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The living are often anchors for the dead: Reviewing The Deep by Alma Katsu

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I’m doing my best to keep my reviews coming at a steady pace. I’m also realizing that I might have to rearrange my bookshelves yet again. Every year or so, I like to switch up how my bookshelves look. They aren’t super cute or aesthetic by any means but they are set up just the way I like them for now. I might organize by color next time for my standalone books but we will see how much effort I feel like putting into re-organizing everything. Now, enough of that. Let’s talk about The Deep by Alma Katsu.

Content Warning: Death of a Child, Distressing Imagery, Some Violence, Sexual Content

In 1912, a young Irish woman named Annie Hebbley was hired as a stewardess aboard the HMHS Titanic. Despite the glamor of the remarkable ship, something sinister is attacking the guests. Annie and a few others try to investigate what’s happening but tragedy strikes. Annie manages to survive the sinking of the Titanic and retreats to an asylum. Four years later, Annie’s friend and fellow survivor, Violet Jessop, offers her a position as a nurse on board the Titanic‘s sister ship, the Britannic, which has been converted to a hospital ship in the wake of World War One. While on the ship, Annie crosses paths with Mark Fletcher whom she had met on the Titanic. The two are forced to relive the tragedy they had survived and confront the demons that have come back to haunt them from their pasts.

Maybe some of you reading this review have or had some sort of fascination with the sinking of the Titanic and, if so, then this book is for you. The Deep is a rich mixture of drama, suspense, mystery, and horror. This is a bit of a slow burn but even the parts that don’t really touch on the supernatural elements are still interesting. Once the novel picks up pace, it becomes difficult to put down. Every character is well fleshed-out and the subplots blend seamlessly. This novel utilizes a mix of real-life figures and characters created for this book. I did some light research because I was curious and it seems Alma Katsu did keep true to history. This was a very fun and compelling read. I am absolutely going to recommend this, especially if you want a unique historical fiction novel.

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Could I be a human if you called me one?: Reviewing The Employees by Olga Ravn, Translated by Martin Aitken

Hi everyone! I am back again sooner than anticipated. I have a couple of novellas on my TBR pile to fill in the gaps between some of the longer books I read. I’m watching for new releases and other books to add to my pile. I am unsure if anyone would want this but I know some book-centric influencers put out their TBR list at the beginning of the year. I might do posts like that at the beginning of the year or the beginning of the month. I don’t typically do “reading goals” but I might like to give you all a sneak peek of what to expect from me as far as content. I think I have rambled enough now. Let’s talk about The Employees.

Content Warning: Some disturbing imagery. Brief discussion of infant loss, Brief discussion of sexual content, Some discussion of mental health issues

It’s the maiden voyage of the Six Thousand Ship. The crew consists of human and humanoid workers who all have complaints about the monotonous daily tasks. All of these complaints are carefully tracked by the committee. The voyage of the Six Thousand ship is put in jeopardy when they take on strange objects from the planet New Discovery. The objects begin to have strange effects on the human and humanoid crew members. Tensions begin to boil over, mutiny is on the horizon, and the entire voyage may fall apart.

The Employees is a strange, speculative novella that packs a punch with its chilling narrative and philosophical themes. I do love novels told through unconventional narrative structures. In this case, the entire story is told through statements from the different crew members. It does read rather poetically at times while giving glimpses of the horrifying consequences of the overall mission. Olga Ravn does a great job balancing ambiguity and the concrete aspects of the plot, like the fallout of bringing these mysterious objects onto the ship. I love how the novel questions what defines humanity and what makes someone human. The small details are what really set this novella apart. The Employees satisfied my need for surreal sci-fi, philosophy, and just a touch of horror.

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Let go of them in the water: Reviewing Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

Hello everyone! I hope you are all relaxing before the barrage of holidays. As much as I do enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas, I tend to pick up on other people’s stress around this time. That is why I read. I have some exciting reviews coming soon and can’t wait to share them with you. For the first time, I have had two (that’s right! Two!) people approach me with requests to review their books! You all will be getting those reviews soon. If you are interested in having me review your book, feel free to contact me. My email is available on my blog. Before I get too far ahead, let’s talk about Our Wives Under the Sea.

Content Warning: Claustrophobia, Some Harsh Language, Some Sexual Content, Some Disturbing Imagery

Something is wrong with Leah. Months ago, she left for an expedition for her marine biology research. Upon resurfacing and returning home, her wife Miri immediately knows something is different. Leah runs the bath at all hours, keeps her sound machine on constantly, and refuses to consume anything other than salt water. When Miri tries to reach out to the organization that sent Leah down there, she suddenly finds that it seemingly doesn’t exist anymore. With Leah’s condition getting worse by the day, Miri embarks on a desperate search for the truth behind what happened all of those miles below the surface of the sea.

It’s hard to classify exactly what genre this book is and that is why I enjoyed it in particular. If I had to exactly describe Our Wives Under the Sea, I would say it is a chilling, slow-burn thriller with an ever so slight sci-fi angle to it. Julia Armfield balances the strange mystery lurking below the depths with an intimate romance between two women who understand each other in such a beautiful way. Ultimately, the book is about asking what lengths someone will go to for someone that they love. Despite this book being about 200 pages, it feels a lot longer but in a good way. Armfield has great attention to detail that makes you as a reader feel really involved in this story. If you are looking for something a little strange, a little ambiguous, and a little emotional, then look not further than Our Wives Under the Sea.

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The greater the magic, the greater the price: Reviewing Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno – Garcia

Hello everyone! There is a chill in the air and Halloween is just around the corner as I post this. I’m not planning on doing anything crazy since it is on a Tuesday. I’m probably going to make some chili (the perfect fall food) and watch a horror movie. Our neighborhood doesn’t have a ton of trick-or-treaters. That doesn’t mean I don’t still revel in the overall atmosphere of Halloween. I have a few more horror novels that will roll over into November along with some other exciting reads coming up. Let me not chatter on and on. Let’s discuss the newest released from Silvia Moreno – Garcia: Silver Nitrate.

Content Warning: Disturbing Imagery, Graphic Bodily Injury, Harsh Language, Graphic Deaths

Montserrat has struggled with her career as a sound editor. Despite her talent, the movie industry is dominated by men who are quick to dismiss her in favor of her male co-workers. It’s the ’90s and the Mexican film industry is run by powerful men who want quantity over quality. The only person who recognizes her talent is her childhood best friend, Tristan who is trying to revive his acting career after facing several scandals. One day, Tristan meets Abel Urueta who is a legendary cult film director whose career mysteriously came to a halt. Abel tells Montserrat and Tristan about a dangerous Nazi cult leader who believed that the silver nitrate used in film reels was the ideal element to use in his attempts to become immortal. The film that Abel started making with this man was never finished and he is convinced that he has been cursed ever since. The director asks Montserrat and Tristan to help him finish the film in order to lift the curse. As they help him, the two begin to find themselves being visited by ghosts of the past. Montserrat and Tristan begin to dig deeper into the world of the occult and find themselves facing a greater danger than they could have ever imagined.

To preface: this is now the fifth book I have reviewed by Silvia Morena – Garcia so it is safe to say I’m a fan. I was immediately intrigued by this being a horror novel set in the ’90s. This novel was a little slow to start but once it got going, it was hard to put down. Silver Nitrate combines classic staples of occult horror with an interesting look at the dark side of the film industry. Even though this novel was mostly a thriller, it delivered on the horror elements with plenty of gruesome details and high stakes. I liked the relationship between Montserrat and Tristan as it helped make the story feel all the more personal. Silvia Moreno-Garcia does a great job balancing out the fantastical elements of her novels with the personal relationships at the heart of it all. Overall, this novel has only further solidified my status as a fan of Silvia Moreno – Garcia and I would recommend reading this or any of her other novels.

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I am the shadow below everything: Reviewing A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

Hello everyone! I hope you are all holding up in this chilly fall weather. There’s no better time to catch up on your spookier reads. As I have said in the past, spooky season is whenever you want it to be but something about October just feels different. The atmosphere is just perfect for chills and thrills of all sorts. I just finished the new Netflix series “The Fall of the House of Usher” and absolutely adored it. I’m a huge fan of Edgar Allan Poe and Mike Flanagan (who wrote the show and has done other horror series on Netflix). I highly recommend the series if you are looking for something horror-related to watch. Anyways, let’s talk about A Head Full of Ghosts

Content Warning: Violence, Harsh Language, Graphic Bodily Injury, Harm Towards Children, Discussions and Depictions of Religious Trauma, Discussions and Depictions of Severe Mental Illness, Self-Harm, Graphic Deaths

The Barretts had been a normal family living in New England. Their entire lives are thrown into disarray when their fourteen-year-old daughter Marjorie starts showing signs of acute schizophrenia. Her behavior quickly turns from disturbing to violent. In a desperate attempt to save their daughter, they turn to a Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly believes that Marjorie is possessed by a demon. He agrees to help the family if they allow him to film everything for a reality show. John, Marjorie’s father, agrees in the hopes that it will save his daughter and save the family from financial ruin. The Possession becomes a reality television hit and the Barretts are thrust into the limelight. Tragedy, though, brings the show to an end but it continues to live in infamy. Now, fifteen years later, the younger Barrett daughter, Merry, is an adult who is still trying to grapple with everything that happened. As she talks to a journalist who wants to help tell her story, Merry begins to wonder what really happened to her family all those years ago.

A Head Full of Ghosts was a short but intense read with dizzying and gruesome details that leave you wondering what is actually happening at any moment. The “possession” sub-genre of horror tends to be a bit overdone nowadays. Paul Tremblay, though, blends the horror genre with psychological thrills. I think the most compelling element of the story is that most of it is told through Merry’s childhood memories, which add another level of doubt to the narrative. I also appreciated the overall commentary on the exploitative nature of reality television and how it can push already desperate people to extremes. This was quite a shocking read that will have you guessing until the very end and won’t give you the answers that you want. You should definitely pick up A Head Full of Ghosts.

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For you to find something, that thing must also find you: Reviewing Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Hello everyone! Let’s keep the spooky season going with another review. I was particularly excited to talk about this book because I haven’t read any horror novels set at sea before. In my humble and non-scientific opinion, it is best to leave the ocean alone. The same goes for outer space. This book is also not the only horror novel I have that has to do with the ocean. I do plan on reviewing Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield before the end of the month. I have a good array of horror novels I’m planning on reading so I hope you find something you like. Anyways, let’s talk about Into the Drowning Deep.

Content Warning: Graphic and Disturbing Imagery, Violence and Gore, Graphic Bodily Injury, Animal Death, Some Harsh Language, Some Sexual Content

Seven years ago, a high tech ship called the Atargatis set sail to film a mockumentary about discovering mermaids. No one survived. Now, a new ship called the Melusine with a new crew is out to discover what really happened all those years ago. Among the crew of scientists eager to make themselves famous, Tory Stewart is seeking answers to what happened to her sister. Nothing could prepare her or fellow scientists for the horrors that lurk just below the surface.

This book was such a thrill to read and I didn’t want to put it down at a certain point. Into the Drowning Deep was an atmospheric and action-packed horror that felt cinematic. Mira Grant does an excellent job of creating a diverse array of complex characters and balancing that out with truly chilling horror elements. This was certainly a very bloody book with plenty of gore and tension. Survival horror can be a tricky genre and can come across as shallow (pun intended). Creature horror can also be rather trick but Mira Grant’s killer mermaids are just as fascinating as their human counterparts. Into the Drowning Deep balances out the scientific elements with the horror elements. If you are scared of the sea, you might not want to read this. On the other hand, if you are scared of the sea then you might feel a little more justified reading this. Either way, you should definitely consider picking up this book for some thrills and chills.

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Not everyone who reaches back into history can survive it: Reviewing The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Hello everyone! It is officially spooky season and I really wanted to kick things off on the first day of October. There are quite a few things coming out this month that I have been so excited for and I cannot wait to talk about them with you all. I did just get the most recent Percy Jackson book, which isn’t spooky but I have been looking forward to that. This book I’m about to review for you, however, definitely sets the tone I want for October. I started reading this book back in August and I have been itching to review it. Without further ado, let’s talk about The Historian.

Content Warning: Violence and Gore, Some Graphic Descriptions of Bodily Injury, Animal Death, Sexual Content

A young woman decides to finally ask her father, a mild-mannered professor, about his past and is soon plunged into a dark world where everything ties back to Vlad the Impaler and the horrors he unleashed upon the world. When the violence of the past comes the the present, the young woman must journey across Europe in a race against time to find her father and the location of Dracula’s tomb before evil rises up once again.

You already know that I have an inherent bias towards the vampire genre and that I have a particular love for anything related to Dracula. This book, however, was unlike any anything I expected and I absolutely loved it. Elizabeth Kostova blends together the past and the present in such an intricate and atmospheric narrative. There is so much care put in this book and the attention to detail is astounding. The book also had genuinely creepy parts which was due to the fascinating blend of myth and history. This book also definitely gave dark academia vibes that I have one really seen on books like The Secret History. The blend of narrative voices made everything in The Historian feel so vivid with every page. While this is a pretty long book, the pacing is perfect for the large scope of this story. I really can’t gush about this book any more. You should absolutely read The Historian sooner than later.

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Someone is always watching….:Reviewing Mister Magic by Kiersten White

Hello everyone! I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to get back to you with a review. Nothing major happened. You all know how it is: life gets in the way sometimes. I must work if I want to afford more books. If I get more books, you all get more reviews and you all seem to enjoy my opinions. I am definitely going to start reading more horror books with October being just around the corner. I always get so excited for this time of year. Early fall just feels wonderful, in my opinion. Now, let’s get to it and talk about Mister Magic.

Content Warning: Some harsh language, Religious Trauma, Child Abuse and Child Death, Some discussions of homophobia

Val Barrett had a nice life carved out for herself as a camp counselor. Everything was idyllic until her father passes away. At the funeral, a group of people show up claiming to be Val’s childhood friends. Not only do they say they were her friends, they also claim that they were all a part of a tv show called Mister Magic. Val, however, has no memory of her childhood or being a part of a mysterious tv show that seems to have never existed. Val and her friends decide to unravel the mystery of who Mister Magic really was and what happened that caused the show to seemingly vanish. The more she investigates, the more Val realizes that some things might be better off forgotten.

I will admit that my initial excitement for this book came from my love of “creepypastas,” which is the blanket term for a specific genre of fictional horror stories published on the internet. There is an entire subgenre dedicated to “corrupted” children’s shows or missing children’s shows that were actually more sinister than everyone remembers. (Candle Cove, anyone?) Kiersten White does seem to tap into this genre as the book is broken up with well-crafted mock internet posts that helped flesh out the world of the novel. It’s refreshing to come across an author who actually understands how the internet works and what it looks like. With all this being said, the novel did underwhelm me a bit. To encroach on spoiler territory (don’t read any farther if you don’t want to be spoiled): the whole book is essentially a giant metaphor for leaving a cult. In this instance, the cult in question was Mormonism. In the notes at the end, White does mention how she is ex-Mormon. While I can appreciate the intention of this novel, I felt that this aspect actually took away some of the horror elements for me. I would even argue that, outside of children being harmed, this book wasn’t even that scary and the initial intrigue fell apart at the end for me. Now, I have never experienced a situation like being involved in a religious cult so maybe I lack the experience to truly appreciate this book. I can safely say I didn’t dislike the book but I didn’t love it either. While it wasn’t my favorite book, I did appreciate what the goal was and I hope that someone out there can appreciate it in a way that I did not.

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Who wants to be a nice girl anyhow?: Reviewing Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste

Hello everyone! I’m finally back with a review after trying to get through some of the longer books I am reading. Now that the weather is finally cooling down and fall is slowly making its presence known, I will definitely be reading more horror novels than usual. I personally think there is a difference between “summer horror” and “fall horror” but that is just me. One might even argue that there is such a thing as “winter horror” and “spring horror.” That is just me. I mostly pick books based off of my current mood. This book, however, has been on my TBR list for a long time so let’s finally talk about Reluctant Immortals.

Content Warning: Violence, Graphic Bodily Injury, Discussions of Domestic Violence, Some Harsh Language

It’s in 1967 in Los Angeles. Lucy Westerna and Bertha Mason (who goes by Bee) are both immortals who are on the run from the men who ruined their lives. Just as everything seems to have settled down, Rochester and Dracula make a shocking return. They team up to destroy the women who escaped from them and find new “wives.” Lucy and Bee make the decision to face down the men who killed them once and for all, even if it means dying once and for all.

If there is anything you need to know about me, you need to know that two of my favorite books are Dracula and Jane Eyre. I was practically ecstatic when I read the premise of Gwendolyn Kiste’s unique Gothic novel. I did write an entire essay about Bertha Mason’s horrendous treatment as “the madwoman in the attic” and I could also go on about how Lucy Westerna’s tragic fate has been overly glamorized in modern adaptations of Dracula. Kiste beat me to both of these and I appreciate her for it. This novel is a fast-paced, visceral exploration of the literary legacies of these famous characters. I appreciate how Kiste theoretically gives both of these women power in their stories and allows them to have closure. This was such a great reading experience and has easily become one of my new favorite books. Who knew that California in 1967 could be such a great setting for a Gothic thriller? Go pick up this book immediately, especially if you are a fan of Dracula and/or Jane Eyre.

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Love is rife with body parts: Reviewing A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

Hello all! I was not expecting to be back so soon with a review but here I am again. I am still going through my “weird girl” TBR. I think you’ve all gotten a good sense of what I’m interested in at this point. I don’t question it at this point and neither should you. It only took someone comparing this book to Hannibal, one of my all time favorite shows, to want to read this book. If you know what I’m talking about, then you can tell this book is going to be a spectacle. Let’s talk about A Certain Hunger

Content Warning: Explicit Sexual Content, Graphic Violence, Discussions of Harm towards Animals, Harsh Language, Graphic Bodily Injury

Dorothy Daniels is a sharp-witted, intelligent food critic at the height of her career. Dorothy loves two things as much as she loves food: sex and murder. It didn’t take much for her to want to try something a little more “exotic.” With a long string of lovers, Dorothy has her pick of delectable men to choose from. One unfortunate day, her luck ran out and now she has to spend the rest of her life in prison. During this time of solitude, Dorothy decides to tell her side of the story and let the world in on her sordid little secrets.

Chelsea G. Summers delivers a decadent novel about love, murder, and some of the best descriptions of food I have read in a while. This book reminded me so much of Hannibal with its balance of violence and artistry. What sets it apart, though, is the commentary on feminism, consumerism, and ethical consumption. Granted, nothing Dorothy does is ethical but she is enjoyable as a semi-unreliable narrator. This is not the book you want to read on an empty stomach, partially because of the murder and partially because the meals Dorothy makes from her victims sound way tastier than they should be. This was an intense and fascinating thriller for anyone who wants a twist on a crime novel.