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Title: Just Like Mother
Author: Anne Heltzel
Author: Anne Heltzel
Pages: 320
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Release Date: 17 May 2022
From Goodreads: "The last time Maeve saw her cousin was the night she escaped the cult they were raised in. For the past two decades, Maeve has worked hard to build a normal life in New York City, where she keeps everything—and everyone—at a safe distance. When Andrea suddenly reappears, Maeve regains the only true friend she’s ever had. Soon she’s spending more time at Andrea’s remote Catskills estate than in her own cramped apartment. Maeve doesn’t even mind that her cousin’s wealthy work friends clearly disapprove of her single lifestyle. After all, Andrea has made her fortune in the fertility industry—baby fever comes with the territory. The more Maeve immerses herself in Andrea’s world, the more disconnected she feels from her life back in the city; and the cousins’ increasing attachment triggers memories Maeve has fought hard to bury. But confronting the terrors of her childhood may be the only way for Maeve to transcend the nightmare still to come."
Mini-Review: I loved this. It was wild and messed up and kept me on the edge of my seat even when I was pretty sure I knew what was happening. I’m not a fan of pregnancy in stories and this book focuses a lot on pregnancy and being a mother, but the creepiness of the whole thing just kept me hooked. By the end, I felt like I had been through an emotional roller coaster and it was great. Trigger warnings for abortion talk, abuse, child loss, cults, gaslighting, infertility, murder, pregnancy/pregnancy talk, sexual harassment, rape.
Title: Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke
Author: Eric LaRocca
Pages: 102
Genre: Horror
Release Date: 01 June 2021
From Goodreads: "Sadomasochism. Obsession. Death.
A whirlpool of darkness churns at the heart of a macabre ballet between two lonely young women in an internet chat room in the early 2000s— a darkness that threatens to forever transform them once they finally succumb to their most horrific desires.
What have you done today to deserve your eyes?"
Mini-Review: Okay, so, can anyone tell me what the fuck? This was both incredible and unsettling as all get out and I loved every second of it. I honestly read it far too fast because I genuinely just could not put it down and I would happily read it multiple times. Was this the most messed-up book I’ve ever read? No, but it sure does take the second spot. Eric LaRocca is now an insta-buy author and I am hyped for all of his future books.
Title: Only a Monster
Author: Vanessa Len
Pages: 416
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: 22 February 2022
From Goodreads: “ It should have been the perfect summer. Sent to stay with her late mother’s eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself. She loves her nerdy job at the historic Holland House, and when her super cute co-worker Nick asks her on a date, it feels like everything is falling into place. But she soon learns the truth. Her family aren’t just eccentric: they’re monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And Nick isn’t just a cute boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to bring them down. As she battles Nick, Joan is forced to work with the beautiful and ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family that hates her own. She’ll have to embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself, and her family. Because in this story…she is not the hero.”
Mini-Review: Straight up, I loved this book. I haven’t been into YA a ton lately (probably has something to do with me being almost 30 and just unable to relate to young adult stories at my age) but this book this book this book y’all. I started it and I didn’t want to stop because I just got so into it so quickly. I fell so in love with Joan and Aaron and I was so invested in their story and what was happening. I knew not too terribly far into reading that I would love this book and by the end, I was dying to read the second one. Because there has to be a second one. I’m obsessed with Only a Monster and I am so excited to read any and everything else from Vanessa Len!
Title: Extasia
Author: Claire Legrand
Pages: 496
Genre: YAHorror/Fantasy
Release Date: 22 February 2022
From Goodreads: "Her name is unimportant. All you must know is that today she will become one of the four saints of Haven. The elders will mark her and place the red hood on her head. With her sisters, she will stand against the evil power that lives beneath the black mountain--an evil which has already killed nine of her village's men. She will tell no one of the white-eyed beasts that follow her. Or the faceless gray women tall as houses. Or the girls she saw kissing in the elm grove. Today she will be a saint of Haven. She will rid her family of her mother's shame at last and save her people from destruction. She is not afraid. Are you?"
Mini-Review: I’m in such a weird place with this book. It was on my most anticipated releases of this year list because one, this cover excuse me it’s fantastic, and two I loved Sawkill Girls when I read it a few years ago so I knew this one would be a no-brainer, right? It took me such a long time to read this that I really thought I just wouldn’t end up liking it. You know those emojis that are like 📈📉📈📉📈 when you see a funny dance video on TikTok? That’s how I felt while reading this book. Every time I thought I was going to call it and just put the book down for the moment, something would happen and I would get invested all over again. And by the end I was absolutely happy I pushed on and continued to read because it went a direction I wasn’t expecting and I really did end up enjoying it, but I’m still so lost when it comes to putting all of the thoughts I have into a longer, more cohesive review.
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And that about does it for my March wrap-up! I hope to get to where I post these on either the last day of the month or the first of the new month, but one step at a time, right? I’d love to know what your favorite book that you read in the month of March was, and maybe what your reading plans for April are! Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you in the next chapter!
