October was a great reading month for me after a few slumpy months and I am hoping for this to continue until the end of the year.
Human Remains by Peter Milligan – Dax and Bisa love each other. But in this new and terrifying world, love is dangerous. Feeling anything is dangerous. Earth has a new and terrible invader—monsters that deprive us of the very feelings that make us human. A shocking tale of pent-up emotions, perilously loud sex, and forced composure in the face of unspeakable horror…from one of the most celebrated writers in comics, Peter Milligan (X-Force, Enigma, Shade, the Changing Man, Hellblazer) and breakout horror artist Sally Cantirino (I Walk With Monsters, The Final Girls).
Flight 171 by Amy Christine Parker – Devon Marsh is haunted by secrets. Like the identity of the person who killed her twin sister, Emily, in a hit and run accident last Halloween, which Devon has vowed to uncover. Like the things Devon said to Emily just before she died. But she’s determined to start fresh when she boards a four-hour flight along with her classmates for their senior class ski trip. Devon never could have guessed those secrets would surface in the most terrifying way when a supernatural creature hijacks their flight and gives the students a deadly ultimatum: Choose one among them to sacrifice before the end of the flight. Or the plane will crash. As the clock ticks down, the creature slowly unearths the passengers’ deepest, darkest secrets—and reveals that one of the teens on the plane is responsible for Emily’s death. The students must agree on a sacrifice, or there won’t be any survivors. But can Devon find a way to stop the creature, or will she give in to her anger and let revenge take control?
Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne – After the death of her mom (screw cancer), seventeen-year-old Cecelia Ellis goes to live with her estranged grandmother, a celebrated author whose Victorian mansion is as creepy as the murder mysteries she writes. On the surface, life is utterly ordinary in the California coastal town . . . until the homecoming queen is murdered. And she’s not Seaview’s first pretty dead queen. With a copycat killer on the loose, Cecelia throws herself into the investigation, determined to crack the case like the heroines in her grandmother’s books. But the more Cecelia digs into the town’s secrets, the more she worries that her own mystery might not have a storybook ending.
Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody – Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school, and her reputation, behind to follow her mother’s trail. Frightened and alone, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected, he’s a street lord and con man, but he might just be the only person who can help her. As their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless society, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city to uncover the truth. And she’ll need to play the game.
Stealing Greenwich by Brittany Geragotelis – Being the protégé (and daughter) of the man responsible for some of the world’s biggest heists has given Frankie Lorde a unique perspective. And a special set of skills. She can spot an FBI agent in a second, pick a lock in two, and steal a Bugatti in three. (Even if she’s technically too young to drive it.) Frankie and her dad are a team, and their jobs are the stuff of international awe. And then Dad is arrested. Sent to live with her uncle, who she barely knows and who is, ironically, a cop, Frankie is forced to navigate an entirely foreign world: suburbia. She has to go to middle school, learn what kids her age wear and eat and do for fun–and, alas, it doesn’t involve lifting expensive watches. But life in Greenwich, Connecticut, one of the richest towns in America, also opens her eyes to a startling reality, and seeing the stark contrast of the super-rich and the super-not-rich who support the community living side-by-side gives Frankie an idea. What if she were to put her less-than-legal know-how to good use, turning the tables and evening the score . . . ?
Going Wild by Brittany Geragotelis – For Frankie, using her less-than-legal set of skills to pull a heist against a crooked real estate mogul with the help of her new friend Ollie was super gratifying, but she’s getting restless now. And with her no end in sight for her dad’s prison sentence, she’s finally coming to terms with the fact that she may be in Connecticut for a lot longer than she expected. Volunteering at a local animal shelter over school break, Frankie and Ollie hear that there’s a dangerous exotic animal farm supplying Greenwich’s elite with lions and tigers and bears. (Oh my!) Feeling an instant kinship with the endangered creatures locked away in their cages, Frankie makes it her mission to find the perpetrators, free the beautiful beasts, and ensnare the bad guys in a trap of her own.
No Admissions by Brittany Geragotelis – When Frankie discovers that a classmate’s invention has been stolen the day before a school-wide competition, the once-renowned international thief figures she might as well flex her skills to steal it back. But just when Frankie’s about to call her mission a success, she learns there’s more to the story than she’d originally thought. A group of wealthy Greenwich parents are using their influence — and wallets — to guarantee that their kids get into the most exclusive institutions on the East coast, no matter how undeserving their kids are, or how far they have to go to ensure success. Easy peasy for Frankie to crack. Until she gets to know these classmates of hers…and their parents…and everyone’s real motivations and issues. Frankie sets the bar higher, to take the scam down from the top. The guy who’s been hired to get the kids into their desired schools: “Mr. Admissions.”
Textrovert by Lindsey Summers – Was it just a cell phone swap … or fate? It’s bad enough when high-school senior Keeley mistakenly swaps cell phones with a stranger. It’s even worse when the stranger turns out to be an obnoxious, self-centered boy named Talon … who’s just left for football camp with her phone. Reluctantly, the two agree to forward messages for a week. As Keeley gets to know Talon through their texts, she finds out he’s more than just an egocentric jock. In fact, the two fall for each other, hard. But Talon has been keeping a secret. One that makes their relationship all but impossible. Will Keeley ever be able to trust him?
Not Working by Lisa Owens – Claire Flannery has had more than a few sleepless nights lately. Maybe she shouldn’t have walked out of her job with no idea what to do next. Maybe she should think before she speaks — and maybe then her mother would start returning her calls. Maybe she should be spending more time going to art galleries, or reading up on current affairs, and less time in her pyjamas, entering competitions on the internet. Then again, maybe the perfect solution to life’s problems only arises when you stop looking for it . . .
The Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters – 1920s Oregon is not a welcoming place for Hanalee Denney, the daughter of a white woman and an African-American man. She has almost no rights by law, and the Ku Klux Klan breeds fear and hatred in even Hanalee’s oldest friendships. Plus, her father, Hank Denney, died a year ago, hit by a drunk-driving teenager. Now her father’s killer is out of jail and back in town, and he claims that Hanalee’s father wasn’t killed by the accident at all but, instead, was poisoned by the doctor who looked after him—who happens to be Hanalee’s new stepfather. The only way for Hanalee to get the answers she needs is to ask Hank himself, a “haint” wandering the roads at night.
Frostblood by Elly Blake – Ruby is a Fireblood. In a land ruled by frost, her very existence is a crime. She’s spent her whole life in hiding. Until the day Frostblood soldiers raid her village and kill her mother. The day she swears to avenge her people. She must travel deep into the heart of the enemy, to the court of the Frost King, with only the mysterious warrior Arcus – a Frostblood rebel – by her side. But with alliances between flame and ice strictly forbidden, is Arcus friend or foe? Ruby will only have one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who took everything from her. But she has no idea just how hot her fire will burn…
The Stars in Their Eyes by Kristy Gardner – Calay and Tess’s love has kept them alive four years after the aliens decimated Earth. But when Calay finds herself fighting for her life and Tess missing, she hears death knocking. Banging, really. She has nothing. Scraps for food, the clothes on her back, no safe place for respite. And yet, she is determined to risk it all to reunite with the one woman she has ever loved. She only has one choice: she must find Tess. Reluctantly, Calay braves the new nightmares of a ravaged Pacific Northwest, alone. Thrust into the darkness, she is haunted by horrors beyond her imagination—alien executioners, a mysterious man, the rise of a sinister cult, and a shocking family secret that challenges everything she thinks she knows. As the lines between good and evil blur, Calay’s desperation threatens to destroy what’s left of her humanity. Her heart smeared across her tattered sleeve, she is pulled deeper into the madness of a world that has become kill or be killed. Calay must deny her feral instincts and resist becoming a monster herself. While confronting her demons, she stares down the barrel of a terrifying truth: she may be forever alone. Time is running out and she knows it. Her only hope is to become who she is truly meant to be and unify with the love of her life once and for all. But, at what cost? To survive, Calay must choose between the unthinkable: give up, or give ‘em hell.
Savage Indulgence by Shayla Raquel – Joyce has a taste for the forbidden. After years of reveling in the finer things life has to offer, she invites four dinner guests to partake in an exquisite feast. As her guests morph into victims, Joyce prepares for the next phase of her dinner. But her long-awaited plans crumble before her very eyes when she realizes her victims may be defective. Despite the setbacks, Joyce will stop at nothing to satiate her hunger. Savage Indulgence is a skin-crawling short story with an acquired taste.
Under Her Skin by Toni Miller – Under Her Skin features the best in never-before-published dark verse and lyrical prose from the voices of Women in Horror. Centered on the innate relationship between body horror and the female experience, this collection features work from Bram-Stoker Award winning and nominated authors, as well as dozens of poems from women (cis and trans) and non-binary femmes.
An Evening of Romantic Lovemaking by Ben Slotky – An Evening of Romantic Lovemaking is the tale of a would-be standup comedian/terrorist as he hilariously and heart-wrenchingly performs his last act in front of an audience who may or may not be there. Curtis White calls it “both the funniest and one of the saddest novels I’ve ever read” and “a work of comic genius. While comparisons to Gilbert Sorrentino, Mark Leyner, and Flann O’Brien will be made, Slotky’s voice is entirely his own and one you’ll not soon forget.”
The Prince and the Witch by L. A. Thompson – For Prince Edward, he knew he needed to break his curse to live past the age of 17, and a young witch named Abbey may be his only salvation. Hexed on his fifth birthday by his magic-wielding grandmother, Edward has been forced to rely upon a special tincture to survive. But, with magic now banned throughout the kingdom of Arthura, the supply of his elixir running short, and his 17th birthday looming, Edward must set off for the Venatys mountains to seek the help of the witches and wizards who shelter there in isolation. Finding danger on the road to seeking a cure, Edward is rescued by Abbey, a sarcastic young witch. Both are wary of trusting the other, but they must learn to work together to try and lift the prince’s curse. As the pair are pursued by a mysterious figure, with an agenda of their own, can the prince and the witch overcome their internal conflicts to save Edward’s life before time runs out?
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