Obviously, it's time to get caught up on some reviews before the end of the month hits!
Thanks to the mentioned publishers for the gifted copies in exchange for my honest reviews.
There was another book I was dying to include, BUT I need to wait a little bit (at the author's request). It's killing me because it was a good one!
THE DISSONANCE - Shaun Hamill (Thanks to Pantheon Books for the gifted copy - Releasing July 23rd, 2024)
From the acclaimed author of A Cosmology of Monsters comes an epic contemporary fantasy: a story of dark magic, terrible mistakes, and second chances.
"You can never go home again," the saying goes—but Hal, Athena, and Erin have to. In high school, the three were students of the eccentric Professor Marsh, trained in a secret system of magic known as the Dissonance, which is built around harnessing negative emotions: alienation, anger, pain. Then, twenty years ago, something happened that shattered their coven, scattering them across the country, stuck in mundane lives, alone.
But now, terrifying signs and portents (not to mention a pointed Facebook invite) have summoned them back to Clegg, Texas. There, their paths will collide with that of Owen, a closeted teenager from Alabama whose aborted cemetery seance with his crush summoned something far worse: a murderous entity whose desperate, driving purpose includes kidnapping Owen to serve as its Renfield. As Owen tries to outwit his new master, and Hal, Athena, and Erin reckon with how the choices they made as teens might connect to the apocalyptic event unfurling over the Lone Star State, shocking alliances form, old and new romances brew, and three unsuccessful adults and one frightened teen are all that stand between reality and oblivion.
From one of the boldest, most brilliant voices in modern fantastical horror, The Dissonance is a thrilling and beautifully written story of magic and monsters, forgiveness and friendship.
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars
A Cosmology of Monsters is still one of my favorite books. What really drew me to it was how original and weird and creepy and emotional it was. There were so many things that made it stand out, and I was so anxious to start his newest book. The Dissonance did not disappoint in the slightest.
A group of teenagers - all outcasts - create their own coven under the guidance of a quirky teacher at their high school. Learning the use of a magic called the Dissonance, it feeds off of the negatives - feelings of pain, isolation, anger - all things a group of outcasts can channel. Something horrible happens that breaks their coven apart, and decades later, Hal, Athena, and Erin must all return home and face what they did in order to prevent consequences of apocalyptic proportions.
I loved that it had The Craft vibes and even the bonds of the characters, and the horror made me think of Stranger Things in a way. All of the characters are unique and fascinating and complicated, something that I loved about A Cosmology of Monsters. I feel Hamill's books are more character focused, and when done right, I absolutely love it. The ending I can see people being divided on, I definitely have some questions, and it felt like this was almost leaving an opening to be continued. If so, I'll definitely read it!
I WAS A TEENAGE SLASHER - Stephen Graham Jones (Thanks to Saga Press for the gifted copy - Releasing July 16th, 2024)
From New York Times bestselling horror writer Stephen Graham Jones comes a classic slasher story with a twist—perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Grady Hendrix.
1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton—and a place where everyone knows everyone else's business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, the unfairness of being on the outside, through the slasher horror he lives but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic.
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars
I'm not ashamed to admit that I was up until 1 am finishing this book - I just couldn't stop and needed to know how it was going to end! I wasn't sure what to expect because I saw this cover and who the author was and I just knew I needed this. This is such an original and unique horror read and a wild ride. Told from the killer's perspective, a POV I'll always enjoy, and the journey Tolly goes on is one you won't soon forget!
Those who love the traditional slashers and all their tropes will appreciate this book. The traits of the average slasher apply, the Final Girl, and so much more make for a fun and borderline nostalgic read. After a prank goes wrong, the bloodlust and need for revenge consumes him, and so begins his serial killing spree. This is so much more than just blood and gore and killing, although there is plenty of that, this examines his friendships, relationships, and sacrifices. Another win from Jones!
THE VIXEN AMBER HALLOWAY - Carol LaHines (Thanks to Regal House Publishing for the gifted copy - Released June 11th, 2024)
Ophelia, a professor of Dante, is stricken when she discovers that her husband Andy has been cheating on her with a winsome colleague. What follows is Ophelia' s figurative descent into hell as she obsessively tracks her subjects, performs surveillance in her beat-up Volvo, and moves into the property next door to Amber' s, which has gone into foreclosure. She spies on the lovers, growing more and more estranged from reality. Andy' s betrayal reawakens the earlier trauma of abandonment by her mother at the age of eight. When Andy and Amber become engaged, Ophelia snaps. The story is a jailhouse confessional, a dark comedy, an oeuvre of women' s rage, a suspenseful revenge fantasy, and a moving portrait of one woman' s psychological breakdown.
My Thoughts: 3/5 stars
Who doesn't love a good story of an unhinged woman seeking revenge? Seeing how these women get their revenge is always so satisfying. Sorry, but not sorry to the characters on the receiving end of this rage. Ophelia is our woman scorned, and the lengths she went to land herself in prison were a wild ride to witness.
Ophelia is a Professor and her intelligence is very apparent as we hear her narrate us through this mental descent after she discovers her husband has been cheating on her with a colleague (the very Amber from the title). I loved the two timelines and seeing things unfold. One timeline is her love story with Andy and what eventually leads her to prison, and the other is present day and her jailhouse confessional.
I liked the unreliable narrator, I liked this wasn't entirely predictable, but I think both Andy and Ophelia were awful people. Parts felt a little repetitive, but nothing too distracting.
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