​Carmen Sanchez accepts a job overseeing the renovation of an old church near her hometown in Mexico.  She sees this as the perfect opportunity to have her two daughters, Izel and Luna visit their home country and experience the culture.  Soon after her arrival, Carmen begins to feel the hardships of being a woman running a construction site in the midst of men who don't trust her.  The city is also more dangerous than she thought and Carmen feels bad for leaving Izel and Luna on their own all day.  After an accident on the construction site that nearly injures Luna and opens up a part of the church with lost relics, Carmen and the girls head back to New York.  However, while in Mexico, Carmen was warned of an evil that has attached to Luna and it seems that it might have followed her back to New York.  

From the prologue, I was drawn into Piñata with the revenge of the Nahuas god and a culture that may not be as lost and forgotten as many believe.  The story is very character driven and Carmen's character is very well done.  I enjoyed her complexity and multiple viewpoints; she is a single mother, a Mexican woman, an immigrant and works in a male dominated field.  Carmen was very aware of her position and the very real dangers that could be in front of her.  The paranormal danger snuck in and built gradually throughout the story in a way that I wasn't quite sure if it was threatening or just a resurgence of what once was.  Through the glimpses into the past, I did like learning about the Nahua culture, food and practices.  There was horror built into the very real decimation of the culture by the Conquistadors as well as the story of the spirit that attached itself to Carmen's daughter.  A gruesome and satisfying ending rounds out an intriguing novel of ancient retribution. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

After the death of Wilder's Uncle Vernon, his family decides to use Vernon's cabin on the shore of Maine's Whistler Bay for a much needed summer vacation.  Wilder decides that he will make friends and maybe even find a girlfriend this summer.  He quickly finds friends in local teens, Nat and summer resident, Harper.  The group quickly becomes enamored with the local lore of drownings and the Dagger Man of Whistler Bay.  However, the fantasy soon becomes too real as Wilder, Nat and Harper find the victims and figure out that the perpetrator is someone close to them.  Still dealing with the impacts from that summer, Wilder sets off to college in Pennsylvania.  Suffering from panic attacks, Wilder finds a friend in Sky, who comforts Wilder and has a special interest in his trauma.  Years later, after Wilder attempts to put together his summer at Whistler Bay into a memoir, Sky publishes Looking Glass Sound, a bestseller based on Wilder's memories.  Wilder makes his way back to Whistler Bay in order to confront his memories and set the record straight. 

Looking Glass Sound  is a story within a story within a story that bends, stretches and tests the limits of what you believe is reality.  The three stories told in succession create an underlying current of unknowing, unease and suspense. With each of the characters warping slightly in each of the story retellings, I wasn't quite sure of who everyone truly was and it seemed like everyone was an unreliable narrator.  Everyone's story seemed like an atonement piece to try to rewrite their past with small bits of their true selves coming through.  While it seemed like the main character should have been Wilder, I think the real focus of the story was the first victim of the Dagger Man, Rebecca. I thought it was really interesting that Wilder interacted with the Dagger Man after he was caught, it was insightful to see the thought process of a murderer and how the meeting affected Wilder.  With many secrets, twists and unknowns, Looking Glass Sound is a unique horror experience.  

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

​Tara Boone fought for a place at Corbin College hoping to get into the esteemed Magni Viri academic society which provides a full scholarship.  However, Tara isn't accepted and is muddling through college with two jobs and a more practical academic track.  When one of Magni Viri's star pupils, Meridith Brown dies unexpectedly, Tara is offered her spot.  Tara readily accepts, with tuition and board fully covered, Tara no longer has to work and gets to move into Denfeld Hall with the rest of the Magni Viri students.  Now, with an automatic friend group and a semi-creepy initiation ceremony, Tara finally feels accepted.  She also has a lot more time to work on her writing.  Tara begins writing in the middle of the night, in a haze, she barely remembers what she wrote; if it wasn't in her own handwriting, she wouldn't believe it.  The writing also seems a lot more like Meredith's writing than her own.  Tara begins to believe that she is being haunted by Meredith's ghost and is being forced to finish her story.  As Tara learns more about Magni Viri and its members, she discovers something more disturbing about its membership and decides she must free herself from its grasp.  


All That Consumes Us is an atmospheric, gothic story set within a college secret society.  I was pulled in by the mystery of Magni Viri and their consistency in producing outstanding students.  Tara's character is at a point where she is desperate while being resourceful and diligent, making her a perfect target for Magni Viri's deeds. The writing builds the tension slowly as a student dies and Tara finally finds her place and her goals begin to seem realistic, but things simply don't seem right with the students of Magni Viri, their accomplishments or the novella Tara is writing.   As Tara continues in Magni Viri, obsession seems to overtake her and she is not herself.  The feeling of wanting what you can't have along with slipping from reality permeates Tara as well as Denfield Hall.  The quote "...some of the dead don't sleep.  They don't rest. They rise up from their graves to steal hours from the living," summarizes the atmosphere. I was really interested in the story that Tara was writing and would have loved to have more history behind that as well as the beginning of Magni Viri.  I would have also loved to see some of Tara's writing when she wasn't under the influence and how she infused the emotions she experienced into her craft.  Overall, a queer, gothic, ghostly coming of age story with amazing characters.  



This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

After a tragic fire kills the families in Douglas Jones' apartment complex, he is charged with murder.  Luckily, a good lawyer takes his case and offers Douglas and his mom a chance to start fresh at Regent Academy in Winslow, Vermont.  With an offer that seemed too good to be true, Douglas becomes the only black student at Regent.  Upon arrival, Douglas is warned not to go into the Atolas forest bordering the school, but that is difficult for Douglas since the forest seems to be speaking to him since he arrived.  After a student wanders into the forest and dies, everyone at the school forgets the student except for Douglas and Everett Everley, the son of the school groundskeeper. Douglas soon learns of a curse upon the town of Winslow and the descendants of the families that participated in a cruel act 300 years ago, an ancient vengeful god and the magic in the forest.  Douglas' abilities mean he is able to break the curse, but as Douglas learns more about the god, Etaliein and his story, Douglas doesn't believe that killing him is the answer anymore.

The Forest Demands Its Due is an immersive Young Adult horror with an intriguing mystery and wonderful characters.  I was pulled in from the beginning with Douglas hearing the forest and seeing a classmate injured in the forest only to have everyone forget about him the next day.  The writing engrossed me in the small town of Winslow, Vermont with the foreboding Atolas forest and formidable Regent Academy.  Douglass doesn't exactly fit in to Winslow, his past, his race and his lifestyle are all different, but the forest seems to reach out to him. I was really interested in the history of Winslow, the god of the forest, Etaliein and how the curse began.  As Douglas digs for answers, the mystery of the forest unravels, but I do wish there was more context and we could know Etalein before tragedy struck.  I enjoyed seeing Douglas and Everett's relationship grow as they went into the forest together.  The magic of the forest was captivating along with the Perversions and Emissaries, the creatures that protected the forest.  I loved that Douglas was able to help end the curse in his own unique way that shows that love can overcome.  






This book was received for free in return for an honest review.