I read a total of 19 books with one DNF and most of these I adored and I read some of my anticipated releases this month so I was proud of what I achieved and I can’t wait to get into my April TBR.
The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K Hamilton 4 Stars – After reading Guilty Pleasures and loving it I couldn’t wait to get into The Laughing Corpse especially after reading the short stories in Strange Candy. When we re-join Anita it is with her boss as they are going to see a potential client, Harold Gaynor. Harold is obvious a very rich man and wants Anita to raise and almost 300 year old zombie and Anita refuses because it would require a human sacrifice. The weirdest thing about this encounter is the girl, Cicely who Harold claims is deaf but there is definitely something odd about her. After going to a dress fitting for Catherine’s wedding, Anita gets called to a murder scene where the bodies have been mutilated and there is small boy missing. Anita knows the murderer is probably undead since there is no blood around the broken glass door where they entered from but the only thing strong enough to cause the damage is a flesh eating zombie but she only knows one person strong enough to raise a zombie like this besides herself. Dominga Salvador is a voodoo priest and Anita knows she won’t talk to the police but she will talk to Anita. Anita has avoided Dominga’s previous attempts at communication and she can’t allow the police to speak to her because Dominga will know Anita is responsible and she doesn’t want to be on the wrong side of this woman.
Journey Into Darkness by John E. Douglas 4.5 Stars – Journey Into Darkness was written as a follow up book to the hugely successful Mindhunter and after devouring that I couldn’t wait to get my teeth into this. The prologue and opening chapter reintroduces us to John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker and some of the cases they discussed in Mindhunter, which if you haven’t read I would highly recommend it and the Netflix show of the same name. Douglas takes us inside the head of the killer, experiencing their lives and the kills through their eyes which was wildly disturbing to read but it hits home the fact that this was Douglas’ entire job, to get inside the heads of the killers and think the way they do in order to predict their movement. This would lead to the capture of many killers and also prevent more deaths but Douglas also argue that it led to a lot of stress and a collapse on mental health on the part of the investigator which is something he has strived to change over the years. Just this introduction was enough to have me hooked and I can’t wait to see what cases Douglas will discuss in this volume.
Dune by Frank Herbert 5 Stars – Dune has been on my radar for a long time but I never picked it up, most likely due to the polarising opinions of the book and the fact that sci-fi or sci-fi, fantasy wasn’t something I really read but I am reading at least the original trilogy this year. We are introduced to Paul Atreides and his family including his father, the Duke Leto and his mother Jessica. They are being visited by the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam from the Bene Gesserit school who taught her mother and his also the Emperor’s truthsayer. She is there to test Paul to see if he is human using a poison called gom jabbar which only kills animals before they move to the desert planet Arrakis, where the “spice” melange is found from their home planet of Caladan. Melange is a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness and is sought by many people through the universe. The Reverend Mother and Jessica seems to see there is some potential for Paul to be the Kwisatz Haderach which is a man who has powers that are only known to women in this universe but it doesn’t make much sense right now. The passages are broken up by section from a book on Muad’Dib by the Princess Irulan that feature the characters we are being introduced to and might hint at what is to come. The Reverend Mother tests Paul and finds him human to the relief of his mother but he is a small part in a much bigger plan.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson 5 Stars – The opening to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder lays out a lot of information but the jist of it is that our protagonist, Pippa “Pip” Fitz-Amobi is doing a research project looking into the disappearance and presumed murder of Andie Bell. The murder was allegedly committed by her boyfriend at the time, Sal Singh but this is unconfirmed since Sal committed suicide but Pip doesn’t believe he committed the crime and wants to prove it. Her research project has guidelines and rules which she immediately breaks when she asks to interview Sal’s younger brother, Ravi which she has been forbidden from doing. Pip and Ravi live in the small town of Little Kilton so it is vital that she keeps her investigation under wraps for as long as she can otherwise she could be stopped. Pip’s first task is finding out the police’s version of events which isn’t hard since it is well documented and there is an hour and half time gap where they believe Sal murdered and disposed of Andie’s body although it was never found. However, some suspicion is cast on Andie’s father, Jason as Ravi reveals that she seemed to have a strained relationship with him and Sal believed she ran away to punish someone. Pip also notices in one of the press conferences before the suspicions on Sal were cast he refers to Andie in the past tense when everyone still believed she was alive and he is the first person on her persons of interest list. The opening was really interesting and I can’t wait to see where the investigation goes and what Pip uncovers about Sal since she appeared to have been close to him before his death.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller DNF – I have heard some polarizing things about Madeline Miller’s books not just The Song of Achilles but Circe as well as it seems that people either love them or hate them with little in between, so I’m excited to see where I fall. The opening didn’t really capture me, the story is narrated by Patroclus and it begins when he is a child being presented to marry Tyndareus’ daughter, Helen. He isn’t successful and afterwards he ends up killing a boy and is exiled to Phthia. Here he meets Achilles, son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, and isn’t does like him. However, after skipping his exercises, Achilles finds him to see if he is unwell. Patroclus isn’t unwell he just doesn’t see any point in trying when he isn’t like the other boys and asks Achilles to lie for him but he doesn’t like lying so he takes Patroclus to his lyre lesson so Patroclus being with him won’t be a lie. I wasn’t enjoying the book so far so I decided to give it to the ¼ mark and if I still aren’t enjoying it but then it will be a DNF for me.
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson 3.5 Stars – After reading the three prequel novellas for this series I was super excited to get into The Girl of Fire and Thorns and dig a lot deeper into Elisa’s story especially after The Shadow Cats and The Shattered Mountain where she appears in both stories, giving hints to some events that happen in the series without any major spoilers. We meet Elisa on her 16th birthday and wedding day to King Alejandro de Vega who we met in The King’s Guard, he isn’t married to Elisa in that story but we realise that The King’s Guard happened about six year before. Alejandro’s first wife is now dead and his son, Rosario is now 6 years old. Elisa is being looked after by Ximena and Aneaxi as they head to Alejandro’s land accompanied by Lord Hector, one of the King’s personal guard. However, the journey isn’t easy as there is war with Invierne and the Pereditos are watching the jungle. They are attacked by Pereditos resulting in Aneaxi’s death which is heart-breaking for Elisa. Upon arriving, Elisa is sent Cosme as a maid by one of the court in order to spy on her but Elisa uses her power in order to gain some advantage.
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff 4.5 Stars – I read Nevernight back in the day and loved it but Godsgrave was a disappointment for me and I still haven’t picked up Darkdawn yet but Jay Kristoff’s writing with vampires meant I couldn’t wait to read it. In a book this size we are obviously introduced to a lot of characters and information early on but I honestly loved it. We are introduced to our protagonist, Gabriel de Leon, the last Silversaint, a brother of the holy Silver Order who has been captured by vampires and they want him to tell his story as he is the last of the Brotherhood and he agrees. He is telling his story to Jean-Francois and he begins as a child when Daysdeath arrived, this was the day that the sky became shadow and no longer gave light or warmth allowing the creatures of the dark like vampires to roam freely. Gabriel has an encounter with vampires early on when his sister is turned and he himself learns when he bites his girlfriend, Ilsa that he is a half-vampire or paleblood. It is here that the Silver Order come for him consisting of Frere Greyhand and Aaron de Coste. We know from the present that Gabriel managed to kill Fabien Voss, the Forever King but his beginnings are humble as he is taken into the Order of San Michon which exists alongside the Silver Sorority. Here he meets Smith Baptiste who gives Gabriel is sword as it seems his arrival was fated and he names it Lionclaw, he is also given a horse by Abbot Khalid the leader of the Order but here he also meets Astrid who I think might be the woman Gabriel refers to as his love but we shall have to wait and see.
Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman 4.25 Stars – After finally finishing Scythe after putting it down years ago and loving it I couldn’t wait to get into Thunderhead and see what happened to Rowan and Citra after the events of the first book and where the mystery of the Thunderhead would lead the characters. We re-join Rowan and Citra although they are better known as Scythe Lucifer and Scythe Anastasia respectively and seeing where they are now a year on from the events of the first book was interesting. Citra is already making waves as the junior Scythe under Scythe Curie as she gives everyone she gleans one month to put their affairs in order, prepare their families and choose their method of dying which seems to be making a difference to the people she is gleaning. Rowan has become a darker entity since he has made it his mission to kill the Scythes that are corrupt through various methods but always burning them so they can’t be revived and word about him is spreading through the Scythedom. There are Scythes wanting to do something about him but the Thunderhead ignores him since it views Rowan as a Scythe despite what the Scythedom is saying. The first time we see them together is it a secret meeting and Citra warns Rowan about who they have sent after him since he only has two month of immunity left and she explains how the Thunderhead spoke to her when she was deadish and how she feels he is just as important as her and to not get caught. This is broken up by segment from the Thunderhead itself which was interesting and I am eager to see where this goes.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan 5 Stars – The opening to Daughter of the Moon Goddess was interesting and definitely set a fast pace for the book as I flew through the first 50 pages. We are introduced to Xingyin who is the daughter of the Moon Goddess, Chang’e and their attendant and friend, Ping’er. All three live on the Moon and have done for all of Xingyin’s life but she has had to live by strict rules especially regarding the information she can know and to not interact with the glowing lights in her mind. One day, Xingyin does just that and the Celestial Empress arrives at their home. During this meeting, Xingyin learns that her mother was imprisoned on the Moon before she was born and because of her actions she now has to leave her home. Her mother explains that she loved Xingyin’s father, Houyi who earned the elixir of immortality by slaying the sunbirds but didn’t take it because Chang’e was pregnant. However, they learnt that she and the child wouldn’t survive the birth and when Chang’e went into early labour she took the elixir to save her life and the life of her child. She goes on to say leaving Houyi behind was the hardest thing she had to do but she can’t leave the Celestial Palace learn of Xingyin’s existence. Ping’er tries to help Xingyin escape but they are following and attacked by soldiers so Xingyin decides to drop down into the Celestial Palace area in order to give Ping’er a chance to escape. She ends up becoming an attendant to Lady Meiling in the Golden Lotus Mansion and time passes. However, one day after being scolded by her Mistress she meets a young boy who turns out to be Crown Prince Liwei and he takes a liking to Xingyin giving her fight back to her. In response she asks to be allowed to enter the contest to become the Prince’s study partner at the Palace and he forces Lady Meiling’s father to sponsor the pair of them and Xingyin can see an opportunity to return home given time and training.
The Man With the Golden Mind by Tom Vater 4.25 Stars – After reading The Cambodian Book of the Dead and enjoying it I was offered the chance to review the final book in the series which essentially forced me to read the whole series, which I am really bad at. This is the second book in the crime noir thriller series Tom Vater has written and I think the 4th or 5th book I have read by the author and he continues to surprise me at every turn. When I read The Cambodian Book of the Dead, it seems like a standalone to me and I felt it was very well written and a contained story so I didn’t know what to expect from The Man With the Golden Mind at all. We re-join Detective Maier as he heads into Asia after his last adventure in Cambodia after he is hired by a woman, Julia Rendel to investigate what happened to her father who was murdered 25 years before during the Vietnamese war.
The Monsoon Ghost Image by Tom Vater 4.5 Stars – After reading both The Cambodian Book of the Dead and The Man With the Golden Mind I was really coming to appreciate how Tom Vater crafted a really unique and complex protagonist in Maier and how he weaves together one story within several separate mysteries and how he brought to life the East Asian countries and cultures he writes about in the mind of the reader. So, the series concluded with The Monsoon Ghost Image and after the insane plot twists in the first two books and some of the weird and strange events that took place within those novels I couldn’t wait to get stuck into the series finale. The novel opens with Maier being contacted about an old colleague, Martin Ritter, a renowned war photographer who is presumed dead after his boat literally exploded off the coast of Thailand. Things get interesting very quickly when Maier is contacted by Ritter’s wife, Emilie who has received evidence that her husband is alive and in Bangkok. In response, she hires Maier to find her husband and find out why he apparently faked his own death.
The Shadow Cats by Rae Carson 3 Stars – Girl of Fire and Thorns is the Double Booked Book Club pick for March, so I decided to read the three prequel novellas before getting into the chapters I need to read for the first book. As these are novellas my reviews are going to be shorter but I hope you enjoy them anyway because in my experience a lot of people skip the novellas in a series. I also knew nothing about this series at all before getting into it and I was a little reserved as I tend to read more adult fantasy than young adult fantasy so I didn’t know what was in store for me.
The Shattered Mountain by Rae Carson 4 Stars – The Shadow Cats was an interesting introduction to this world and the characters and I couldn’t wait to see what The Shattered Mountain had in store for me. We are introduced to Mara who is planning to run away from her village and abusive father to be with her lover, Julio. However, the morning they plan to leave their village is attacked by Invierno soldier who burn it to the ground. Mara and Julio being resourceful head into the village to save people including Julio’s younger brother, Adan. They have to split up for Julio to distract the archers while Mara gets the survivors out of the village which mainly consists of small children although some are older like Adan and Reynaldo.
The King’s Guard by Rae Carson 4.5 Stars – The first two prequels The Shadow Cats and The Shattered Mountain were amazing introductions to the world, the power system and potential a lot of the characters that the main series is going to focus on so I had high hopes for the final prequel novella, The King’s Guard. We are introduced to Hector who is the youngest squire in the most elite military force serving King Alejandro and he has a personal connection to the King as Hector was his squire when he was still the Prince. Hector is training to be one of the elite guards despite being only 15 years old and on his first day of training under Commander Enrico he is summoned to the King via a page, Adan who might be the same Adam from the Shattered Mountain.
Devils You Know by Miles Watson 3.5 Stars – Since this is an anthology I will be separating the review into each individual story before summing up the collection as a whole. I was sure what to expect from the collection but I was hoping it ran a little darker as I seem to enjoy horror or thriller anthologies more than other types.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix 4.5 Stars – So I’ve read The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix, I loved Horrorstor but really disliked The Southern Book Club so this is going to be the test of whether I pick up more Hendrix books in the future. We are introduced to the main characters, Abby and Gretchen, the first time we see Abby it is as an adult reading about the death of a exorcist which brings back vague memories of her friend who was possessed by the devil. We then meet them as children learning how they met at Albemarle Academy in Charleston, South Carolina and became friends. We follow their friendship pretty quickly as they are on the verge of becoming teenagers and both have problem with their parents, Abby’s are currently down on their luck and seem to be dragging their daughter down with them while Gretchen’s are strict and even at one point beat Gretchen with a hairbrush for listening to Madonna. So far, I was enjoying Hendrix’s writing but the content was putting me off a little so I hope the signature action and weird things start happening soon.
Any Man by Amber Tamblyn 4.5 Stars – As a lover of all things psychological and horror in movies I wanted to get more gory horror books and I was recommended Any Man as a good starting point for splatter punk books. From what I gathered in the synopsis it is following five male victims of a serial female rapist known only as Maude and I was eager to see what was in store for me. The novel opens with the attack on Donald Ellis, while he is drugged during the encounter it is still horrific to read and the way he was dumped to be found was heart-breaking. The aftermath of the attack is where we get to see the effect it has had on Donald, he was left with lasting injuries from the encounter that would forever change him physically but it also had profound psychological effects on him as he doesn’t feel like he is alive anymore. After being released from the hospital, Donald is trying to come to terms with the way his life is going to be now and he is struggling. He describes life as a movie he isn’t a part of anymore and how he doesn’t even feel like a person because of what was taken from him. This becomes even more heart-breaking when he has to explain to his young son what happened because of what people have been saying to him in school and how it impacted them as a family unit.
Tampa by Alyssa Nutting 3.75 Stars – Tampa was a novel is heard a lot of things about and not all good but it was described to me as a reverse Lolita and I knew I had to pick it up. We are introduced to Celeste Price who is married at 26 to her rich husband, Ford who’s 31. Everything seems normal on the surface but Celeste had a strong desire for young boys and sets out to become a teacher purely for the reason of getting close to and sleeping with one or more of these boys. On the first day of teaching she isn’t seeing many boys that fit her fantasy until she meets Jack Patrick who seems to fit her fantasy perfectly. One thing Nutting doesn’t shy away from us graphic description of masturbation as Celeste frequently has fantasies about these boys even going as far as drugging her husband so she has some measure of privacy. She is calculated even taken the school trailer classroom voluntarily because it is a far distance from the main building, the doors lock and not much can be heard over the air conditioning.
Suffer the Children by Craig DiLouie 5 Stars – Suffer the Children was a book I found on TikTok and it reminded me a little of Pet Semetery so I had to pick it up. We are introduced to a bunch of characters early on including Joan and her partner Doug, as well as their two children, Nate and Megan. Joan runs a day-care out of her home which other children attend with her daughter. Ramona is Josh’s mother, a HR manager and client of Joan’s, David is a doctor who works with his wife, Nadine and they are currently dealing with the loss of their son in a car accident and Shannon, a pregnant mother who is being treated by David. This first section is the 24 hours before Herod’s syndrome strikes and we get to know the characters before it happens. As most of the characters have children they are all going to be affected by Herod’s syndrome and when it strikes it is reported live on the news but chaos ensues since no one seems to have any idea what is going on. At this moment in time Joan is taking her children to a party, Ramona and Josh are seeing Santa at the mall and I have no idea when they are going to be affected whether its all at once or over a course of time but I am excited to see where this goes.
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