Freshly Brewed Book Reviews

The freshest book reviews from an avid bibliophile.

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A Guest in the House by E.M. Carroll

Everything E.M. Carroll does is deliciously creepy. This story is no different (though it is a bit sadder than her other spooky tales.) It's a perfect read for spooky season.

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How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold

I think I read 3 different versions of this book in the last two and a half years (group of people invited to a certain location, people start to die, etc. etc.) This might have been my favorite of the ones I read, with the exception of one thing: SPOILER SPOILER the supernatural element END OF SPOILER END OF SPOILER.

I liked the characters (well, not them, but their stories were interesting), and I was intrigued throughout, but that specific element felt like a copy out. I think if it hadn't been for that, I would have loved it, because without it, the book could have been very clever. I'd still enjoy a movie adaption of this book, however: I think it'd be fun.

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Then I was young. The things I liked were the things young people liked. It had not yet occurred to me that there would be people even younger, who would have their own icons and crazes, and then people my age would be just another generalizable slice on the pie chart. When millennials became the villains of every trend piece, I felt an itchy despair that has only broadened as we transform from pesky kids to underachieving thirtysomethings. There is something humiliating about being a product of history. Generational thinking means not even your trauma is your own, and what you love is not a product of personal taste but ever more sophisticated and invasive kinds of marketing.

Alice Bolin (Culture Creep)

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Culture Creep by Alice Bolin

This was an interesting read, and I think important for anyone who consumes any part of pop culture. As I was reading, I realized that Bolin had written a better summary of her book within its pages than I ever could: "This answer feels laughable now that the book has experienced mission creep so dramatic that it is also about the fall of empire, late capitalist cults, twenty-first-century gender trouble, and the transformation of entertainment in the age of the internet." If you like nonfiction and pop culture, I'd say for sure to check this one out.

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The Bookshop Below by Georgia Summers

This was a sweet read for people who love reading. The Bookshop Below reminded me of Erin Mortgenstern's The Starless Sea, with hints of Alix E. Harrow. I wouldn't call it cozy fantasy, exactly, because it does have some tenuous moments, but I think it's a read that fantasy book lovers will enjoy.

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Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

This was a fun, fast read. I liked the dynamic of an intergenerational family of women solving crimes, and I enjoyed the women's quips. This book reminded me of the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum novels, of which I read a good many. I'd definitely read another by Simon.

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The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes

This book really didn't do it for me. I've read too many thrillers to have made any impact. And I wasn't a fan of the ending. That's about it. 

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Long Bright River by Liz Moore

As soon as I finished The God of the Woods, I put in a hold on Libby for Long Bright River. In some ways I liked this more than The God of the Woods, but they were both so different, and appealed to me in different aspects. While in my head I flirted with the supernatural in The God of the Woods, Long Bright River is a more realistic story, with an equally compelling mystery (or two). I love Moore's writing. Her pacing is great, and her reveals never feel cheap. She's a writer I'm going to continue to read with each new book that comes out.

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Guillotine by Delilah S. Dawson

This was a fun and fast novella to read. It reminded me of the film "Ready or Not," and I think it'd work really well as a movie (and I'd definitely see it.) I'm already seeking out more from Dawson.

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Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

I really enjoyed the mystery of this one, though I was let down by the resolution. It had some pretty scary moments, which I enjoyed. I'm a fan of the "no one can hear you scream in space" trope. I love an empty vessel with no explanation for what happened, and you have to find things out with the characters. Other than not liking the ending, I did like the rest of the book, so I'd check out more of Barnes's work.

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It Was Her House First by Cherie Priest

I'd put this book on par with Craven Manor. It's a ghost story, but it's not particularly scary, and it had its moments of humor. If you're looking for a ghost story without the scares, you'll enjoy this one!

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Pet Sematary by Stephen King

Believe it or not, I'd managed to go my whole life not knowing what Pet Sematary was (outside of a pet cemetery). This book was so, so sad. More sad to me than scary. I was scared for maybe 4 pages, but other than that, I just felt such heavy grief. I wouldn't recommend this one, honestly, even though the writing is good. If you're sensitive to sadness, it's a tough read.

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Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi

Whew, this one was bleak. Definitely horrifying, and gory. Definitely scared me for more than a few scenes. I could see this as a movie playing in my mind clearly, but if there's ever an adaptation, I'm not sure I could watch it. I'll be looking for more from Fracassi in the future.

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The Small Hand and Dolly by Susan Black

I enjoyed The Woman in Black by Susan Hill a few years ago, so I'd been anxious to read these two novellas. They are good gothic scares, slow burning horror. I didn't find them particularly scary, so I think they'd be okay for folks who aren't into super scary stories but like a little bit of spookiness.

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Craven Manor by Darcy Coates

Darcy Coates is a lot of fun. I picked this up because The Haunting of Ashburn House was one of my favorite spooky season reads of years past (scary AND funny), and while Craven Manor was fun, I didn't find it particularly scary. It was still a good spooky season read, but I'd recommend this one to readers who want SpookyLite in their reading, as opposed to outright scares. It's an interesting enough ghost story to enjoy.

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Darkly by Marisha Pessl

I loved Darkly, but that's no surprise, given that I think about Pessl's Nightfilm regularly. It was one of those reads that felt like it was rewiring my brain. Darkly felt like a niche read: what niche, I'm not sure, but I am 1000% the demographic. Not to say many readers won't enjoy this book, but I think it hits on a different level if you're that particular niche reader. A Darkly is a game that people play, sort of like Dungeons & Dragons meets Sleep No More. I started to FEEL like I was in a Darkly myself, and I found that completely thrilling.  Pessl keeps the pacing tight and crafts compelling characters. I would (and will) be recommending this to anyone and everyone who loves a fun, dark mystery and wants to be transported into a book.

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The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

I had been completely resistant to reading this book for years. When it came out, I felt so angry that Collins would try to write a book that would make me feel sympathetic to Snow or understand him. Joke's on me, because I'd forgotten Collins is a wonderful writer and she would never do Katniss dirty like that. Every time I felt like I was on the verge of empathizing with Snow or feeling bad for him, Collins would remind me that he was a self-serving jerk whose bottom line was taking care of himself (and to some degree his family but even that was a stretch). She kept him unlikeable, and I love that. She also gave us another girl to love, Lucy Gray Baird, and I'm sorry I didn't know her sooner. I finally read this book because I know the next prequel is about Haymitch's games, which we'd all been longing for. This book reinvigorated my love for these books, and I can't wait to read the next prequel, and I am hoping there will be more books in this world coming from Collins.