Review of Womb City—African Sci-Fi Horror

Womb City coverWould you give up your freedom to live in a world without crime? This is the basis for a futuristic Botswana in Tlotlo Tsamaase’s dystopian debut novel, Womb City, which came out earlier this year. With elements ranging from invasive microchips and AI-powered simulations to vengeful ghosts, this book straddles the line between sci-fi and horror, drawing deeply from the wells of both genres. Continue reading Review of Womb City—African Sci-Fi Horror

Gothic Tropes in The Hound of the Baskervilles

I have written before about how detective fiction (and the mystery genre more broadly) emerged out of the Gothic. I even touched briefly on this particular book. But today I want to give a much more in-depth examination of the Gothic elements in Arthur Conan Doyle’s celebrated Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles, first published in serialized form in 1901–2.  Continue reading Gothic Tropes in The Hound of the Baskervilles

Review of I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me

I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me coverThe world of professional ballet can be cut-throat—literally. Jamison Shea’s debut YA horror novel, I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me, takes an unflinching look at ambitious young women in a highly competitive field and the hellish lengths to which they will go to achieve their dreams. If you like morally gray female characters who embrace their dark sides, you definitely don’t want to miss this book, which came out last summer. Continue reading Review of I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me

Review of A Deadly Education—Monsters and Dark Magic

A Deadly Education coverGoing through high school as a social outcast is hard enough when the school itself isn’t trying to kill you. At the Scholomance, being a loner can be deadly…. I’ve finally read A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik, a young adult fantasy novel which came out back in 2020. I’ve been a fan of Novik since first stumbling upon Uprooted in 2015, but even more so ever since I read her Slavic fairy story Spinning Silver. I’ve been hearing great things about the Scholomance series for years, and now that all three books in the trilogy are out, I figured it would be the perfect time to pick up Book 1.  Continue reading Review of A Deadly Education—Monsters and Dark Magic

Review of Here in Avalon—A Cultish Cabaret

Here in Avalon coverIf you could walk out of your old life, leaving everything behind, and into a new one filled with beauty, magic, and wonder, would you? Two sisters are confronted by this question in Tara Isabella Burton’s latest literary thriller Here in Avalon, which came out earlier this month. I loved the decadent dark side of New York City that Tara conjured up in her debut Social Creature. With this book, Tara explores the same city through a lens of glittering magic. But even the most ethereal of artists and dreamers cannot truly live inside a fairy tale…. Continue reading Review of Here in Avalon—A Cultish Cabaret

Books I’m Excited for in 2024

Happy 2024! First things first: as I mentioned at the end of last week’s post, I will be moving to an every-other-week posting schedule this year. But though I’ll be posting less often, I am still just as excited as always about all of the new books coming out this year! Here are just a few of the new releases I am most looking forward to:

1) The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan (set to be released January 9)

The Djinn Waits A Hundred Years coverThis Gothic horror novel is set off the coast of South Africa in a ruined mansion haunted by a djinn. When a young girl named Sana moves in with her father, she uncovers the estate’s long-buried secrets and a tragic tale of lost love. I always love to see classic Gothic tropes in new, unfamiliar settings. Continue reading Books I’m Excited for in 2024

My 2023 Reading Recap

What a great year for reading it’s been! This is the first year in at least a decade that I haven’t participated in the official Goodreads Reading Challenge, since I stopped using Goodreads to track my reading. I did, however, still set reading goals for myself and keep track of each book I read, and I found 2023 to be one of the best reading years of my adult life.

Crocheted snake with many bands of different colors
My 2023 Reading Log Snake, with a color-coded key: Purple for short story collections; light blue for mystery/thriller; gray for nonfiction; dark blue for “other”; black for horror; red for romance; green for sci-fi; and yellow for fantasy

Continue reading My 2023 Reading Recap

Review of Sunless Solstice—Christmas Ghost Stories

As my various posts over the years about Christmas ghost stories might suggest, I’m on a bit of a mission to bring this spooky seasonal activity back into fashion. But I’m not alone in my quest! The British Library has started publishing annual collections of haunting Christmas tales as part of their Tales of the Weird series. Sunless Solstice: Strange Christmas Tales for the Longest Nights, edited by Lucy Evans and Tanya Kirk, is the third such collection, released in December 2022. If you, like me, would like to start spending your Christmases telling scary stories around a fire, I cannot recommend these collections enough! Continue reading Review of Sunless Solstice—Christmas Ghost Stories

Gothic Gambles

Gambling is as pervasive in the world of Gothic literature as it is in the real world. Gothic novels are full of dissolute villains whose dastardly dealings at the card table are just one facet of their poor behavior and hapless heroes who find themselves in dire straits after running up debts. But today I want to highlight a few pieces of short fiction with gambling at their center. These tales warn not just of the ordinary dangers like debt and addiction, but also of potential supernatural consequences for those who gamble excessively or unwisely. 

Photo of four Aces from a black deck of cards
Photo by JESUS ECA on Unsplash

Continue reading Gothic Gambles

Christmas Ghost Stories, Part 3

’Tis the season … for Christmas ghost stories! In recent years, I’ve been all about bringing back the classic tradition of livening up the winter months by sharing tales of terror. After all, encounters with the spirit world are the perfect way to get into the Christmas spirit! You can see some of the seasonally spooky tales I’ve previously recommended here and here. But if those aren’t enough for you, here’s a third round of Christmas ghost stories:

Photo of red berries against a wintery background of snow and bare branches
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Continue reading Christmas Ghost Stories, Part 3