I loved this! In my head Chris was like a Jason Mamoa type quarterback. Could‘ve used more 🌶️, but I loved the story.

Books of Horror Indie Author Brawl! This was a hard read, because the conversations between miller and her mother were so triggering. That trapped feeling of having your words twisted and your mind messed with is suffocating and traumatic, and the true horror of the story. The rest was just icing on the cake.

Interesting book. I had read that it‘s one of the best revenge stories, so I was excited to read it. And it was a great revenge story, it just took a long time to get there. 200+ pages of getting to know the characters and their lives did make the last 100 pages satisfactory, but I did have to remind myself this was written in 1980. Overall, good slow burn revenge.

I liked it. The world building is interesting; like, did the storm create the powers? Or was the storm a result of the powers manifesting? Why some kids and not others? Good thing the story continues online!

Love it! Slow burn, but so worth it. I wouldn‘t say it‘s scary, but it has creepy and cringey moments and some great gore. Interesting that a feminist novel is written by a man.

This was fine. I didn‘t find the ending THAT shocking; it seemed like a book I‘ve read many times (as in not very unique). I disliked all the characters, except the dog. At least it‘s a quick read.

I‘m late because I forgot. Still, Bunker Dogs was definitely the best book I read in March. And of course it made it into the Indie Author Brawl in Books of Horror!

Super interesting read! The way the profile matched up with Bell is amazing. The story is fascinating and devastating, and I very much enjoyed the legal aspects of the book.

I adores this book!! A superhero and a super villain?? Yes, daddy! I loved everything about this. I smiled so much, I laughed some, and the 🌶️🌶️🌶️? 🤌🤌🤤

The last of three books a student gave me to read at the beginning of the year! I liked it though. It was very fast-paced and a quick read. I kiiiiiiinda want to read the rest of the trilogy, but I probably won‘t.

Austin is having problems at school with bullies, and problems at home with his divorced parents. His mom, ever treating him like her therapy patient, gets him Elvis, a therapy dog. Except, Elvis isn‘t all he seems to be… It‘s kind of like if you were sitting around thinking “what if David berkowitz was a teenager today? What would that story look like?” The book is fun, kills are good and gory, and I recommend! A Boy and His Dog, C.I.I. Jones

This was so interesting. A few things I had to look up since I didn‘t know the terms, but otherwise the court stuff was super fascinating. I have never been on a jury, and I‘ve heard it‘s boring, but being on a case like this would maybe be worth it. Either way, great book. The cockroaches though…😳

I really enjoyed this fast read. It reminded me a lot of We Need to Talk About Kevin, but like the YA version of that, mixed with some The Bad Seed vibes. With chapters only around 2-4 pages each, it‘s easy to do the “just one more chapter!” thing.

This was intense! I can‘t say too much without spoiling it, but it is a RIDE. Certainly creepy at times, definitely gory, and a lot of fun. And the artwork is gorgeous. I mean this cover is ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I love junji ito, and this is like his collections on steroids. It‘s great body horror, and gave me weird dreams when I‘d read it before bed.

This was a fun read! I loved all the nods to horror icons, like Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Jeanie Lee Curtis and more. There was even a reference to Sunnydale! The story was interesting and a throwback to giallo and slashers. I recommend if you‘re a 80s horror fan!

For February, Butterscotch was my favorite read! Most of the books I read last month were indies, and really good, but this…loved it!

This book was FUN! I was so into the story, wanting to find out more and more. There were scenes that made me 🤢 and scenes where I was heartbroken, but the whole ride was awesome. And then the end…my reaction was like 😮🤌🤌🤌😵🧐😧🫠 I highly recommend! It‘s on KU, or .99 to buy an ebook on Amazon. Go get it! Butterscotch, by Asia Brito Guerrero.

I love Junji Ito. His stories are creepy and his artwork is phenomenal. These stories did not disappoint. Greased though…that was a whole other level. I legit felt a little nauseas reading it, and made the face the entire time. It was awesome.

Holy twists Batman! The book read like a whodunit until the last 50 pages or so. Then it was twist after twist and reveal after reveal. I very much enjoyed it, it was a fun quick read.

This was a wild ride! I loved it. I find it creepy to get inside the minds of killers, and this book delivered. We really come to understand the depth of Chandler‘s mental instability and his descent into…madness? There were several moments that a feeling of dread overcame me, like an “ohhhhh nooooo” reaction. With a bit of a twist at the end, this was definitely a chef‘s kiss. 5 stars, absolutely recommend!

I really enjoyed this! It‘s a YA murder mystery, with some great twists. I know some 8th graders at the middle school I work at would love this, and I‘ll be recommending it.

Where Dreams Are Entombed, but Chase Will. Tommy moved to L.A. to try to realize his dream of being a rock star, leaving behind an ex-wife and young son. But he hasn‘t made it, and now he‘s desperate. When he gets an invite to help with some experimental art for lots of money, he has to make some decisions, and answer the question “How desperate are you?” I thought this was a great novella! Very well-written, kept me invested, and…

I very much enjoyed this! I‘m always up for a good haunted house story, and this delivered, along with a great ending. ALSO, Baker included a kick-ass bonus story at the end written by her son.

This was a great story! I‘ve previously read Bower‘s collection of short stories, and they were good, but this is better. Gaige is in high school, and so desperate for fame for his heavy metal band that he‘ll do anything, even murder, to gain the favor of the demon Paimon. Loved it!

So…this book wasn‘t really my jam, but I didn‘t dislike it. It‘s like a chaotic fever dream, filled with pandas, nazis, drugs…and of course techno music. The pace is incredibly frantic, and it jumps from scene to scene to scene without much exploration. I‘d love to read a version of this where it‘s only part of it, but the scenes are drawn out with dialogue and rising and falling action. But I‘m not disappointed I read it.

Definitely my favorite read for January!

I loved it! Great addition to Ghostland. I was worried it wouldn‘t have any creep factor, but it did. The ghosts were still there, with some great additions. It‘s going to be a bit before I finish the trilogy, but I‘m loving every minute of the books!

Absolutely delightful. I needed something light and fluffy and would make me laugh, and this was perfect.

I liked this. It was weird that some names were changed and others not, but I get it. I love that the authors never names Ted, just calls him The Defendent. It‘s very focused on the women, and I appreciate that. One scene I thought went a little far at the very end, but otherwise great read. Very sad.

I read this as a kid, but since MY high-schooler recently read it, I decided my 6th grader and I would also. As he said when we finished it, “that was a lot.” Also, the word “ululation” was used like 10 times in the last 15 pages; when my son asked me what it meant, I was happy to explain by demonstrating. 😂

I liked this! It‘s written in a media style, as if you‘re reading a true crime doc transcript. So it‘s basically a play, with some emails and texts and such thrown in. As such it‘s a very, very quick read. Some fun twists and turns, but not an overly shocking reveal at the end. Would 100% watch a show of this (the “about the author” blurb in the back said it‘s in development!).

It‘s like Red Rising, but YA. And with 🌶️🌶️🌶️. So much 🌶️ that I‘m not sure it is YA… but I loved it! The last 10 pages had me like 😥😟😩😭🥺🥹😧🤯😳😳😳😳😳😳 And now I‘m sitting here contemplating how I just move on with my life after this.

This was super fun! It helped that I read the last 50-60 pages when it was actually snowing outside. It‘s a fun creature story!

So good I read it to start and end my year!

I loved this! The horror and gore of two serial killers, plus all the spice of smut?? YES. I loved this. Is it horror? Romance? Thriller? All the above!

In prep to soon read the sequels, I decided to close out my year rereading a book from the beginning of the year. I love this one, and I‘m excited to delve into more!

This was a great collection of short horror stories. None of them is lacking or less than impressive. The Stumblybum Imperative was heartbreaking though, and I almost stopped it. I think my fav is the last one, A Candle for the Birthday Boy, but they‘re honestly all 🤌🤌🤌

A student gave me this book to read, so bless her heart I read it. I have read Uglies, but not the other two in that trilogy, so I knew who Tally was. I did not care for this one. The story was meh, the characters were annoying, the word “vast” was used maybe 47,392 times (I do love the word, but dang it was a lot!). At least it was a quick read!

I feel like I‘m in the minority with this one. I dnf‘d at about 80 pages in. I felt like I was reading a book I‘ve read 100 times before, and that I knew exactly how it would end. So I flipped to last several chapters, and it was. So I guess I saved myself 270 pages.

I. Loved. This. I‘ve seen reviews saying it‘s sexist, and in some ways it is. But it‘s very focused on consent, which is nice. And sometimes, it‘s nice to get lost in a fun, smutty book. Plus, I actually like the dystopian story of it! Aaaallll the spices for this one! 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

This was an interesting book. Like any collection of short stories, some were really good, some were not, a couple were like 🧐🧐🧐. Overall I liked it, though it was very dark.

I really wanted to like this more than I did. It has so much hype. It has some genuinely creepy moments, especially the whole chapter about Boxes. But between the overly flowery language and the (non) choices of the mom, I dunno…I was disappointed.

I‘m late posting this, but Puzzle House was my favorite book of November. ❤️❤️ Only one more month before I‘ll to choose a favorite for the year! 😳

I loved this! A plus-size adult film star gets to start opposite her teenage crush—an ex-boy band guy—on a hallmarkesque Christmas film. I kept imagining it was me and AJ McClean…😍 I‘ve loved him for 25 years. Anyway, great fun, wanted more 🌶️🌶️.

I think I‘m in the minority that found this book just ok. I rolled my eyes a lot at the decisions of the main character, but I guess if she didn‘t do all the things there wouldn‘t be a story. I did actually like the turn the book takes halfway through, but even the twist at the end couldn‘t make up for the rest of the book.

This was a fun, quick read. Very, very predictable—you can see what‘s going on immediately—but very satisfying.

King is so good at writing short stories, and these delivered. I know most people seem the like N. the best, but I really enjoyed Willa and The Gingerbread Girl. The first gave me lots of feels, the latter was non-stop adrenaline. But all were so good! And In A Tight Space….what a way to end a collection. 😳

Very graphic, but I enjoyed. Fun twisted sexy-gory story.

I loved this one! I was worried it might be a gorier version of the film Escape Room, and it was, in a way. But it‘s also much more, and I loved where it ended up. Absolutely recommend!