#advance copy

[ninsiana0]

Read WHAT FEASTS AT NIGHT by T. Kingfisher if you love remote villages, disreputable cabins in the woods, mysterious illnesses, nightmares, fungi, strongly spiced sausage, trauma narratives, endless cups of tea, propriety, knives & very good horses.

I received an advance copy of this book for review.

[happywebdesign]

Advance Copy

[everythingisok3000]

I wrote a Book

Fill out the application to read it here:

https://forms.gle/kYrDVLXRvxvQHBoLA

I’ll talk about it more probably at some point.

[kathleendeplume]

Review: The Wicked and the Willing, by Lianyu Tan

I was honoured to be given an advance copy of The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan. I'd already pre-ordered it, as its premise - vampires and a love triangle in 1920s Singapore - sounded exactly like what I wanted right then.

Well, I was right. It *was* exactly what I wanted. I read it over the past two weeks, savouring it in small pieces and then devouring whole chunks at once. It's dark and violent, with exquisite tension and beautiful attention to details. Lianyu is a veritable wizard at ratcheting up sexual tension over multiple scenes - an early scene involving the vampire Mrs Edevane being granted permission to drink from Gean Choo's wrist packs as much of an erotic punch as a full sex scene in the hands of a less skilled author.

Readers of delicate constitution should observe the content warnings - none of it was a problem for me (and the length of the list had me concerned it might be, so do with that what you will), but if you know there are things you absolutely cannot abide, the author has made the full list available to any reader before purchase. There was violence throughout the story - it *is* gothic horror, after all - but the author kept the level at the sweet spot where it makes an impact but doesn't leave you feeling sickened and overwhelmed. (There is one notable exception - the climax of the violent arc is everything you would expect, beautifully executed in every sense of the word.)

I'm not sure how I feel about the choice of endings. It's always tempting to go and see "what could have been", but I found the choice difficult to make; the longest I put the book down was while mulling over that decision. In a way I almost would have liked to have had the choice made for me - knowing a "canon" ending, from the author's perspective at least, with the opportunity to reject cannon and go a different way. As it turned out I needn't have fretted; the horror ending is dark and a little sad but not in the way that feeds my own nightmares. And the happily-ever-after ending is *excellent* in ways I will not spoil here. I have not read the "bonus ending" - Save Yourself. I think I'm happy with the endings I've read and will leave it at that.

Overall, I loved this book. It's a slight departure from my usual lesfic read, but in a direction I wanted right now. It's a beautifully written example of the dark fantasy/gothic horror subgenre, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone even slightly interested. You won't be disappointed.

~

[nealshustermanreal]

🌟ARC GIVEAWAY🌟

Enter for the chance to win an ARC of #Roxy by Jarrod and yours truly!

No purchase necessary

US res only.

13+ to enter.

Visit to know the rules and how to enter: https://bit.ly/RoxyRules

[dd-is-my-guiltypleasure]

[discerningacall]

When you stop trying to force the Bible to be something its not--static, perspicacious, certain, absolute--then you're free to revel in what it is: living, breathing, confounding, surprising, and yes, perhaps even magic.

Inspired, Rachel Held Evans

[ninsiana0]

Read THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS by Vajra Chandrasekera if you love strange & terrible things, scars, chaotic cities, laying down your parents' trauma, support groups, the unchosen ones, wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff, bright colors, cults, devils & the multiple versions of self.

I received a copy of this book for review.