Review: The Serial Killer Survivors Club: The Bold and Heartstopping Thriller from Bestselling Author Fiona Cummins

The Serial Killer Survivors Club: The Bold and Heartstopping Thriller from Bestselling Author Fiona Cummins by Fiona Cummins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun new take on serial killer tropes.

I enjoyed getting know the cast, though I did want a little more of the awesome foursome rather than just Sulky and Bliss.

The in-between chapters were well written, and I thought it was cleverly detailed.

The tension stays solid in those chapters, but the rest of the story is more about trauma bonding and friendship.

At times the story felt a little slow, but it did well with character exploration in those moments so I didn't mind.

Honestly, I enjoyed it from start to finish, and it had some great moments. I'd easily recommend it for crime fans.

With thanks to NetGalley for a copy

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Review: Witches of the Wheel

Witches of the Wheel by Lindsay Merbaum
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Narrated by Rylie Jackson
Presented by Dreamscape Media

Honestly this was a horrendous, weird lil lesbian orgy from start to finish and I spent most of it waiting for an actual plot of any kind while generally feeling uncomfortable.

Also there's just, like, an unnecessarily high frequency of the word 'butch' and other various stereotype terms. So much cringe.

The story begins with our protagonist copping abuse and being used by her mother, and is generally horrible. Gold tends to go along with it because what else can she do? But this book also has dumb moments like multiple references to 'reading' people (i.e. psychically) and then our main character being like, 'huh? why is she asking about what books I read?' BRUH.

So we're not dealing with a smart book here.

Gold finds herself at an underground lesbian bar, and from there it just gets weirder and nastier while moving no further.

I won't go into details - safe to say it was not my cup of tea.

There didn't seem to be a lot of plot beyond multiple love interests and some weak ideas around powerful goddesses. Honestly? I tuned out a lot because there's so much vulgarity. But most of the book takes place at or around the bar so there's not a lot of variety here at all.

I could forgive the book if it had a strong story, or some powerful women doing impressive things, but this is mediocre people and weak characters being used as an excuse to go into smutty details of sexual debauchery.

Not for me, folks, and not one I can really recommend, though queer readers might appreciate it a little more than I did.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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Review: Monstera

Monstera by Delilah S. Dawson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Narrated by Laura English
Presented by Tantor Media

Not quite the horror story I was expecting - mostly two lonely girls with secrets pasts getting to know each other.

I was hoping for some creeping vines, plants taking over, some kind of eerie botanical horror, but this really is more about the budding romance between Lucy and Saskia. I didn't mind it, but it wasn't what I came for.

There's some 'horror' in the sleazy landlord and his behaviour, but it's so commonplace for women to experience this that it wasn't horrific so much as a sad fact of womanhood. Beyond that, there's a seed here and there but not much more.

I did enjoy the conclusion, but there wasn't enough substance to the rest of the story to leave me feeling satisfied. I think fans of F/F romance might enjoy this slightly creepier contemporary love story, but horror fans might be disappointed.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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Review: Winterset Hollow

Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Narrated by Alex Wyndham
Presented by Hodder & Stoughton Audio

Just as good second time around, and the audio was fantastic!!

I really love this book, and it was so much fun revisiting it in audio format.

Yes, I love the homicidal animals, but there's also a lot of depth to the story with important themes penetrating deeper than the surface horror.

My original thoughts can be found HERE so this will just be a review for the audio version and my thoughts on a second reading.

I love that this is a story of belonging, and of connections. Friendship is big, and I liked being able to appreciate these things even more on a second read. Yes, it's a horror story, but it's not horror for horror's sake.

I was surprised by the choice of narrator at first, but it perfectly suited the story and I found it to be an entertaining performance that sucked me right in. No distractions while listening to this one - I wanted to catch every single word. The characters were well defined by voice, and there was just the right amount of urgency and drama as it was needed.

This really cemented my love for this story, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's the perfect blend of cute fairytail and slasher horror.

Horror fans should get a kick out of this truly original offering.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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Review: Batman: Under the Red Hood

Batman: Under the Red Hood by Judd Winick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Definitely well worth a read.

This is the Red Hood origin story - find out what exactly happened to make him the blood-thirsty anti-hero we know and love.

It's a mystery with plenty of action, as Red Hood begins taking out drug pushers and hitting every level of the Black Mask crime syndicate. Unlike Batman, he's okay killing men who are responsible for vile acts.

I really enjoyed this story and it's a must-read in the Bat family history. Plenty of the classic crime-hunting you know and love in a Batman story, but we've got an edge here with this in-between guy who's not afraid to take a little revenge.

Highly recommend for Batman fans wanting more of the pinnacle moments.

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Review: Beautiful Ugly

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Definitely went in a direction I wasn't expecting.

An author's wife goes missing, and a year later his chronic writer's block sees him retreat to a secluded island to try and finish his book. But not everything on this island is as it seems ...

A fun start but I must confess, I did not like Grady from the beginning. He struck me as arrogant and petulant, but I suppose that was the point. As strange things begin to happen, you kind of feel like he deserves it a bit, so it's an interesting perspective. He definitely rubbed me the wrong way!

The pace is solid, with plenty of strange occurrences and moments that keep you guessing. Characters are unique, though they're relatively familiar.

I think its weakness lies in its conclusion, as it all seemed a little far-fetched to me. I wanted better explanations, and this let me down.

Still, a twisty thriller that will keep you guessing, and an easy read. Crime fans should still enjoy it.

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Review: Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Why, WHY is this terrible book beloved???

Firstly, let me be clear. I perfectly understand that everyone being horrible was the point. I'm not an idiot. I also don't totally hate the notion of a love story between two despicable people (see second star).

For me, my biggest issue was how long and pointless it began to feel.

This book was constantly advertised to me as the pinnacle of gothic romance - an epic love story for the ages. But there was nothing epic here at all - it's two people who love each other but hate everyone around them and make themselves, each other, and everyone else miserable.

It's also twice as long as it needs to be, with the second part really being a sad echo of the first. Again, I can see the intention to have this be a clever redux with small yet significant differences, but that didn't mean I enjoyed reading all the same boring happenings again.

Not to mention that I couldn't understand a damn word out of Joseph's mouth.

There is some small pleasure in loathing these characters, and that also contributes to the second star I offer. I don't believe a book that focuses entirely on despicable people is necessarily bad. For me, the real crime was just in how dull the thing was. It essentially amounts to 300-odd pages of mean name-calling and metaphorical hair-pulling. There are numerous treks back and forth between the properties, wandering the moors, etc. but there's very little to note beyond births, deaths and general horridness.

Credit where credit is due - there are some truly despicable acts that do entertain with their scandalous nature. But on the whole, not nearly enough to make this book stand out for that reason, either.

I don't know how much sense this will make, but if lukewarm dishwater were a book, this would be it.

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