The second book in this series. It‘s been 28 years since the first book, and Maude and Owen are heading back to New Orleans. To HIM. It wasn‘t nearly as good nor as spicy as the first one, and had a lot of grammar issues. But it‘s a fun story. Scavenger on the Run, by S. A. Burd

This was a perfectly acceptable story. I know that sounds bland, but that‘s how I feel about the story. I enjoyed it, but I probably won‘t remember it. I did look up the art the pieces in the story are based on, and real pieces mentioned, and for that I‘m very grateful. I especially loved Joan of Arc, by Jules Bastien-Lepage. And I find Fragments of a Queen‘s Face so intriguing! The art pushes this from so-so to pick.

I don‘t know. Like, the world building is amazing, like all Sanderson‘s books. But it kinda fell flat? I didn‘t really like any of the characters, even though the world was really cool. It‘s a quick read, which is good, but if it was a series I would not read more. So I guess it‘s a good thing it‘s a one-off.

As long as I age the characters in my head, my fav of August!

I stared at the cover for waaaaaay too long. 😍 Could‘ve used more 🌶️🌶️🌶️

This was good! There were no grammar issues, which I love. The story was great, had some creepy moments, and it‘s an easy read. I did get a little tired of the asides? Not sure what to call them? Like all through the book, if a character was about to die (or something happen around them), we‘d get several pages of their backstory. Even toward the end of the book, there‘d be a break for a backstory…cont

Well. That was fantastic. I need Hadriel to be my bestie in real life. I loved Finley‘s inner monologue, and how she talks to an audience. Nyfain is not my favorite name, but I get that Welsh/Nordic/Irish etc names are super popular in romantasy right now.

I honestly feel like I‘ve read this before. I had the end figured out very close to the beginning, so…maybe I read it before? Or is it super similar to other domestic thrillers? Still, I enjoyed it. Suuuuuper fast read; I started it last night, finished it tonight.

Here‘s the thing. Not knowing what the omegaverse was, I legit thought I had bought a werewolf book. Then I opened the book to the Omegaverse cheat sheet at the very front, and it said none of the humans are shifters. What? What did I buy?? What‘s an omegaverse??

So I jumped in, like let‘s do this! Now, having finished it, I‘m not sure this is my thing. I would‘ve liked it a lot more if they were werewolves. But I like why-choose and RH—cont.

This was a lot sweeter than I anticipated. Rourke and violet are super cute, even if her job is…interesting. I very much enjoyed this book!

I loved this. I loved the witchcraft, and world building g around it. I was invested in the story, with Jude being my favorite character. It was heartbreaking, and uplifting, and strengthening, and all the feelings. Plus some great body horror. My only complaint is the age of the girls. They in no way seemed 17; I think it would‘ve worked better if they‘d been maybe early to mid twenties. Or even in college, at the least. But not nigh school age.

The Three Ring Scavenger by S.A. Burd. I got this, plus the other two in the trilogy, from the author at a romance book con. And I throughly enjoyed it! I think it could be fleshed out and longer, but the world-building is very cool. And the spice is 🌶️🌶️🌶️ Synopsis from back cover: A vampire and a demon walk into a brothel, but they‘re not looking for services. They‘re looking for her…to offer her immortality. Cont…

I have very mixed feelings about this. I love Grady Hendrix I love everything I‘ve read by him. And honestly, I loved this book. The story was so good, and I really cared about the characters.

At the same time, I‘m not sure how to feel about a man writing about the female experience. Don‘t get me wrong, he nailed it. It felt like a woman wrote it. Based on the acknowledgements in the back of the book, it seems like he had lots of women helping…

Books of Horror Indie Author Brawl! This was a fun, quick read. The gore was satisfying and the story was great. Definitely recommend!

This was super cute and fun! I‘m not a fan of any of the names of the Winston boys (Jethro? CLETUS??), but I love all their personalities. The book could‘ve used more 🌶️🌶️🌶️, but I still very much enjoyed it.

Best read of July!

I don‘t know if I just kept zoning out or what, but I was confused for most of the book. At the same time, I didn‘t need so much explanation of what a fingerprint is and how it‘s made to understand that the prints belonged to certain people. Or the science behind a taser to understand that it took someone down. There was a lot of unnecessary explaining things. Which is probably why I kept zoning out, and then was consequently confused…

Books of Horror Indie Author Brawl! Interesting story, lots of grammar issues.

I decided to read this after listening to an episode of the podcast Sawbones where they discuss stinging insects. I never imagined I would learn this much about bugs, or that I would enjoy the learning. But here we are, and now I have even more fear (and respect) for stinging things. And this author was insane. I can‘t imagine letting anything sting me just to see how painful it is. But it makes for a good story!

Cute book, very much like Goosebumps. Middle school me would have loved it.

What a fun ride! Super quick read; when each chapter is like 3 pages, it‘s easy to go “one more chapter!” until the book is finished.

Books of Horror Indie Author Brawl! Look, I didn‘t finish it. Not because it‘s bad—actually, it‘s good. REALLY good. The premise of the story, necrophilia with consent being legalized, is scarily realistic. But it was the necrophilia itself I couldn‘t handle. Plus, I had some feelings about the narrator, and looking up the ending I was right. And I‘m not in a place to read that right now. But for everyone into extreme horror with…

I did not enjoy this. Calaena was incredibly annoying; in between he thinking how she could kill everyone and thinking how beautiful she was in her dresses, she pouted and flirted acted like a child. Which I guess she is, because she‘s only 18. The scene where she ate the candy was just awful. The romance between potential suitors was almost an afterthought, stuck in as random paragraphs during training or fights. I‘ll take ACOTAR instead.

I almost stopped reading it, because it seemed like maybe too much for me. An autistic non-verbal child being abused? Not while I‘m on vacation. But I‘m glad I stick with, because it was much more that. The story was sad, hopeful, and at times creepy. While it could use a touch of editing, it was a beautiful horror story.

Loved it! Everything Junji Ito is amazing.

I really liked the book until the end. Until then, the story was great, the mystery was interesting, and there were spooky scenes. But then, something at the end didn‘t get resolved with Leah. And I felt like we were missing a chapter. We kinda jumped from what I thought was going to be the big end action scene to several months later, where we got a brief rundown of what happened. So that was kinda disappointing...

Y‘all…whew. This built me up, ripped me apart, then stole my heart, then stomped on it, then I loved again and swooned. Just aaaaalllll the feelings and emotions. Would recommend.

Books of Horror Indie Author Brawl! This was fun; I enjoyed it more than Jones 1963. It‘s a quick read with some fun gore.

Welp, it was my favorite book of June. #sorrynotsorry

What an awesome revenge story. The kills and gore are top notch, and the satisfaction was great. Loved it.

Very beautifully written, and very dark. The teen angst/love got a little repetitive and annoying, but overall enjoyed it a lot.

I mean…what? Good grief but that was a lot. 1970s horror was WILD. The last fight drove me crazy, because Holman is an idiot.

Indie Author Brawl! It was refreshing to read an indie book with so few mistakes. I found one. ONE. That‘s better than many big house publishers.

Anyhooters, interesting story. I enjoyed the different big incidents, but Malcolm‘s attacks got a little repetitive. Overall, I enjoyed it, though not sure how I feel about the ending.

More fascinating stories from the author of Murder, Madness and Mayhem! All the stories in this new book are interesting, with many being creepy also. I LOVE the way Mike tells a story; he‘s an excellent writer and great storyteller.

Indie Author Brawl! This was a fun story. I would‘ve liked to have the MC actually have seen spirits, rather than just be told he could see them. Otherwise, this story was good, creepy, and a fun time.

Whew. I could not put this down. Indeed, I gave a vulgar gesture to everything in my life and just read this. The raw power radiating off the book made my toes curl. Loved it!

Favorite read of May!

I haven‘t read something by Ito that I haven‘t liked, and these are no different. Can‘t wait for the 2nd one!

I didn‘t realize until my daughter saw my book that I started watching the anime of this. I don‘t ever remember things. But this was a fun read. Cute art, but something creepy is going on!

Interesting story, with lots of tie-ins to the other books. It felt like there was a huge build up to the game, then the game, then an incredibly rushed ending. But I enjoyed it.

While it dragged just a bit in the middle, this was super fun. The end did escalate ridiculously, but I was here for it. Interesting premise, interesting execution. (Aren‘t J and K from Men in Black??)

I love it. Couldn‘t put it down, better than the first.

Here‘s the thing. “Indeed” must be SJM‘s favorite word. Indeed, it was used so often that it became distracting. As were the animal sounds that the characters constantly made (growling, barking, hissing, etc). Indeed, are they more animal than not? Although I guess it‘s a good description of the noises we make when emotional…

Carnivore by Justin Boote. Human remains are being found around the town; some are what appears to be the work of a serial killer, others are…eaten? Are the wild animals attacking humans?

Books of Horror Indie Author Brawl! This was fun, but it had some grammar issues and the story was a bit choppy. The gore was great though.

The book made me very thirsty. I think I was drinking something the entire time. The story was interesting, though I didn‘t like any of the characters. I didn‘t care enough about them to be sad if they died, but I enjoyed the book. Doesn‘t seem that far-fetched.

Well, this book gave me all the feels. Tansi is a sex worker, and she meets a female client who claims to be a serial killer. When the men who control and abuse Tansi and the other women start to turn up dead, Tansi has to navigate the danger among her friends, abusers, love interest, and a dangerous woman intent on killing men. It‘s a very satisfying revenge story, although incredibly sad.

I‘m late to the party, but decided to try it. I‘ve heard mixed reviews, but I love romantasy, so here I am. And I enjoyed it! It was a little all over the place, but it was fun. Definitely needs more 🌶️.

I really enjoyed this, though it was so sad. The despair and hopelessness are the true horror. And I get it‘s a horror version of the little mermaid, but some of it was so representative of that that it took me out (Ursula, Ariel, the dinglehopper I mean fork, etc). But the story itself is great.

Someone else described this as feeling like AI was fed scripts of Golden Girls and told to write a cozy mystery, and this is what came out. I 100% agree. It was just…not for me. I love the GG, but I couldn‘t do this one. I made it 100 pages, and was so tired of St Olaf wedding traditions. 😔

My favorite book of April! I need the sequel!

Books of Horror Indie Author Brawl 2025! I‘ve loved everything I‘ve ever read from Ben Farthing, and this was no different. What a fun ride! It had some genuinely creepy moments, and some great body horror.