents viewed him after so many years and knowing the truth of his existence.

The conclusion felt like the perfect circle-closing moment. Everything came together into a powerful moment that I didn't know I was hoping for until it happened. I was not expecting to feel so many different emotions while reading this book. It was definitely a horror story, but it felt almost like the sweet side of horror (if we ignore all of the blood).

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296. Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend by M.J. Wassmer--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ah, this book.

ZERO STARS, DO NOT RECOMMEND was a bit of a trip. It was giving my anxiety a lovely workout. I don't even know how many times I almost DNFed because of the MC's stupid decisions and actions. And I DO understand why he was the way he was, but man, he was all over the place.

One of the best things about this book that kept me reading was the writing. The story is told in third person, but the narrative voice was so sassy that it had me laughing every once in a while. And while the MC was making stupid choices, the narrative voice kept me hooked.

Almost all of the characters in this book need some sort of therapy, or were such assholes. A few people definitely deserved a punch or two. Although that ending made me feel a little sorry for some of them.

This was addicting and unique. The whole concept of it was interesting because I really had to suspend my disbelief to just enjoy the book and the plot line. I also really liked where the story was going because I am honestly all for survival books. This story felt like a human experiment of survival and what happens when one person is given too much power. It was just such an entertaining experience (even with the MC).

But with all of that being said, there was some great character growth and it was fun watching it happen. Once we get to the key reason of why the MC is the way he is, it made the story more enjoyable and I could empathize with him a lot more. Also, I loved his relationship with his girlfriend, even if at times he went a little macho.

Anyway, if you want a unique end of the world story set on a tropical island, then I think you might like this one! This is NOT a horror novel, but it is satirical and at oftentimes pretty funny.

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Happy reading!

[jonathanpongratz]

New Book Release: Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli

    Blurb: “Cerilli delivers a stunning debut in this gripping paranormal horror novel about queer teens growing up in a community that doesn’t accept them and the insidious danger of apathy.”—STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly “A horrifyingly honest tale, Lockjaw will keep you guessing with its creative storytelling, while its full-bodied characters will keep you reading as they band together to…

[straight-as-my-spine]

might try posting about the books im reading just for funsies

so far in this month of january 2024, i have read 9 books! - Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (reread, tore me apart once again) - Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H. (first nonfic of the year, trying to read more of it) - Gwen and Art are Not in Love by Lex Croucher (this one made me think, oh this is why I enjoy reading seriously go read it) - Hearts Still Beating by Brooke Archer (not out for a few more months, thought it was meh) - Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli (this one's for all us transgenderers) - When Among Crows by Veronica Roth (another arc, paid less attention than i should have while reading. oops.) - Magyk by Angie Sage (reread, the better 7 book children's fantasy series by a british author) - Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski (not many thoughts, read at the same time i was watching hockey so i was distracted) - Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce (just watched blue eye samurai so I'm really feeling the girl has to become a guy to do the thing she wants genre. what can i say i like gender fuckery)