I read 31 books in November which was my best reading month of the year so far and I hope it continues into December.
The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath ***.25 - So before I get into my review I have to say that The Reckless Kind was very polarizing for me, personally there were aspects that I absolutely adored about the book and some I hated with a passion but overall I did still like the book despite the issues I had with it. The basic premise of The Reckless Kind is we are following three outcasts in 1904, one ace and two are gay (some great representation throughout the novel in regards to sexuality). As we follow Asta, Erlend and Gunnar through their journeys of the self we get to know them on a very deeply personal level and witness their wants and desires for life and how they make steps to achieve this when the entire society is set against them which was a concept that has been done many times but it had an added element to it. For some of the characters it is something simple like not wanting to eat meat because of their love for animals or not wanting to get married and have children which in 1904 was a radical concept which is commonplace in our modern era.
The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker ****.75 - I believe this is the final book in the Hellraiser series and after how short the last two have been I was excited to get into a full length novel as I have loved both The Hellbound Heart and The Toll. I hope to see the final showdown between Pinhead and Kirsty in this book or at least get some resolution on that and I will definitely be rewatching Hellraiser after completing the series. In the prologue we are introduced a group of magicians resurrecting one of their order, only to inform him that the Hell Priest has been hunting them down one by one so now they number only five. We know from the Toll that Pinhead has been doing this for his Ascension as he is taking the power from the magicians when he kills them and he has now tracked down the final five. Pinhead takes down three of the six magicians including the resurrected one, he takes one into his service and kills the final one as she bears his child who feasts on her mother’s corpse rapidly ageing as she does before she flees into the world as Pinhead retreats into his own. The opening of The Scarlet Gospels definitely set the tone for the novel and I can’t wait to see where Clive Barker takes us.
Daddy Morebucks by Normandie Alleman **.75 - Daddy Morebucks was definitely a novel that closely followed the classic BDSM erotic formula which was a shame as in the Daddy/Little Girl dynamic it always focuses on the same elements which diving deeper into it which would have been a refreshing look into the sub-genre. We are introduced to Marley who is currently working as a prostitute because of her circumstances when she is approached by Milton to works for James LeBlanc. Due to his boss’ strange sexual taste he normally finds James street workers willing to sign an NDA before meeting with him from an agency but the girl that was supposed to meet with James that night is ill and Milton is desperately looking for a replacement and finds Marley in a bar.
Under Mr. Nolan’s Bed by Selena Kitt ***** - All I can say about Under Mr. Nolan’s Bed is that this is one of my favourite smutty books to date and I definitely have to read the other two books in this series as soon as I can because Holy Mary, Mother of God was this hot, spicy, dark and taboo all at once and I am going to Hell for loving it. We are following best friends, Leah and Erica who are 18 and attending the same Catholic school due to their religious families and upbringing. The girls are obviously at an age where they are beginning to experiment sexually and despite Erica having a boyfriend, Bobby, the girls often raid Erica’s father’s porn collection and sexually experiment with each other. For the first half of this book we explore the friendship between Leah and Erica and the underlying sexual feelings between them which lead to some very steamy scenes.
Satan’s Affair by H. D. Carlton **** - Satan’s Affair was definitely a lot darker than I was expecting from a poly reverse harem but I wasn’t disappointed by it. We are introduced to Sibel also known as Sibby as she works within a travelling Halloween themed carnival known as Satan’s Affair but she isn’t there to scare people. Sibby has to ability to work out who are truly evil people and take them out of the world. It is rare with see a killer women in these kinds of novels so that was very refreshing. Sibby works with her five henchmen who she also has a polyamorous sexual relationship with and she is content with her life. We follow Sibby getting to know her and the henchmen as she brutally murders people she deems to be evil saving the world one demon at a time.
Forbidden by Seven Rue ****.5 - Forbidden was actually a lot better that I was expecting it to be as it features a sex confident main female character with a harem of males to adore her. However, be warned going into this that there are taboo romance as two of the males who court Birdie throughout the book are her father and uncle, although not related by blood and throughout this novel she is underage at only 17 which these men are all 30 years her senior. We are following Birdie as she deals with normal teenage things supported by her father, Rhett and her uncle Theodore. However, she soon begins to notice feelings of sexual attraction towards them and begins to make moves when she realises that Theo is just as attracted to her.
Baby Bird by Seven Rue ****.25 - Baby Bird is the novella sequel to Forbidden and in this story we are following Birdie as she decides to keep her baby even though she can’t be sure of who the father is. This does cause some tension as Luke and Rhett are all for it but Theo isn’t ready to become a father but he supports her decision. Following Birdie through her pregnancy was amazing as were the sex scene but the real star here was the characters. We dive deeper into Birdie and Luke’s evolving relationship especially when he divorces his wife to be with her and the baby. Birdie is supportive of Luke as he can only see his children once a month but they make things work. During this novella, Birdie’s relationship with Luke is loving and caring while with Rhett and Theo it seems to be more sexually in nature than anything else but that is ok as she still loves all of them but she wants to be closer to Luke. They decide that if the baby is Luke’s then they will move in together and if it is Rhett’s or Theo’s, Luke will move in with her because he is going to support and love her and the baby no matter who the father is and that made me adore Luke as a character.
The Family Man by Anna Willett **** - Before I get into my review I have to say if you are a fan of shows like Cold Case Files or Criminal Minds then definitely go and pick up The Family Man right now because you are definitely going to love it. The Family Man begins with a young couple renovating their new house in Australia when they come across a box containing an old camcorder, this sounds like the beginning of a bad horror movie and it had me hooked. The couple doesn’t think that the camcorder will work but they try it anyway and much to their surprise and horror it does work and the footage reveals things that have them immediately contacting the police for help. Honestly, this had to have been one of the best openings to a crime, thriller that I have read in a long time as it hooked me straight away which doesn’t normally happen with these sorts of books, it takes a while to become truly invested in the story but Anna Willett had no problem sucking the readers in from the very first page.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson *** - For a long time now, I have been told numerous times to pick up The Haunting of Hill House but classics no matter how short or how similar they are to what I currently read scare the shit out of me. However, I have finally given in to the peer pressure and picked it up just in time for Halloween especially since it is under 200 pages in length. We are introduced to our main characters, Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting”, Theodora, the light-hearted assistant, Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. For the first 60 pages we simply learn about the characters as they all arrive at Hill House and feel the evil surrounding it, Eleanor more than the other it seems. We also learn about the tragic history of the house through Dr. Montague as he has spent years looking for evidence of the paranormal and no one but the Doctor is taking it too seriously right now. As we are a third of the way through the book I wasn’t yet understand what all the hype was about was right now.
Psycho by Robert Bloch **** - I was under the impression that Psycho was a standalone novel like its movie adaptation so I was pleasantly surprised to learn it was a series. I just finished the Hellraiser series which was a classic series that I adored so I was eager to get into Psycho since I love the Hitchcock movie. We are introduced to Norman Bates who is still lived with his mother at 40, he is a meek and mild mannered man who has no ambition or drive and is your classic Mamma’s boy as his mother like to tell him and together they are running the Bates Motel. However, we are quickly drawn away from Norman to meet Mary Crane. Mary is a 27 year old working endlessly after caring for her mother and younger sister Lila when one day her boss asks her to deposit $40,000 in the bank and Mary makes the rash decision to steal it in order to pay her lover Sam’s debt so they can get married and be together. After fleeing Mary ends up at the Bates Motel on her way to Sam’s after she makes a wrong turn, after spending the evening with Norman and getting to know him Mary is secure in her decision to steal the money and takes a shower. This is where the infamous shower scene occurs and Mary dies less than a quarter of the way through the novel and I was already hooked and I can’t wait to see how the novel differs from the movie and I might make a book vs movie post about Psycho in the future.
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca ***** - I originally picked this up because it was recommended to fans of Tender is the Flesh which has been on my TBR for a while but the cover design finally made me pick it up as I have been craving darker books lately and it’s only just over 100 pages long. The whole book consists of internet correspondence between two women, Zoe Cross and Agnes Petrella and we are aware from a comment about a redacted email address that something happens involving Zoe as she is part of a criminal case and I was wondering what it could be. The relationship between Zoe and Agnes begins fairly innocently as Agnes is selling a family heirloom in order to pay her rent and Zoe is going to buy it but after learning of its sentimental value to Agnes and her reason for selling it she gives Agnes $1000 dollars not to sell it starting a friendship between the women.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid *.5 - I have been on a dark reading kick lately and this is a book that was recommended to me a lot so I decided to pick it up. From the very beginning I’m Thinking of Ending Things was really strange as we are introduced to Jake and his unnamed girlfriend as they are driving to meet his parents. Jake’s family clearly know about the girlfriend but she hasn’t told anyone about him and we don’t know why yet. As they drive she is thinking a lot about their relationship and how they met, so I assumed the ending was of their relationship but it very quickly that’s a darker turn.
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer ***** - The opening to Annihilation was brilliant, none of the protagonists are named, they are only referred to by their role within the team. The team is the 12th currently being sent into Area X to document things there by the Southern Reach branch of the Government that has complete control over Area X. The new team consists of four women, an anthropologist, a surveyor, a psychologist who is also the de facto leader and our narrator, a biologist. I immediately found something off about the group having to hypnotized in order to enter Area X and this seems to be weakest on the biologist. After some basic exploring of the area they come across an underground tunnel that the biologist refers to as a tower and begin exploring it since it isn’t on their map. Down there they find writing written in what seems to be fungi but the biologist gets too close and inhales the spores but she keeps this to herself for now as we are already aware that only the surveyor is going to be around in a few days times for one reason or another. However, when the psychologist hypnotizes the others into staying calm and believing certain things about the tunnel the biologist reasons that the spores must have made her immune to the hypnosis but she plays along as she thinks there is more going on that she realises right now. This was a very gripping opening to the novel and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan ***.75 - I am reading These Hollow Vows for the Double Booked book club as it is our November pick but it wasn’t really on my radar before then as I have a major love, hate relationship with books involved the Fae. We are introduced to Brie, a thief who steals in order to pay her debts to her aunt, Madame V for looking her and her sister, Jas. Brie’s living situation gave me major Cinderella retelling vibes which I was thrilled with but I decided to give it a go to see where the novel would go. After stealing a large amount of money from Creighton Gorst in order to keep her and her sister safe, Brie is devastated to learn that her aunt has sold her sister to the Unseelie King, the King of the Shadow Court and she is not going to let anything stop her from getting her sister back. As there is a ball happening in the Court of the Seelie, she decides to go and find her sister that way which the help of her aunt’s goblin, Bakken. This is more complicated than she thought as Gorst’s men are after her for stealing from him but she manages to make it to the Queen’s Court, however, she is in no state to attend a ball and is helped by Pretha.
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk **** - The opening to Fight Club was interesting as it opens with our unnamed narrator and Tyler have a stand off as the Parker-Morris building blows up around them before jumping back in time. Here our narrator has been attending support group for various things because of their insomnia and crying at these groups is the only thing that allows them to sleep. However, this routine is being disrupted by the presence of Marla Singer as she seems aware that the narrator is a fake as they have never experienced terminal illness and it throws them off. We also learn of how the narrator met Tyler Durden and it is already clear that the narrator seems to be suffering from D.I.D or schizophrenia as they make a statement claiming they know things because Tyler knows them, not because Tyler told them which would make sense if the movie adaptation were faithful and I am excited to see where it goes.
Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw ** - I recently watched a vlog of BooksandLala reading Nothing but Blackened Teeth and she was disappointed with it, as it has been on my TBR for a little while I thought I’d pick it up and see what I thought of it as we have similar reading tastes when it comes to horror. The opening of Nothing but Blackened Teeth was interesting as we are introduced to our protagonist, Cat, who has been flown to Japan for the wedding of her friend. The group numbers five, Cat, rich boy Phillip, her best friend Lin, and the “happy couple” Faiz and Talia. There is some bad blood between the group as Cat previously tried to break up Talia and Faiz because she felt they weren’t a good fit as they were always fighting. As a result of this, Talia doesn’t like Cat and didn’t want her at the wedding but Phillip who previously had a brief fling with Talia after he split up from Cat gets Talia to get let Cat attend.
Woom by Duncan Ralston ****.75 - I didn’t know anything about Woom before picking it up but it was recommended to me by Goodreads so I am going to check it out. It turns out that Woom is a play on words combining the words room and womb which are both relevant to the story but also it makes sense considering one of the quirks that Angel has within the story. I will warn everyone before picking this book up please check the triggers warnings as it is incredibly dark but I also found it strangely enduring as well. That could just be me and my fucked up way of thinking but double check before reading this book as it might take you by surprise especially with the twist at the end of the book.
The Warden by Jon Richter ***** - If you are looking for a book that is reminiscent of the past couple of years and will keep you hooked from the very first page to the very last, then look no further than The Warden. Honestly, I have a complicated relationship with most thrillers especially domestic and psychological thrillers because after a while you feel like you are reading the same book over and over again but I devoured The Warden in a single night and it completely earnt the five star rating I gave it. The novel takes place in the year 2024 when a virus has mutated so it is no longer safe to go outside at all, if that doesn’t sound like the last two years you live under a rock. In this book we are following a select group of people that live in the Tower, which is a block of flats completely isolated from the outside world. Life in the Tower seems great as even the doors and windows are bricked up for the safety of the residents and all of their needs are meet by the AI system, James. Everything seems to be going find until one of the residents, Eugene, starts to believe that James is malfunctioning. For me personally, if my survival was dependent on an AI the last thing you want is for that system to stop working.
The Crossing Gate by Asiel R. Lavie ****.5 - I honestly loved The Crossing Gate as it encompassed everything I loved about the dystopian romance genre with very few of the drawbacks. Lavie hooked me with the world and kingdoms of The Crossing Gate but she also excelled in creating its lore and the whole mechanism of the crossing and mashing together with a lot of other elements that just really appealed to me as a reader. For a first book in a series The Crossing Gate was really fast paced and it does jump around a little bit but once you get around this it was a really easy story to follow, especially towards the end where there are some twists that will have you screaming for the next book.
Nerdgasm by Kimberly Reese ****.75 - I didn’t know much about Nerdgasm before picking it up other than it features an experienced female and an inexperienced male which is something I have been missing in my smut lately so I was excited to get into it. We are introduced to Theodore initially when he is a child as his mother is concerned over his stutter which developed after the death of his father and has gotten worse as he got older. His mother is told there is nothing wrong with Theo and he might grow out of it like most children do but he might not but there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. We jump forward to when Theo is 23 and he is a still a shy, nerdy boy with a stutter but he is becoming a teaching assistant for a professor named, Cohen. We are also introduced to his best friend, Demi, but she isn’t the love interest as they grew up together and are more like siblings.
Prince’s Gambit by C. S. Pacat ***** - I recently read the Captive Prince and loved it so I couldn’t wait to continue on with the series and see if Damen and his new master, Prince Laurent can actually sort their relationship out with their countries on the brink of war. We re-join Damen and Laurent as they are heading for the border and the only reason Damen begged Laurent to go with him is not only because it is closer to home but because Damen feels an unusual desire to protect Laurent especially knowing that he killed the only person Laurent ever truly trusted and loved in his brother, Auguste. Laurent is still unaware that Damen is actually Damianos of Akielos, the person he wants to kill and the guilt of keeping his identity hidden seems to be eating away at Damen the more time passes.
King’s Rising by C. S. Pacat ****.75 - King’s Rising is the final book in the Captive Prince trilogy and I’m not ready for it to end. After waiting two whole books nearly for Damen and Laurent to end up together finally just as war is going to erupt, Damen makes the decision to make his identity knows in order to unite with Laurent as they prepare to face down the Regent. I have grown so attached to Damen and Laurent I am not ready to let them go but I am super excited to see what goes down in this final instalment. After Laurent leaves and Damen reveals his true identity he is met with hostility from the people of Vere, which he seems surprised by. The only way to calm the hostilities is to take over the fort which he allows his old friend, Nikandros to do, when that is done he heads out to meet Laurent as they planned. However, upon arriving at the Regent’s chosen battle ground, Laurent doesn’t arrive but Damen doesn’t flinch and leads his men to victory there especially after discovering that the Regent isn’t present. Laurent, meanwhile, was captured by some of the men working for his uncle and manages to free himself and see the battle finished.
Kolkata Noir by Tom Vater ****.5 - I recently read The Devil’s Road to Kathmandu which I really enjoyed so I was looking forward to getting into Kolkata Noir. The novel opens in Calcutta in 1999 as we see Paulami Roychowdhury cheating on her husband with Richard Dunlop and she also plans to assassinate her husband. We are introduced to Inspectress Madhurima Mitra who is trying to track down both Paulami and Richard possibly as suspects in the murder of Abir. The pair end up at the home of her brother-in-law, Kishore, who tells them they need to get out of Calcutta as soon as possible because the police are looking for them and they leave immediately. Madhurima is also working with another foreigner called Becker, who knew Richard in the hopes of tracking him down along with his lover.
I Know Your Secret by Daphne Benedis-Grab ****.25 - I Know Your Secret is pitched as One of Us is Lying and Pretty Little Liars for middle grade readers so I genuinely didn’t know what to expect as those books stray into some dark places at times. I am not saying middle grade can’t be dark and can’t do dark well, it is just unusual given these books are often aimed at pre-teens so I was reasonably surprised by what it actually delivered. We are following four students who all receive the same mysterious text blackmailing them in order to keep their secrets safe which was intriguing from the very beginning. Each student is given a very specific set of instructions to follow in order to escape their fate. When the students realise they have gotten the same message the band together despite not really bothering with each other under normal circumstances.
We Need to do Something by Max Brook III ***.75 - I didn’t know anything about We Need to do Something before getting into it other than it was in my suggested horror reads so I decided to pick it up since I have been in the mood for horror and dark books lately. All I know is from the synopsis is that we are following a family on the verge of self-destruction finds themselves isolated in their bathroom during a tornado warning. We are introduced to Mel, her brother Bobby, and her parents, Robert and Dee. From the very beginning we can see things aren’t right with the family as they shelter from a tornado believing it to be just another storm. Robert is an alcoholic and his relationship with Dee is toxic at best and this immediately comes out but the children are able to temper the emotions of their parents. After hours of the storm raging outside they realise that a tree has fallen through their house as blocked the bathroom door in addition to the roof being ripped off.
Dreams of the Vengeful by Adelaide Forrest ****.25 - The first part of the novel takes place over several years, when we are first introduced to Calix, the heir to one of the six mafia families he is 13 and signing a marriage contract, meaning he will marry the five year old Thalia when she comes of age. Not wanting to be like the other men in the six families Calix decides to befriend Thalia and keep her ignorant of the contract until she is old enough to understand allowing him to be friend and create a bond with her before she is dragging into their world. However, this is made difficult because Thalia’s father views her colour blindness and left handedness as unfavourable traits and often beats her for it, when Calix finds out about this he makes adjustments to the contract preventing Thalia’s father from punishing her without consulting with Calix about the method and for a time Thalia’s life is great and she becomes good friends with Calix. One day, the affair between Calix’s father and Thalia’s mother is discovering leading to the death of Thalia’s mother in front of the 7/8 year old girl and the banishment of Calix’s family meaning he can’t protect Thalia anymore. We then jump forward 12 years where Thalia is now around 20 and as the synopsis stated, Calix will be making his return soon.
Dead Inside by Chandler Morrison ***** - I didn’t know what I was expecting when I picked up Dead Inside but it certainly wasn’t what I got, both in a good and bad sense. First let me start my review by saying to check the trigger warnings before reading this book and it is very dark and contains themes like necrophilia so please be aware of that when reading this book and my review as I will be discussing it. We are introduced to our protagonist, a hospital security guard who is a necrophiliac, as he can not get aroused by living women despite trying on several occasions and he is content with his life, until one day he catches a doctor in the hospital named Helen committing acts of cannibalism in the morgue.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson **.75 - I recently read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and I didn’t love it although it came highly recommended so I am giving her other highly recommended book a go before I write off the author as not for me. The opening to We Have Always Lived in the Castle was confusing to say the least, we are introduced to Mary Katherine Blackwood and her sister Constance who live with their uncle Julian on the family farm but they seem to be hated by everyone in the local village. Mary Katherine is the only member of the family that leaves the house for any reason and its normally to get food and books in order to sustain them while they live in the house. As we get to know the family we can tell something is wrong with them especially when the murder of the rest of the family is mentioned. We learn that the entire family was poisoned with arsenic from a meal that Constance cooked and the only one to escape alive was uncle Julian although he was mildly poisoned. Mary Katherine escaped because she was not present at the dinner and although Constance prepared the meal and was arrested she was later acquitted but there is still resentment towards the family from the village.
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys ***.5 - All I knew about Wide Sargasso Sea before getting into it was that it is an alternative look at Jane Eyre which is actually one of the few classics I have every enjoyed although it was in manga format but I was still excited to pick up this novel. This novel isn’t very long and as I am quite familiar with the story of Jane Eyre my review of Wide Sargasso Sea isn’t going to be long. We are introduced to Antoinette Cosway and the novel is told in three part, her childhood, her marriage, and the events leading up to what happened in Jane Eyre.
Pretty, Dark and Dirty by Margot Scott **** - I didn’t know anything about Pretty, Dark and Dirty before getting into it but I love a good taboo romance and this was recommended for fans of Forbidden by Seven Rue which I really enjoyed so I picked it up. We are introduced to Jett, whose father, Mason Black left when she was 12 years only, now 18 she goes looking for Mason which isn’t hard as he is quite a famous artist and she meets up with him intending to spend the summer in New York anyway. The real reason Jett is reconnecting with Mason is because her mother told her that Mason wasn’t her biological father and she believes that he might have some information on who her real father is. Mason does seem to know but he can’t tell Jett who it is and he advises her that something are better left in the past and her father is one of them.
Come Closer by Sara Gran **** - I didn’t know anything about Come Closer before I got into it because I was told to go into it blind which I did and I have to say I really enjoyed it. We are following Amanda who believes she is possessed by a demon or slowly going mad and it’s up to us to figure out which one it is. Amanda is happily married to Ed when we first meet her although strange noises in their home are the first clue that something strange is going on but they seem to forget about it until Amanda dreams about a mysterious women called Naamah who reminds her of the imaginary friend, Pansy she had as a child and she finds comfort in Naamah.
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