Welcome to Litsy!

This took me quite awhile to read, maybe because I didn‘t want to know how it ended?

A young, widowed father is doing what he can to save his boy from living the life he has lived. When we first meet them, they are running away. I‘m not going to spoil if the father succeeds or not.

But there‘s several instances of child abuse

The first half was my #BookSpin for April

Well that was a strange one , brilliantly translated, gothic horror , haunted house, thriller and possibly the closest thing Iv read that compares to an early Stephen king. Again alittle over long over descriptive in places but a unique different story to any other horror / gothic / thriller Iv read.

I did it! Look at the size of that chunkster. I am so used to kindle books that the mechanics of reading a book this heavy were really hard 😆 and I read it in small chunks because it is also super dark - dark magic/occult, dark Argentine history, genocide and colonialism and torture - but I was fascinated by the undercurrent of class critique and the dark magic itself. A challenging read but ultimately rewarding, tho the end left me wanting.

Thank you @vonnie862 for the #HHS / #HHS24 / #HauntedHollowSwap package! Those books! 😍😍😍 I can't decide which one to read first! Cady oversaw the opening of the box 🐾 🎃🕷🕸👻🧡

Thank you @wanderinglynn for making this fun swap happen! 👍👏🧡🎃

A couple of #99ponkindle deals available today.

Picked both of these up after watching a recent YouTube video from CriminOlly https://youtu.be/C1Zq3Rf6Q0I?si=QcjwC7cjX9WYeI40

This book is on the level of some of Stephen King's best work, and the translation comes across perfectly. I love books that are so captivating that I get lost in them, but also are so interesting that I feel compelled to look up historical facts. I didn't know much about Argentine history before this book, but I will be a little better educated now thanks to fiction.

Well that was a mistake. I have what I think are objective critiques about the book, but overall this was definitely a book/reader mismatch. So grim. I can say with certainty that I would not have gotten past 125 pages without the audiobook to speed me along in tandem. The story is compelling, in that you keep reading in the hope things will become better, but it's basically one horrific instance after another. 1/?
[It's gonna be a long one]

3.0 Stars • "Our Share of Night" by Mariana Enriquez is a haunting tale that combines elements of horror, supernatural, and historical fiction. Set against the backdrop of Argentina's turbulent past, it follows a father and son, Juan and Gaspar, as they navigate a treacherous journey to escape a powerful and dangerous cult known as the Order. ⬇️

Multitasking 📚

After we talked about this @TrishB I had a look online and found a signed copy for the price of a regular hardback. Can go into the 'my treasures ' section of my bookshelves 💜

Creepy, overly long at parts.
The first part was uncomfortable, hard to get into. But it sets the stage with the political elements & “the disappeared” When Gaspar‘s friend goes missing it leans into the horror… then for a while it is just a sad coming of age story with a cult & different timelines explaining the Order. towards the end, it focussed back to the original elements & I was enthralled BUT
To me the ending fizzled… but was creepy af.

Deeply traumatic family saga meets dark occult horror.

This was like nothing I've read before. A family saga spiced with horror. History and fiction blended seamlessly. Multi-faceted characters that jump off the page.

It was by no means perfect. There were pacing issues galore and the ending could have used a bit more drama. Still, I'd struggle to name a comparable novel.

I have a feeling this novel will haunt me for years to come.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

@Reggie @Oryx

@CBee #readyourkindle

Here are 20 books from my kindle that I totally want to read.
I have so many physical books that I forget I have these. Some are perfect for #pop24

Wow. This was properly epic. Genuinely horrifying in parts, but so compelling. Real life events mixed with supernatural elements. I've not read anything quite like this before.

I just can't.
I've checked this out twice from the library, once because I ran out of time and the second time to pick up where I left off.
I made it 58% through and if I've come this far and STILL don't care, I think that's a sign.
I don't know who is who.
I don't understand their relationships.
And I'm bored.
And I didn't find it particularly scary either.
Basta!

#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks 😊💕

Wasn't too far off a Bingo this month, but time is flying! Got my #roll100 picks in there as usual (18-20)

Hoping I'll have a more productive February 🙏🏻

When you tell your family you'll meet them at the beach down the road and you won't be long. Spoiler - I took a little longer 😉

My reading view for the next few days.

Bk2 of my #BookMail sounds like a horror road trip! A father & son set out after being devastated by the death of the wife & mother they both loved. Traveling to her ancestral home they face her family, called The Order, that commit horrible acts to achieve immortality. Gaspar, the son, is pulled in to their evil but his father will stop at nothing to save his boy. Moving from London in the 60s to Argentinas military dictatorship & its aftermath.

It's very weird to come out of a nearly 600 page book and just feel entirely neutral about it. Mostly I'm just relieved that I get to read something else now.

I'm calling it for 2023 and featuring my Top 10 (plus some honorable mentions) reads of the year. https://youtu.be/SXETIcuEgVA

This book is unrelenting. From the first page there‘s a sense of wrongness, early stages of a building claustrophobia & sense of inevitability. There is violence throughout—violence committed against one‘s loved ones (in the name of protecting them), against those who stand in the way, against those who are just in the wrong place. Great writing & a fantastic translation—the pace is slow & there isn‘t a lot of action but there is a lot of horror.

Just finished the first section (24%)...

Yikes...

That got dark...

The contrast of the mundane and the horrific in this book makes it really effective.

Also pictured: Amaretto cake is back! 🥰🥰

Friend buys this book, tries to read this book, decides about 90 pages in that nothing has happened and she wants to DNF…BUT reviews are glowing and it‘s on many “best of 2023” lists. So, she asks me if I want to read it—yes, of course—and she loans me the book and then asks, once I‘m done, to tell her if she should give it a second chance. I‘ve heard only good things so I‘m about to see if it lives up to the hype.

#AtBDec2023 #MeantToReadin23
#RestingGrinchFace

Bookspin plan for Dec 2023 - @TheAromaofBooks 🎄🎁

I've gone for festive mysteries, translated bookshops, friend recs and a few blind dates...

#bookspinbingo

There‘s a genuine resurgence of brilliant horror at the moment that I‘m all here for.
This is epic, creepy, awesome story telling. Kept me on my toes the whole time, switching POV and genuine plot twists that made you gasp.
Hopefully there will be many more from this author.

Not much reading time this week for usual work reasons! Having a proper reading hour at lunchtime today 😁
I‘m absolutely loving the book.

He‘s one of us!

#motherdaughterread 😁

#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks 💕

#ScarathlonPhotoChallenge #Night
@Clwojick @StayCurious
#SpookyGhostClub

#AutumnPlease #CandleFliame
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
I need to finish the book, but this looks like a Hand of Glory to me.

I do NOT read scary horror books because I‘m a wimp and this one was an eerie, mystical, and creepy AF read.

There‘s a cult, the supernatural, and it‘s all set against the backdrop of Argentina's tumultuous political history and now I need something light and funny that makes me feel warm and fuzzy!

For the #horror fans out there. This world is very intriguing.
#PopupThursday

Next up, this monster of a novel.
#PopupThursday

This book is horribly beautiful and the way it describes Argentina is breathtaking. This is one of those books that I loved reading and looked forward to reading each night….but it‘s scary! there is a section with kids and a house that is the absolute scariest thing I‘ve ever read. I had to put it down for days.

This book was phenomenal. There‘s so much to unravel and decipher, and it was done so meticulously that I was astonished with every revelation. I‘m definitely going to have a major book hangover after this one. I just loved it.

Starting this 600 page behemoth of a novel

Nights like these

I normally don‘t read horror. This book was long, creepy and full of Argentinian history. All the content warnings are appropriate. Though every time they mentioned The Darkness, I thought of the band: https://youtu.be/tKjZuykKY1I 😆

Using this for #Booked2023 “About a Monster” FYI the monsters are the humans

Using this for #Pop23 “Recommended by a Friend” since it was a #reggimendation 👍

Why so big? Why such a chunker? Page 19 of approximately 8,000 probably 😏🤪

Edited to add that it‘s not really 8,000 pages but it feels that way in my heart…

I‘m over half way through this one and when I read the reviews about triggers (true), violence, grossness, I laughed and laughed and thought it won‘t bother me. I read the part about the kids and the house…I can no longer read this one after dark

This is a portrait of a father and son from revolving perspectives and horror elements set against the backdrop of dictatorship in early 80s #Argentina. Interesting book and rather long, but just as I was starting to tire of one voice, the narrative moves to someone new, which really works. I would for sure look for this author again.

#ReadingAmericas2023

#NetGalley #NewRelease

Enriquez's writing is not for the faint of heart. This is a massive 608 page immersive dark horror that is also a love letter to the bonds between a parent and a child.

The main character is grieving the loss of his wife. As he tries to overcome the literal Darkness that possesses him, he also is in a desperate fight to save his son.

Atmospheric, creepy, emotional, and just a damn good read!

I will read anything by this author. This might be her first novel, or the first that made it to an English translation. It's pretty epic. Set in Argentina it tells the story of a family that is wrapped up in dark magic and a father that desperately wants to save his son from his own fate. I'm predicting International Booker longlist for it.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

US pub date was 2/14/23
#ARC #Netgalley

Whelp, that‘s gonna haunt in unexpected ways.
https://youtu.be/H1PZpXg_zes