Offbeat Offline: July 2024 (Back and Review-Packed)

Welcome to Offbeat Offline, where I bring you up-to-date with what went on in my life during the month just gone, give you a sneak peek of my next shenanigans, and share my favourite posts of late!

What happened last month to yours truly? Disappointing medical answers and a whole lot of heat. The only plus is that I managed to read a nice amount of books - I mean, for my standards...you know, since I spend so much time on the reviews afterwards, which severely hinders my reading. And even then, I cheated, because a couple of those books were short, and for a number of reasons, I wrote mini reviews for most of them...Anyhow, here goes my recap of July's most notable moments...

📚 OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW. As I said, I spent the month reading, but it's hard to make progress with your ARCs when you, oops, keep requesting new ones...I had 6 at the beginning of last month, I have 4 now 😅 😱. However, I managed to squeeze in 4 non-ARCs, and my yet-unread approvals have pub dates that go from November to January, so plenty of time for me to read and review them (if I don't request more, that is 😂)...I'm a bit bummed that I have been denied access to the latest Wayward Children book (on EW), after I got approved for the previous one and a bunk of other McGuire ARCs, but heh. Bumps in the road happen. The publisher must have become stricter, because I could only "wish for it" on NG this time...You know, I'm going to buy it no matter what, but I would have loved an early preview. Anyway - here's my monthly bookish recap...

Approvals (2+1):

• The Losting Fountain by Lora Senf (YA, portal fantasy/horror)

Ember, Miles, and Sam have been called home—only home is a place none of them have ever been before. The choices they make will not only determine their own futures but will also have vast and permanent consequences—they will either restore a cosmic balance or destroy the dams that separate two worlds, ending them both. Ember was called because she belonged, Miles because his mother belonged, and Sam . . . well, Sam arranged his own invitation. 

The Fountain itself is beautiful and alluring—yet so is the light of an anglerfish. Hidden below the surface, the world of the Fountain is unexplored and unmapped and full of wild things—leviathan and tiny, scuttling things and all manner of creature in between. There are other entities as well, entities that haunt and hunt in the Fountain, because it rewards nearly as often as it punishes, and it has been punishing the greedy and merciless and cruel for a very long time. For those, the Fountain becomes a prison.

The borders between our world and the world of the Fountain are already porous. If the balance between them is upset and control of the Fountain is lost, the consequences will be rapid, merciless, and world-ending. In every timeline that has been or will be, everywhere that water stands in our world will become a passageway for the violent damned to enter ours from the Fountain. For Ember, Miles, and Sam, all from different times, what starts as a journey to take control of their lives quickly becomes a quest to save—or destroy—both worlds, depending on whom you ask.

• In Universes by Emet North (Adult, multiverse - not really an ARC, because the US edition came out in April, while I got access to the UK edition, slated for August 8th)

Raffi works in an observational cosmology lab, searching for dark matter and trying to hide how little they understand their own research. Every chance they get, they escape to see Britt, a queer sculptor who fascinates them for reasons they also can’t—or won’t—understand. As Raffi’s carefully constructed life begins to collapse, they dream of a universe where they mean as much to Britt as Britt does to them. And just like that, Raffi and Britt are thirteen years old, best friends and maybe something more.

In Universes is a mind-bending tour across parallel worlds, each an answer to the question of what Raffi’s life would be like had things happened just a little differently. Across lives, Raffi—alongside their sometimes-friends, sometimes-lovers Britt, Kay, and Graham—reaches for a life that feels authentically their own. The universes grow increasingly strange. Women fracture into hordes of animals, alien-possessed bears prowl apocalyptic landscapes. But Raffi’s divergent existences all lead back to the summer of the terrible thing Raffi did and the guilt that continues to chase them across realities. Blending realism with science fiction, In Universes explores the pull of desire, the power of connection, the nature of identity, and the desire to lead a meaningful life.

• Voice Like a Hyacinth by Mallory Pearson (Adult, supernatural/dark academia/horror - not really an approval, because it's Read Now on NetGalley)

Art student Jo Kozak and her fellow classmates and best friends, Caroline, Finch, Amrita, and Saz, are one another’s muses—so close they have their own language and so devoted to the craft that they’ll do anything to keep their inspiration alive. Even if it means naively resorting to the occult to unlock their creativity and to curse their esteemed, if notoriously creepy, professor. They soon learn the horrible price to be paid for such a transgressive ritual.

In its violent aftermath, things are changing. Jo is feeling unnervingly haunted by something inexplicable. Their paintings, once prodigious and full of life, are growing dark and unhealthy. And their journey together—as women, students, and artists—is starting to crumble.

To right the wrong they’ve done, these five desperate friends will take their obsession a step too far. When that happens, there may be no turning back.

Reads (8+1 DNF):

• Through the Midnight Door by Katrina Monroe (Adult, supernatural/horror)

I ended up loving the contemporary aspect even more than the supernatural one, which says something...

• Naida (The Dead House #1.5) by Dawn Kurtagich (YA, supernatural/horror – novella. Also known as The Naida Tapes)

The companion novella for The Dead House, that I managed to read with some delay...and finally shed some light on a certain aspect of the main story I never really understood.

• Coins of Chaos by Jennifer Brozek et al. (Adult/YA, supernatural/horror - anthology)

I read this one because it has a Seanan McGuire story, but on the whole, I wasn't particularly impressed. Though I have a complicated relationship with the short-story format, so...🤷‍♀️

• The Unfinished by Cheryl Isaacs (YA, supernatural/horror)

Good YA story for the actual YA target...not mature enough (or horrifying enough 😂) for me. But I did like it!

• In Universes by Emet North (see above)

It blew me away and rocked my socks off and everything. How is this a debut? 😮

• The Ravening by Daniel Church (Adult, supernatural/horror)

I had some issues with it, but it was very good on the whole, and I really loved certain parts.

• The Proper Thing and Other Stories by Seanan McGuire (Adult/YA, multigenre - anthology)

There are some gems in here, and the overall level is really high. McGuire always manages to make me stomach stories that I probably wouldn't like from other writers, though a couple I can't say I loved. But the rest. Oh, the rest. Plus, mad creativity.

• Magic Fire by Christopher Pike (YA, sci-fi/contemporary)

One of the craziest books he's ever written, which, again, says something. No review for now, because I needed something to read with no "obligations" attached...

• Coup De Grâce by Sofia Ajram (Adult, psychological horror - novella)

Extreme body horror and gross imagery that I couldn't stomach, plus the writing was often on the purplish side. DNF.

Reviews (8):

• Through the Midnight Door by Katrina Monroe (see above)

Coming in a few days...

• Naida (The Dead House #1.5) by Dawn Kurtagich (see above)

Mini review on GR for now - on the blog later.

• Coins of Chaos by Jennifer Brozek et al. (see above)

Mini review on GR for now - on the blog later.

• The Unfinished by Cheryl Isaacs (see above)

Mini review scheduled for next month.

• In Universes by Emet North (see above)

Mini review scheduled for next month (as a rule I review every book that I rate 4 to 5 stars in full, unless it's a novella or an anthology. But I decided to write a mini review for this one because, due to its peculiar structure, one of my average-sized reviews would have ended up being redundant and probably too spoilery...not to mention, this book technically falls under the short-story-collection umbrella, though of course it also doesn't...you'll understand when you read my review 🙂).

• The Ravening by Daniel Church (see above)

Review scheduled for next month.

• The Proper Thing and Other Stories by Seanan McGuire (see above)

Mini review on GR for now - on the blog later.

• Coup De Grâce by Sofia Ajram (see above)

DNF mini review scheduled for next month.

Here are my scheduled reviews for this month (a.k.a. the month of mysterious houses...😂):

• The Building That Wasn't by Abigail Miles (on Wed. 7th);
• The Drowning House by Cheryl Priest (on Mon. 12th);
• Deadgirl: Gravedust (Deadgirl #5) by B.C. Johnson * (on Sat. 17th);
• Through the Midnight Door by Katrina Monroe (on Thu. 22nd)

* Please note: Deadgirl: Gravedust doesn't have a Goodreads page nor a cover yet...and I'm still waiting for the eARC to get delivered in my inbox. But the author set the pub date for Mon. 20th, so I trust him to send me my copy in time...🙂 Anyhow, if push comes to shove - or the release gets slightly delayed - I can always swap Gravedust and Midnight Door's posting dates...

Reviews aside, I'll participate in the Tell Me Something Tuesday meme on the 27th (question: Which Books Are You Looking Forward to Reading This Fall? (September-November)). Still lacking the time and willpower to join the meme until I manage to get back on track with...everything, but I plan on visiting your blogs and read your answers at least! In the meantime, here's the TMST prompt list for the month of August, in case you want to join in:

• August 6th: What is your favorite summer treat?
• August 13th: Do you have a musical talent? What is it?
• August 20th: How long have you been blogging? And has your blog changed over time? (a question I submitted)
• August 27th: Which books are you looking forward to reading this fall? (September-November)

❌ IT'S A NO FROM US. My husband was officially pronounced ineligible for the hyperbaric chamber therapy that might have helped with his stagnant leg wound. You might remember that he first tried the nearest hospital that provides such therapy, but they had already decided not to treat ulcers anymore. The second hospital he tried, after a consultation with an ENT doctor, refused to admit him because of a tiny eardrum perforation in his left ear, which could worsen during the treatment without him being none the wiser until later. So...we're back to square one. The worst thing is, with the medication and pad and whatnot, trying to walk is a nightmare - there's leaking, you have to cover the dressing with yet another dressing (it can't be changed more that twice a week, because it has to do its job), sometimes the foot swells on top of that, and there's no shoe that fits the mess - not to mention that, according to the orthopedist, my husband would have to use an arch support too to alleviate his foot pain...plus, as an amputee, he has to wear a prosthetic on his other leg, and he already had enough walking problems before (he even used two canes). Now we've decided to wait until his next visit with the difficult wounds doctor (scheduled for September) AND the end of the heat (hopefully), because walking in this hellfire would be too taxing anyway, and then we'll consider our options...I mean, the wound seems to be responding to the latest medication, but still - long way to go.

🥵 MELTING POT. ...Yep, the heat "finally" arrived...after the first days of July, it's been a nightmare. I suppose we should deem ourselves lucky that June was on the tepid side here. I spend my days (and nights) in front of a small army of fans (one in the kitchen, one in the living room, one in the bedroom, one in the spare room), avoid cooking at all costs, and do my darnedest not to go on errands more than twice a week (thrice if I REALLY can't help it). Housekeeping? what's that?

Since I was on hiatus, I haven't blog-hopped at all in July, so I've got nothing 🙁. But I'm getting back in the game, so this section will be operative in my next monthly recap!

That's it for now. My next post will be up on August 7th, and it will be the review for The Building That Wasn't I mentioned above.

So, what were your highs/lows in the past month?