Alchemy and a Cup of Tea by Rebecca Thorne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This final installation of a four book cozy series is pretty good. I enjoyed the dragon storyline and the alchemy mystery for the most part. The ending was a little too ‘perfect’ for me and I didn’t like that I feel our leading ladies are shirking their main responsibilities. I’m just not convinced you can be the queen of a realm and mage of ages but live in a small town or have unassuming lives even half the time. But sure why not in a fantasy book. I’d have loved to see Pirate Dregg come back. Him and his fabulous boobs were awesome last we saw him. But the dragon story might have sufficiently made up for it. Plus Ponder teaching friendship and growing up a little was very sweet.
The magical system across both elemental magic and alchemy was quite good and I’m a little sad it was ‘wasted’ on simple series like this. It was good enough to be a part of a much more robust and epic fantasy storyline. Not that it needs to be, just that it could have been. I hope Rebecca Thorne will keep at her world building and perhaps bring us something a little less cozy next time.
I don’t read books like this for literary excellence. Just to have some light, fun breaks amongst some of the heavier fantasy, sci-fi, and horror I usually find myself reading.
Did Rebecca Thorne write the best book ever? No.
Was it sufficient that I’d recommend it if someone wanted some cozy fantasy? Absolutely.
So long as you know what you’re getting into this is a solid four book series and I was pleased to spend some time with it over the last couple of years. The narrator is a pleasant consistent reader with excellent voices to add for the dragons and other characters. This is a sufficient ending to a series and I do like when series don’t continue on forever. So while I’m a little sad to say goodbye to our ladies and their friends; I’m also glad it’s not being drawn out past where it should be.
Pick this series up if you want some cute lesbian romance with a side of fantasy. If you enjoy Travis Baldree you’re sure to love Rebecca Thorne. Just make sure you start with book 1 as they are definitely meant to be read in order.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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Blink and You'll Miss It by Ethan S. Parker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Weird, a bit macabre, aliens or beings of some sort, time travel, a prehistoric pelican, two in love lesbians, and a lot of cult activity… all this and more happens across this short series of five issues of Blink and You’ll Miss It. I am familiar with previous works by these writers and felt confident I’d enjoy the story; but wasn’t sure about the art. Thankfully, the illustrations by debut artist Keith Browning matched up nicely with the characters and peculiar setting. This BOOM! Studios story has twists and turns in places you may not expect; and by the end I was sad yet smiling… a bittersweet melancholy ending is perfect for an odd little mini series like this.
I’d love to see this as a short mini series, or movie. I think it’s very unique and could transfer really well to the screen. That said, I love the comic treatment here and will definitely be watching for more from everyone involved. BOOM! studios really is bringing us some of the most engaging and vivid horror comics that perfectly match the end of the world apocalypse attitude that seems to permeate everything right now.
”Please note: I received an eARC of this comic volume from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.”
The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts by Kim Fu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
2.5 stars. I’m rounding to 3 stars out of respect for Kim Fu and her prior short stories. The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts might have made a good short story or novella. But as a full fledged novel it was a bit frustrating. Not only is the ending not a real ending! But the entire book is like a bad fever dream that just never resolves or gives you the reveal moment.
It was obvious to me from the opening couple of chapters what some might consider the reveal in this book. So maybe that jaded the whole experience for me? I’m even afraid of water, oceans, flooding, etc and I will didn’t find this to be at all scary or concerned. So perhaps the largest fail of the novel is poor marketing as this is not horror. Having a ghost does not make your book horror!
Instead, this is a psychological thriller. A contemporary, non-gothic, boring thriller. The kind I would normally avoid. Nothing about The Vengeful Valley of Ghosts would put it in the horror section for me. Mere ghosts or apparitions is not inherently horrific to me. Far from the horror vibes or descriptions we get from Nick Cutter, Grady Hendrix, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, or Mira Grant. All of whom are sure to thrill you or cause you chills in some way. Not with body horror but just descriptions and overall creepiness. I got none of that here from Fu.
One of the weakest points for me is our leading lady is a very unlikeable character. I get it, she’s a coddled, Mama’s girl who had one (recent) rough go of things. Yet she has a masters degree in psychology!! Obtained before she ever had a truly horrific day in her own life?! I just struggled to imagine someone giving advice to others who has had everything done for them their whole life. She doesn’t even know how to use a washing machine and yet she is telling others how to manage their lives! That doesn’t work for me and continued to make me question her authenticity as a character.
I finished The Vengeful Valley of Ghosts in utter frustration, yet with relief. Glad it was over; yet annoyed I’d wasted my time. It’s just not a satisfying read. Neither the reveals, ending, or struggle of our leading lady are in any way the style of read that I tend to enjoy. I want to be scared, surprised, impressed, or motivated. I want to feel sympathy, hatred, or compassion for characters; not utter disgust at how pathetic I think they are.
Unfortunately this was not a win for me. I will still read Kim Fu as I know she has written some really good stories over the years. But I might wait on her novels in the future to see what other reviewers think. She’s certainly slid down the giant waterfall of my ‘must read’ list and landed in some flooding pools of waters where a book may or may not be recovered from.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I picked up They Bloom at Night for a couple reasons but the primary reason is it’s a finalist for the Hugo Lodestar Award for best YA book.
Unfortunately I do not feel it’s quite up to the benchmark for a Hugo and feel at most 3.5 stars is the best I can give it; even thought I really liked the overall concept and found it very quotable.
”Sometimes we need people to hunt the things we need to die but that we aren’t ready to kill.”
For me, They Bloom at Night drags in place, is a bit overwritten, and definitely too repetitive. Trang Thanh Tran has some quotable passages and great messaging for teens including: passionately talking about loving yourself for who you are and finding yourself over being who society, parents, etc. want you to be. All sentiments I’m passionate about reinforcing, especially for teens. The LGBTQ+ representation here is very well done. Thus it hurts me to give only 3 stars; but the truth is I was bored and disengaged a lot. I felt like I’d more than gotten the message by the 60% mark and didn’t need another 100+ pages to slam it all home.
That said, the story is brilliant, the characters are good, and the plot points are clever; it just doesn’t come together and I’m blaming pacing and writing. The final product is too repetitive and convoluted in its delivery. I know this is a YA book; but I think we need to give teens more credit to read without being reminded every ten pages of the overall messaging and plot of the story. This could easily have been a five star read; but in the end I must be honest and admit that I didn’t love it even though I really wanted to (and felt like I should given its horror focus).
That’s not to say that it shouldn’t be read. I’d actually still buy They Bloom at Night for a well read teen. The overall messaging and presentation of our sucky society and its disappointing expectations is very valuable. I just wouldn’t give it to anyone, teen or not, that struggles to read or isn’t very passionate about reading. I truly believe most will suffer through or just give up. Tran just doesn’t deliver in a way that worked for me which is really too bad.
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The Last Day of H.P. Lovecraft by Romuald Giulivo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
”For in nothingness, one is liberated at last from the transient and ephemeral, and no desire goes unfulfilled.”
A very surreal experience. Essentially a comic based on the letters and diary entries that Lovecraft wrote on his death bed. The overall tone of this comic is fairly depressing, gothic, and makes many arching statements on existence that Lovecraft expressed in his life.
I really enjoyed it but would be wary to recommend it to just anyone. Not for anyone struggling to decide why we exist or with depression. I’d only recommend this for those with some ‘darkness’ in them who are curious to explore it in a safe and slightly academic way. The art made me think of Dante’s Inferno and the different layers of hell that are traversed. Much of the time ‘in’ Lovecraft’s subconscious has an overall hellish feel and the reds, blacks, dead imagery is exquisite.
A perfect selection for any goth or dead intrigued comic reader. However there is a lot of narrative here unlike most comics. Be prepared to read. The art is really just a compliment to the text in this case (and not vice versa like most comics). Without the text it would not tell any story and the narrative would be lost.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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I Know a Place: Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours by Nat Cassidy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
12 short stories and 1 novella (ish) length story; equals 13 bite sized chunks of delicious horror from Nat Cassidy. Each one of them twisted… and as you read on each seems a bit stranger than the last. Culminating in a storm with an untraditional narrative that is a conscious stream of (nearly) nonsense. My favourite of all the stories was also a different narrative approach in which the story is told in emails back and forth… and it’s brilliant!! Especially the ending that is lines and lines a single emoji! I won’t tell you which one as it’s too good to spoil. Weeks after reading it I still have images of this one in my head, and the descriptive sounds!!
The opening novella length story, Rest Stop, is horror for horrors sake. A little bit of inspiration seems to have come from Jigsaw and trapping your ‘prey’ by tricking them into feeling safe in one place, and then destroying that illusion. It features a huge spider which is a literal nightmare to me. Spiders are the absolute worst!!! *shudder* I almost had to skip through it but luckily the story moves on quickly to a new threat; and (for me) nothing is as terrifying as a spider (unless it’s the vast deep dark ocean that is equal or worse; but that’s a different kind of terror).
The remaining stories are all clever in their own way. The variety of stories here shows the vast range of plot points and items that can be horrific. Nat Cassidy does a wonderful job of highlighting serial killers, supernatural entities, crazed humans, fungus (yep mushrooms) and more to demonstrate the multitude of options available to scare us. I guarantee everyone will find at least one (if not more) stories here that touches a nerve and gives you the horror shudder you are likely looking for when you pick-up a Cassidy book.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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