Book Review: Our Strange Duet by Erin A. Craig

I remember the first time I was introduced to music from the Phantom of the Opera. Once upon a time, a friend had gifted me a snow globe, something with a wizard and a dragon in the glass with the base being this intricate castle set in the clouds. When I realized it had music, I quickly wound it and was mesmerized by the tune it played, a portion of the song, Music of the Night. It haunted me and I finally looked it up and listened to Michael Crawford sing this amazing piece of music. It's still a favorite of mine, decades later. When I heard that one of my favorite authors was going to write a Phantom of the Opera inspired book from Christine's point-of-view, I knew I had to read it. I wanted to be swept away by the story but unfortunately for me, I didn't fall in love with the book.

Our Strange Duet follows Christine Daaé, a young soprano who works at the Paris Opera House. She catches the eye of the masked figure that lurks beneath the place, a mysterious person who has, for years, made demands on those that run the Opera House. He falls in love with Christine and decides to do whatever is necessary to help nurture her singing ability and get his music out into the world.

The writing was extraordinary, there was never any doubt in my mind about that. It was haunting and atmospheric. I could see every location so clearly in my mind from the way it was described in the book to the dusty room that Christine was moved to where the Phantom first makes contact to the lake hidden down in the depths beneath the Opera House. Everything seemed so beautiful, drawing the reader in with the setting, and I was so impressed with all of the visuals. Craig was able to make the characters sing when they were hitting their cues, the connection between Christine and Erik, the opera ghost, being a little more believable than the connection to Raoul. When Christine and Erik were together, I could see how much Christine wanted to believe in Erik as her Angel of Music thanks to the way that Craig wrote them, showing the growing tide of emotion overtaking Christine in a way that felt like the best of romances. 

What bothered me was the characters. I was looking forward to a story showing everything the way that Christine saw it but in the end, I didn't really like her as a character. It felt like her choice in Erik or Raoul changed with a flick of her hand. I didn't believe her passion for either of them being a lasting thing, something she truly felt had changed her in the deepest parts of her being, because it felt like she kept choosing the one who could better her situation for the moments she considered her choices. Erik was an option because of the way he could help her with her music and singing. Raoul was an option because he made her remember a past where she was happy when her father alive. I believed she felt desire for them in the moment but it didn't seem to last once she was on her own. They both felt like horrible choices for her, one being a murderous villain and the other thinking he could make Christine want a life as just his wife, and I wanted the story to end with her choosing herself and leaving the both of them behind. If neither of them was truly making her happy, what was the point?

Also her friendship with Meg seemed very surface level. Christine would reminisce about Meg, how they were very best friends, almost sisters, and that they shared everything together but they were barely together on the page. Then when they were together, they were working on their parts in the opera production or they were out with a group. Christine would lament the loss of Meg and I would just shake my head because the relationship was not developed enough for me to believe that Meg was actually important to her. It felt like we were constantly being told that this was the truth but Christine never did anything more to keep the friendship she had with Meg strong so I didn't believe her when she felt "bad" about the distance growing between them. It almost felt like her constant lamentation was to convince herself that she was a good friend and not someone who would leave behind what she once treasured in order to gain something out of reach.

That brings me to the pacing. It felt like there was so much that was glossed over with words like "months" or "weeks" placed somewhere to indicate the passage of time. One moment we're meeting the Angel of Music for the first time and the next page, it has been months of lessons where Christine has been developing her singing voice, getting stronger under the tutelage of her teacher. At another point, Christine is staying with Raoul while the Opera House is being repaired and it has been weeks since Christine tried writing to Meg. I was surprised when Christine woke up and it was actually the following morning. It felt like the focus was too much on hitting the points made in the opera leaving only so much time to fill in the in between bits with Christine. With the issues with pacing, I felt like the development of the tragic love story didn't have the time it needed to expand correctly on the page. I didn't care for Christine in the end, I thought she was a bit selfish and extremely, if not naive, then at least foolish for continuing to back and forth with the two men she was stringing along. She knew the truth about the both of them and yet somehow, kept going back to them both, and I didn't believe her when she claimed she couldn't bear to be apart from either of them.

I wish I loved this more. There is no easier way to say that. There were some brilliant moments in the book and that final line almost made me reconsider my entire view of the story. Still, I had too much swimming in my head about the characters and the pacing to make me change my mind and believe me when I say, no one is more heartbroken about that fact than me.

Rating on my Scale: Solid 5 Stars. I still love Erin A. Craig and will continue to follow and read every book that Craig writes unto the end of time. This one, however, will not be the favorite I was hoping to read.

My thanks to NetGalley, Random House Children's Books, Delacorte Press and Erin A. Craig for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Book Review: Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen

I still remember the first time I found a book by Sarah Addison Allen. I was browsing a table of discounted titles and found a hardcover of The Sugar Queen. I took it home and read it over the course of a weekend, falling in love with the way that Allen spun her words, the images she created, the magic that infused her words and her world. I kept buying her books from there and went back to find Garden Spells when I realized there was a book released before The Sugar Queen. The Girl Who Chased the Moon is my favorite though, that book left its mark on my soul, it was beautiful and enchanting and just absolutely everything. I check every year if there will be a new Sarah Addison Allen book and when I saw that Paper Ghosts was being released, my heart lurched and then got lodged in my throat. I NEEDED  to read this book and yes, it is another brilliant addition for Allen fans. Paper Ghosts was haunting and magical, so much so that I wish there was more to it, more time for us to spend with these characters. 

Paper Ghosts follows two separate storylines, one focused on Willamena Wester in 1976 and the second focused on Bailey Wester in present time. Readers are introduced to the Wester women, who have lived in their house for decades and who the town avoids because somehow, the Wester matriarch, Willamena's grandmother, seems to know things that she shouldn't, things that keep the order she likes with a simple whisper in the right ear. Willamena ends up falling for a stranded musician, something she needs to keep secret, something that is just for her, at least until her grandmother finds out and she is forced to make a decision that changes everything. In present time, Willamena is trying to change things for her granddaughter Bailey, making new choices and hiding things about the Wester family. Trying to keep history from keeping her granddaughter stuck in their house, she forces her out into the world even though all Bailey wanted was to stay with her grandmother. Now things are changing again and Bailey has returned home for the answers and the secrets that have been kept from her.

First of all, Allen has done it again, creating the perfect small town world that feels like the kind of place that would be the setting for something magical. Allen has a way with creating a town that has a twist of difference, where readers can feel at home and where wondrous things could be possible. In this town, the people feel real because of their struggles and their secrets and their pain. I loved the little traditions that Allen added to the town, where people could get tea-themed ice cream at a local shop and apparently everything was named with a chicken theme in mind because of the town's name. All of these details added whimsy and yet at the same time, felt like it could be a real place. Every setting in Allen's books are like this and when opening this book, I knew I was coming in to a place where something more was possible again and it's something that I always look forward to when it comes to an Allen book. Every turn of phrase can conjure images, weaving an almost fairytale quality to the writing. Allen has always been a talented writer and does not disappoint with the talebshe has woven here.

The characters this time around though were a little more tragic for me than usual. I felt so sad for Willamena and the dreams she had and the control that was used to decide every part of her life. I wanted her to achieve everything she wanted and I loved when she took a chance and fell for a musician. At the same time, I felt so sad for Bailey, living with the Wester name in modern times and with maybe not so much overt control as had been seen with Willamena but still being led down a certain path by her grandmother, as had been done before. I felt so much heartache for these women, wishing for different things and suffering consequences for things outside their control. I wanted these characters to have more and because of that, I feel like this book left things on a quieter note for them. Not necessarily happy but maybe more at peace with the way things turned out. Still, I wanted more time with them, for readers to spend more time with them and for Willamena and Bailey to have spent more time together on the page. Unfortunately, it felt like these two spent more time apart, talking about each other while doing other things rather than spending that time together and that made me feel a little disappointed.

This leads me to the plot. It felt like the kind of story that was geared more towards quiet contemplation by the time the ending hits. I thought it was interesting to show how determined Willamena was to be different from her own grandmother, only to turn around and change things she thought she had a right to do, repeating the past for her own granddaughter and understanding that enough to try to change it again before Bailey becomes a permanent fixture in the house. But after spending the time that we did with Willamena as a teenager and then Bailey growing up, I thought the book would then go through a segment where we see both characters in present time together, working through what it meant to be a Wester and how Willamena wanted Bailey to be able to finally escape their town. Bailey has had to return home, something she is only doing because of the circumstances that are calling her home and I thought it meant that she would spend more time with her grandmother, working through the heartache she felt at losing the life she thought she wanted and what she thought being a Wester meant. Instead, after all the development that we were given about the Wester women, their legacy and the particulars of these specific Wester women, Bailey only spends a few days having tea with her grandmother and then something happens and is revealed and then POOF, we're done with the book. My lasting thought is still, "That's it?" The book just kind of ends, with only a little hope left for the characters and it feels incomplete. I still love these characters and the ideas that Allen put in this book, I just wanted to spend more time with them. The book just ends and because of that, while I love the book, I didn't LOVE it.

Still, this is a quietly moving book and for that alone, I am grateful I had the chance to read it. I loved the town and the people that were in it, just like I expect to do when I open an Allen book. That being said, I wanted to stay in this town longer. I wanted to force Willamena and Bailey to finally talk together. As a result, I feel like I'm left holding some threads of the book that didn't get the finish I thought they would and that leaves me a little dissatisfied overall.

Rating on my Scale: 7.5 Stars. This is a very respectable entry for Allen's shelf of magic but it hasn't taken down my favorite from its pedestal. Read for the usual magical prose and settings that fill Allen's books. I hope that Allen might go back to this town again and gives us another chance to spend time with the Wester family.

My thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Sarah Addison Allen for the eARC of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.

Book Review: Four Women in the River by Theo St. John

It's been a while since I read a thriller, one that keeps me turning pages and ruining my eyes while reading until the text blurs and I can't see anything anymore. I have read a few but I mostly stick to watching thrillers and I've always enjoyed the gathering of clues and the way my mind whirs, processing details and picking a villain until the ending arrives and I find out if I'm right. Four Women in the River started strong and just kept getting better, keeping the pages turning while the gears in my head ran down all the possibilities about what would happen. I'm still going over the book in my head, hours after staying up way too late to see what would be revealed and I'm happy to see that there is another book in this universe already published because I need to read more of Emily Watson and I'll be working my way through more of Theo St. John's books as soon as possible.

Four Women in the River follows journalist Emily Watson, called to Japan by veteran reporter, Reina Kubo, after four women have been pulled out of the Sumida River and are called suicides. Reina believes differently and so does Emily, who agrees to help with the investigation. In just a few days after her arrival, Emily has evidence of drugs that link the victims together, proving the suicide story false. As Emily works with her allies, trying to find justice for these women, she starts to realize that these four women were only the start and the men who are behind this are now watching her.

I have to hand it to St. John, this book is so well-written, the turns of phrase, the tone, everything is so very succinct, precise, even meticulous with the writing and the unfolding of this story. The way the information hits, the stark details, helps with the characterization and the threat that is hanging over the heads of the leads. This reminded me of some of the best thrillers I've watched in recent years, sincerely so well-developed with every piece of this story. Every word is carefully considered and each carries so much weight, making this such an enthralling read.

As for the characters, I want to read more about Emily Watson, I want to know what goes on in her head and where she came from. The way this woman was able to calculate her risks, to understand the threats and come up with ways around the obstacles she faced was incredibly impressive. I enjoyed spending the time with her as she worked to figure out how far up in government the threat went as to who had not only ordered that these women be removed but was also covering up how they'd done it in the first place. Emily had her journalist friend Reina for help, showing us the way these two worked to find their sources and how they used the information in their writing and I thought she was a great ally for Emily, showing the lengths these two were going through to find justice. There was also Tetsuo, who worked almost as a conscience for Emily as she kept pushing herself to try riskier things to find the truth, and Detective Haruka, a source of Reina's that started to work more and more with the group as the investigation continued. Each character had strong contributions, their risks felt palpable on the page and the tension kept ratcheting as reveals were made. Even the victims were given time, to learn who they were, who cared about them, why they had become victims in the first place and it made everything a little heart-wrenching to think about as they were gone. St. John wrote characters that felt like people and these people were worth caring about as they worked to find justice.

For the plot, it seemed straightforward enough, find who was responsible for ordering the deaths of four women, but it evolved into so much more before the story was over. Emily comes from a family with a lot of history and the things that she learned from her parents had a lot of bearing on the way Emily handled the investigation and the lengths she pushed herself to and it was all so cleverly plotted. It was chilling to consider exactly what was going on in this story and the way it unfolded kept me riveted to the page. I can't wait to read more from Theo St. John in the future.

Rating on my Scale: 10 Stars. I'm just so impressed with everything in this book. I want to see more of these characters so this is me, getting comfortable and waiting to see what comes next.

Book Review: Suhwa: The Guardians of the Dawn by S. Jae-Jones

I've been a fan of S. Jae-Jones since Wintersong and had been waiting for ages for a new book by the time Zhara was announced. I was determined to read it and while it wasn't an instant favorite, I still loved the fact that Jae-Jones was writing and publishing again so I kept going with the series. So of course, it turned out that each book was better and better than the one that came before it and overall, I LOVED this series and Suhwa was exactly the book I needed to close out the whole storyline.

Suhwa follows the title character, Min Suhwa, a young woman with a gift for illusions who has been living in a convent for the last decade. When the Bangtan Brothers come to a town not too far from the convent for a performance, Suhwa decides to take the chance and sneak out to go see them. Except Suhwa has walked into a world that is more than what she expected as the Morning Realms are in a civil war and Hunstmen are occupying towns, searching for magicians and the Guardians of Dawn, the fabled elemental warriors. Suhwa ends up almost captured by the Huntsmen and flees into the forest to try to figure out her next move and stay safe. The story also follows Zhara, Ami and Yuli, the Guardians of Dawn, who are trying to keep the north from claiming the throne and destroying all magicians while at the same time, trying to find a way to defeat the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons. The Guardians are on a quest to reach the Azure Isles to find the Guardian of Water so that they may save the Morning Realms and bring balance to the world.

Writing style wise, Jae-Jones has a way with words that make these books fun to dive into with each story. I was trying to find the time to read the first three books again but that plan quickly went up in flames so when I opened Suhwa, I was happy to see an opening that summarized the first three books, giving key story details that were needed to be able to read this book and yes, THANK YOU, I needed to read that, just a little refresher, no big deal. At the same time, Jae-Jones has created this entire world that is so easy to step back into, to recognize the aspects of the fairytale that is woven into and then also see all the various details that were made to make the Guardians of Dawn world its own creation. Everything felt familiar because of past books and gave a sense of comfort because, let's be honest, if you're reading book four of a series, you already know that you want to step back into this world and see what comes next for the characters you've come to know and love and it was just a delight to see how everything was finally going to be settled once and for all in this final installment. Jae-Jones had so many threads to weave for the overall plot and each was handled expertly, giving details when they were needed and hitting reveals at just the right moment to keep the pages moving.

In terms of characters, I grew to really love Suhwa over the course of the book. Knowing what I did because of the other stories, I was a little frustrated with her when she decided to leave the convent for a performance despite having been warned of the danger but she quickly grew on me. I loved how she was this girl who really wanted to know people her own age, to experience the world and have new adventures and I couldn't fault this kid for having big dreams and then trying to finally have a new experience. Then we get to see the rest of the Guardians and their banter is just as fun as I've come to expect because each girl is so unique and the way they meld together makes for a joyful reading experience. I loved how each girl was so strong, with Zhara trying to find a way to lead them, Ami working on her translations to find a solution to their problems and Yuli being a little brash at times but still so loyal to her friends and loved ones and the addition to Suhwa to their mix was just the right amount of a new level-headed and thoughtful personality to make these girls complete. I loved seeing all our previous leads back, Han, Gaden, Xu, and Jiyi, amongst others, and it goes to show how much each of them are essential to the outcome of the whole series that they are all back in this book. Each character had a role to play, a way to move the storyline where it needed to go and while the cast is kind of a lot, there was not a single unnecessary character in the bunch. When you have a cast this big, it takes talent to make each one important in their own way and I loved that about the way Jae-Jones developed these books.

I'm just going to go right out there and admit this now, this book made me tear up. There's a point in the story where everything seems to be going wrong and Jae-Jones takes a step back and only describes the characters and what they are doing without naming names and it was this moment that just made me choke up a little because I have spent so much time with these characters, years at this point, that those little details to explain who each person was and what they were doing to fight just filled me with so many emotions. I know who these characters are, I don't need their names anymore, and the imagery that those lines evoked just felt so all-encompassing in a way that I was just a little overcome because they were going into the end of the story, the big battles were culminating and I, hand to heart, got misty-eyed. The whole of this adventure had so many highs, so many reveals and twists and moments of triumph coupled with unexpected lows and I was just happy to be along for the ride one last time. I wanted to see how everything would play out and the entire journey was just, as I said before, exactly what I needed to close out this series. I love these girls and while I could have spent a little more time with Suhwa on her own before she joined the rest of the group, I can't complain about how this book manages to wrap everything up.

Read this book if you like fairytales, Sailor Moon and people trying to save the world all mixed together.

Rating on my Scale: 10 Stars. It made me cry, automatic 10 Stars when a book does that. I tested it, actually, and went back to read the scene again two more times and yep, still get teary. So there you have it, the end of a series of great adventures. I really hope S. Jae-Jones has something else in the works because I am ready for more books by one of my favorite authors.

My thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and S. Jae-Jones for the eARC of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.

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

It's an exceedingly shallow trait of mine but sometimes cover art is what catches my attention and convinces me to read a book. I found The Halls of the Dead on a list of horror releases for 2026 and I immediately placed it on a list of books to schedule and plan out when I could pre-order my copy. Every aspect of this book was intriguing and I enjoyed every reveal that came about throughout the whole story. I have words swimming in my head, unique, enthralling, distinct, engrossing, and yet I still have not found the word that encompasses everything I think about when I look at this book. It made me really think and consider the ideas that were put forth in this story and when a book leaves me with that deep thought-provoking feeling, I know it was a worthy read.

The Halls of the Dead follows Irene Haley, a woman who has dedicated her life to necromancy. Necromancy is a form of magic that is forbidden and if caught, means death for the accused. Irene, alongside her undead husband St. John, has devoted her life to trying to rebuild the crypt, where the grimoires made of human skin that contained the spells of the necromancers were once housed before they were burned and the necromancers hanged. After Irene's love, Agnes, is hanged for witchcraft, Irene decides to try a spell that has not been successfully attempted in thousands of years, a true resurrection for her love to return to her. Irene manages to bring Agnes back into her body but Agnes is not the same. She craves human flesh and another malevolent spirit tied itself to Agnes before she left the Halls of the Dead. Now Irene needs to find a way to save Agnes, to help her be truly free, while trying to keep herself, her husband and her love safe from the man that sentenced Agnes to death in the first place.

First of all, hats off to S.M. Hallow because the way this was written was just awe-inspiring to me, just the amount of research and the ideas and the way everything unfolds, I am just left a little wowed because this is a debut novel. You can bet your bottom dollar I will be following Hallow to every other written work from here on out. I loved the set-up of this story, the ideas of the magic and how it was another side of what are commonly known religious aspects in society. The way this took something familiar and changed it just enough to keep it familiar and yet at the same time so wholly different BUT still entirely believable was something that made me grin a little because I could completely believe the magic of this world. It made so much sense to me and because of that, it was easy to learn the ins and outs of what Irene and Agnes could do and then what St. John was capable of, as well, because his being undead made his magic different from the necromancy that his wife and her love were able to do. Then there was the format of the book with separate chapters from each of the three leads, some going back in time to show the childhoods of Irene and Agnes, others showing what made St. John what he was as the undead. Then there were the quotes from some familiar names to open some chapters while others had lines from the grimoires mentioned that Irene and St. John had been trying to recover and when it is all put together, I'm kind of marveling over every well-thought out piece of this book. Hallow had an idea and the many different moving parts of the writing showed a clear understanding of the vision for this story and the end product proves that Hallow is a true writer, able to execute their vision with a clever hand and produce a truly respectable read.

As for the characters, I can't say enough about Irene, Agnes and St. John because each was so essential to the outcome of the story and each had their own individual, independent story arc of their own aside from the main story and I cannot see this book working without all of these characters. I loved Irene's determination and the strength she showed to take back Agnes from the fate she was given. This woman worked with blood and pain to make her magic work and the sacrifice it took to accomplish what she did left me in awe of her. I wanted to save Agnes from her life and I wanted to help her to truly be happy and I was so impressed with the turn her character took over the course of the story, the way she became her own force and was just as essential in getting the answers they needed to get their villains to get their comeuppance. St. John was this pillar of strength and devotion, ready to serve his wife and her love without question and then at the same time, a reckoning of his own to contend with and his background as the undead was a story I wish we'd gotten more of but what is on the page is still pretty much perfect.

The three of these characters together were already enough to keep the pages turning but then readers learn more about Irene's family life with her sister, Willa, and her parents and what it was like for Irene to grow up trying to learn necromancy in a household that forbade it. Then there was Agnes and her life with her brother who had a gambling problem and controlled every move that Agnes made and then there was St. John and the very many necromancers he'd known over the centuries he'd been undead and there are just so many threads to this story with the people in it and every moving part makes the whole of this book glitter with ingenuity, I'm still sitting here a few hours later wishing I could read this again a little bit slower so I can really appreciate every nuance of this book. It's just so well-done with the people and the magic and the ideas that I just really loved this story. 

As for the plot, I always believe that when a book puts for a question, it needs to be answered by the end of the book and this book had so many questions, I wasn't sure where the story was going to go by the time we reached the end. That being said, every question was answered, some in ways that were wholly unexpected and it was those moments that just elevated the story for me as each reveal was made. I knew some things would happen, certain characters being revealed, various acts of revenge coming to fruition, but Hallow turns the tables a bit with each given answer and it was those more moments that made the book so impressive to me. The way this story wraps up, it left me feeling so content with where the story left everything and that is a wonderful feeling to have after completing a book. I want to pass this story around to other readers. I want to read more by S.M. Hallow and I want to get this book and actually highlight my favorite lines because so much of the writing, the turns of phrases, the observations and the revelations, were the kinds of things I feel would be almost inspiring to read on their own when you don't have the time to read the whole book again. I will repeat myself, this is such an impressive, respectable read and a wonderful gothic/horror novel addition for readers everywhere.

In the end, I keep thinking about these three leads and I feel like they managed to create a new world for themselves in this story, something that would benefit the magic of the world for the future. The fact that it left me feeling like it was completely, uniquely it's own perfect whole is something I am so grateful for and I sincerely hope to read more from S.M. Hallow for years to come.

Rating on my Scale: 10 Stars. I can't say anything more about this book to convince people to read it. I thought everything was so interesting and impressive and I wish I could really delve into all the specifics that Hallow came up with but the discovery of each aspect is part of the fun of this book. Read if you like stories that take the familiar and turn them on their head, showing the darkness and the people who are daring enough to want something more.

My thanks to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager and S.M. Hallow for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Book Review: Back For Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II: An Indigenous Horror Anthology edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

I have the first book to this series so when I saw that there was supposed to be a Part II with a more horror edge, I jumped at the chance to read and review it, despite the fact that I haven't read the first one. Still, I am a horror fan and I thought I'd take a shot at reading a short story collection of just that type of writing. Some of these stories were amazing but, truth be told, I did not end up loving this as much as I thought I would. I'm pretty confident that this is an entirely me and not the book sort of situation as I'm just starting to realize that maybe the short story format is not the right fit for me. Still, I would like to go into detail on some of my favorites in this book so here we go.

Miss Cherokee Princess 1996 by Jessica Doe was the perfect opener for this collection and it definitely grabbed my attention. My note for this story simply reads, "Whoa." That's it, that's what I made a note of and I can still remember the detail of this story this many days later while writing this review. The ideas behind what someone thinks will make them more of anything, especially to win a pageant, and what they will do to get those things made my stomach turn in the best way. I'll be looking into more writing from Doe just because of this story.

Animal Dumb by P.C. Verrone made me feel a little heartbroken for the characters. The lead's struggle and then the way it ended made me wish I could have spent more time with these characters.

Civilized by A.J. Eversole was unsettling, the ideas behind it and the maybe reveal are still in my head and I'm left wondering about the ending. At the same time, it speaks volumes about what was hidden away when no one cared about the victims of violent crimes.

Footprints by Sonia Maria Barry was a another devastating and heartbreaking bit of horror. The fact that this could happen and did happen just makes my stomach turn and my heart twist. This story will live in my head for probably the rest of time.

My last favorite was Toothjar by Ramona Emerson, an unsettling look at what happens to the world when a virus starts killing people off. I'm not sure when it was meant to be set but the idea felt familiar and it was that fact that made it resonate for me as I read this story. I could understand why things went the way that they did and I know this story will stay in my head. I have questions but I think this was left at just where it needed to be, without all the answers placed on the page.

I will be following each of these authors to their other works. These are the stories that will stay with me and I really loved these tales.

Some of the other stories were interesting but I feel like a lot of them could have benefited from being expanded on just a bit more. Some of the stories also felt like too much like the "creature of the week" vibe, building up to a monster reveal only for the story to end a page or so later and I wasn't really unsettled by the monsters that were seen for the little page time that they had in each story. Also, there were a few stories that just felt too out there for me, leaving me confused about what a few of the stories were even about, and one or two even left me confused about who was even talking.

In the end, I respect what was chosen for this installment but, for me, I wasn't scared by these stories so the overall effect of the book is lost on me. I still plan on reading the first book, as I'm sure I will find a few gems that will lead me to more writers to follow. Again, I am fairly certain this is all on me as a reader and that this book will be adored by many, many readers who will love the monsters and the horror and the unsettling images placed on these pages.

Rating on my Scale: 6.5 Stars. I think the sad truth is that I'm not a fan of short story anthologies. I might need to continue to try them to see if I can start to appreciate them more but for now, I'll leave this book to the readers I'm sure will love and adore it the way it should be loved.

My thanks to NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. for the eARC of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.

Book Review: A (Dead) Thing Like Me by E.G. Young

The title drew me in, I'll admit that from the start. Then the cover art was eye-catching and I needed to know the plot of the book. A (Dead) Thing Like Me convinced me to read it with a mention of a ouija board and banana peppers, easy as that. As I was reading, I was intrigued by everything, every moment between Hot Dog and Logan, drawn in to their story of friendship and their learning about each other. I'm glad I took a chance on the book with the coffin on the cover because now I'll be following E.G. Young to their next book, just to see what else comes out of a mind that created such an intriguing premise as a debut novel because seriously, very respectable read, I truly believe that.

A (Dead) Thing Like Me is about a ghost called Hot Dog, a teenage ghost that haunts a hot dog stand outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hot Dog has been trying for so long to get the owner of the stand to see her until one night she's summoned through a ouija board to a party in Florida and now everyone can see her. Everyone runs away except for Logan, the artist that was trying to summon her dead best friend and got Hot Dog instead. Hot Dog, who has stitches holding her mouth shut and a dress that chatters, wants to be Logan's best friend and is determined to prove she can do everything that a real live girl can do. But Hot Dog is not a human girl and something is following her. It has a place in Logan's house where it wants to drag Hot Dog through and in order to get it to leave her alone, Hot Dog will have to remember who she once was and how she died. If not, the thing that wants Hot Dog won't stop with just Hot Dog, it will take Logan too.

Young has created an interesting world here where Hot Dog exists just a little beyond the normal scope of things. She sees everything as it is and desperately wants to be a part of the world again, she yearns to be a normal girl and that emotion made her feel familiar. It was easy to move with Hot Dog, to watch her with Logan and to see how Logan knew about ghosts and easily accepted Hot Dog into her world. At the same time, Young added in these truly unsettling and sometimes beautiful additions to show what is a part of Hot Dog's afterlife. We see things that would explain why Hot Dog doesn't remember who she was and it was an interesting way to show how the dead lose things when they lose their body. I also loved the way Hot Dog held on to things that were important to her, the idea of being able to go back to those things the way she did was a really heartwarming aspect of the book. Young has so many interesting and unique ideas with Hot Dog and the journey through the book to see all of it was a treat.

Hot Dog and Logan felt so familiar, easily believable as teenage girls in the world today. They had recognizable concerns and griefs and their yearning to understand everything made them girls that I wanted to help and protect. Their pain made them tragic and yet they kept going, trying to figure out the truth about Hot Dog and trying to help Logan process her grief over the loss of her best friend. When these two were together, I could see how well they worked to make the other try to be more, especially with Hot Dog as she discovered more about just what she was capable of as a ghost. Their back and forth was charming and their growing friendship showed how they were growing together as characters that were changing for the better. Hot Dog was desperate to be Logan's new best friend, to prove that she could be normal, but it turned out that the things that made Logan want to talk to Hot Dog were the things that made her weird and different, aside from the fact that she was dead. In the end, I wanted to keep these girls safe and the reveals at the end of the novel were both unexpected and exactly what I thought was going to happen and those together were the perfect way to leave these girls.

As for plot, I was sure of some reveals but there were some unexpected turns that this book took that left me with my jaw hanging open because wow, that hit hard. The whys about what is following Hot Dog and how it was created were so devastating in nature. What started as trying to figure out who Hot Dog once was turned into why did Hot Dog do all of this to hide her truth from herself. Every clue led to something else, to explain something more that expanded the world and filled in a little more detail about Hot Dog until everything was revealed and when the truth was discovered I felt vindicated and then heartbroken for her. I want to say more but I will continue to avoid spoilers with soon to be published books so this is where I will end this review. I will add though that I still have some questions about the story and certain characters and I'm sure it's just me being nitpicky that those questions still ring in my head when I think of this book. I loved so many different parts of this book, I just don't think it's going to live on in my head for years and years.

In the end, I think E.G. Young is an extremely talented writer and I hope to be able to read more books by them in the future. If you like books with unsettling imagery and ghosts trying to be your new best friend, look no further, because Hot Dog is the ghost for you.

Rating on my scale: 8 Stars. I wanted to love this and there were many parts that awed me. At the same time, I am left with questions about different things. I feel like there were things that were left unexplored, maybe for a good reason, so if there's another book in the future in this world, most likely I will up the rating on this book. Either way, this was a great read and it introduced me to a writer I'm sure I will love in the future and that makes it worthwhile for me.

My thanks to NetGalley, Holiday House and E.G. Young for the eARC of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.