#otdrrecommendations

[onlythedarkestreads]

review - slewfoot

5/5 Stars Pub Date: Sep 14, 2021 Goodreads Goal: 84/150

Do you get emotional when you read? I always think it's a sign of a really good book when you have an extreme visceral reaction.

I loved this book but it also made me furious. Body shaking, needing to put the book down and calm the fuck down furious.

Coming from a long line of cunning women, Abitha is struggling to fit into Puritan society. Sutton Village isn't receptive to newcomers, especially when they're an outspoken woman who peddles simple charms and remedies. The devils works.

The move from England to the States was hard. Her new husband Edward is king, but shy, and easily bullied by his older brother Wallace.

When Edward dies suddenly Abitha is left alone. Working as hard as she can to pay off a debt of Wallace's making. Abitha is struggling. That's when she meets Father.

But who is Father? Demon or angel? Slayer or maker? Will he help save Abitha or bring her to ruin?

A beautiful story of magic and revenge, of fear and friendship.

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for an ARC. I need to get myself a physical copy to see the beautiful illustrations.

[onlythedarkestreads]

review - the strange thing we become

5/5 Stars Pub Date: Sep 1, 2021 2021 Goodreads Goal: 83/150

What a voice to spend time with!

This was my second foray into the writing of Eric LaRocca and he has definitely become a new favourite author.

The Strange Things We Become is one of the strongest short story collections I've had the pleasure of reading. I tried to read on story a day so I could savor the experience.

Through these stories LaRocca creates a hallucinatory nightmare world. Full of monsters, stranger danger, painful games, impossible decisions, obsessions, penetrations and violent extractions. Deals with demons external and internal. Fodder for and from the nastiest recesses of your brain.

These stories are extremely brutal and beautiful and I already can't wait to read them again.

Thank you so much for providing me with an advanced copy Eric, and I cannot wait to read whatever perversion you write next. I will be buying a physical copy.

[onlythedarkestreads]

review - red x

4/5 Stars Pub Date: Aug 31, 2021 2021 Goodreads Goal: 77/150

Thank you to NetGalley and Strange Light Books, and to David himself for lending me a physical copy.

Pushing the boundaries between truth and fiction, Red X is a deeply personal exploration of an insidious entity stealing gay men from The Village in Toronto. This book is more than just queer horror, it's memoir and tribute, history and folklore. A collection of memorials for the men who have disappeared, and the fear that remains as one who has been left behind.

David himself is a character in his novel, with diary entries about his own experience with horror and queerness, as well as the real life murders that have occurred in The Village. This is truly genre-bending stuff.

Told across decades and generations, bouncing between timelines, it does take a second to get into the rhythm of the story. It is absolutely worth pushing through as the puzzle pieces start to fall into place in the second half.

This is a book that I've been ruminating on for weeks, really unsure how to capture exactly how it affected me. A must-read.