#otdrrecommendations

[onlythedarkestreads]

5/5 Stars

Pub Date: January 14, 2023

I’m sure we all have a handful of authors who are go to’s. You know when a new novel is coming out. You read everything they put out. Grady Hendrix is one of mine. Even if I didn’t love one (or two 😅) of his releases, I know I’m in for a good time.

I think How to Sell a Haunted House is my new favourite of his books.

After the tragic death of their parents, Louise and her estranged brother Mark need to sell their family home. Filled to the brim with memories… and puppets they can’t come together with how to get it done. Mark wants to dump it all. Louise wants to preserve their parents favourite things. The puppets have an idea of their own. Chaos ensues.

This book is unhinged. I encourage you to go into this one as blind as possible. You will think you know where this book is going, and I assure you: there is NO FUCKING WAY you do.

I got very emotionally attached to these characters, I was so angry and sad and frustrated with what was happening to them. Having dealt with the loss of my grandmother last year, and working with my family to split up her life’s belongings, this story just hit me deeply.

And in true Grady fashion this book is just so relentlessly funny. At first I thought this book might be too goofy for me, because puppets are truly goofy shit, but by the time we get to Mark’s story I was fully on board with the life of puppets and their capacity for pure unadulterated evil.

Thank you so much to Titan Books and NetGalley for an arc of this title. How to Sell a Haunted House comes out January 14th.

[onlythedarkestreads]

4/5 Stars

Pub Date: Sept 27, 2022

Have you ever tried Aspic, or are you instantly grossed out by the idea of savory jellies? The gelatinous vessel of meats and vegetable. A sensory trick, as your brain overcomes the texture and flavour combination. Is this good? A thing I could like?

Motherthing is an acquired taste. A sublimely weird story of desire for connection as a survivor of parental abuse. It’s about being deeply, tragically lonely and sad sad sad. And the masks we slip on for a semblance of normalcy. The weight of synthetic happiness.

As a person who has no desire for motherhood, I wondered if this book would be for me. I can say that there definitely is a lot to enjoy even without that connection. Take your time with it and savour the jellied salmon.

Thank you to @netgalley and @vintagebooks for an arc of this title. Motherthing comes out September 27th.

[onlythedarkestreads]

5/5 stars

pub date: july 5 2022

“The thing about faces, he's saying, is they're always a lie. Even before they're slathered in makeup. Faces make us

different from each other And we're not- not really. We try so goddamn hard all the time to be different, to be unique. You know what we all just really are? When you strip away the dumb expressions we all practice to try to look a certain way?

Meat.”

Genuine emoji reactions of me reading Hawk Mountain:

😬 😬 😅 😬 😬 😬 😬 😥

What would you do if you came face to face with your high school bully 15 years later?

While on the beach with his son Anthony, Todd sees an outline of a man approach. To his surprise and dismay it’s Jack, the man who made his last year of high school a living hell.

Jack is seemingly unaware of the impact he had on Todd, and demands they grab a bite and a drink to catch up. But a drink turns into him crashing on their couch to integrating himself into Todd and Anthony’s life. And now that Jack’s here it’s impossible to get him to leave.

This book was so fucking tense, every interaction through the dual timelines of Todd and Jack’s history had my guts roiling and jaw clenching. I’m remiss to say too much because there’s a moment where the story hits a switch, and I honestly could not put it down. Really, I read this in one day.

If you want a thriller with a big heaping pile of gory horror this is for you. I told you this book has an all-timer tone shift. This book gets GROSS.

I want everyone to read this, because I NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT.

Thank you to NetGalley and WW Norton for an ARC of this title.

[onlythedarkestreads]

review - slewfoot

5/5 Stars Pub Date: Sep 14, 2021 Goodreads Goal: 84/150

Do you get emotional when you read? I always think it's a sign of a really good book when you have an extreme visceral reaction.

I loved this book but it also made me furious. Body shaking, needing to put the book down and calm the fuck down furious.

Coming from a long line of cunning women, Abitha is struggling to fit into Puritan society. Sutton Village isn't receptive to newcomers, especially when they're an outspoken woman who peddles simple charms and remedies. The devils works.

The move from England to the States was hard. Her new husband Edward is king, but shy, and easily bullied by his older brother Wallace.

When Edward dies suddenly Abitha is left alone. Working as hard as she can to pay off a debt of Wallace's making. Abitha is struggling. That's when she meets Father.

But who is Father? Demon or angel? Slayer or maker? Will he help save Abitha or bring her to ruin?

A beautiful story of magic and revenge, of fear and friendship.

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for an ARC. I need to get myself a physical copy to see the beautiful illustrations.

[onlythedarkestreads]

5/5 Stars

Pub Date: Nov 9, 2021

Every twenty years a blood moon rises over Ilvernath.

A beacon which means a deadly tournament is about to take place. Seven representatives. Six sacrifices. The reward is sole access to all of the high magick left in the world.

A centuries old secret kept by seven families, until a damning tell-tall brings scrutiny to Ilvernath. The tournament is now infamous and the pressure to win is higher than ever.

With chapters dedicated to each champion, you learn the gruesome history of the tournament that taints this town. Their strengths and weaknesses and the connections they build to obtain the most dangerous spells.

Packed with complex characters, lots of blood and violence and a super fun and unique magic system, this book ends on cliffhanger that will have you counting down the months until book two comes out.

For readers who want the brutality and gore of Battle Royale, the world building of The Hunger Games and a creative magic system like Mistborn.

All of Us Villians comes out November 9th. Thank you to NetGalley and TorTeen for an ARC of this title.

I can’t wait for more of you to read this! Are you planning on grabbing a copy of All of Us Villians? Do you like books that combine multiple genres?

[onlythedarkestreads]

review - the strange thing we become

5/5 Stars Pub Date: Sep 1, 2021 2021 Goodreads Goal: 83/150

What a voice to spend time with!

This was my second foray into the writing of Eric LaRocca and he has definitely become a new favourite author.

The Strange Things We Become is one of the strongest short story collections I've had the pleasure of reading. I tried to read on story a day so I could savor the experience.

Through these stories LaRocca creates a hallucinatory nightmare world. Full of monsters, stranger danger, painful games, impossible decisions, obsessions, penetrations and violent extractions. Deals with demons external and internal. Fodder for and from the nastiest recesses of your brain.

These stories are extremely brutal and beautiful and I already can't wait to read them again.

Thank you so much for providing me with an advanced copy Eric, and I cannot wait to read whatever perversion you write next. I will be buying a physical copy.

[onlythedarkestreads]

review - red x

4/5 Stars Pub Date: Aug 31, 2021 2021 Goodreads Goal: 77/150

Thank you to NetGalley and Strange Light Books, and to David himself for lending me a physical copy.

Pushing the boundaries between truth and fiction, Red X is a deeply personal exploration of an insidious entity stealing gay men from The Village in Toronto. This book is more than just queer horror, it's memoir and tribute, history and folklore. A collection of memorials for the men who have disappeared, and the fear that remains as one who has been left behind.

David himself is a character in his novel, with diary entries about his own experience with horror and queerness, as well as the real life murders that have occurred in The Village. This is truly genre-bending stuff.

Told across decades and generations, bouncing between timelines, it does take a second to get into the rhythm of the story. It is absolutely worth pushing through as the puzzle pieces start to fall into place in the second half.

This is a book that I've been ruminating on for weeks, really unsure how to capture exactly how it affected me. A must-read.

[onlythedarkestreads]

5/5 Stars

Pub Date: Oct 25, 2022

I’m just going to say it. I think this book is the most overlooked horror novel of 2022. Philip Fracassi has written a fucking stunner.

In search for a quick payday, a group of criminals concoct a plan to kidnap a child for some ransom money. A carefully curated plan that seems to be going smoothly. Until they get the boy, Henry Thorne, back to the hideaway: a derelict cabin in the middle of the woods.

Theres something waiting for them in the cellar below. Something more terrifying than the baddies that kidnapped him, and it’s reaching out to Henry. Telling him they are not welcome here. That they need to leave before it’s too late. Mother wants them gone.

This book combines some of my favourite things: Spooky kids! Violence! Revenge! Gross siblings! Eldritch horror! Grief! Bucketloads of grief. Like, so, so much grief.

The sense of dread and tension I felt the entire time I was reading this book is unrivaled. I needed to finish this one quickly so I could breathe again.

Thank you so much to Skyhorse Pub and NetGalley for an arc of this title.

What is a book from this year that you haven’t seen people talking about enough?

[onlythedarkestreads]

5/5 Stars

Pub Date: Sept 27, 2022

I’ll start out by saying that Leech is not going to be for everyone. It’s complex and dense and takes its time. I read a few chapters here and there between other books until I hit the midway point and finished it in a day. I absolutely think the pace is worth it as the world Leech is building is fucking wild.

Get ready for a book full of the uncanny. We’re talking squirmy eyeball parasites, loaded familial drama and strife, spooky twins(!!!), human hybrids, and a neural network of doctors who all share the same consciousness. And do not forget about a good ole batch of body horror, because y’all love it.

I can’t remember the last book that challenged me like this, and knowing what I know now, I’m absolutely going to reread it to find the filaments of clues that were clearly woven throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and TorDotCom for a galley of this title. Leech comes out September 27th.

What is your favourite genre combination? This one has elements of sci-fi and gothic horror which I’m very into right now!

[onlythedarkestreads]

4/5 Stars

Pub Date: Sep 20, 2022

It’s rare to see a person in Settlement Five who has all their limbs still attached. Whether a finger is missing or an entire leg , these are the visual representation of their crimes and misdoings. Atonements for their evil ways.

Every settlement has a Butcher, an inherited title that doles out these punishments. When the current butcher, Winona, refuses to maim a child, she’s brutally disposed of her role. Forcing her daughter Lady Mae to take on the mantle of the most hated person in the settlement.

The world building in this novel is terrific. It cleverly folds you into this society where this extreme form of corporeal punishment is still not a deterrent to crimes of opportunity or lack of.

It balances themes of redemption and forgiveness and isolation so well.

Thank you to @titanbooks and @netgalley for an ARC of this title which comes out tomorrow, September 20th!

[onlythedarkestreads]

4/5 Stars

Pub Date: Sep 1, 2022

One of my favourite books from last year was All of Us Villians, which left us readers on an insane cliffhanger, so as soon as the digital for All of Our Demise hit my inbox I had to immediately start it.

Once again we are thrown into the tournament and each of the villains perspectives. While AoUV was all action, AoOD is cunning and introspection. This book is about the relationships all of our champions have forged together.

Because of this tonal switch I did find the first half of the book to be a little bit slow, but by the time I got halfway through I couldn’t put it down. Again, I have to praise the magic system in this book, as it feels so vivid and different and the crafting of spells and curses is still some of my favourite passages in the series.

My only complaint is that I feel like the romances were a little underdeveloped, especially since one of them was incredibly well done. All in all though, I loved the conclusion, and couldn’t imagine it any other way.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Orion Books for an arc of this title.

[onlythedarkestreads]

4/5 Stars

Pub Date: Oct 4, 2022

80s horror is packed with scream queens, final girls and supernaturally unslayable murderers who lurk through summer camps and subdivisions. Their serialized killing sprees pumped out in celluloid every few years to the delight of horror fans and horny teens.

We know the costumes, the weapons, the names. But eventually the movies stop coming and the man behind the mask is relegated to signing head shots at every genre convention that will take him.

Curse of the Reaper is a fun and campy slasher that deserves a spot on the shelf next to The Remaking and Camp Ghoul Mountain Part VI.

This is a slasher about slashers. An homage to the ins and outs of the remake cycle and the spirit of the monster who lives beyond the script.

I was impressed with the variety of kills, and The Reaper’s dialogue reminded me so much of The Crypt Keeper with his endless death puns.

If you’re looking to add a brisk one to your October TBR, I think you should check this one out. Thank you to Brian McAuley for telling me about your book and to Skyhorse Publishing for an ARC.

[onlythedarkestreads]

5/5 Stars

Pub Date: Aug 2, 2022

Oh! This book HURTS.

Each page full of pain and despair. Of the lengths people go through for their family even when all odds are against them.

It’s pitch black. It’s absolutely action packed. Heartbreaking. Powerful. Easily up there for favorites of the year.

Damn this is one hell of an achievement. This is my first book of Iglesias’s I’ve read but I’m bumping Coyote Songs up my TBR pile.

What was your favourite book this month?

Thank you to Netgalley and Mulholland Books for an arc of this title.

[onlythedarkestreads]

4/5 Stars

Pub date: Oct 31, 2021

A Fig For All The Devils has been on my TBR for awhile. I saw everyone reading it last year and loved the simple cover design and knew I’d need to read it.

For a book that’s covering some heavy subjects (suicide, grief, abuse, neglect, poverty) it’s a brisk read that opens with a truly gnarly and gruesome scene that blew me away.

I really connected and sympathized with our protagonist Sonny who is grappling with his grief after the death of his father. Through his despair he meets the Grim Reaper who offers him a hard to resist opportunity: become his protege and successor.

While the Reaper is the embodiment of death, obviously, he’s absurdly funny and is a pretty unforgettable character. I could read a book solely about his exploits leading up to his meeting with Sonny.

If you’re looking for a quick read grief horror that’s equal parts brutal and heartwarming, you should pick this one up.

I want to thank Netgalley and Albatross Books for an ARC of this title.

If you were given the opportunity to live for a millennium as the Grim Reaper would you take it?

[onlythedarkestreads]

4/5 Stars

Pub Date: Jul 19, 2022

There’s just something about a Malfi novel that just sucks me in. His writing tempo matches my reading tempo so well, and I just fly through his novels. I wasn’t sure if I’d finish Black Mouth in time for pub date but I read the second half last night, and here we are.

Black Mouth feels like a new horror classic. Reminiscent of the big 80s coming of age novels that we all know and love and compare everything else to.

The set up you know: fate brings old friends back to their small town to try and defeat the evil that shaped their childhoods. But it’s still so fresh and new. We know the tracks but we haven’t been in this tunnel.

It’s an emotional read, and if you’re looking for a carnival horror with lots of magic and ritual murder, this one may be for you.

Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this title which came out today!

What’s your favourite coming of age horror novel?

[onlythedarkestreads]

4/5 Stars

Pub date: Jul 19, 2022

Do you like a slow burn?

Mary’s dream is to fade into the background. Work just enough to be comfortable and to keep to herself, and maybe not sweat through her sheets every night. But everything starts to fall apart on the cusp of her 50th birthday.

She loses her job, her rent is about to double and she gets a call from her estranged and dying aunt begging her to come home to Arroyo.

With no other options on the horizon she packs a bag and goes, because that’s what a good person would do.

But being back to her hometown stirs up some uneasy emotions as well as unsettling nightmares. Blackouts and strange visions tied to a series of ritual murders that took place nearly 50 years prior. Murders that seem to be starting again. Are these the workings of a copycat killer or something more sinister?

Mary is a difficult and unreliable protagonist. I definitely didn’t like her but she kinda grows on you. This book is thick and has a lot going on. A spooky mansion, an unsettling town, familial strife, possession, and I loved every new thread this book threw at me. I don’t even know how to mention much more without ruining some of the surprises packed in here.

This is a book that requires patience but I promise you it’s worth the time.

Thank you to NetGalley and TorNightfire for an ARC.