Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Title: Reliquary (Pendergast #2)

Author: Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Publisher: 1997

Genre: Horror

Pages: 464

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project

Hidden deep beneath Manhattan lies a warren of tunnels, sewers, and galleries, mostly forgotten by those who walk the streets above. There lies the ultimate secret of the Museum Beat. When two grotesquely deformed skeletons are found deep in the mud off the Manhattan shoreline, museum curator Margo Green is called in to aid the investigation. Margo must once again team up with police lieutenant D'Agosta and FBI agent Pendergast, as well as the brilliant Dr. Frock, to try and solve the puzzle. The trail soon leads deep underground, where they will face the awakening of a slumbering nightmare... in Reliquary, from bestselling coauthors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

Finally read this one after picking it up at a used book store a few months back. I enjoyed the character of Pendergast in Relic so it seemed that I would enjoy the sequel to that book and the next in the Pendergast series. And I did! Overall, this is a very Michael Crichton style science adventure story. We get another excursion to the New York Natural History Museum’s labs to solve the murders of multiple headless corpses. Along the way we encounter some familiar faces and meet new ones. I especially loved the team up of D’Agosta and Pendergast against the majority of the NYPD. There are some super creepy scenes in this book, mostly the underground ones. They kept the story moving along and not get mired in the techno-babble in the lab. The last 50 pages are one big suspenseful scene. I have another in this series sitting on my Unread Shelf. I may have to push it to the top part of the stack. I probably won’t ever read all 30 books in this series, but I might just knock off a few more in the upcoming years.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

A Dawn Most Wicked and Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Title: Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1)

Author: Susan Dennard

Publisher: HarperTeen 2013

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project

Sixteen-year-old Eleanor Fitt’s brother is missing. And when she discovers that the Dead are rising in Philadelphia and wreaking havoc throughout the city, she knows that her brother is involved.

So Eleanor enlists the help of the Spirit-Hunters. This motley crew, hired to protect the city from supernatural forces, is after the necromancer who has been reanimating corpses. Their skills can save her brother. But as Eleanor spends time with the Spirit-Hunters, and their handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. Now not only is her reputation at risk, but her very life may hang in the balance.

This volume has been sitting on my shelves for a few years now. Of course I had to read it during Spooky Book Month to stay on theme. The first few chapters were a bit confusing as we don’t get the backstory of the Dead or the current state of the world. Once I settled in and started following Eleanor’s storyline, I slowly got a handle on the world and began enjoying myself. This is a typical YA adventure fantasy full of slightly whiny characters and some predictable light romance. I really got into the story once we meet the Spirit Hunters and the mystery starts unraveling. From there, I sped through the rest of the book. This volume ends on a bit of a cliffhanger but the main mystery is concluded before the end page. I imagine that I will finish this series, but probably not right away.

Title: A Dawn Most Wicked (Something Strange and Deadly #0.5)

Author: Susan Dennard

Publisher: HarperTeen 2013

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 150

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Daniel Sheridan is an engineer’s apprentice on a haunted Mississippi steamer known as the Sadie Queen. His best friend–the apprentice pilot, Cassidy Cochran–also happens to be the girl he’s pining for … and the captain’s daughter. But when it looks like the Sadie Queen might get taken off the river, Daniel and Cassidy have to do whatever they can to stop the ghosts that plague the ship.

Fortunately, there happens to be a Creole gentleman on board by the name of Joseph Boyer–and he just might be able to help them …

My paperback copy of the first book in the series included this prequel novella at the end. I didn’t realize that Daniel had a big backstory, but I did enjoy following him during his first encounter with Joseph and Jie. the ghost scenes are truly creepy and I definitely want more from that angle in the next book.

Something Strange and Deadly

#0.5 A Dawn Most Wicked
#1 Something Strange and Deadly
#2 A Darkness Strange and Lovely
#3 Strange and Ever After

Next up on the TBR pile:

My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris

Title: My Favorite Thing is Monsters Book 1

Author: Emil Ferris

Publisher: Fantagraphics 2017

Genre: Comic Horror

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall TBR

Set against the tumultuous political backdrop of late ’60s Chicago, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters is the fictional graphic diary of 10-year-old Karen Reyes, filled with B-movie horror and pulp monster magazines iconography. Karen Reyes tries to solve the murder of her enigmatic upstairs neighbor, Anka Silverberg, a holocaust survivor, while the interconnected stories of those around her unfold. When Karen’s investigation takes us back to Anka’s life in Nazi Germany, the reader discovers how the personal, the political, the past, and the present converge. Full-color illustrations throughout.

This volume has been on my radar for awhile now, but I finally picked it up to enjoy. I dove straight in to this book not knowing the premise at all. Right away we learn that we are reading a murder mystery, but one filled with internal musings from our protagonist as well as observations of life. We follow Karen who thinks of herself as werewolf. We learn about her life in a small urban apartment with her mother and brother. We slowly meet the neighbors and learn about the rhythms of life in the particular neighborhood. All throughout, at the heart of the story is the question of who killed Anka Silverberg. I was a bit upset to learn the the story does not actually conclude with this volume, but intrigued enough to continue reading.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Wrong Girl by R.L. Stine

Title: The Wrong Girl (Return to Fear Street #2)

Author: R.L. Stine

Publisher: HaperTeen 2018

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 328

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall TBR; Unread Shelf Project

Poppy Miller swears she will get payback for Jack Sabers’s cruel prank that humiliated her in front of all her friends.

Then her classmates start turning up dead.

All eyes are on Poppy. Is Poppy being framed? Or did the kids of Shadyside High mess with the wrong girl?

In this Fear Street story, only one thing’s for sure—someone is out for DEADLY revenge.

After the high of the last book in this series, I was hoping for more of the same. Unfortunately, this one just fell flat for me. We don’t get the first death until way past the 50% mark. That’s unusual for these books. From there things move quickly, but I wasn’t really into the story. I thoroughly disliked Poppy and her narration was very grating at times. Even the narrations from other characters were not intriguing. I was not impressed and definitely felt disappointed when I reached the end of the book. Not for me.

Return to Fear Street

#1 You May Now Kill the Bride
#2 The Wrong Girl
#3 Drop Dead Gorgeous

Next up on the TBR pile:

You May Now Kill the Bride by R.L. Stine

Title: You May Now Kill the Bride (Return to Fear Street #1)

Author: R.L. Stine

Publisher: HarperTeen 2018

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 344

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall TBR; Unread Shelf

Two sisters, divided by time. Each with a terrible resentment she can barely contain.

Two Fear family weddings, decades apart... Each bride will find that the ancient curse that haunts the Fears LIVES ON. It feeds off the evil that courses through their blood. It takes its toll in unexpected ways, and allows dark history to repeat itself.

In this Fear Street story, family ties bind sisters together—till DEATH do they part.

Super duper fun pulpy horror novel just like the ones from the original Fear Street series. I really loved all of those books as a preteen and early teen and was super excited to see a new series revisiting the old stomping ground. This one starts off with a story set in the early 1920s in which we meet a branch of the Fear family. Of course, we know that things are not going to end well for at least some members of the family. And then we jump to present day to almost repeat the story but with new characters and a few twists. I sped through this book enjoying all the pages. This gave me all the nostalgic feels that I wanted this month.

Return to Fear Street

#1 You May Now Kill the Bride
#2 The Wrong Girl
#3 Drop Dead Gorgeous

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

Title: The Book of Cold Cases

Author: Simone St. James

Publisher: Berkley 2022

Genre: Mystery, Horror

Pages: 352

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall TBR; Unread Shelf

In 1977, Claire Lake, Oregon, was shaken by the Lady Killer Murders: Two men, seemingly randomly, were murdered with the same gun, with strange notes left behind. Beth Greer was the perfect suspect—a rich, eccentric twenty-three-year-old woman, seen fleeing one of the crimes. But she was acquitted, and she retreated to the isolation of her mansion.

Oregon, 2017. Shea Collins is a receptionist, but by night, she runs a true crime website, the Book of Cold Cases—a passion fueled by the attempted abduction she escaped as a child. When she meets Beth by chance, Shea asks her for an interview. To Shea’s surprise, Beth says yes.

They meet regularly at Beth’s mansion, though Shea is never comfortable there. Items move when she’s not looking, and she could swear she’s seen a girl outside the window. The allure of learning the truth about the case from the smart, charming Beth is too much to resist, but even as they grow closer, Shea senses something isn’t right. Is she making friends with a manipulative murderer, or are there other dangers lurking in the darkness of the Greer house?

Another absolute win from St. James. I really loved The Sun Down Hotel and really hoped that this one would be another winner. It was! We get a decades old murder cases, a heroine with past trauma, an intriguing possible villain, and a creepy creepy locale (in this case a house stuck in time). I dove in and read this book in just about three days. I was obsessed with figuring out the details of the murders and understand Shea’s present and potential future. St. James keeps up the suspense all throughout the novel, not letting up until the story concludes. Her writing creates those visual scenes in my head that I want in a paranormal thriller. I cannot wait to discuss this later this month at book club.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler

Title: Fledgling

Author: Octavia E. Butler

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing 2007

Genre: Horror

Pages: 310

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall TBR

Fledgling, Octavia Butler’s last novel, is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly un-human needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: she is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted—and still wants—to destroy her and those she cares for, and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of "otherness" and questions what it means to be truly human.

I picked this up as an extra buddy read with my Nerdy Bookish Friends group after we had read Parable of the Sower. I was definitely intrigued by the idea of Octavia Butler writing a vampire story. I dove in and was very disappointed by the actual story. The entire conceit is that our main character, a vampire, is suffering from amnesia. We have to learn about the world as she learns about the world. I get the concept, but it ends up resulting in a ton of exposition dumps. And the dialogue is often very clunky. None of the conversations seem natural. Finally we get the real reason that I gave it only 2 stars. Our main character is supposed to be 53 years old, but looks like she is 10 years old. Okay fine, but then she engages in very adult sexual encounters. Nope nope nope.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Jackaby by William Ritter

Title: Jackaby (Jackaby #1)

Author: William Ritter

Publisher: Algonquin Books 2014

Genre: YA Historical Fiction; Horror

Pages: 299

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary--including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain the foul deeds are the work of the kind of creature whose very existence the local authorities--with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane--seem adamant to deny.

I bookish friend recommended this to me a few weeks back and I grabbed it for something a little lighter than my other current reads. This was absolutely the delightful romp that I needed this week. We are thrown into a new city with Abigail and fall into employment and potentially life-calling passion with Jackaby. I immediately fell for every single one of the characters and couldn’t wait to see where this story went. Donald was a particular favorite of mine. He must appear in every single book in this series. Back to the plot, we get a string of mysteries Jack the Ripper style murders that may or may not be supernatural in nature. We meet a wide range of characters that may or may not be supernatural. And through it all, we see a friendship forming between Abigail and Jackaby with witty banter and silly asides. I sped through this book not wanting it to end. Delightful! I can’t wait to pick up the next in the series. A word of caution: the murders in this book are very gruesome and terrifying. Be warned.

Jackaby

#1 Jackaby
#1.5 The Map
#2 Beastly Bones
#3 Ghostly Echoes
#4 The Dire King

Next up on the TBR pile:

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

Title:Through the Woods

Author: Emily Carroll

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books 2014

Genre: Comics; Horror

Pages: 208

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Journey through the woods in this sinister, compellingly spooky collection that features four brand-new stories and one phenomenally popular tale in print for the first time. These are fairy tales gone seriously wrong, where you can travel to “Our Neighbor’s House”—though coming back might be a problem. Or find yourself a young bride in a house that holds a terrible secret in “A Lady’s Hands Are Cold.” You might try to figure out what is haunting “My Friend Janna,” or discover that your brother’s fiancée may not be what she seems in “The Nesting Place.” And of course you must revisit the horror of “His Face All Red,” the breakout webcomic hit that has been gorgeously translated to the printed page.

Already revered for her work online, award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll’s stunning visual style and impeccable pacing is on grand display in this entrancing anthology, her print debut.

This volume caught my eye on the library shelf and I checked it out immediately. This short collection of horror stories hit the spot for me. I wanted something a little fun, a little terrifying, with lots of twists and turns. Just the art gives the reader a tremendous sense of dread. I was completely terrified, especially with the last story. A lovely creepy collection that I am glad that I found randomly.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

Title: Just Like Home

Author: Sarah Gailey

Publisher: Tor Books 2022

Genre: Horror

Pages: 352

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

“Come home.” Vera’s mother called and Vera obeyed. In spite of their long estrangement, in spite of the memories — she's come back to the home of a serial killer. Back to face the love she had for her father and the bodies he buried there, beneath the house he'd built for his family.

Coming home is hard enough for Vera, and to make things worse, she and her mother aren’t alone. A parasitic artist has moved into the guest house out back and is slowly stripping Vera’s childhood for spare parts. He insists that he isn’t the one leaving notes around the house in her father’s handwriting… but who else could it possibly be?

There are secrets yet undiscovered in the foundations of the notorious Crowder House. Vera must face them and find out for herself just how deep the rot goes.

CW: Body horror, murder, torture

Somehow I snatched up an ebook copy of Sarah Gailey’s newest creation from the library, jumping ahead of almost everyone to read. I purposely did not read the summary to go into the story completely blind. I wanted to just experience the story as it unfolds as Gailey intended it to be. I dove in and was immediately creeped out by the house and the mystery surrounding the family. Vera wasn’t the most sympathetic character and yet I felt that she was oddly compelling to follow. I was immediately interested in the secrets that she was keeping and the ways that those secrets would come out. As the book progressed, I felt like we are getting sucked down into a bottomless hole. I didn’t know where we were going to end up. And by the 80% mark, I was completely scared at how the story was going to end. The story ends up taking a turn into straight horror and specifically body horror. It was the scariest book that I’ve read in quite awhile. I might even have nightmares after this one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Hide by Kiersten White

Title: Hide

Author: Kiersten White

Publisher: Del Rey Books 2022

Genre: Horror

Pages: 319

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

The challenge: Spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don’t get caught.

The prize: enough money to change everything.

Even though everyone is desperate to win—to seize a dream future or escape a haunting past—Mack is sure she can beat her competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she’s an expert at that.

It’s the reason she’s alive and her family isn’t.

But as the people around her begin disappearing one by one, Mack realizes that this competition is even more sinister than she imagined, and that together might be the only way to survive.

Fourteen competitors. Seven days. Everywhere to hide but nowhere to run.

Come out, come out, wherever you are.

An overall entertaining horror novel. This wasn’t the best I’ve ever read, but it definitely kept me wanting to turn the pages and see what happened next. We start with a fairly unlikable character, Mack, that I never can to love, but definitely came to understand by the end of the book. We throw in 13 more contestants and a few game organizers and set them loose in an abandoned amusement park. Chaos and murder ensues. I figured out the big allusion to another story by the end of Day 1, but knowing the big secret didn’t deter me from continuing to read. I still found it a very entertaining ride. There is gore (a lot of it), murder, and suicide. Not a book for everyone, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Wretched Waterpark by Kiersten White

Title: Wretched Waterpark (The Sinister Summer #1)

Author: Kiersten White

Publisher: Delacorte Press 2022

Genre: Middle Grade Horror

Pages: 256

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer TBR

Meet the Sinister-Winterbottoms: brave Theo, her timid twin, Alexander, and their older sister, Wil. They’re stuck for the summer with their Aunt Saffronia, who doesn’t know how often children need to eat and can’t use a smartphone, and whose feet never quite seem to touch the floor when she glides—er—walks.

When Aunt Saffronia suggests a week pass to the Fathoms of Fun Waterpark, they hastily agree. But the park is even stranger than Aunt Saffronia. The waterslides look like gray gargoyle tongues. The employees wear creepy black dresses and deliver ominous messages. An impossible figure is at the top of the slide tower, people are disappearing, and suspicious goo is seeping into the wave pool.

Something mysterious is happening at Fathoms of Fun, and it’s up to the twins to get to the bottom of it. The mystery, that is. NOT the wave pool. Definitely NOT the wave pool. But are Theo and Alexander out of their depth?

Such a delightful middle grade horror book! This reminds me of a cross between A Series of Unfortunate Events and a Goosebumps. We are thrust into a mysterious adventure where Will, Theo, and Alexander have no idea what to do or how they got there. I loved seeing the three siblings attempt to navigate the strangeness of the waterpark. Even though the waterpark is very strange, I totally would love spending a day there. I flew through this book and cannot wait to read the next one once it is published.

The Sinister Summer

#1 Wretched Waterpark
#2 Vampiric Vacation
#3 Camp Creepy

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Haunting of Blackwood House by Darcy Coates

Title: The Haunting of Blackwood House (Haunting of Blackwood House #1)

Author: Darcy Coates

Publisher: Sourcebooks 2015

Genre: Horror

Pages: 356

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Mara is the daughter of spiritualists. Her childhood was filled with séances, scam mediums, and talk of ghostly presences.
When Mara left her family’s home, she vowed she would never allow superstition into her life again. She’s ready to start over with her fiancé, Neil, in a world based on rationality and facts.
But her past isn’t ready to let her go just yet.
Mara and Neil purchase Blackwood House, a derelict property outside of town. They’re warned about strange occurrences in the crumbling building. Doors open by themselves, voices whisper in the night, bloody handprints appear on the walls, and cold spots linger in the basement, where the house’s original owner was murdered.
But Blackwood was dirt-cheap. Mara loves her new home, and she disregards the warnings.
Because ghosts aren’t real…are they?

I was hoping for some pulpy horror to tied me over during my trip, and this mostly delivered. I really loved the actual horror sections of this novel. The ghosts and ghostly occurrences were very creepy and set up nicely. I even found myself listening for odd noises in my house a few times. But then, I turned to the actual main characters and thoroughly disliked both Mara and Neil. I didn’t find either of them likable and did not root for either of them. I couldn’t even see the real attraction between those two. It didn’t quite make sense to me… The very late addition of two more characters didn’t do anything to make me like any of them more. My love of the horror aspects couldn’t bring this book up past three stars. Oh well.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller

Title: The Bone Orchard

Author: Sara A. Mueller

Publisher: Tor Books 2022

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 432

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer TBR

Charm is a witch, and she is alone. The last of a line of conquered necromantic workers, now confined within the yard of regrown bone trees at Orchard House, and the secrets of their marrow.

Charm is a prisoner, and a survivor. Charm tends the trees and their clattering fruit for the sake of her children, painstakingly grown and regrown with its fruit: Shame, Justice, Desire, Pride, and Pain.

Charm is a whore, and a madam. The wealthy and powerful of Borenguard come to her house to buy time with the girls who aren't real.

Except on Tuesdays, which is when the Emperor himself lays claim to his mistress, Charm herself.

But now—Charm is also the only person who can keep an empire together, as the Emperor summons her to his deathbed, and charges her with choosing which of his awful, faithless sons will carry on the empire—by discovering which one is responsible for his own murder.

If she does this last thing, she will finally have what has been denied her since the fall of Inshil—her freedom. But she will also be betraying the ghosts past and present that live on within her heart.

Charm must choose. Her dead Emperor’s will or the whispers of her own ghosts. Justice for the empire or her own revenge.

I’m very meh about this book. I was intrigued by the premise, but it think the story was too convoluted to live up the premise. Right away we’re thrown in a world without much information. That’s pretty standard for fantasy books. However, I don’t think this one every really explained much. We get a very confusing premise of the bone ghosts as being parts of Charm herself. If so, then how does Charm actually live. Splitting one’s self into different parts doesn’t seem like it would allow the original to live. And maybe she doesn’t really, the story get very unclear and strange from there. I couldn’t really keep her other parts straight and was confused about their names. Names hold power and usually tell us something about the character, but I couldn’t quite connect the dots on these. And then we get to the murder mystery/political intrigue sections of the book and I was completely over it. I did not care at all! I’ll be interested to see what everyone else thinks at book club, but this one was definitely not for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

Title: Gallant

Author: V.E. Schwab

Publisher: Greenwillow Books 2022

Genre: YA Fantasy/Horror

Pages: 334

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for Girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home; it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile, or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways.

Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant—but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from.

Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?

Perfect creepy house story for the week. I love a good atmospheric haunted house story imbued with a constant state of dread. This one did not disappoint. We are sucked in within the first chapter to the mystery of Olivia, her mother’s journal, and all those ghosts she sees. And then we arrive at her mother’s birth house and things get really creepy. This story isn’t super gory, but has all the creepy elements that I really enjoy in a haunted house book. We get mysterious statues and portraits, a family secret, silent ghosts appearing everywhere, and a creepy man beyond the wall. I sped through this book shivering the entire time. Schwab has created a masterful book that I wish I had read in October (well, only a little bit, I loved reading it in June also).

Next up on the TBR pile:

Anatomy by Dana Schwartz

Title: Anatomy: A Love Story

Author: Dana Schwartz

Publisher: Wednesday Books 2022

Genre: Horror

Pages: 338

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

Hazel Sinnett is a lady who wants to be a surgeon more than she wants to marry.

Jack Currer is a resurrection man who’s just trying to survive in a city where it’s too easy to die.

When the two of them have a chance encounter outside the Edinburgh Anatomist’s Society, Hazel thinks nothing of it at first. But after she gets kicked out of renowned surgeon Dr. Beecham’s lectures for being the wrong gender, she realizes that her new acquaintance might be more helpful than she first thought. Because Hazel has made a deal with Dr. Beecham: if she can pass the medical examination on her own, Beecham will allow her to continue her medical career. Without official lessons, though, Hazel will need more than just her books―she’ll need corpses to study.

Lucky that she’s made the acquaintance of someone who digs them up for a living.

But Jack has his own problems: strange men have been seen skulking around cemeteries, his friends are disappearing off the streets, and the dreaded Roman Fever, which wiped out thousands a few years ago, is back with a vengeance. Nobody important cares―until Hazel.

Now, Hazel and Jack must work together to uncover the secrets buried not just in unmarked graves, but in the very heart of Edinburgh society.

Apparently, historical fiction with a medical history theme is my catnip. I’ve read a few in the past and always enjoy them. This particular book definitely hit the spot this month. I loved Hazel and Jack and their different perspectives and stations in life. I loved seeing each of them learn as they navigate Edinburgh. There were a few scenes that I wished had been expanded, but this is a fast moving young adult novel. (I did get very confused as to the exact physical relationship between Hazel and Jack. It was very hand-wavy.) And then we get to the interesting plot lines of becoming a doctor and body snatching. I loved getting into the weeds of Hazel learning and then opening up an ad hoc clinic in her home. My one issue with this book came towards the end. I was not super into the supernatural explanation of the mystery and the very ambiguous ending. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this novel.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

Title: Dead Silence

Author: S.A. Barnes

Publisher: Tor Nightfire 2022

Genre: Horror

Pages: 343

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed—made obsolete—when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate.

What they find is shocking: the Aurora, a famous luxury spaceliner that vanished on its maiden tour of the solar system more than twenty years ago. A salvage claim like this could set Claire and her crew up for life. But a quick search of the ship reveals something isn’t right.

Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Messages scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold on to her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate.

I cannot remember where I heard about this one (maybe Book Pages?), but I was totally in for a space horror story. This does not disappoint. Right away we know that something went horribly wrong onboard the ghost space ship Aurora. We then spend the rest of the book switching back and forth between the story of what the crew found and Claire’s present. Make not mistake, this story is creepy and very gory. If you cannot handle blood and gore, do not read this one. The writing dives right into very atmospheric settings and graphic descriptions. I was on the edge of my seat the entire ride. I would have liked a bit more time encountering the spooky while onboard the Aurora before Claire passes out and her memory mostly goes blank. But otherwise I really enjoyed this one!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

Title: Catherine House

Author: Elisabeth Thomas

Publisher: Custom House 2020

Genre: Horror?

Pages: 311

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Catherine House is a school of higher learning like no other. Hidden deep in the woods of rural Pennsylvania, this crucible of reformist liberal arts study with its experimental curriculum, wildly selective admissions policy, and formidable endowment, has produced some of the world’s best minds: prize-winning authors, artists, inventors, Supreme Court justices, presidents. For those lucky few selected, tuition, room, and board are free. But acceptance comes with a price. Students are required to give the House three years—summers included—completely removed from the outside world. Family, friends, television, music, even their clothing must be left behind. In return, the school promises a future of sublime power and prestige, and that its graduates can become anything or anyone they desire.

Among this year’s incoming class is Ines Murillo, who expects to trade blurry nights of parties, cruel friends, and dangerous men for rigorous intellectual discipline—only to discover an environment of sanctioned revelry. Even the school’s enigmatic director, Viktória, encourages the students to explore, to expand their minds, to find themselves within the formidable iron gates of Catherine. For Ines, it is the closest thing to a home she’s ever had. But the House’s strange protocols soon make this refuge, with its worn velvet and weathered leather, feel increasingly like a gilded prison. And when tragedy strikes, Ines begins to suspect that the school—in all its shabby splendor, hallowed history, advanced theories, and controlled decadence—might be hiding a dangerous agenda within the secretive, tightly knit group of students selected to study its most promising and mysterious curriculum.

Right away, I’m going to say that this book is not for everyone. But it was definitely for me! I love a super atmospheric gothic style mystery novel. We spend hundreds of pages immersed in the world of Catherine House where we sink deeper and deeper into this very strange world. Nothing much really happens, but I completely fell into this novel. Ines was the perfect slightly unreliable narrator to lead us through the labyrinth. Once we really start to wonder what is happening in the new materials lab, I was so deep that I couldn’t find a way out. It was a beautiful journey through the weird and depressing.

Next up on the TBR pile:

House of Secrets by Darcy Coates

Title: House of Secrets (Ghosts and Shadows #2)

Author: Darcy Coates

Publisher: Black Owl Books 2016

Genre: Horror

Pages: 246

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Sophie and Joseph’s escape from Northwood is short-lived. The beast survived, and attached itself to Joseph’s young cousin, Elise.

Garrett writes to beg for their help. Joseph and Sophie travel to meet him at Kensington, a long-abandoned mansion that overlooks a dead town.

The house offers a small hope: its original owner had dedicated her life to researching the monster that possesses Elise. Garrett hopes to find a way to kill the creature without harming his daughter.

But Kensington is a dangerous building. Once the carriage leaves, they’re trapped inside the collapsing walls and forced to confront the horrors within.

Shrouded figures stalk them. Whispers echo through the night. Unmarked graves dot the property.

And the dead are not as restful as they seem…

And now the sequel! Right away we know that the Grimlock was not vanquished and Sophie and Joseph are pulled back into the horrors fo the Argenton family. We change settings, but not the horror. We still get all the creepy gothic vibes and horrifying happenings. Kensington and Ms. Bishop were great perfect additions to the larger storyline. The pages flew by with me desperate to find out what happens next. Perfect reading for this season! And now I am going to have to put more Darcy Coates books onto my TBR.

Ghosts and Shadows

#1 House of Shadows
#2 House of Secrets

Next up on the TBR pile:

House of Shadows by Darcy Coates

Title: House of Shadows (Ghosts and Shadows #1)

Author: Darcy Coates

Publisher: Black Owl Books 2015

Genre: Horror

Pages: 294

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Sophie’s world is shattered when disaster bankrupts her family. She’s still reeling from the news when she’s offered an unexpected solution: Mr Argenton, a wealthy stranger, asks for her hand in marriage.

Marrying Mr Argenton will restore her family’s fortunes and save them from scandal, but condemns Sophie to a life in Northwood, a vast and unnaturally dark mansion situated hours from civilisation.

Sophie struggles to adjust to her new position as mistress over the desolate house. Mr Argenton’s relatives are cold, and Mr Argenton himself is keeping secrets. Even worse, the house is more than it seems.

The piano plays in the middle of the night. Blood drips from the ceiling. Sophie is pulled towards the terrifying truth: Northwood’s ancient halls are haunted. The malevolent spirits—produced by grisly deaths—resent her intrusion into their home.

Trapped in Northwood and desperate for an escape, Sophie’s fate is further complicated as she finds herself drawn to the tall, dark-eyed man she married. She suspects her feelings are returned, but Mr Argenton is hiding something... and his secrets are so dangerous that they might just be unforgivable.

Now this is the haunted house story that I wanted to read (especially after the disappointing book from yesterday)! Right away we now that there’s something creepy going on with Mr. Argenton. I knew where the story was going to go next, but I was there for every page. This gave me Crimson Peak vibes, perfect for this month. Once Sophie arrives at Northwood, the terrors begin to surface and do not let up until the very end. I was thoroughly creeped out by the odd doings that occur. That was exactly the feeling I was hoping to manifest. So incredibly good! I loved Sophie and Joseph and their budding relationship. We get a very Jane Eyre style romance perfect for this mystery. This book ends with a conclusion, but there is a sequel and I had to pick it up next!

Ghosts and Shadows

#1 House of Shadows
#2 House of Secrets

Next up on the TBR pile: