Secret Dinner – Raphael Montes

Four childhood friends are struggling to make ends meet and pay the rent on their apartment in Rio. In order to keep their apartment, they adopt an unorthodox plan to host a ‘secret dinner’ with a very unusual menu. Things quickly spiral out of their control and the four find themselves trapped in a very dark world catering to the twisted fantasies of Rio’s elite.

Secret Dinner is really grim. This is a proper horror, with some very graphic descriptions of murder and the preparation and consumption of human meat. The subject matter is comparable to Tender is the Flesh, but I somehow found this book more horrifying, perhaps because cannibalism has not been normalised in the way it was in Tender, and the characters knew that what they were doing was wrong. This made their actions all the more disturbing.

The characters are all, by default, awful. I liked Dante in the first few pages, and Cora even more so, but things fall apart really quickly and it becomes very clear that these are not good people. How would you rather serve up human meat than accept some (much needed) money from your own mother?

I did find this book compelling and I did have a positive experience reading it (to say I enjoyed it seems a bit much). For me, the only real flaw was how quickly the four main characters agreed to go ahead with their crazy plan. It started off as a joke, and they very easily changed their minds and decided to do something truly despicable. Although there was much moral turmoil throughout the book (for two of the characters, at least), they well and truly deserved the consequences.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Algot, Anna Stina and the Water of Life – Jonas Jonasson

In Sweden in the mid-1800s, Algot Olsson transitions from pig-farmer’s son, to lowly crofter, to illegal vodka distiller, to apothecary. Alongside a motley crew of eccentric friends and acquaintances, Algot finds a way to make a living while also getting revenge on the self-serving Count Bielkegren who ruined his life, all in front of the King of Sweden.

This book is highly, highly entertaining. I love Jonas Jonasson’s writing, and the completely chaotic nature of his books. The plot to this one is quite vague, but the plot is the least important part. What really makes this book are the characters and the humour.

I adored all the characters. Even Count Bielkegren and his family, who are horrid, are funny and in some ways extremely likeable characters. The rest of the ensemble are quirky, unique, and generally really sweet to one another which was a delight to read. I also particularly enjoyed the Englishman and his pure hatred of the Scots.

I really, really enjoyed, and am already looking forward to my next Jonas Jonasson book.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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The Unknown – Riley Sager

Aspiring actress Marin Keane can’t believe her luck when she lands a leading role in a major film about the unsolved mystery of New Avalon, a small island in Vermont. In an unorthodox preparation exercise, Marin and the rest of the cast are taken to New Avalon itself to live as their characters once lived and fully immerse themselves in the lives of the women they will be portraying. But all is not right on New Avalon and, after a sudden health emergency leaves the cast and the movie’s director stranded on the island, history begins to repeat itself.

I enjoyed The Unknown. It’s very intriguing and twisty, with a great creepy atmosphere. The story is well written, the premise is excellent, and I enjoyed (most) of the characters to some extent.

Where it fell down a little for me was the *big* twist. I don’t want to give any spoilers away, but I did prefer this book when I thought the whole thing was going to be supernatural. The true reveal was arguably a really strong twist, but was a bit of a disappointment for me personally. That’s not to say it isn’t clever, I just really like ghosts.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Meat Bees – Dane Erbach

Forced to spend the summer at her dad’s cabin in the Smoky Mountains, Scarlett is highly unimpressed. Even more so when she hears that people are disappearing. When one of her colleagues at Stovetop Outfitters also goes missing, Scarlett and her co-workers set out to find him themselves, and discover a swarm of yellow jackets stripping the flesh from his body. The local sheriff’s department quickly proves to be of no use so, in order to protect her friends and her family, Scarlett must defeat the darkness on the mountain herself.

Meat Bees is a classic B-movie style creature-feature. It’s gory, graphic, and highly unrealistic but also super entertaining. Who knew wasps could be so menacing? The title gives you literally everything you need to know before reading this book. It’s a quick read, relatively well written and a lot of fun.

I didn’t particularly like Scarlett, but she’s honestly pretty spot-on as a moody teenager, and does come into her own when she realises that, if she doesn’t deal with this killer-bee issue, no one will. She goes through some decent character development as she takes on the massive responsibility, and is much improved by the presence of Liv, who was a much more likeable character.

In terms of plot, it’s actually not bad. There’s a strong supernatural element which doesn’t necessarily make a lot of sense, but this is exactly what I’d expect from this kind of book and was reasonably well considered. You can’t pick up a book like this expecting a work of literary genius, but you can expect a highly entertaining romp.

Also the cover is horrifying – I love it.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid

Monique’s professional life is going nowhere, so she is astounded when the reclusive Hollywood movie star Evelyn Hugo specifically requests her to write her biography. Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story, including the parts that have been kept private her whole life. But as Evelyn’s story reaches the end, it becomes clear why she chose Monique, and how their lives intersect in the most tragic way.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected. The writing is excellent and, although this isn’t my usual first choice of genre, I found myself completely engaged. The plot is a rollercoaster of ups and downs, exploring each of Evelyn Hugo’s various relationships as she struggles to conform to societal expectations.

Evelyn is a great character. She bold and brassy, but has hidden her sexuality and heritage for years in order to maker herself more employable and more likeable in the eyes of the public. This makes her quite complex, as she is generally likeable but has made some morally dubious decisions in order to succeed in life and in her career. She’s flawed, strong, and very real. The only character I didn’t particularly get on with was Celia St James, who had to put up with a lot but was also quite short-sighted and selfish, in my opinion.

The twist revealing the link between Evelyn and Monique was unexpected but worked perfectly within the story, and added yet more moral struggle, this time for Monique. Monique herself was a bit underdeveloped – she’s more of a device through with Evelyn’s story is told rather than a complete character – but still an important part of the story.

This book didn’t hit me emotionally, as I’ve seen in a lot of other reviews, but I did enjoy reading it.

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Retro – Jessica M. Goldstein

When Ash, an out-of-work actress struggling to make something of her life, lands a job at Retro, a time-travel company organising trips for the ultra-wealthy, she can’t believe her luck. Ash throws herself into her new role and her new life, until glitches in her present begin to reveal that Retro’s enigmatic founder has terrifying plans for the future of the company, and the part that Ash can play in it.

Retro is a character-driven novel and quite slow plot-wise, but enjoyable and interesting nonetheless. The twist (which is basically the entire plot) was unexpected (possibly because it came so late) and very effective. I can’t say much more about my feelings on the plot without giving too much away – mainly because there is so little of it that’s it’s impossible not to give spoilers.

The writing style is strong, and the whole book is thematically brilliant. I just wish there had been a little more in the way of plot, and a little less in the way of Liftoff gold.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Wake Up and Open Your Eyes – Clay McLeod Chapman

Concerned about his parents welfare after numerous disturbing voicemails from his mother claiming that the “Great Reckoning” is here, Noah Fairchild drives from Brooklyn to Virginia to see if they need help. What he finds is his childhood home in shambles and his parents in a trance-like state in front of the TV. When he tries to snap them out of it, his mother attacks him. Families across the country begin tearing each other apart as they succumb to a form of possession cause by certain TV channels and online apps. Desperate to make it home to his own family, Noah rescues his young nephew and attempts to survive the journey back home.

Wake Up and open Your Eyes is a very modern horror, commenting on how the media we consume warps our views and understanding of the world. It’s pretty graphic and disgusting, with a lot of violence and some very unnecessary sexual content. But this is a horror novel, designed to horrify, so I can’t really complain that it succeeds.

I can’t say this is one of my favourite horror novels (or anywhere close), but it certainly makes a point and the message is loud and clear.

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Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus – Mary Shelley & MinaLima

In Mary Shelley’s horror classic, Victor Frankenstein creates a grotesque being who, rejected by humanity, embarks on a journey of revenge. This version contains beautiful illustrations and interactive features.

While there is no denying how stunning the MinaLima books are and that they are all well worth owning, if only to look gorgeous on a bookshelf, the story itself is certainly not my favourite. I can understand why the book was so acclaimed and considered a “classic”, but I can’t say I particularly enjoyed it myself. The writing is very long-winded and repetitive, and I absolutely despised Victor. He created a living being, regretted it almost instantly, and then ran away without facing what he had done in any way at all. In fact, he only ever faced up to his own creation because he was forced to by the creature itself. Otherwise, he was quite content to leave it loose in the world causing havoc. I instead found myself entirely in support of the monster (at least until he starting committing unprovoked murder).

On the whole, I was not terribly impressed with Frankenstein and wouldn’t particularly recommend it to others unless you have a particular interest in reading the classics, but it does look very pretty on my shelf.

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The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones – Lex Croucher

Briar Jones always dreamed of attending the Temple School of Thaumaturgy, an elite school seeped in rumours of magic. Briar’s best friend, Sebastian, never cared about Temple; he just wanted them to stay together. When Seb gets an acceptance letter and Briar doesn’t, their childhood friendship is ruined and Seb vanishes onto Temple’s grounds while Briar resigns themself to a mundane life without him. Seven years later, when an advert for a summer job sorting through junk in Temple’s attic appears, Briar takes it, only to discover that magic is indeed real, and their ex-best friend has become an arrogant villain feared by most of the school.

I thorough enjoyed this book. The magic is DARK and I am so here for it – honestly, this is dark academia at it’s best. Despite being set in a school, it didn’t feel too juvenile or “YA” for me, and many elements were really quite dark and horrifying. There are questions around consent, some intense themes of abuse and serious moral complexities that I really wasn’t expecting.

That being said, it isn’t all doom and gloom. The characters are really fun and witty, and very varied. Briar is an excellent strong and silent type, while Hadley, West and Yates are completely chaotic and lovable. There are plenty of funny, sarcastic and dramatic moments alongside the more serious parts.

I especially liked that the implication of Temple’s scholars on the outer world is completely acknowledged at not considered acceptable at all, but what can you do? I was also very impressed with the inclusion of a non-binary main character who remains gender-neutral throughout the entire book. This was not clunky or difficult to follow and fitted into the story perfectly.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Sail Away Land – Ben Pester

In this collection of short stories, characters visit Sail Away Land – the place where we might go when we’re no longer alive. The characters go there without knowing it, as they experience loss, forgiveness and love, in the form of a stepfather they never had, breaking and entering in search of a ghost, or asking strangers at a party to resurrect you at midnight.

Having already read The Expansion Project, I knew this book was going to be weird. I don’t think I was quite prepared for how weird. If it wasn’t referred to in the synopsis, I wouldn’t necessarily have guessed that these stories are about where you go after death. In some ways, this is good because none of the stories are explicitly about death, and therefore are not particularly triggering. However, it was extremely difficult to understand what many of the stories were trying to say.

My favourite was definitely ‘A goshawk’, in which many people came home one day to find that their stepfather had returned from the dead, even though many of them had not had a stepfather to begin with. This particular story was darkly humorous, but also quite touching, as the main character longed for the return of his actual stepfather, who was not among those who had returned.

Many of the other stories were either not particularly memorable, or I skimmed through when reading as I struggled to understand what was going on. I usually love a bit of weird, but Sail Away Land was simply too abstract for me.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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