I don’t know what kind of otherworldly sorcery Arden imbues her words with to make them feel so visceral, poignant, truthful, beautiful and powerful. I’ve rarely felt with the depth that I have through her writing, even when it’s over extremely simple or seemingly mundane things. But I do know she’ll keep having a space on my shelves any time she writes anything. This latest novel merely cemented that.
Psychological
Review: The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
Synopsis: Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there. Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t have—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures. Long ago, […]
Review: Full Immersion by Gemma Amor
Synopsis: When Magpie discovers her own dead body one misty morning in Bristol, it prompts her to uncover the truth of her untimely demise. Her investigations take her on a terrifying journey through multiple realities, experimental treatments, technological innovations, and half-memories in a race against time and sanity. Accompanied by a new friend who is […]
Review: Father of Lies by Brian Evenson
Synopsis: Provost Eldon Fochs may be a sexual criminal. His therapist isn’t sure, and his church is determined to protect its reputation. Father of Lies is Brian Evenson’s fable of power, paranoia, and the dangers of blind obedience, and a terrifying vision of how far institutions will go to protect themselves against the innocents who may be […]
REVIEW: This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer
SYNOPSIS Take only pictures. Leave only bones. This trip is going to be Dylan’s big break. Her geologist friend Clay has discovered an untouched cliff face in the Kentucky wilderness, and she is going to be the first person to climb it. Together with Clay, his research assistant Sylvia, and Dylan’s boyfriend Luke, Dylan is […]
Review: Swan Song by Robert R McCammon
Synopsis: Swan is a nine-year-old Kansas girl following her struggling mother from one trailer park to the next when she receives visions of doom—something far wider than the narrow scope of her own beleaguered life. In a blinding flash, nuclear bombs annihilate civilization, leaving only a few buried survivors to crawl onto a scorched landscape […]
Review: Your Shadow Half Remains by Sunny Moraine
Synopsis The Last of Us meets Bird Box in Sunny Moraine’s Your Shadow Half Remains, a post-apocalyptic tale where eye contact causes people to spiral into a deadly, violent rage. ONE LOOK CAN KILL. Riley has not seen a single human face in longer than she can reckon. No faces, no eyes. Not if you want to survive. But […]
Review: The Folly by Gemma Amor
Synopsis: Morgan always knew her father, Owen, never murdered her mother, and has spent the last six years campaigning for his release from prison. Finally he is set free, but they can no longer live in the house that was last decorated by her mother’s blood. Salvation comes in the form of a tall, dark […]
Review: Faces of Beth by Carver Pike
Synopsis: When Andrew meets Beth at the Myles-Bend State Mental Hospital, he knows she has issues. She checked herself into the place because of her problems, but he can’t help falling in love with her anyway. He’s willing to put up with her constant mood swings and all the baggage she brings into the relationship. […]
Review: Universal Harvester by John Darnielle
Synopsis: It’s the late ’90s, and you can find Jeremy Heldt at the Video Hut in Nevada, Iowa―a small town in the center of the state. The job is good enough for Jeremy, quiet and predictable, and it gets him out of the house, where he lives with his dad and where they both try […]
Review: Mewing by Chloe Spencer
There will be likes. There will be follows. There will be blood. Synopsis Vixen would sell her soul to get into the Bleach Babes and, if she isn’t careful, she might just get what she wants. One of the most exclusive influencer co-ops in LA, the Bleach Babes live and work together in one big […]
Review: The Wise Friend by Ramsey Campbell
Synopsis: Patrick Torrington’s aunt Thelma was a successful artist whose late work turned towards the occult. While staying with her in his teens he found evidence that she used to visit magical sites. As an adult he discovers her journal of her explorations, and his teenage son Roy becomes fascinated too. His experiences at the […]