Review: Watersnakes

Watersnakes by Tony Sandoval
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was decent, but I feel like there was a lot of symbolism that was just lost on me.

It's a whimsical tale about two girls forming a friendship, one of whom has a bit of a teeth fetish? There's water and skeleton dogs and ethereal characters coming up from the depths.

The artwork is eerie but sweet, giving the characters elfin features, unrealistically thin figures and moist eyes. There's a dark, creepy quality to it which layers over the whimsy of the story quite well.

The story itself was interesting enough; short and sweet. I wish I hadn't read the blurb as I feel part of the story would have landed harder without foreknowledge of it.

All in all, this was a decent read to spend an hour or so with. Strange, but entertaining.

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Review: We Don't Talk About Emma

We Don't Talk About Emma by J.D. Barker
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Narrated by Piper Goodeve
Presented by RB Media

Can't say this one really did much for me.

A cop goes out to kill a man who got away with rape, only to discover he's already been bumped off. The main suspect is the girl he got away with raping, and she's fled into the belly of New Orleans.

The story gets pretty messy from here, and for some reason Nikki has zero concerns about the fact that she was at the crime scene. Instead, everyone just assumes Emma is the killer and ignores any kind of actual crime solving while they commence the manhunt. So the biggest pull this story had is immediately swept under the rug.

I'm gonna be honest - I didn't really like any of these characters. There's a lot between Nikki and Keith that makes it seem like this is a sequel, yet it's supposed to be a standalone. Not sure what's up with that. The romance between the two felt clunky and awkward and mostly pointless.

There's also a confusing cast of villains with similar personalities and the audio had most of the voices sounding the same so I found it difficult to keep straight who everyone was. I was getting names mixed up a lot and not sure where other characters were relevant.

Aside from that, there's just really not a lot to this story. It's mostly just cops chasing Emma, and a couple of creative deaths here and there to try and stay interesting.

The narration was okay, with enough inflection to keep the story clear, but as mentioned the voices all sounded the same to me so it was hard to tell people apart. I'd give this narrator another go, though, as I think it's more a fault of generic characters.

All in all, okay for a freebie but I wouldn't go out and buy it, and crime fans won't find anything special here.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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Review: Batman vs. Robin

Batman vs. Robin by Mark Waid
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a fun read, but it serves ultimately as a prequel to DC's Lazarus Planet event.

As a consequence, the first four issues are fantastic, but the fifth jumps to the AFTER, so it's place as the final piece of the story is clunky. If you'd like the whole story, make sure you get the Lazarus Planet story alongside this one, so you can read that between issues 4 and 5.

I loved the way this plays with Batman's history with each Robin. Ultimately, it's about Bruce and Damian, but there are some great moments featuring the other Robins as well.

I do enjoy the magic side of things, though I've found it hit and miss within DC's different stories. Here, I enjoyed it, and I liked how the villains came together. It seemed logical enough for me so I was happy to be along for the ride.

The final issue makes things a bit messy and changes the tone completely, but up until that point it's a great story.

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Review: TILL THE LAST PIECE: THE PERFECT RECIPE FOR MURDER

TILL THE LAST PIECE: THE PERFECT RECIPE FOR MURDER by Kenneth Cruz
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Narrated by Dena Kouremetis
Presented by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op

Macabre Minutes #1.

This was fine I guess for a 30min free listen.

It's quick to the point, and the story is decent enough, though it's definitely easy to suss from a mile away. I feel like it's the kind of plot you read and then swear you've read before elsewhere. So it was okay, but nothing outstanding.

My biggest issue was the narrator - she was fine, but she sounded more like a lil old grandma reading a bedtime story than a vengeful young wife. I just never got into the true horror headspace of the story because I was waiting for some kind of grandma/little old lady twist.

There's not enough here to really recommend, but if you're after a short listen and you have NetGalley it's an easy way to kill 30min.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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Review: The Prince Without Sorrow

The Prince Without Sorrow by Maithree Wijesekara
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked it, but it also wasn't as memorable as I wanted it to be.

Plot: Shakti is a badass (persecuted) witch, and Ashoka a pacifist prince. Naturally their lives entangle.

Although not all that much? I expected there to me more interaction between the two, but this book is mainly focused on Ashoka and his sibling rivalry. I enjoyed it, but it was a little tiresome after a bit and Ashoka never felt properly fleshed out to me.

Shakti was a fantastic character, and I loved that she's a bit morally grey. She makes emotional decisions that are not always smart but are always justifiable. I appreciated that. If this book had followed her a little more and given her more chance to shine, I probably would have given an extra star.

The writing was decent enough for a debut, but I do feel it was a little flat. There's not a lot of emotional depth to the story besides hammering home the point of how badly the witches are treated.

I enjoyed it well enough, but I don't think there was enough in this one to get me to pick up the sequel.

*Buddy read with Juliette*

With thanks to Harper Collins for an ARC

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Review: The Labyrinth House Murders

The Labyrinth House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Me while reading: I mean, it's good, but it's a bit predictable.

Me at the end: HOLY HECK DID I NOT SEE THAT COMING.

Yet another Japanese locked room mystery that I really enjoyed. There are puzzles throughout, and even when I thought I knew what was happening there were parts I couldn't solve. Really kept me guessing.

Fascinating characters, fun explanations, and appropriately ghastly deaths.

Also really enjoyed the brief reference to my other current favourite Japanese Detective, Kosuke Kindaichi.

I'll definitely be looking for more in this series.

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC

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Review: Victorian Psycho

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Narrated by Anna Burnett
Presented by RB Media

I think this would have been better as a read, as opposed to a listen.

It's told first person by a governess, who is driven by the homicidal thoughts she tries to stifle.

Sentences transform in the middle and it can be quite disorienting when listening, but I suspect it would come across as quite clever in written form. I found it a little too strange to listen to and actually listened twice in a row as I was convinced I'd missed things. Turns out I hadn't missed much at all - the book just changes that abruptly.

Some of it was a little too bizarre for me, and it seems more like black comedy than horror. There are elements that are quite absurd and just don't fly as realistic, giving this a more satirical feel.

The audio narrator matched the book's narrator really well in my mind, and her performance was fantastic for the content. I do feel the audio format lessened my enjoyment of this book, but this was never a fault of the narrator.

I think there were some really interesting elements to this story and I can see it gathering a cult following for its bizarreness. I would be interested to read a physical copy because I feel like maybe the audio format doesn't do it justice. I'd happily recommend it to horror fans looking for something a little more unusual.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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