July 18, 2023:

Jaw-dropping. Nothing has brought me back to my younger self as accurately as the beginning of this book. I saw myself here so clearly throughout, and I can only hope I'm half as brave

🏳️‍🌈/10

#WhatsKenyaReading

April 5, 2024:

I... hesitate to call this horror. It's more like tense historical fiction that suddenly veers into fantasy territory. This certainly does not merit the title or cover art, which imply this should be about 17th-century witches, instead of a 1920s nurse fighting for the right to wear pants. I don't know. I liked it for sure, I just wouldn't say it evokes the feelings I associate with horror. Maybe that means I'm desensitized.

The conflict is mostly transphobes vs healthcare, and while that's horrifying in real life, it's also pretty mundane. This is for fans of Upright Women Wanted (Sarah Gailey) with an added power fantasy attached, and a main character who occupies the same gender-space as Alex Easton in the Sworn Soldier series (T. Kingfisher).

You could absolutely market this as a dark paranormal T4T romance. I liked seeing sexual tension between two trans men! I don't usually get that, and they switch who is bottom so that's cool. And the rumors are true: Monsterfucking.

7/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

March 8, 2024:

Tell me why I teared up during a funeral scene in a murder mystery. You know, the one type of book guaranteed to have a dead person in it. Where the focus seems to be on everything but the emotional impact of the loss of the deceased. There was something deeply moving about the community's funerary flair.

This series in general puts a smile on my face. I liked Fortune Favors The Dead a bit more, but probably for the novelty of it. I love these characters, I love their voices, I love the vibrancy in these pages.

8/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

April 13, 2024:

Based on how much I loved her other book, Dead Silence, my expectations were too high. I spent the first half of this book concerned that this was wayyy too similar to We Have Always Been Here by Lena Nguyen but by the time the good stuff (i.e., the horrors) started happening I finally perked up.

I just love when a character is losing their mind, tries to speak, and then hears what they *actually* said. It must be so hard to write that in a way that scans, but it also wouldn't work in any other format. That scene was fantastic.

However, in general, the characterization "ineffectual psychologist who is more damaged and neurotic than literally everyone else" does not speak to me. Somehow they're always overly concerned with subtle power dynamics & what every little utterance or facial expression could mean, while also simultaneously acting clueless, overreacting, & speaking like they've never studied psychology. They're more like paranoid sociologists but it's harder to shoehorn in a sociologist into an interplanetary mission (hello, Invisible Things by Mat Johnson, I see you). People who watch Dr. Grande's YouTube channel have more clinical knowledge. To be fair, this particular Unwelcome Sci-Fi Psychologist is the best one I've come across, but I still just generally don't like it. Personally.

I was also waiting for a big twist and there wasn't one. I also didn't like how happy the ending was. For what was going on and the impossible position the characters were in, that pulled punch was way, way too soft. Not that everything has to be grimdark edgy shit, but this ending was all just a little too convenient.

6.5/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

March 28, 2023:

This is so Gothic that it has gone beyond action, beyond atmospheric, to pure, 100% medical-grade Vibes.

ALSO there's an unusual adorable animal sidekick!! His name is Hermes and he's perfect

9/10

#WhatsKenyaReading

October 15, 2023:

A delight to read again! I had worried that it wouldn't make me feel the same way as when I first read it 4 years ago, but it was this month's Last Words Book Club book and I'm the one who suggested it. I was pleasantly surprised, then, to find that it definitely has the same impact. It's very easy to forget exactly what happens because its alllll vibes, baby! Well, not all. About 10% of the book is scattered but very intense action. The atmosphere is top notch, full dread all the way through. I am living for all the little details about all the mundane annoyances of climbing and caving, all the horrifying minutiae of a dangerous job. This was somewhat unpopular in the book club, so I'll concede that hundreds of pages of pure ambience is not for everybody. But in this case, it is very, very for me.

9/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

November 11, 2023:

This was so cute hahah and it delivers exactly what it promises: a flock of sheep trying to solve the murder of their human shepherd. They act like sheep--forgetting what they're doing because they'd rather graze, getting spooked and running away, misinterpreting human words and names. Charming through and through, cozy as a wool sweater. The only downsides are minor: The middle is quite thin on clues so it was tempting to skim. A late introduction of a new sheep character who talks strangely was confusing. If you only like the hardboiled, gory details kind of mystery, this will absolutely not do it for you. This is cuddly, silly, and sweet, for fans of dramatic irony and those interested in unusual point of view characters. Several of the sheep have satisfying emotional arcs, and they have a whole village full of suspects to investigate and misunderstand.

7.5/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

September 27, 2023:

All the horror authors got up one day and said "2023 seems like a good year to examine our religious trauma!" Between Camp Damascus (Chuck Tingle), Mister Magic (Kiersten White), and now this, we've had 3 big "O shit, I grew up in a cult" releases in as many months. I was fired up about the first two, but I just can't untangle my feelings about this one. It was fine, I really don't have many complaints. I think maybe it spent too much time on the wedding, but considering that was the inciting incident, I suppose it is earned, even if it doesn't make much of a difference in the end. I'm pretty sure I went in with no information because there's a huge plot twist that got me like "!!!" in literally chapter 2, which I won't spoil just in case it's not in the descriptions. Overall, this was pretty good but kind of average for me. Don't think my mediocre score is a mark against its quality! It's just that I didn't get that special jolt of excitement. This would probably be cathartic for someone who is actively estranged from their family.

5.5/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

March 17, 2024:

I'm really on the fence because technically this is a complete heist... but it also ends on a weird cliffhanger in the middle of the consequences right after a huge reveal. So it's really not resolved and I find that kind of sequel bait really, really annoying. There's a difference, a fine one, between 'wanting more' and 'dissatisfied.'

However! I see this as a great thrill for its intended audience. There are secrets and reveals, there is a strong anti-colonialist overtone, and all the characters are just... so, so horny.

I liked the found family brother-sister relationship (non-horny) between the main characters, I liked the internal struggle of the rich girl trying to decide where she belongs. I liked the rules for vampires: how they're created, what their weaknesses are, how they're treated by society at large. The vampire rules here resemble those of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, which I consider the standard and a return to my roots as a reader of Vampire Shit.

I did not like that most of the male characters were kind of the same; pissy, flirtatious asshole is too powerful an archetype to be overused like this. Three pissy, flirtatious assholes is far too many, even if their pissiness, flirtation, and assholery are pointed in different directions.

6.5/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

March 11, 2024:

This book comes out in June! I requested this ARC from the author via BookSirens so I could review it early! Cause I'm like that!

First, the premise: the last 4 contestants on legally-not-The-Bachelor, their basic-ass bachelor, and a camera crew go to a spooky mansion in the woods to film the season finale, but somebody has ulterior motives and shit gets weird.

Yes please! I love reality TV in horror novels. Weirdly, the characters in this book act more reasonably than I'd expect from characters in a reality show like this one. Also I strongly suspect the behind-the-scenes is not even close to how shows like this are made, BUT if that part was totally accurate none of this would happen and we would have no fun. I suggest we let it slide.

Positive notes:

The Scary Thing is pretty unique! There is eventually a physical being which is cool but I mean more the process and mechanism is pretty out there. It's telegraphed early, but why it's happening is left ambiguous

Interactions between contestants was so much fun. There's alliance, intimidation, attraction, paranoia... very cool watching their feelings toward each other constantly shifting

Great character arc as one overly-dependent woman becomes more powerful & confident but watch out!

Catharsis at having some of the contestants lose interest in the bachelor and start noticing each other. Everyone has always wanted that to happen, right? Not just me, surely

Camera crew polycule

Negative notes:

The writing is pretty unpolished. I understand this ARC is uncorrected, so hopefully most of the typos are cleaned up by time of publication, but there were a LOT of them by the end.

In a few places it was very unclear what the characters were doing/ talking about/ reacting to, which were likely just misedits that took out crucial scene information. At some points the narration seemed uncertain on exactly how many people had died, misplaced details like that.

Neutral notes:

I found it interesting how often the narration referred to the contestants as "women" vs how often the characters referred to them as "ladies." There's something there

There's not the kind of creepy progression I expect from a book like this. The bizarre tree-themed house is a fantastic setting and has some very good secrets, but scary happenings don't escalate in a familiar pattern

This results in a definite "feel" with this book. Like you can just tell it's a little unusual. It tastes like it didn't follow a recipe. Your mileage my vary on this: you could love it for its less-formulaic vibe, or you might prefer a more tried-and-true experience.

Overall, this is a tough one to review because on one hand it's rough around the edges and I can't say it's objectively great... but I feel some pressure to be kind to an author who likely won't get a lot of press. And here's the important thing: I did enjoy this a lot! How does it stack up to books in the same vein? I like it less than Hide by Kiersten White, but WORLDS better than The Holy Terrors.

7/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

February 18, 2024:

This is my first time reading a non-horror work by this legendary author, and I can't think of a better way to describe it than "permission to feel joy." It's a parody, it's silly, and I cackled the whole time. The author commentary was charming, the sex scenes were hot (!), the frequent metahumor was funny (!!), and there was more conflict than I expected from a romance novel. Me? Liking meta, fourth-wall breaks in a novel?? Apparently, it's more likely than I think.

I'm in this book! And so are you! I had a wonderful time reading this

8/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

June 23, 2023:

Silly is the best word I can use. Puns, rhymes, and other wordplay pepper the dialogue, and the cheery academic tone flouts an otherwise dark subject.

Fun like a heist movie, the second half is pure payoff and it feels good

8.5/10

#WhatsKenyaReading

October 9, 2022:

Get in loser, we're getting radicalized! I was extremely invested in the relationship and the world building, even before all the political intrigue & subterfuge & buried secrets & antifascist activism because: Lesbian. Vampire. Boarding school. 9/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

June 26, 2023:

I sorta liked the mystery / courtly intrigue, but that's overshadowed by how much I vehemently disapprove of the romance. I'm not sure it was worth it and I spent a large portion of the book annoyed.

4.5/10

#WhatsKenyaReading

November 16, 2023:

We love a gentleman bastard, a dashing rogue doing heists and dodging the law! That said, this goes to some very dark places, so fair warning: it starts out with a guy selling orphans, that's a rough place to begin. I enjoyed myself throughout this one and I have no major complaints. The various nobles' names were hard to tell apart when they were all together in the thick of it, but I was so far in that I decided not to care and it didn't diminish my overall understanding. Comparisons between this and The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn are obvious: they're both quite lengthy, vaguely Rennaissance-era fantasy heists starring a clever antihero and his bestie(s). Between the two, I find Ardor Benn much more fun so if you only have room in your life for one, I recommend that one. But if you don't mind the darker and sadder tones of this One Last Job gone sideways and can't get enough debonair con men, this gets the job done.

7.5/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

November 7, 2023:

I'm really sorry, but I didn't like this. Not just because I physically recoiled every time the main character referred to her vulva as her "kitty cat" and sex as "S" like we're in fucking middle school, although that should have been enough. The characters all appear to be supremely insecure about sex, yet that is literally all they talk about. But more than that, the microscopic examination of body language as if it speaks volumes, disjointed dialogue, childish overreactions, and uncomfortable sexual overtones all combined to make me feel annoyed and vaguely embarrassed.

I kind of had a mini identity crisis about it, actually. I've found that a lot of recent popular queer literature doesn't make me feel seen; rather, I feel actively excluded. I just can't connect with this book and others like it, for a reason that's hard to describe. Like normally, I can relate to characters who are unlike me and in unknowable situations because I can understand their feelings, motivations, and wants and therefore understand their words and actions. Not so here. I don't know why any of this. Like, I can tell when characters are very uncomfortable about certain topics, but I cannot fathom why and the book won't explain it to me. This is supposed to be very funny, but I don't get any of the jokes. I can't even tell where the jokes are. I think pretty much every character sucks but not in a relatable "We all know someone just like that!" way. They each seem like a caricature but of whom I can't tell. Is that the joke? Are these parodies of people I should recognize? Should I take what they're saying at face value or consider them naïve? Are the shifting pronouns of the butch supposed to be a joke? The graphic performance art that takes place? The characters acting like children for no reason? The definition of femininity as unmitigated jealousy of other femmes? The casual alcohol abuse and embarrassing sexual reverberations? All this makes me feel like I'm not Enough. That I'm not active in the community enough, that I'm not reading the right articles, that I'm not following The Discourse closely enough, that I'm not putting on the correct performance, and therefore I'm not queer enough because that's how they define queerness: performance and fantasy. It strikes me as vaguely religious. And it hurts my feelings, not gonna lie.

This was way more personal that I ever meant to get, but I really can't give an objective explanation why I found this read awful. What numerical value can I give to something that actually made my life worse?

X/10 #WhatsKenyaReading