Review: Futility by Nuzo Onoh

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FutilityFutility by Nuzo Onoh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Honestly, this is one of the weirdest books I’ve EVER read, and I read a lot of strange stuff; a lot of extreme stuff. Futility has left it’s mark on me, that’s for sure.

I was instantly attracted to this cover. Look at it!

I loved the Nigerian setting, and the two MCs, Chia and Claire, were about as fascinating as you’re going to get. You’re in their heads, and it’s frankly, not a fun place to be, but I could not stop.

The writing is so unapologetic. There’s no censoring what these two, I’ll be honest, pretty horrible human beings were thinking all the time. Onoh was really in your face with it, and I respect that.

I’m not saying these ladies didn’t have their reasons, or motivations, for being the way they were, but yeah, pretty much zero redeeming qualities.

There were also elements, that helped drive the plot, that I was so surprised by; that I wasn’t expecting. Without giving too much away, it’s a kind of folkloric element that I felt really pulled all the aspects of the story together. Without sounding too old, it was very cool.

This is the first I’ve ever read from Nuzo Onoh, but it’s not going to be the last. I would recommend this for fans of Weird Fiction, particularly of the graphic variety. I would caution others that it’s very strange and quite detailed in its gorier bits. Tread with caution.

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Review: No One Aboard by Emy McGuire

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No One AboardNo One Aboard by Emy McGuire
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I love this cover. It’s what immediately attracted me to this book. Unfortunately, I didn’t love the story inside as much as the gorgeous cover art.

In the 1st-quarter, I thought to myself, I wonder why the overall rating is so low? I was sort of into it. It didn’t seem like it was deserved of under a 3.5-overall. However, as the story went on, I started to understand why.

The story follows a wealthy family, Francis and Lila Cameron, and their two children, as they embark on a family vacation on their luxury sailboat.

The kids, whose names escape me now, I believe have just graduated high school, so this is a transitional moment for them, and that is explored as well.

Three weeks later, the boat is found with no occupants off the coast of Florida. What happened to the Camerons?

I found a lot of the build-up rather forgettable, and then there was a twist, a coincidence let’s say, about 65% of the way through that was sort of like, really? IDK, it just all seemed a little ridiculous to me.

Like the ocean itself, I’m a little salty about this overall though, so take my opinion for what you will. I’m sure there is an audience for this. Sadly, I’m just not in it.

Thank you to the publisher, Graydon House, for providing me a copy to read and review.

While this had promise, it just ended up a big ole’ flop for me. I would try more from this author though, nevertheless. I never give up on an author after only one go. Some of them might wish I did, but I don’t.

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Review: A Penance for Crows by Shannon Morgan

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A Penance for CrowsA Penance for Crows by Shannon Morgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

A Penance for Crows is a modern Gothic Horror novel that feels like it’s been torn from the past. The novel takes place on the Irish island of Beanna Dubh, set off the Southern tip of the Beara Peninsula. The community is quite insular. They like to keep to themselves.

In fact, there are many on the island who have never even been to the mainland. Untouched by modern technology, the islanders live under strict rule of the church.

As a people, they adhere to many superstitions. The island is also home to thousands of crows, so that fact only enhances those creepy vibes, with the islanders believing the crows are harbingers of coming disaster.

Our MC, Grizela, fled to the island 40-years ago, leaving her native-Glasgow, and her unsettling past well behind her. Though Grizela has been on the island for decades, she’s still considered an outsider by many.

She has been able to forge some strong connections with the young folks on the island though, who she treats as her own. Many of them confide in her things they wouldn’t trust telling their parents, or other elders.

Our action kicks off when Grizela discovers the dead body of the island’s young priest with a diabolical symbol drawn on his chest. Crows darken the sky, and Grizela fears there’s a different kind of darkness now among them.

As the mysterious symbols continue popping up randomly, and more residents meet terrible ends, the islanders’ suspicious fall on Grizela. She’s the outsider, after all.

Mass hysteria quickly takes over and Grizela is scrambling to prove her innocence. During her investigations into these disturbing happenings, she begins to learn new, and startling, information about a group of young women she has previously taken under her wings.

If you follow my reviews at all, you may know that I’m an Atmosphere Girlie through and through. I read to escape, and I particularly love remote settings with an overriding ominous air about them. IMO, this novel delivered that to me exactly as I wanted.

I was so invested in A Penance for Crows. This Occult Horror novel with strong Gothic atmosphere swept me up in the drama of the small island of Beanna Dubh.

I loved the MC, Grizela, who is in her early-60s, which in and of itself was refreshing. I also related to her experience on the island, as far as ‘being from away’ and no matter how long she’s there, she’s still considered an outsider. As an island girl myself, I get it.

Morgan created a great cast of characters in this noveal and the intrigue is excellent. Things keep happening and there’s an awesome feeling of ‘is it supernatural, is it not supernatural’ about it that I always appreciate it.

There were so many twists and turns, and as soon as I thought I knew who, or what, was behind all the mysterious happenings on the island, something new would occur that would blow my theory out of the water.

I loved the Occult elements that Morgan included. I feel like those made the novel so much more beguiling. That type of element rarely gets executed like it was here, in a fully believable, non-cheesy, way and I was living for it.

I highly recommend this to any Gothic, or Atmosphere, Girlies in the crowd. If you’re looking for that atmosphere, this is absolutely going to deliver it to you.

Thank you to the publisher, Kensington, for providing me a copy to read and review. I’m so impressed by this and cannot wait to read more from Shannon Morgan. I really hope she stays in this lane, because it’s fabulous!

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Review: Crawlspace by Adam Christopher

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CrawlspaceCrawlspace by Adam Christopher
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

When I picked this up, I noticed that Crawlspace was one of the lowest rated books currently on my TBR. Sadly, after reading it, I can see why.

I listened to the audiobook, which was probably the only reason I got through it. It has great narration from Jennifer Pickens, but overall the story left me underwhelmed.

My largest gripe would probably be that I didn’t get what I thought I was getting. Maybe it’s me, maybe I misunderstood the marketing, but I expected an ‘edge of your seat nightmare’ and I was so far back in my seat, I was falling asleep. The only nightmare was how slow this was.

Personally, I feel like the cover is a bit of a mismatch for the story as well. I was expecting more Space Horror, less detailed space mission. We did eventually get some Horror of course, I’m not claiming it isn’t Horror, I just wanted SO MUCH MORE than what was delivered.

I made a status update at 71% that almost nothing had happened up to that point. My eyes were glazing over. Nothing stuck from the plot, no names, no circumstances, no nothing. I just wasn’t interested.

However, with my salty opinion out on the table, let me conclude with the fact that this is strictly my opinion based upon my personal experience with this book. Just because it wasn’t for me, doesn’t mean it won’t be for you.

If this sounds interesting to you, give it a go. You could end up really enjoying it, and then you can come back and tell me how wrong I am. I welcome it!

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio and Tor Nightfire, for providing me with copies to read and review.

I’m sad this didn’t work for me, but glad I gave it a try nevertheless.

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Review: Your Favorite Scary Movie by Ashley Cullins

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Your Favorite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of HorrorYour Favorite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of Horror by Ashley Cullins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was excellent. I loved everything about it and learned so much. I love this type of Nonfiction that explores Horror Fiction in Pop Culture, and it’s impact.

The aspect I loved the most about this one, was the discussions of Wes Craven and his impact on the genre I love with my whole heart. Some of those moments even brought tears to my eyes. The world lost him too soon.

To hear the love that the people who worked with him had for him, not just love, but respect, it was so moving.

Cullins did an incredible job compiling her research. This must have been such an incredible project to undertake. You can tell what a fan she is, and she interviewed so many people integral to the success of the franchise.

This also made me incredibly nostalgic for that time when the first movie released. I was a Freshman in college and got to watch it at a cheap movie theater by my University. It was in the Winter, and if memory serves, it was fully sold out.

The energy in the theater, and the way it captured the minds of audience. It’s fair to say that it took over campus, with people trying to scare each other, dropping lines from the movie, making prank phone calls. It was such a moment in time. I’m so happy I got to experience that.

I would recommend this to any fan of the Scream franchise, or Wes Craven, as well as general fans of Horror Fiction. I also highly recommend the audiobook.

Thank you to the publisher, Dutton, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m not sure why it took me so long to read this, but I’m kicking myself now.

This could easily make my favorite books of the year list!

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Review: The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards

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The Wasp TrapThe Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

The Wasp Trap is a Psychological Thriller novel set at an intimate dinner party in a Notting Hill townhouse.

The dinner guests are six University friends reunited after the death of their past employer, a Professor, who brought them all together in 1999 to build a dating website based on psychological testing.

What starts as a bittersweet, somewhat awkward reunion, quickly spirals into a vicious game, as the guests are given an ultimatum. Either they reveal their darkest secrets, or they’re forced to pick each other off one-by-one.

It’s clear what’s happening is connected to their past, but they’re all gonna need to open up and be honest if they want to have any chance of figuring it out.

Alternating between past-and-present, the Reader is filled in on that period of time in 1999, as well as the lasting repercussions it may have had.

This was good. I enjoyed the set-up most of all, and did find it entertaining in the moment. For me, some of the back-and-forth was confusing, particularly since certain characters felt samsie.

I didn’t have the easiest time keeping all of the characters straight. Not necessarily in the scenes as they’re happening, but more transferring what happened to who in the past, and connecting that to their present day character.

Will, who is an author, was the most obviously distinct to me, but the others…

The end gets really wild, and I do enjoy OTT-Thrillers, but for me, I was almost mentally checked out by that point. I did like this author’s ideas and the way he incorporated the twists, and even though this didn’t blow me away, I would still be interested in picking up more from him.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would recommend this to Locked Room Mystery fans.

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Review: We Were Never Here by Sophia Hannan

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We Were Never HereWe Were Never Here by Sophia Hannan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

We Were Never Here follows three estranged friends, Georgia, Circe and James, who reunite to finish a task they set out to do months ago. They need to steal a prized painting from a haunted mansion on their school campus.

What could go wrong, you’re probably asking, and the answer to that is a lot. Back in July, the three, along with their other friend, Jules, had tried to steal the painting while filming an episode of their YouTube Ghost Hunting show.

The result of that mission was Jules, dead, with a knife in her chest, and Georgia waking up in a pool of blood with zero recollection of what happened.

Oh, and they didn’t get the painting.

Now it’s October, and the buyer for the painting is back, and he wants it. No excuses. They agree to get back together and try one more time. They need to put this to rest.

Unfortunately, haunted houses never rest and the three are about to enter another nightmare. Will they all make it out alive this time? And what’s the deal with this painting?

Y’all, I’m not going to drag this out. In no way, shape or form, was this for me. I didn’t enjoy any of it, really; not the writing, the characters, the plot, or even the overall tone.

I do love the cover though. The art style and colors, it drew me to it immediately. I really wanted to love this and while it had a solid concept, the execution fell flat, IMO.

It felt like it was 700-pages long. It just dragged and dragged. It’s completely morose. There’s no nuance at all in the pacing, or energy; very one note.

It also somehow felt like it was trying to do too much, while simultaneously not doing much of anything at all. James was the one beacon of hope, but even he couldn’t save it for me.

I’m sure Readers for this exist. They’re out there and I’m hoping they find it and love it. Perhaps someone with a bit more patience than me, or with less of an urge to eye roll all the drama at the end. Sadly, that Reader isn’t me, and I’m ready to put this far behind me.

Thank you, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy to read and review. On to the next!

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Review: Incarnate by Alma Katsu

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IncarnateIncarnate by Alma Katsu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

I was sold on Incarnate after seeing it described as a reimagining of The Picture of Dorian Gray, one of my favorite Gothic novels of all time, but for the internet age?

How was Katsu going to spin this? I had to find out.

In this story, we’re following Dorothy Wagner, a VFX designer, who has always wanted to standout and be noticed. Dorothy was bullied terribly when she was younger, but she’s come a long way since then. Old insecurities are hard to totally shake though, and she constantly feels like she needs to prove herself.

After she gets a job with a small upstart company that’s focused on cutting-edge deep fake technology, her abilities to standout start to grow. The owner of the company, Tomas, who has a lot of nervous energy, but boundless knowledge, becomes a bit of mentor for Dorothy.

She learns so much from him that she’s able to master the tech, and in her free time, she creates Isabella. The perfect girl, who takes social media by storm.

Everyone wants to be Isabella, and Dorothy finally feels like she’s reaching her own potential, but as the partnership requests roll in, and the money starts to flow, the inevitable cracks start to show.

I know that rhymes. How perfect. Just like Isabella.

I thought this was incredibly-creative and it’s actually my favorite Alma Katsu to date. They say to write what you know, and she definitely took that advice here. In the mid-2000s, Katsu was one of the US Intelligence community’s 1st Social Media Researchers.

This book is a fantastic exploration of social media’s influence in our lives, and some potential unintended consequences of disruptive technologies.

Framing the story as a The Picture of Dorian Gray retelling was a brilliant choice, IMO. It did drag just a touch for me at the end, but overall, it was a fantastic reading experience.

I loved the body horror bits Katsu included and definitely was impressed with how dark she actually ended up taking this story. Once Dorothy starts spiraling, she really starts spiraling. It was hard to predict how it could possibly end.

I would recommend this to any dark fiction Reader. It’s a great melding of Techno-Thriller and Social Horror, with a dash of fantastical. I really appreciated all the pertinent issues that Katsu explored here. I think this would be a stellar book club pick, as there’s so much to discuss.

Thank you to the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing me with a copy to read and review. I cannot wait to get a hard copy of this one for my collection!

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Review: Happy Hour (Killer VHS Series #9) by Gemma Amor

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Happy Hour (Killer VHS Series Book 9)Happy Hour by Gemma Amor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Happy Hour by Gemma Amor is the 9th-installment in the Killer VHS series. If you’ve never heard of these, they’re a series of standalone Horror novellas, written by a host of different authors, that channel the vibes of 80s/90s Horror.

My thoughts on this one are fairly simple, and can actually be summed up with just one word: UNHINGED!

In this novel, we’re following Brian, who owns a unique ((putting it mildly)) cocktail bar in 1990s-London. Brian has some interesting eccentricities that set his bar apart from the others. I let you discover the details for yourself.

Brian’s perspective reminded me a lot of Patrick Bateman. I’m not sure if the author was inspired by his character when writing Brian, but honestly, he could be Patrick’s cousin. I think they’d get along famously at the family reunion.

As far as the content of the story, I found it compelling. I liked the backstory we got for Brian’s character and the way that the back-and-forth was pieced together.

There’s some great, cringey body horror as well, and I felt Amor did a fantastic job balancing an actual plot with all the toe-curling Horror aspects. There’s actually a coherent story in here, which isn’t necessarily always the case.

While i wouldn’t classify this as Extreme Horror, it’s definitely dipping a toe in those deeper waters. This is actually the first I’ve read from Gemma Amor, but I’m stoked to read more. This was a tantalizing introduction to this author for me. For sure.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Shortwave, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’d love to collect all of these paperbacks.

The covers are always so good, and I’d love to add them to my always-growing Horror collection!

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Review: Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line (Finlay Donovan #6) by Elle Cosimano

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Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line (Finlay Donovan, #6)Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line is the 6th-installment of the much loved Finlay Donovan series by Elle Cosimano.

I’ve listened to all of these books on audio, and absolutely adore the narration by Angela Dawe. She is Finlay to me at this point. As soon as I hear her voice, I’m locked in and ready for whatever Finlay has in store for me.

This installment continues the story of Vero’s shady past. We’ve had piecemeal info on what exactly lead to Vero working for Finlay, but this book definitely helps fill in the entirety of her backstory.

Vero gets extradited back to Maryland, facing criminal charges for a theft that occurred at her sorority house while she was Treasurer there, which she swears she didn’t commit. She’s placed under house arrest at her Mom’s home back in her hometown, ankle bracelet and all.

Finlay knows Vero is innocent and she’s committed to helping her friend clear her name. Vero has been there for her through all sorts of tough times, and Finlay is ready to step up to return the favor.

Leaving her kids behind in Virginia with her boyfriend, Finlay heads off to Maryland to support Vero any way she can, and if you’ve read any of the books in this series, you know a lot of hi-jinks are going to ensue.

While this wasn’t my favorite of the series, as far as the plot and mystery component, I still really enjoyed my time with it. I absolutely love this great cast of characters that Cosimano has created. Their relationships and banter, watching their bonds grow, it’s all filled my heart.

Prior to reading this, I hadn’t seen the announcement for the 7th book, but this ending made clear there was another coming and I’ve since found that information. I’m personally hoping Finlay’s Mom will be more prominent again in the next installment, because I definitely missed her in this one.

Thank you to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me copies to read and review.

I love this series and will continue to pick them up as long as they’re released. I’m already looking forward to Book #7!!

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