Chuck Wendig: "The Staircase in the Woods" (ARC Review)

Title: The Staircase in the Woods [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Chuck Wendig [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural, Thriller/Mystery
Year: 2025
Age: 18+
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Brilliant, exciting twist on a popular urban legend and a beloved horror trope.
Cons: The characters aren't easy to like, for different reasons (though it's kind of the point). The political tirades feel random and out of place. The somehow-open ending may not sit well with some readers.
WARNING! Violence, hate speech, suicidal ideation, self-harm, sexual abuse (off-page), emotional abuse, parental abuse, parental neglect, drug and alcohol addiction, bullying, animal abuse. Lots of blood, gore and disturbing imagery, bug horror, vomiting.
Will appeal to: Those who enjoy mind-blowing (and hard-hitting) portal fantasies with a psychological angle. Those who like double-timeline narratives.

Blurb: Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what. Then, on a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something extraordinary: a mysterious staircase to nowhere. One friend walks up - and never comes back down. Then the staircase disappears. Twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared. Now the group returns to find the lost boy - and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods...(Amazon)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley. Thanks to Random House Worlds/Del Rey for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

STAIR STRUCK

Apparently, staircases to nowhere in the middle of the woods aren't a rare sight, and in time have become an object of fascination spawning whole threads on sites like Reddit or Quora. Wendig drew on the urban legend according to which these staircases would be portals to other dimensions, wove it with a beloved horror trope (estranged childhood friends reunite to get closure and defeat an old evil), and produced a deliciously disturbing, nightmarishly captivating and completely addictive haunted-house maze, where friendships are tested and individuals must rise above their fears and flaws if they want to get out. (Mind you...don't expect actual ghosts - there are other ways for a house to be haunted...). Told in a now-and-then narrative across a twenty-something-years divide (the author references Covid, so I'd say, more like twenty-five than the twenty accounted for in the synopsis), the story introduces us to five friends who, as teens, swore an oath to always have each other's back, and after a drugged and drunken night in the woods when a member of the group vanished at the top of a supernatural staircase, slowly drifted apart, only to band together as adults in order to solve the mystery when a similar structure reappears.

Now, if you're into (hellish) supernatural mazes, literal twists and turns, videogame-style challenges and psychological horror, it doesn't get much better than this. Granted, this book is disturbing and gross at times (well, MOST times), but it's also creative and addictive and sort of exhilarating. The ending, while not coming with a pretty bow, gives you closure about the things that matter most. If it were only for these aspects, TSITW would be a 5-star read for me. [...]

Mira Grant: "Overgrowth" (ARC Review)

Title: Overgrowth [on Amazon | on Amazon UK | on Goodreads] (Note: I got my copy from the UK-based publisher Daphne Press, so I'm using the UK cover and I'm linking to Amazon UK along with Amazon.com)
Series: None
Author: Mira Grant [Site* | Goodreads]
   *[Note: as I'm writing this review, the Mira Grant site hasn't been updated for a few years]
Genres: Sci-Fi
Year: 2025
Age: 18+ (but it can be read by mature teens)
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Fascinating, thought-provoking, refreshingly diverse (trans rep, Mexican-American rep).
Cons: The main conflict and the ending may feel problematic to some, depending on how one reads them. 
WARNING! Toddler death (on page), transphobia, death/violence/guns, blood and gore/vampirism, imprisonment, bug horror.
Will appeal to: Those who like first-contact narratives with a twist. Those who enjoy stories of outsiders and found families. Those who are fascinated by alt-biology scenarios.

Blurb: Since she was three years old, Anastasia Miller has been telling anyone who would listen that she's an alien disguised as a human being, and that the armada that left her on Earth is coming for her. Since she was three years old, no one has believed her. Now, with an alien signal from the stars being broadcast around the world, humanity is finally starting to realize that it's already been warned, and it may be too late. The invasion is coming, Stasia's biological family is on the way to bring her home, and very few family reunions are willing to cross the gulf of space for just one misplaced child. What happens when you know what's coming, and just refuse to listen? (Amazon)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley. Thanks to Daphne Press for providing an ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

PLANTED

In the vein of classics like Little Shop of Horrors, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Day of the Triffids, but with a huge twist (the point of view here is the alien's), Mira Grant's return to full-length fiction is a first-contact-meets-coming-of-age story packed with thought-provoking questions and social/cultural commentary. Set in a very near future (2031) over the span of a month, it chronicles the days preceding a plantlike alien armada's invasion of our planet, and the invasion itself, through the eyes of a hybrid character - alien in nature, human in appearance and by nurture - who both knows (and states) she's an alien and at times doubts she's deeply deluded...but mostly, simply, KNOWS. Then again, she has a lot of questions about herself and her origins, especially because more than thirty years have passed since when she allegedly fell on Earth and claimed the body of three-years-old Anastasia, and her people - who equipped her with a compulsion to announce their invasion plans - are taking their sweet time coming back for her. [...]

Offbeat Offline: April 2025

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? Again, nothing bad, but nothing good either, at least on the real-life front (though I'm quite pleased with the bookish one, to be honest). I beta-read, read a bit, reviewed a bit, and went on the same errands as the past three years or so. No energy for anything else...and no will either. This life is draining me, and I can't see a way out or a change coming, so I just sit here and read and blog and play word games to blow off steam...

Tell Me Something Tuesday Round-Up (April 2025)

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is... This time I'm doing a round-up of the last month's worth of questions, because I hate how I've been M.I.A. when it comes to the meme! 

April 2025 Round-Up

+ Question of the Day:

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT SPRING?

• April 1st: What is your current genre of choice? Has it changed recently?

Broadly speaking, I tend to read under the supernatural (and supernatural horror) umbrella - afterlife, urban fantasy, portal fantasy, and ever magical realism in a way, can be considered supernatural subgenres. I also like sci-fi, but mostly limited to time travel and multiverse. I've been reading these types of books for years now, and I'm sure I'll keep reading them as long as I live.

Offbeat Offline: March 2025 (Plus Announcing Yet Another Hiatus)

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? Nothing bad, but nothing good either, at least on the real-life front (though I have exciting news on the bookish one - see below). March was a humdrum month (thank you Sam for putting a new-to-me word on my radar...I told you I'd use it! 😁), and while I'm grateful for a respite from new drama, I wish something took a turn for the better with the extant problems for once...😭

Taste the Books: Review Morsels #59 Arkady Martine, Josh Winning, Alex Brown et al.

Intro

Hello beauties!

Welcome again to my own brand of mini reviews! I never thought I'd do minis, until I recapped a few of my long reviews in some digest post in 2014, and then guest-posted some shorties for a blogging event in 2015. And Karen from For What It's Worth started praising my short recs/recaps 😊. Just to be clear,  I'm NOT taking a break from writing long reviews - no such luck LOL (though for anthologies, shorter books or books that I didn't enjoy/I don't have enough to say about, I decided to stick to minis). But while I'm making up my mind about a new book I've read, I might as well give you the short version 😉. Just be warned - this feature will be VERY random!

Note: all the mini blurbs (in italics) are of my own creation.

Tell Me Something Tuesday Round-Up (March 2025)

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is... This time I'm doing a round-up of the last month's worth of questions, because I hate how I've been M.I.A. when it comes to the meme! 

March 2025 Round-Up

+ Question of the Day:

ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH YOUR BLOG?

• March 4th: What are three things you'll never get tired of doing? (a question I submitted)

Reading. Blogging. Perming/dying my hair (though, as my older readers know too well by now, the perm is nothing like it used to be 😭).

Sorry, nothing to see here LOL. It's not like I do other things with my time than reading and blogging, given the situation. And I don't plan on changing my appearance EVER.

• March 11th: Have you ever ventured out of your comfort zone and ended up having a nice experience? (a question I submitted)

I need my confort zone SO BADLY. I'd get too anxious if I left it behind. I need to be in control. I'm so afraid of things that can take an unpredictable turn that I've never wanted to learn to drive (not even a scooter! I did learn to drive a bicycle as a kid, but I've never actually used one to move around). I think the only "brave" thing I ever did was try for radio, for all the good it did me. And I only talked myself into it because 1) I was in love with the radio world and wanted to be part of it, and 2) I knew the station was looking for new voices...so I actually stood a chance not to be rejected on sight. Also, being a radio host came with the perk of being invisible to my audience...

• March 18th: Have you met any bookish/blogging friends in person? (a question I submitted - reworded for the better 🙂)

Of course not, since all you lovely people live miles and miles from here...The nearest bookish friend I've ever had hails from Hungary, so you understand my plight 😉. Anyhow, I would be a bit terrified to get the chance to meet you and talk in person (see: confort zone answer above). I think I'd immediately forget my English...😓 😂

Taste the Books: Review Morsels #58 The Seanan McGuire Edition (Part 2)

Intro

Hello beauties!

Welcome again to my own brand of mini reviews! I never thought I'd do minis, until I recapped a few of my long reviews in some digest post in 2014, and then guest-posted some shorties for a blogging event in 2015. And Karen from For What It's Worth started praising my short recs/recaps 😊. Just to be clear,  I'm NOT taking a break from writing long reviews - no such luck LOL (though for anthologies, shorter books or books that I didn't enjoy/I don't have enough to say about, I decided to stick to minis). But while I'm making up my mind about a new book I've read, I might as well give you the short version 😉. Just be warned - this feature will be VERY random!

Note: all the mini blurbs (in italics) are of my own creation.

Taste the Books: Review Morsels #57 Emily Yu-Xuan Qin, Dawn Kurtagich, Courtney Gould

Intro

Hello beauties!

Welcome again to my own brand of mini reviews! I never thought I'd do minis, until I recapped a few of my long reviews in some digest post in 2014, and then guest-posted some shorties for a blogging event in 2015. And Karen from For What It's Worth started praising my short recs/recaps 😊. Just to be clear,  I'm NOT taking a break from writing long reviews - no such luck LOL (though for anthologies, shorter books or books that I didn't enjoy/I don't have enough to say about, I decided to stick to minis). But while I'm making up my mind about a new book I've read, I might as well give you the short version 😉. Just be warned - this feature will be VERY random!

Note: all the mini blurbs (in italics) are of my own creation.

Philip Fracassi: "The Third Rule of Time Travel" (ARC Review)

Title: The Third Rule of Time Travel [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Philip Fracassi [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Sci-Fi, Thriller/Mystery, SPOILER - click on the Spoiler button below if you want to know, since revealing the other genre would ruin your reading experience...If you want to go into the book without knowing anything vital about it, I recommend not reading the Labels at the end of my review either. No need to worry though - the review itself will be spoiler-free...
Year: 2025
Age: 18+ (but it can be read by mature teens)
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Engaging variation on the time-travel trope, with a strong human angle and a transcendental core.
Cons: The side characters are slightly underdeveloped. The metaphysical interlude can feel disorienting.
WARNING! Plane crash, car crash, guns, blood and gore, loss of parents and a sibling, loss of a spouse, stillbirth, trauma, grief, implied misogyny.
Will appeal to: Those who prefer their time travel to be emotion-driven and not necessarily physical (or literal). Those who enjoy a philosophical twist to it.

Blurb: Scientist Beth Darlow has built a machine that allows human consciousness to travel through time - to any point in the traveler's lifetime - and relive moments of their life. An impossible breakthrough, but it's not perfect: the traveler has no way to interact with the past. After Beth's husband, Colson, the co-creator of the machine, dies in a tragic car accident, Beth is left to raise Isabella - their only daughter - and continue the work they started. Mired in grief and threatened by her ruthless CEO, Beth pushes herself to the limit to prove the value of her technology. Then the impossible happens. Simply viewing personal history should not alter the present, but with each new observation she makes, her own timeline begins to warp. As her reality constantly shifts, Beth must solve the puzzles of her past, even if it means forsaking her future. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley. Thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK/Orbit for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

EMOTIONAL VOYAGE

Time-travel stories are always entertaining and thought-provoking no matter what, but I was pleasantly surprised by the spin Fracassi put on the trope. As it turns out, you can produce an exciting specimen of time-travel narrative even by having your characters remain fixed in place and only be able to revisit moments of their past...at least if you up the ante by throwing a couple more ingredients into the mix (one of which shall remain unnamed, to avoid spoiling your fun), and ultimately allowing said characters a different kind of agency than the reader would expect. As much as the adventures of a person displaced in a different era or physically reliving the same day can be fun, there's something to be said for a more psychological - and in this case, even philosophical - approach to being untethered from your present. I know, I know...I'm being cryptic, but spoilers are just around the corner. Suffice to say, while Beth is a stationary character, the trips her consciousness makes (and the ones her late husband made before her) spin a twisty (and emotional) web while apparently warping her present - first in subtle ways, then with catastrophic consequences - and won't make you miss the thrill of "real" time travel. [...]

Taste the Books: Review Morsels #56 Mira Grant: "Newsflesh" Series (Part 2)

Intro

Hello beauties!

Welcome again to my own brand of mini reviews! I never thought I'd do minis, until I recapped a few of my long reviews in some digest post in 2014, and then guest-posted some shorties for a blogging event in 2015. And Karen from For What It's Worth started praising my short recs/recaps 😊. Just to be clear,  I'm NOT taking a break from writing long reviews - no such luck LOL (though for anthologies, shorter books or books that I didn't enjoy/I don't have enough to say about, I decided to stick to minis). But while I'm making up my mind about a new book I've read, I might as well give you the short version 😉. Just be warned - this feature will be VERY random!

Note: all the mini blurbs (in italics) are of my own creation.

Taste the Books: Review Morsels #55 Mira Grant: "Newsflesh" Series (Part 1)

Intro

Hello beauties!

Welcome again to my own brand of mini reviews! I never thought I'd do minis, until I recapped a few of my long reviews in some digest post in 2014, and then guest-posted some shorties for a blogging event in 2015. And Karen from For What It's Worth started praising my short recs/recaps 😊. Just to be clear,  I'm NOT taking a break from writing long reviews - no such luck LOL (though for anthologies, shorter books or books that I didn't enjoy/I don't have enough to say about, I decided to stick to minis). But while I'm making up my mind about a new book I've read, I might as well give you the short version 😉. Just be warned - this feature will be VERY random!

Note: all the mini blurbs (in italics) are of my own creation.

Offbeat Offline: February 2025 (Spoiler: It Wasn't Boring)

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? A whirlwind of visits and exams...and my mum gave me a scare. My housekeeping plans got derailed (again); I wanted to read but I was dragging my feet about reviewing, so I worked myself into a slump; and despite February being the shortest month, it felt like it was never going to end for me.

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Which Books Are You Looking Forward to Reading This Spring? (March-May)

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is...

WHICH BOOKS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO READING THIS SPRING? (MARCH-MAY)

I don't know if I'll ever get around to buying all these books or when, since 1) early reviews and excerpts might cause me to change my mind in the future, and 2) given my current situation (see: unemployment status), book money is scarce...(I got a few of these in eARC form though! See below. Then again, for the majority of these I've been rejected - or I haven't gotten an answer yet - on EW, and I've only been able to wish for them on NG, which HAHAHA OK BYE). Anyhow, I wanted to give a bit of exposure to all the spring books that caught my eye, so here's my list (complete with pub dates)...and yikes, there are FIFTEEN of them???!!!??? ("only" fourteen, actually - one of them was postponed to September!).            

Offbeat Offline: January 2025 (Plus Announcing the First Hiatus of the Year)

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? Nothing new...again. Not that things are going great, of course...they just haven't gotten worse. I'm still not feeling well, so I have new examinations/visits in my near future. My husband isn't making further progress on the walking front yet. At least my reading and reviewing remained steady (again, thanks to mini reviews 😁). That's pretty much it...

Tell Me Something Tuesday Round-Up (January 2025)

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is... This time I'm doing a round-up of the last month's worth of questions, because I hate how I've been M.I.A. when it comes to the meme! 

January 2025 Round-Up

+ Question of the Day:

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT WINTER?

• January 7th: What are your blogging/reading goals for the new year?

See my end-of-year wrap-up: post weekly (or better, produce one post per week, which isn't the same) and incorporate more backlist books into review schedule.

• January 14th: What book have you most recently reread? Did your opinion of the book change?

Myriad by Joshua David Bellin (Adult, sci-fi - published in May 2023, reread in October 2024). My opinions on the books almost never change (then again, if they do, it's only by a fraction), and I'm pleased to say this one was no exception 👍.

• January 21st: Which book/TV/movie character would you like to be friends with? (a question I submitted)

The kids from Fame (1982-1987 TV series) were around my age (or at least, their characters were) when the show was on, and I loved them and their dynamics - plus I didn't have any real friends back then, so they were my lifeline in more than one way. I wish I could have been friends with them in real life - especially with Doris (Valerie Landsburg) and Bruno (Lee Curreri)...(see below).

Kyrie McCauley: "Bad Graces"

Title: Bad Graces [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Kyrie McCauley [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural
Year: 2024
Age: 14+
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Atmospheric, adventurous, harsh yet tender, with characters who manage to avoid stereotypes and a fresh take on magic.
Cons: Not all characters are equally developed. You need to suspend disbelief for some of the mundane parts.
WARNING! (TW list provided by the author): body horror (reviewer's note: also involving bugs), drowning, suicide, bodily injury, bodily trauma, blood, child neglect, history of abuse; referenced but not on page: homophobia, statutory rape, eating disorders. This book may be uncomfortable for those with emetophobia. (More): alcohol abuse, arson, burns, suffocation, drowning, attempted suicide, animal death.
Will appeal to: Those who are in for an all-female survival (in more than one sense) narrative, with themes of found family, queer love, overcoming trauma and having each other's back.

Blurb: Using her sister’s grades and clean record, Liv starts to rewrite her story, winning a prestigious internship on a movie set filming in Alaska. Instead of a commercial flight, Liv finds herself on a luxury yacht alongside pop star Paris Grace, actress sisters Effie and Miri Knight, Olympic gymnast Rosalind Torres, and social media influencer Celia Jones. Just as the group starts to bond, a violent storm wrecks their vessel, stranding them on a slip of an island in the North Pacific Ocean. Among the threats of starvation and exposure, they learn there is a predator lurking in the forest, unlike anything they’ve seen before - until they begin to see it in themselves. Every injury they suffer on the island causes inexplicable changes in their bodies, transforming them bit by inhuman bit. With little hope for rescue and only each other as their final tether to humanity, can the girls endure the ominous forces at work on the island? Or will they lose themselves to their darker natures? (Amazon excerpt)

Review: In the vein of Wilder Girls (that I haven't read, but has a similar premise - though, based on the reviews I've read, a different backdrop and outcome), McCauley penned a Shakespeare-imbued, Tempest-inspired story - or more like, a nod to the play - that grows on you at every turn.

GIRLS UNITED

Upon starting this novel, I was just a tiny bit worried that I wouldn't click with the main cast (except for the protagonist), because the girls had the potential to present as vapid, entitled or catty at first, what with them being all high-profile (again, except for aspiring writer Liv). I decided to take the risk on account of the premise sounding so exciting, and I'm happy to report McCauley went for a different, refreshing angle right from the start. Turns out, none of the high-profile girls is vapid, entitled or catty, even if they're flawed somehow (then again, so is ordinary Liv). Female solidarity in the face of a male predator extends its tiny tendrils ever since they meet, and ultimately forges a strong web, not only because the girls end up stranded on an off-the-map island and have to look out for each other (speaking of which, Paris, Celia, Rosalind, Effie and Miri not only are rich and famous, but all go back a long way...and yet, they bond with Liv - one of them a bit more effectively than the others 😉). Last but not least. they all seem to value their craft over the popularity and money it entails (which is maybe a tad unbelievable, coming from a bunch of teens, but as I said, so refreshing that I was happy to buy into it). [...]

Dan Hanks: "The Way Up Is Death" (ARC Review)

Title: The Way Up Is Death [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Dan Hanks [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural, Multiverse, Thriller/Mystery
Year: 2025
Age: 18+
Stars: 4.5/5
Pros: Inventive and cinematic; hard-hitting yet moving and ultimately hopeful.
Cons: Given the large cast of characters (and the very nature of the story), not all of them get to be sufficiently developed.
WARNING! Blood and gore, dismemberment, torture, near-drowning, human combustion/explosion, body horror, eye horror, rat horror, death of a loved one.
Will appeal to: Those who are in for a wild, brutal yet poetical adventure/mystery that doubles as a reflection on humanity, life and the future.

Blurb: When a mysterious tower appears in the skies over England, thirteen strangers are pulled from their lives to stand before it as a countdown begins. Above the doorway is one word: ASCEND. As a grieving teacher, a reclusive artist, and a narcissistic celebrity children’s author lead the others in trying to understand why they’ve been chosen and what the tower is, it soon becomes clear the only way out of this for everyone…is up. And so begins a race to the top, through sinking ships, haunted houses and other waking nightmares, as the group fights to hold onto its humanity, while the twisted horror of why they’re here grows ever more apparent – and death stalks their every move. (Amazon)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley. Thanks to Angry Robot for providing an ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

MORE TO IT

This book's premise is impossible to resist if you're the kind of reader whose mantra is "the weirder the better", but I'm here to confirm that, if you take a chance on TWUID, you won't regret being lured in, and you'll end up getting more than you bargained for. The short-and-sweet version of such premise: thirteen everymen and women from the UK (or just passing through) are pulled from their lives and forced to ascend an impossible tower in the skies, all while trying to fathom the how and (especially) the why in the process. From videogame settings to spaceships, from haunted houses to tropical beaches, a series of equally impossible locations (but ones that are somehow tailored to the travellers' past experiences) have the characters play a deadly game of escape rooms, of which they have to figure out the rules as they go. Exciting, isn't it? But if you tend to need a little more meat on your stories' bones, or if the cosmic horror premise and the content warning list left you on the fence about giving TWUID a chance, there are a couple more things you need to know. One: for a book that sheds so much blood and put its characters through the wringer, Hank's latest is surprisingly comforting and life-affirming. Two: for a book that relies so much on nightmarish experiences and frantic escapes, and even comes close to jumping the shark a couple of times (one of which quite literally 😂), TWUID is (also) surprisingly deep, so that you end up forgiving it for not making you care more for its characters (more of that below) or not giving you all the answers (if you're the type of reader who needs them, because to be honest, they're NOT the point here). [...]

Mallory Pearson: "Voice Like a Hyacinth" (ARC Review)

Title: Voice Like a Hyacinth [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Mallory Pearson [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural, Contemporary
Year: 2025
Age: 14+ (technically a NA book, but it can be read by mature teens. See the WARNING! section though)
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Immersive, visceral, gorgeously written.
Cons: Quite dark, if ultimately hopeful.
WARNING! Blood and gore, sexual harassment, self-cutting (during a ritual), alcohol and drug abuse, vomiting, near-drowning, fire, death/animal death. On a psychological level: codependency, high-stakes competition, familial pressure.
Will appeal to: Those who feel a pull towards visual arts (especially painting). Those who love a story that crosses the space between all-consuming friendship and queer love.

Blurb: 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. (Amazon)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: this title was up for grabs on NetGalley (in the Read Now section). Thanks to 47North for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

LEVEL UP

Eight months ago, I reviewed Pearson's debut novel We Ate the Dark. Despite the abundance of purple prose, I liked it quite a bit, noting that there was "a robust dose of lyrical writing peeking from under the sometimes intimidating similes" and that "Pearson has the makings of a good writer, if only she can rein those similes in a bit. Then again, this is a debut book, so maybe she still has to hone her craft" (the second quote comes from my reply to a fellow blogger's comment). It turns out I was right on both counts - and the Goodreads average rating agrees with me this time. On a content level, Pearson's sophomore novel draws on the same main theme of her debut ("female friendship and queer love and the liminal space between the two"), but ups the ante by setting her story in a small, yet competitive art college, and steeping it in codependency and obsession, both with the art and the friendship. In the same guise, though somehow in reverse - by way of subtracting instead of adding - the author sticks to the poetical, luscious writing she employed for her first novel, but prunes it of all the (often overdone) metaphors and craft her prose into a thing of beauty. The result is a terrific book (in more than one sense) that only goes to show how much Pearson has grown as a writer, while staying true to her signature style. [...]

Offbeat Offline: December 2024

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? A whole lot of nothing LOL. It was a totally uneventful month, which, when you live the life I'm living, you learn to be thankful for. My reading and reviewing improved (thanks to mini reviews 😁). That's pretty much it...