The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey follows the cast of a reality TV show, Garden State Goddesses. The show (and book) has everything a hit reality shThe Really Dead Wives of New Jersey follows the cast of a reality TV show, Garden State Goddesses. The show (and book) has everything a hit reality show needs - friendship, rivalries, secrets, flashy cars, and cat fights. Oh, and murder.
This book is punchy and fast-paced. The cast of characters are over-the-top and surrounded by drama at all times. It's really everything a reality TV fan could ask for in a book. Sprinkle in a little murder mystery, and you have a fun, quick read on your hands. The confessionals format was really the icing on this reality TV themed cake.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the eArc of this book!...more
A Language of Limbs starts in Newcastle in 1972, when two teenage girls each make a choice about love. The story spans three decades, and tracks theseA Language of Limbs starts in Newcastle in 1972, when two teenage girls each make a choice about love. The story spans three decades, and tracks these two lives through life, love, grief, heartbreak, happiness, and everything in between. Hardcastle carefully weaves pivotal moments in history into these characters' stories, and explores how they impact their lives in different ways.
This is really a gem of a book. The prose is lyrical and beautiful without being overdone or flowery. There are lines throughout that feel like a punch straight to the heart. The way that the language flowed from one of our main characters to the other was incredibly impactful and moving. The cast of characters is so full of life, and each brings a new perspective of the queer experience to the story. This story says so much about love and friendship, and I think there is something in here that every reader will be able to connect with in some way.
Thank you to Penguin Group and NetGalley for the Arc of this book....more
Stag Dance contains one novel and three novellas that are each tied together by their overall themes and exploration of gender identity. This format fStag Dance contains one novel and three novellas that are each tied together by their overall themes and exploration of gender identity. This format feels very fresh, and I was very interested to see how each of the stories would work with one another in this setup.
After I finished this book, I sat with it for several days before I could really decide how I, personally, felt about it. I thoroughly enjoyed Peters' storytelling, and, upon finishing the first story in this collection (Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones), immediately wanted to read more. However, what I found throughout was that the stories seemed to need more time to develop and unfold. There was so much to explore with each character, and so little space to explore it in. Overall, while I thought the stories were each unique and interesting, I was left wanting at the end of each and didn't feel as satisfied as I would have liked. However, I do think that the discussions happening in this collection are important and Detransition, Baby has climbed to the top of my to be read list. The cover is also just incredible.
For those of you who may not be into (view spoiler)[animal cruelty (hide spoiler)], take some caution with the second story in this book.
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the eArc of this book!...more
Open, Heaven is the debut novel of Seán Hewitt. It follows James, a teenage boy growing up in a small village in England, through the year in which heOpen, Heaven is the debut novel of Seán Hewitt. It follows James, a teenage boy growing up in a small village in England, through the year in which he meets Luke, the rebellious nephew of a local farmer and James' first love.
This is a small but mighty little novel, which somehow manages to pack so much into its pages. It deals with love, sexuality, grief, desire, and everything else that comes along with growing up. It is really a moving slice of life novel, with a hint of nostalgia woven throughout. And while James is truly the heart of this book, his connections with the other characters are what truly made my heart ache and swell as the story unfolded.
Hewitt's prose is decidedly unmatched, and at this point I would read his grocery list just to see how he'd make me feel about produce and dairy.
Thank you to the publisher Knopf and NetGalley for the eArc of this book!...more
The Devil By Name picks up five years after Fever House ends. The fevered have been roaming the earth for half a decade, and there's a push by the U.SThe Devil By Name picks up five years after Fever House ends. The fevered have been roaming the earth for half a decade, and there's a push by the U.S. government, with the help of Terradyne Industries, to turn this car around and figure out how to reverse doomsday. There's also a man in a box, a girl with a gift, and a whole host of characters who have to navigate this pretty gruesome world that they've been given.
Fever House was one of my absolute top reads of 2023 and continues to be a book that I think about on a weekly basis. So obviously I was elated to get my hands on its sequel. For readers who, like me, could not put Fever House down, I think The Devil By Name is a must-read. It possesses the same sort of far flung set of characters who are all connected in some wild sort of way, and it obviously puts you right back in the middle of the world that Rosson so graciously gifted to us in the first book.
My one caution for lovers of Fever House is to not expect a direct carbon copy of the first book here. The pacing felt different and there new characters to follow. Though it is obviously a continuation of the first book, it is still has its own story to tell. If it feels a little different from your experience with Fever House, I still think you should trust Rosson to get you over the finish line with this one.
Rosson's writing continues to be captivating, and his storytelling abilities are otherworldly. The author knows how to tie loose ends together and is an expert at dragging characters across a hellscape of a country, no doubt about it. I will read anything Rosson puts his name on at this point.
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the eArc of this book!...more
In You Will Speak for the Dead, all Paul Simard really has going for him is his hoarder house cleaning business, and even that gets turned upside downIn You Will Speak for the Dead, all Paul Simard really has going for him is his hoarder house cleaning business, and even that gets turned upside down when he arrives at 928 Avirosa, the home of an aging biologist. Beyond the typical hoard, 928 Avirosa is filled with fungi. In the carpet, in containers, in books, and, quite possibly, in Paul himself.
I've never read R.A. Busby before, but was quickly drawn into Paul's world by her prose. Given that this is such a short novella, I don't want to give too much away. But I do want to share that, while this novella contains some pretty gnarly body horror and utterly creepy depictions of mushrooms, it also captures a really profound sense of love and also grief.
Overall, this little novella packs a real punch on a surprising number of themes, and I enjoyed digging into Paul's psyche. Thank you to Stelliform Press and NetGalley for the eArc of this one!...more
From the opening line of Anyone's Ghost, I really thought I knew what to expect from this book. First of all"It took three car crashes to kill Jake."
From the opening line of Anyone's Ghost, I really thought I knew what to expect from this book. First of all, let me get the usual praise out of the way: Thompson's writing is captivating, Theron and Jake's story is heartbreakingly tender, and anyone who wants to finish a book and then sit and stare at the wall until their emotions can reach equilibrium again should go out and get their hands on this one in particular.
But, as someone who grew up in New Hampshire in the early aughts, I have to take a second to explain how deeply part one of Theron and Jake's story, specifically, got me. There are scenes that felt like a memory, like a childhood that I didn't truly expect to miss as much as I do. Cruising up and down 93, blasting The Postal Service, spending every waking second with friends who are now in far flung places, and feeling like maybe nothing could ever be this good again, somehow 140 pages of this book brought all of that rushing back. I'll never really get to experience all of that again, but I'm glad to have spent time with Theron and Jake as they burned through a New Hampshire summer together.
Truly, thanks to August Thompson for this one. ...more
I thought there was no way this book could've been as bad as the first one in the series. I am not too proud to admit that I was wrong.I thought there was no way this book could've been as bad as the first one in the series. I am not too proud to admit that I was wrong....more
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