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You and me, we’re endgame: Reviewing Midnight Ruin (Book 6 in the Dark Olympus series) by Katee Robert

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well. Before you read this book, you are welcome to check out my reviews for the other books in the Dark Olympus series. Katee Robert has quickly become an “auto buy” author for me. I might venture outside of this particular series. I tried a different one by her and didn’t particularly like it but I am willing to give her another try. I’ve also started to appreciate that she is one of the few authors who put disclaimers in her book for explicit content. I know what to expect with her work now but I still appreciate that she (and other authors I have read) have adopted the practice. Let me not ramble any further. Let’s talk about Midnight Ruin, the latest book in the Dark Olympus series.

Content Warning: Explicit Sexual Content, Some Harsh Language, Discussions of Abortion, Some Violence

Eurydice is used to being underestimated. Her sisters are all in powerful positions in Olympus while she has to sneak away from her bodyguard, Charon, to live life. What’s holding her back, though, is the heartbreak caused by her ex-boyfriend, Orpheus. Eurydice and Charon begin to explore their feelings for each other but Orpheus arrives seeking penance for breaking Eurydice’s heart. The three decide on an arrangement that will satisfy all of their needs. Outside of their budding romance, a new threat arises against Olympus. Eurydice, Charon, and Orpheus soon find themselves caught up in larger plot that threatens to tear apart their little haven forever.

I am going to give this newest entry to the Dark Olympus series credit where credit is due because it is definitely closer to the original myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. It’s one of my favorite Greek myths so I was definitely a little more excited for this book. Katee Robert has proven time and time again that she is great at creating chemistry and tension between her characters, even if the relationships are a little unconventional. (This is a throuple/polyamorous romance if that is what floats your boat.) This was certainly fun and spicy in all of the right ways. I also appreciate the overarching plot that links all of these books together. I am interested to see how that all builds up in future books. All in all, this was a pretty satisfying entry to this series and I am going to continue to recommend Katee Robert’s Dark Olympus series for an exciting and steamy time.

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Death is just another door: Reviewing Rouge by Mona Awad

Hi everyone! If you are reading this today, then happy Eclipse day! I got very lucky and was in the path of totality. It was a genuinely awesome experience. I hope that maybe some of you got to experience it or will experience it in the near future. Back on the topic of books, though, this is my third Mona Awad book. If you want, you can check out my reviews for her other books, Bunny and All’s Well. I think it’s safe to say I am a bit of a fan now. Let’s talk about her most recent novel, Rouge.

Content Warning: Discussions and Depictions of Grief, Some Depictions of Self – Harm, Some Harsh Language

From a young age, Belle had been obsessed with beauty and has spent her adult life maintaining a regimented skincare routine to preserve her skin. Her obsession began with her mother, who was always the most glamorous person to ever live in Belle’s eyes. One day, Belle receives a call that her mother has died in a strange accident. Now, she is stuck dealing with her mother’s California apartment and her many debts. At a memorial service, Belle meets a strange woman in a red dress who claims she can tell her how her mother died. This woman leads her to a strange, cult-like spa that promises to make Belle her “most magnificent self.” The more time Belle spends in the spa, the more she begins to lose herself. In order to regain her sense of self, Belle must face secrets that she has buried for far too long.

In my previous reviews for Mona Awad’s books, it used words like “dream like” and “surreal.” Rouge, however, is easily the most dream-like and surreal. The narrative feels as though you are moving through those dream-like movements where you are doing something due to whatever strange logic you experience in your dream. (I hope that makes sense.) Underneath all of the strangeness of the novel is narrative about grief, beauty standards, and mother/daughter relationships. All of this is tied together with some interesting fairy tale motifs that I thought helped add to the strangeness that Mona Awad is so good at crafting in these novels. This is probably my favorite of the three novels by Mona Awad that I read and I am going to give you my recommendation for Rouge.

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The Season will always return: Reviewing The Obelisk Gate (Book 2 of the Broken Earth Trilogy) by N.K. Jemisin

Hi everyone! I’m back (again) because I like to read fast. Before you check out this review, check out my review for the first book in this trilogy, The Fifth Season. If I get invested in a series, I try to read them as close together as I can because I want to remember everything that happened in the previous books. I will definitely get to the third book sooner than later. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though. It’s time to review The Obelisk Gate.

Content Warning: Violence and Abuse, Graphic Descriptions of Injuries, Harsh Language

Essun’s search for her daughter continues as the world around her dies quicker with each passing day. Instead, she is reunited with her old mentor who gives her a request that could change the fate of the world. Meanwhile, Nassun, Essun’s daughter, begins training with other orogenes. As her powers grow stronger everyday, Nassun makes a decision that could break the world that her mother is trying to save.

Overall, I absolutely love the unique tone and intricate world building that carries over from The Fifth Season to this sequel. I wouldn’t say that this sequel is stronger than the prior book, though. It was missing some of the initial intrigue that the first book had. I did enjoy, however, seeing the magic system be fleshed out more as that is the best part of this series. I was a little iffy about the additional POV chapters we do get in this book of Nassun. Her chapters did end up being more enjoyable than I had thought and pushed the plot in a direction that I was not expecting. The book does drag a tiny bit towards the middle but really picks up towards the end. I am absolutely going to pick up the third book because I cannot stand to be left on a cliffhanger. I am still absolutely loving The Broken Earth trilogy and cannot keep recommending it to all of you out there.

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Magic never dies. It merely fades away: Reviewing The Color of Magic (Book 1 of the Discworld Series) by Terry Pratchett

Hey all! I’m back sooner than I anticipated. For better or worse, I am a fast reader so I have yet another review for you. I did try to read this book years ago but didn’t retain may details at the time. I do enjoy Terry Pratchett. He is the co-author of one of my all-time favorite books, Good Omens. The Discworld series is a pretty long one so I endeavor to read a couple of books in the future. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though, and start from the beginning with The Color of Magic.

Rincewind may be the worst wizard to ever exist. After getting expelled from the Unseen University, he’s been aimless. That is until he becomes a tour guide for a strange little man named Twoflower and Twoflower’s sentient Luggage. Unfortunately, Twoflower is naive and Rincewind is inept. The odd pair soon find themselves among thieves, barbarians, dragon riders, and other unsavory characters. Despite their best attempts to avoid danger, Fate has other plans for the two.

The Color of Magic was a fun, fast-paced, and quirky fantasy that is just the tip of the strange world created by Terry Pratchett. I absolutely love Pratchett’s sense of humor. I found myself re-reading lines because I missed the joke the first time around. His is a really unique take on the fantasy adventure genre. Beneath all of the humor and strange characters, the novel does present poignant little thoughts regarding fate and death. This is easily one of the most imaginative fantasy novels I have read in a bit. There wasn’t anything terribly inappropriate in this book (some of the characters are depicted as nude but there are no graphic details) so I can see this being a good introductory fantasy novel. The Color of Magic was such a fun time. I can’t guarantee I will read the entire Discworld series but I will try to read some more.

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When stories don’t make sense, they scare us: Reviewing The Boatman’s Daughter by Andy Davidson

Hi everyone! I hope you are doing well. I’ve been re-reading some of my previous favorite books lately so my unread TBR might go untouched for just a bit. I have some books on my TBR, though, that are mixed media and I am so excited for those. Mixed media books are an underused genre, in my opinion, so I want to read more of them. I hope I am giving you all a pretty good range of books regarding genre, author, length, etc. I truly hope I have introduced you to some new favorite books through these reviews. Now, let’s talk about The Boatman’s Daughter.

Content Warning: Violence and Gore, Harsh Language, Substance Use, Abuse Towards Children, Disturbing Imagery, Discussions and Depictions of Sexual Abuse

Miranda Crabtree witnessed her father’s death when she was a child. On that same night, she saved the life of a strange child by taking him to an old witch to hide him away. Since then, Miranda has spent her running drugs for a zealous preacher and his small group of followers. Her semblance of safety, though, is in jeopardy when the preacher asks her to do something unthinkable. Now, with supernatural and human forces working against her, Miranda must take drastic measures to save her life and the lives of those she loves.

I was initially drawn to The Boatman’s Daughter because it is a Southern Gothic novel with supernatural elements. I’ve mentioned before that I love the Southern Gothic genre and want to read more. I’ll start with the positives I found in this book. The prose was strong with plenty of rich descriptions. Some of the supernatural elements were compelling and I like how the author used elements of Russian folklore alongside folklore of the American South. I also enjoyed the “found family” element that lies at the heart of this novel. I have a hard time, though, saying I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a bit rambling at times. Some of the violence felt so unnecessary. I understood the point of it but the human violence felt kind of gratuitous compared to the supernatural threat in this book. This book felt like it was right on the tipping point of being too “edgy.” It also had the tone of feeling more like it wanted to be a screenplay as opposed to being a novel. In conclusion, I am going to say that The Boatman’s Daughter is not going to be for everyone so this is my tentative recommendation to you all.

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Why must you keep sending me innocent monsters?: Reviewing What Feasts at Night (The Sequel to What Moves the Dead) by T. Kingfisher

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well. Spring is finally around the corner and I am very excited for any new opportunities that await. Before you check out this review, I would recommend you check out my review of this novella’s predecessor, What Moves the Dead. You can also check out my other views of T. Kingfisher’s books: Nettle and Bone, A House with Good Bones, and The Hollow Places. (Needless to say, I have a new favorite author.) Now, let’s talk about the latest novella, What Feasts at Night.

Content Warning: Disturbing Imagery, Violence Related to War, Death of an Animal

After escaping from the horrors of the Usher house, Alex Easton is finally ready to be done fighting for their life. Alex wants nothing more but to go back to Paris but, instead, they find themself returning to their home country of Gallacia. They decide to make the best of the situation by sprucing up their family hunting lodge but find that the caretaker is dead and the lodge is in disrepair. At first, Alex assumes the caretaker died of old age but rumors begin to swirl around the village of a monster who steals people’s breath in their sleep. At first, Alex ignores these old superstitions but soon they begin having strange dreams that quickly turn into something far more deadly.

What Feasts at Night is an atmospheric, folk horror-inspired novella that delivers plenty of chills and thrills. While it is not a direct follow-up to What Moves the Dead, it does make some direct references and continues on the tradition of “eco-centric horror” (as I like to call it). I love how Kingfisher incorporates nature and folklore into this particular novella. It didn’t get really creepy until the end but I enjoyed the build-up before that. What Feasts at Night is yet another great read by T. Kingfisher. I have been really enjoying all of her books and will definitely continue to read the rest of her novels.

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Are you ready to make a deal?: Reviewing Sign Here by Claudia Lux

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well! I am posting this on St. Patrick’s Day so Happy St. Paddy’s Day if you celebrate! I recently broke my book-buying ban and will return with more fascinating novels soon. I have at least one more novella to read and a shorter novel before I review some of the longer books I own. One of my next books will be Terry Pratchett’s The Color of Magic so I might have a new series to start soon. Before I can talk about any of those, I must talk to you about the subject of this review: Sign Here by Claudia Lux.

Content Warning: Discussions and Depictions of Violence and Abuse, Drug and Alcohol Usage, Some Harsh Language, Some Sexual Content,

Despite living in Hell (yes, that Hell), Peyote Trip has a pretty good gig. He works in the Deals Department on the Fifth Floor of Hell. Peyote, though, wants to get promoted to the Sixth Floor, where things are a lot less awful. To do so, he has to convince the last member of the Harrison family to sign over their soul. Completely unaware of this plan, the Harrisons go up to their lake house to spend where they always spend their summers. Their teen daughter brings along her confident and mysterious friend, Ruth. Peyote seizes the opportunity to get to the Harrisons. With the help of his new coworker Calamity, he should have this deal in the bag. These plans, however, begin to fall apart quickly when the Harrisons are forced to confront a tragedy that happened at the lake. As it turns out, these secrets have deadly consequences for everyone.

Sign Here was quite a fun and thrilling read. It was equal parts darkly funny and rather heartwarming at times. Claudia Lux makes the most use of multiple character POVs to create such well-fleshed-out characters. I also loved her depiction of Hell as being a series of the worst workplaces you could ever imagine. The blurb said this book had similar vibes to “The Good Place,” which is one of my favorite shows and I could definitely see the similarities here and there. I thought the overall humor that the book promises worked well with the tone. It never felt inappropriate when it didn’t need to be, considering some of the content matter that this book deals with. My favorite thing about the book, though, was the plot twists that made me not want to put down the book at all. I absolutely needed to know how this book ended and I am glad I did. Overall, I am going to recommend Sign Here, especially if you have a bit of a dark sense of humor.

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These cunning gods and their cunning games: Reviewing Godkiller (Book 1 of the Fallen Gods Series) by Hannah Kaner

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well. Spring is just around the corner and I am ready for change. If you haven’t yet, you can follow me on Storygraph (a free app that lets you track your reading) under the username n0vel_ideas. An idea that I am toying with right now is creating an Instagram account for my TBR. I haven’t decided yet but I will let you know how to follow me if I decide to make one. I guess I am (very technically) an “influencer,” which is weird to think about. I can at least hope that I am a good influence. While we’re here, let’s talk about Godkiller by Hannah Kaner.

Content Warning: Violence, Some Sexual Content, Harsh Language. Some Descriptions of Injury, Some Disturbing Imagery

Years ago, gods of all sorts ran rampant in the kingdom of Middren. After a war was started by the gods, they were forbidden, and any worship of them was made illegal. Any gods that might still roam the land are dispatched by “godkillers.” Kissen is one of these godkillers. After her family was killed by a fire god, she devoted her life to killing gods and getting paid for it. Everything Kissen knows about the gods is changed when she meets a young noble girl who is bound to the god of white lies. Kissen can’t kill the god without killing the girl so she must find a way to break their bond. On their journey, they meet a knight with secrets of his own who agrees to help them. They must venture to the kingdom of Blenraden, where wild gods still roam and a civil war threatens to break out. Only the ragtag group can stop the kingdom from being thrown into a war unlike any they have ever seen before.

Godkiller was quite the fun, fast-paced fantasy read that I have been looking for for a while now. Hannah Kaner provides an interesting take on world-building. Any fantasy has some religion built into the world but that often gets pushed aside for the plot. I liked how the gods were a major part of the plot in this book. There was definitely some inspiration from Game of Thrones in this book but I personally enjoyed that aspect as well. I thought the four characters whose POVs we alternate between were all interesting in their own way. Multiple POVs can be tricky but Kaner does a great job of balancing all of these characters. Overall, Godkiller was such a fun read and I can’t wait to read its sequel.

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There is nothing wrong with being a monster: Reviewing The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

Hi everyone! I’m back again with another review. Before you read this review, you can check out my review of Cassandra Khaw’s other novella Nothing but Blackened Teeth. I still have mixed feelings about that particular book. I didn’t realize how many people really disliked the first novella, though. Rarely, I don’t give authors a second chance. Some authors just need some time to improve. I have a small handful of authors who I won’t ever read or won’t read again. I don’t focus too heavily on that aspect and typically just go off of the books themselves. Maybe some of you are the exact opposite, though. It is fine either way. Now, let’s talk about The Salt Grows Heavy.

Content Warning: Violence and Gore, Body Horror, Depictions of Harm Towards Children, Non-consensual Medical Experimentation, Discussions and Depictions of Abuse

A prince found a mermaid and brought her to shore. He foolishly thought he could make her a “proper wife.” He was wrong and now her daughters have devoured the kingdom. Now, the mermaid wanders the land with a mysterious plague doctor by her side. The two unlikely companions discover a village of immortal children who are ruled by three cruel beings they call “the saints.” The mermaid and the plague doctor must embrace their darker natures to survive.

I must say that I enjoyed this book more than I enjoyed Nothing but Blackened Teeth. I liked the unique take that this book had on mermaid-centric fairytales and embraces the myths in which mermaids (or sirens) are terrifying monsters. I also like the relationship between the mermaid and the plague doctor. The biggest problem with this book is that is a novella. There are some interesting ideas in this book that I would have loved to see explore more. The book seemed so focused on these long descriptions and excessive use of words that I had to stop to look up. While I did indeed learn new words, I also learned you don’t need long words to make your story compelling. That being said, Cassandra Khaw’s writing is strong and the descriptions were both beautiful and visceral. It was one of the more gory books I have read so far this year. Overall, I’m not going to say that you should definitely read The Salt Grows Heavy but I don’t think it would hurt to check this one out if you are interested in super dark and violent retellings of fairy tales.

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Maybe I never stopped screaming: Reviewing Intercepts by T.J. Payne

Hi all! I hope you are all doing well. The weather is finally getting nice and I am ready to read in places that are not indoors. I typically do include indoor reading, though. It’s my dream to make myself a little reading nook one day with a comfy chair and all kinds of cozy things to surround myself with while I read some of the most stressful books I decide to buy. Speaking of stressful books, I am very excited to talk to you all about this one. I have seen Intercepts come up on a lot of recommendation lists so I took that as a sign I needed to check this book out. Now, it’s time to talk about Intercepts by T.J. Payne.

Content Warning: Violence and Gore, Graphic Descriptions of Injuries, Non-Consensual Medical Extermination, Discussions and Depictions of Self-Harm, Harsh Language, Disturbing Imagery, Discussions and Depictions of Severe Mental Illness

Joe Gerhard is good at his job. He works at the Facility, which houses top-secret experiments done on human prisoners. These prisoners are known as “Antennas” and can be used to “intercept” someone’s mind. The way to do this, though, is by putting the prisoners in extreme sensory deprivation that drives them to madness. Joe has accepted this as part of his job, though, because they use the “antennas” to catch terrorists and criminals. His life is interrupted by tragedy when his ex-wife takes her own life. Riley, his teenage daughter, comes to live with Joe in the aftermath. Soon after, she starts having terrifying hallucinations of a woman who tears herself apart. Joe comes to the horrifying realization that his daughter has been “intercepted” and must figure out how to save her.

Intercepts was a gruesome and thrilling read that was a mix of sci-fi and horror. This gave me similar vibes to the SCP Foundation if you are familiar. (If you aren’t familiar with the SCP Foundation, it is a fictional government facility that houses all kinds of scary and bizarre creatures. Go look it up.) The novel comes out swinging with the gory horror from chapter one but leaves plenty of room for suspense. There were a couple of times when my jaw dropped because of just how gory the book was. The twists also made me want to get to the end so I could have some kind of answer. Intercepts was an unputdownable sci-fi horror I would recommend for all of you horror fans.