Mothman’s Library Card (Xavier’s Reviews)

A side blog dedicated to book reviews and other stats. Cryptid obsessed. He/she-bisexual-22 💜💙🩷 💚🤍💜

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Huda F Would Love You by Huda Fahmy Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Huda F Would Love You is the finale of the Huda F series, finishing her coming of age story as she starts her first year of college and begins to think about “love”. For Huda, this means entering an Austenian-like world filled with weddings, matchmaking, and getting the aunties’ approval.

I noted that this book had some similarities to Fahmy’s earlier book That Can Be Arranged, both presenting the Muslim marriage process as something similar to a Jane Austen novel and regency practices as a whole. However, this book was clearly not as autobiographical as That Can Be Arranged, which does allow Fahmy to go into some interesting directions with the story.

I found the theme of learning to focus on yourself before feeling the need to jump into a relationship very well done. I also found that it presented how desperation and low self worth can cause people to ignore red flags in a way that was insightful without becoming too excessive.

I really like the ending of this story with one of the girls getting engaged and being supported by her friends without it putting any pressure on anyone else to get married and the romance fake-out at the end with Huda.

The art style is nice. A bit simplistic, but it works well for the story.

Overall, Huda F Would Love You is a heartfelt coming of age story that pushes aside the expectation of marriage without even knowing yourself first.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers for the advanced copy.

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As The Snow Gathers by Mere Joyce Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️

As The Snow Gathers is a frost-bitten horror where the humans are just as monstrous as the creatures that hunt them. It follows Dom, the son of the recently deceased town-barrister, as he and Lex, the logger he’s in a forbidden romance with, try to survive to escape the town and woods that want them dead.

This book was just okay. There were some elements I really liked, such as the horror elements with the Fantuer (though they were a bit underdeveloped in my opinion. I would have liked more about them and their origin.) and the revenge aspects later in the story.

However, the writing just felt a bit awkward. The pacing was uneven in a way that did not seem intentional. The action-heavy scenes just were just not described the best, and it made it a bit difficult to parse out what was even happening.

Some of the characters felt a bit flat as well, Lex especially. Even when there were chapters in his point of view, it just felt like there was nothing really to him. A lot of the side characters were pretty much cardboard cutouts. It’s hard to feel anything for a character that is just nothing beyond the bare bones the author needs.

Overall, As The Snow Gathers was fine, but nothing that I’m probably going to read again.

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Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Chuck Tingle is one of my favorite horror authors at the moment, and this book did not disappoint. Fabulous Bodies follows Poppy, aspiring influencer and graverobber, who after taking the body of a dead musician, is taken for a ride after the body wakes up.

This continues with the trends that I really love in Tingle’s work, which are the most absurd concepts and brutally unique deaths all done with the utmost seriousness. It’s a balance that I feel Tingle mastered in Lucky Day, and it continues to be done well here. Additionally, Tingle did a very good job with integrating the theme into the story without having to be too direct with it, and it makes the book all the more rewarding.

Poppy’s character was done very well. I ended up loving her in spite of the fact that she was designed to be dislikable, especially at the beginning. There was just an honesty at the core of her.

Interestingly, this book was the least “queer horror” of Tingle’s horror work. Poppy was a lesbian, but it felt very detached from the rest of the story. Whereas in other Tingle novels, queerness is at the core of the story.

Overall, Fabulous Bodies is a fun blood soaked romp through Palm Springs that I highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy.

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The Unheld by Luke Larkin Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

The Unheld is a new take on the horror western, and overall is not a bad one. The story follows Charlie, a 12-year old child living on the western frontier who after her father is taken by a strange monster, joins forces with a Brit with secret society ties and a disgraced Northern Cheyenne police officer, to find a father that she isn’t so sure that she wants to look for. Overall, this story seems like it would be right up my alley, and I did get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

From the things I like, the monster concept was really good. It connected to the theme of the story in a really satisfying way. Additionally, the overall ambiance of the story was also well done.

However, I found that the story was a bit “hand-holdy” at parts, especially when explaining the main theme to the audience. I had already put the whole thing together well before the book decided to explain to me. It just felt like Larkin was doubting the intelligence of the reader. Also, the internal monologues and some of the conservations towards the end of the book also felt a bit too modern for the time period that the book was set in.

Overall, this western delivers an interesting concept to the monster in the woods plot, but is not without its flaws.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the advanced copy.

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The Disaster Gay Detective Agency by Lev AC Rosen Review

⭐️⭐️

Well, The Disaster Gay Detective Agency is certainly a disaster. It follows a hodgepodge of a friend group consisting of a hopeless romantic hotel concierge, a bitter drag queen, workaholic lawyer, and a stoner dog watcher, who get involved in the underground crime world after a random hookup. Now, at first glance this should be an interesting story, however, it is executed in a way that made this be the most boring and frustrating drag of a story I have ever read.

First of all, this is a story that suffers from its format. It has a pov chapter for each of the main characters that cycle through the same pattern repeatedly. This has however led to the ordeal of the book being very repetitive. There are text messages sent that got shown in every character’s chapter meaning that we get certain text messages four times. This is not to mention the party scene (which gave me enough second hand embarrassment that reading it all was bad enough) that got repeated four different times with the most minor of variations. Additionally, why were Jon’s chapters just tapped onto the ends of Ian’s? Just make it a separate chapter.

Additionally, every character suffers from having to be absolutely dumbasses in order for the plot to work. Every decision made can only be done from a place of absolute no self preservation or shame.

Also, as a mystery this story kinda fails. The inclusion of Jon’s chapters took away any kind of slow reveal of information. Also, the characters find out absolutely nothing on their own. They just ask other people to do stuff for them. I guess Ian does some hacking themselves, but like it’s so minor that I honestly forgot until I wrote that last sentence. Therefore, I found the ending quite undeserved.

Overall, this was a disaster in a bad way.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy.

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Everything Dead & Dying Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️

First of all, I need to mention that I don’t really like zombie stories. However, I’ve been trying to expand my tastes, and this story had aspects that intrigued me so I gave it a try. To make a long story short, this story did not change my opinion on zombies.

Everything Dead & Dying was a story that had no real impact on me. I just never really cared about anything happening. It felt very predictable, and there was not a single scene that I was not able to predict. This was very apparent when it came to the outsider characters. They were nothing but a series of overused tropes, and it made the story seem unbalanced especially in how much effort went into Jack’s character.

The one thing I really enjoyed about this story was the flashbacks. I found Jack a compelling character and seeing how much he was integrated into a community that initially hated him was the only thing that kept me from DNFing.

Also, the art was good. The panel formatting, especially for the flashbacks and correlating scenes, really shined here.

Overall, Everything Dead & Dying is not a bad comic by any means, but the best parts are the flashbacks.

Thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for an advanced copy.

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Stars that Pause by Yi Izzy Yu and John Yu Branscum Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Stars that Pause serves as an interesting new perspective, at least to me, on a previously well discussed topic. As someone who actively engages with a lot of literature regarding ufology and cryptozoology, I found the idea of a book that discusses a more eastern perspective on ufo (or UAP as Yu and Branscum typically refer to them) phenomenon a welcome breath of fresh air.

And the book does deliver on this front, providing a fairly expansive selection of ufo encounters across Asia (though most center around east Asia), and explanations for these phenomena that are based in eastern tradition, spiritualism , and shamanism. I will admit that I felt a bit lost in some of the more in-depth discussion of religious and spiritual practices, simply due to a lack of familiarity. Therefore, I would not recommend this book as a taking off point for understanding these practices. The discussion of the “baffle” threshold, however, was one of my favorites, and I found it quite insightful.

The book did have the tendency to go on tangents that did not quite feel relevant to the topic at hand, and had a tendency to repeat itself from time to time. It is also quite academic at times, which is not a complaint from me, but I could see others being put off by it. Additionally, the “unique” structure that the book advertises does not quite work well in the digital format.

Overall, Stars that Pause would be a solid addition to anyone’s pre-existing library on ufology. However, I would not recommend it for anyone who is just starting out in the topic.

Thanks to BookSirens and Empress Wu Books for a review copy.

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A Murder Most Camp by Nicolas DiDomizio Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

A Murder Most Camp is not as camp as I was hoping. The story follows Micky, a disillusioned nepobaby as he works at a summer camp to fulfill his trust requirement of completing a singular good deed. This gets complicated as he winds up in the cross hairs of a decade old mystery, but solving a mystery counts as a good deed right?

The main issue I found with this book is that it was more of a story that I just wanted to finish rather than enjoy. The mystery was only interesting enough for me to want to know the outcome rather than enjoy the process of it unfolding. I think this was because this mystery seemed more interested in misdirection and the most surprising twists rather than properly unraveling a mystery. This did lead to me guessing the murderer purely on the fact that it would be the largest but still somewhat logical twist.

I also found Micky okay as a character. I felt like DiDomizo was trying too hard to make him sympathetic. As if he felt that the audience would not like him on sight due to him being a nepobaby, so he had to be cheated on, lose his mom to cancer, and be isolated his whole childhood. When honestly the best improvement that could be given to Micky is for him to not give me second hand embarrassment every other line.

The children characters were ok. I just felt like none of them were particularly memorable or distinct outside of Anna.

The relationship between Jackson and Micky felt like it came on a bit fast, even if I liked the dynamic a little.

Overall, this book was not the campy summer romp that I was expecting and is more a mediocre mystery with a lot of 90s movie references.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advanced copy.

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‘I would write you into immortality. I would trap you in ink and wear the pages next to my skin until they fell apart. Kiss me until I know you. Kiss me until you know me, unmake me, and love me anyway.’

A Power Unbound, Freya Marske

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Call Us If You Get Possessed by Chris Burton Book Review

⭐️⭐️.75

Call Us If You Get Possessed is a weird mix of horror thriller and workplace comedy, and I’m not sure if it actually worked that well. The story follows Sam, who after witnessing the supernatural is now forced to work at a call center for the paranormally impacted. However, her work starts to follow her home.

The concept for this story is actually pretty neat, and the plot is actually not bad. (For instance, the Sam and Nauruah fake out was neat). However, the execution of this story leaves a lot to be desired.. The story is not told linearally, which can make it a bit confusing. (I was able to make sense of everything by the end anyways, so it’s not a deal breaker. Still somewhat unpleasant). This combined with the somewhat novice writing makes for a somewhat disinteresting read.

Additionally, I just never found this book funny at any point, which is problem in a book being labeled as a dark comedy. Like I could see the jokes, but they were not very good. I’ve seen other reviews that praise the humor though so perhaps it is just a taste issue.

Overall, this book adequately feels like the representation of a call center from Hell, but at least it was fairly short.

Thanks to BookSirens and Chris Burton for an advanced copy.

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The Halls of the Dead by S.M. Hallow Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Halls of the Dead is a story that does not go quietly into that good night. In a world where necromancy is considered an illegal magic, the book follows necromancer Irene Haley and her undead husband, St. John, after they resurrect Agnes, Irene’s lover and fellow necromancer, and she comes back with a righteous neverending hunger for flesh. 

I enjoyed this story for the most part. The three pov characters: Irene, Agnes, and St. John all had distinct voices that really allowed for all of them to shine, which can be difficult for multiple pov stories. The relationships between the characters were also really nice. They all had fairly good chemistry with each other. I will say to that end that I have seen this book be advertised as a sapphic read, and while Irene and Agnes do have a romantic relationship with each other, it does end up being more of a throuple situation with St. John by the end. I personally have no issue with this. I like bisexual (all the main pov characters are explicitly bisexual) and polyamorous stories. However, I could see someone reading this specifically wanting a sapphic read and not enjoying St. John also being there. 

The magic system in this book was also quite well done. There was a looseness to the necromancy that really allowed it to go in some unique directions without it ever not feeling like necromancy.  Additionally, I really enjoyed the chants/spells that accompanied the magic. There was a really solid cadence to them. 

I did find the pace of the story a bit slow in places. It was not enough to ruin the book for me, but it did make it a slightly imperfect read. 

I found this book to be particularly cathartic. There is something to be said about a book where the heroes are able to enact revenge in a bloody and satisfying way. This is especially potent when it is considered how Irene’s soul wound is presented in a way that mirrors sexual assault, so much so that I would personally consider that a trigger warning even if nothing ever explicitly happens in the story.

Overall, this book is a romantic gothic horror about those who chose to say “no, I no, I won't let you go; no, I won't let you be destroyed”.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an advanced copy.

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‘What is it?’ Maud said.

‘Nothing’ was on Violet’s tongue, but Maud had requested truth from her, tonight.

So Violet reached for Maud’s hand, lifted her inner wrist to her mouth, and kissed it. It wasn’t an answer. It was truth, withheld. Maud smiled, and in her smile was the fact that she’d noticed and let it go.

A Restless Truth, Freya Marske