January

• The Gods Below by Andrea G Stewart – Did not finish. Sadly the flip flopping between six or so character point of views was just to difficult to get into. Which is a little disappointing because the story, the characters, the world, the magic system, the entire book was right up my alley. I wanted to know how things were resolved, I wanted to see the sister be reunited, I wanted to learn more about the gods and hunters. However the chapters in which those subjects were (mainly the sisters pov) were spaced awkwardly and between other characters who have yet to make an actual interaction with the sisters. It was like four different books in one and – just didn’t work.
• A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson – Finished. This was a unique one because of its writing style. It had a “I sat there writing and You watched me” sort of dialog. Where the author was writing to the reader as if the reader was apart of the story, or that the You was a character she was writing to. Anyway, beyond that its a vampire story told over centuries, through various world events. The main female character is relatable and a good narrator, the characters are dynamic and bring out new layers to each other. Even the You character, the male nameless vampire that turns the three others, has a solid weight and I felt the fear in the characters throughout the story. As the book progresses you get the feeling of longevity, insanity due to immortality, and how simple pleasures can only last so long. The way the story resolved itself was very wholesome as well. There were some rather spicy scenes, and over all none of them felt out of placed or forced. I would recommend this book.
• The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir – Finished, but at what cost? This was a quick read I found through a book youtube gal I follow. I was surprised however by it. The book is about an older woman who has trouble sleeping. Very relatable. She goes through a series of events, gaslighting doctors, at home cameras, GPS watches to help, you name it, shes done it to solve her deteriorating health and mentality. I wanted to like this book because of the build up; What was she doing at night that kept her up? Was she sleep walking? Was she a split personality sleeper serial killer!? What the hell did the note her sister say!?? All this built up and – no? Sorta? Across the entire book these questions have built up and I wanted to know what was going on. However the writing style was – very casual? Ultimately very little was answered and the ended was more metaphorical than substantial. The main female character was relatable, her voice writing style was more like a dairy ((inserting thoughts throughout the writing)), and very little was revealed. She had a sister whom died, but the entire time it is suggested that some more diabolical happened to said sister – its just never answered. Instead the MFC ends up sleeping with the dead sisters boyfriend/husband? And that becomes more the focus? Ahem, anyway its also hinted that there is a supernatural presence happening to MFC, which would have been interesting to go down that rabbit hole, especially when freaky shit happens to her in the morning (finding blood on her hands, her finger nails missing, black eyes etc). Theres all these cats that go missing, there are people that vanish, it should have been a good crime supernatural story. And then… the ending? I want to recommend this book for a good weekend read ((the chapters also were weird, 100 chapters and a hand full were just one sentences)), maybe dont get your hopes up? I dunno it was an odd one.

February

• Seed by Ania Ahlborn – Finished. Well, it wasn’t bad. So this was a generational demon possessed tale. Honestly it was a good read, more or less cliche, father has his demons, the demons didnt get the job done when dad was a kid, demons possess the fathers kid, and all hell is unleashed. There was some details I would have liked to have dived more into, mostly with scenery. I wasn’t a fan of the kids nicknames. Nothing against the names, but it sounded like there were four kids, not just the two because the author would switch from formal name to nickname with in the same paragraph. So it took me a while to figure out who was who. There also was the gaslighting between characters. Its obvious – dad has a literal demon following him and messing with the kid doesnt exactly know how to tell wife about it all. So it leaned into the mother feeling like she was loosing her mind. I didn’t really care for how the dad didn’t have that much of a back bone. Towards the end however he finally and literally faced his demon, which made up for it I suppose. The ending was rather abrupt and jarring. No happy ending in sight. It did leave it open for a perhaps sequel which may or may not be good to see it from the survivors view. It did make me curious what would have happened next. Also the dog died.
• The Neighbors by Ania Ahlborn – Finished. So I read another book by Ania, and honestly it wasnt that bad. It was very play by play but over all a good read – except for the ending. So the story follows a young man who up and left his job, his home, and his mother to move in with his albiet sketchy child hood friend. When Drew, the MC, moves in to the literal Stepford Wives street, he does feel a little out of place but makes it work. Eventually he meets the mysterious neighbors and because he cant find a job ((its kinda hard not blame him for just leaving a job without notice and being surprised that he couldnt get a new one)) becomes their landscaper in a sense. So there are four main players, Drew, Mickey (the sketchy friend), Harlow (the physco stepford wife), and Red (said husband and equally messed up). The story is definitely a tale of the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and dont stick your d*ck in crazy((spoilers?)). However there is so many layers of manipulation and sorta explanation and sympathy. Harlow is a tragic villain however a predator is a predator no matter what. Drew on the other hand is the perfect victim and really had no spine until after said d*ck in crazy and realizing how far is to far. Now the last chunk of the story was – god dammit, it was rushed and I wanted some better resolve for it. More so what became of Mickey after all his tragic events caused by this woman, and does Drew finally find his footing. I think these stories would have benefited from a bit of an epilogue. I dunno it just felt like the story was going, then remembered the ending was happening, then sprinted for the finish line. Ambiguity of these abrupt endings isnt exactly bad, I would assume everything ended on a much better note for Drew when he returns home. It was memorable, i do like the moments of the picture perfect 1950s suburban life style started to crack. I did feel bad for Mickey and the scummy situation he unfortunately found himself in when he fell victim to Harlows seduction. Red was kind of the odd ball and I wasn’t exactly able to get a good read on him other than he wanted to have a spine, couldn’t muster up the guts to do things, and just was under Harlows thumb. Overall I do recommend this book because it was a quick read, intriguing enough, and had character dynamics that made sense to the character.

March

• If You See Here – Ania Ahlborn – Finished. I promise this is the last of her books but once again she has good promises and I unfortunately hyper focus on an author.

April

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December