Agents of Dreamland (Tinfoil Dossier #1) by Caitlín R. Kiernan

I LOVED this cover. If you have a chance to pull it up and look at the detail please do!

This is Lovecraftian horror and slow apocalypse this little novella was disturbing. If this was fleshed out into a novel I think I would have enjoyed it more. It was written well and made me uneasy and horrified but it also left me very confused. Maybe because I dont know Lovecraft enough to understand the origins of the character?

If you love Lovecraft and you like horror, this is the novella for you!

Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire

This series is so hyped that I was worried it would be disappointing. I had the first book, Every Heart a Doorway, on my shelf for over a year before I finally picked it up as one of my last few books to be read in 2019. Now its the end of February and I am completely caught up with the series as its published today, five total books!

These are all short little novellas but they pack quiet the punch. I have to say though that Jack and Jill were my favorite characters and that made book two, Down Among the Stick and Bones, my favorite of all five books.

Though all the books were good the ones with Jack and Jill I definitely enjoyed more and was happy when they made an appearance in most the stories. I cannot wait for the continuation of this series!!!

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

Let's be honest, this book was a total novelty buy. I first saw this on Natasha's, My Reading is Odd, BookTube channel and just knew I had to have it.

Horrorstör looks like an IKEA catalog and is a horror parody of the IKEA store. I expected humor and was excited to dive in to the story and see where the horror part came in, and trust me it did.

The characters were exactly what you would expect when you walk into any box store with its variety of workers from the ones that just want to punch the clock and get through the day, ones just trying to run out the clock before they retire and the ones that want it to be their stable career and family. We get to know each character and their motivation for their actions and reactions and it keeps the plot moving right along.

The first half the book was comedic, the second half moved into paranormal horror and it did freak me out and gross me out and say WTF out loud. It was unique and interesting and I cannot wait to read more by this author!

Confessions by Kanae Minato

Wow...just wow.

This book, excuse my language, was a mind fuck.

You know when a comedian has his first joke and the punchline is great? Then he moves on in the story about something unrelated and then all the sudden you are back at the same punchline and it makes it even better? That is this book.

Have you learned about the Butterfly Effect/Ripple Effect? Where one action causes another and so on until the bat of a butterfly wind is a tornado on the other side of the world or the little stone ripple on this side of the ocean is a huge wave on the other? That is this book.

Yuko Moriguchi is a single parent that works as a school teacher. Her four-year-old daughter Manami is found dead on the grounds of the middle school where she works. It was ruled a tragic accident but Yuko knows better. Before she leaves the school though she has one more lecture and one more lesson to give. This sets ripples that were already going through the students to grow exponentially and over the course of the next school year to grow into a wave of punishment, despair, fear and anxiety to tidal over everyone.

This was told in multiple perspectives covering relatively the same time frames and events. It was a crazy ride and being a shorter novel packed a gigantic punch.

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

"No one puts on all that armor unless they been hurt by someone who didn't have no right to hurt them." Judas Coyne is an aging rock star that is sent unique and bizarre things just because that is his image. One day though through random circumstance he is put in the position to buy a suit that is supposedly haunted by a ghost and he just has to have it. When it arrives in a black heart shaped box the adventure begins. I was entertained but I was also a little bored. I think this book could have been shortened up a bit and had a better thriller/horror impact. It was a weird mix between slow burn terror and lots of crazy action. That being said, I enjoyed the book and can see where Joe Hill is finding his niche and pulling away from his father's shadow to claim his one place in the horror genre. I cannot wait to read more by him!

When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton

Another five star read by Chanel Cleeton!

I absolutely loved Next Year in Havana and had high expectations for When We Left Cuba.

Next Year in Havana we follow Marisol as she travels to Cuba to visit Havana and see where her family is from, specifically her beloved grandmother. In When We Left Cuba we follow those family members through the time of the political upheaval and how they got ousted from their home.

Though the books do not have to be read together I loved that we got to step into the characters lives. Where Next Year in Havana was more a romantic read When We Left Cuba felt more like a political mystery with a dash of romance. So keep that in mind when selecting which one you want to read! I highly recommend both though!!!

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Life was good

before I

met

the monster.

Crank is not the easiest book to read. It touches on very dark topics, but so do all of Ellen Hopkin's works.

As a kid I was exposed to a lot of drugs and alcohol. It wasn't very taboo and I had a very casual view on them. Kristina's dad was a drug addict that her mother divorced and tried to keep away from her children. It worked for a little while.

Due to a set of events Kristina willing travels to spend time with her father and her life is changed forever. Gone is the young naive girl and in her place is Bree, a drug craving and very angry heartbroken teenager. As with most scenarios with young girls and drugs, she experiences the lowest of the lows as her obsession and addiction with "the monster" grows.

I liked this book because I saw a lot of similar struggles in it. Not light reading. Lots of triggers. Be careful with the monsters.

Locke and Key by Joe Hill

In true form, I am behind on reviews. This being a new year though I am trying to to stay on top of my goals and actively reviewing is one of those for this year. Better late then never.

I ended 2019 and started 2020 trying to cram in some short books. I know that gets mixed reactions from the book community. It isn't that I just wanted to meet my goal (I was shy by two) but I also have a lot of short books on my shelves that I constantly overlook.

I saw Locke and Key on booktube first. I then found a copy of the first one at my local used bookshop, Bookman's. I eagerly snatched it up since we all know graphic novels cost so much! I was so happy to start this series and was greatly rewarded when I ended up loving it.

I read the first four books in 2019 and the last two in January 2020. I passed on the first one to my bookish coworker/friend and have haunted my local used bookstore since then waiting for copies to filter in to pick up the rest of the series since I borrowed them electronically from my library (love Libby by Overdrive <3).

The art in these books are fantastic and the story is unique. I absolutely loved my experience in this world. It was thrilling, it made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me want to jump in and protect the children from the demons and it made me want to fly.

I highly recommend this to anyone that loves horror/thriller/mystery and not afraid of gore and "triggers". Welcome to Lovecraft...